Ni Hao

Ella only has 4 days left of school, then she’s out for the summer... that is if you can call a week off of school “summer vacation”. She will start 1st grade a week after school ends. CRAZY! We are getting excited though. Ella is enrolled in the Chinese program at her school which starts in 2 weeks. She will have an English teacher for 1/2 a day & a Chinese teacher for 1/2 a day. Her Chinese teacher will only speak Chinese. I have to admit that I am a little bit nervous about it.

We have a book club in our neighborhood that I attend (whenever I can). This month the book we are reading is "Wild Swans." It didn't sound like a very interesting book, but since I knew that Ella would soon be learning all about the Chinese culture, and since I know very little about the Chinese culture; I decided to check the book out from the library. I figured I'd skim through it, and learn more about it from Book Club (since I have very little time to devote to book reading these days.) I made the mistake of reading the first chapter. Right from the start this book is very captivating. There are so many interesting things that I didn't know about the Chinese culture. Everyone in the book is changing their name whenever they want. How cool is that? It's also very interesting to read about the Chinese culture through the daughter of parents who are both members of the Communist Elite.

Luckily I found the book at a Yard Sale for only $1, since my book is due back to the library, and I'm only half way finished; and I probably shouldn't read anymore until after our house is finished.

I've been letting Ella watch Kai-lan videos on the internet to get her excited for the Chinese program. It's working. She can relate to Kai-lan. Kai-lan, like Ella, is obsessed with Dinosaurs.
Lily has gotten into the show as well. She has learned to say "Hello" in Chinese.
I wanted to show off Lily's Chinese speaking skill's right away.

Me: Lily, show Grandma that you know how to say "Hello" in Chinese. Can you say "Hello" in Chinese?
Lily: Hello in Chinese.

Ha ha, she really knows how to say it; I promise she does.