From the land of the Beavers and Maple Leafs, this homeschooling mom now lives and learns in the tropics of Guam, USA http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:42:00 -0500 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:42:00 -0500 It's been a week of reflecting and thinking about my former home in Canada, Powell River, BC.Partly this is due to a new magazine my mom shared with me. Powell River Living I moved to PR when I was 14. It was in high school that I met my husband, Les. We dated for four years and then got married when I was at the tender age of 19. This didn't thrill my parents as they felt I was too young to get married. And that I should finish my university education. I did attend two years at UVic, majoring in Elementary Education. But it was the early 80's and Canada was in a recession. Money was tight. Jobs were scarce. When it came time to return for my 3rd year of university, the funds just weren't there, despite my efforts to be frugal and save. So instead we returned home to Powell River and set up house there. Soon we began adding children to our family, and our first son, Kevin was born, while living in a cute cottage at Black Point. When Kevin was 8 months old I had the opportunity to go back to school at Malaspina College (now Vancouver Island University, Powell River Campus) for my Early Childhood Education Certificate. For the next few years I worked at various preschools and day cares throughout PR, adding two more children to our family (Adam and Stephanie). Then, in 1995, came the call to move to Guam. What a culture shock that was for me. Here I was, a small town gal, flying half way across the world - by myself! My husband and eldest son had ventured on ahead to assess the lay of the land. Two months later I was told to pack up, sell all we owned and join them in Guam. Upon arrival on Guam one of the first things I noticed was that the local Chamorros (native Guamanians) reminded me so much of the Sliammon Indians. Their looks, stature, skin coloring. It really opened up my eyes to how much alike all human kind is, despite a vast ocean between. Soon more similarities came to me. Living in Guam is really like living in a small town. First there was the isolation factor. Guam is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, reachable only by plane or a very long boat ride. Powell River is isolated too. You cannot drive to Powell River, but must take two ferry boats from Vancouver area up the sunshine coast. So leaving the island of Guam or leaving Powell River takes some planning, money and time. Guam also has that small town feel in the grocery stores and post offices. Eventually you get to know the people behind the counter and it is not uncommon for total strangers to comment about how big your children have grown over the years. It helps that my kids are an anomaly with their pale skin and blonde hair. It makes them more noticeable and people remember them. The same can be said for living in Powell River. I'll never forget receiving a parcel from my mom and the post office lady in PR had written on the outside "Hi Colleen! from Marge." After 14 years on Guam I'm now on first name basis with the post office workers here too. Then there is the ocean. The same Pacific Ocean lies outside my windows. Unfortunately not the same fish. I really miss Salmon. Here we get Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Marlin, and many small "reef" fish that live inside the coral reef. If I want Salmon, I have to buy it at Payless (our local supermarket) for outrageous prices. And the waters of the Pacific Ocean are decidedly warmer on Guam. One of our family traditions is to go swimming on Christmas and New Years Day, not something we could ever do back in Powell River! I think the biggest difference between living in Guam and Powell River is the lack of seasons. I miss having 4 seasons. Here we only have two. Dry and Rainy. And both of those are hot! My poor Guam born children (Cassie and Eric) have never seen a crocus bloom, never seen cherry blossoms, never seen the maple leaves turn color and fall to the ground, nor have they seen snow, which is Eric's biggest regret. Even my other girl, Stephanie, has missed out on these seasons as she was so young when we came here. Only the older boys remember the changing of the seasons. Food is different here too. Guam is heavily influenced by Asia, so we have a lot of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino foods. As well as the local favorites. Everyone eats rice here. Potatoes are not as common for meals. Chicken is a favorite as are beef and pork ribs. Everyone in Powell River is familiar with the beef shish kabobs sold during the Sea Fair. This same food is a local favorite on Guam! These are just some of the things I've noticed.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/726995/ Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:42:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/726995/ My husband, Les, and I have decided to start a new venture on Guam. The Guam Homeschool Resource Center. We plan to operate as an independent resource center for homeschoolers on Guam. Over the years I have found myself to be on the frontlines when it comes to newcomers arriving on Guam and wanting to know about homeschooling on our beautiful island. Part of it is due to this blog and others that I have. I've also been active in the Guam Homeschool Association as leader (two different occasions), newsletter editor, resource box person, and webmistress. As a result I have in depth knowledge on the ins and outs of homeschooling on Guam. Our Resource center will be a place where new families can come and ask questions about homeschooling on Guam. I will have magazines, catalogs and sample curricula to share so that families can have an idea what is out there. We also have Wi Fi access and computer stations for families to use to look up resources. I'm excited about this new venture and hope that we can provide homeschoolers on Guam a safe haven for exploring this new educational alternative. Check out our website: http://www.guamhomeschool.com http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/720087/ Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:45:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/720087/ Well, the move has begun. The Smith family is once again, packing up boxes and going on the road to a new (to us) home. Still on Guam of course. We have lived in our beach house for 3 years now and it's been a wonderful experience. But now it is time to move to something a little different. More room, more bathrooms (about time!) and typhoon proof. Always a plus when looking for a home on a tropical island. So we are moving down south to Inarjan. Southern living....ah..... It brings to memory my other stint of living in the South. South of town that is. Powell River, BC. My link to Canada. For years Les and I lived somewhere South of PR. We started at Pebble Beach, a run down apartment building that usually housed drug dealers and single welfare moms. We only lived there for a few months while we tried to find a more suitable, but still affordable first home. Then we moved out to Black Point where we lived in a quaint two bedroom cabin on several acres of land. Love that home. Had our first goat - Ozzie. She hated me. My eldest son was born in that house .. well, in the hospital .. but we brought him home to that house. Then we moved even further south and had a disastrous 2 months stay at Stillwater. One of the worst winters that year. The very quaint A-Frame cabin we moved into would have made a wonderful summer cottage. But in the face of a cold snowy winter, it wasn't the best. We couldn't even get our car up the steep driveway. I was attending college so couldn't afford to miss classes so we spent most of those two months crashing at friends' places in town. Fun with a 9 month old baby! We spent a few years in town but then the draw of the south called again and we ended up living in an old shingle mill office that we converted into a home down in Lang Bay. The house was old and draughty and we froze that winter too. But we did live near the beach and the boys had a great summer playing at Lang Bay Park. That was where we officially began homeschooling, back in 1991. From the old shingle mill we moved a little closer to town at Kelly Creek, and lived in a converted garage. Are you sensing a pattern here? Either quaint or living in converted buildings? After our 3 child was born we moved yet again to what I had hoped would be my last move for a long time. A beautiful two story wood home on 2 acres of land at Kelly Creek. On Serendipity Road. I loved that name! It was a great house. Lots of room for a family with two boys. Creek next to the property where salmon would spawn and we often saw eagles swoop down to feast on the dying fish. Bears in the back yard. Cows too sometimes. Never did I expect to only have 9 months in that southern country living bliss. And then my life was changed. And Guam became our new home. So far on Guam we have moved, lets see, from grampas to the apartment......then to the trailer....moved to Yona (south) just  before the trailer was blown away by Super Typhoon Pongsongwa....from Yona to the beach house...and now we head south once more to Inarjan. Tonight we took the scenic route to Inarjan. Next time I'll bring my camera and time it at sunset. We drove through Piti to Santa Rita and took Cross Island Road to Talafofo. Through Talafofo to Inarajan. Total of 22 miles. Only 18 to take the Yona route. 32 miles if you go via Agat. You can guess which way I'll be going most of the time. I hope to get a lot of meditating on the Lord accomplished on the drives. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/663761/ Sun, 1 Mar 2009 06:31:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/663761/ Yesterday my children brought their alligator/dinosaur/gecko costume to our driving school office. I assumed it was their idea, only to find out it was my husband's. The kids had been playing with the costume the previous evening and he had this brilliant flash of insight. Why not use the kids to help promote our driving school? You see, our logo for our driving school is a happy alligator driving a sporty red car. Why do we have such a logo? Well, when we first opened, we were using a classroom at Guam International Christian Academy (or GICA), who's mascot is a Gator - the GICA Gators. Shortly after opening our business, Mrs. C. the principal's wife brought me this picture of a gator driving a car. "I saw this and thought of you guys" she said. And so an idea was born. We have used this logo from that moment on. Now the costume that my children play with was the original Gator costume for the GICA Gator's sport team mascot. I had taken this costume home one year to repair the rips and tears in it and it ended up staying with us after the school closed down. My children have worn it in many play sessions, as fierce dinosaurs, leaping lizards, and even as a Gecko. It really is a favorite play item. So yesterday and today, for about 15 minutes, my children entertained motorists on Marine Drive, dressed as a Happy Alligator, covorting in front of our office. Smart advertising? My husband thinks so. The kids  certainly enjoyed themselves. Pictures pending. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/656964/ Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:15:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/656964/ With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought I'd talk about my favorite food, chocolate. Or rather, my 6yo daughter and her love/hate relationship with the stuff. Cassie has never really been my sweet tooth girl. She decided when she was about 3 that she preferred vanilla ice cream over chocolate, white cake instead of chocolate cake, and given the choice of a vanilla cookie over  chocolate one, she would choose the vanilla. When she entered kindergarten, her best friend, A. told her "I don't like chocolate" and suddenly Cassie's vanilla preference had a " raison d'être". So for the next two years Cassie has announced "I don't like chocolate" when offered any of that wonderful concoction. Cool with me, that just meant more for me. However, lately I have noticed Cassie eating chocolate more and more often. Today she announced, as we were making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, " I don't understand why A. doesn't like chocolate." "Hmmm..." I replied, "So are you saying you always liked chocolate?" "Yes." was her reply as she continued to pick out chips from the cookie batter. "So...were you just pretending to not like chocolate when you were friends with A?" "Yup!" "A. sure was lucky to have you for a friend I think." Imagine giving up chocolate for a year just to be a friend. I'm not  saying this is what happened. But this is how I imagine it to have happened. How else can I explain a child of mine NOT liking chocolate?  At least she has finally come to her senses. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/651350/ Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:56:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/651350/ Today I had the privilege of meeting a new life. A sweet baby girl, Taylor, 5lb 12 oz. She was born to the daughter of  a dear friend of mine. Baby Taylor chose to enter the world a little ahead of schedule, 27 days to be exact, if you can be exact in such an in-exact science as the birth of a child. At first I was nervous about going to visit this new baby. Her mother was my friend's daughter, whom I have known for most of our time on Guam, so have watched her grow up into a beautiful young woman. But I hadn't even seen her once during her pregnancy, though I talked with her mom often. I overcame my fear and went. And am so glad I did. It was so beautiful to see that look in  a new mom's face when she has fallen in love with her very first child. That look was on A.'s face as she welcomed me into the room and then gazed back at her tiny precious baby. Her mom walked in a few minutes later and I hugged Grandma P.for the first time-- as a grandma anyway. Recently I heard the description of the bond between a mom and a nursing baby as being the purest form of love. I truly believe that. I saw it tonight. Nothing is more pure than the first love a mom has for her first baby. To realize that her perfectly formed toes and fingers, silky smooth skin and angelic look was created in side her womb by the hand of God. It's a beautiful sight to see that look. Thank you for allowing me to share that moment. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/642736/ Thu, 8 Jan 2009 07:18:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/642736/ Well, in a few more hours it will be 2009. At least here on Guam where America's Day begins. So looking back on 2008 I thought I would hit on some of the highlights of the past year. January 2008 saw me back in the classroom teaching the elementary class at GECA, Guam Evangelical Christian Academy. Two new girls entered the classroom so that now I had one K3 boy, one K4 girl, five K5 girls, one 2nd grade girl and one 4th grade boy. Thanks to the PACE system, teaching the older two was easy. Keeping the little ones occupied was more of a challenge. Thankfully my Story Time Felt business was put to good use and the kids had a great time learning fairy tales and acting them out.   In February we got the unexpected news that we had to move our driving school office to a new location We had been in Barrigada for 3 years and had settled nicely into our location. Our business was growing. We had just paid for a nice ad in the new 2008 phone book. And now we had to move. Les found an office down on Marine Drive in central Guam, with a private beach, a five minute drive from our beach house. He had to do a little dream building with me to see the vision of this location as it was a bleak cement room, full of dust and debris from an old jet ski business. February passed in a blur as we worked late in the evenings painting this new office and preparing it for our move. March 15th was our opening day and we had 5  students for our first official class in our beach office. Our biggest challenge was keeping our existing phone number - 734-DRIV a number we had had for our business for over 4 years. Guam's telephone company, GTA, was not able to let us keep that number because the prefix was different for the village. But with some fancy fanangelling I was able to keep the number and business continued. It still took until almost September before our students figured out where we had moved to. I finished the school year in May and graduated my class of K5s, as well as promoting the rest of the kids to their respective grade levels. Cassie was one of my proud graduates. Summer months were spent putting together a website for our driving school business and building an online class. Les spent many hours putting together the program and working late into the night on the website. By the end of August we were able to launch our online class. The only driving school on Guam that now offered three locations for driver's ed - East Agana (our beach office), Yigo (opened in 2007) and in your own home via the computer! Exciting times. Meanwhile the kids grew and continued to learn and prosper. Kevin, stationed in California in the Air Force continued his education in Power Production and engineering, took several CLEP tests for his college degree and as of the end of December announced he was one credit short of his associates degree. Not bad considering he did it all in one year! He was also promoted to Senior Airman, 6 months early. We are very proud of our eldest son. Adam continued with his music and polished up his music CDs. We also bought a video camera in the summer and Adam has been unschooling himself in the art of filmmaking. Stephanie worked on her writing and art, and had several art pieces on display at the KAHA art gallery at Two Lovers Point for several months. Eric wrote and published his first Whiskers comic. And Les got into the publishing business as well, writing and publishing Monster Doctor. I'd say that 2008 was a very inspired year for the Smith family writers and artists.  Les also sold an article to a local magazine, Everyday Home and Living Guam. Cassie started Jump Rope classes in September and has enjoyed the weekly exercise activity and fellowship with homeschooling kids. She can jump 20 times in a row consistently now and has great form. She also listens well to the instructor. Both her and Eric are tanned brown from the sun as they spend at least an hour a day swimming at the beach office. Our pet population has fluctuated and changed over the year. One hamster died. We gained two mice. The rabbit is thriving and enjoys his new outside cage that Adam built. We lost our favorite cat, Coach Z to a wild pack of dogs, but gained the sweetest momma cat, Connie and her one surviving kitten, Pillage. Nobby and Daisy are the two latest cat additions to our gang. Other cats that have survived the year are Scratch, Fargs, Pierre, Wafflebox, Peppermint, Hop Scotch, This'N'That, and Korn. Queen Victoria abandoned us to live at the Lutheran Church next door. We lost several finches and parakeets and are down to Coleslaw, our one winged parakeet that survived having his wing ripped off by Korn. Les continued in the wedding business, officiating over the Japanese weddings at the various hotel chapels. He also performed his civic duty as a juror for over 6 months of the year. The curse of being a registered voter. All in all, 2008 was a prosperous year for our family. We look forward to 2009 bringing much blessing to our household and those of our friends and loved ones. Happy New Year! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/638294/ Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:05:01 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/638294/ Well, Les and I made Guam's newspaper. We were interviewed before Christmas by a PDN reporter about our homeschooling our children. I wasn't sure how much of our interview would be used but you can read it here: Parents teach their kids: Homeschooling an attractive alternative At first I didn't like that our portion was delegated towards the end of the interview, but then Les said that made for a nice strong finish to the story. I even ran into the reporter at the grocery store this afternoon and complimented him on doing a nice job. I also didn't like the comment that our driving school pays the bills but that is about all it does. We never said that. We did say that we weren't getting rich from teaching driver's ed though! It's all in the semantics I suppose. I do feel that our driving school does more than just pay the bills. Our children work for us and learn business management skills. It allows me to be with my kids and to be able to homeschool them.  And I really like working for myself and being my own boss. Goes along with that whole adventure theme from yesterday's blog post. So now we have had our 15 minutes of fame. We can go back to our regularly programmed life. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/637542/ Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:38:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/637542/ As we near the end of another year, it has me thinking about what we have accomplished and what is in the future for our family. Les and I have a nice little outside living room, our "thinking" garden, where we ponder our life and where most of our deep discussions take place. Tonight's discussion revolved around the idea of "success". What is it? How do you define it? Is it different for everyone?  I think it is. For instance, in my family, I often feel that my older brother is held out as a model of success. He graduated from University (the only one of us three children who did), has a beautiful wife, three great sons who are good students, athletic, musical (they get mostly 'A's, are in hockey, band, and play guitar). He owns his own home and I believe his own business, if he hasn't gone back to working for the BC Gov't. Successful, handsome....I love him but it's hard to live up to that definition of success. As for me? I married a firewood cutting logger, who has through our lives together, been a daffodil picker, ice packer, ceramic pourer, roof painter, forest fire fighter, shake cutter, driving school instructor, notary public, court reporter, office manager, high school teacher, pastor and a wedding minister. I have probably even missed a few careers in there. We have lived in 3 different cities, 4 different villages, 1 province, 1 state, 2 islands, and more homes than I can keep track of. Over our 26 year marriage we have lived in apartments, trailers, beautiful wood homes and some not so beautiful. Our family has moved half way across the world and have survived 3 major typhoons and several minor ones, not to mention countless earthquakes. We have birthed 9 children and seen 4 enter into the arms of their Savior Jesus. And yet still we are here. Together. Happy. Enjoying life together. And looking forward to another 45 (God willing) more.  Are we successful? Maybe. In a way we are. Life has been fun. We can look back at so many great memories. And even the not so great ones helped bond our family closer together. Life has been an adventure for sure. Not everyone in the world can say they got to live on a tropical beach. Or that they got to climb a mountain and camp beside a stream where bears walked by less than 5 feet from your shelter. Or to have seen the Great Salt Lake and helped bag sand bags to stop the great floods of SLC in 1982. Or to have driven the coast of Oregon with a newborn baby. Whether it has been here on Guam, in Canada or in Salt Lake City, my life with Les has been well worth it. An adventure. If my children grow up and have their own adventures then I believe they will have reached success. It doesn't take a school or a degree to do this. It is living life and wondering at the glory of His Creation. And remembering that Life is an Adventure. Live it well. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/637241/ Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:14:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/637241/ I was asked in a comment on my previous blog what is Boxing Day. My first instinct is to answer this according to what I remember it being. For me, Boxing Day was the day we would go to visit all my mom and dad's friends. People would have "open houses" where they would have all kinds of Christmas snacks and goodies laid out and you'd go around town visiting your old friends, the ones you only visited this one time a year. You got to eat a lot of crackers, salami, pickles and cheese (this was my favorite platter!), cookies and other candies, and chips and dips. Of course, this really doesn't explain what Boxing day really is or where it originated. So I had to google it. I learned that traditionally this was a day to give gifts to those less fortunate than themselves. From Wikipedia here is what they have to say about Boxing Day: A Christmas box is, in English tradition, a clay box used in artisan shops. Apprentices, masters, visitors, customers, and others would put donations of money into the box, like a piggy bank, and then, after Christmas, the box would be shattered and all the contents shared among the workers of the shop. Thus, masters and customers could donate bonuses to the workers anonymously, and the employees could average their wages. The habit of breaking the Christmas box lent its name to Boxing Day. The term "Christmas box" now refers generally to a gift or pay bonus given to workers.[5] The Oxford English Dictionary attributes it to the Christmas box; the verb box meaning: "To give a Christmas-box (colloq.); hence the term boxing-day." The date coincides with the Feast of St. Stephen. Guess that explains it well. Now of course, like Christmas, Boxing Day has become a day to have sales in stores. It is celebrated in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And some other Commonwealth countries that have a mainly Christian population. As a child, I used to think it was named Boxing Day because you boxed up all your Christmas wrapping garbage and put it in the trash. So though it is a few days away, Happy Boxing Day! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/635255/ Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:44:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/tropicalmom/635255/