Learning

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It’s never too surprising to see changes in our neighborhood during a brief time away. One never knows if neighborhoods will be gone or new buildings will pop up at lightning speed. So after returning from a three week holiday, here are some things noticed in Shunyi:

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Education in China are expensive, especially the kindergartens. Apart from the school tuition, parents always have to face all different kinds of fees while the kids are already in the school.

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Two weeks ago, I began to dissect my experience with the Parenting Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) workshop that I am taking with Cindy Tarratz and a handful of other parents at the Western Academy of Beijing. The sessions on active listening, the subject of my previous blog, were revelatory for most of us, but effective communication is always a two-way process, and at some point, parents need to be more than active listeners. Fortunately, the P.E.T. workshop also helped enlighten us parents on the more effective ways of choosing our words when interacting with our kids (my mom always did say I should think before I speak – I’m still trying Mom!).

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Middle school students at Beijing International Bilingual Academy (BIBA) were recently treated to a morning of special presentations during “Career Day.”  In a rotating schedule, students visited different classrooms to see 15-minute career option presentations by eight professionals with various expertise.  True to the bi-lingual nature of the school, each presenter spoke in their native language during the session.

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The December issue of beijingkids is full of fun-indoor activities and excursions to keep you and your clan happy over the holidays.

Give yourself ten ways to celebrate Christmas in Beijing, and catch the spirit of Christmas and Hannukah from three families. Also, get a peek from behind the scenes of Beijing Playhouse’s wacky production of Cinderella. And if you're looking for ways to give, consider Beijing's local charities focused on helping less fortunate babies and young children.

The weather outside is frightful, but indoors is still delightful! Explore Joy City Chaoyang for shopping and playing - role playing at EE City, that is! Or warm up at one of Beijing's hot springs. We've also got a great winter craft for your kids: making your own snowman. He makes a great decoration for your home.

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BCIS is looking for people who would be interested in participating in a focus group on the subject of school education here in Beijing.

Participants must be parents of children attending an international school and who live within the 4th Ring Road.

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“Sleep, oh precious sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care”
 
Ever since I studied Macbeth, this line (from Act II, Scene 2) has fascinated me. I love the image of our personal tangled yarn (think of life and it's many daily cares), being unraveled and restored to order by sleep.

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Aye aye mates! If you haven't jumped on board with the storybook app, Penelope the Purple Pirate yet, here's your chance. This week our giveaway is a Penelope the Purple Pirate set, which includes:

• A signed copy of the book
• Penelope Canvas Tote Bag
• Penelope Bookmarks
• Penelope stickers
• Pirate coins
• Promo code for the iPhone or iPad

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I’m looking at the slew of new apps on our iPad, and it occurs to me that I have been lax in my app review duties of late, so I’m doing another round-up of storybook apps from three of our favorite storybook app developers. I’ve checked with Reina, my four year-old co-reviewer, and she assures me that in these six stories, there is something for every kind of kid; even grown up ones.

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