Now I know in part: The closing of one chapter, the opening of another-- School for the girls

This video from the Christmas production: Rachel is there with the the mike and her gomesi!

Goodbye-St. Elizabeth's Montessori! The girls enjoyed their term at a local Montessori school where many UCU faculty are sending their children. It is very progressive in Uganda in that it only offers school from 8-2 (most schools go from 7am-5+pm). It has more hands on activities. The ratio of students to teachers is 1:15 ( the government schools are probably around 1:100; private schools probably range from 1:20 up to 1:70). The school also was focused on helping the children learn phonics and good reading skills early. The director has a daughter living in the US so she does buy many montessori materials-- especially notable in the math department as I think children do learn math better with more representational concepts (blocks, counting, etc). I felt like the academics were strong (perhaps stronger than international schools) but the socialization is what is most different for our kids at a local school. I do think that if we were committed to living in Uganda long term, I might commit to the process of helping the kids settle in there as I think children can adapt. The girls would have found ways to fit into that setting but also to enjoy other contexts where they could socialize as Westerners. But the area of identity in a group is a clear place where culture diverges. I could see how cultural values and backgrounds differ in the way we socialize children (communication, appearance, discipline, manners, social skills with peers, etc)

So, as December rolled around, I faced the question of what to do with the kids. I had some ambivalence about how they were fitting in (esp. Mary) but frankly at this point, I was also worrying about "me" time! With the girls leaving at 8 am and coming home sometimes at 1pm, I felt that I really still didn't have chunks of time to begin to explore some work (perhaps grad school) options for me. (Not aided by the fact that I was homeschooling Daniel for that term-- anyone who wants to hear more about that can, but can't say that's a great fit for me and Daniel!) And the Ugandan schedule means the big holiday is Dec/Jan/early Feb, 3 weeks off in May, 6 weeks in august/half of Sept. We often travel June and July and I thought, "I'm never going to get any solid chunks of time!"

And here I am writing because with the switch to the new school and the use of a driver at times, I am finding I can get more uninterrupted periods of time. I won't promise you that the time is totally streamlined and productive yet. But it can be. And it will be. Except when Mark travels for 3 weeks. And the kids get sick. And they have a week off for spring break. And Mark goes on the Rwanda trip. And the kids get sick. Okay, I may be exaggerating but even as I anticipate having some time, I'm trying to be realistic about the extent of my work/mental commitments.