歲末感恩

尊敬的各位家长：聖誕快樂!

[課堂演練]

當別人指出我們的缺點時, 我們該怎麼反應? 以下是孩子們的練習:

-- 鞠躬

-- 對不起, 我錯了

-- 謝謝您指出我的缺點

-- 您是我生命中的貴人

[成長點滴]

張若晨 (五歲): 替父母分擔家務, 清潔抽水馬桶及洗臉池, 拖地; 給爸爸搥背.
栾茗荃: 帮爸爸准备早饭; 帮父母給學校老师分装礼物; 在学校主动向老师问好. 缺點:　听父母讲题时不太认真。放学回家吃零食、看电视、不乐意做作业。
葛Emily：自己自覺地做作業；和哥哥友善相處；晚上自己洗腳並給媽媽到洗腳水；收拾自己的房間；早上一叫就起床．(You might think all these behaviors are normal. But according to her parents, these are great progress for her.)
趙珮鈞: 購物時, 幫媽媽分擔,幫忙提東西.
荊含慈：早上背誦心經(讀經開慧).主動幫媽媽洗碗,送垃圾.語文作業完成得很認真.
葉芃: "媽媽, 我想學做飯."
江淮: 一晚, 舉止相當有禮 (鞠躬, 稱謝, 父母交代事情, 立刻照辦, 等等). 變化之大, 讓其母恍若夢中. 江淮讓媽媽咬自己的手, 以證明她不在夢裡.
江楓: 每晚睡前, 幫父母做很多事. 道晚安時,態度十分恭敬. 真正做到了 "昏則定".

當我們在課堂上分享這些時, 孩子們往往聽得很認真. 同時提醒他們: "見人善, 即思齊.", "見人惡, 即內省.". 我們發現在這種集體環境下, 鼓勵孩子的優點, 指出他們的缺點, 有利於他們德行成長. 所以家長和學生填寫這些成長點滴, 對我們的弟子規課幫助很大.

感謝您們的反饋.

[學期複習]

我們做了學期總複習. 發現這麼大量的經文複習, 效果不佳. 孩子們有點疲勞.

[節日感恩]

During my teaching 弟子規 in past three months, both parents and friends gave me a lot of support and courage. My first thought goes to all parents who always encourages me and gives me confidence. Thanks for your cooperation on this class. I could not put all details in this mail. But I always keep in mind that without your support, our program can never be successful.

Thank you 孫朝暉老師, 郝天晏老師 for teaching Chinese class and music class. We worked and will work as a team, and I never feel alone because you consistently commit to your responsibilities.

Thanks a lot for Mr. Zhao, Bin who organized and coordinated this class at the beginning of this term. You saved a lot of my time.

I really appreciate the help from Ms. 徐晚華. You made special order for our 弟子規 class so that our kids/parents can have text books/videos. I know whenever I need your help, you will be there.

Thanks Cathy for providing us meeting room so that our parent class has this luxury location.

Thank you -- 黃校長 for allocating classrooms for us so that our program can have a new home in the new year and have chance to expand if new kids want to join us. It will be enjoyable experience that we promote Chinese culture together in the future.

謝謝宋思頤老師 for your continuous effort on promoting 弟子規 program. Next year we rely on you to lead parent class.

"Thank you" -- 劉金玲老師. We all understand if it's not easy for you to come out with a baby less than one year. All our parents appreciate your commitment on teaching Children class next year.

Thank you 丁紅老師 for your commitment for teaching small kids Chinese next year.

Thanks 呂惠玲老師 for your positive feedback on our class and really hope you can join our team one day.

The last and special "Thank you" is for my wife -- 郝永靜. I know it may be not appropriate to praise a wife at this public spot according to Chinese Culture. But please do allow me to express this gratitude (you see I already put her at the end of list). During past year, you tolerate that I am out of home every weekend (Saturday for Chinese School and Sunday for 弟子規). Sometime it's extremely difficult for you to take care of all the house work especially when you were experiencing sleeping disorder. I know you had hard time to go through all these and sometimes I did not appreciate your effort. Sorry about this.

Thank you, thank you!

祝愿2011 年能給您們家庭帶來健康, 幸福, 安詳, 運氣!

江帆 敬書於聖誕前日

楊安日誌3

Dec.26 – Jan.01 

周日: DIZZY（大狗）一放出去就疯，不想回来，后来哥哥穿着小背心跑出去，花了将近10分钟才将DIZZY抓回来。妈妈心疼哥哥怕冻着，生气DIZZY越老越不懂事，就要拿鞋底子打DIZZY屁股教训他。安妮哭了，护着DIZZY不让妈妈打，哪怕鞋底子打在自己屁股上，也不肯让DIZZY受罪。

周一: 却不过盛情，去一个朋友家吃饭，她们家没有孩子能喝的水。安妮没有要到水，安妮一点没有哭闹着强要，实在渴的厉害了，也只是要求妈妈从水管里接了点儿凉水喝，没有为难人家主人。

周二:去幼儿园接安妮，她是最后一个小朋友。见到妈妈，并不是很开心的样子，相反，又哭又闹，要吃巧克力，要艾米丽，要米兰达，要爱爸爸，还要逼着妈妈也爱爸爸。想来这应该算是节日综合症吧。这两天玩疯了，乍一去幼儿园，小朋友又少，看到妈妈就开始闹脾气了。也许她是真累了，晚上一起复习弟子规，读到一半就听到了她的呼噜声。

周三: 学弟子规，安妮不仅要学着背，还缠着妈妈非要把意思弄明白不可。

周四:妈妈要安妮喝V8，其实安妮已经很不舒服了，勉强喝了几口，妈妈还要逼喝，自己说，我要吐了。最后果然控制不住吐了。自己不哭不闹，只是让妈妈帮忙擦脏裤子。见到小朋友，装出没事的样子。

周五: 安妮最喜欢帮妈妈干活。一看妈妈进了厨房，就按捺不住了，特意搬了把椅子提高身高，然后肩并肩地和妈妈一起，将米脂膜一张张撕割下来，再将爸爸切好的肉一块块包好。

周六: 包水饺，安妮擀皮儿擀的很专心，坚持了很长时间，受到大家好评。

圣诞聚餐

On Dec. 19, 2010, after last 弟子规 class of 2010，we had a Christmas party together with parents in the classroom. During the lunch, some kids served all parents with their talents：

张帆 -- 小提琴 “梅花”





荆含慈-- 舞蹈 “花仙子”

張帆，徐華嚴，崔孝誠，程迪，趙佩鈞 -- 合唱 “數鴨子”

江楓 -- 笛子 “Titanic”

楊安日誌2

12月19日 – 12月25日 (劉曉斌女士在假期裡沒有讓弟子規休假. 她的育女經越寫越好, 越寫越生動)

周日：安妮洗澡，妈妈给她脱了衣服，安妮开始哭闹，因为她要身体力行，自己脱衣服。妈妈嫌她脾气倔，又怕她折腾冻着，無論怎么教训也不听。她不依不饶，扯着嗓子哭得有声有色。妈妈实在找不出更好的法子，只好将就她，把衣服全部还给了她。安妮花了好长时间才将湿淋淋的衣服套上，鼻子一把泪一把地穿裤衩，还差点穿反了。最难穿的是湿袜子，她胖，要将胖肚子弯下去，更是吃力至极，但她最终还是胜利地将衣服全部套上了，然后自己又一件件将衣服扯下，滑进浴缸，随后唱起欢快的啦啦歌：门前大桥下游过一群鸭…… 后来才想起来，也许今天安妮学了弟子规，老师的新要求，孩子们洗澡，要自己脱衣服。所以安妮才那么倔强，坚持弟子规原则，绝不向妈妈的“暴力”低头。关于这件事，我觉得孩子履行弟子规很彻底，尽管从穿衣服到脱掉衣服花了将近半个小时，鼻子眼泪糊满了脸。而家长得到的教训是：实施弟子规时，一定要有足够的耐心。

周一：安妮吃米饭泡汤，吃得很干净，连汤带饭都吃下了，一颗米粒都没有剩下，最后连盘子都舔干净了。

周二：这次妈妈学乖了，看也不看安妮， 只管放水。果然安妮很利索地自己把衣服脱了，顶多花了5分钟时间。皆大欢喜。后来还是安妮自己洗的澡，在浴缸里学游泳。

周三：参加安妮幼儿园的圣诞PARTY回来，很累，不想再给安妮睡前学习弟子规新章节了，但是安妮哭闹着坚持，只好迁就她。学习弟子规，已成为安妮睡前庄严的仪式。缺了这个仪式，就不是安妮的睡眠了。

周四：安妮只想吃巧克力，不想吃饭。在妈妈的坚持下，安妮将鱼和米饭都吃下去了，一个米粒都没剩，终于得到了自己期望已久的巧克力。她连舔带吃，很是珍贵的样子。

周五：小猫咪喜欢在高台上溜达，妈妈说，猫咪小心摔下来！安妮赶紧推开自己的饭碗，将猫咪抱到安全的地方。妈妈又说，猫咪可能饿了。安妮顾不上自己吃饭，先给猫咪拿饭吃。

周六：今天是圣诞节，安妮帮妈妈做蛋糕,这次她做的很专业，她搅的鸡蛋花，她独自将所有的蛋糕纸一一放入烤盘里，还给每一个蛋糕里面放进两粒葡萄干。最后撒上黑芝麻粒。烤箱里的蛋糕飘出香味，自己做的蛋糕就是好吃。安妮一口气吃了两个！

楊安日誌1

12月13日 – 12月19日
周一：爸爸做的PASTA很美味，安妮爱吃，妈妈爱吃，客人们都爱吃。有個叔叔来晚了，只剩下一点点，妈妈要清锅底了。安妮大声阻止：“妈妈不要吃！”. 大家都看她，以为她要抢食。谁知她庄严地宣布说：“叔叔还没吃呢，给叔叔！”
周二：安妮和妈妈一起在睡前背诵（温习）弟子规。妈妈记性不好，安妮总是很耐心地提醒妈妈，下一句应该是什么。
周三：妈妈给安妮带去一些美味的小甜卷，安妮首先分给小朋友吃，自己最后只剩下一片最小最丑的一块，但是她吃的很开心。
周四：安妮能很好地控制了自己，做到每天只吃一颗巧克力，而且还能坚持晚饭后吃巧克力。
周五：安妮參加小朋友家的生日PARTY, 送给小朋友礼物时，没有因為舍不得而哭闹。
周六：妈妈生病了，爸爸很忙，忘了給妈妈煎药，是安妮几次不厌其烦地提醒爸爸。
============================================================
非常感恩楊安的母親劉曉斌女士發來的楊安 (Annie Yang 四歲) 日誌. 其實這也是很好的育兒日記. 如果能每天堅持, 將來是一份溫馨的回憶. 同時我們看到了一個孩子在弟子規裡的成長.

12月12日

尊敬的各位家长：您们好！

以下是本週課的內容:

[真實人生]

We would like to thank Ms. Julia who provided us the letter (Please check link: 葛智玮的母亲节) written by his son. Last Mother day, 葛智玮wrote the attached letter to his mom to express his deep appreciation to mom's hard work and care during past 18 years. Some quotations from this letter:

因为那让我回想起了我小时候被您责备的每一幕，您那恨铁不成钢的神情，您那丝渐渐变灰的黑发，还有您那越来越粗糙的双手，我无言以对。我羞愧了，我变得无地自容了，妈妈，我知道您会说这是一个母亲应该做的，可是，您知道吗？不是每个孩子都是被如此幸运的，不是每个孩子都有这么一个贴心的妈妈在他们身后的，不是每个孩子都会在再累的时候，都有一个温暖的家，一顿美味的菜肴，和一杯妈妈鲜榨的果汁等待着他们的。真的，这些话告诉我篮球队里那些黑人，他们是不会相信的。

 We shared this in the class and touched by this letter (also impressed by level of Chinese possessed by this boy). Ms. Julia agreed we can invite his son to our class as a guest speaker sometime next year.

[成長點滴]

All these information are from your feedback forms.

張帆：幫父母鋪被子. 起床後,把自己的床整理得很乾淨.

張磊：主動做作業並整理好書包.上學時主動和校車司機問好. (當表揚這個行為時, 我們鼓勵孩子們每天上車時向司機問好, 下車時致謝)

杨安妮 ：給家裡的貓咪和狗Dizzy勸架. (安妮要求家裡的寵物們做到 -- 兄道友, 弟道恭 :-)

譚丁銘：聽媽媽講道理，媽媽說不買他想要東西，能順從媽媽。

譚聖育民："我有點不聽話, 我想改." (很質樸的話, 認識到錯誤, 並發心改正.) "我做到了出必告, 返必面. 出門時說我上學了, 回家時說我回來了." (譚聖育民開始自己填寫力行表, 並寫出心得. 這是鍛煉中文寫作的機會)

趙珮鈞：週末, 爸爸不在家, 幫媽媽準備好早餐.

荊含慈：起床後很勤快, 梳頭洗臉刷牙不拖拉. 不用媽媽叮囑, 知道事先準備好还圖書館的書. (how many of you have this experience: at last minute, you cannot find all books that need to return to the library.) 鋪好床單, 房間很整潔. 主動洗碗, 連媽媽都不知道碗已洗好了. (it's a big surprise for mom!)

葉芃: 幫媽媽掃地. 尊敬父母, 按時睡覺. 起床不鬧情緒. (從這裡看出, 以前經常鬧情緒, 現在改了)

肖棣之: "J'ai dis bon matin et bonne nuit à mes parents." (我向父母說早安, 晚安 -- 這是棣之首次自己填反饋表.) "J'ai rangé ma chambre." (我整理自己的房間 -- 我們鼓勵孩子們以任何方式寫心得,日記表述學弟子規感受, 可以是中文, 英文和法文, 最好是中文)

江楓: 養成習慣每晚睡前給父母端杯水放在床頭櫃上, 熱好暖袋, 檢查家裡門是否鎖好.

江淮: 放學回家, 看見姥姥姥爺在掃雪, 搶過雪鏟, 自己掃雪並堅持要求他們回家休息.

[經文學習]

人有短, 切莫揭. 人有私, 切莫說.

對他人: 不彰人短, 遏恶扬善, 尊重隱私.

對自己: 不炫己长. 勇於懺悔, 揭己之短.

聖賢人: 無短無私. "書有不曾經我讀, 事無不敢對人說."

[德育故事] - 公義變俗

隋辛公義除岷州刺史。岷俗一人病疫。合家避之。孝義道絕。病者多死。公義欲變其俗。命凡有疾者。悉輿置廳事。迎醫療之。俟愈。召其家人親族。諭之曰。設若相染。吾殆矣。眾感泣。此風遂革。合境呼為慈母。

Note: 辛公義以身作則變了風俗, 沒有揭人短.

[作業] -- 百善孝為先

親有過, 諫使更. 諫不入, 悅复諫.

I asked kids never, ever, 頂嘴, when they receive the teaching and criticizing from parents(父母責, 須順承). They can point out their parents' faults politely when parents are in good mood.

[作業] -- 常礼举要

對待家裡訪客的禮節. During Christmas season, we may receive some guests. Please pay attention to how your kids behave under this situation. In the class, they brainstormed a lot of ideas on how to gently treat the visitors.

[課堂討論]

We have an interesting discussion regarding how to receive the guest at home:

如果父母不在家, 有個認識的叔叔來訪, 這時該怎麼辦:

崔孝誠: 給他鞠躬說 "叔叔好", 讓他坐沙發, 倒杯水給他喝

江淮: 給他拿雙拖鞋

葉芃: 打開電視給他看

張帆: 給他熱包爆米花

崔孝誠: 給父母打電話, 告訴他們有客來訪.

You see that our kids can detect the need of other people now.

[Christmas Party]
If it is feasible, I would like to have a mini spectacle during our lunch party. Your kids can bring portable music instruments like violin, flute, keyboard, etc on Sunday. Or they can prepare to tell a story or joke, recite a poem, perform a short play, dance, etc. It can be any format. Please let children know this is not for showing off their capability instead it is a great chance of serving other parents and classmates with their potential talent. You may bring your cameras for this event. Your spouses and other kids are encouraged to join us. Hopefully we can see you all.

Thanks,

江帆敬書

12月05日

尊敬的各位家长：您们好！

This week's class we covered the following content.

[成長點滴]

張帆：做到父母呼, 應勿緩; 給爸爸搥背; 關心爸爸, 雨天給爸爸打傘(小孩給成年人打傘, 一定不容易); 媽媽在圖書館, 給媽媽送飯.
張磊：主動做作業; 吃飯快, 不剩飯; 朝早起, alarm 響時, 顧慮到媽媽在睡, 趕緊關上鬧鐘; 聽從父母的話.
杨安妮 （四岁）：帮妈妈做蛋糕。 早晚讀誦弟子規; 給客人端茶水; 和小朋友分享食物; 給家裡小猫咪講弟子規 ( we believe this cat will be very intelligent);
譚丁銘：聽媽媽講道理，媽媽說不買他想要東西，能順從媽媽。
譚聖育民：帮妈妈做蛋糕。照顧小弟弟。
趙珮鈞：在校對老師很有禮貌。
葉芃：改正以往做作業拖拉的習慣。自從學弟子規後，在校表現好，老師寫表揚信給家長。（媽媽兩年來首次受到這樣的信）

[经文学习]
人不閒，勿事攪。人不安，勿話擾。

生活中如何運用？電話禮節
父母不安時，我們該怎麼辦？　（崔孝誠答：哄哄他們！）

[說文解字]

閒

徐鍇曰：“夫門夜閉，閉而見月光，是有閒".
我告訴孩子們, 中國文字很優美. 試想: 夜晚閉鎖門戶 (身心已閒), 抬頭, 一輪朗月在空. "閒"的意境呼之欲出.

安

Several years ago, one of my colleague, Fouad, approached me and wrote a big Chinese character "安" on the white board (He was learning Chinese at that moment). He told me this character was very interesting. The upper part signified a house and lower part a woman. "安" meant that if there is a mom at home, we are safe and feel peaceful. "How beautiful your language is!" he said so.

I would like to recommend 梁冬的國學堂 -- "太美"系列節目:
中國文字太美
中國飲食太美
中國中醫太美
中國文化太美

You can baidu or google these words and find lots of audio files related to this program.

[課堂討論]

什麼是聰明?
聰明不是智商高, 而是如孔子所說 "聽思聰, 視思明". 能聽到看到, 感受到別人的需要.

[复习]

勿諂富，勿驕貧，勿厭故，勿喜新

故事：宋弘念旧 （汉宋弘为司空时。光武姊湖阳公主新寡。帝与共论朝臣。微观其意。主曰。宋公威容德器。群臣莫及。帝因谓弘曰。谚云。贵易交。富易妻。人情乎。弘曰。臣闻贫贱之交不可忘。糟糠之妻不下堂。帝谓主曰。事不谐矣。）


[作業]

百善孝为先: 親所好, 力為具. (我要求孩子們能感受父母的需要, 做些父母喜歡的事)
二十四孝: 戲彩娛親

老萊子對於奉養雙親，總是想盡辦法給他們很甘甜和柔脆的食物。雖然已經七十歲，但從不會說自己老長，其中《禮記》記載：「父母在，互言不稱老」。而且經常穿著一些五彩斑斕的衣服，故意裝作小孩的形態，在雙親眼前戲舞、戲弄小鳥，做出孩兒玩耍的樣子，想逗爹娘開心；另外曾取兩桶水挑到堂上來，故意跌倒在地上，便裝出小孩般地大哭起來，娛悅他的父母。後來以「老萊衣」比喻對老人的孝順.

常礼举要：碗中不留饭粒 (解釋唐詩 <<愍農>>)

[故事]

烏鴉：An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45 years old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window. ... ( http://www.heartnsouls.com/stories/j/s925.shtml )

江帆 敬書於大雪日

11月28日

Dear all parents,

Another week passed by. We have following updates for this class.

Homework:

百善孝为先：

父母責，須順承.  From many of your feedback, I noticed when receiving scolding (責) from parents, some of children tend to rebut ("回嘴"，"犟嘴"，"頂嘴" all these words are shown in the feedback forms). Now they were requested not to rebut towards parent. Even when they think they are

right and parents are wrong, they can discuss it when parents are calm. I just asked them to follow this and I understand it's not easy even for the adults.

二十四孝：蘆衣順母（周朝閔子騫)

常礼举要：

朝起早. Children were asked to wake up a bit early each morning to read

弟子規. Some of you expressed that how difficulty it is for kids to wake

up on time every morning. This week, we all work on this. Provide them

a alarm so that they organize themselves properly.

成長點滴：

張帆：給爸爸端洗腳水； 平時在校有禮貌地和老師打招呼。

張磊：謙讓弟弟；在地鐵讓座給爸爸。

程迪：分享食品給同學；堅持每天寫漢字，坐姿很端正；專注地臉小提琴。

趙珮鈞：在校下課時，主動向老師鞠躬；幫媽媽疊衣服；飯前，叫父母吃飯。

莊靜華：熱情招待客人，給他們端水；星期天自己煮飯，并先為媽媽預留飯菜，自己才吃；自己整理書柜，書桌，房間；犯錯后，主動向媽媽示好并承認錯誤；幫姥姥熱暖包；每天洗自己小衣物。

葉芃：認真做作業

江淮：鞠躬向長輩道晚安，態度恭敬；犯錯受父親批評，過后鞠躬說："爸爸，我做的不對，我錯了。"

经文学习：

勿諂富，勿驕貧，勿厭故，勿喜新

故事 --

1. 伯巨探友

荀巨伯远看友人疾，值胡贼攻郡，友人语巨伯曰："吾今死矣，子可去。"巨伯曰："远来相视，子令吾去，败义以求生，岂荀巨伯所行耶？"贼既至，谓巨伯曰："大军至，一郡尽空，汝何男子，而敢独止？"巨伯曰："友人有疾，不忍委之，宁以我身代友人命。"贼相谓曰："我辈无义之人，而入有义之国。"遂班军而还。一郡并获全。（《世说新语》）

2. 荒島三友

有三個朋友一起出遊，到海上旅遊。剛好遇到大風浪，結果船沈下來。幸好三個人祖宗有德，沒死，漂到了一個荒島上，三個人在那裏相依為命。突然在這個沙灘上發現了一個神燈。諸位朋友，看到神燈要怎麼樣？幸好他們有讀過《阿拉丁神燈》，把它擦一擦。結果這麼一擦，這精靈出來了，他說：主人，我給你們三個願望，不過因為你們有三個人，三除於三等於一，一個人一個。結果這第一個因為他是開計程車的，他說我每天早也開晚也開，很辛苦，我的願望是可以有好幾台計程車租給別人，我當老闆。這個精靈說：小事一件。他就回去當他的計程車老闆。第二個在超級市場當雇員，有時候還要三班輪值，半夜還要值大夜班，所以他說當這個也很辛苦，我希望能夠自己擁有一家便利商店，我當老闆請人家來做。這個精靈說：小事一件。怎麼樣？就回去了。第三個人想了半天，平生無大志，只求六十分，也沒想過要幹什麼，所以都沒什麼願望，整天悠悠放任。他突然就想：我沒什麼願望，不過這個荒島也不錯，但是我一個人在這裏太寂寞了，我希望他們兩個回來陪我。有沒有聽到兩聲哀號？（幸福人生講座-細講《弟子規》

第四十集））

論語 -- I explained some sentences from this classic book related to

this topic. I know this can be a bit tough for younger kids.

子貢曰："貧而無諂，富而無驕。何如？"子曰："可也。未若貧而樂，富而好禮者也。"子貢曰："詩云：如切如磋，如琢如磨。其斯之謂與？"子曰："賜也，始可與言詩已矣。告諸往而知來者。"

子曰："富與貴，是人之所欲也，不以其道得之，不處也。貧與賤，是人這所惡也，不以其道得之，不去也。君子去仁，惡乎成名？君子無終食之間違仁，造次必於是，顛沛必於是。"

子曰："貧而無怨難，富而無驕易。"

子曰："君子謀道不謀食。耕者，餒在其中矣；學也，祿在其中矣。君子憂道不憂貧。"

子曰："賢哉回也！一簞食，一瓢飲，在陋巷，人不堪其憂，回也不改其樂。賢在回也！"

子曰："飯疏食，飲水，曲肱而枕之，樂亦在其中矣。不義而富且貴，於我如浮雲。"

子曰：溫故而知新，可以為師矣。

课堂讨论：

什麼樣的人是真正的朋友？

Best regards,

江帆 敬書

11月21日

Dear all parents,

This week we have three new students joining us. The class seems to be crowded now. We will ask janitor to add more table and chairs in the class.

Feedback sharing:
Thank you for filling the feedback sheet. Here is some highlights:
杨安妮 （四岁）：帮妈妈剥蒜瓣。 给猫咪喂饭。Shopping 时帮妈妈搬东西
栾茗荃 （八岁）：衣物摆放比以前整齐。写完作业主动收拾书桌。做完游戏收拾玩具。帮父母拿碗筷
程迪 （四岁）：早上主动朗诵弟子规。每晚自己准备第二天衣物。在幼儿园主动问老师好 （以前即使妈妈提醒也不开口）
江淮 （八岁）：哥哥受妈妈批评后，安慰哥哥。妈妈生病，嘴唇起泡，亲妈妈患处，说“这样会好得快些”
。。。

[Homework]
Review and continue last four homeworks.
孝行:
父母呼， 应勿缓
冬则温 (给父母温暖) - 暖被窝， 端洗脚水， 热暖水袋 。。。
晨则省昏则定。 I asked students to greet their parents (you) after getting up in the morning and before going to bed in at night.

常礼举要:
Prepare themselves well and wear warmly before leaving home -- "冠必正 纽必结 袜与履 俱紧切".
双手奉接物品
电话礼节
arrange personal stuff after returning home from outside -- "置冠服 有定位"


经文学习
"己有能。勿自私。"

We we're discussing about not to be selfish. When asked what can we share with others, students came up with the following:
Money, food, animal, things, capability, LOVE, etc.

They were told that to be selfish means the heart is so small that it can only hold "ego" (我). When asked who we should put into our heart, they said:
Parents, relatives, friends, brothers/sisters, animal, the whole world (this answer surprised me most)

When asked who can possess the whole world in his heart, the answers were:
Martin Luther King, 孔子， 孟子， Gandhi ...

We really enjoyed our conversation. It's full of fun.

"人所能。勿轻訾。"

Not to be jealous. We shared a story about “李斯因嫉妒害死韩非子” http://book.sina.com.cn/longbook/his/1110945539_haibanzhanguo/72.shtml

课堂讨论

What’s is happiness? How to achieve happiness? The index of happiness. (some ideas are from book "The art of happiness" by Dalai Lama)

Parent class

Don't have enough time to write this section. We had really wonderful discussion. Next session will be leaded by Ms. You.

Enjoy,

fan

11月14日

Dear parents,

Soya bean

The half of this class became a workshop. I brought a box of soya bean so that children can make the soothing bag for their parents in the class. Also we made the soy milk with 豆浆机. Almost every student had a chance to serve his/her parents with hot and fresh soy drink. We showed how to hold the cups with respect and carefulness (执虚器 如执盈).

Also, we took this chance to let student understand that soy bean plays very important role in Chinese food and culture. In 2007,  Montreal botanic garden (梦湖园) held a special exhibition to show that how soy bean influenced Chinese and served the largest population in this world. From environmental point of view, soy bean has much less impact on the environment than the meat while providing nutritious food. Our students listed the food made by this small yellow bean: 豆腐，豆腐乳，豆皮，腐竹，豆腐脑，豆腐泡，素肉，臭豆腐, 豆浆 。。。

经文学习：才大者。望自大。人所服。非言大

We shared the following story:

Twenty five years ago there was a famine in Bangladesh. Yunus was teaching economics in a local university. He felt terrible teaching elegant theories of economics while people were dying on the streets. Yunus then began to understand how people in nearby villages lived and if he could do something to help them. One particular incident took Yunus in a new direction. He met a woman who made bamboo stools for a living.  ... ( http://championsclubcommunity.com/covey/2010/01/10/muhammad-yunus-%E2%80%93-an-example-of-leadership-and-greatness/ )

Muhammad Yunus is an example of greatness and he was the only economist who earned Nobel Peace Prize (2006). In the class, I had more detail of this story than the content in the link above. The story is fully described in the book “The 8th Habit” written by Stephen Covey. It shows that no matter how little things you do at the beginning to help others, if you keep doing it, it can grow to something big.

Another story: 渑池之会

Parent Class:

We had discussion on how to conduct the parent class. We agreed that every week we focus on one topic. This week, 赵斌老师 will lead the class. After watching TV (http://www.dizigui.cn/xijiang35.asp), the discussion will focus on "己有能。勿自私。人所能。勿轻訾。"

Home work:

孝行: 父母呼， 应勿缓

From you feedback, I know this is a challenge for the parent. Some kids seem not follow this well. As Annie Wang said: "如果这是作业，我死定了"。 I will do the follow-up next class on this.

常礼举要: 双手奉接物品

Thanks,

Fan

11月07日

Dear Parents,

According to Chinese lunar calendar, Nov. 07 denotes the official beginning of winter season (立冬). So this week's behavioural homework focuses on "冬则温"：

孝行

-- I demonstrated in the class how to make a small soothing bag with soy bean and encourage your children to make one at home. Every night they can warm it in microwave and give it to parents. I hope you already get this surprise from your kids because they were asked to do it on Sunday night . Please refer to 黄豆灸法 for the benefits of this soybean bag.

常礼举要

--I urged your kids to prepare themselves well and wear warmly before leaving home -- "冠必正 纽必结 袜与履 俱紧切". Put on warm mitten, scarf, etc. and make sure that shoe laces are not losing. Use mirror to check if the wearing are in right position. Try not to be sick in the winter season because: "身有伤 贻亲忧"

-- Gandhi

In this class, we learned "行高者 名自高 人所重 非貌高". I believe that Gandhi ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi ) is one of greatest men who demonstrated this principle well. Mahatma Gandhi was short, slim (100 pounds) and not handsome (非貌高), but he possessed a huge mind power which eventually let British men leave his homeland - India. In the town (Brossard) where I am living, in front of municipal library, there is a statue of Gandhi. Two sentences are engraved at the bottom of the statue (my translation in Chinese):

"Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." -- Albert Einstein

我们的后代将难以置信：如此伟大的灵魂曾经以血肉之躯存在过，并在我们的星球上行走过。-- 爱因斯坦

“You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” -- Gandhi

你们可以捆绑我，可以折磨我，甚至可以摧毁我的肉体，但是你们将永远无法禁锢我的灵魂。 -- 甘地

I shared with class some practices that Gandhi did to make India become independent country. But most importantly he had very high moral standing (行高者). Several years ago after reading his autobiography -- " The Story of My Experiments with Truth", I totally agree what Einstein said. He maintained very simple life style, believed any kind of violence for any reason is evil; he was the first on who applied non-violence in political area; he was consistently seeking  the truth during his whole life. What about his fame (名自高)? His birthday (Oct 2) become the international day of non-violence. Nobel Prize committee always regrets that Gandhi was not awarded with peace prize even though he was nominated four times. In 1948, when Gandhi was assassinated, the committee chose not to award the peace prize to anyone, stating that "there was no suitable living candidate".

--晏子

Another example of "行高者 名自高 人所重 非貌高" is 晏婴 who is very short but very intelligent. The children loves the story "晏子使楚":

晏子到了楚国，楚国人知道晏子身材矮小，楚国人在大门旁边开了一个小洞来迎接晏子。晏子不进，对接待的人说：“只有访问'狗国'，才从狗洞进去。今天我出使楚国，不应当从这个门进入。”接待的人立刻把晏子的话传给了楚王。楚王大开城门，让晏子进入。          

(晏子使楚。楚人以晏子短，为小门于大门之侧而延晏子。晏子不入，曰：“使狗国者从狗门入。今臣使楚，不当从此门入。”傧者更道，从大门入)

More stories please refer to  http://baike.baidu.com/view/4618.htm.

-- Ending

I would like to close this note with a quotation of Gandhi (my translation in Chinese):

Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always.

每当我沮丧之时，我铭记：真理和仁爱总是胜利的。尽管有时，存在过暴政和杀戮，这些邪恶可能看起来不可一世，但终将失败。常思之，勉之。

Thanks,

Fan

10月30日

Dear all parents,

---Homework:

Since we already have dedicated Chinese class,  the homework for DiZiGui class will focus on the behaviours. For example, how to respect the parents (孝) and how to follow some etiquette (礼), etc.

This week's homework is:

-- 晨省昏定。 I asked students to greet their parents (you) after getting up in the morning and before going to bed in at night.

-- 电话礼节。Some of our students starts to answer phone calls for their parents now. In the class, we showed how to politely answer the phone call. Some phrases like "请您稍等一下"，“请问您找谁？”etc. are encouraged to used. If your child has chance to answer the phone, please monitor him or her to see if the politesse is applied.

In the class, we shared the homework feedback from some students. we felt that it is very lucky to be the parent of 栾茗荃. Before sleep, she prepared water of teeth brushing for her dad and mom, served the water of washing feet,  and warmed the bed for her parents. Annie Wang warmed the soothing bag in microwave for her grandma every night. 程迪's mom enjoyed passionate hugs from her daughter before sleep..... Maybe all these are little kindness. But they can contribute to happy families and eventually a beautiful world.

Please fill the feedback form so that we can share more in the class. I understand you are busy. If you write some notes on how your kids behave during the past week, they will be quite happy when I share your positive comments in the class.

-- 在爱中行走:

We continued the uncompleted topic of last week -- Love. Teresa's life demonstrates the unconditional love:

其中有个老人，在搬到「垂死者之 家」的那天傍晚即断了气，临死前，他拉着德兰的手，用孟加拉语低声地说：「我一生活得像条狗，而我现在死得像个人，谢谢了。」

.......

当她获得诺贝尔和平奖之后，一天，黄昏时分，她听到有人敲门，打开门看到一个可怜的麻风病人。他衣不蔽体，饥肠辘辘，在寒风中瑟瑟发抖。她立刻给了他一张毛毯和一些东西吃。

不过，那个可怜的麻风病人却诚恳地说：

「嬷嬷，今天我来这里不是来索取什么的。我听说你获得了大奖。因此，我今天早晨也决定将今天讨来的东西都送给你。我从早晨一直乞讨到现在，所得到的东西都在这个碟子里了。嬷嬷，请一定收下我这个微不足道的礼物。」

.......

德兰修女在出殡的时候，印度总理跪在地下，印度阁员跪在地下，德兰修女的遗体走到印度大街上的时候，两边高楼上的印度人都统统下来跪在地下，没有人敢站的比她高。她的坟墓上写的是「伟大的印度圣母德兰修女」。

Please refer to the following link for more detail: http://www.dfg.cn/gb/cszd/shzr/48-ajx.html

--- Halloween:

Thanks the parents for bringing us candies for Halloween.

If you have any good material, stories, suggestions, comments, please let me know.

Yours respectfully,

Fan