On Monday, the little ones became little monsters! They were all picking on each other, taking each other's things, whining, hitting each other, and all crying! Tyler and I were exhausted by 9.00 am! We were anxiously looking forward to the arrival of our preschool teacher, who we soon found out would not be able to make it that day. Oh no! I don't know what was up! We managed throughout the morning by team teaching, and it actually was quite amusing. We introduced a new concept of "time out". Not something that is often used over here, however we felt we needed it for all of us.
The winds were so strong that day and blowing wildly all around the house. So strong that the contractors had to cancel play outside. I am sure the winds affect the children in some manner - or I shall choose to blame the winds for their behavior that day.
Later in the afternoon, the four older children had their riding lessons. They are doing great and really enjoying it. When we arrived, we found that one of the horses had a baby filly over the weekend. She is a beautiful little grey filly with lots of spirit. I thought of you Betty, and how much fun you would have with these horses. The children are learning on a pony named Surprise, however she has a number of beautiful thoroughbreds on the farm. You would love it!
We have had two new entrees for dinner - one is samp and beans. Samp is corn, and more specifically the white kernels. This dish is mixed with kidney beans, carrots, and onions and is pretty good. You are able to spice it up with a hot red curry which is very flavorful. The other one was an African salad made with melee meal (ground samp or white corn) with amas or sour milk poured over it. I wasn't so keen on that dish, especially since there was a fresh loaf of homemade bread with peanut butter calling out to me.
While the children are in school, we are working on a number of items like preparing a complete inventory for the home, compiling all the children's current sizes for clothing and shoes, and other types of master lists for Lana. Yesterday Tyler and I took a long walk around the farm with our walking sticks (thinking the vibrations will shoo away any unwanted creatures). It was very peaceful and afforded a beautiful view of the countryside. We saw two herons which I later learned are snake hunters - we like them very much. The walk home was all uphill and I am feeling it today.
Know we are all well and I am realizing my time is going way too fast with these children. I will be leaving next week and can't imagine saying goodbye yet.
Hey, don't forget to post some pictures of the little angels (or monsters) to share with us!
And make sure you get a picture of the kids playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.....with you as the donkey of course! Ha ha!
Posted by: Yui Chan | August 29, 2007 at 03:13 PM
Given the amount of time since the last posting, finding those little angels must be harder than originally imagined. Though in looking, one must keep an open mind, without pre-set conditions on what an angel looks or acts like. Some accidentally confuse them with monsters sometimes! tsk tsk...
Posted by: John Vitek | August 31, 2007 at 06:28 AM
this kids sound like my kind of people, little monsters! wish i was there with them! did you read them the mouse and strawberry book?
Posted by: Lauren Monteen | September 01, 2007 at 03:36 PM