School holidays are almost at an end. (Even though we homeschool, most of our activities follow the school term.)
During the first week of the holidays, Mulan was up early each weekday morning to catch the bus to work. (I didn't go with her, thinking it better for her to do it herself.)
We'd arranged with our swim teacher, Jean from Swim Lovers' Swim School, for Mulan to start learning how to teach swimming. So, Mulan was in the pool from 9 am to 11:45 am each day, observing alongside Jean and helping out.
It's early days yet, and Mulan still has several steps to take before she is independently teaching in the pool, but it was a great first time and we'll probably gradually ease into this over the next few years.
The thought is that eventually Mulan will be able to teach the preschoolers during the day in term-time. And since Mulan is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Jean is keen to expand the business and have some swim classes taught in Chinese.
The main thing for Mulan to work on now is her communication. Or to put this more precisely, at home Mulan is very good at communicating, loudly and dominantly. But when she is out with others she is often very quiet. (I was/am exactly like this, too.)
To be a successful teacher Mulan has got to get into the habit of thinking of teaching as a form of acting, where she presents herself to her students in a way that is not entirely her natural personality. She has got to verbalise more, as well as smile and show excitement on her face. (Internally she is enjoying herself, but sometimes she doesn't show it.) This takes time, and it's a bit scary for those of us who are not naturally this way. But I'm sure she will get there in the end.
In addition to the swim teaching, Mulan is also continuing to teach Mandarin Chinese here in our home to paying students. For a few of Mama's preschool students, both Mulan and Miya work in our classroom as paid assistants. Again, they are both gradually learning the teaching business and are steadily taking over leading the activities in the classroom, as well as lesson-planning beforehand.
Who knows if Mulan will become a professional teacher, but learning to teach now is all good. It is a great skill to have, and is part of our homeschooler "socialisation" (!!).
(Miya also went with Mulan each day to the pool. She had a 45 min lesson, and while out of the pool she had fun entertaining Jean's new dog.)
Sunday, 13 October 2019
Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Belmont Music Centre
Belmont Music Centre is really awesome! All primary and intermediate-aged children in the Takapuna to Devonport area should join.
Yep, this is an unpaid advertisement for our local non-profit music teaching centre. (Which, by the way, turned 50 this year.)
Sadly, our previous manager had some health problems and had to suddenly resign. The committee was down to one solitary person, and with no one to run the place we were looking at having to close permanently.
Gugu (my big sis), who was the sole surviving committee member, stepped in and did what was needed to keep things going. For the past several weeks, for several hours per week, she has been doing the surprisingly many things that an organisation needs done, and all for no pay.
Things are now looking up, we are re-populating the committee, and new and exciting ideas are bouncing around. Gugu is now Interim Manager and Committee Chairperson, while I have got the title of Treasurer. We're still looking for more volunteers to help share the burdens and give back to our local kids.
So, here's what happens: We've got 11 brilliant teachers teaching a range of instruments and music knowledge on Saturday mornings during term-time. They are paid (though far below the going rate for music teachers) directly by the Ministry of Education. The very minimal tuition fees that each student pays then contributes to the general running expenses of the Music Centre. Parents who think this is an awesome community service join the committee or volunteer their time in other ways to help keep things going.
Basically, this is an environment where music and community involvement are the driving forces. We all think that kids learning music is great fun and hugely beneficial, and we get together to volunteer our time to make it happen.
We're looking forward to continuing next year, and we're hoping for more kids playing music and more parents volunteering behind the scenes to make it happen.
Yep, this is an unpaid advertisement for our local non-profit music teaching centre. (Which, by the way, turned 50 this year.)
Sadly, our previous manager had some health problems and had to suddenly resign. The committee was down to one solitary person, and with no one to run the place we were looking at having to close permanently.
Gugu (my big sis), who was the sole surviving committee member, stepped in and did what was needed to keep things going. For the past several weeks, for several hours per week, she has been doing the surprisingly many things that an organisation needs done, and all for no pay.
Things are now looking up, we are re-populating the committee, and new and exciting ideas are bouncing around. Gugu is now Interim Manager and Committee Chairperson, while I have got the title of Treasurer. We're still looking for more volunteers to help share the burdens and give back to our local kids.
So, here's what happens: We've got 11 brilliant teachers teaching a range of instruments and music knowledge on Saturday mornings during term-time. They are paid (though far below the going rate for music teachers) directly by the Ministry of Education. The very minimal tuition fees that each student pays then contributes to the general running expenses of the Music Centre. Parents who think this is an awesome community service join the committee or volunteer their time in other ways to help keep things going.
Basically, this is an environment where music and community involvement are the driving forces. We all think that kids learning music is great fun and hugely beneficial, and we get together to volunteer our time to make it happen.
We're looking forward to continuing next year, and we're hoping for more kids playing music and more parents volunteering behind the scenes to make it happen.
Monday, 23 September 2019
Book review: Jeannette Ng
A great way to choose new books is to check out the awards speeches of authors.
Last year I discovered N K Jemisin after clicking a link to her Hugo Award acceptance speech. She is now definitely up there amongst my all-time favourite authors. I wrote about her books here.
A few weeks ago I discovered Jeannette Ng, thanks to her awesome speech (text version here) when accepting the John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer. What she said was spot on. Thanks to Ng, the award got a name-change; now it's the Astounding Award. And rightly so.
So, I requested Ng's book, Under the Pendulum Sun, from the library, as well as the short story collection, Not So Stories, in which Ng has a contribution.
It was a great choice, and I thoroughly enjoyed both books.
Under the Pendulum Sun is a perfectly paced, incredibly creative, beautifully written novel with deep references to the Gothic novel tradition. Ng's MA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies shows.
I won't say too much about the story, as each part builds and reveals layers of mystery. But in brief the story is set in the Age of Discovery. Captain Cook has discovered the Faelands -- you get there by becoming thoroughly lost for a sufficiently long period of time. The novel opens with Catherine Helstone heading there, following her missionary brother who wishes to bring the word of God to the Fae.
The Faelands are definitely weird and wonderful. The sun is, well, a pendulum -- a lamp set on a long string that swings back and forth. Days and nights come and go according to where the pendulum sun is at in its swing. The rest of the world is equally, um, different. But in an incredibly beautiful way.
Several days ago, when I was part-way through the book, we were out and Mulan hadn't brought enough entertainment. I passed the book to her and she sped through it, finishing it before I did. She enjoyed it, although possibly some parts of the story are on the mature side for a 12-year-old.
---
The short stories that make up the Not So Stories are often equally creative. But this is a much more overtly political work.
Most people should recognise that the Not So Stories references Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. Kipling was a brilliant writer, and his stories are deservedly classics.
But Kipling was overly optimistic and positive about British colonialism. In his storytelling, Kipling (just like C S Lewis, who I discussed here) often presents colonialism as a good, decent, civilising influence on the natives. He ignores the evils and atrocities.
Not So Stories is intended explicitly as a corrective. Each of the writers takes Kipling-ish ideas or styles but twists them to acknowledge colonial evils.
Jeannette Ng's story, How the Wishing Tree got its Carapace of Plastic, is perhaps only going to be understood and appreciated by those who have a bit of Chinese cultural background. Here in our home in the children's toybox we have got a plastic orange, which we picked up from a wishing tree; Ng's story brought back plenty of memories and images, and in my opinion nicely captured the feeling.
Zina Hutton's Strays Like Us is a sweet cat story. I've passed it to Miya to read, though she hasn't picked it up yet.
Raymond Gates' There is Such Thing as a Whizzy-Gang is, as far as I could see, the least appropriate story in the collection. All I could see was a campfire scary story, with little to no political or Kipling-ish references.
But in my opinion the final story, Paul Krueger's How the Camel Got Her Paid Time Off, was the most brilliant reply to Kipling. It is the most perfect response to Kipling's How the Camel got His Hump. It is an absolute must-read.
A few days ago I played our story CD of Just So Stories, and I've passed Not So Stories to Mulan to read.
Last year I discovered N K Jemisin after clicking a link to her Hugo Award acceptance speech. She is now definitely up there amongst my all-time favourite authors. I wrote about her books here.
A few weeks ago I discovered Jeannette Ng, thanks to her awesome speech (text version here) when accepting the John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer. What she said was spot on. Thanks to Ng, the award got a name-change; now it's the Astounding Award. And rightly so.
So, I requested Ng's book, Under the Pendulum Sun, from the library, as well as the short story collection, Not So Stories, in which Ng has a contribution.
It was a great choice, and I thoroughly enjoyed both books.
Under the Pendulum Sun is a perfectly paced, incredibly creative, beautifully written novel with deep references to the Gothic novel tradition. Ng's MA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies shows.
I won't say too much about the story, as each part builds and reveals layers of mystery. But in brief the story is set in the Age of Discovery. Captain Cook has discovered the Faelands -- you get there by becoming thoroughly lost for a sufficiently long period of time. The novel opens with Catherine Helstone heading there, following her missionary brother who wishes to bring the word of God to the Fae.
The Faelands are definitely weird and wonderful. The sun is, well, a pendulum -- a lamp set on a long string that swings back and forth. Days and nights come and go according to where the pendulum sun is at in its swing. The rest of the world is equally, um, different. But in an incredibly beautiful way.
Several days ago, when I was part-way through the book, we were out and Mulan hadn't brought enough entertainment. I passed the book to her and she sped through it, finishing it before I did. She enjoyed it, although possibly some parts of the story are on the mature side for a 12-year-old.
---
The short stories that make up the Not So Stories are often equally creative. But this is a much more overtly political work.
Most people should recognise that the Not So Stories references Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. Kipling was a brilliant writer, and his stories are deservedly classics.
But Kipling was overly optimistic and positive about British colonialism. In his storytelling, Kipling (just like C S Lewis, who I discussed here) often presents colonialism as a good, decent, civilising influence on the natives. He ignores the evils and atrocities.
Not So Stories is intended explicitly as a corrective. Each of the writers takes Kipling-ish ideas or styles but twists them to acknowledge colonial evils.
Jeannette Ng's story, How the Wishing Tree got its Carapace of Plastic, is perhaps only going to be understood and appreciated by those who have a bit of Chinese cultural background. Here in our home in the children's toybox we have got a plastic orange, which we picked up from a wishing tree; Ng's story brought back plenty of memories and images, and in my opinion nicely captured the feeling.
Zina Hutton's Strays Like Us is a sweet cat story. I've passed it to Miya to read, though she hasn't picked it up yet.
Raymond Gates' There is Such Thing as a Whizzy-Gang is, as far as I could see, the least appropriate story in the collection. All I could see was a campfire scary story, with little to no political or Kipling-ish references.
But in my opinion the final story, Paul Krueger's How the Camel Got Her Paid Time Off, was the most brilliant reply to Kipling. It is the most perfect response to Kipling's How the Camel got His Hump. It is an absolute must-read.
A few days ago I played our story CD of Just So Stories, and I've passed Not So Stories to Mulan to read.
Sunday, 22 September 2019
Recorder mass playing
After the gymnastics championships in the morning, we had a complete change of pace this afternoon.
Mulan and Miya's recorder teacher, Kevin Kim, suggested that they come along to a mass recorder playing event organised by the New Zealand Society of Recorder Players.
Once again, we had no idea what to expect, but we thought it would be fun to give it a go.
There were around a couple of dozen recorder players attending the three-hour session, playing a range of different sized recorders. The girls were the only children, and most of the other players looked old enough to be their grandparents. But the girls fitted in well -- Mulan immediately joined, while Miya watched for the first half before joining in.
The players were split into two groups -- one more advanced and one more junior. The girls joined the junior group. Mulan found it no challenge at all to keep up (in her words she found it very easy); to my non-expert eyes and ears it looked/sounded about Miya's level.
Mama and I relaxed on the sofa enjoying the beautiful music.
Apparently this event happens about once a year, but they are hoping to increase the frequency to once a term. I'm sure we'll be there enjoying the next one.
Mulan and Miya's recorder teacher, Kevin Kim, suggested that they come along to a mass recorder playing event organised by the New Zealand Society of Recorder Players.
Once again, we had no idea what to expect, but we thought it would be fun to give it a go.
There were around a couple of dozen recorder players attending the three-hour session, playing a range of different sized recorders. The girls were the only children, and most of the other players looked old enough to be their grandparents. But the girls fitted in well -- Mulan immediately joined, while Miya watched for the first half before joining in.
The players were split into two groups -- one more advanced and one more junior. The girls joined the junior group. Mulan found it no challenge at all to keep up (in her words she found it very easy); to my non-expert eyes and ears it looked/sounded about Miya's level.
Mama and I relaxed on the sofa enjoying the beautiful music.
Apparently this event happens about once a year, but they are hoping to increase the frequency to once a term. I'm sure we'll be there enjoying the next one.
Gymnastics club champs
Today, Mulan competed at the North Harbour Gymnastics club champs.
This is our first year doing club gymnastics, so we had no idea what to expect or what level the other girls would be at. Mulan simply joined the competition for the fun of it.
We were all pleasantly surprised when, at the prize-giving immediately following the competition, Mulan's name was called out three times. She got first in bars, third in vault, and fourth overall!
This is our first year doing club gymnastics, so we had no idea what to expect or what level the other girls would be at. Mulan simply joined the competition for the fun of it.
We were all pleasantly surprised when, at the prize-giving immediately following the competition, Mulan's name was called out three times. She got first in bars, third in vault, and fourth overall!
Monday, 2 September 2019
Auckland Zoo
For Miya's 9th birthday (happy birthday Miya!!) she wanted to go to the zoo.
This was perfect because I had already planned, as a homeschooling focus this year, to get a one-year family zoo pass.
So, yesterday we went to the Auckland Zoo, and we bought ourselves an Annual Pass. The pass is for two adults and three children, so we signed up cousin Maria as our third child.
We had a very relaxing and enjoyable day. No more rushing around trying to fit everything in on the one day. We wandered around just seeing the things we felt like seeing. We didn't even bother with our camera.
At the moment there is a huge construction project happening at the zoo, where they are adding a new South East Asia section. Seeing the area take shape will also be fascinating this year.
I expect over the next year to have thousands of new animal photos on our computer. We'll probably post a small percentage of them here.
This was perfect because I had already planned, as a homeschooling focus this year, to get a one-year family zoo pass.
So, yesterday we went to the Auckland Zoo, and we bought ourselves an Annual Pass. The pass is for two adults and three children, so we signed up cousin Maria as our third child.
We had a very relaxing and enjoyable day. No more rushing around trying to fit everything in on the one day. We wandered around just seeing the things we felt like seeing. We didn't even bother with our camera.
At the moment there is a huge construction project happening at the zoo, where they are adding a new South East Asia section. Seeing the area take shape will also be fascinating this year.
I expect over the next year to have thousands of new animal photos on our computer. We'll probably post a small percentage of them here.
Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Netball season is over
Miya's netball season finished last week. A couple of months ago I wrote here about how she had joined the (HASCA) homeschool team.
So, the homeschool team won two out of seven of their grading games, and were put into competition Grade 7 (out of 10).
After the grading games, they had another seven competition games. They won two, drew one, and lost four. Consequently, they came sixth (out of eight teams) in their grade.
In the final game of the competition they played a team that they had also played in the grading round. In the grading round the homeschoolers won; in the competition round the teams drew.
I give these statistics not because winning matters (it doesn't), but because it gives context.
There are about 80 teams in the overall competition for that age group (school Year 6). We can assume that the teams in a grade start the competition round at a mostly similar playing level. Any team might win their grade.
Consequently, the way I see it is that the position a team comes in their grade competition reflects the amount of effort the team put into playing. The top-ranked team genuinely deserves their placing because they worked hard to improve themselves more than the other teams. Similarly, the lower ranked teams deserve their placings because they didn't put as much time and effort into improving themselves.
As I see it, the homeschoolers deserved their sixth placing (out of eight). To be honest, they didn't put a lot of effort into their netball this season. Practices were fairly minimal, with a team get-together for about 30 minutes to an hour before each game. And these practices were fairly general in structure, with no apparent learning objectives or systematic skills development.
In contrast, we might look at Mulan's first season of netball, which was in 2015. That year there wasn't a homeschool team, so Mulan played for Bayswater School. In addition to the game, the team met twice a week (at school lunchtimes) for practices. The two team coaches were also teachers, and they were very organised in their coaching. Activities during practices were varied and explicitly chosen to develop skills that had been identified as weaknesses during the previous game. Consequently, the team significantly improved their netball skills, and they came second in their grade competition.
I realise that improving ball skills and netball playing skills are not the only reasons why someone might join a netball team. The social aspect is hugely important too. As is enjoyment and the positivity of participating in team sports.
But in my opinion we can have these social and enjoyment aspects but also have a bit more emphasis on skills development. Without taking anything away from the awesome job that the team coach and manager did this season, I really wish the focus had been slightly more on the game skills side of things.
So, the homeschool team won two out of seven of their grading games, and were put into competition Grade 7 (out of 10).
After the grading games, they had another seven competition games. They won two, drew one, and lost four. Consequently, they came sixth (out of eight teams) in their grade.
In the final game of the competition they played a team that they had also played in the grading round. In the grading round the homeschoolers won; in the competition round the teams drew.
I give these statistics not because winning matters (it doesn't), but because it gives context.
There are about 80 teams in the overall competition for that age group (school Year 6). We can assume that the teams in a grade start the competition round at a mostly similar playing level. Any team might win their grade.
Consequently, the way I see it is that the position a team comes in their grade competition reflects the amount of effort the team put into playing. The top-ranked team genuinely deserves their placing because they worked hard to improve themselves more than the other teams. Similarly, the lower ranked teams deserve their placings because they didn't put as much time and effort into improving themselves.
As I see it, the homeschoolers deserved their sixth placing (out of eight). To be honest, they didn't put a lot of effort into their netball this season. Practices were fairly minimal, with a team get-together for about 30 minutes to an hour before each game. And these practices were fairly general in structure, with no apparent learning objectives or systematic skills development.
In contrast, we might look at Mulan's first season of netball, which was in 2015. That year there wasn't a homeschool team, so Mulan played for Bayswater School. In addition to the game, the team met twice a week (at school lunchtimes) for practices. The two team coaches were also teachers, and they were very organised in their coaching. Activities during practices were varied and explicitly chosen to develop skills that had been identified as weaknesses during the previous game. Consequently, the team significantly improved their netball skills, and they came second in their grade competition.
I realise that improving ball skills and netball playing skills are not the only reasons why someone might join a netball team. The social aspect is hugely important too. As is enjoyment and the positivity of participating in team sports.
But in my opinion we can have these social and enjoyment aspects but also have a bit more emphasis on skills development. Without taking anything away from the awesome job that the team coach and manager did this season, I really wish the focus had been slightly more on the game skills side of things.
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