News from Thailand:

Recent Transport Disasters Blamed On Spirits

by Warawita Yaemsuda, Teeranai Charuvastra


(14 September) Supernatural powers are cited as the factors behind recent high-profile accidents in Thailand, namely the botched landing of a Thai Airways plane at Bangkok′s main airport earlier this week.

14 people were injured during the evacuation from the Airbus A330-300 which skid off the runway of Suvarnabhumi Airport on 9 September.

While initial investigation pointed to a malfunctioned landing gear (the officials have not yet finished their inquiry), the Managing Director of Thai Aiways, Mr. Sorajak Kasemsuvan, is not taking chances. He said his company will conduct a major ceremony to appease the malevolent spirits said to be haunting the airport.

He is quoted as saying that the ceremony will also thank the said spirits for assisting with the successful operation to salvage the plane from the runway.

Mr. Sorajak′s comment followed a series of coverage by Thai Rath, the best-selling newspaper in Thailand, which gave extensive attention to the supposed involvement of ghosts and spirits in the accident.

Previously, Thai Rath has reported that a ghost in "traditional costume" (which strangely resembles the outfit Thai Airways flight attendants wear) has helped evacuate the passengers from the aircraft shortly after it slid off the runway.

The newspaper has also quoted Mr. Chotisak Asapaviriya, a former director of Airports Authority of Thailand (AOT), as saying that he had organised a regular prayer session to placate the vengeful spirits which reside in the airport vicinity.

At the ceremony to unveil the airport in 2006, Mr. Chotisak told Thai Rath, an official in charge of searching for explosive materials had broken down into a trance, claiming that he was being possessed by a "grandfather ghost" who demanded a shrine to be built on the airport compound. The shrine was quickly built afterwards.

Thai Rath helpfully points out that 8 major shrines have been built around Suvarnabhumi Airport by the staff in order to ward off evil spirits, such as a shrine dedicated to the Naga (holy big snake in Buddhist myths) which is presumably angered by construction of the airport on what was once a swamp inhabited by snakes.

Other smaller shrines include a strangely named "Italian Shrine".

The newspaper cited the curses of the residing ghosts as the main reason the construction of the airport had been delayed for decades. The more rational Thais, however, would point to mire of corruption that has plagued the project before the government of Thaksin Shinawatra finalised the project in late 2005.

Dr. Smith Thammasaroj, former director of Suvarnnabhumi Airport, told Thai Rath he was convinced of the existence of supernatural entities around the airport even though, he admitted, he had never encountered any particular case personally.

The scientist who once headed Thailand′s Meteorological Department said he had invited so many psychics to conduct ceremonies and constructed so many shrines "that I can′t keep count".

"We even had to build a condominium for the ghosts to reside," Dr. Smith said, "Because the spirits are so many individual spirit houses won′t be enough".

However, there has been few secular responses to the accident at Suvarnabhumi Airport on 9 September, too. Sqn.Ldr. Sitha Tiwaree, Managing Director AOT, said the authority has conducted an Emergency Plan Rehearsal, in which the airport′s fire and rescue departments took part.The accident involving the Airbus was the most severe case at the airport since its opening 7 years ago, he said.

Sqn.Ldr. Sitha stressed that the incident will be analysed for future adjustment of the Emergency Plan, particularly how to transport passengers to the airport building - the procedure that received several complaints on 9 September. The rehearsal also pointed out that the airline crew was not familiar with the runway, causing complications during the latest accident, the director noted.

In long term, he said, the airport plans to build another substitute runway, in order to sustain further service. The AOT board will meet on Tuesday, 17 September to discuss about the construction budget, according to Sqn.Ldr. Sitha.

But it seems the spirits do not only roam the sky.

After a train headed from Malaysia to Bangkok′s Hua Lamphong Station derailed in the capital city yesterday, Daily News, the second best selling newspaper of the kingdom, reported that a certain curse might be involved.
According to Daily News, a painting at Hua Lamphong depicted a small obstacle in the rail track, which perfectly explains the frequent derailments - more than 15 incidents this year alone.

Even Transport Minister Chatchart Sitthipan, best known for his hands-on approach in inspecting problems of public transports, is mulling a paranormal hands-on solution. He has reportedly ordered the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to consider a plan to organise a merit-making ceremony for the sake of his Ministry.

During the past few months, Mr. Chatchart noted, the country has suffered from many transport accidents such as minivan crashes, train derailments, boat crashes, and the Thai Airways incident.

"There have been more deaths than usual. Many have suggested that the Ministry of Transport needs a large-scale merit-making ceremony" Mr. Chatchart said.

Week 4: Native Americans

Week 4 was really fun for me because I taught about Native Americans while I was a teacher in Texas.  I also had a ton of activities for our study of stars because we went through Apologia's Astronomy book last year. Bonus: My aunt and uncle invited us along to Bryson City, NC. so while we were there we headed over to Cherokee, N.C. for a field trip!

Callie at a display case at a Cherokee museum.  Ticket prices weren't 

in our budget, but the entry had a nice display!

 Across the road from the museum was an artisan's center (free!)

Impressive weaving

The museum in the background...not sure what the boy is doing :)

History: We read "Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving" by Eric Metaxas.

• You can "watch" this book on youtube here (have your child "read along").

• This website had free printables about Squanto.  I used the PDF's for: Information, Bio, and Primary Copywork.
•  We used TEGU blocks (magnetic) to build the various "houses" we learned about.

Bible: Compare and Contrast Squanto's life to that of Joseph (Genesis 45:7).

• Here is a Bible study that addresses these men.

P.E.:  Wampanoag Toss and Catch Game.

• Directions can be found here.
• This website has a game called "Fox and Geese."

Math: Money and Wampum

• Study the Sacajawea coin to see the "3 sisters" (corn, squash, and beans).
• Compare various types of money
• Discuss bartering/trading.

This link has tons of ideas, including: crafts, recipes, missionaries to the Native Americans, and games. 
This link has videos and printables of their housing.

This link has a montessori hands-on unit.

Science: 

 Callie's activity: Spelling boards from Melissa & Doug

 Callies' game: Things that starts with "s" from Kidssoup

 Baby Einstein cards and easy reader book

 Make a constellation with stickers and punch-outs.

 Our book basket: A lot of these books were under $1 from McKay's.

I also chose verses about the sky, day/night, and the stars from previous AWANA books.

 3 part Montessori cards of consellations.

 Fun printables from Kidssoup: copy the constellation

Punch out your own constellation.

 I used a Discovery Toys mosaic set (scored this at a garage sale for 50 cents!!)

 

 Jesus is the light of the world.  (Jack doesn't like to color, but his sister does!)

 These are cards from the Puggles class in AWANA. 

The books were 10 cents each from McKays.

 An activity from Apologia's Astronomy notebook.

These are from kindergarten.  I handed Jack and pile of mixed up 

words and had him solve the sentence.

Overall this as a very fun and full week!  Onto week 5....

A Thai commercial

Many of you have asked about the Thai language.  It's a difficult language to learn because of the various "tones" used.  The video below is really sweet and it will give you a chance to hear the native tongue of our future country: Thailand! 

 

For more information about us and what we'll be doing half-way around the world, 

please visit our website: www.letsopenthewindow.com

The Napping House: teaching adjectives, synonyms, sequence, and context clues

Have you read "The Napping House" by Audrey Wood? The illustrations by Don Wood are beautiful and provide so many context clues to enhance the story. I used it today to teach Language Arts to the kiddos. Here's a video link, in case you don't have the book: The Napping House video
Or this video:  The Napping House with words to follow along with.


Every character is attached to an adjective: a snoring granny, a dozing dog, etc. We read one page of the story without the adjectives and discussed how boring the story is without the descriptive words.

Each of these adjectives is also a synonym for "napping." I didn't go too far into this topic, but it's helpful to show your children how there are many words that replace "sleeping" or "sleepy." It keeps the reader interested.

 Since our daughter is 3, she is able to answer basic questions involving sequence. Example: On every page as one animal joins the pile, another animal is waking up. I asked questions to her like: "Who is on the bed now?" "Who is waking up?" "Who will get on the bed next?"


Using the illustrations as context clues:
 1. Were the characters napping or sleeping? By using the clues in the story, we see that the granny was in her pj's until the end; she wore a dress outside.
 2. The weather: it rained in the beginning, but as morning approached, the room became brighter, until morning.  All of the rain and sun provided a rainbow!

Biblical Implications: This is not a religious story, however, it does point out cause and effect. Our actions cause reactions.

Writing: Writing can overwhelm a first grader like our son, so instead I gave him specifics. Fill in the blank and change the title, characters, adjectives, conflict, and solution/resolution. He chose:
Title: The Cranky House
Characters: Mommy, Daddy, Callie, Jack (our family)
Adjectives: grumpy, angry, mad, grouchy.
Conflict: (a character that changes the house to become the opposite). He chose a skunk that got in the house and chased everyone around and made them cranky.
Solution: The phone rang and scared the skunk out of the house and everyone was happy.

We then re-read the story, using our choices to alter the story. Try it with your kiddos and let me know how it went!

Week 3: Jamestown (My Father's World)

We're continuing Week 3 of My Father's World Adventures. I have one complaint: each week moves to a new historical subject, but they aren't smooth transitions.  Example: last week we learned about Columbus (who never set foot in our country) and this week we're studying Jamestown.

 Blue jell-o Atlantic Ocean.  Jack made a boat from Legos and I carved a canoe from an apple.

Jack made oars for my Native American's canoe!

History Geography:

• Timeline:  We cut out pictures and put them in order and talk our way through the events. 
• Maps: Locate England, discuss the monarchy (similar to Spain).  
• Native Americans: review why they were called "Indians" and why they were aggressive.
• This was my favorite website because it read aloud and provided closed captions AND you got to play along.
• This game was fun for Jack: 
• We did this worksheet together. 
• Pocohontas info and game found here.

Bible:

• Jesus: 
• Fear: trusting the Lord in "scary" circumstances (like the first year of Jamestown, which required perseverance). 
• Faith: belief in something we can't see, although we can see and feel its effects, like our science experiments with air.

Language Arts:

• Writing: "What I would have done differently in Jamestown." 
• Venn Diagram: Compare/Contrast the Native Americans and Colonists.  (weapons, clothing, religion, food, housing, etc).
• Spelling: Game- Help the "gentlemen" get to America from England.  (This is a game I made up.  Lay a ruler out and put your Lego man on 0 inches.  For every word spelled correctly move 1 inch ahead (or 1 inch back for words spelled incorrectly).  He never asked "How many words do I have left to spell?"  He enjoyed spelling today:)
• Grammar: Action Verbs: (we use a Montessori approach; a red circle to symbolize verbs) Make a list of alternatives to the word "went":sailed, traveled, voyaged, explored, discovered, journeyed.  Other action words: hunted, exchanged, traded, survived,  built, defended, fought. 
• Reading: 

Math:

• Math U See
• Using "inches" to play the spelling game above.
• The shape of the "fort" in Jamestown: triangular.  How tall were the walls?  How many trees were cut?  How many days did it take to construct?  (Put all of these numbers in order from least to greatest.) 
• Greater Than, Less Than, Equal to:  Compare data and use symbols (the times a gun could fire compared to a bow and arrow, the amount of settlers in Jamestown after 6 months, the amount of settlers in Jamestown after 3 years, The amount of food the colonists had vs. the Native Americans).

 Science:

•  Air: Play with balloons, empty containers, bubbles, harmonica, recorder, whistles, pinwheels, kites, etc. to see the effect air has even though we can't see it.

Art:

• Colonial lantern: freeze a tin can with water.  Punch a pattern of holes with a hammer and nail.
• Build a small "daub" house.  This website has a local daub house. 
• Build a wigwam.
•  

Games:

• Ball and Cup game.
• Ring and loop game
• Marbles
• Nine Men's Mill: This is a great tutorial on how to play the game.

Food:

•  This is a cute snack idea: build your own edible fort.