2023 Science Olympiad State

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Cedar Springs Homeschool, our team, won second place in the Tennessee State Science Olympiad, held on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. Our son won gold in Solar System and Crave the Wave. Our daughter won silver in Flight.

Teen cubing at Science Olympiad

Between events, in the homeroom

Teen girl Science Olympiad

Waiting between Flight and Bridge

We are proud of their achievements – overall, as a team, and individually. Our children did their part to help the team win second place out of the best 15 teams in the State of Tennessee. Continue reading »


Medals from Regionals

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The medals our team earned at the Regionals in Science Olympiad (SO) came in, finally. We forgive the organizers for forgetting to order them in time to distribute during the awards ceremony last month. It is hard to imagine how one would forget to order medals when one organizes a competition, but we will be gracious and give them our thanks for all their efforts in putting together such a massive effort as SO Regionals.

Claire with medals

Our daughter with her two golds from SO Regionals

Our son put his on – four golds and a bronze – but he did not want to be photographed. Then, he took them off. He said it felt good to have them, but not getting them on the day of competition took away from their aura. Continue reading »


2023 Science Olympiad Regionals

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Veni, vidi, vici. We came, we saw, we won. Our team, Cedar Springs Homeschool, beat Webb Middle School (a $20,000 per year private school) and several magnet schools from Chattanooga. Out of 23 events, we won 20 or 21. I cannot keep track.

Cedar Springs Homeroom

Cedar Springs Homeroom at Regionals

I wonder what goes through the minds of these parents who spend a fortune sending their children to Webb, when they see a homeschool team beat them by a lot.

If it sounds like I am gloating, allow me to redirect you to the song of victory which Deborah sings in Judges 5. There is a whole lot of gloating there and then some mocking of her enemy and – I kid you not! – his mamma. Anyway. I am not gloating, just stating facts. We won by a large margin.

Cedar Springs Homeschool Science Olympiad Team A

Cedar Springs Homeschool Science Olympiad Team A

The thing is, we did not even study that much. Now that we know we are going to State, the kids must do a whole lot more and they know it.

The life lessons from Science Olympiad count even more so than the scientific knowledge. Planning, executing, grit, pushing through when the going gets tough, communicating with the team and the coaches, controling your nerves, winning graciously (don’t scream too loudly when they announce you won gold again), applauding your competition etc etc.

Our son had five events, all written tests. He won gold in Codebusters, Crave the Wave, Dynamic Planet, and Solar System. He won bronze in Green Generation.

Our daughter had two events, both building something that does something. She won gold in both Bridge and Flight. It was really difficult for her because she had never built an airplane before and then she had to learn how to trim it.

She walked up to me after the awards ceremony and said, “It was worth it.” Our son is the team captain and he just put a long message in Slack, where we communicate with each other, telling the team that they can go to Nationals, but they have to study hard. And then he gave details on how they should have a daily routine etc.

State is in April at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. I will definitely let you know what happens. Only the top team gets to go to Nationals, which are in May in Wichita, KS.


SO Friendship Invitational

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Last week, our children and their Science Olympiad team competed in the Friendship Invitational, on the campus of Friendship Christian School in Lebanon, TN. This year, there were 24 teams competing, from Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and maybe even North Carolina – very strong competition.

Cedar Springs Homeschool Team A

Cedar Springs Homeschool Teams A and B

Invitationals are the not-so-secret weapon of strong teams to prepare for Regionals – the event that qualifies a team to State, which is followed by Nationals, if you win State. Continue reading »


Dodgen Invitational, Science Olympiad

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Last week, our children participated in the Dodgen-Walton Science Olympiad Invitational, together with their team, Cedar Springs Homeschool. This invitational happens at the Walton High School in Marietta, GA. We compete against teams from public schools, private schools, magnet schools, charter schools, and there was another homeschool team, as well.

Cedar Springs Homeschool Team

Cedar Springs Homeschool Team for Science Olympiad

Invitationals are tough competitions which we attend in order to learn. We build on this experience. By the time we go to Regionals, State, and (hopefully) Nationals, we feel prepared. Continue reading »


Science Olympiad – Facebook Live

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Science Olympiad does not equal Science Fair. Many people have never heard of Science Olympiad and they assume it is a glorified Science Fair.

Occupy Mars

His Occupy Mars hoodie reflects his interest in rocket science, which he can hone during Science Olympiad.

Science Olympiad is a national tournament where teams compete for prizes and trophies after they qualified within their state. Every state declares one winner. The winners meet at an annual event, usually on a university campus. Last year, for instance, they went to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Continue reading »


Lessons from the 27th Week

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Oh, what a week! It started out with a dress rehearsal and then the actual concert with Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestras. Our daughter plays in Preludium and our son in Sinfonia. Here are YouTube links to their concert: Preludium and Sinfonia.

SO Medals

2020 SO Medals – one medal for every event

They did well, as usual. It does not get old – that’s the first lesson. As much as we work with them in music lessons and driving them to orchestra practice, at the end of the day, it is worth it. If you can afford music lessons, it would probably be the best use of your money on extracurricular activities. Continue reading »


Lessons from the 25th Week

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Last week shocked us with a tremendous amount of rain, which kept us from going to piano lessons, for instance. The roads leading to our teacher’s house were covered by water. I turned around and called myself “aware of my surroundings.”

We can always reschedule and we did. The kids learned the lesson “Turn around, don’t drown” in a very real way.

Rube Goldberg Machine

Rube Goldberg Machine

Our hike got canceled because a lot of the roads in the county were flooded. So we went to the Community Center and let the kids swim with one of their friends from the hiking group. Thus we learned flexibility.

Continue reading »


Lessons from the 23rd Week

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We spent three days out of the classroom this week. Even though I know learning happens, it makes me nervous to not have “school” done with books, at home, in our regular habitat.

One day, we went hiking with our friends from Wild + Free Great Smoky Mountains. Another day, I had to take my son to Knoxville for Science Olympiad practice (Write It, Do It). And yet another day, my husband drove all of us to Knoxville again, so that our daughter can test her latest boomilever with her coach, while our son met with his partner for Mission Possible to schedule the next move.

Icicle

Now that’s an icicle!

Lots of learning happened, of course, but, at my core, I am not an unschooling, carschooling, relaxed homeschooling type of mama. It makes me nervous that we are not progressing through our books.

We attend church in Knoxville, too, so this means we drove two hours round trip four times in one week. People commute like this every day for work, but I am glad we do not have to do it regularly.

The hardest thing we did this week (besides driving to Knoxville four times) was hiking in 36F. That’s 2 C if you are wondering. Just above freezing. We got warmed up as we went along, but the picnic was tough. We ate in a hurry and left.

Icicle Flag

My daughter found an icicle flag.

The kids have fun on these hikes and that’s what keeps me going for more. Also, I enjoy the fellowship with like-minded mamas. I won’t pretend I do not need these hikes for my own soul. All in all, we had a good week.


Lessons from the Twenty-First Week

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Last week, we started school back up, along with orchestra, violin lessons, taekwondo, and the Wild + Free Great Smoky Mountains hikes. We should have started piano as well, but what do you know? My car battery got drained mysteriously. The car would not start on the day of the piano lesson. We had to cancel and change the car battery first, before anything else.

W+F Picnic

Wild and Free group picnic, on the Gatlinburg Trail

It was really neat to be out in nature with our W+F group. The fellowship, the fresh air, sunshine, and relaxed pace really do the mind good. One of the moms told me about this book, “Mere Motherhood,” and later lent it to me. I am reading it and taking notes. It is that good. Continue reading »