Chapter 10 dealt with China and the rise of the Manchu. The kids could not believe how stubborn and self-sufficient the Chinese were.
Getting sand from our sandbox
For our craft, we made a Zen garden. Oh, the fun! We have an aluminium pan for our crafts and first my daughter filled it up with sand from the sandbox. Then, they cleaned the sand a bit. Lots of little leaves and pebbles somehow manage to get into our sandbox, despite the lid. Continue reading
Chapter 9 deals with the Western War or the Thirty Years’ War. This was a fascinating lesson to me. I had forgotten the details of this war. After all, it has been decades since I studied it in school. Now that I know more about the difference between Catholics and Protestants, I looked at the story in a different light anyway.
Shredded apples for the Swedish apple cake
First of all, religious wars are sad. We talked about the fact that war may be a necessary evil at times, but it should never start simply because you persecute somebody for their faith. Continue reading
The Middle of the East or Chapter 8 was all about the Persian puzzle and the Ottoman Turks. Needless to say, I have a great deal to add to the history lessons on the Ottoman Empire, as someone who grew up in Romania. Thanks to our proximity to the Black Sea area, Romanians were always being invaded or threatened to be invaded. For centuries, the Turks were our greatest enemies.
One soldier was enough to make the bridge of four arches bend.
The craft we chose was to build a bridge of four arches. It was not that hard, but it was not easy either. Scotch tape helps but it can be unruly, as I just used scrap paper for the arches, and scrap paper is flimsy. By the way, let us talk about the supplies needed. Typing paper? I had to look that up. Continue reading
Chapter 7 dealt with the spread of slavery. The children were appalled by the institution of slavery and we clarified some things about it with this chapter. Tobacco as a source of income was discussed and, of course, we talked about smoking. Again.
My daughter made an anti-tobacco poster
I read somewhere that children as young as 8 already know if they plan to start smoking when they get older. Even if their parents do not smoke, some children become influenced by a movie or another adult in their life who smokes and they already develop an idea that smoking might just be something they want to do one day. Continue reading
The last time I blogged about Story of the World and our adventures in history was in October. That does not mean we have done done history. In fact, today we covered chapter 34. I suppose you can say I’m a bit behind in blogging about SOTW. My apologies. I will do my best to recount our efforts and catch up in the next couple of months.
Chapter 6 dealt with new colonies in the new world: Plymouth Plantation and New Amsterdam. For our craft, we made cornbread based on the recipe provided in the Activity Book – an original Wampanoag recipe with modern ingredients.
Wampanoag Cornbread
I modified the recipe a bit: soy milk instead of “milk,” vegetarian margarine (we like Smart Balance) instead of “margarine,” and honey instead of sugar. The one egg needed in the recipe can be replaced with Egg Replacer, of course. Even with all the substitutions, the cornbread came out well and everybody enjoyed it. I made some vegetarian chili and a cabbage salad and that was our lunch.
The kids loved to hear the story of The Mayflower all over again. We have covered it every year around Thanksgiving and they remembered some bits. The thing is, I don’t harp so much on dates and details. Maybe I should. The way I learned history was dry and fact-oriented and I want them to get into history through the avenue of a story.
The Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestras held their Winter Concert on February 13, 2017 at the Tennessee Theater in downtown Knoxville, as usual. My son’s orchestra, Preludium, played first. Their two pieces were March of the Meistersingers by Richard Wagner and Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Our son after playing with his orchestra
The other three orchestras – Philharmonia, Sinfonia and the Youth Chamber – also played that night. The top youth symphony orchestra played on the following Monday, on February 20, along with the Concerto Competition winners. We live one hour away from Knoxville so we excused ourselves from attending the concert on the 20th. The kids love classical music but they get bored by sitting in the audience for more than 45 minutes and these concerts last for at least one hour. Continue reading
When we went to Nashville recently for TeenPact One Day, we also spent some time at the Adventure Science Center. That place is so big, your child could spend hours in there and not get bored. In the process, your child would be learning all sorts of science concepts hands-on.
Sending parachutes up to be released
One can, for instance, lift a car with the help of a lever and fulcrum. The famous Aristotelian quote is written right on the lever: “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Continue reading
For the second year in a row, we traveled to Nashville for TeenPact One Day. This is a seminar for homeschoolers ages 8-12 during which they learn about government, civics, politics, how bills become laws, and how they can help a political campaign even before they have the right to vote. They also get to tour the Capitol and see where the State Senate and House of Representatives meet.
Mom and son in front of the Tennessee Capitol Building in Nashville.
They learn a lot of history in the process, too. The staircase inside the Capitol bears bullet marks since the Civil War. Busts of Andrew Jackson and Sequoia along with paintings of former governors beg to be noticed. It would be impossible not to learn at least a little something about history in this place. Continue reading
It is time to forget about schools, universities, colleges and fully embrace online education. This might sound crazy, but it is probably the way we’re heading in the future anyway. Ten or twenty years from now, I do not think there will be many schools left where to send your kids.
The technology needed for online classes does not lack in a middle class family.
If there are, they certainly will not be anything like they are now. But even if the standard education system does continue to live on, perhaps it is time we rejected it and here is why.
It Is Dangerous
It is hard to disagree that schools and colleges have become dangerous places for children and students. Over the past few years we have seen tragic shootings, horrific acts of violence, sex scandals, drug epidemics and much more. It seems clear that schools are no longer safe for children and that is not even taking into account the level of bullying present in the education system. Continue reading
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) regularly schedules concerts for school children. Cloudy with a chance of music was geared toward children in PK-2nd grade. As such, it was very interactive. The conductor guided the children through the program and had a special guest who contributed to the whole program.
The beautiful Tennessee Theater in Knoxville
You cannot beat actually being in the audience at the Tennessee Theater, of course, but should you not be able to attend, you can make your own concert by following the Teacher’s Guide provided on the KSO website and by picking out the songs from YouTube – any orchestra will do. Continue reading