Category Archives: homeschooling

Dec 20 2015

10 Tips for Putting Yourself on a Reading Schedule

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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:

  1. Start with a strong “why.” Are you thirsty for knowledge? Are you preparing to teach literature in the upper grades? Do you personally need help in dealing with a particular issue in your life? Motivation is everything. If you have a strong “why,” the “how” will follow.
  2. Read what interests you but after you have gotten a few must-read titles out of the way, venture into a territory of books you know you should read but you don’t feel like it. Do it for the kids – to give them an example of “reading for a challenge.”
  3. Don’t limit yourself to fiction or to nonfiction. A lot of conservative Christians ban fiction altogether. It’s a big debate. Personally, I feel strongly classics must be covered in a solid homeschool literature program. You are welcome to disagree.
  4. Don’t neglect your daily Bible reading, if you are a believer. The 66 books of the Bible remain your ultimate guide for life and for peace of mind. When I am reading an especially worldly novel, I find my time in the Bible cleanses my mind of the accumulated dross.
  5. Aim for 40 pages a day: 20 in the morning before everybody gets up and 20 in the evening or during breaks – you do take breaks during the day, right? Most books average 240 pages. That gives you 6 days and a sabbatical. You can give or take a few pages a day, of course, if the story grips you or if it leaves you unsatisfied.
  6. If that sounds like too much, work your way up to that number. Start with one page, then see if you can muster five or ten in a day. Once you are up to 40, you can try to go for 50 and 60 and so on.
  7. Susan Wise Bauer tells you exactly how to read a book and how to outline it and its characters in The Well-Educated Mind. It might slow you down at first, but eventually you will reap great benefits from it and it is totally worth your  time.
  8. Don’t get discouraged if you skipped a day. Just pick it up the next day and keep going.
  9. Train your children to help with housework more and more. It frees up a lot of your time and gives them life skills.
  10. Join a book club. You might enjoy the stimulation and the group discussion, not to mention the time away from your beloved children.

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.

Dec 17 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 51 – Recitals and Jitters

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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.

Thoughtful Thursday

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.

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Dec 15 2015

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 13

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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.

Girl pretending to be a Moor in a tent

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.

Boy pretending to be a Frank

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.

Dec 11 2015

Zoder’s Featured on the Today Show

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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

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 »

Dec 1 2015

She Leaves Glitter on Me

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The other day, I bought my daughter some winter outfits and everything sparkled. Glitter is in, apparently. You can’t get away from it.

Of course, my daughter loves it. The trouble is, the sparkles come off on anything her clothes touch. Not a whole lot. Just enough to leave me sparkling after I had her in my lap for a few minutes. But is that really trouble?

She leaves glitter on me, my five-year-old daughter. And oh, how I treasure it.

Ann Voskamp wrote that she gave birth to six children but each of them gave birth to her in return. Every time a woman becomes a mother, she becomes a new person. The world changes when your child comes into the world. You change. The child changes the mother.

Children fundraising for Operation Christmas Child

My children waiting for donations for Operation Christmas Child, dressed in their Adventurer uniforms. Deborah is wearing her blue coat, her back toward the camera.

And daughters especially have a way of leaving glitter on our clothes, on our hearts, on our hands.

Tonight a friend of mine is mourning the loss of her eight-year-old daughter, killed in a freak backyard accident a week ago. No more glitter. Deborah – that was her name – is now a memory. The mother is afraid to go back to her home and walk through her daughter’s room. She is staying with her own parents, unable to make herself look at her daughter’s glitter.  Continue reading »

Nov 22 2015

I’m A Kangaroo

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“I’m a kangaroo. Will you buy me?” said my five-year-old daughter as I entered her room and spotted her sitting up on her bed. She was in the process of folding her clothes. I suppose it helped to escape and become a stuffed animal kangaroo. I joined in. “Sure. I’ll buy you. How much do you cost?” I asked her in Romanian. She understands everything I say in Romanian, but answers me in English. “How much money do you have?” “$100.” “I cost more than that…”

McGillycuddy Could!

I had a lot of fun with this dialogue. It continued for a few minutes. Finally, she could not decide on a price for herself. Out of the blue, she  goes, “Do you got a kid or something?” “Yes,” I said, stifling another laughter. She said, “I think I’ve seen him in this store. He’s got brown hair and looks about this tall, right?”  Continue reading »

Nov 21 2015

Sex Education for Homeschoolers

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In my book, 101 Tips for First Grade Homeschooling, I dedicated an entire chapter to sex education for homeschoolers. Here’s a brief summary, Start early. Have age-appropriate conversations brought upon by their own questions OR by books which you read to them.

The Wonderful Way Babies Are Made

I have found the following books to be helpful:

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Nov 20 2015

Letter to A Teacher

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Teachers can make or break a student. They have a lot of power. Homeschooling teachers wield even more power over their students, because homeschooling teachers are the parents of their students. It is a deep relationship, one which can go really wrong or infinitely well.

Albert Camus, Nobel Prize for Literature, 1957

Albert Camus, Nobel Prize for Literature, 1957

For now, let us learn from a letter written by a Nobel-prize winner, Albert Camus, to his elementary teacher, Louis Germain. I am not sure if this is copyrighted text, but I found it on several websites.

19 November 1957

Dear Monsieur Germain,

I let the commotion around me these days subside a bit before speaking to you from the bottom of my heart. Continue reading »

Nov 18 2015

Family History Day

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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.

Tennessee State and Library Archives

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.

Nov 12 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 46 – Because I Can

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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.

Thoughtful Thursday - Because I Can

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 »