Anakeesta

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Gatlinburg has attracted a new multi-million dollar development called Anakeesta. We happen to live in Gatlinburg. The changes might affect us indirectly, as hundreds of jobs will be created, more traffic will have to be juggled (if such a thing is possible in our small town with big city traffic), and familiar sites will be transformed.

For those of you familiar with downtown Gatlinburg, the Arrowcraft store will be moved to a new location. The Ogle cabin and the Pi Beta Phi statue will also find new homes. Recently, I took the kids there for pictures, knowing that things will look very, very different once construction begins.

Pi Beta Phi Fraternity Statue

My children looking at the Pi Beta Phi statue in downtown Gatlinburg

Just in case you are wondering, the book the lady is handing to the young student is one of the McGuffey Eclectic Readers. Volume three, if I am not mistaken. Continue reading »


French Friday, Madeleine Cookies

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I have been thinking a lot about the passage of time as my son, my eldest, turned eight this week. What better way to celebrate memories than with a madeleine?

Home made madeleines

A staple in French cuisine, madeleine cookies are delicious and relatively easy to make. You will need a special pan to give the batter their typical shell shape. I got two pans, because it is more practical and my recipe calls for two anyway.

Madeleine pans

For those of you not familiar with French literature, Marcel Proust wrote about a madeleine cookie in A La Recherche du Temps Perdu.

Madeleines cooling on rack

Cooling on rack

As he tasted the cookie, it reminded him of things in his past – which is why the Merriam Webster gives you a second definition of madeleine as “one that evokes a memory.”  Continue reading »


Thoughtful Thursday Week 45 – Ten More Years

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As we were sharing cupcakes with my son’s friends in Adventurers, the program director said, “Mom, he is eight now. You have 10 more years with him…” I sighed and agreed with her. Ten more years. That’s it. I have taken care of him for eight years. I am staring down a not-so-long corridor of 10 more years. It really does not seem that long anymore, getting him to 18.

Thoughtful Thursday

And here’s the kicker: next year, it will be nine and nine. Nine years of past memories, nine more years to go. After that, the past will gain on the future. Ten years of memories, and eight more years of future memories. Now, if I can just maintain this perspective as things happen and I am tempted to lose my patience…

Life is short. It really is. Homeschooling can make it seem long because the days are long and the years are short. However, public school moms tell me they are exhausted too. They get tired and if they also have a job they feel like they are not doing either motherhood or their career 100%. When they are at work, they think about the children. When they are with the children, they think about all the things they still have to complete at work. As a homeschool mom, I have the luxury of only focusing on the children.  Continue reading »


I’ve Been A Mom For 8 Years

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Eight years ago, a tiny baby boy introduced me to the maternal instinct by arriving into the world and screaming at the top of his lungs day and night. It was a rude introduction to all things maternal and it did not help that most people around me kept giving me advice and criticizing my choices directly or indirectly. Thankfully, my husband and I constitute a great team and, with God’s help, we made it through the first year just fine.

Then, two more years went by, faster than you can say “I think I want to homeschool.” We had a baby girl. She completed us. I became a mother all over again and discovered it is actually possible to love two children just as madly as you loved the first one when he was your only and you thought, “I could not love another child just as much as this one.”

Back to my eldest. So nine months of worrying came to an abrupt end on the Sunday we turned the clocks back one hour, eight years ago. Just like that, I was a mother. Nobody prepared me for the extent of the changes in my life. I read many books about pregnancy, but not that many about motherhood. Honestly, somebody should warn women about the maternal instinct. I had no idea what it was. Hmmm… do I sense the beginning of another book idea?

Pumpkin tea and cupcake

Pumpkin tea and a cupcake – for me and my mom moment

When I kept holding a screaming baby and walking him up and down the halls, I surprised myself. Then, the realization sank in: this must me what they call maternal instinct. Through potty training, picture book reading, swim lessons, and the terrific two and threes and fours, I got acquainted with my fifth gear – the mommy gear – a.k.a. the maternal instinct. Simply put, the power (the urge, really) to put my needs aside and focus on his needs first.  Continue reading »


LEGO Creations

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My son is a LEGO aficionado and it baffles me that I have not blogged about his creations more. Every day, he comes up with at least one new design – a car, a motorcycle, a building, or a scene of some sort. His patience and determination as he looks for the right brick are impressive.

LEGO ocean floor scene

Ocean floor scene

When he was two, we started him with DUPLO sets. He followed directions as I showed him a few steps. That was all it took. By age four (although daddy thinks it was age three actually, but we can’t remember for sure, because we are parents), we decided to get him his first LEGO set. His younger sister was two (or one) at the time.  Continue reading »


Thoughtful Thursday Week 44 – Government

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Here in the USA presidential campaigning is in full swing. One of the Republican candidates is a member of our denomination and has visited our church in Knoxville before. Of course, we would like to see him win the Republican nomination, but we are still 100 days away from the primary and anything can happen at this point.

Teaching the kids about politics, government and civics is an interesting challenge. Last summer, at a used curriculum sale in Maryville, I invested the impressive amount of $1 in a second grade Abeka textbook for history and geography. We read a few pages per week during our bedtime reading. As usual, we read books for my oldest’s level.

Thoughtful Thursday - Government

Our youngest complains at times that certain books are boring, so we alternate between books she proposes and the older books we read for our oldest. That way, she has no room to complain we do not take her wishes into consideration, while challenging her and serving the needs of our oldest.  Continue reading »


Thoughtful Thursday Week 43 – Service

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Of all the things we do in our homeschool, nothing is harder to schedule than service. We visited a nursing home once. We attended a fundraiser for Sevier County Food Ministries. We sorted through toys and clothes and donated them to a Thrift Store nearby, for kids who could use them. Other than that, I am clueless.

Service

After a column I wrote for The Mountain Press about my Halloween dilemma, i.e. about not knowing how to avoid observing this obviously occultish holiday, one of my readers emailed me about an event at Brookdale Assisted Living in Sevierville, on October 29th. Children can come dressed up in different costumes, they get candy, and the residents get visitors. It’s a win-win. There will be snacks, too.  Continue reading »


Why Parents Should Consider Homeschooling Their Children

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More and more parents are opting to be more involved in educating their children. Home education, or most commonly known as homeschooling, has increased its popularity over the years, especially in the United States. Homeschooling is where you or a tutor teaches your kids at home, instead of sending them to the more conventional classroom setting in public and private schools.

Parents cite many reasons why they choose to homeschool their children. The most prevalent reasons they cite are:

Lack of confidence in the conventional school system

Parents are not convinced the curriculum, teaching method or the quality of academic instruction is appropriate for their children. The conventional school system treats every children in the same level alike, ignoring the varying needs of each child. In contrast, homeschooling focuses on children as individuals. This is consistent with the notion that every child has unique needs and degree of aptitude. One method might be effective for some children in the class, but ineffective for others.

Flexibility of teaching methods

Homeschooling is also more dynamic and flexible. With homeschooling, teaching methodologies can be tailored to fit the capabilities and personality of one’s children. Parents can choose the teaching method or instruction that would fit the aptitude of their children, and better facilitate learning. By doing so, they can better cater for the varying individual aptitude of each children.

Homeschoolers have access to and can use varying teaching materials that are more appropriate for their children. They can select the teaching method and materials based on a child’s individual needs and capabilities. Homeschooling can also be used to teach responsibilities to your children. Parents can incorporate household chores in their teaching method so that children are taught to be responsible at home.

Photo Credits to sheknows.com

Interest in participating to their children’s education and learning

Other parents prefer homeschooling so that they can have greater control and supervision over what and how their children are taught. Hands-on parents will want to come along their children’s educational journey. Homeschooling also allows parent to focus on their children’s strengths and weaknesses. They can further enrich their children’s strengths and supplement their weaknesses. In addition, parent-teachers can adjust the pace of how each subject is taught. They can go as fast or as slow in teaching a particular subject, depending on the ability of their children’s needs.

If their child excels in a subject or a particular are, they can accelerate his or her education in that subject or area. Non-conventional materials can be used to help their child learn a particular subject where he or she struggles. Parents can assess the strengths and weaknesses of their children and they can use this knowledge to design future homeschool plans and educational activities or instructions. Homeschooling also allows parent to focus on their children’s strengths and weaknesses. They can further enrich their children’s strengths and supplement their weaknesses.  Continue reading »


Outdoor Playsets Give Kids a Head Start

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Encouraging your children to play outside has never been more challenging. A new age of technology has begun, with the younger generation becoming more familiar with computers and video games than ever before. Whilst this provides a platform for development and learning, it can reduce time spent on activities outdoors.

Playground rings

My children love to hang from similar rings.

This sedentary lifestyle can be the cause of many health related issues such as childhood obesity. The solution is very simple and Continue reading »


Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 10

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The Bottom of the World or Chapter 10 deals with the first people of Australia and New Zealand. The coincidences in our homeschool keep on coming. When we went to the Pigeon Forge Library last week for Meet Mr. Lincoln, my daughter picked up a packet containing a book about McGillyCuddy, a kangaroo stuffed animal with a joey in its pouch, and an activity page based on kangaroos. The next history lesson dealt with Australia and New Zealand. Hmmm…

Mock moths (peanuts) and popcorn, held together by honey

Mock moths (peanuts) and popcorn, held together by honey

The children thought the coloring page looked strange – it is a Maori with all his war or decorative paint. The map was fun. We sang the continent song and I reminded them Australia is also a continent, not just a country.  Continue reading »