It’s cold! And windy! Actually, it’s crazy windy. It was so windy that last night’s and this morning’s ferries to North Sydney from here in Port Aux Basques were cancelled. We knew from our experience up on Signal Hill in St. John’s that if it’s windy and rainy, and you’re traveling in a VW Westfalia camper van, it’s better to leave the tent closed.
No chance of picturesque #vanlife Instagram shots. That meant I had to sleep reclined in the front seat, but it was totally fine.
Morning
I got up early this morning to work on this blog and get the observations for learning ready for Ethan’s Learning Consultant (LC), Natasha. Natasha reviews what we have observed over the course of a week and provides feedback on what we’ve done.
We find that because we’re with Ethan all day, every day, we have a good sense of what his needs are; however, it’s always good to have a third party looking out for Ethan.
Today, we stayed the entire day in Port Aux Basques, NL, waiting for the ferry. Ethan finished reading the Harry Potter series, so we’re now looking for other books for him to read. I downloaded The Swiss Family Robinson for Ethan, but so far, he hasn’t been too interested. Not sure if it’s at the right age level for him.
But we did find some math books on Kindle Unlimited that Ethan enjoyed. The books were about easy ways to remember times tables. He likes any kind of hacks or tricks to help with learning.
Snack time!
Dong Eun came in with a nice surprise… peanut butter and bananas rolled up in a pita. This was like the chapati snack we used to have in Mysore, India. I’m still amazed at what she comes up with for food each day.
Afternoon
We found out that the ferry would be boarding this evening, so we wanted to pick up some groceries for dinner and breakfast. Every grocery store in a new place is fun to visit. I felt this way even when living in Korea.
After grocery shopping, we went to the local library. But first, we wanted to try the locally made tea buns. We don’t usually like anything with artificial flavours, but since there wasn’t really anything else too bad, we gave these a try. And wow, were we ever glad we did because these things were delicious.
They were a bit like a scone, but more moist and less crumbly. They also tasted great on their own.
At the library, I got some work done while Ethan spent the afternoon reading.
After the library closed, we decided to stay in the parking lot and wait until it was time to board the ferry.
Battery Needs Charging
I noticed that Juju Jr.’s auxiliary battery level was already at 11.8v. That meant the level could dip low enough by the time we get to North Sydney, NS, that the fridge would turn off. It happened once before and we were lucky we got the fridge to start up again. Our fridge is a little finicky, in that it sometimes won’t get cold if you turn it off.
So I needed to find a solution and the best would be to plug in and recharge. But where were we going to find a plug outside?
Luckily, the building adjacent to the library, and that shared a parking lot with the library, had a plug on the side of the building. So, we plugged in and got the battery pretty much topped off, which is great. I’ll have to remember to find a plug at least once a week for a maintenance charge to keep Juju Jr.’s battery happy and healthy.
I knew that owning a VW Westfalia and driving it cross country wouldn’t be easy, but Juju Jr. has been awesome. We just need to pay attention to his needs to ensure he’ll continue being reliable and a joy to live with.
Evening
Dong Eun made beef stew with couscous for dinner, and Ethan wanted to know what couscous was. We found out it’s a form of crushed durum wheat semolina and is related to pasta. We also discovered that it’s not as healthy as people think, since it’s a form of refined wheat. Whole wheat couscous, however, is healthy.
Whatever the case may be, the stew was delicious.
Korean & English Practise
This evening, Ethan wrote in Korean to his Auntie Dayoung. He hasn’t written in Korean for some time, so it was a little more challenging. We feel that maintaining his Korean language skills would greatly benefit him in the future, so we want to encourage him to practice as often as possible.
He also wrote a postcard to his best friend Eldon.
Ethan also helped with calculating our expenditures for the past month. He helped organize the receipts by date, then helped with adding the amounts. This is all stuff that counts as part of his homeschooling, as he’s doing math, reading and writing. It’s not the “traditional” way other kids would do it in school, but it’s been a great experience.
Getting VERY cold
As I was sitting writing this post tonight, we noticed some small snowflakes (yikes!). Yes, it’s getting cold here in Newfoundland and is likely a sign of things to come as we go back to Nova Scotia, and eventually go to the US.
Time to get ready for the 7 hour ferry ride. Let’s hope it’s a smooth ride and we can all get some rest on board.
Ethan’s ingenuity shines…I loved his ghost emoji costume. So cute and easy given the supplies and time he had. His videos are great! I especially enjoyed the command tutorial for mac users. He is often thinking of how to share his growing knowledge with others. Having his blog is such a wonderful way for him to express himself and share his experiences.
I see that Ethan has some personal goals for increasing his followers. Does he follow other children bloggers himself?
Are there other sites which really inspire his work?
“However, he does like working on math and asks plenty of questions. For example, he wanted to know why multiplying by zero equals zero.
Dong Eun observed that the questions he’s asking are to help him understand why something exists so that he feels like there is a purpose to what he’s learning, rather than simply memorizing facts or rules.”
Once again Ethan is asking big questions which guide his exploration and understanding. It agree it is much more valuable and engaging to understand and use math in purposeful ways, then just to solve equations.
He is engaging with the meaning in his learning not just the matter or the rules. He is a deep thinker.
I love the way you gave Ethan the freedom to explore and feel what eating all the candy he wanted felt like.
I remember when I was about his age, I ate all the candy I wanted the first night. I remember waking up and even eating it throughout the night. I too felt terrible the next day, my stomach and teeth ached. I actually never forgot the experience and have been wary of overeating sugar ever since. I think those visceral experiences, the ones you can really feel are sometimes the most potent. The child who touches the hot stove and gets burned never forgets. You allow Ethan the freedom to learn for himself. It shows a trust and letting go that is powerful. I guess there are many who agree, let your kids eat all the candy and feel what happens for themselves.
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2013/10/halloween_candy_let_your_kids_eat_it.html
How has your search for a new series going for Ethan? I would think that the Swiss Family Robinson would be quite a switch from Harry Potter. I can imagine not quite as mesmerizing and engaging. Have you looked for a series that is more similar to Harry Potter, maybe in a similar genre? Here is another list to check out.
http://www.readbrightly.com/10-series-to-read-after-harry-potter/
I appreciate how you use Ethan’s questions about the world around him as a natural learning opportunity. For example when he asked about couscous, you helped him research, find the answers and then apply the knowledge to how nutritious of a meal choice it is. This is natural learning or self designing at it finest. I find this is how we learn as adults to. As topics or activities become of interest to us we learn and explore this. Isn’t this what education should be like for our children as well. Not simply dictated by a curriculum, but actually tied in deeply to each child’s interests and passions?
Thank you for writing about Ethan’s Korean writing. I actually did not realize he could read and write in Korean as well. It is very important to keep practicing these skills to keep it alive and continuing to grow. I wonder what sorts of other opportunities you can create to keep this writing practice happening? Have you considered other penpals for him?
It sounds like Ethan is adaptable and flexing these muscles so to speak quite a bit on this roadtrip. He also seems to benefit from having a heads up or some warning as to what could be ahead.
Here is a nice link on national geographic to wind and weathering. I imagine you will see a lot of influence of the weather and erosion especially on the coast:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/the-dynamic-earth/weathering-erosion/
Ethan always finds things to play with and have fun, seemingly out of thin air. We want to nurture this quality, as we think it’s part of his creative nature. It’s one of the main reasons why we wanted to homeschool him, and specifically, follow more of an unschooling format to this learning.
This seems to be a rarer and rarer skill in this day in age, when there is so much stimulus and prefabricated games and toys. Such a beautiful quality to nuture in a child.
Recent Comments