They are burning books in Don Quixote’s yard but it strikes me that they have been burning books throughout history. Different groups have been so scared of certain books, they burned them. It’s called biblioclasm or book burning. Look it up. It has been going on since the dawn of civilization.
You know what that tells me? Books have power.
People burn books because they are scared of them, of what they can do to the reader. Continue reading
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Tennessee State Library and Archives will be open to the public for the fifth Family History Day. The event can become your new family tradition. A lot of Tennesseans have taken to discovering their roots.
The archives will be open to the public under the guidance of library staff. This is when you can look things up and learn more about your great-great-great-great grandparents. Family genealogy is fascinating.
My husband is a third generation Tennessean. His paternal grandparents moved here from Louisiana. So there would not be as much about them in these archives either. On his mother’s side, though, we could find more information, as they came from Tennessee.
It sure would be fun to look up things about them, just to see what pops up. Maybe when the kids get older.
I know for a fact that I do not have Tennessee ancestors, but lots of you living in the Volunteer State might. Watch this 18-minute video about the power of archives to enrich your life.
Tonight, at 7pm, on Market Square (in front of the stage) in Knoxville, a remembrance for Paris will be held. Organized by the University of Tennessee French Department and the UT French Honor Society, this vigil is open to the general public interested in showing solidarity with the French people. Continue reading
The Smithsonian Associates is the largest museum-based educational program in the world. They offer over 750 events in a calendar year: workshops, tours, lectures, performances, summer camps etc.
My educational guru, Susan Wise Bauer, will be lecturing there on December 5, about one of her books – The Story of Western Science. I have read the book and learned a lot from it. I highly recommend it. It will give you an overview of the scientific themes humanity grappled with over the centuries. The book also contains enough details about each important scientific manuscript to help you understand specific topics.
Her all-day lecture (with lunch break) at the Smithsonian it titled Reading the Great Books of Science. The cost to attend is $150 if you are not a Smithsonian Associate member. Continue reading
A quick post to show off a picture of our children’s craft time at the library last summer, during one of the workshops for the Summer Reading Program. I cannot say enough about how much we enjoy going to the library, getting books and doing crafts throughout the year, not just during the summer.
My children working on crafts at the library
This winter will be interesting, as we say good bye to our long-time children’s librarian, who is retiring. Continue reading
My children are part of a scouting group called Adventurers through our church. It’s scouting with a religious component. They earn badges and learn about the world all through the lens of a Christian worldview. It all boils down to “learning more about Jesus.”
That’s what I have to remind myself when I get tired of driving them to Knoxville for this club’s meetings twice a month. It’s easy to get swallowed up in details about logistics, uniforms, badges that must be sewn onto their sashes etc and forget we are simply doing this in order to learn more about Jesus Himself.
For the first time, I am posting every day for a month.
For their service project, they raise funds for Operation Christmas Child by standing at the church doors once a year. As people exit, they pass out prayer book marks and hold a platter out for donations. The program’s director has already made an announcement from upfront so people know why cute children dressed in Adventurer uniforms are standing at the door with collection baskets and book marks. Continue reading
This morning, like on any morning while I am preparing breakfast pour mes petits, I turned on Radio France Internationale on my cell phone. I usually listen to the news in easy French (Le Journal en Français Facile), which I have to download first.
If you have not yet taken advantage of rfi.fr resources to learn French, I am here to encourage you to check them out. They have a whole site dedicated to learning French from newscasts. You can get the transcript of Le Journal en Français Facile, too.
Somehow, this morning, I just wanted to push play on the regular broadcast, which is streamed live. Continue reading
I am reading a lot these days because I can. I cannot do many things as a homeschooling mom, but reading I can do. Learning about one’s limitations is a fundamental lesson in life. Understanding your boundaries and communicating them to others is an extension of knowing your own limits. So many lives would be changed for the better if we only understood our own limits.
Homeschooling moms are busy creatures. A career is pretty much out of the question unless you are a force of nature like Susan Wise Bauer or Ann Voskamp. Going back to school cannot really happen unless your children are older and more independent in their study habits. Traveling solo (or with the family) is limited by time and space equations which have everything to do with hubby’s career.
What’s a homeschooling mom to do?
I read. While the kids play or take lessons outside the home, I read.
The library saves me thousands of dollars every year, but I also like to invest in my own titles. Books help me lose myself in order to find myself. I travel and discover new destinations without having to pack a suitcase. Then I return Continue reading
If you want your child to learn about government, the political process, how bills become law, and similar topics, you might consider TeenPact Leadership Schools. They offer state classes in 41 states. The classes are taught with a Christian worldview.
For Tennessee, the next event happens on February 1-4, 2016. Monday-Thursday they teach students ages 13-19. For the 8-12 age group, they offer a One Day Class, on Friday, February 5, 2016, 10am-4pm. It all happens in Nashville, at the Capitol Building.
Nashville Capitol
What you should know: Continue reading
We have been attending science classes for homeschoolers at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies for three years now. The first year, I left my daughter home with my husband and took my son to the class. He was in kindergarten. He got bored in the beginning. He told me he would like to leave once or twice. I sent him back to his seat and told him nicely that he will need to wait until craft time. Eventually, I brought her along and she sat next to me, taking in the atmosphere, the vocabulary, the experience.
The class has two parts: a Power Point presentation and a craft project. They have changed teachers once and both teachers have been top notch.
For the first time, I am posting every day for a month.
Because parents stay in the classroom, sometimes there are younger siblings who make noises. Once, it got really loud. There were a few too many toddlers around. That was the only time that I saw stress on the teacher. It was also the largest class I have ever seen – about 40 people were in the room. Continue reading