Holiday in Helsinki

Grrr!  I imported the pictures from our Helsinki trip, but for some reason iPhoto is not recognizing them when I try to upload them to blogger, only when I open it up to view.  I'll provide pictures when I can determine the issue.

The kids and I were fortunate to tag along with Charlie when he went to work in Helsinki for a few days.  Sunday morning we took the Superstar ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, which took two hours.  Helsinki's detachment commander was there to pick us up and deliver us to our hotel right in the city centre.  Our hotel wasn't ready for us but did store our luggage so we set out to explore on foot.  We were starving so found a place just down from our hotel, Southern Fried Chicken.  We had the all you can eat soup/salad/pizza buffet.  It was ok, but we probably should have tried the chicken.  By Helsinki standards it was rather affordable.  Although drizzly, we didn't let it deter us.  We walked along Esplanade Boulevard and scoped out local shops.  We visited the Helsinki Cathedral as well.    After walking so much, Zach fell asleep in the stroller.  The rest of us were getting tired and hungry too.  The place I had scoped out as family friendly and affordable was the New Bamboo Center, which is Maylasian and had curry.  It was super crowded and didn't smell very tasty, so we looked elsewhere.  We found the Grande Grill and enjoyed it.

Charlie had to go to work on Monday, but we all still went down to enjoy breakfast at the hotel.  It was quite a nice buffet.  They had assorted meats, cheeses, scrambled eggs, porridge, pastries, cereals, fruits, juices and coffee.  The detachment commander's wife and kids met up with us and we took a lengthy walk, and enjoyed a coffee break at Cafe Esplanad to get in out of the cold.  I had coffee and the kids split a large pulla roll that they loved.  We explored the English children's section of a nearby bookstore as well, and then she went home.  The kids enjoyed each other and we enjoyed the chat.  The kids and I went to regroup at the hotel before going to Market Square to see their wares and treats.  The sun was shining and it had warmed considerably so I asked the kids if they would like to take a 1.5 hour sightseeing boat tour.  They were game, but it quickly cooled down on the water with the wind.  Halfway through the tour we went below to watch from the cafe.  It was really nice to see Helsinki this way.  We learned about the history and saw some sights we would have missed otherwise.  We met up with Charlie after he got off work and we set out on foot again.  We decided to eat at Harold's Viking restaurant, which was a bit touristy but definitely fun.  The kids were able to wear viking hats and ordered sausages and fries.  I cannot remember the cute title of this item, but they both ate well.  Charlie and I ordered the Starter Shield for the Divine Battle which had an assortment of game food such as reindeer and smoked bear.  All in all in was fairly tasty.  It was a nice end to our stay in Helsinki.

We all went down for breakfast again before Charlie escorted us back to the ferry.  He had another day of work, but the kids and I needed to return to receive our household goods, that are supposed to be delivered on Wednesday.  We are keeping our fingers crossed because this is the third delivery day scheduled.  Anyway, the kids and I had an uneventful ferry ride back and are enjoying being home.

Homeschooling!

Some of you know that I have decided to homeschool Clara.  I toured a couple of schools and we felt that this was the best fit for our family at this time and will spare you all the factors involved.  Once committed, I had to determine which curriculum to use.  This was a super tough decision!  There are some other ladies looking at homeschooling here as well and we did a lot of discussing too.  Since we are located out here with very limited resources for homeschooling available, I opted to go with Calvert.

They were wonderful to deal with as I enrolled Clara.  I did two different diagnostic tests on Clara to make sure we were selecting the correct reading and math programs for her.  She was a trooper because it took quite a while!  It was also nice to see her strengths and weaknesses in those subjects.  Monday the kids and I went in to turn some stuff in at Charlie's work and he reported that the Calvert materials had arrived!  I am amazed at how quickly it arrived.  

In the box came the two lesson manuals that provide detailed daily lessons in all the subjects.  There is a book of activity pages and tests that we will submit to Calvert for scoring.  The activity pages are clearly labeled to go with the subject and lesson number.  The activity sheets are for phonics, composition (grammar and writing), social studies, geography, science, and spelling.  There are also computer skills activities as technology is a component of the curriculum.      

 Here are the reading materials.  She has the two volumes of the reading anthologies, reading word cards, poetry study, reader's library books to put together, and reading activity pages.

 In addition to the above, there is a spelling workbook and phonics workbook.

She will read the novel Smiling Hill Farm.  From the reviews I have read, it should be an enjoyable read.   The back of the book says:  "Calvert students have always enjoyed meeting the Wayne family of Smiling Hill Farm.  Set against the backdrop of American history-from pioneer days to the dawn of the Industrial Age-the book's vivid descriptions and illustrations will guide your student through the generations of the Wayne family."

She will also enjoy Tales from Far and Near and Tales of Long Ago..."History Stories of Other Lands".  The back of the books reads:  "This two-part, illustrated book introduces children to world history through 45 concise and engaging stories.  Both sections feature legendary and factual accounts, spanning from ancient times to the 19th century British Empire."

 She has a math text book that looks typical of a 3rd grade text, however it is paperback and she will be able to write in it.  In addition, there is a teacher's manual and more practice sheets.  The math text begins with a very in-depth diagnostic test.  There is a lot of online support for math as well.

 She will learn more critical thinking skills and mythology.

 The social studies text book is the same one I used this past year teaching 3rd grade, but with a Calvert cover.  It will be interesting to see if there are any differences as we work through it.  It focuses on communities and is a pretty decent text.  She also has a geography workbook and a book of famous Americans.  She will learn about some Revolutionary War figures, Presidents and leaders, scientists and inventors, humanitarians, writers, explorers, artists, and athletes.

 They also sent a science text book and some materials for science and math.  The science topics are typical third grade studies.  She will practice the scientific method.  Then there are units on living things, ecosystems, Earth and its resources, weather and space, matter, forces and energy.

 They sent some drawing paper (yes, art is a subject in the curriculum), writing paper, a notebook, etc plus a supply checklist for additional typical school supplies.

I feel very comfortable that Clara will receive a well-balanced third grade education.  In addition to these materials, I have an online parent portal and Clara has a student portal.  There are additional activities online, manuals, etc.  Clara has access to lots of support online.  There are reference sites (dictionary, thesaurus, etc), a Brain Pop subscription, and more.  There is a lot for me to be exploring now as I learn about all those resources.  I do know that there are daily online "check points" for the different subjects in addition to all the other practice.  Hopefully I will continue loving Calvert as we work through the year.