Back to Home School, by Jodi
Not much new has happened. Last week, the entire country was on vacation for Semana Santa, which meant that the beaches were over run like nothing we've ever seen because that's where everyone from the Central Valley comes to vacation. Even our pool that we almost never have to share with anyone from our complex was crowded with people the entire week. We kind of just holed up for the week and waited for everyone to leave.
We did decide that we're officially done with sending the kids to public school. As far as Spanish fluency goes, it was a huge benefit for Autumn and Jack. They're much more comfortable conversing in Spanish than I would have ever imagined after only 2 months. Sadie and Tessa have improved their comprehension quite a bit, but they're a lot more shy about speaking it.
However, my idea that over time, school would get progressively easier and more enjoyable was definitely proven wrong. It was a battle every time and knowing that my kids were miserable was really hard. Plus, the fact that Jack was regularly getting harassed at every recess and the boys had started swearing in English at him to see if they could get a rise out of him...which of course, it did...made it really hard. So, we decided to call it good with 2 months and figure out a good alternative.
We live right next door to the least expensive private school in the area, which is still expensive, but at least it's convenient. However, the school year only has 2 months left. They're still out for vacation this week, but I'm going to go talk to them when they're back in session and see about registering the kids. I also found out about another private school near one of our favorite beaches that we'd definitely be happy moving closer to. But, the whole school only has 12 students total. So, it doesn't sound very promising. The philosophy sounds great, though, and they spend 2 hours a day doing art classes and physical ed, including surfing. So, that sounds awesome. I'm going to at least go check it out.
And of course, there's always my favorite, home school. Okay, it's not my favorite at all. There are aspects that I absolutely love. But the part where my kids complain and fight and refuse to cooperate is definitely not my favorite.
I got a new calling yesterday, working with the Young Women in our branch. I'm super excited about it. We've got 12 young women total, and about half show up each week. They all come from pretty poor circumstances, as far as U.S. standards go. The coolest part for me is how much influence for good we can really have on these girls. The times in the past that I've worked with the Young Women have been completely different. In our California ward, the girls were predominantly spoiled and snobby and I really struggled to find common ground. The second time I had this calling was our Bountiful ward and the girls were a lot more grounded and enjoyable, but had solid home environments and faced very different challenges.
The girls we have are immersed in a world where the norm is getting pregnant around the age of 15-17 and being a grandma in your early 30's. It's really difficult for them to finish high school and a really high percentage drop out early. So the economic poverty just gets perpetuated from one generation to the next and they never really have a shot of pulling out. Anyhow, I just feel like there's a huge opportunity to influence for good with these girls and teach them a better way.
One other interesting thing is that, when I was set apart yesterday, in my blessing, Troy said something about how "the work I do in the next few years in our branch will be something I'll reflect on for the rest of my life." I asked him about that "few years" comment after the blessing since he knows our plan is to head home next summer. He said he felt the inspiration to say that and tried to ignore it, but it came back, so he said it. Kevin isn't putting any stock in it, but it definitely makes me wonder.
Favorite things about Costa Rica:
all the fresh fruit
the people
the beaches
monkeys (we saw one run across the road on our way to church yesterday)
no stop lights
waiting for cows to cross the road
the complete simplicity of life
the tranquilo attitude of everyone here
our branch
watching my kids learn Spanish
watching my kids play together and make memories
all the family time with hardly any distractions
all the opportunities to serve
Least favorite things about Costa Rica:
the police that pull us over for no reason
the import taxes that make everything from the U.S. double or triple it's normal cost
the heat
running out of water
expensive private schools and no good public school options
no Walmart or Costco for 4 hours
no diet Dr. Pepper fountain soda
missing family
We did decide that we're officially done with sending the kids to public school. As far as Spanish fluency goes, it was a huge benefit for Autumn and Jack. They're much more comfortable conversing in Spanish than I would have ever imagined after only 2 months. Sadie and Tessa have improved their comprehension quite a bit, but they're a lot more shy about speaking it.
However, my idea that over time, school would get progressively easier and more enjoyable was definitely proven wrong. It was a battle every time and knowing that my kids were miserable was really hard. Plus, the fact that Jack was regularly getting harassed at every recess and the boys had started swearing in English at him to see if they could get a rise out of him...which of course, it did...made it really hard. So, we decided to call it good with 2 months and figure out a good alternative.
We live right next door to the least expensive private school in the area, which is still expensive, but at least it's convenient. However, the school year only has 2 months left. They're still out for vacation this week, but I'm going to go talk to them when they're back in session and see about registering the kids. I also found out about another private school near one of our favorite beaches that we'd definitely be happy moving closer to. But, the whole school only has 12 students total. So, it doesn't sound very promising. The philosophy sounds great, though, and they spend 2 hours a day doing art classes and physical ed, including surfing. So, that sounds awesome. I'm going to at least go check it out.
And of course, there's always my favorite, home school. Okay, it's not my favorite at all. There are aspects that I absolutely love. But the part where my kids complain and fight and refuse to cooperate is definitely not my favorite.
I got a new calling yesterday, working with the Young Women in our branch. I'm super excited about it. We've got 12 young women total, and about half show up each week. They all come from pretty poor circumstances, as far as U.S. standards go. The coolest part for me is how much influence for good we can really have on these girls. The times in the past that I've worked with the Young Women have been completely different. In our California ward, the girls were predominantly spoiled and snobby and I really struggled to find common ground. The second time I had this calling was our Bountiful ward and the girls were a lot more grounded and enjoyable, but had solid home environments and faced very different challenges.
The girls we have are immersed in a world where the norm is getting pregnant around the age of 15-17 and being a grandma in your early 30's. It's really difficult for them to finish high school and a really high percentage drop out early. So the economic poverty just gets perpetuated from one generation to the next and they never really have a shot of pulling out. Anyhow, I just feel like there's a huge opportunity to influence for good with these girls and teach them a better way.
One other interesting thing is that, when I was set apart yesterday, in my blessing, Troy said something about how "the work I do in the next few years in our branch will be something I'll reflect on for the rest of my life." I asked him about that "few years" comment after the blessing since he knows our plan is to head home next summer. He said he felt the inspiration to say that and tried to ignore it, but it came back, so he said it. Kevin isn't putting any stock in it, but it definitely makes me wonder.
Favorite things about Costa Rica:
all the fresh fruit
the people
the beaches
monkeys (we saw one run across the road on our way to church yesterday)
no stop lights
waiting for cows to cross the road
the complete simplicity of life
the tranquilo attitude of everyone here
our branch
watching my kids learn Spanish
watching my kids play together and make memories
all the family time with hardly any distractions
all the opportunities to serve
Least favorite things about Costa Rica:
the police that pull us over for no reason
the import taxes that make everything from the U.S. double or triple it's normal cost
the heat
running out of water
expensive private schools and no good public school options
no Walmart or Costco for 4 hours
no diet Dr. Pepper fountain soda
missing family
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