Concertina caterpillar books.
We are happy to report that, with our new routine of morning Primary and afternoon Home School, life is much happier in the LEAF household. We haven't escaped the early starts but the children are under much less pressure, which means the same is also true for us. Freda and Edie finish their more formal education by 11:30 am (having started at 7:30) and head home for lunch. A part-time homework tutor (Grade 2 College students) comes from 2 - 3:30 (costing 10% of our monthly allowance, but it's worth it) to guide the girls through their Chinese tasks. We muddle our way through the maths - Freda and Edie translate and we interpret. If it gets much harder I'll be wishing I'd taken a foundation course at university.
For the rest of the afternoon we focus on our Home School activities - arts & crafts, reading, writing and sports. Since our meeting with the school and change in routine, Freda and Edie's teachers have been showing a keen interest in what they get up to in the afternoons. We're therefore putting a folder together that they can take in every week or so, just to prove they're not sciving. With any luck some of the ideas might rub off on the teachers and their classmates might find school brightening up a bit. There must be other parents out their who aren't obsessed with exams and care more about a rounder, stimulating education that doesn't rely on repetition and copying. Maybe we have a chance to show that even by attending school only two thirds of the time of their classmates, Freda and Edie can do just as well in their exams. What's more, Freda's finally lost the bags under her eyes and we're all much happier.
For the rest of the afternoon we focus on our Home School activities - arts & crafts, reading, writing and sports. Since our meeting with the school and change in routine, Freda and Edie's teachers have been showing a keen interest in what they get up to in the afternoons. We're therefore putting a folder together that they can take in every week or so, just to prove they're not sciving. With any luck some of the ideas might rub off on the teachers and their classmates might find school brightening up a bit. There must be other parents out their who aren't obsessed with exams and care more about a rounder, stimulating education that doesn't rely on repetition and copying. Maybe we have a chance to show that even by attending school only two thirds of the time of their classmates, Freda and Edie can do just as well in their exams. What's more, Freda's finally lost the bags under her eyes and we're all much happier.
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