We had an Unschool Week

Not a huge fan of unschooling, but being a missionary, sometimes you just role with it.

This week I think the kids eked out a small bit of read aloud and read alone...maybe.

We also travelled to Little Rock and they became immigrants of Mexico.  We're going to put that under cultural education and social sciences.  They also read a kid's book in Spanish while we waited at the Mexican Consulate.  We're going to put that under foreign language.

The consulate staff that had helped us, was excited for us and helped us get our picture with our visa stickers. 

 Lena got a long and very productive day of tutoring.  Here's my FB status about her dyslexia.  You can pray for me and her as we continue down the path we started on Friday.  I will have to be her tutor in Mexico.

English Speaking Church

I love that my children APPRECIATE going to English speaking church in America.

"Passport Country"

Passport country, Third Culture Kids, Culture Shock, Reverse Culture Shock...these are terms I was very unfamiliar with and very unprepared to deal with 4 years ago.  I still feel unprepared to deal with them, but deal with them we must, for starting tomorrow it's "U.S. or bust!"  The U.S. is my kids "passport country", but it is not a place they fully understand how to deal with, it is in many ways a foreign culture to them.  They think it's fun and novel and if you ask them if they miss it, they will tell you they miss FAMILY, not the U.S.  

Means Academy: Life as it relates to books this week. {Oct 14-Oct 18}

This week the kids have been able to really relate to a few of the books they have read.  It is fun to see their eyes get big in realization that they can relate to that personally because they have first hand experience.  It makes the books seem to come alive a little bit.

They may not admit it, but even my older children can not resist the charm of Ladybug Girl in the series of books about Lulu and her adventures as LadyBug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis.  You can read it for free at WE GIVE BOOKS!  Haden was delighted when he discovered that Ladybug Girl had planted an avocado tree, just like him.  

Illustration by David Soman for the book Ladybug Girl.

Honk! Honk!

The kids built a car town.  It looks a little like Oaxaca traffic.

You're getting the raw version before I have time to do a lot of processing.  Traffic is beyond crazy in Oaxaca city.  Last night when we were out there was a very busy intersection with a traffic light out, no traffic cop in sight.  Sam had to force his way through the intersection.  Minutes later we saw a motor cycle zip through lines of stopped cars on a busy three lane road only to be hit by a truck pulling into traffic.  He walk away from that one, but his bike was another story.  It didn't look so good.  Several hours later, on the way home, same traffic light, same story. Only more horn honking this time.  I was glad I was not driving.  Have I made my point.  Traffic is crazy.  People routinely run red lights, large buses jump lanes with no signal, taxis cut here and there.