Awsum, I guess you know not to plant bamboo in your yard! It's really invasive and pops up from underground roots. I had that problem with the house we rented in California. Yes, I was surprised to see a bamboo forest on Long Island! So it does grow in colder climates. I remember when I was a kid, and people still hung clothes out on the line, they used bamboo poles to shore up the line in the middle so the wet clothes wouldn't drag on the ground. I think someone would cut a notch in the top to fit on the clothesline.
I tutored again today. Nothing really interesting. The girl went first, as usual, and she is nearing the end of chapt. 3 of The Jungle Books. She's still valiantly reading along, with lots of words I have to explain like terrace and tracery. I had mentioned another outing before it gets too cold and snowy, and my bank sent a leaflet with my last statement offering free admission to customers and their families on a certain day, so last time I showed her the leaflet and had her choose. She brought up the point that no one would ever think 3 small Chinese kids were my family. I explained that they could be adopted or maybe I married a Chinese man, and they ere half Chinese, and she looked doubtful.
So this time, I asked her which place she'd like to go to, and she said to leave it up to her older brother. Diplomatic, wasn't that?
Then it was his turn, and I showed him the leaflet. He right away asked which trip his sister chose. I said I wasn't going to tell him, because he would just choose something else to spite her. He didn't deny it. He chose the Cayuga Nature Center, and then I told him his sister said he should choose. I hope he felt bad being so vindictive when she is so generous, but I doubt he felt anything but satisfaction at getting his way.
I've been "reading" books to the little one, which translates as pointing out pictures and naming them, as one does with toddlers when they can't yet understand a story. He seems to like the colorful pictures more than the line drawings of Dr. Seuss books. He thought a seal was a fish, and I told him it was an animal, not a fish.
Last, I went to the new girl. She is still having trouble reading the words and tries to make up what she thinks will be the next word rather than reading what's there. We worked very hard on when to use don't and doesn't, and she really had trouble with the word don't (but not doesn't), for some reason. She also has trouble with do, thinking it's did or doe or something close like that. Yet she can read many words that are much more complex. It's a puzzle. We worked together a little over an hour, and I could see she was getting tired, so I suggested she stop. Then she looked at the clock and said, "Look at the time!" amazed that we had worked so hard for so long.
I don't like to make the lessons a specific time but rather what I see the kids can handle, and if they dawdle and fool around, it takes longer, so they must accomplish the amount of work I've planned, no matter how long it takes. The original girl is good at dawdling, and sometimes either she or her brother will ask me about things that take extra time to discuss. That doesn't mean they get to do less of the work I planned, so those deflection tactics don't work. I do discuss things, as I figure conversation is a good way to learn English, too, though. If they make a grammatical error when they ask me something, I correct them and make them say it the right way. So even if we digress, it's still educational. I prefer the free-form method to a strict schedule of doing things and quitting at an exact time. I think it works better. Sometimes, the lesson is short, as it was last time, when the boy was so upset. He could hardly read, so I let him off the hook after a paragraph. Sometimes, if they are going full steam ahead, I won't stop them just because their time is up. To me, this is a better way of learning than adhering to a strict schedule. I've explained this to the parents so they don't wonder at irregular periods of time spent tutoring their kids.