How do anchors work

An intense squall blew up last night. The wind was around 25 knots, gusting to 30 (a little over 55 kph). Not a biggie as far as these things go but was one of the strongest we've experienced. At this velocity the boat is very actively swinging back and forth on its anchor chain, it's hard to hear someone speak 20 feet away and is strong enough to knock you off your feet if you are unsteady (e.g. due to waves). After our initial surprise at the sudden increase in wind, we quickly took down anything that could blow away then let out more anchor chain and waited for the squall to blow itself out, watching other boats take similar cautionary actions. An hour later and everything was back to normal.

However, one question remained. Why did we let out more anchor chain? The boys were curious, so the next day we had a little discussion of the physics of anchors and a little demonstration.

old style

Anchors use two forces to hold boats in place. Friction and gravity. When most people think of anchors they picture a big metal fish-hook-like object attached to the end of a chain or rope. While those types of anchors are still in use, most these days look like some kind of plough or claw. However, your anchor is actually the secondary thing holding the boat in place. Most of the time (in settled conditions) you arrange things so that there is no or very little stress on the anchor itself. The primary thing holding your boat in place is the chain.  This is achieved through a bit of friction, gravity and angles.

modern plough

A boat at anchor creates a right angle triangle between the anchor on the bottom, the sea floor right under the boat and the boat's bow. Anchors hold best when the chain pulls along the sea floor in a horizontal direction, dragging the anchor and with the best designs, digging them in deeper and deeper. Anchors usually break free with little effort if the pulling force is approaching vertical. This means a smaller angle at the anchor is better. This is the friction part of the equation (anchor is using friction to stick to the bottom and dig in). In addition, the anchor chain is heavy and wants to lie on the bottom. This creates even more friction as the chain drags on the sea floor. Increasing the amount of chain that we had out last night made a smaller (better) angle where the anchor meets the sea floor which increased the amount of force (wind) required to move the anchor or break us free.

However, letting out more chain has another positive effect that isn't always obvious and this is where the demonstration came in. What I wanted to show is that the weight of the anchor chain alone significantly improves the holding and in calmer conditions is almost the only force that is needed to hold our boat in place. The anchor chain makes the top side of the triangle and is quite heavy. As the angle decreases, the force (wind) required to keep the chain (top of the triangle) straight increases (it's a non-linear increase in effort but I don't know what the factor is).

To demonstrate this we took one of our long, heavy dock lines, attached it to a cleat at the bow then ran it back along the boat deck to the cockpit. First I had the boys try to lift the line and hold it straight from 10 feet from the bow. They did this with ease. Then they stepped back 5 feet and tried again. This time it was more difficult. Then they stepped back another 5 feet. At this point Aidan couldn't get the line to stay straight except when he yanked on it (this simulates a boat surging on its anchor in the wind). They stepped back another 5 feet and now Aidan couldn't straighten the line at all and Austin could only do it by yanking. Back another 5 feet and neither of them could straighten it.

We discussed that each time they stepped back they needed to lift and keep raised more line, which increased the total weight they needed to lift. Each time they stepped back they were also making the line more horizontal, which has a similar effect to moving farther from the fulcrum of a lever (only it has the inverse effect of increasing the amount of force required rather than reducing it).

Singing songs

Austin has been learning to sing several Raffi songs from our song book. This was inspired a few days ago while we were sailing from Bequia to Mayreau. To pass the time my mother (who is visiting) and Austin started to sing Baby Beluga. They couldn't remember all the words so Austin pulled out our Raffi song book and they sang the whole album. Austin has been singing several of these songs each day and has learned day-o, Baby Beluga and Kumbaya. He sings other songs from the book to Aaron each night.

Corrosion

At dinner we all chatted about corrosion and two different way corrosion affect boats (my grandfather was a corrosion engineer which is how we got onto the topic).  The first type is your everyday rust. This is where the corrosion happens simply by exposing the metal to moisture in the air. The second type we talked about is galvanic corrosion where a metal higher in the galvanic series steals electrons from a metal lower in the series. The farther apart the metals are the faster the reaction.


We then talked about various ways we could protect against corrosion.


 - paint over metal to reduce the amount of moisture contacting the metal
 - isolating metals that are far apart in the galvanic series 
 - installing sacrificial anodes to prevent important metals like a stainless steel propeller shaft from corroding when in sea water

School for hermit crabs

When we were visiting the little sandy island of Petit Tabac (scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed here) Austin and several of the other kids at the beach (two families from Norway and one from Australia/England) decided to build a "school" for the hermit crabs that they found crawling through the sand. The school was built of sand with high walls, tunnels and archways. They fortified the outer wall against the surf using large blocks of white sand stone.

There were a couple places where roots from some of the shore plants created a natural bridge from inside the school to the outside. The kids decided that if a crab was good enough to find this escape route and be able to navigate it then they wouldn't be re-captured and put back. Kind of like a graduation!

Austin noticed that most of the crabs preferred a specific, swirly shell type. The crabs didn't fight or eat each other but seemed to be helping each other escape by building pyramids of crabs where the last one would be able to climb high enough to escape over the wall.

Swimming at the Tobago Cays

Austin and I spent about two hours swimming around our boat. We saw a sting ray and several other small fish.

We are anchored over sand so spent some time diving down to see who was living in the sand. We found crab holes (no crabs seen) and a couple queen conch wandering about.

We also inspected our anchor holding. I showed him how our plow-shaped anchor was well dug into the sand. He joined me on this inspection yesterday too (at Salt Whistle Bay) and saw that in soft sand it can dig in deep enough to be completely buried.

Austin then went snorkeling with my mother for about 45 min. The water was too murky from the day's wave action so they were not able to see much.

Calculating the angle of roll in a rolly anchorage

We've been parked in a very rolly anchorage for the past day. Some anchorages, like this one, are fairly open to the ocean swells and if you're there at the wrong time can be so rolly as to be dangerous. While it's not quite that bad here right now, it is pretty uncomfortable.  This started a discussion around the breakfast table of estimating the angle of roll. The boys started out with pretty unrealistic ideas like 90 or 100 degrees. So then we talked about ways to estimate the roll angle to give a close approximation. Austin's final estimate was that our larger rolls were about 12 degrees. We finished with a little measuring experiment where we used the mast post, the floor and a weighted string to measure how far the boat was healing on some of the larger rolls.

To do this we made the assumption that the weighted string, taped to the top of the mast post (inside the boat) would approximate vertical. We also assumed that the mast post and floor were perpendicular. We then measured how far the weighted string moved from the mast post on a large roll. With these three pieces of information (length of side A, top of mast post to floor, length of side b, mast post to mark on floor and the 90 degree angle between sides A and B) we set out to draw a scale model of our triangle.

Side A: 183.63cm
Side B: 30.05.cm
Angle x: 90deg

We decided that reducing the scale by a ratio of 10:1 would allow us to draw the triangle on Austin's drawing paper. This was also an easy calculation as we just needed to move the decimal one point to the left. This gave us new dimensions for the scale triangle of:

Side A: 18.363cm
Side B: 3.05cm
Angle x: 90deg

We drew these two sides on the paper then added side C by joining points y and x and used a charting compass (same as a compass in a geometry kit with extra features to aid in charting bearings and courses on navigational charts) to measure the angle at point y. The result was 13 degrees. Since we felt that there were probably a few extreme rolls that were a bit larger than the ones we measured we estimate that, in the extreme cases, we are experiencing rolls of up to 15 degrees to a side (Austin worked out that it would be 26 to 30 degrees through the whole arc).

Now imagine cooking breakfast and dinner and pouring drinks while your kitchen floor (walls, table & counters) were all rolling around 30 degrees side to side. Not easy! No messes so far.

Math tools

Jump Math:

Austin has been working with his Jump Math workbook for Grade 6.

He prefers not to go through the workbook in page order, so he randomly flips to a page that looks interesting. In each session, he completes 2-3 pages.

Today, Austin learned about Prime and Composite numbers. He found the grid and instructions (Eratosthenes' Sieve) very helpful, and was able to correctly identify most of the prime numbers from 1-100. He learned that 1 is not a prime number, and we referred to this URL for further clarification and explanation.

I taught Austin how to determine if a number is divisible by 3 (a multiple of 3). If you add the digits together, and the total is a multiple of 3, then the number, itself, is a multiple of 3 (ie. Austin had identified 93 as a prime number, but I showed him that if you add 9+3 = 12, 12 is a multiple of 3 (3x4 = 12)).

Life of Fred:

We have completed the first Bridge quiz in the Life of Fred Fractions book. The Life of Fred series is an entertaining way to deliver math facts. Fred is a 5-year-old professor at Kittens University. He earns $500 per month and he sleeps under his desk. He really, really wants a bicycle.

In Chapter 1, Austin learned about the greater-than and less-than symbols, and was introduced to the saying, "the pen is mightier than the sword," expressed as Pen > Sword. Austin was easily able to relate to this, and remembered where it would have applied in some events in ancient history that he learned about at Academie Duello last year.

In Chapter 2, we were introduced to the concept of a billion (a thousand million), and onomatopoeia (these books are so much more than strictly math). Examples illustrated that it would take Fred over 31 years to list a billion reasons why he should own a bike, if he worked at it day and night.

In Chapter 3, Austin learned about cardinal and ordinal numbers. This concept has really stuck with him, as he continues to use it in his daily life - pointing out when he recognizes an ordinal number (ie. 1st, 2nd, 3rd ...) The Life of Fred books use imperial measures, so there are many opportunities for Austin to work with multiples of 12. One of the questions in this chapter was, "How many feet are in 48 inches?"

In Chapter 4, the book covered diameter and radius. Austin was already familiar with diameter, but hadn't learned about radius yet.

In Chapter 5, "Fred's Budget," Austin was introduced to financial budgeting and hyperbole. I've heard him use the word, "hyperbole," on a number of occasions since he learned its meaning. Fred is using a budget to find out if he can afford to buy a bike. Austin has learned the important distinction between how much Fred earns and how much he can save (because he has monthly expenses).

About every 5 chapters in the Life of Fred books, there is a Bridge quiz. Readers are given five attempts to get 9/10 or more on a 10-question quiz. Since Austin achieved a score of 9/10 on the first quiz, he is ready to proceed to chapter 6.

Math-U-See:

Austin has completed the first section of his Math-U-See textbook. Math-U-See uses manipulatives to teach math concepts. Austin is working on Epsilon (Fractions). The first section uses the green unit blocks to teach the concept of numerators and denominators. For instance, one question requires 10 unit blocks.

The student is instructed to divide the 10 units into 5 equal sets, then to count up two of the sets. Therefore, 2/5 of 10 = 4. These manipulatives help to illustrate the concepts of numerators and denominators.

Drumming lesson with Nzimbu Browne

Today, Austin, Aidan, Aaron and I took a trip into Kingstown to meet up with Nzimbu, a local indigenous artist and drummer. Skye and I had first met Nzimbu on a trip into Kingstown in August, when we were in St. Vincent to buy our boat. We were attracted to his beautiful artwork in dried banana leaves. When we purchased one of his pieces of art, we chatted with him a bit, and he told us that he teaches drumming to all ages. We instantly imagined having Austin and Aidan attend drumming classes with this gentle artist.

So our vision finally became a reality today, having overcome some timing challenges to arrive half an hour late for the workshop. Nzimbu waved down our taxi while we were looking for the place to meet up with him. Austin and Aidan were the only two students today, so they had a private lesson with the master :)

Nzimbu is very patient and kind. He is not at all critical, rather he encouraged the boys to take it slowly and he pointed out that it's supposed to be confusing at first. He taught them the bass, tone and tip positions. For the bass position, the hand is slightly curved and the base of the palm lands at the rim of the drum. For the tone position, fingers are together and the four fingers land just inside the rim of the drum. For the tip position, only the tips of the fingers land, together, at the rim of the drum.

Throughout the lesson, Nzimbu taught the boys a few combinations and rhythms. Aidan kept wanting to play the bass position with his hand right in the middle of the drum ("because that's what Mr. Drew taught me"). Since he is a bit smaller, it was difficult for Aidan to keep his drum tipped forward to avoid "deadening" the sound. He needed to keep his feet wrapped around the bottom of the drum, but they didn't quite reach.

For the first 20 minutes, Aaron sat quietly and contentedly watching the lesson. He seemed to be actually paying attention. Then, he couldn't help himself. He had to start drumming on Austin's drum. Nzimbu just went with the flow, and even invited Aaron to play on his drum a few times.

Austin paid close attention and was clearly trying hard to follow instructions carefully. He kept a good beat, and was able to shift between hand positions for the different combinations. This seems quite challenging - I don't think I'd get it right on the first try. The only recommendation Nzimbu had, was for Austin to slow it down a bit.

In the final 20 minutes of the hour-long class, the three drums sounded really good together. Aaron and I wanted to dance! Nice work, boys!!

A spiritual connection to our cells

Last night, Austin and I were talking about the possibility of calling the green turtles to our boat, telepathically. Austin said, "I'm too much of a scientist to try that. I'd be more likely to make a sound in the water, that sounds either like turtles or what turtles eat."

Then, we talked about how Iain is jealous that Austin has a nice brown tan already. Austin's skin always tans nicely and evenly. So, my little scientist went on to say, "What if we could be spiritually connected to our cells, so we could communicate with them and they can trade positions every fifteen minutes or so, in the sun. That way, we wouldn't burn."

Skye thinks this idea may have been inspired by the movie, Contact, that Austin watched a couple weeks ago.

Drawing of our jet

Austin drew our West Jet flight from Toronto to Barbados, for inclusion in his Memory Book.

Bequia Turtle Sanctuary

We took a taxi to the local turtle sanctuary. There we met Brother King, who was happy to tell us all about his labour of love. His most recent exciting story was about how he saved turtle hatchlings from certain death as they were being washed away in a rain storm. He showed us the tank full of 6-week-old baby hawksbill turtles. They are so sweet.

I mentioned to Brother King that Austin is particularly interested in marine biology. He was happy to hear that, and expressed his concern for the dying oceans. He says that more people, particularly young people, need to become involved in saving our oceans and its ecosystems. He told me that plastics weren't being used until he was in his mid-teens. Plastics are a huge contributor to the demise of our ocean wildlife.

We weren't allowed to touch the baby turtles, but we could touch the bigger ones, only we had to avoid their beaks - they bite!

Austin was really interested in the oldest and largest turtle in the sanctuary. He is a 14-year-old hawksbill turtle, and he has the unique marking (two drill holes in the tail of his shell) of the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. Our driver said that this turtle is the owner's pet.

Austin drew a nice picture of this turtle (above).

Brother King has devoted his retirement years to saving the hawksbill turtle from extinction. He is very passionate about this.

The Wizard of Oz

During the hurricane (Tomas), I started reading the Wizard of Oz to the boys. I was blown away by how appropriate it was for our circumstances. We really had to just trust that everything was going to be okay as winds reached speeds of over 70 miles per hour.

We couldn't stay on the boat during the storm (too dangerous), so we stayed at a nice local hotel (Beachcomber). We lost power and water, and food was scarce for about 24 hours.

Here are a few quotes that I found to be most appropriate for our situation:

"At first she had wondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again; but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened, she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring." - I read this from the first chapter, on our first night in St. Vincent (we were staying in an exposed apartment, with windows to the sea.

"I'm afraid, my dear, you shall have to live with us." This was spoken by the good witch of the North, when Dorothy was in the land of the Munchkins. I remember having to resign myself to things that are beyond my control. Austin has embraced the Island culture very well and can describe such a mentality with ease.

"So she went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter." On Halloween night, we had no power in our new hotel, and the only food available (besides what we dubbed dog food sandwiches) was bread and butter. I read this third chapter on our third night (Oct. 31).

Anyway, Aidan and Austin have been enjoying the book, and after chapter 6, Austin couldn't wait for the next read-aloud session to find out what happens next. He finished the book on his own, and continued to join Aidan and I to listen to the book being read aloud.

Stabilizing the boat at anchor

Austin helped Skye to rig the dinghy anchor off the boom, to give us some stability in a rolling anchorage at Blue Lagoon. It definitely helped to balance us.

All of us were bothered by the rocking and rolling, so it was nice to have a break from that for a night.

Swimming at the Black Point Tunnels

Our driver of choice, Kishorn, took us on a tour of St. Vincent. We tried to go to see the volcano, Soufriere, but the road and trails were blocked by fallen trees, caused by the hurricane.

Instead, we stopped at Black Point Tunnels. These tunnels were dug by hand, by slaves in 1815, for a sugar operation. They are really quite remarkable.

One area was dug out, intended for storage, but an underground fresh water stream was uncovered and this created a refreshing swimming hole.

This is such a special place, that even many locals haven't heard of it.

There were bats living in the tunnels, and Austin loved that! They were flapping over our heads as we walked through the damp tunnels.

Cooking curry

Austin loves to explore in the kitchen. He has recently discovered that he loves curry flavour. He has been working hard to create the best spice mixture for chicken curry and rice.

A few nights ago, he was so happy with his creation, that he sent the recipe to friends in an e-mail.

He used curry powder, paprika, cumin, pepper, seasoning salt, garlic and onion powder.

It's fun to play in the kitchen with Austin!

Learning to drive the dinghy

Austin learned to drive the dinghy last week. He's very confident, and has remained enthusiastic with every opportunity to pilot the dinghy.

Initially, he had difficulty with acceleration and steering, but he quickly felt comfortable with it. He drove most of the way, while he, Skye, Aidan and Aaron toured around Young Island in st. Vincent.

Teaching a Science Lesson

For the past two Fridays, Austin has participated in teaching the science unit to Aidan's grade 3 French class.

Aidan's teacher has encourage Austin to use French in the classroom, and Austin is making a good effort to do that.

The grade 3's are studying the solar system. For Austin's first lesson, he stood at the front of the class after preparing some drawings of the planets and the sun. He also included the asteroid belt and Ceres and Eres (dwarf planets). He explained what he knows about each planet and then he shared some of our books on space and the solar system, with the class.

That weekend, Austin began creating a 3D solar system which was taking up much of the floor space in our basement suite. He's planning to take it to Aidan's classroom for sharing with the class. He flipped between the art of creating the solar system, and the iPod to consult Wikipedia to find out how many moons each planet has. In some cases, he opted to show only half of a planet's moons, because there were so many (Jupiter has 32 moons!).

The next week, Austin spent 2 1/2 hours the night before, preparing a treasure hunt for Aidan's class. He drew pictures of Earth, red giants, white dwarfs, black dwarfs, black holes, pulsars and quasars, among others. He spent quite a bit of time on Wikipedia again, finding out about pulsars and quasars.

It's nice to see him so engaged and enthusiastic. He asked me for a folder, collected his papers, protected a pastel drawing of a pulsar in a plastic sleeve, taped the sides of the folder closed, and stated his plans to ask Aidan's teacher for some extra time for the science lesson. He has a lecture planned, and was going to do a question and answer session after the treasure hunt.

He did speak with Aidan's teacher in the morning, and Aidan's teacher said they could go over it at lunchtime. I went to the school with Austin and he and the teacher discussed Austin's idea, in French. The teacher made some recommendations (ie. to hide the drawings outside instead of inside the classroom), and Austin agreed. Austin told me later that a student from another class had picked up one of the drawings and ripped it and scrunched it up, even though Austin had asked him to leave it alone (hidden). It seems that Austin took that in stride, and wasn't too offended. He's come a long way from how he would have reacted before. Something like that would have been very upsetting, and Austin may not have been able to continue with his planned presentation and "lecture."

Anyway, as it turned out, Austin said there wasn't time for his lecture, but a few students asked him to explain what they had found. The "prized" drawing was the one of Earth, with "LIFE" written in large, bold letters on the reverse.

Helping out

On October 1, our nanny (Gemma), who has been with us for nearly 2 years, moved out. We knew this would happen, but we were all sad to see her go. Fortunately, she has found a good new job with a nice family in our community.

On Sunday evening, October 3, I held a meeting with Austin and Aidan, to agree on the responsibilities we will each take, until it's time for us to leave on our 1-year trip to the Caribbean on October 28.

Austin and Aidan will get up by 8:00, eat breakfast by 8:20 and brush their teeth by 8:30. Then, Aidan will walk to school with Mum and Austin at 8:35. Austin will drop off Aaron at daycare. Austin and Aidan are eligible to earn $2 for each day that we all successfully complete our agreed tasks.

In the first week, Oct. 4-8, Austin also mowed the front and back lawns. He earned some extra money for that, too. On Friday morning, Austin remarked, "Mom, I've noticed that I've been helping out a lot more around here lately, and it doesn't even feel like I'm working any harder. In fact, I feel really good about it." I answered that I know the feeling - I really love to help others.

That morning, Aidan's teacher needed some assistance to reorganize the classroom after it had been painted. The teacher asked for some help from parents. I told Austin about this, and Austin said that he wanted to help out. There was only one parent helping, so Austin worked with her. For part of the time, Aidan's teacher worked with the parent while he had Austin read out the spelling words for the day. Austin had to read out the 15 spelling words and provide a sentence for each one. According to the parent, Austin was "wonderful," and very "helpful." I was very proud to hear this, and I could tell that Austin was pleased too, when I passed on the comment to him.

Reading up a Storm

Last Sunday night, Austin was excited to read some new Bionicles Legends chapter books. We had a big day with family, celebrating Thanksgiving, and arrived home in the evening. For a change, Austin was eager and happy to go to bed.

I said goodnight to him as he was getting into the first book.

The next morning, he had trouble waking up. He had stayed up until 3am to read three complete books! I told Austin that he has his dad's curse - he can't put a good book down once he's started reading it ;)

Unfortunately, it took Austin about a week to recover from that late night.

A Lesson in Morals

We had to go to a funeral in Victoria on September 25. It was for Skye's grandmother (Austin's great-grandmother). The funeral service was sad, but it was nice to see so many people turn out to say good-bye to Helen. After the service, our family got together for a meal at the Princess Mary restaurant. It was a very nice event, where we shared our happy memories.

Skye's brother's family gave us a place to sleep for the night. This is the place with the Bionicles.

Austin built Taka Nuva for Vicky's daycare, this time. But Austin and Aidan succumbed to the temptation to take a few pieces home with them, without asking.

At bedtime Sunday night, Austin came to me, visibly upset. He said he knew I would be angry, and he had done a very bad thing. I guessed what it was, even though I hadn't seen any evidence that they stole Bionicles from Vicky. Initially, Austin didn't want to tell Dad, but I convinced him and Aidan to tell Skye. Together, we all decided that the boys will call Vicky to apologise, and it was first Aidan's decision to offer one of his own Bionicles in apology. Austin then offered that he could give Vicky two or more of his Bionicles, since taking them had been his idea. Skye agreed. We both told Austin and Aidan that we were disappointed that this happened, but that they did the right thing by telling us, themselves. If we had discovered the theft on our own, consequences would have been worse. Skye was proposing that all the boys' Bionicles would have been sent to Vicky's place.

Anyway, Austin and Aidan both spoke with Vicky on Monday morning, and she was very gracious and understanding. She spoke with me, later, and said she wasn't surprised. The temptation was simply too great. She remembers something similar happening with her son (now 12), when he was about 9 years old. She was favourably surprised that they had come to me first. She really applauded that move, and reinforced it with each of them on the phone.

I told Vicky that Austin had been worried that she and Kevin would never want us in their home again. So, Vicky assured Austin that we are all welcome again, and she will take good care of the Bionicles that we are returning to them by mail.

French grammar practice

Austin helped Aidan with his French workbook on Saturday. Aidan needed to identify 4 nouns (noms communs), 4 adjectives and 4 verbs from a passage of 3-4 paragraphs. The book is based on Quebec curriculum, and Aidan's teacher explained that it will be a bit more advanced, and he will be well prepared for grade 4 French Immersion when we return, if he completes the book.

Austin hadn't really known what an adjective (adjectif) was, and he pulled from his foggy memory, that a verb (verbe) is an "action word." But once Austin understood the concept, he was off and away, helping Aidan with his selections. Austin is a good teacher. He doesn't just hand out the answer, and he is usually encouraging (though this can be challenging with a younger sibling, and the distraction of Bionicles waiting to be played with, when the work is done).

Ingo novel series

We discovered a new novel series that Austin is over the moon about, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. We started with a book called, "The Tide Knot," by Helen Dunmore. Out of curiosity, I invited Austin to listen to the first chapter and decide if it is a book worth bringing with us on our trip to the Caribbean. Even I was hooked! The book is engaging and thought-provoking. It's the second book in a fantasy tetralogy. The story is about a brother and sister living in Cornwall, England, who have the ability to breathe underwater. They venture to a place called Ingo with their Mer friends. The book brings up issues about families, strife, ecology and environmental concerns.

We now have three books from the tetralogy. Only one more to buy for the trip. Austin hasn't picked up one of these novels to read on his own, yet. I think he just loves being read to. Also, he's been spending time reading Bionicle novels, graphic novels and encyclopedias, as well as the Bionicle Wikipedia.

We've read 3 1/2 chapters from the first book, Ingo, and Austin is anxious to hear more. Me too!

Skateboarding

On Saturday and Sunday, Austin spent a couple hours each day, practicing skateboarding with Iain. It's clear that they both had pretty good workouts, evidenced by their flushed faces. Austin really enjoys his time with Iain.

Lego Mindstorms

Lego Mindstorms arrived this week! This was a very exciting time in our household. Austin and Aidan excitedly opened the package, and within less than an hour, Austin had a working vehicle. He was anxious to start programming.

Skye tried to load the software onto a couple computers, but it wasn't working on either Mac. Eventually, Skye worked out the problem and got it set up for Austin.

Austin spent about 5 hours per day, Wednesday and Thursday, building and re-building, programming an "alligator" to walk, chomp and sing. He was very enthusiastic about showing his creation with the intro, "Have you ever met a singing alligator?"

Normalizing muscles

Today, Austin's occupational therapist, Jane, told me that over the summer, it appears that Austin's muscles have normalized. He is more confident and wants to teach her things.

He also has better endurance for the physical exercises they do together.

Jane will be giving us some exercises to keep in mind while we are on our trip. She referred to Stick Kids. I think there is also some software she may be recommending to us.

Oops!! Wrong Target!

Austin and I stopped at Superstore on our way home from occupational therapy, to buy some food for lunch.

When we left the store, I was pushing the cart and Austin skipped ahead to the parking lot. I remember thinking to myself, "Thank goodness I don't have to worry about him running into traffic. If Aaron had done that, I'd have to abandon the cart and chase after him."

As I came around the corner of the building, Austin jumped out at me, calling, "Boo!" but there was another customer (a man in his early twenties) walking into Austin's path. Austin certainly surprised that guy, but he was a good sport about it, saying that he needed to wake up ;)

By the time we got to the car, I had fallen into a fit of giggles. Austin said, jokingly, "Oh sorry. The trap was already locked and loaded. Hey! Wrong target! Stop the missile!!" Austin figured that I must have laughed for about 6 solid minutes on the drive home.

Painting with the Boys (by Skye)

We needed to paint our basement suite to get it ready for renters. Skye, Austin and Aidan stayed home to paint, while Carla & Aaron went to a 40th wedding anniversary party in Tsawwassen.

Time estimation:

Austin and Aidan were given two different walls to sand and paint.

Austin divided his wall up into the sections that he could reach while
standing still (a practical choice). He noticed that this made approx.
6 sections of the wall. When he did this he noticed that he had
completed 3 of the 6 sections and said that he was 1/2 done that task.
He then estimated that he had 15 more minutes to go as it had taken
him 5 minutes to complete the last section.

Corrosion:

We were working with TSP to clean the walls before painting. I had
cautioned the boys to wear protective gloves when they were washing
with the TSP solution because it is corrosive. Austin asked what
corrosive meant, so we dove into this page to learn more about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causticity

This introduced Austin to concepts of acids and bases. We talked about
some of the acids and bases we have around the house:

Acid:
citric acid in fruits

Base:
Soaps (dish, hand and TSP)

We touched on the fact that both of these will "burn" your skin and
some can generate heat. This introduced the word exothermic which
Austin correctly parsed to mean "outside heat" which I clarified was a
process that gave off heat (like burning wood). We then talked about
the opposite of exothermic which is endothermic. An example of an
endothermic process is evaporation (which is why our bodies perspire
to cool us down).

These are topics we'll certainly explore more in the future but it was
a good intro for now.

Time: painting exercise was about 30 minutes of discussion and 2.5
hours of activity

Time: discussion of acids, bases, and thermodynamics was about 30 minutes long

Communicating in Matoran

Last night, Aidan practiced his spelling words. While Aidan and I were going through his words together, Austin asked if I would make him a spelling test. He wanted me to select words from his Bionicle book. So, we ended up doing two spelling tests, and two bonus words. He did very well.

Then, Austin wanted to know how many letters from the Matoran alphabet I could remember. Austin set up a page with circles for the Matoran letters, and asked me to fill in the circles for the letter codes I knew. I started with A and C, then I remembered B and R and D. Austin suggested X, because it's basically an X in a circle, then he walked me through the rest of the alphabet, telling me about his memorizing tricks. We have a picture of the alphabet (Austin cut it out of the page). The letters are not in "alphabetical" order, because of the process we took to record them. He's quite a good teacher. I'm pretty sure I have the whole alphabet memorized now.

Then, Austin asked me to write a note to him, in Matoran. I wrote, "I want to go to sleep." Then, Austin asked me to write "Bionicle" in Matoran. Then, Austin set up a couple anagrams for me to solve. He wrote, "INHDKII," which, unscrambled, reads "Nidhiki." I had first spelled it, "Nihdiki," but Austin told me it's not like another Bionicle name that has the "H" prior to a "D." I don't remember the name he told me.

The next anagram was KAKOPA, and I unscrambled it to "Kopaka." Then, he wrote, "HYDRNXAO," and I unscrambled it to "Hydraxon."

Then, it was my turn to make an anagram. I wrote, "SMTRYYE," and after asking a few questions, such as, "Is the first letter an S? M?" and "Is the third last letter a Y?, E?" Austin solved the anagram as the word, "mystery."

Then, I really needed to go to sleep, so Austin continued without me. He wrote, "The Vahi is one of the legndary (sic) masks. Good night mom."

Then, before he tucked himself into bed, he wrote out a two-sided letter, all in Matoran code. This morning, I read it when I woke up. This is what I read:

"Hi mom. Can I have a glas (sic) of milk. This is what I wanted to teach you. To be able to write your oun (sic) sentenses (sic) and I've wrote (sic) this page so you can memorize your Matoran. I hope you've remeber (sic) your Matoran or you'll have a real hard time reading this page that I've given you.

So this is my Matoran. I've memorized all the Matoran alphabet. You want to see the alphabet ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. And that's the Matoran alphabet. Some times (sic) I'll accidentaly (sic) write English letters, but for the majority it's Matoran. I'm surprised (sic) that I have a Bionicle from evry (sic) time in Bionicle history.

It's realy (sic) nice here in Deep Cove. It's too bad that we half (sic) to leave this place, but the Caribeean (sic) might not be so bad. Well I'm getting ____ (sic) so bye.

Teridax

Austin doesn't have a Makuta Teridax Bionicle. He would have really liked to have one, especially when we were visiting his cousin, Jonah's, place and discovered that he was willing to give his old Bionicles away. But Auntie Vicky runs a daycare, and the Bionicles are being enjoyed by the kids at daycare.

Austin was initially disappointed, but soon suggested that he build Teridax for the daycare kids. He would need access to a computer, so he could find the instructions and rebuild Teridax (199 pieces). Teridax was in pieces in a Lego bucket, so it took some considerable sifting to find each part. After about an hour, Austin had built Teridax, and he was well pleased with his accomplishment. He proceeded to tell Vicky about the value of the older Bionicles, and what Teridax might sell for, on eBay.

A couple days later, Austin showed me his version of Teridax. He had built him, using other Bionicle parts. Austin's Teridax is bigger than the original. Austin likes his version better, in some ways. He felt the original Teridax's legs were too short, and he was frustrated that there were no knee or ankle joints.

Here are some photos of Austin's version of Teridax, with some size comparisons to Antroz, Kongu, Gali and Hahli.

Good things

Admittedly, it hasn't been an easy adjustment to the new school year. Austin is bored and misses Aidan. Austin and I have had three fights in the past two days. Two fights about his desire to buy things (a food treat and Bionicles). One fight about how he's spending his time (he wanted to play Roller Coaster Tycoon and I didn't want him on the computer).

After so much disharmony, I am craving a focus on what has gone right, so far this week. So, here goes.

Good things about the past two days:

1. Austin had his first occupational therapy session of the new year, and it went very well. Austin had a good workout.

2. Austin learned about RNAi, and found the subject to be very engaging. This new knowledge sparked his imagination into seeing what life might be like if RNAi were used with the specific intention of responding to a coming world human population explosion.

3. Austin made me a cup of tea last night and drank chamomile himself, without argument.

4. Austin made me another cup of tea this morning.

5. Austin gave me a lesson in Bionicle "genealogy" this morning.

6. Austin baked delicious cornmeal muffins this morning and served them to our guest, Claudia.

7. Austin asked Claudia if she would like a cup of tea, he prepared her tea and asked if she wants milk or honey, and he graciously brought her tea to her. She was very pleased and impressed.

8. Austin completed two drawings today. One of Bionicle masks, and another of a dragon.

9. Austin helped out at the grocery store, getting the milk, frozen strawberries and onions.

10. Austin helped to unload the groceries from the car and to carry bags upstairs.

11. Even though Austin was disappointed that things didn't go his way today, he quietly tucked himself into bed and went to sleep without a fuss.

Ah, now I feel better. After all, it has been a pretty good couple of days.

RNAi

Today, we learned about RNAi. The "i" stands for "interference."

Austin believes that one day, we could send genetic recipes to stop the growth gene when humans are around the age of 2. This could be a way for humanity to survive a burgeoning population. If humans are small, they will need less air to breathe, and less food to eat. They will continue to develop muscle strength and gain knowledge as they get older.

Austin suggested that about 50 of these smaller humans could live in our house, compared to 5 (or 6, or 7, or 10) now. We laughed about this, because we actually did have 10 people living in our house for a 3-week period, several years ago. And that was before Aaron was born!

I asked Austin if we could use RNAi to make humans more intelligent. He said, with complete confidence, "No, the only way to get smarter is to keep gaining knowledge as we get older."

Here's a segment from the video we watched today. I just love all the DVDs we ordered from HHMI. They were all free, and all the material has been entertaining and engaging for everyone. We've watched the DVDs on Evolution, Obesity and part of the RNA DVD.

Royal BC Museum Field Trip

On September 12, we went to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. Austin really enjoyed the exhibits.

He saw a large relief map of BC. Austin estimated that it was two stories high and about 5 metres wide. Colours representing the various elevations were projected onto it. They would occasionally project extra information like a visualization of California, Oregon and Washington all fitting into the space of British Columbia.

Skye pointed out to Austin the Rocky Mountain Trench and he said, "hmm... so BC is not part of North America?" This is because the trench was created by two plates moving apart after colliding. Austin was kind of correct in that BC is on a different plate from most of North America. Austin explained that continents don't always have to be separated by oceans, such as Europe and Asia, which are separated by the Ural Mountains.

Austin also saw the life-sized woolly mammoth. The ice in this exhibit was real. He saw a replica of a BC coastal forest that contained:

- elk

- deer

- bears
- squirrels, etc.

He saw a cougar skull and a Humboldt squid. Austin was carrying a digital camera, and took a picture of the squid.

He walked through the coastal First Nation pit house. He saw beds made of dirt and animal hides. He thinks they might be comfortable but not as comfortable as the more modern memory foam mattresses ;)

He saw an animal hide/clothes making table. He noticed tools made with sticks strapped to rocks, used for skinning the animals. The people made tunics out of hides.

On another floor, he saw the "time lost" exhibit. The exhibit begins in the 70's and 80's (Star Wars, old computers and PacMan arcade games). Next was the 30's or 40's ("old" as Austin put it). Cigars that sell for $0.05 instead of $10 today. A mini Chinatown, hotels and saloons, brick roads (his feet hurt after walking on it a while). Next was a farm from the same period. The display had donkeys pulling things (no engines). Austin says, "They had ZERO technology." A donkey pulling a cart was the most technology he could spot. Skye asked if they had shovels and he said, "Yes." S: "Isn't that technology?" A: "Yes, but it's oooooold technology, invented by the Sumerians."

Next, he saw an old sawmill. He couldn't remember seeing any engines. There was one two-man saw, one belt saw. Next was a mine with hand-cranked drills. Austin tried cranking one and it was impossible to do - it was so hard to move. He saw some gold panning.

Next, they went to the BC maritime history section from "the old tall ship period." They could see the stern of the tall ship. They saw the old bunks, no hammocks in this one. Then they saw some modern-day battle ships.

We all watched an IMAX movie on whales. Some of the opening footage showed the elusive blue whales. Austin felt there was nothing new learned. Skye was underwhelmed and a little annoyed at how shallow the material was ... even the footage was only average for the most part.

Math U See

I ordered the Epsilon package from Math-U-See, with an extra box of manipulative blocks so A1 and A2 could share. I was excited when the package arrived today, and brought the blocks upstairs to show the boys.

A1 was initially not interested, and stayed at the computer, playing rock songs on youtube. I showed A2 how to add two 3-digit numbers together, using the blocks. He immediately grasped the concept of combining to make tens, and was eager to make an equation for me to solve.

I asked A1 to get off the computer and take a look at the blocks. He came to the dining room with a chip on his shoulder, and I discouraged him from coming in, unless he brought a new, more positive attitude. I had to go out of the house for a few hours, so I left them, building structures with the blocks. Initially, I was hesitant about not using the blocks as they are intended, but a voice of reason told me just to let it be. And thank goodness for that. About 2 1/2 hours later, I received a call from Austin, telling me about the equations he and Aidan had been solving. Austin was teaching Aidan multiplication. They solved both 197 x 3 and 55 x 3, correctly. Great stuff!

Also, A1 asked A2 to draw a circle, then A1 labelled 0, 360 and 90 degrees on the circle. He asked A2 to solve for 180 x 2, and showed A2 how 180 degrees represents 1/2 of a circle. So, A2 was able to see that twice 180 equals 360. Great teaching method, Austin!

I asked Austin to show me how they solved the equations, and it seems that they didn't use the blocks. Instead, A1 says that he showed A2 the way A1's teachers had taught him in school. However it was acted out, doesn't really matter. I'm excited about the enthusiasm A1 demonstrated for math, and teaching his younger brother. He showed A2 the trick for multiplying by 10, and A2 was blown away at how big a number he can multiply now, knowing that all he has to do is add a zero! A2 loves big numbers ... particularly googol and infinity.

A1 is still reversing his numbers when he prints, but he is less resistant to writing, so that is another step in the right direction.

We worked on his Learning Plan today ... more to follow.

Sailing backwards

Yesterday, Austin had some huge confidence boosts during his sailing class. After winning three races and docking perfectly twice, he told me he had also achieved a Bronze IV goal of sailing backwards 90m! He said you have to go into irons, then push your main sail way out. He said it feels a bit weird on the tiller, but other than that, it was easy.

Nigel (Austin's coach) says that Austin and Patrick were way ahead of the other boats in the first race. Austin was pretty happy. They had 12 knots of wind to play in for a while today, in calm little Deep Cove!

Austin commented that racing is fun, as long as you are determined to win! Morgan, a pretty girl in Bronze V with whom Austin is getting friendly, countered that racing is always fun whether you win or lose.

Hammurabi

Last Friday, Austin and I were discussing early mathematics. We learned that mathematics evolved into Algebra by around 2000 BCE. This occurred in two different parts of the world: Egypt and Babylonia (Middle East).

The Egyptians wrote on papyrus scrolls and the Babylonians wrote on clay tablets. The Egyptians wrote many math problems on one scroll, and the Babylonians solved only a single problem on one clay tablet.

The Egyptian Rhind Papyrus contains material from about 1800 BCE. It measures 18 feet long and one foot wide. Eighty-four problems are solved on the Rhind Papyrus. I remarked that they must have pressed the papyrus leaves together to form paper, to be able to get a scroll that's 18 feet long. I was amazed. Austin remarked, "What else would you expect, Mom? These are the Egyptians we're talking about. Can you explain the pyramids?"

indoor rock climbing

I took Austin and Keon Ho to the Coquitlam Cliffhanger indoor climbing gym this afternoon so that they could try climbing while I belayed them. They arrived full of enthusiasm and had their sights set on topping all the walls in the first 5 minutes. However, I suggested that they start on the beginner's wall and see how things went.

The first wall is about as steep as a ladder and rises to the top of the 45 foot climbing structure. The hand and foot holds are nice large letters and numbers. Easy for kids to figure out and easy for parents to shout instructions. The whole idea of this wall is to get the kids comfortable with the gear, comfortable coming down and comfortable with being several times their height off the ground.

Both the boys did fairly well on the beginner's wall reaching about 25 feet off the ground before getting too nervous. I've found that it's often good to go try something harder for a bit then come back to the easy stuff. We spent the next hour trying out several other walls that were lower (35 feet) but were more vertical. Keon Ho was the first to get to the top with Austin managing it on his next try (competition can be a great motivator). After that they went back to all the previous walls and topped them with ease (including the first one which they practically ran up).

Once they were more comfortable with the basics of climbing I introduced the rating system for the climbs and we started to focus on not just getting to the tops, but getting there following the routes that the gym had set. This makes things a bit more interesting as now it's not just a physical and psychological challenge but it's also a mental one.

The routes are set in increasing levels of difficulty with each level requiring the climber to plan his moves more strategically and improve his technique. Starting with a very basic route that has the score of 5.6, the climber has access to many large comfortable hand and foot holds and climbs a steep but not vertical gradient. Stepping up to 5.7 or 5.8 (the most difficult climb they attempted) the foot and hand holds become smaller and more sparse and the incline goes vertical. It's important on these more difficult climbs to think several moves ahead or you'll find that you can't reach the next hold.

Austin and Keon Ho spent most of their time trying 5.7's and managed to finish several of them. They learned how to use a resting position to take breaks part way up (rather than trying to sprint to the top) and they started to learn how to move more efficiently by doing the climbing with their legs and trying to keep their arms straight to reduce muscle fatigue.

In the end they were very happy with their exploits and want to go back again. The staff at the gym commented several times how impressed they were with how long the boys were climbing - over 3 hours! Sounds like we'll have to go back and do that again :)

-sc

Evolution

This afternoon, Austin was bored, so I suggested he watch an educational video. He countered that he's already watched all the educational DVDs we have, and he can't think of anything on the internet.

While I'm sure there's a wealth of educational shorts on the internet, I was too occupied with my work to spend time surfing with Austin, potentially hitting a few duds. So, I dug out another video from the HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) series we ordered a few months ago. We received more than a dozen videos for free, from a US-based educational institution!! Austin observed that the DVD was still encased in plastic, so this would be the first time we've seen it.

Skye and I have already watched a very engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking video on the genetics of obesity, but we hadn't watched any others.

Since Austin is a theorist, and has always found evolution fascinating, I chose the first Evolution video for today. We watched the video called Fossils, Genes, and Mousetraps, facilitated by Ken Miller, a biologist and award-winning educator.

Ken Miller is a Professor of Biology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island (which happens to be the setting of the next Hamish X book - we're now about 8 chapters into the second of a trilogy by Canadian comedian and author, Sean Cullen).

I had invited Keon Ho to join us for the video. He hesitated, when I told him it is an educational video, but he came down to give it a try, anyway. About 15 minutes into the programming, Keon Ho asked how long it would be (after yawning a few times). I told him it would be about an hour, he stayed for another 5 minutes, then retreated back to his book (Dragonology). Keon Ho is more interested in Geography than Biology, and I'm sure it's challenging to follow a lecturer in English, when one is new to the language.

Ken Miller was lecturing to high school students about the theory of evolution. He's a very engaging speaker, and he launched right in to the fact that the study of evolution is a controversial subject, particularly in the southern United States. Austin is always drawn in to a good debate and was amazed to conclude that whichever interest group holds power at the School Board level, determines what will be taught in schools. Ken Miller explained that the defining groups have historically been the pro-evolution and anti-evolution (or Creationism) groups.

He played a clip from a short interview with him on The Colbert Report January 12, 2006. The clip was his 30-second definition of "Evolution." I invite you to watch this 6-minute interview - quite entertaining.

The lecture went on to describe what we learn from fossils, and examples of evolution that are taking place right now, in our midst and before our eyes. Ken Miller is a huge fan of Darwin's Origin of Species, and feels this is a book that everyone should read. It's foundational, in my opinion. We have a biography of Charles Darwin, we have taken The Origin of Species out of the library once (but didn't get through the whole book), and I have been drawn, recently, to a couple of children's adaptations of Darwin's theories.

As gripped as I was, by what I was hearing, I had to return to my office after watching for about 1/2 an hour. Austin stayed for another hour, to watch the full 90-minute program.

I asked him what he thought of it, and he said it was pretty good. He was interested in the coverage of Basilosaurus (a sea-dwelling mammal with tiny vestigial/degenerate hind limbs, that was once thought to be a prehistoric marine reptile), considered to be an ancestor to modern-day cetaceans.

O Canada!

Austin is teaching Keonho how to sing O Canada, at Keonho's request.

They are practicing, line by line, and Austin is using the internet to show the lyrics as they sing along.

I had told Austin yesterday, that I heard in the news that many Canadian high school students don't know the words to O Canada! Austin wants to be sure to know them by heart.

Drawing with Keonho

On Saturday, I overheard Austin saying to Keonho, "Hey Keonho, would you like to write a story with me?" I could hardly believe my ears!

Austin was inspired to write and illustrate a story about Bionicle characters. He was also inspired to earn stickers towards pieces of a new Bionicle set used as an incentive for typing ;)

Anyway, Austin and Keonho sat down together, at the dining room table, and began to draw. Keonho is particularly good with human faces. Austin drew a mountain landscape and an intricate Bionicle (I think it is Gresh). Austin had ideas for a story, but after about 30 minutes, he was losing interest. He was going to dictate a story to Keonho, and Keonho was prepared with his pencil and notebook, but the story hasn't come to be, yet.

Hopefully, Austin will be inspired again, and we'll all get to hear the story one day.

Beaty Biodiversity Museum

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is opening at UBC this Saturday, May 22. They have a blue whale skeleton on exhibit. We are all looking forward to going, but we may not go to the opening day. Hopefully, we can go on May 29. It's free for the first five shows!

A Lesson in Population Density

On yesterday's drive to music lessons, Austin and Keonho were talking about the 2010 winter Olympics. Keonho asked if we went to any events, or if we watched any programming on TV. Austin told Keonho what he had watched, and Keonho particularly remembered the South Korean figure skater who won Gold.

Austin talked about Joannie Rochette, and Keonho recalled that she had lost her mother. Austin said, "Yes, only days before she had to perform in front of the world." Austin was clearly impacted by Joannie Rochette's story.He's quite sensitive to what she went through, and what she was able to overcome. He is so proud of her for winning a bronze medal.

Austin talked about Canada's gold medals, and how we broke an Olympic record for the number of gold medals won. Keonho remarked that it's understandable that Canada would be able to win so many gold medals, because there must be so many more Canadians than Koreans, since Canada is such a bigger country.

Then, the conversation really got interesting. I responded that, actually, Korea's population is higher than Canada's. Keonho was perplexed ... how could that be? Canada must be at least 50 times as big as South Korea! So I passed my iPhone to Austin and asked him to google "South Korea population," and he said, 48,607,000. Then, he looked up the population of Canada, which is 33,311,400.

Out of interest, later last night, I looked up the area of South Korea, and found it is 98,799 sq km. Canada's area is 9,093,507 sq km. So, 92 South Koreas could fit into Canada!

Then, I worked out how many people, on average, live in one square kilometre of each country. In South Korea, it is 492, and in Canada it is under 4! So, I told Austin and Keonho what I had learned, and as Skye suggested, I used Panorama Park as a suggestion of an area of land which is about 500 sq m, and compared South Korea (246) to Canada (2). It was really remarkable to imagine such a difference in population density between the countries.

Broken hammock

We used to have a free-standing hammock for the back yard. ...



Ever since I put it together less than a year ago, Austin has been trying to play with it as a teeter-totter, or to load it up with several people at a time, to tip people out of it, etc.



Each time he tried to play with the hammock in this way, he was asked by whichever adult was there, to stop. But he couldn't resist. He continued to play with it in that way, to rock it back and forth, and finally, one of the bars of the stand broke.



I was really disappointed that this happened, but surprisingly, I didn't get really angry.



I decided that Austin could earn back the hammock. He needed to earn 10 stickers. To earn one sticker, he could practice typing for 30 minutes, draw for an hour, read for an hour, write for 30 minutes, etc. To earn 2 stickers, he could mow the front lawn. He did decide to mow the front lawn and he practiced typing a few times. Then, he struck a deal with me to pay me $20 for 5 stickers, and he was done.



Attached is his finished sticker page. He asked me to include this on his blog.



So, now I am keeping an eye out for a good deal on a new hammock, and we have to take the broken stand to the dump, as it is sharp and dangerous.

Keonho

Keonho is an 11-year-old boy from South Korea, staying with us for about 2 1/2 months.

We are all enjoying Keonho, and he is learning English with our family.

Keonho loves soccer and enjoys being outside and active. On the first night he arrived (May 5), we had 4 tickets to the Whitecaps soccer game, so Skye took Austin, Aidan and Keonho to the game. This was a highlight for Keonho. He was able to give me a summary of the game highlights, the next day.

We had arranged for Keonho to have his own room, but on the first night, he requested to share a room with someone. Austin jumped at this opportunity, and was thrilled to share the bunkbed with Keonho. On several nights, I have been able to hear them having late-evening conversations, comparing life in South Korea to life in Canada.

Austin and Keonho have been allowed to go to our local school or playground for short trips, on their own. I can tell that they both are enjoying the independence, and it's nice to see Austin more active during the day.

Keonho purchased a skateboard, because he had observed that skateboarding seems to be a common pasttime for North American boys of his age. Austin was using Keonho's skateboard a lot, so I thought it would be a good idea for Austin to have a skateboard of his own. So, I bought a skateboard for Austin. It looks a bit different from Keonho's skateboard, and Austin proceeded to go over all the differences, and repeatedly suggest that his skateboard was better than Keonho's.

Keonho had quite a strong reaction to Austin's pestering, and ended up throwing his own skateboard on the road and cracking its edge. He cried and was very upset, and decided he didn't want to ride his skateboard anymore. I didn't see or hear any of this happening while I was in the house, but Aidan told me a little bit, and when Keonho went inside to cry, I sat with him for several minutes, and got a better picture of what had happened. I think some of it was a cultural difference - it's common for 11-year-old boys to tease each other, and many North Americans will joke that they have something better than the next guy, because it's a different colour, or whatever. It doesn't mean that they really think it's better - it's supposed to be just a playful tease. However, Keonho took the words for what they were, and believed that Austin was convinced that Keonho had an inferior skateboard.

We brought Austin inside to apologise, and I think Austin understood that his teasing was hurtful. This was a good lesson in sensitivity for others.

By the next day, both Keonho and Austin were practicing skateboarding and having fun together again.