The Rosas-Standring Family: school in Tulum

Showing posts with label school in Tulum. Show all posts

A day of snorkeling in the back yard and learning!!!!

Okay--- First of all- I have to say that I have one of the cutest sons in the world. He has the most incredible imagination. He has always been very independent when he plays. He plays and interacts with others very well but he can sit for over and hour or 2 and play by himself.

When he was just over a yer old her loved to push around cars- trucks- trains--- anything that moved like a car. In his Montessori preschool his teacher- who was working on her masters degree asked if she could do her final paper on Akilean. That meant that she would observe him over the course of 2 years and document his development and habits. The cool part was that she gave me a copy of the paper. It talked about how he played and how and what he ate etc. One of the funniest things was that he would eat the inside of his apples, then play with the skins as if they were boats or cars. He would start with his head on the table and watch them roll. Within a few minutes he would be on the bench and in no time he would be on the floor- one arm above his head and the other pushing around the "car" after a while he would eat all of the skins.

His teacher was not sure if she should try to eliminate the behavior or not. She chose not and instead made him a mat that had roads and tracks on the them. He still plays with his cars and trains in the same position. Even at the beach. Lena has always been a water baby. Since the time she was born she loved to play in the water. Akilean - not so much. He was more land and sky. When we go to the beach Lena dives immediately into the water and Akilean falls onto the sand.

Well anyway... sort of a digression... Yesterday Uncle Cesar had a kids snorkeling mask. Akilean asked to go snorkeling in the back yard. He first tried to fill up a cardboard box. After a while he realized that was not going to work. So he grabbed our cooler and started to fill it up. It was so cute. He must have been in there for over an hour- maybe more! It was so adorable.

Also yesterday- we got the books! These are even better then I had hoped and thought. They are basically text books! The text books that we would get in middle and high school. They are beautiful!!!! They are so easy to read and really well written. They outline so many wonderful ideas.

And they are organized better then I thought. I thought that it was organized by grade level. It is done by subject. So there is a Math book, geography, technology, grammar and language, physics and natural science. Then there are 3 encyclopedia books in 3 levels. The first covers subjects like memorization, study, concepts etc. Then the 2nd covers more discussions, lectures and communication and then 3rd is history, social studies, art and culture etc. It is so very cool.

These books are worth every peso! I am so glad that we got them. And thank you so much to those of you that helped with them. It was more then kind of you. Even my husband sat and read them for 2 hours yesterday. He said that one thing that is really cool about the kids getting to the grades that they are getting into is that we get to relearn a lot of those cool facts that we learned as kids but have forgotten.

I remember a lot about a lot of stuff but there is so much that I have forgotten. One of my favorite subjects in school was always History and politics. Being reminded of all of the amazing moments of history that have led to the world being where it is today is really interesting to me.

I am really excited to be sharing that more with my kids. And it is really going to help my spanish as well.

The schools--- what am I going to do about the schools!!!!?????

The schools in Mexico really have a bad wrap. I mean it is not hard to see why. The schools in most smaller towns are so tragic that the idea of University to most kids is ridiculous. Now- to be fair- that is true for countless districts in the US as well. But one thing that drives me crazy about here is that the people that are supposed to be the ones that care the most and that there to do it the most are the people that make it the hardest.

I cannot tell you how many days I have gone to pick up one of the kids at school and been informed that there is simply no class tomorrow. Not that there is no school- but that Lena;s class will not be there. I do not understand this. I can see it a little bit- but really? All the time and for days at at time??? Now I thought that this was little more isolated to Tulum but no- this is just the way a lot of people run their schools. It seems that if the teacher is not available then no one is called in. This was totally reiterated in my friends blog post about her son's school. Leslie Limon retells the perfect story to demonstrate my point. If you have not ready it yet- read it and you will understand our frustrations. You can read it HERE!

So after my annoyance fit of being told that my daughter did not have school for the rest of the week (it was Tuesday when we were told) my question was... well, what should we do with them at home? In the meantime? You know... what lessons or homework in the mean time? They looked at me like I was crazy. Now granted I am always viewed as a little crazy here.

I have always wanted to do homeschooling and I do do some lessons. I do not have the faith in my abilities not to loose my mind to do it full time. Plus I need those 3 hours of sanity to at least TRY to write something or at least clean the house. But when it comes to homeschooling- I do not even know where to start. We do some good activities and stuff - and I know some really great websites with learning games and my mom bought me some reader rabbit games for the kids.

But my prayers were answered the other day when I went to a meeting at Akilean's school. The first part was talking about parents being more involved and participating more in the school and with the teacher. It cannot be separate. I totally agree- and luckily the teachers at my son's school really work with me when I ask questions or want to know what is going on. And Lena's teacher is great too. He has taught her to read. and she is a wiz at math. But day s off at a time and nothing to do?

With Akilean we have a little different of a problem. He is a little more advanced then the other kids in his class. He finishes his work very quickly and then is just sitting around. That leads to acting up- One of the reasons for this is that he went to Montessori preschool for almost 3 years before we left the USA. He plays with Lena and she is teaching him how to read. We are trying to get him to go straight into 1st grade next year- ifhe passes the test great- but because of his age they are saying no! He needs more to do? he is so curious and smart.

In this meeting they were also talking about the TV and how it needs to get turned off. Of course kids attention problems- they watch like 4 hours of TV a day. This goes for all of the Novellas as well. Kids are seeing things that they should not be seeing. And novellas in Mexico are not subtle. This is one area we are doing well on. We got rid of cable a few months back and I love it. The kids hardly miss it. If there is a show I or they really want to watch- we can usually find it on line.

The last part of the meeting was talking about a new campaign that the Education Dept was doing. In combination with SISEP - a group that is working to improve the quality and level of education in various communities. They have developed these books. These books outline everything that a student needs to know to graduate from that class level. Each book is designed for a specific grade and broken down into subject. Spanish - Math- Natural Science- Social Studies- Civics and Gov't- History. They are hard bound and fully colored. I was really impressed with them. There are also little exams and such to help guide what the kids are getting or not getting. There is also an atlas book that outlines every continent and country in that continent. There are also 6 disks with even more info.

Anyway. Long story short- I really want these. They are expensive- well- not really when priced out but for here especially. if you do it in payments of 250 pesos/ paycheck for 19 paychecks it would be 4,750 pesos. If you do 2 payments each of 1,800 pesos then it is only 3,600. I am doing everything I can to come up with this. Yes- I want them. If you pay it all you also get 8 paper back dictonaries broken down by subject. I know it is expensive- but for 1 I think the product is worth it and I am one of the cheapest people on the planet. Plus it is only 150 dollars per kid for all 6 grade levels. And these are not work books these are like encyclopedias that are grade specific.

I know what a lot of people say- you have the internet- and yes that is true- but I do not even know what information we should be looking up. And second of all- there is simply something about looking things up in a book. I remember my family had these encyclopedias when I was growing up. I loved them. I still remember moments of when I learned something from them. Well, anyway. I have never done this before but when I need help- I ask for it. I am trying to come up with 1,800 pesos. I can come up with the 2nd payment for the end of June no problem- but the first one is in just a few days and the first paycheck of the month is always spoken for with household needs.

So although I am being ballsy and tacky - I am asking for help- anyone who wants to help me buy these for my kids- any help is greatly appreciated. You can donate via paypal at the button above- you can specify Books so it does not confused with the school project. -

I know this is really tacky but- well, what can I do- I am a little tacky!

Tulum Living School Project in full swing

I finally all of the pieces in place to move forward full force with my school project. I have been putting thing project together for a while now and I am so excited about it. I have written more on it on my Tulum Living page but have also mentioned it here.

Having kids in school here in Tulum has been a bit of a love/hate relationship. I am so thankful for education but know that there are so many things that are missing or lacking. I know that it is not the same all throughout Mexico. Some of the problems are but some are also because I chose to live a in a much smaller community.

I have seen though that the schools here are in desperate need of certain things. I call it their big "quiero" Their big "want" This is the thing that is too big for us parents to ever be able to pay for but too small for the gov't to fix. I also want to increase the awareness of recycling to the children of the area. That is where permanent changes will be made.

So here is the project. This is a 3 part project involving Community- The School- and The Kids!!!!    We go to each school and find out what their quiero is. As a community we work to raise money for the project. As part of the donation we will also be buying recycling containers. For their part, the school must commit to regular recycling pickups and recycling education. The kids must also participate in a street cleaning day - seperating the trash into recyclables and garbage. The kids will then be rewarded with a cake and ice cream party.

We are so lucky to have a recycling center here in Tulum and it is up and running again. YEAH!!!! If you would like to donate, please click the donate button. All of the money donated (minus the fee that paypal charges) will go towards the project. Tulum Living will cover all other expenses.

Most of these project are between 4,000 and 6,000 dollars. Yes that is a lot of money but it is not an impossible amount to raise.

our first project: Hurricanes Kinder.   They are in desperate need of a lunch palapa and some picnic style benches. They also want a smaller palapa over the playground equipment. Could you imagine going to play at 5 years old in the hot Mexican sun and the playground is scorching metal? Not fun.

Please keep track of our progress. If you are in the area and want to meet up or help, please contact us.

I am so excited!!!!!

oh by the way... you're not doing anything right.

This shit drives me CRAZY!!!!! Okay, now all of us living here south of the border know that things are done ENTORELY differently then they are back home. It usually takes more then 2 trips to get anything- and this is true even if you speak Spanish and have done this activity before. There is going to be some totally useless form to fill out that was almost exactly like the last one. And that we will most likely need a copy of something- some random piece of paper. We know that if you get upset and annoyed with someone and ask indignantly ask to speak to their supervisor that you have just majorly hurt your cause- kill them with kindness flies further here. And we know that on any given day on any given time the place we need to go will be closed for no logical reason or explanation.

Okay... I get that... I am okay with that... it gives me (and all of us) good material for our blogs but.... ooooooo... this..... just drives me crazy!!! Even though I was warned by my friend in Oxkutzcab of this very phenomenon but still...

The schools here just expect that no mother works. And I am sorry but here in this town a lot of women work. I see them all over the place. I work- granted from home but I still cherish these 2.5 hours when I can work and my kinds are at school. I mean seriously. So I have a friend that takes Lena to school in the mornings which is wonderful. Today she comes to my door- barely beating me out of the house to head to an interview that I have and tells me that the teacher says that we need to bring a copy of her Immunization record to school- TODAY - BY 10:00.

First of all- I know that I am a lot more organized then your average bear. I have always loved to organize and coordinate. (something Lena has picked up as well- she likes all of her shoes in order of color and size and placed neatly in a row. It is really cute- but I digress) I do not have this piece of paper sitting next to my computer.

And further more... are you really expecting that we mothers have nothing else to do? I mean, I know that there are the mothers that stand at the door to the school at 10:00 and bring their kids lunch. Well guess what. I am not that mom. I have a hard enough time walking back and forth from the house and the kids school - which are not near each other just to drop them off and pick them up.

It just ahhh- okay- telling me the day before that there is no school tomorrow- annoying- but reality. Telling me oh by the way- school ends at 10:00 today - or that I have to stay for a meeting and that it is mandatory? I guess it is a really good thing that I have nothing else to do.

I do not mind the day before thing. This is a small town. There is no real way for everyone to communicate with each other. Very few people have a home phone and even less have internet. There are cell phones around but not everyone has them and they are Crazy expensive. So I get it... put a sign out front to tell the parents what is going on - fine.

But the day of? Have a little respect for peoples time. Some of us juggle more then a few balls and throwing a loop like this. So now I have to decide. Do I miss my interview that I have lined up for my business? or do I take in the paper tomorrow?

Obviously I am hoping for both but... This is not that big of a deal and I am not really as upset as I probably sound- it is just so annoying.

Too much to handle

Well, my 30th birthday is coming up and marks a big point of change for me. I have been looking forward to turning 30 for a long while now. I am ready for my 30s to be my selfish decade. I gave my teens to my education and I gave my 20s to my kids and my husbands will and needs -- well in that time there are a lot of things that I have lost about me along the way. And even more, I feel like I have not had the chance to learn myself as this new woman because I have not had the time or the energy. Well, my body is giving up on me faster then I can heal it so if I am ever going to try to focus on myself and be around to enjoy it- i have to start doing it.

There are a number of other changes right now that have been going on - most of which I am just not ready to talk about - especially here. That is one thing that has been hard. When I started this blog I never thought that anyone would read it. I did not understand the blogging world and the community that forms among people who have never met. But it does and it has. So many of my experiences can be and are so similar to the ones that many people living in Mexico and all over the world experience and it is nice to have people that understand the, in my case, rare situation that lead to living in a small town in the Mayan Rivera.

Right now things are so --- I do not know the word--- stagnate- There are things that need to happen and they are not happening and I am just sitting here waiting. And the reason-- as always here in Mexico is that there is no money.

I know that it is always true that you never have enough money but here it is so true. There is simply no money left. We all need desperately to go to the dentist-- there is no money for that. I need to buy Akilean's school uniform- there is no money for that.

On the other side, Akilean had a little school performance the other day to celebrate the Independence of Mexico from Spain. It was a really cute day and a lot of the kids got all dressed u according to their teachers requests. For Akilean, he had to dress up as Father Hidalgo, the father of Independence in Mexico. All of the other little boys had on little stocking caps with white cotton balls to look like white hair- I obviously having NO idea what I am doing- did not do that... luckily for Akilean - the tips of his hair are already white.

Akilean and Lena both have been learning the state anthem for Quintana Roo and the National Anthem of Mexico. Both are very pretty and fun to listen to. I know it will not take long for them to have it totally down. They are both doing really well on their Spanish. But now I have to catch up.

Lena looks so cute in her little uniform. I have gotten very luck that a good friend of ours takes her son to school in the same class as Lena so she has been giving her a ride to school which is so wonderful. Lena still has to get up at 6:00 but she has the time to wake up, eat while I do her hair, get her stuff ready and brush her teeth. Before I was literally shoving a toothbrush into a sleeping kid and it was getting old.

I took some good friends of ours to the fair the other day. It was really cute. These 4 kids get along so well. Akashana is the littlest at 3. She is a bit of a hitter - she is young still- but she is getting better. Akilean and Lena can each play with either of my friends kids in any combination and they have a great time. It is really nice to have friends like this. The kids also speak English as well as Spanish so that is really nice too.

Other then that... not much to report.

Okay... Sorry for the sabbatical but there is so much to report

I have been so very busy that i have not written anything in so long. I hope that some of you are still checking my blog. I had friends in town so no time to write but lots to write about, I went out of town, again lots to tell but no time to do it and then I have the even bigger "problem" of being SOOOOO busy at work that i have no time to write anything personal But that is a really nice problem to have so I am not going to complain about it. I was also able to get all of the pictures from when my family and friends and I went to Chichen Itza for the Spring Equinox.

So I am very sorry but the next few posts are going to be all out of wack but it is my blog so I do not really care. I just can't wait to tell about all of the great stuff.

So the newest and by far the most exciting thing for me is that both of the kids are in school. I knew that Akilean was all set for kinder-dos but we were not sure about Lena. I knew I wanted to put her into 1st grade but she has been out of school for a year and never has gone in Spanish. Well, when we went to set her up it looked like Akilean was going to go from 8:30 to 11:30 and Lena would go from 1-6. that is not exactly what I was hoping for. Especially when it comes to needing time to work from home. And for those of you who live here, been here or have visited me that is a LOT of walking to and from town.

Ruben set out to fix the problem and after a little sweet talk, charm and "donation" to the school Lena was in. Thanks goodness. Her school starts 7:00 and the bus picks her up at 6:30 and is only 3 pesos a day. 3 pesos is definitely worth not waking her up at 5:30. She gets out at 11:00 and then Akilean goes gets out at 11:30 and there schools are near each other- so that will work well.

I must say that we had wonderful starts to school. The first morning was a little rough because we not really sure who was going where and at what time and such. So on Wednesday we headed off to see who would be where. Akilean is in at Hurricanes and was all set to start the next morning on Thursday. We spent the rest of the day trying to get Lena set and even after we did - I thought her school started at 8 not 7 so she has to wait till Friday.

But I get ahead of myself. On Wednesday night we were invited out to Crystal's house in the jungle to go swimming. It was a wonderful afternoon of exploring the jungle, chasing the HUGE scorpions that live over that way and swimming in the pool. As you can see from the pics everyone had a great time.

The next morning we all got up and got ready for the first day of school. (even though Lena would end up staying with us and working on her Spanish sounds)

Akilean loved school. I cannot wait to get his little uniform. That night we came home and I decided to make them cookies for their lunches so we got out all the needed things to make oatmeal cookies.

While we were mixing away I had a little revelation. My hand mixer was my grandmothers that recently just passed away. This thing is easily over 20 years old. While I was mixing I felt a really strong connection to my grandmother. I have missed her so much. There have been a lot of times that I would pick up the phone to call her and then remember that she was not going to answer. This was not a sad feeling though. It was a very strong connection. I think that food- above all things other then sex that when you do it you pour so much of yourself into. Your feelings and essence goes into your food and into the things that you create those lasting meals with. I was using a really old mixing bowl of hers and her hand mixer and it was a wonderful feeling.

It is no wonder that the oatmeal cookies turned out fantastic. About now Crystal came by and asked if we wanted to go watch her husband's basketball game. Since we had a ride, which is our #1 reason for going nowhere at night, we went even though I knew I would have to wake the kids from the dead in the morning.

It was great. I have not been to a sporting event in a long time and it was the first time watching one in Mexico. It was insane. There was a field for every sport and they were all being used. It was crazy. The kids had an absolute blast and wore themselves silly.

My Mom and my Dad each sent me a little money to get some of the kids school supplies and to set their room up so I could do their lessons in English. Their room looks so cute. I built them a little desk and made boards with their letters on them. I was also able to buy some little plastic buckets and such to organize the few toys they have so they could actually play with them. Lena has already sat and done her homework at her desk. While Akilean played with his tools. (well, the ones that are left and not broken)

The kids set up a little tea party which Lena had gotten from the "tooth fairy" and had their afternoon snack. After a while the neighborhood boys came over to play with Akilean's trains. It was a very successful start to the school year.

The kids came home from school and around 2:00 they both passed out. They were so tired from swimming, running playing chasing and doing all of the crazy fun stuff you get to do when you are a kid.

I am so happy that they love school. I know that they will do very well. Lena is already learning Spanish like crazy and is even picking us some Mayan words.