A week of learning and enrichment

A little over a year ago a friend told us about this wonderful organization called SHARE Education Services that is available to assist families like ours serving and living in and near our region of the world.  It definitely caught our interest as for a long time we have been concerned especially for Luca and his struggles in the national educational system and in language acquisition in both English and Italian. As a mother, I can't tell you the times I have questioned: Are we giving our children what they need to succeed educationally? Are there learning challenges that have gone undiagnosed? How do I balance or do I even attempt to supplement subjects like English, writing and US history when their school load is already over the top intense? And the list goes on. How comforting it was for me to learn that SHARE seeks to help answer and assist with such questions, because sometimes it feels like we are just floating out on the sea all alone. But no longer is that case.

We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in the 20th annual SHARE family education conference in Siófok, Hungary from February 22-27.  Our first experience did not disappoint with the quality of speakers, workshops, counseling services, fellowship, spiritual encouragement and care that we received as a family. We just really had no idea how well rounded and refreshing this conference was meant to be on so many levels. All we can say is "WOW, thank you God!" It was a busy and full week and one that we have to take some time afterwards to unpack and process all that we learned.

The kids enjoyed a week of learning about ancient Egypt and had fun swimming in their free time.

There was a magic show for the dads and kids one evening while the moms had a fun evening together over tea, dessert, devotional and lots of prizes given away (I actually won a thirty-one tote!)

It is always fun to discover those "small-world" connections. This new friend, K. is good friends with a family that used to attend our home church and with whom we were close (we had our first babies just 45 minutes apart in the same hospital). 

There was also a kids talent show and time to just interact with other parents or meet with specialized volunteers and staff for counseling.

All of our children received assessment testing. Samuel and Emma received the standardized assessment testing in the core subjects and did very well. Even without having formal English training they scored at grade level or above in those subjects. Math was a bit lower than we expected them to be at, but that in large part had to due with syntax (Italians use different division signs, commas and periods are flipped, for example 10 cents is written ,10) and measurements like inches, feet, yards etc. are unfamiliar to them. Anyway, it gave us a measurement to gauge where they are at in relation to American standards which was very helpful.

Luca had some very specialized individual testing and participated well with his best efforts. Sounds like he had his testers laughing a lot. What came out of his testing is that he is on the lower average of his speech and language capabilities, but since he is bi-lingual his scores were understandable, which leads us to believe that he is following in the footsteps of two siblings who were above average in language acquisition. We received some counsel on how to encourage growth in this area. The other thing that also came out was that he is extremely gifted in his spacial/visual IQ. Therefore, the huge gap between his verbal intelligence and his visual intelligence can make a traditional school setting much more challenging for him. Now that we know better how his little brain works, it gives us better insight and direction on how to help him succeed in school. Seriously, I cried when we heard this news. It was such a relief to just have some answers after all these years and to know how to help and understand my child.

Not having been raised as third culture kids, we are beginning to see the unique challenges that Samuel, Emma and Luca are experiencing as they grow older and how their needs and formation greatly differ from both their Italian and American peers.  How great it was for them to be with other kids who can relate to their lives both in the challenges and the adventures, full of joys and frustrations alike. The week was so worth it just to see our kids making friends and really being able to bond on a level they have never had before.  The emails, texting, and video calling with their new friends since our return has been so special for them and we are grateful to see the beginnings of lifelong friendships being formed.

Jonathan and I also made some special friends. We are thankful for the blessing of being able to meet some extended work family from other regions. Truly, God gave us a gift in these new friendships. We plan to cross paths again whether at another SHARE conference and/or visiting them in their countries. The invitations and doors are open on all ends--gotta love that!

I could go on about this experience, but life is moving along quite intensely here now that we are back home, so I will have to conclude with pictures and some links.


Dr. Kathy Koch was the keynote speaker. She was fantastic! On my nightstand to read are her books:
How am I smart? A parent's guide to multiple intelligences
No more perfect kids, love your kids for who they are
Screens and Teens: connecting with our kids in a wireless world