Yesterday, we went to church. We go there occasionally, but not often.
We went yesterday because the topic of the day was Anzac Day, and Yeye was scheduled to talk for several minutes. This is turning into a yearly tradition, where Yeye talks about the First World War -- it's the third year we have done this. As always, he gave a great talk.
What got me thinking this year was that just before starting the Anzac Day topic, the church sang the song They will know we are Christians by our love. I have no idea if the song was intentionally chosen in connection with Anzac Day, or if it was just coincidence.
But it got me thinking about what a person who was known for their love would have done 100+ years ago when faced with the outbreak of war.
Now, it seems to me, at least, that a young man filled with love would not have volunteered to pick up a gun to kill other people.
And it seems to me that respected community leaders who were filled with love would not have advised these young men to pick up a gun and kill other people.
Instead, it seems to me that a young man filled with love would have quietly and calmly said "no." And respected community leaders filled with love would have calmly and clearly spoken and written out against the war.
In all seriousness, I wonder how much history would have been different if all Christians (on both sides), who are known to be Christian by their love, had calmly and lovingly said "no" to the First World War. That they simply declined to pick up a gun and shoot it. All those millions of Christian soldiers simply declining to participate.
Would that 100 years ago, all the Christians, who are known as Christians by their love, had been like Archibald Baxter.
And would that all Christians in the world today, who are known as Christians by their love, calmly say "no," and decline to participate in similar acts of violence.
(Last year, I wrote about going to the Anzac Day dawn parade.)
Monday 29 April 2019
Thursday 18 April 2019
Another cat!
A couple of months ago I asked the question of another cat.
That question has now been answered.
Yesterday, we took Mushroom the cat to our local vet to get her microchipped and vaccinated. I guess that makes her officially ours.
To refresh your memory, a couple of months ago we found Mushroom wandering around our property super-skinny and probably near death. We fed her and she stayed with us. We put up ads for her on Lost Pet and at the vets nearby. But nobody claimed her.
Over the past two months our other two cats, Maggie and Kitty, have gradually got used to Mushroom being around. Things are mostly okay between the three of them now, other than the occasional small hiss if one surprises another around a corner.
At night we bring all three cats inside the house (the recommended thing to do, for the sake of the native wildlife). When we go to bed Mushroom goes in the bathroom, while the other two cats have the run of the house.
With the new microchip, Mushroom also got the key to the catflap. Our smart catflap now reads Mushroom's chip, and lets her in and out. So far she only goes in and out when we push her through, but hopefully she is smart enough to quickly learn to do it herself.
Miya took this photo of Mushroom the other day:
That question has now been answered.
Yesterday, we took Mushroom the cat to our local vet to get her microchipped and vaccinated. I guess that makes her officially ours.
To refresh your memory, a couple of months ago we found Mushroom wandering around our property super-skinny and probably near death. We fed her and she stayed with us. We put up ads for her on Lost Pet and at the vets nearby. But nobody claimed her.
Over the past two months our other two cats, Maggie and Kitty, have gradually got used to Mushroom being around. Things are mostly okay between the three of them now, other than the occasional small hiss if one surprises another around a corner.
At night we bring all three cats inside the house (the recommended thing to do, for the sake of the native wildlife). When we go to bed Mushroom goes in the bathroom, while the other two cats have the run of the house.
With the new microchip, Mushroom also got the key to the catflap. Our smart catflap now reads Mushroom's chip, and lets her in and out. So far she only goes in and out when we push her through, but hopefully she is smart enough to quickly learn to do it herself.
Miya took this photo of Mushroom the other day:
MOTAT
On Tuesday, we all went to MOTAT.
For those who don't know, MOTAT is the Museum of Transport and Technology.
This month they've got a special on for educators. Bring your educator ID, and you get a free family pass (normally $45). They had this special last year, but there was some confusion and home educators (like us) were excluded from the special. This year they got it right and extended it to us home educators.
So, the four of us went along for the day. (Mama had to leave early to work, but the girls and I stayed until closing time.)
For the first hour or so we did the usual museum-y thing of starting at one end and looking systematically at everything, one by one.
But then we came across their special school holiday activity. This was a find-the-item style treasure hunt. The "X" on the map showed the general location, then the kids had to find the museum piece that matched the clue. Completing each page of clues (there were five in total) won them a badge.
This was much more fun for Mulan and Miya, so we spent the rest of the day dashing back and forth around the grounds solving clues. The girls completed it just before closing time, and won themselves lots of badges.
We possibly didn't look at everything quite as closely doing the treasure hunt, but it may have been more memorable and it was definitely more fun for the girls. So, great idea. Thanks MOTAT!
We're seriously thinking of buying the MOTAT annual pass. This allows a family unlimited access to MOTAT for one year. At only $95 it seems very good value.
The thing is, as Mulan is getting older I have been thinking more and more about how to introduce secondary school level science into her education. Spending time at MOTAT and doing some more serious studies there would be very helpful, we think.
Another possibility is getting the Auckland Zoo annual pass. This one is $220. Maybe we get one pass one year and the other the following year.
For those who don't know, MOTAT is the Museum of Transport and Technology.
This month they've got a special on for educators. Bring your educator ID, and you get a free family pass (normally $45). They had this special last year, but there was some confusion and home educators (like us) were excluded from the special. This year they got it right and extended it to us home educators.
So, the four of us went along for the day. (Mama had to leave early to work, but the girls and I stayed until closing time.)
For the first hour or so we did the usual museum-y thing of starting at one end and looking systematically at everything, one by one.
But then we came across their special school holiday activity. This was a find-the-item style treasure hunt. The "X" on the map showed the general location, then the kids had to find the museum piece that matched the clue. Completing each page of clues (there were five in total) won them a badge.
This was much more fun for Mulan and Miya, so we spent the rest of the day dashing back and forth around the grounds solving clues. The girls completed it just before closing time, and won themselves lots of badges.
We possibly didn't look at everything quite as closely doing the treasure hunt, but it may have been more memorable and it was definitely more fun for the girls. So, great idea. Thanks MOTAT!
We're seriously thinking of buying the MOTAT annual pass. This allows a family unlimited access to MOTAT for one year. At only $95 it seems very good value.
The thing is, as Mulan is getting older I have been thinking more and more about how to introduce secondary school level science into her education. Spending time at MOTAT and doing some more serious studies there would be very helpful, we think.
Another possibility is getting the Auckland Zoo annual pass. This one is $220. Maybe we get one pass one year and the other the following year.
Friday 12 April 2019
Maths: Khan Academy high school
A few days ago I mentioned that Mulan was almost finished Khan Academy 8th Grade maths.
Well, she finished it today, and we had a look at what comes next.
It's all very easy. Next up is High school Mathematics I. Mulan is already 47% through it, as there is some overlap between grades.
So, life will just continue on as normal, doing a little every day.
Well, she finished it today, and we had a look at what comes next.
It's all very easy. Next up is High school Mathematics I. Mulan is already 47% through it, as there is some overlap between grades.
So, life will just continue on as normal, doing a little every day.
Monday 8 April 2019
Maths: Khan Academy
Usually I label these posts "Congratulations Miya" or "Congratulations Mulan", but they are happening too often these days.
Miya has just finished Khan Academy 3rd Grade maths.
A sticking point for her has been learning her times tables facts, but she has got them for the most part now, and has now been able to complete 3rd Grade. It is still a work in progress to get them all fast and automatic, but the ones she doesn't know automatically she can work out in her head fairly quickly.
Miya is also 68% of her way through 4th Grade. Our gentle, no-stress goal is to finish 4th Grade in the next few months. If she was in the US she'd currently be in 3rd Grade, so our no-stress goal would mean that she'd be over one year ahead of her age.
---
Meanwhile, Mulan is 98% of her way through Khan Academy 8th Grade maths.
When she finishes this in the next few days I'll need to figure out the system Khan Academy uses for its "High school" level maths. After 8th Grade it uses a different system that doesn't label the grades year-by-year.
If Mulan was in the US she'd be in 6th Grade, so she is over two years ahead of her age.
--
As I've commented before, in US/China Mulan is three school years older than Miya. However, in New Zealand Mulan is four school years older than Miya. The school year system is fairly arbitrary, so how they compare with their school year is at best merely a useful rough guide to check that we are doing the right amount of work here at home.
Practically, what is more important is that the children are learning to their own individual potential. These achievements are a result of spending anywhere between 3 and 30 minutes a day, every day, on maths problems that are typically challenging but do-able for them.
(I last commented on the girls' maths in January.)
Miya has just finished Khan Academy 3rd Grade maths.
A sticking point for her has been learning her times tables facts, but she has got them for the most part now, and has now been able to complete 3rd Grade. It is still a work in progress to get them all fast and automatic, but the ones she doesn't know automatically she can work out in her head fairly quickly.
Miya is also 68% of her way through 4th Grade. Our gentle, no-stress goal is to finish 4th Grade in the next few months. If she was in the US she'd currently be in 3rd Grade, so our no-stress goal would mean that she'd be over one year ahead of her age.
---
Meanwhile, Mulan is 98% of her way through Khan Academy 8th Grade maths.
When she finishes this in the next few days I'll need to figure out the system Khan Academy uses for its "High school" level maths. After 8th Grade it uses a different system that doesn't label the grades year-by-year.
If Mulan was in the US she'd be in 6th Grade, so she is over two years ahead of her age.
--
As I've commented before, in US/China Mulan is three school years older than Miya. However, in New Zealand Mulan is four school years older than Miya. The school year system is fairly arbitrary, so how they compare with their school year is at best merely a useful rough guide to check that we are doing the right amount of work here at home.
Practically, what is more important is that the children are learning to their own individual potential. These achievements are a result of spending anywhere between 3 and 30 minutes a day, every day, on maths problems that are typically challenging but do-able for them.
(I last commented on the girls' maths in January.)
Wednesday 3 April 2019
North Shore primary school swimming champs
Yesterday, Mulan and Miya competed at the North Shore primary school swimming champs. This was an inter-school swimming competition between about 30 primary schools in our local area.
I mentioned earlier that we'd recently had the Auckland homeschool swimming champs. It was a huge success, the kids loved it, and for many it was their first time competing in a real swimming competition.
I also mentioned that we'd been invited to enter a homeschool (HASCA) team into the primary inter-schools competition. Well, yesterday was the day.
(I also mentioned that the local intermediate and secondary schools are scared, selfish meanies (!), as so far they are not letting us homeschoolers enter the swimming inter-school competitions for those age groups.)
Anyway, we sent out invites to all the 7- to 11-years olds who competed at the homeschool swimming champs, and six (including Mulan and Miya) decided they would like to compete at the inter-schools.
All six children did extremely well, competing admirably alongside the best swimmers on the Shore. This was not just a token team. We had no last places, and quite a few high-ranked performances. Equally importantly, we had lots of new PBs (personal bests), and often by a huge margin.
Miya competed in the 8 years and under girls, she did:
Mulan turned 12 just a week before the competition. Since it was for children 11 years and under, she was unable to compete for places/medals. Nonetheless, the organisers very kindly allowed Mulan to participate (did I mention how awful the intermediate and secondary schools are?!). Mulan did:
I think I am not merely being a proud daddy when I say that these are pretty awesome results. Mulan and Miya started swimming lessons four years ago (learning at Swim Lovers' Swim School), when we first moved from China to New Zealand. At that time they were pretty much complete beginners. Since then they have both been doing 30-minute lessons once a week during term-time. This term, for the first time they also joined a squad training group, doing an extra 1-hour session each week.
I mentioned to the girls that if they wanted to we could look into them joining the local swim club. Mulan rightly wondered where they are going to find the time. Yep, that is always the big thing -- finding enough time in the day to do everything we enjoy doing.
I mentioned earlier that we'd recently had the Auckland homeschool swimming champs. It was a huge success, the kids loved it, and for many it was their first time competing in a real swimming competition.
I also mentioned that we'd been invited to enter a homeschool (HASCA) team into the primary inter-schools competition. Well, yesterday was the day.
(I also mentioned that the local intermediate and secondary schools are scared, selfish meanies (!), as so far they are not letting us homeschoolers enter the swimming inter-school competitions for those age groups.)
Anyway, we sent out invites to all the 7- to 11-years olds who competed at the homeschool swimming champs, and six (including Mulan and Miya) decided they would like to compete at the inter-schools.
All six children did extremely well, competing admirably alongside the best swimmers on the Shore. This was not just a token team. We had no last places, and quite a few high-ranked performances. Equally importantly, we had lots of new PBs (personal bests), and often by a huge margin.
Miya competed in the 8 years and under girls, she did:
- 25m breaststroke, 32.77 sec, 15th (out of 27)
- 25m backstroke, 29.39 sec, 35th (out of 42)
- 25m freestyle, 27.62 sec, 46th (out of 51)
- 4x25m freestyle relay, 1:29.69, 17th (out of 18)
- 4x25m medley relay, 1:45.07, 16th (out of 18)
Mulan turned 12 just a week before the competition. Since it was for children 11 years and under, she was unable to compete for places/medals. Nonetheless, the organisers very kindly allowed Mulan to participate (did I mention how awful the intermediate and secondary schools are?!). Mulan did:
- 25m breaststroke, 22.88 sec, 2nd= (out of 41)
- 25m freestyle, 18.08 sec, 5th (out of 57)
- 25m backstroke, 21.68 sec, 11th (out of 41)
I think I am not merely being a proud daddy when I say that these are pretty awesome results. Mulan and Miya started swimming lessons four years ago (learning at Swim Lovers' Swim School), when we first moved from China to New Zealand. At that time they were pretty much complete beginners. Since then they have both been doing 30-minute lessons once a week during term-time. This term, for the first time they also joined a squad training group, doing an extra 1-hour session each week.
I mentioned to the girls that if they wanted to we could look into them joining the local swim club. Mulan rightly wondered where they are going to find the time. Yep, that is always the big thing -- finding enough time in the day to do everything we enjoy doing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)