Aug 17 2024

Back-to-Homeschool 2024-2025

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Adriana Zoder

And…we’re off! Off to tackle another exciting homeschool year. My son is a junior in high school this year. My daughter is a freshman in high school. That means 11th grade and 9th grade, respectively, for those not used to the US terminology.

Homeschool mom with giant pencil and eraser

I think I am ready for a new school year and yes, this really is the way I dress to homeschool my children (jk).

We had a wonderful summer break. I worked hard in my soap business and helped my husband with his, too. The kids stayed busy with summer camps, developing skills and hobbies, and playing with the cats. We have two inside cats and one outside cat. Never a dull moment.

Having fun with my new props

They could have read more books, but at this point I have learned to just let it go. It is what it is. They will learn at their own pace in their own way. And one day they will look at me and say, “I wish you had made me read more as a teenager.” Ha!

They did not care to take back-to-school pictures this year, so I had fun with retrieving some pictures of them from 2018… On the other hand, my daughter had a lot of fun taking pictures of me today with my jumbo pencil and eraser.

Governor and First Lady Haslam with Mom and Daughter

Claire and I in 2018, at the Governor’s Mansion in Nashville, meeting Governor and First Lady Haslam

Written goals

There is so much excitement in the air in the beginning of a school year. I get really excited about setting goals. Personally, I am an advocate for writing goals down and reviewing them daily. Don’t just stick them in a drawer.

Preston made this astronaut costume for himself back in 2018

Did you know that just writing goals down gives you a 43% better chance to reach your goals? But you must also pull them out and look at them daily. Take three minutes to absorb them and maybe even copy them down again. Experts in personal productivity recommend this. Don’t shoot the messenger.

Right now, I have seven goals for the next 12 months and I write them down every morning. It is part of my morning routine, my personal time with God and with myself. More on that in a future blog post.

For now, I wish everybody a wonderful new school year, many successes, learning opportunities, friends, and challenges. To our growth!

Aug 28 2023

Second Week – Done

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Adriana Zoder

If the first week flew by, the second one zoomed by at the speed of sound. We started attending co-op, so that took one of the days. Then, after book learning, we traveled to Knoxville for our violin and harp lessons – that took care of another day. Our hiking group met up on the usual day because the weather cooperated, so that was yet another day.

Getting ready to hike in the Big Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On yet another day, our son decided he was ready to take the test for the learner’s permit. In Tennessee, one can do that online. I had to download an app to become his proctor and he took the test. He passed, so his dad took him to the DMV to get his actual permit.

Never a Dull Moment

Well, I was supposed to be there, apparently. As the proctor, I am the person who needs to sign all the paperwork and – get this – I am responsible for his driving until he turns 18. Nice job, mom! Continue reading »

Jul 28 2019

Back to Homeschool, 3 of 3

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Adriana Zoder

One more week of summer break and then we are off to the races! Maybe you have a few more weeks. But I need to think about starting in a very real way. What is there to do, once you got a plan, organized your schoolroom, and ordered your supplies? Put some finishing touches on your preparation.

Relax by the pool while you still can.

Start by putting yourself first. As I said in a blog post around this time last year, homeschool moms need self-care. Do you have enough time in the day to exercise and clear your mind at regular intervals? I need about 30 minutes every morning to myself: reading, writing, praying, answering urgent emails or social media communication with my family – these are all important to me as a person. If I do not take care of “me,” it will be incredibly hard to focus on my children’s needs for the rest of the day. Continue reading »

Aug 13 2016

2016-2017 School Year

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

Ready or not, we commence another school year this coming week. I have changed a few things compared to last year. The biggest change is that we will school five days a week. Last year I did six days a week because I wanted to try it.

It was tiring but I just could not let go. I had to take the experiment all the way to the end of the school year.

Father, son and daughter picking up fireworks for July 4th

Picking up some fireworks for the 4th – one of the memories of the summer which is coming to a close slowly but surely

This year, we are going back to schooling Monday-Friday and taking the weekend off. I am hoping this will relieve some of the pressure I felt last year. It will give me a full day to catch up on my writing deadlines and housework. And the kids get a full day to free play. Knowing them, they will spend some of that free time coding on Scratch. Continue reading »

Aug 6 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 32 – Back-to-School

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Adriana Zoder

This is our first week of going back-to-school and it has already presented some challenges. But in my second day, God spoke to me through Zechariah 4:6 and reminded me that WHAT we do is not as important as HOW we do it. You may be familiar with Zechariah 4:6: “… not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.” I would like to submit to you that this verse holds the secret to homeschooling successfully.

The Lord called you to a mission – homeschooling – and He will provide the spirit in which to do it. If you are listening, you will hear His still, small voice and will know to turn this way or that.

If you go into Strong’s Concordance for the original Hebrew words, you will find that “might” can mean wealth and “power” can mean physical force. The way I see it, homeschooling does not need the most expensive curriculum or an angry call to obeying the schedule. No wonder Charlotte Mason calls it the gentle art of teaching.

You know how some people who are afraid of homeschooling invoke the need for structure in a child’s life? Well, I dare say that a child can have a structured life even without having to be in a school building by 7:50 every morning. A homeschooled child also can learn structure without being a slave to the clock. Continue reading »

Sep 2 2013

First Day of Homeschooling

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Adriana Zoder

And… they’re off! No, not exactly. They are still here, at home. And yet, they are learning. A lot. Isn’t that amazing? Our homeschooling journey started yesterday, on September 1. Of course, Self-University Week started yesterday, too. When I made this schedule I did not know about this neat coincidence.

I dressed the kids up in their school uniforms. DD asked, “Do I have to wear this all the time?” She’s such a girlie girl, she wants the scoop on her outfitting options. “Only for school time.” She accepted it.

I chose to buy school uniforms because

a. children look cute in uniforms.

b. it helps them get into “school mode”.

c. we are a private school. Well, sort of.

d. we can use them on field trips.

The routine wasn’t much different than before, but we did take pictures.

DD and I

We started with our Accountable Kids morning cards, followed by a devotional. We are using GraceLink Kindergarten for our Bible story time. This week’s lesson is about Baby Moses. It find it providential, because when God came to me about homeschooling two years ago, He used the story of Baby Moses. Another neat coincidence for our first day of homeschooling.

DS tutored himself through Simple and Motorized Mechanisms from LEGO Education while I worked with my daughter on preschool activities. She was very eager to learn, but got silly after 10-15 minutes. That was my cue she was done. I sent her to play by herself, which she was happy to do, while DS and I tackled the 3 Rs for 30 minutes.

They had recess and lunch. Then, they had P.E. and art (drawing with chalk).

That was it. Easy, peasy, homeschoolese.

DS and I

However, it was not smooth. In the early morning, our cat left us a calling card on the living room carpet. Later on, as I reached for a box, I knocked down a tray. Glass shattered and contents spilled out. My husband and I spent fifteen minutes cleaning. Just when I thought I could start teaching, I noticed the magnetic letters I had chosen so carefully the night before for my son’s reading lesson were missing. DD had noticed them in my tote bag and put them back up where they belong. So I had to pick them out all over again.

How do I come up with the four hours of homeschooling instruction required by the State of Tennessee? I’ll tell you in a future blog post. For now, I covet your prayers on our behalf. We need wisdom to guide our children well. Thank you in advance for praying for us!

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Aug 30 2013

Homeschooling Retreat

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Adriana Zoder

As I wrote in my previous post on homeschooling back-to-school, I think it is a great idea for homeschooling parents to take an overnight trip without the kids, just before school starts again. My husband and I chose Hot Springs, NC – about 90 minutes by car from our house. The trip was good for our school on many levels:

For the first time in five years, my husband and I were not parents for a full 24-hour period. Don’t get me wrong. We love being parents. We love our children. We planned to have them. Then, the constant job of parenting wore us down. We have taken time away from them for the last five years, but it was only for three hours at a time, at the most. We did not leave them overnight mainly because I could not handle it. However, as the children grow, so do the parents. I guess I have done some growing for the past few months.
We talked at length. We covered our educational goals, methods, and developments in the character our children that we noticed lately.

We were quiet, too. We focused on our individual laptops and did not say a word. Reading or writing for a full hour without little voices asking me this or that is a luxury I do not take for granted.
I used to feel guilty about not being with my children 24/7. I knew intellectually that a break would actually make me a better mom, but it was hard to move that piece of information into my emotional brain. During this trip, I made that switch. Not sure how it happened other than by being a tourist.

Eating good food + taking pictures + buying souvenirs + listening to the French Broad River from the porch swing + soaking in a Jacuzzi filled with hot spring mineral water = rest and relaxation.

After this trip, I feel I am ready to tackle homeschooling again. It won’t be long now. I’ll be back to tell you all about it.

Aug 26 2013

5 Steps to Homeschooling Back-to-School

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Adriana Zoder

I spent the last few days before our homeschooling back-to-school cleaning, dusting, washing, sanitizing, sorting and organizing. Every six months we turn the house inside out, get rid of clutter, clean corners where the sun doesn’t shine, and eliminate any sources of potential hazards (like mold). In the process, we find things we had been looking for or things we completely forgot about.

Since we teach September through July, the two semi-annual cleaning sessions happen in August, just before school starts, and in February, when everybody is burned out of learning and suffers from cabin fever. What a perfect way to spend a week, cleaning and organizing, feeling like you have something under control. It is also a semi-annual reminder that we don’t need all this “stuff.” So we scale down our inventory to the next new maximum.

Here are 5 steps to organizing for homeschooling back-to-school:

1. Clean the house thoroughly. Slide furniture out of its place, get under couches, look at corners you have not seen in months (or, – dare I say it? – years). Dust bunnies have killed many a homeschool.

2. Discard items you have not used in a year or so. When it comes to sorting possessions, most organizing gurus tell us to get three boxes: “Keep”, “Throw” and “Donate”. Of course, if the items to throw or donate are large, you leave them in their spot for the day you are ready to haul them off. If they are small, you will need to use some boxes until you finish the organizing process.

3. Organize books and school supplies. You have heard the saying, no doubt: a place for everything and everything in its place. Nothing discourages more than looking for something for ten minutes before using it. Get a grip (no pun intended) on school files and binders. If it stacks, it’s a pile. If it hangs, it’s a file. As for our daily school books, I put them in a medium size tote-like box with handles. If we have to move from one room to another, I just grab the tote.

4. Sort clothing according to the system under step #2. Be ruthless. Ask your spouse to help you make cutthroat decisions. The more you linger, the harder it is to get rid of stuff, especially if you have warm, fuzzy memories of your babies wearing a particular item. I am personally guilty of that.

5. Take a day off. Find a reliable babysitter, if at all possible, and take an overnight trip with your husband. After all, he is the principal of the school. You two need a retreat to focus on the upcoming school year, right? Or just to forget about homeschooling entirely and relax. This year, we took our first ever overnight trip without children since we became parents. We chose Hot Springs, NC and it was a good choice. I will tell you about it in a future blog post. Here I am in front of their library. I love their sign…

How do you prepare for homeschooling back-to-school? Leave me a comment below, please.

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