All three girls are now in school. This is the third week, and so far they are all loving it! They are each in a different school, so they aren’t tempted to speak Russian to anyone. Now that they are immersed in English we can already see language progress. 
Karina is in 5th grade, and she went right into a normal class. Being the youngest she has learned English the quickest. She probably understands 70% of what is said. She is rapidly learning more vocabulary. Her biggest problem is basic math skills, and I’m working with her each day to get her up to speed. Karina is amazed at how nice everyone is at school! She says her previous teacher was always angry and mean, and the other students ostracized her for being an orphan. Now she has lots of new friends and she looks forward to going to school everyday.
Miranda is in 7th grade. Her school offers an English language learners program, so she is getting some extra help. The class is small and she loves her teacher and her friends in the class. She also likes to run, and she says she’s the fastest girl in her PE class.
Jessica is in 9th grade. She rides the bus to the high-school. (6:30am!) She is also in a language learners program for half of the day. She gets up cheerfully each morning because she also loves her teachers and her friends.
The girls are always looking for ways to help us around the house. Frankly, it’s usually more work for us to try to keep them occupied. Last night I “let” them pull weeds in the back yard and they were delighted. When it got dark I finally had to tell them to stop and come in.
It’s clear that they have been starving for attention all their lives. Now they are trying to make up for it. I wish we had more time and energy to give them all they need, in addition to taking care of the rest of our family!
We are delighted to have the girls at home! We’re working on get them started in school. Sometimes we have awkward moments of trying to communicate, but they have sweet spirits and overall we are having a lot of fun.
