This is my view at 12.30pm each day as I wait patiently for JD. He trots out of school, laden with his 10kg school bag, and we drive home by e-bike for 3-4 hours of English (and some Maths) home-schooling. The afternoon studies are going quite well overall. I've been impressed by JD's grammar and comprehension abilities, but somewhat exasperated by his erratic spelling. |
After learning the spellings of certain words for ages, he'll take a 5-minute break and then forget them all! But we're very slowly getting there, I think. Very slowly!
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JD went on his annual school outing last week - along with half the school (2000+ students). The trip started and ended with a 90 minute journey by coach, with various kids throwing up. The location was just some place housing a handful of animals (pigs, some llamas and a camel) with very little to see and do. The weather was cold and wet. There was some sort of presentation, but most of the 2000 kids couldn't see or hear anything. It seems that none of the teachers had visited the site in advance and the hosts had been caught unawares by the number of visitors. Kids were unable to do the various craft activities, squeezed 15 to a table. And JD's class had been told not to bring raincoats, so the outdoor activities were mostly cancelled. JD was so excited beforehand, but returned very disappointed. The one redeeming factor for him was the promise that there would be no homework that day - until three papers came through later in the evening to be completed by the next day! More broken promises. This is the third outing in three years that has been something of a disaster. You'd think the teachers would learn...
JD's "girlfriend", QiQi, invited us to join her large birthday party yesterday, [JD & QiQi are in the centre of the bottom left photo].
JD's been sleeping in a home-made bed-den this week. He says it keeps him warm and snug through the night, and cuts down the noise from the construction site at the back of our house. They seem to be working all night recently - banging, grinding and floodlights!
JD's been after a new bike for ages, so we went to a few bike shops today and settled on a blue mountain bike. We bought his last bike when he was five years old! This one is a (very) early Christmas present. It made sense for him to get a decent 6 months of usage out of it before we head to the UK, rather than leave it until late December. We're hoping his newfound enthusiasm might lead to a little bit of weight loss, too!
JD's homework today included a 300 character essay on why he shouldn't be naughty. Every student in the class had to write one. Why? Because the teacher left the classroom in the middle of a lesson and while she was AWOL for 20 minutes, some of the students were apparently talking... So the teacher punishes the whole class (guilty and innocent) for HER unprofessional absence, and the punishment is to do some creative writing - in addition to the usual 4-5 hours of regular homework. What sort of lesson is this for kids??
JD's Primary School have been getting really silly yet again about the amount of homework they set. Last night he did 6 hours, finishing at 12.40am this morning. The day before it was 5 hours. We've heard of classmates staying up until 2am to finish. And there's not even an exam coming. I've started using some of my afternoon "English home-schooling" time to let him have an hour's nap, which is not what we had planned at all! The sooner this term finishes the better. JD probably needed the basketball/dance P.E. session this morning to wake him up.
JD's best friend is a classmate called GuoDingGe ("DingDing" for short). We've been helping look after her a bit recently as her parents are dealing with the death of her Grandfather a few days ago. DingDIng and JD share similar interests and sense of humour. She is a little more sensible than JD, but he brings out the "silly" in her - so it's a nice mix and they love spending time together. They've spent 3-4 days playing together during the current holiday period, including sleepovers in a den they've built in JD's bedroom!
Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese National Day fall in the same week this year (the former being linked to moon phases). This means everyone gets an 8-day holiday (minus all the catch-up days before and after). JD is very excited at being off school for so long, especially as it coincides with his half-birthday! The main tradition for Mid-Autumn Festival is eating little round pies, with various sweet or savoury fillings, and gazing at the full moon. We'll spend our holiday in and around Kunming with plans for a fishing trip with friends, spending vouchers at a huge all-you-can-eat buffet, R/C boat racing and a yard sale of JD's unwanted toys.
We sometimes forget how lucky we are. At least JD can do his homework inside, away from noise and traffic pollution. But when your parents earn their living selling roadside fruit each evening...
JD went to the hospital recently with 2-3 warts and verrucas on his foot. The doctor "burned" them off by dabbing them with acid - very painful - and told us to return in a month for another session. Ouch!
JD spent his May Day holiday at a fishing pond yesterday, trying out all the fishing gear he's been buying with Christmas, Birthday and Chinese New Year money over recent months. I'm not sure where he gets his enthusiasm for angling from - certainly not from Jiajia or me!
JD has been maturing quite a lot in recent months. He seems to struggle a little less at school - finding ways to avoid the boredom and do enough to pass his exams (just). His class won the Year 4 Basketball Competition - JD was just cheering - AND the Year 4 Ethnic Dancing Competition (both out of 10 class teams). JD was one of the dancers. ![]() JD's free time has been dominated by fish recently. His two aquariums teem with fish, big and small. But with 1-2 dying every day, we wonder how long it will be before he packs in that hobby! He also has aspirations to be an angler. He bought his third rod and line last week. I get really proud when I see him confidently interacting with "strangers" such as shopkeepers and neighbourhood folk with great confidence and politeness. And all in fluent Chinese, too! Last week, JD and his class spent many, many hours taking part in a basketball competition between the ten classes in his year. The teachers take it very seriously with girls, boys and mixed teams, and live-streamed matches. By the end, JD's "Class #7" were unbeaten and destroyed their opponents in the final, 21 v 5. JD didn't play at all, but was awarded "No.1 Supporter" for his enthusiastic chanting and encouragement. As a reward, the students in "Class #7" had no homework to do last weekend. JD got home by 7pm on Friday and slept until noon on Saturday - a well-deserved rest!
After school last Friday, Jiajia and I drove JD (and Ma) to a very posh 5* hotel near DianChi lake for a gourmet meal, courtesy of a free £100 VIP voucher from Jiajia's bank, and in celebration of JD's 10th Birthday! Ma hated it (of course), but JD loved it, chatting to our personal chef and experiencing Japanese WagYu beef, New Zealand lamb, squid, etc - all perfectly cooked in front of us. The next morning, I was woken at 1am by flashing bedroom lights and spooky noises. I later realised it was April Fools Day and my scallywag son never misses the chance for a prank!
![]() JD's holiday homework and review papers have been ramping up this week as he's back to school next week and looking at taking his end-of-term exams, which were postponed from last semester due to the COVID school closure. He goes to a private homework class most days and Jiajia gives him extra help where she can. JD only has about a year of Chinese education to go, so it's important to take this opportunity to make his reading and writing as solid as possible before our move to the UK next year. Happy Chinese New Year! JD had a blast (literally) yesterday night setting off his huge collection of fireworks.
![]() Last night, as I was going to sleep, JD told me that he was planning a prank or two for me today. I didn't really take a lot of notice as I was sleepy. But this morning, when I got up my slippers had disappeared. When I switched my computer on I found the desktop background had been changed! I made myself a coffee but after a sip I realised that the milk had garlic powder in it! I grabbed my water bottle to wash out the taste and found it contained salt water. ![]() An alarm went off behind my computer. This drew my attention to one of the photos on the wall in the office which now had my head 5x bigger on it. I've been well and truly tricked this morning with no real guarantee I've found them all! Now, do I prank him or spank him in revenge? |
AuthorPaul Hider lived & worked in China for over 20 years and kept this blog to share his rather odd life there. Past blog entries
July 2024
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