The torch comes to Bella Bella

On Tuesday the 2nd the Olympic Torch came to Bella Bella. It came by boat. It came from Prince Rupert and landed on the government wharf in Bella Bella. Everyone from the village came down to the wharf to watch. They were dressed in Button Blankets and the chiefs were wearing their head-dresses. Everyone cheered when the torch got there. The men sang and drummed, and I was at home. I saw the torch getting lit right in front of my house. There were speeches and more drumming. Beth sang Oh Canada song. It sounded quite nice.

Last night there was a feast. My sister Angelica and my father went. I didn't go because I was sick. The feast was in the hall. At feasts they have food, there are lots of speeches and they go quite late at night. Close to the end the kids dance, they dance things like the canoe series and the animal dance. After the dances then gifts are given out. Angelica got stuff like a cymbal, a a little flag and some putty. She gave me the putty.

Cindy's Free Writing Time Thursday January 29

Since Sawyer has to to it for 10 minutes, I thought I should try for 20. Home schooling it tough---but so far I think it's working out. Hard to tell, as today was our first full day,and I started out by not reading the instructions so we were doing work we didn't need to do...great first day.

It is really well thought out, the lesson plans flow from one subject to another, not too much time and not too little on any subject. I was horrified to find how far behind Sawyer is in some subjects--he hasn't even started cursive writing and according to the book he should be up to the letter S. Even as I write that I realise how stupid it sounds. Who cares what letter he can write and when, as long as he gets it in the end. And I did just read an article about the end of handwriting, not that I believe it, but it does sort of make sense, times change, we no longer teach children how to use a quill pen.

I guess that is the hardest part, not teaching Sawyer how to write, but the separating myself from the problem part. It would be easier if he wasn't my child, then I would not question my motives-am I keeping him home because I'm lazy, and I wouldn't question his motives-he could sit still and listen if he just tried harder. It's funny, I wonder if I have had the last four years of my life to live differently if I would be making the same choices for my little guy. If I hadn't been through this with dozens of other people's kids would I make the same choices. I can't believe I fought to keep him in school when for so many meeting I sat and said "Every child wants to please us and wants to succeed, if they don't it is because we are not meeting their needs, not that they are not meeting our expectations."
But that doesn't make it any easier. I still miss my job, and my friends and my sense of importance. I have always claimed that what Tom and I do is raise our children, we work for the school for money. And, once again I have to put my money where my mouth is. This is only the end of official day one, I am sure that we can expect a lot more changes and challenges in the next few months. We are committed to this until the end of June. Then we will look at the situation again.

Sawyer's Free Writing

Today its raining. Well come to think of its always raining in this season. Anyway there is a river not too far from here that I see every day . Usually if it rains hard enough the water level goes up quite high.

Day Off, Wednesday

Today Sawyer and I are taking the day off. We are going to watch the movie Spirited Away, it is about this little girl who was quite snotty and whinny and they moved to a different place. Then she has all kinds of adventures in this bath house that is full of spirits.

We might play cards later, and at three o'clock Sawyer is going to see someone named Joe and they are going to do experiments. At 3:20 Sawyer will go to art club at the high school and make some art with Tom.

We made our favorite snack instead of popcorn---Chick Peas. We get them from a can and we fry them or bake them in a pan with olive oil and salt. They are very good.

This is an eagle sitting on the roof of the house in front of ours.

Sawyer's Home School

Sawyer started Home school on January 4, 2010. He started home schooling because "I had a hard time in school. " We decided as a family to try to go the home schooling route, and try to document our adventure along the way. Tom and Angelica are the support staff, and Cindy is the main teacher now, while Sawyer is the only student in this school.

So far we haven't much work, we did register with NIDES ( North Island Distance Education System) but as the mail in Bella Bella is slow at best we haven't received all of our packages yet. But a friend of mine said that we need some time to heal ourselves.

Here is Sawyer in his own words..." My two favoirte colours are purple and green. I own a turtle named humble, she is a girl turtle. I'm 8, but really I'm nine, I'll turn nine in spring. I would like to be an inventor when I grow up and I live in Bella Bella, BC. "

This is Cindy, my mum; she has grey hair, she wares glasses, she has blue eyes, and she's funny. She bakes lots of stuff, she tried to make sour dough but it didn't turn out too well. She has had alot of jobs like teacher, youth worker, and prison guard. She is married to a man named Tom, she has a daughter named Angelica.

Fall in Bella Bella

This is now midway through our second year on the island, and it really feels like home. Partly because the weather is so like Vancouver, chilly and wet, with a hint of frost on some nights. After the last four years of cold and dry I don't mind the rain. Even though we are considerably North, as North as we were in Tsi Deldel it is so much warmer, as we are living on the sea.

Island life might not be for everyone, but it sure apeals to me. I like the smell of the water, and the sea food, and knowing that the kids can only wander so far before they hit water. Tom starts to feel like he is hemmed in, but he has always suffered from cabin fever.

Last Potlatch of the Year

Last night we attended the last big potlatch of the year, a memorial one for the Humchit family. We missed the tombstone revealing,and the mourning songs, but came for the feast and the dancing. It was a big feast with a good sized crowd 300-400, as the crowds came and went. The feast was seafood, and we sat with Joanna, one of the teachers, as well as Ryan and Curtis, two of Jackie's friends. Angelica didn't eat dinner with us, she was at a party for a friend, and only showed up for the dancing later.