February 2007
Monthly Archive
In with a bang!
Posted by kmwithsarah on 18 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: All that other stuff, Only in Beijing
Happy Lunar New Year!
Posted by kmwithsarah on 16 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: All that other stuff, Julia
All the best to you and yours in the Year of the Boar, from Julia and all the rest of us here at the Kindermusik with Sarah home office. Safe travels to one and all, and we’ll see you in class again February 26, 2007.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for a playdate, give me a call. I have a 2 year old who is ready to go almost anyday next week!
A traffic jam, when you’re already late . . .
Posted by kmwithsarah on 06 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Only in Beijing
I spend a lot of time in the car commuting around Beijing, a city notorious for its traffic problems. Problems, some days, do not even begin to describe it. Today was one of those days.
Here are the travel statistics that were listed on my taxi receipt when I got home.
Date: 2007-02-06
Time: 17:33 - 18:23
Distance traveled: 9.7 kilometres
Waiting Time: 00:34:19
Anything that you can think of that would contribute to traffic jams Beijing has in spades. Continue Reading »
Why sleep when you can read?
Posted by kmwithsarah on 01 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Julia, Useful Information
While reading the first of approximately 47 bedtime stories to Julia this evening, I stumbled upon a very nice “Notes to Parents and Teachers” page inside the cover of our copy of The Bugliest Bug. Julia was unimpressed, preferring to move quickly on to Dilly and the rest of her bug buddies, but I thought it was a very nice summary of how to encourage your child to be a reader. Here is an excerpt, with apologies to Candlewick Press.
“Children learn to read - and to love books - when adults share their own pleasure in reading and language. Here are a few suggestions for giving the children in your life a lasting love of reading:
Surround Children with Books and Writing. Visit your local library regularly, and make buying new books a frequent treat. Put cloth and board books in the baby’s playpen and keep one or two books in the car for older children. Show children that words are everywhere - not just on the pages of a book, but also on cereal boxes, billboards, and street signs.
Read Aloud. Read to your children every day. Read because children will associate the pleasure and intimacy of the reading experience with books.
Make Reading An Interactive Experience. Use the books you’ve read as a jumping off point for other discussions with children.”