Category Archives: homeschooling

Feb 5 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 6 – More Guest Posts

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Happy Thoughtful Thursday!

Here are two more guest posts I wrote for two very interesting homeschooling blogs:

The titles pretty much speak for themselves. I think you know by now that it is my passion to encourage homeschooling moms to dare to teach a foreign language in their homeschool even if they do not speak it.

Thoughtful Thursday 6

On the other hand, I have a special interest in bilingual and trilingual moms who try to pass on their languages to their children. And yes, there are polyglot moms out there who still haven’t figured out how to do it.  Continue reading »

Feb 4 2015

My Latest Book, Life in the Smoky Mountains

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My latest book is out, available in paperback and Kindle formats: Life in the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg Through the Eyes of A Local.

February 5-8 (so starting tomorrow), the Kindle book will be free.

Please share with your travel-loving friends.

Life in the Smoky Mountains

 

This book is a collection of my newspaper columns, a travelogue of my staycation as a local in a tourist town, a collection of essays about life in the Smokies.

It covers homeschooling indirectly, as I share the activities we do in the Smokies with our preschool and early elementary children.

Feb 1 2015

Story of the World, Vol. 1, Chapter 11

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Eureka! I found a way to get my kids to do their mapwork AND their coloring sheet (especially my son). Have both worksheets ready on the desk, with markers and crayons nearby. While I read the lesson and the stories, they color. That’s it. They need something to do and look at to get a visual about what they hear, so the worksheets serve a brilliant purpose.

Chapter 11, dealing with Ancient Africa, seemed very interesting to my children, possibly because of the Anansi stories. Two stories were included in the chapter and I read them while the kids were coloring their Anansi and Turtle picture.

As I read the introduction, we looked at the map in the book and the one in their workbook. We chose to make Anansi the Spider out of styrofoam balls.

Anansi the Spider Craft

We each built an Anansi. My daughter wanted hers pink and blue.

The other stories recommended will have to come from the library. As I put in my requests through the library’s website, I even found a video book: Anansi and the Magic Stick, by Eric Kimmel. I looked it up on youtube and it’s there, but different. It is read by other people and, in my opinion, not as well done as this one. Since my library’s website is a membership site, I can’t share a link with you.  Continue reading »

Jan 29 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 5 – Speed vs. Depth

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Did you grow up hating math or loving it? I grew up liking math. I made good grades in it, but I never thought I was a “math person” per se.

It turns out, there is no such thing as a “math person.” Everybody is capable of learning math. And everyone should have the chance of being introduced to math in a creative, fun way. Math should not be a series of mindless drills and repetition exercises. Math facts – especially the ones in arithmetic, or the early grades – should be understood.

Thoughtful Thursday

Which is why we chose to switch to Right Start Mathematics, a Montessori-inspired math program put together by Dr. Joan Cotter. I was getting a bit bored of this curriculum, not to mention confused – because it is so different, when… I discovered an MOOC by Stanford University called How to Learn Math – For Students. It totally reassured me Right Start Math is the right way to introduce my children to math concepts.

Oh, what a treasure trove of brain research and busted myths about mathematics I found in this Stanford course. It took me about two hours over two days (three sessions total) to finish all the lessons. My children came and hovered over my shoulder for a bit, as I watched the videos and answered the quizzes. Not sure they got much out of it, but some things sounded more interesting than others, I suppose. They stayed longer for some sessions.  Continue reading »

Jan 25 2015

Story of the World, Vol. 1, Chapter 10

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We studied Ancient China, chapter 10 of The Story of the World Volume 1 mostly in the car. I knew the Story of the World CDs would come in handy. The kids enjoyed the story of the silk worms. They had no idea about how silk is made. I feel so privileged – all over again – to be the one introducing them to such facts about the world.

They did their mapwork. My daughter colored the page with Chin and his dad, but my son put it off. Again, I do not insist on coloring if he does not want to.

We read some of the books recommended. My local library did not carry these particular titles, but they got them for us in about a week through the inter-library loan program. Meanwhile, the children’s librarian brought us similar books which they did have. One of them actually had the same title as the one recommended by Susan Wise Bauer, i.e. “Ancient China,” and it made it confusing later on as I was returning both titles.  Continue reading »

Jan 23 2015

Teaching Mathematics At The Primary Level

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As homeschooling moms, we have favorite subjects we prefer to teach. Here’s an idea: if you really like a subject, you could totally extend the fun by getting an online degree yourself. Let’s take mathematics, for instance.

Mathematics are a core skill that everyone going through primary school will learn. It is fundamental to surviving in our modern world. Not only are mathematics useful, but the logical problem solving abilities that are gained by being able to process mathematics will resurface again and again. Teaching these skills effectively to young minds, then, is a task of critical importance.

There are methods and ways to improve the effectiveness of any teaching technique and of course gaining additional education is a huge help. By finishing a master of science in mathematics online one can be armed with exceptional analytical skills that are essential for teaching. Below are some tips on forming young minds in the area of mathematics.

 

Learn through Play

This is an effective method of teaching younger children and for creating an interest in mathematics basics. Using games, toys and other fun activities to incorporate fundamentals is a great way to lay down the foundations for more advanced concepts that will be taught later in life. Since a game is made of learning, the children are more receptive to learning and their attention can be kept for longer periods of time.

 

Activity Based Learning
While related to learning through play, activity based learning is usually geared towards an older student. In activity based learning, the students are engaged but the emphasis is more on learning and less on fun and games. Problems to solve and other mathematics based activities engage the student. Many of the same benefits exist, but usually more complex concepts can be introduced than through simple games. This would be the next step from a Learn through Play method of teaching.

 

Continuing Education

As with any profession, continuing education will serve to make you more proficient in your occupation. Our career is homeschooling our children. We should look at it in as professional a manner as possible. As with any master’s degree, a master of science in mathematics will allow you to narrow your field of study or delve into the specifics of your interests. The result is a better qualified individual with several areas of specialist expertise better qualifying you for your career as a primary school mathematics teacher. Getting this degree online is convenient.

These few tricks can only aid in your career of forming young minds in the ways of mathematics. Follow them if you are a dedicated homeschooling mom, a.k.a. a teaching professional who sets high educational standards and teaching etiquette.

Jan 21 2015

Science in the Ancient World Review

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Berean Builders Publishing, Inc. produced Science in the Ancient World by Dr. Jay Wile. It is my privilege to write a review about this elementary science curriculum.

First off, this science curriculum is written by a scientist who is a Christian and believes in Creation, not evolution. Secondly, this curriculum can be used with multiple students on different levels. The review questions are written for three different types of students, from more mature to the youngest ones. As such, this curriculum keeps the family learning together and it exposes the young ones to vocabulary while challenging the older ones to grasp scientific concepts on their grade level.

science in the ancient world

Last summer, I attended a seminar by Dr. Wile regarding the teaching of science in grades K-6. In short, Dr. Wile gave parents permission to skip science and focus on math in these early grades. Why? Because science is all around us and math is the foundation of later studies in science.

Young children will ask questions about animals and plants, stars and planets. If you take them to the library and find books to answer those questions, you have just done science. Nature walks are another way to do science in the early elementary grades, of course. And if your budding scientist keeps a nature journal, that’s all the science you need in grades K-6.  Continue reading »

Jan 15 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 3 – Start Creating

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We have been talking about how to stop learning and start thinking. The next step is to start creating. Because in the process of thinking you open yourself up to the Universe or to God, depending on your belief system, creativity comes naturally.

Oscar-nominated composer Pharrell Williams shares with Oprah that he creates his music either in the shower (think sensory deprivation) or in the moment when he’s got no more ideas. In the case of his song Happy, Pharrell reached the point where he had tried everything and the movies executives still did not approve.

To be exact, Pharrell took eight different songs to those who hired him to do the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2. They pushed him to try again by saying, “Close, but that’s not it.”

Thoughtful Thursday Week 3 - Start Creating

Did Pharrell give up? Did he tell them to get another guy? Did he start thinking negatively? Continue reading »

Jan 14 2015

60 Ideas for Arts and Crafts

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Many people use “I’m not a teacher” as an excuse for not homeschooling. It’s a mentality they grew up with. I did too. I understand. I got out of it when I felt called to homeschool my children, slowly but surely.

The Industrial Age has turned all of us into specialized professionals along the assembly lines of the world. Each of us has been instructed to take care of only one job and so we go through life assuming teachers teach, bakers bake, pilots fly planes and architects design.

60Ideas

In fact, you CAN teach your child. You can! It’s as simple as picking up a teacher’s manual and reading the lesson the night before. In this post, I am illustrating the point by giving you 60 ideas for arts and crafts. I’m no artist. My kids can draw better than I can. But I teach them art with the right tools.

Even if you yourself are not that great at art you can teach your children art. To teach means to educate. And “educate” come from the Latin word “educare,” which means “leading out, taking somebody from here to there, guiding.” So you can guide your children through the process of discovering art. Take my case: I am not an artist, but I appreciate art. And, I discovered, it does not take much to expose my children to arts and crafts.

Here is a list of 60 arts and crafts you can do with your children:

1. Visit your local Museum of Art. For us, it’s Arrowmont in Gatlinburg and the Knoxville Museum of Art.

2. Visit your local children’s museum. The closest one to us is in Oak Ridge and we have not been yet. I have only heard good things about it, but it’s just been a little out of the way for us.

3. Visit your local science and technology center. Check this list out to locate one near you. They are bound to have craft tables, among all those scientific projects. If you travel, it would make sense to invest in a membership. That way, you can visit everywhere for free. We got a membership at The Muse in Knoxville and have already visited another science center for free (the Discovery Center in Charlotte, NC). That’s what you can do any time you travel.

4. Visit your local natural science museum. They usually have programs and tours for children which end up with a craft. We go to McClung in Knoxville for their free stroller tours.

5. Visit your local artisan shops. Sometimes they have artist at work demonstrations. Exposing the children to the creating process inspires them. We go to the Arts and Crafts community on Glades Road in Gatlinburg – 120+ shops to explore.

6. Visit the National Gallery of Art website for kids and virtual shop. You will gain four things: knowledge, inspiration, ideas, and pretty things to share with friends and family.  Continue reading »

Jan 12 2015

My Father Passed Away

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It’s the dawn of the third day after it happened and I finally reached the stage of tears and sorrow in my mourning, after shock and denial. I live on Romanian time, which is EST +7, which means I sleep for a couple of hours and I wake up in the middle of my American night. I talk to my sister who is there, in Romania, preparing the details for the funeral service. It’s mid-morning for her and she is running around with her husband, taking care of details one never wants to think about.

In short, I can’t make it there in time. My kids don’t have passports and my husband and I have nobody to leave them with for a week or so. I do not want to travel by myself and mourn on the shoulders of strangers on three different flights. Besides, Charlie Hebdo just happened and the US State Department issued a warning against international traveling.

So I mourn from a distance. My husband stands by me and I have finally reached out to a few friends and told them. Everybody is very supportive and sympathetic. Once I put it on Facebook and people started comforting me, I felt the power of everybody’s prayers.

Adrian Timsa

Adrian Timsa (August 27, 1948 – January 10, 2015)

I have not told my children yet. They are so small and lost another grandparent one year ago, almost to the day. I wrote here about homeschooling through tragedy. Death became real to them and I want to put them back into the time of their innocence again. The time when they lived without knowing about death.

I keep the schedule intact. We stay very busy during the day. I do my crying at night. It’s impossible to forget during the day though, even if I wanted to. Two huge flower arrangements in the living room remind me that something different is going on.

My kids never met my father. They spoke to him on the phone. I sent him pictures of them. I showed them pictures of him. My son played his violin for my dad, over the phone.

When I finally tell them he passed, my daughter says nonchalantly that we will see him in heaven. My son, tears in his eyes, gives me a hug and tells me he is very sorry for me. I have great kids. Continue reading »