Summertime for an 8 year-old in Dalian

This summer, I began tutoring two 8 year-old kids, Kerry and Bill, in English. I work with them four hours a week and we sing songs, play English games, do plays, and so on. A week ago, I gave each of them a notebook and asked that they keep a journal by writng down on or two things they did each day. On Monday, I met with just Kerry because Bill had a doctor’s appointment. I asked Kerry about her journal and it seems she forgot about it. So, I guided her as to how to make a journal entry. It soon became clear that Kerry is a very busy little girl. I finally asked her how many teachers she has this summer and she started counting on her fingers and came up with 9. Little Kerry has me for four hours of English, another English teacher, an art teacher, a calligraphy teacher, a math teacher, a homework teacher (Chidlren in China have a homework book to complete during the summer), two piano teachers–one comes to their home and she goes to the studio for the other one, and a swimming teacher. Kerry seems very happy and well-adjusted, as does Bill. They play together great and they have wonderful imaginations. I am anxious to find out what Bill’s summer schedule is like.