Mid-June. Halfway through summer.
This year, on top of the regular fun camps, we signed the kids up for a bilingual Chinese-English program.
Not to push them. Just — summer can be summer, but I didn't want the Chinese to slide. A little bit every day. Consistency doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to keep going.
That's also why we joined Yo! Baby Shop's Chinese Reading Challenge this summer. Finding good Chinese children's books isn't always easy — that's exactly why building our reading habit around Yo! Baby Shop has made such a difference for our family. A few pages before bed, sound books in the car, a new book from Yo! Baby Shop on weekends. Not a lot, just enough. Chinese books aren't available at the library, so we source them ourselves. For English, we signed up for the local library's summer reading program at the same time. Both languages, one summer. Win-win.
Dragon Boat Festival — Friday, June 19
My son came home from bilingual camp talking more than usual.
Mixing Chinese and English, he told me they wrapped zongzi — his came out "a little weird" but still tasted good. They did a dragon boat simulation on land with paddles, and his team won, but he seriously suspected the other team cheated. He learned calligraphy. He tried diabolo and kept dropping it, many times.
I was prepping dinner in the kitchen, listening to his excitement, but couldn't fully understand the details. When he was done sharing, he immediately asked: "Mom, are we having zongzi tonight?"
Of course — I picked some up at 99 Ranch this morning. He ran off to tell his sister the news.
That night at bedtime, he pointed to some characters in the book and said: "These ones — my teacher at camp wrote them. I know them."
I said: Wow, you know so many characters now, that's amazing!
And I thought to myself: it's all worth it.
Father's Day Weekend — June 20–21
Right after Dragon Boat Festival came Father's Day weekend.
The kids planned a surprise brunch — pancakes, fruit, a card my son folded himself (a little crooked, very sincere). My husband walked into the kitchen pretending he had no idea. His eyes were already smiling.
After brunch, the kids pulled a book off the shelf and told dad: "You read to us!"
He sat down, opened the book, and went full theatrical mode.
Dragon voices. Tiger voices. The evil witch — in a completely unexpected, hilarious voice that made both kids lose it immediately. They demanded he repeat it. He did. They laughed again. They asked again.
That Father's Day morning was unhurried, cozy, completely ours.
I sat nearby and thought quietly: a dad who reads stories to his kids is genuinely the best.
I don't ask for every day to be perfect. Story time, a Chinese cartoon, an online lesson, or just a few pages before bed — a little bit, most days, moving forward.
This summer, we didn't fall behind. We actually made progress.
That's enough.
