Lifelearning in Taidong: First day of school

The first day of school went well! Every time we mentioned taking Anna to school for Chinese class, she would protest. She's a homebody like me. After the first day, though, I think she has changed. We will probably take Joseph and Anna once a week - maybe twice - and perhaps let Lydia join Taiwanese (as opposed to Chinese) class at the same time.

....but if schedules don't match, Lydia and I will probably park ourselves at the cute stone table and wait.

No doubt, Lydia will be drawing pretty ladies with hoof hands. She says hooves are easier to draw than real hands. She'll start drawing real hands when she's six, she says.

I was impressed with Anna's calm exterior at recess time. She walked determinedly into the fray, scouting out where she could inject herself. I knew she felt nervous inside, but she hid it well. All my kids have been much braver than I was when it came to interacting with peers.

That crowd had too many boys, so off she went to hunt for some girls...

And she found them! Her classmates. She stood there while I encouraged her to ask to join. I just couldn't resist. Sometimes all a person needs is a little help over the first obstacle, and the rest will be smooth sailing. After a few minutes, I asked for her. "Can Anna play with you?" "Sure!" was the immediate response.

I took this picture about thirty seconds later....

...and this picture about sixty seconds later. She's in! That's all it took.

In my hurry to document Anna's day, I left my purse and Lydia at the stone table. I suddenly remembered, and rushed back to make sure they were both okay. Both were gone. And than I saw this little lovely walking toward me. Lydia told me she was afraid someone might take my purse away, so she took it with her. So so sweet!