Eli's update

Eli's first tooth, that fell out about 9 months ago, has finally decided to come in! We are going to homeschool Eli next year, since he is so far ahead and would be totally bored learning his ABC and shapes in Kindergarten. He is reading simple chapter books all on his own(like Henry and Mudge) and I was surprised the other day by how quickly and fluently he was reading a regular Berenstain Bear book out loud. He still gets stuck on some of the more difficult vocabulary, but I think he is reading at about a 2nd grade level! He is super excited about the summer reading program at the library. We will be doing a "get ready for 1st grade", summer refresher workbook(Language, Math and Writing) this summer so he will be ready to start 1st grade work in Sept.

Eli just compete his first year of Chinese school! He started the year in the Chinese as a second language class, but that class was shut down a few weeks into the school year because there were not enough students. Our only option was to drop out or try the Chinese Kindergarten class. I knew there would be several extra challenges he would have to work through but his teacher, Tang lao shi, was very patient and understanding with him She always had high fives, stickers, candy, and lots of praise (even when Eli only learned half of the poems the other kids did).


Some of the challenges he was facing were that, he did not speak Chinese at home like the other kids, so each week I would sit in the class to learn the poems with him. And he was also one of the youngest in the class, for most of the school year he was only 4 years old and not even old enough for a regular American Kindergarten class.

But he worked so hard this year and overcame all those extra challenges! Yes there where times when he did not want to do his homework and when I questioned if I should let him drop out. But in the end he did great and I think he learned a lot, not just about Chinese, but also about school, persistence and learning. It was great to see him learn his poems and writing words each week, and I could see that he felt proud of himself for completing something so difficult.Tang lao shi with most of her class-
Matt, Eli and Ashley (Eric is missing)
I tried to put in 2 video clips of him saying his poems, but they were trying to load for over 12 hours, so I guess they are not going to work :(

Here is Eli's report card for the year
华夏中文学校大费城分校学生成绩单
Huaxia Chinese School at Great Valley Student Grade book
2009-2010 学年成绩单 2009-10 School Year Gradebook
学生 Student -Eli Wright
教师 Teacher -Shuo Tang
年级 Grade -Beginner A/K

考勤成绩 （满分10 分）Attendance
第一单元 1st Marking Period -N/A
第二单元 2nd Marking Period -9
第三单元 3rd Marking Period -10

家庭作业（满分10分）Homework
1st MP -N/A
2nd MP -10
3rd MP -10

课堂测验（满分20分）Quiz
1st MP -N/A
2nd MP - 20
3rd MP - 20

课堂表现（满分20分）Classroom Performance
1st MP -N/A
2nd MP -20
3rd MP -20

口试 Oral Exam （满分20分）
1st MP -N/A
2nd MP -20
3rd MP -20

笔试 Written Exam （满分20分）
1st MP -N/A
2nd MP -20
3rd MP -18

总评（满分100分）Final Score
1st MP -N/A
2nd MP -99
3rd MP -98

教师评语 Teacher’s Comments
第一单元 1st Marking Period N/A
第二单元 2nd Marking Period-
Chinese is not his native language and he doesn’t have any Chinese environment at home. He made extra effort and spent extra time to learn Chinese each week with his mom full support and help. I truly admire his courage. He always tried his best to participate in the class. Keep up the good work.
第三单元 3rd Marking Period-
He is a wonderful student and has to always work extra harder than his peer because Chinese is not his native language. Keep up the great work! Have a great summer!

Asher's update

Asher's newest task has been potty training. He has been going diaper free during the day for over a week. He is doing pretty well staying dry and clean. He going P in the potty when ever I ask but waits till nap and bed time when he has a diaper on to go #2. Well, I guess that is way better than cleaning up piles. I hope someday soon he will decide to "earn his lollipop".
Who needs these silly things?

Amy and Baby update

This new baby boy is due to join our family in about 10 weeks! Everything is going well so far. We don't have a name picked out yet, but Eli and Asher are excited to meet him. He looks like a happy baby in this picture, lets hope he stays that way! We sure are going to have our hands full with 3 boys in this house! Dan says in about 10 years he is going to take them all paint balling and they are going to be a 4 man force to be feared!

We are counting down to Sept 1st(ish)!

Dan's update

Dan has been keeping busy building treehouses, running the treehouse supplies company ( www.treehousesupplies.com ) and being a great husband and Dad. He has 4 employees this summer and his schedule is booked over a month in advance. Tree Top Builders ( treetopbuilders.net ) has worked on over well over 100 projects! We also put on a Treehouse Conference at our house a few weeks ago with 12 people coming for 2 full days of Learning to build a treehouse platform, and a bridge(in our yard!). There was lots of food, and even a family BBQ party where all the kids, and grown up kids, got to try out the zip line!

Dan built this treehouse, bridge, platform, crows nest and zip line over the winter.

Eli on the Soccer Field

Eli has had a mixed bag of success at soccer this year. Everything from scoring 2 goals in one game to being benched for, how do I put it, good natured but still antisocial behavior. But here he is having fun with a few of his team mates taking a free kick. Go Eli!!!