Category Archives: homeschooling

Dec 25 2016

Merry Christmas!

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We are home for Christmas, which was our contractor’s goal after the wildfires and the damage at our house. But our house is not completely fixed yet. The wood flooring has to be replaced all over the house due to water damage after a tree fell and punctured the roof in several places, followed by rain that night.

Christmas at Downton Abbey

Christmas at Downton Abbey is a 2-CD collection of traditional Christmas melodies sung by some of the cast members from the iconic TV series and others

We are thankful and counting our blessings though. The children opened presents earlier in the morning and were very excited to receive new things to build and play with. We draw strength from their enthusiasm and childlike excitement.  Continue reading »

Dec 20 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 51 – Joy in the Morning

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We had to read Joy in the Morning by P. G. Wodehouse during the month of November at the local group book I attend. I did not enjoy the book, but I read it anyway. I made the most of it, let’s put it this way.

Joy in the Morning

My conscience would prick me if I did not, because when I commit to something, I follow through. Plus I think it is a good challenge to put up with a book until you finish it. It’s like dealing with a relative you don’t like but whom you must see around now and then. It’s good for your character. Continue reading »

Dec 18 2016

Gingerbread House Decorating

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We spent two weeks and two days in our “life boat,” as my husband calls it – the condo where we had to live after the wildfire from Chimney Tops engulfed our city of Gatlinburg. Even though our home has not been completely renovated after the wind and water damage, we felt it was important to move back in, so that a family who lost their home to the fire could move into our condo.

Boy and girl decorating a gingerbread house

Our children decorating a gingerbread house at the condo.

This evacuation may have been a life-altering event, but we have made many great memories at this condo. One of them was decorating a gingerbread house with the kids. Continue reading »

Dec 6 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 49 – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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One of the 32 classic novels in Western literature recommended by Susan Wise Bauer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain, the father of all good things in American belles lettres. I was surprised Huck Finn was picked over Tom Sawyer, but I guess I am still learning the subtleties of why one novel is considered more important than another.

Huckleberry Finn

Huck Finn is on the run – that’s the main theme of the novel. The quintessential American quest for freedom is exemplified in his running away from his alcoholic, abusive father, from the religious lady who tried to adopt him and make him into a Christian, and from the rest of the people who mean well, but are doing him more harm than good.

Continue reading »

Nov 29 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 48 – I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression

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The second book by Erma Bombeck which I read was I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression. By now I knew Bombeck’s writing was very dated. Moms from the 70s and 80s relished her writing, but I did not.

I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression

First off, her children are disrespectful and annoying. They take furniture and appliances with them when they go to college. They never return the family car with the right amount of gas. After reading James Dobson and Kevin Leman on parenting, coming to a book by Bombeck makes me want to whisper, “you got it all wrong, Mrs. Bombeck!” But, of course, she could not hear me anyway. Continue reading »

Nov 25 2016

Our Son’s First KSYO Concert

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I can’t believe I have not shared with you guys about my son’s first concert on the stage of the Tennessee Theater, with the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. He played with the Preludium ensemble, which opened the concert that night. Erin Archer is the wonderfully talented and patient conductor of this group of youngsters.

KSYO Preludium Concert

Our son (photo center, in jacket) during the concert with KSYO. Photo Credit: Faithful Photography

Kathy Hart, who directs Sinfonia and is the overall KSYO manager, told the Preludium after the concert that their pieces were the strongest opening concert of any Preludium in the 23-year history of KSYO. That’s saying a lot. They really did sound so well that night. Continue reading »

Nov 22 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 47 – Aunt Erma’s Cope Book

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This was the third and last book I read by Erma Bombeck. It was better than the first two but I don’t know if it’s because she is growing on me or because she actually got better in this book. It’s all a blur by now but I know I don’t want to read any more of her titles.

Aunt Erma's Cope Book

In this book, she mocks self-help books. I guess the self-help movement was taking flight in the 70s and 80s when she wrote and all these people in her life were trying to help her by suggesting this title and that title. Continue reading »

Nov 15 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 46 – Motherhood, The Second Oldest Profession

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About nine years ago, when I was becoming a mom, a friend told me about Erma Bombeck’s books as the solution to any of my future motherhood woes. My friend warned me that a sense a humor was a mother’s most important tool, if there is such a thing as a mother’s tool belt or tool box. And Bombeck was supposed to be the author who captured the humorous in the worst things about motherhood.

Motherhood The Second Oldest Profession

I don’t know why I never got around to reading Bombeck until now. Really. I don’t. I remember vaguely thinking about going to the library and checking out one of her books, but somehow I never made it that far. Continue reading »

Nov 8 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 45 – Bringing Up Boys

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Bringing Up Boys came out first, before Bringing Up Girls. Dr. Dobson considered that boys were in danger, much more so than the girls, so he focused on them first. Many factors were at play during the 70s and 80s, with the rise of feminism. The book picks up twenty years later, to show the results of secular progressive movements and the pro-homosexual agenda.

Bringing Up Boys

I’m all for women’s lib, but when moms go to work and sons get placed in classrooms which cater to girls, we have a problem. Homeschooling would solve it, but I understand that some people simply cannot afford to homeschool and live on one income.  Continue reading »

Nov 7 2016

East TN Children’s Hospital Mural

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Last year in August, we met up with several homeschoolers from our area to paint. A coordinator from East Tennessee Children’s Hospital explained we were free to paint anything we wanted on this page, as long as we covered it all with color. We were not allowed to have white patches on it.

East TN Children's Hospital Mural

East TN Children’s Hospital Mural

We filled out some paperwork which detailed our grades, names, and details about the meaning of the painting. We were told the hospital was under renovation and one of the new things they were going to feature was a huge mural, made up by children all over East Tennessee. Continue reading »