Mandarin lessons

We have started our Mandarin/Chinese language lessons. See here for info about our move to China. GJ is doing 2 nights a week at University of Queensland Institute of Modern languages and we have a tutor for 1 hour on Saturday mornings for the two of us. I am working through text books and internet/CD rom lessons.

IT IS GOING TO BE VERY HARD!!!!

Neither of us has any skills with other languages. My French teacher in Grade 8 told me after 2 lessons that Geography was a much more suitable option for me.

Chelsea is in grade 1 this year and is laying down the foundations of reading and writing. Her class follows a program called “Jolly Phonics” This program teaches phonic sounds to hand and body actions as re-enforcement. It is very successful, in 6 months Chelsea has gone from being able to only write her name and the alphabet out, to writing stories, reading books and doing spelling tests. Georgia also completed this program and I have spent a lot of time in the classroom and at home using this system.

Which is why I am having a hard time with the basic Mandarin sounds,
for example

Q= chee
Z=shee
C=tsuh
I A=ya

I spent so much time in the last 2 years helping the girls with the English language phonic's, that is really hindering me with Mandarin. Until I get the sounds right I won't be able to progress to sentences, let alone words.

I spent the last 10 years of my career as an adult educator, and can teach highly technical things really simply and easily, yet being a student is proving to be very hard for me. I have to work out a way to turn that side of my brain on. LOL

It doesn' help when we are all under the weather. I have a nasty cough and weeze, thankfully at night only, GJ has a bad dose of the flu, Georgie has the flu and has now got a tummy bug, she was up all night with vomiting, diarrhea and coughing. Ben has a snotty nose and Chelsea is well, just super cranky as she is getting her molars. We woke up this morning with Ben between us and the girls in a pile of blankets at the foot of the bed. I am a walking zombie from lack of sleep. Whats new....






Here is gorgeous Georgia fast asleep on the lounge clasping a bucket just in case. She is so pale and warm. She looks so young.

These are some flowers I received last week from an old friend of GJ's. Iwas testing out cameramer as I have just upgraded my SD card to a high speed 1GB one. The speed has made a difference.