Drum roll please… Announcing a new series for the new year, called Tuesday Tome.
Every Tuesday in 2016 I will post about a book I read in the previous week. Yes, I am going there. I will challenge myself to reading one book per week. That will be 52 books in 52 weeks. I want to slow down my writing and increase my reading. I am in need of filling and feeling. Continue reading
When I purchased my copy of The Well-Trained Mind three years ago, I thought I would never be interested in The Well-Educated Mind. I thought I would be reading right along my children as we followed suggestions from The Well-Trained Mind. Who would have time for anything else? I was wrong.
The book for homeschooling parents who are thirsty for more
Not that I find myself with “vast chasms of time” on my hands, to use Thomas Jefferson’s expression. But I got my kids on track with their assignments from The Well-Trained Mind and now I find myself curious, hungry, and eager for filling in the gaps in my own education. When I heard The Well-Educated Mind was being revised and re-published in October 2015, I placed my pre-order in September and waited (im)patiently for it to come out. Continue reading
I have written here before about how limited the options of a homeschooling mom are in terms of career dreams or free time for that matter. And yet, as our children grow more and more independent, we find we have more and more time on our hands. Or, if you are like me, you have a lot of time between the hours of 2am-6am when you simply cannot sleep. That’s your signal that it’s time to get on a reading schedule.
Here are 10 tips for putting yourself on a reading schedule:
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said that you will be the same person five years from now except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.
I could not agree more. I have been changed by the books I have read and by the people I have met. It’s a journey and a discovery and an adventure that does not cost much but yields a lot of returns, not all financial, but all important.
Why am I more nervous when my children have recitals than when I used to have my own? Why don’t I feel my feet when they have their annual testing? Thankfully, testing is only once a year. Recitals come around every six months.
And now that our church family is aware that our children can play instruments, they ask for a special music now and then. It has already happened three times this year, so I think we could probably plan on a quarterly special music performance by either one of them for next year.
My children, being as young as they are, view music and practice as a chore. Maybe it’s my fault. I do not know how to make it fun. And, perhaps, I do not believe that practice or learning of any sorts should be all cutesy and fun. I believe in hard work and learning or practicing a musical instrument is hard work.
Realizing our need for an attitude change, I recently spent some time with them telling them about the power of music to soothe and comfort the heart in a way that a sermon or a Bible verse or a book or a movie cannot. I reminded them that people come to church (or to kids’ recitals) with their problems, with their worries, with their issues. Music helps lift their burdens.
The kids’ music is, in a sense, an act of service: they have worked hard and they will get nothing material out of it. More skills, yes, but no money or a trip or an award and not even a sticker. Only the satisfaction that they have touched somebody, somehow. Even that may be wishful thinking. We don’t get a real confirmation other than a polite comment here and there from those who care enough to say a kind word.
Chapter 13 deals with Charlemagne fighting the Moors at Tours. The kids and I had a lot of fun with this one because (1) it’s about France, (2) they got to learn about Charlemagne for the first time, (3) Charlemagne is one of my favorite kings, and (4) I did not have to cook anything. Ha!
After reading them the stories while they colored Charlemagne, I decided that for our craft/activity we would build a tent and re-enact the battle of Tours.
My daughter pretending to be a Moor in her tent, happy with her spoils
After being very happy with her loot, my daughter invited me in the tent and we sat there enjoying ourselves, admiring our coins (pretend coins from our play cash register), petting our stuffed animals, and wondering if we should start nibbling on raisins or peanut butter crackers first.
Then, out of the blue, the Franks attacked us! It was loud and scary. Panic set in. We thought too much about our possessions and how not to lose them, so we lost the battle, the famous battle of Tours. And, of course, we ended up losing our possessions, too.
The Franks are coming!
Great fun was had by all. We even video taped a few of these attacks, but you would get dizzy watching our videos. My daughter likes to spin at the end of every video as she holds the camera in her hands. It will remain a family video.
One last thing: they were touched by the fact that Charlemagne actually did not learn how to write. A lot could be said on the subject. Suffice it to say that it really puts things into perspective about medieval times.
Just a quick post about my husband’s business, Zoder’s Inn and Suites, which got an honorable mention the other day on the Today Show. Trip Advisor came up with this algorithm about travel destinations on the rise for 2016 and Top 10 US destinations, as well as Top 10 international destinations.
Zoder’s Inn balconies overlooking the Roaring Fork River in Gatlinburg, TN
Guess what? Gatlinburg, TN is the Number 1 travel destination in the USA and, also, Number 4 in the international market. Hello, traffic! But we have learned to count traffic as a blessing, as it means revenue for all the businesses in town. Continue reading
Do you have plans already for 2016? Have you started looking ahead? I have not, but I came across a wonderful planning workbook and thought I would share it with you. I saved it for myself and plan on filling it out in the next few weeks, before 2016 rushes in upon us.
Some of you may be familiar with Live Your Legend, Scott Dinsmore’s community of people who want to do work they love. We homeschooling parents are doing work we love. So I think we fit right in. Even though this workbook is not specific to homeschoolers (or any other profession), it will help you define your educational (and otherwise) plans for the following calendar year. Continue reading
After a couple of days of even more incidents, we have finally made headway with our wild child – how else? – by first changing our own head. First on my own, then by talking with my husband, then by seeing other moms.
It just so happened that for the following two days I saw two other homeschooling moms at different events and they both shared their experience with me. They sympathized with this situation and told me what worked for them.
The most important take away is this: our children are showing us who they are. And that is a good thing. Before they go into the world, they show their true colors to us, their parents. We should be glad they trust us with their true selves. Don’t we want to know our children? Don’t we want to know they are independent and strong-minded and not push overs?
The second thing is this: I discovered something about myself in the process. If I can walk away from this encounter with a better understanding of what makes me tick (and not tick) then I count it all joy.
Which leads me to the third point: trials are really a source of joy because they cause us to grow. Yes, experiencing trials may be painful and intense and seemingly negative, but as long as we grow from it, it is all worth it.
Last but not least, our children are their own persons. We might want them to do something for our own fulfillment, but they may go in a different direction. The funny thing is, we might not even know why we behave a certain way. Our own secret desires may not be known to us until a conflict arises. What comes out of our mouth may surprise us and enlighten us.
For that, trials and conflicts in a homeschool are to be embraced and lived through and slowly but surely looked upon as blessings – count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, as James eloquently put it in his epistle.
Tonight I feel discouraged. We had an incident during violin practice with one of our children. This child refuses to slow down and do what is required. I worked and worked with their attitude. Nothing worked. Nothing I tried, that is.
Finally, I had to put a stop to the practice and send the child to their room. I felt so empty.
When I don’t succeed in motivating interest, it takes away my energy.
I feel discouraged.
What I know for sure is that when one is discouraged, one should not make any decisions.
I will not make any decisions. Not tonight.
Consequences will have to be applied – removal of privileges works well. No screen time for a week or something of that nature. No dessert – sugar is not good for us anyway…
It’s not the action. It’s the attitude behind the action that bothers me. It’s the defiance that needs to be addressed.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart.
Even if my children attended a private school or a public school, I would still be the one enforcing violin practice and piano practice, along with homework.
It was a tough day at the office. My husband reassures me this too shall pass. Education, like parenting, is a journey and some portions of this journey are tough.
Here’s to the power of prayer and steadfastness.
Today we attended The Nutcracker Ballet in Knoxville, at the Civic Auditorium. It’s quickly becoming an annual tradition for us. This is our third year in a row. The children enjoy it very much. I love it. Ballet, like any art, is therapeutic. It healed some of the brokenness I was feeling after the terror attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and the loss of our friends’ daughter last week.
The Appalachian Ballet Company has been performing The Nutcracker for 44 years.
On a funny note, my son told my husband, “Daddy, I don’t want to dance.” Poor guy. Mommy took him to several concerts by the Knoxville Youth Symphony Orchestra several years ago and, next thing he knew, he got a violin for his fifth birthday and started violin lessons. Now that he sees mommy keeps taking him to this ballet, he wonders if the next extra-curricular activity is dance. Continue reading