唧唧複唧唧，木蘭當戶織。不聞機杼聲，唯聞女歎息。問女何所思？問女何所憶？
女亦無所思，女亦無所憶。昨夜見軍帖，可汗大點兵，軍書十二卷，卷卷有爺名。
阿爺無大兒，木蘭無長兄，願為市鞍馬，從此替爺征。
東市買駿馬，西市買鞍韉，南市買轡頭，北市買長鞭。
朝辭爺娘去，暮宿黃河邊。不聞爺娘喚女聲，但聞黃河流水鳴濺濺。
旦辭黃河去，暮至黑山頭。不聞爺娘喚女聲，但聞燕山胡騎聲啾啾。
萬里赴戎機，關山度若飛。朔氣傳金柝，寒光照鐵衣。將軍百戰死，壯士十年歸。
歸來見天子，天子坐明堂。策勳十二轉，賞賜百千強。可汗問所欲，“木蘭不用尚書郎，願借明駝千里足，送兒還故鄉。”
爺娘聞女來，出郭相扶將。阿姊聞妹來，當戶理紅妝。小弟聞姊來，磨刀霍霍向豬羊。
開我東閣門，坐我西閣床。脫我戰時袍，著我舊時裳。當窗理雲鬢，對鏡貼花黃。
出門看夥伴，夥伴皆驚惶。同行十二年，不知木蘭是女郎。
“雄兔腳撲朔，雌兔眼迷離；兩兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌！”
We homeschooled our girls for ~ 20 months about 4 years ago and they have been back in a private school for about two and half years now. Homeschooling was more “efficient” for us in terms of their academic and Chinese instruction/learning, freeing up more time for extracurricular activities and more Chinese, but their new private school certainly make up much of it in terms of their art/music program and the built-in socialization interactions. My 12 year old “Charlotte” greatly enjoy her group guitar lessons and art class at school (she loves to draw), which took extra effort for us the parents to get into our homeschool program.
Though there are many ways for homeschoolers to build-in some friendly “competition” with other students in terms of the various aspects of their education, I do like the built-in version with regular schooling. It sure saves me lots of time and serves as good additional motivator for my daughters.
With regular schooling, I have to say that we get a kick out of talking to “Charlotte” about her clubs, tennis meets, extracurricular activities, and interaction with school/class mates and friends, with all their teenage drama, friendship trouble and make-ups, boys, school dance, the eye rolls (!), and no, no boyfriends for them till….college (so says my better half). After major adjustment during her first year in their new private school, it seems all the drama these days are with the other kids, at least that’s what she has led us to believe , LOL. And we get to enjoy listening to tales of growing pains – daily, and mostly in Chinese of course (I work with her on that). Now, we could probably pull some of these off, if we had continued to homeschool, but it would have taken much work on my part.
We are so glad that my girls are growing not just academically, but also emotionally, maturing into the great women they will one day become. They will need the resilience, perseverance, and emotional intelligence to thrive in their brave new world, to adapt to, bend, or break whatever bamboo and glass ceilings that will surely try to come their way.
Granted, homeschooling provides a different experience but can be similarly enriching. It just takes more time than I am able to devote these days. I do say, however, that homeschooling never left us. Their regular schooling is simply part of their education, as education is so much more than schooling. And we do the rest at or through home! (This calls for a story on the side. On getting a phone text notice of school snow day, I told the girls, “There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that, there is no school. The good news is, there is homeschool!” They went ballistic and said that it should the other way around! LOL)
Finally, here is “Charlotte”, with her art-work in progress.
前些日我分享了「支架式教學」 。十二歲的大女兒過去兩個月有空時讀自製有注音的「神雕俠侶」版本，我也請家教在週末時聽及帶女兒朗讀，解釋不解之處及用詞。如此看完我印出的半集”注音版”後（此金庸小說共有四集），大女兒已經可以看普通的版本了，不像當初的吃力。現在她回到以往看中文版的英文翻譯小說的速度，以ㄧ分鐘ㄧ面（～500個國字）讀「神雕俠侶」，中文功力更上ㄧ層樓了～！（但還沒到「玉女心經」級，更不用說「九陰真經」級！LOL）
Back in January, I shared with you the Scaffold Reading Experience. In the past two months, 12 year old “Charlotte” read the famed kungfu novel “Return of the Condor Heroes” using the self -made version with zhuyin on the side, when she’s got time. On the weekend, Charlotte read it aloud to her Chinese tutor, who guided her reading with explanation when needed. The novel has four volumes and I printed out half a volume with zhuyin on the side. After reading such half volume, Charlotte now is able to read the regular novel with much more ease than at the very beginning. She can now read this kungfu novel at the speed of one page per minute, or ~ 500 characters a minute. This is the same speed at which she previously read the Chinese edition of translated English novels. It looks like her Chinese proficiency is up a notch now.
前幾天有網友建議女兒們可學朗讀木蘭辭，所以就找ㄧ版本來念念看。以下是小女兒念前半段。
A FB group member suggested that we can try Mulan Verse. Since many heritage kids are familiar with the story, we gave it a shot. Here is “Georgia” reading the first half on the second day.
木蘭辭
唧唧複唧唧，木蘭當戶織。不聞機杼聲，唯聞女歎息。問女何所思？問女何所憶？
女亦無所思，女亦無所憶。昨夜見軍帖，可汗大點兵，軍書十二卷，卷卷有爺名。
阿爺無大兒，木蘭無長兄，願為市鞍馬，從此替爺征。
東市買駿馬，西市買鞍韉，南市買轡頭，北市買長鞭。
朝辭爺娘去，暮宿黃河邊。不聞爺娘喚女聲，但聞黃河流水鳴濺濺。
旦辭黃河去，暮至黑山頭。不聞爺娘喚女聲，但聞燕山胡騎聲啾啾。
萬里赴戎機，關山度若飛。朔氣傳金柝，寒光照鐵衣。將軍百戰死，壯士十年歸。
歸來見天子，天子坐明堂。策勳十二轉，賞賜百千強。可汗問所欲，“木蘭不用尚書郎，願借明駝千里足，送兒還故鄉。”
爺娘聞女來，出郭相扶將。阿姊聞妹來，當戶理紅妝。小弟聞姊來，磨刀霍霍向豬羊。
開我東閣門，坐我西閣床。脫我戰時袍，著我舊時裳。當窗理雲鬢，對鏡貼花黃。
出門看夥伴，夥伴皆驚惶。同行十二年，不知木蘭是女郎。
“雄兔腳撲朔，雌兔眼迷離；兩兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌！”
Prosody appreciation through a short classical Chinese piece of writing. This is the story behind the idiom, 塞翁失馬, 焉知非（禍）福.
小時候，父親教過我幾篇文言文的文章，讓我有最基本的認識。雖自己小五後就全家移民，現為人父，也用ㄧ短篇成語的文言文典故來教女兒們朗讀的技巧。
原文
近塞上之人，有善術者，馬無故亡而入胡，人皆吊之。其父曰：『此何遽不為福乎？』居數月，其馬將駿馬而歸，人皆賀之。其父曰：『此何遽不為禍乎？』家富良 馬，其子好騎，墮而折其髀，人皆吊之。其父曰：『此何遽不為福乎？』
居一年，胡人大入塞，丁壯者引弦而戰，近塞之人，死者十九，此獨以跛之故，父子相保。 故福之為禍，禍之為福，化不可極，深不可測也。」
English explanation from Wikitionary
“It can be difficult to foresee the twists and turns which compel misfortune to beget fortune, and vice versa. There once was a old man, skilled in divination, who lived close to the frontier (with his son). One of his horses accidentally strayed into the lands of the Xiongnu, so everyone consoled him. (But) the old man said, “Why should I hastily (conclude) that this is not fortunate?” After several months, the horse came back from the land of the Xiongnu, accompanied by another stallion, so everyone congratulated him. (But) the father said, “Why should I hastily (conclude) that this can not be unfortunate?”. One day (the son) fell off the stallion, and broke his leg, so everyone consoled (the father). (But) the father said, “Why should I hastily (conclude) that this is not fortunate?”
One year later, the Xiongnu invaded the frontier, and all able-bodied men took up arms and went to war. Of the men from the frontier (who volunteered), nine out of ten men perished (from the fighting). It was only because of (the son’s) broken leg, that the father and son were spared (this tragedy). Therefore misfortune begets fortune, and fortune begets misfortune. This goes on without end, and its depths can not be measured. (Wiktionary translation)”
Definition:
(1)塞上：長城一帶。塞，邊塞。
(2)善術者：精通術數的人。善：擅長。術，術數，推測人事吉凶禍福的法術，如看相，占卜等。
(3)故：緣故。亡：逃跑。
(4)吊：對其不幸表示安慰。
(5)何遽：怎麼就，表示反問。
(6)居：過了。在表示時間的詞語前面，指經過的時間。
(7)將：帶領。
(8)為：是。
(9)富：很多。
(10)好：喜歡。
(11)墮：掉下來。
(11)髀：大腿。
(12)大：大舉。
(13)引弦：拿起弓箭去打仗。引弦，拉開弓弦。。
(14)近塞：靠近長城邊境。
(15)十九：十分之九；指絕大部分。
(16)跛：名詞，指腿腳不好，走路失去平衡，一拐一拐的；瘸腿。
(17)保：保全。
Raising bilingual and biliterate children in Chinese and English 