One week down, 35 more to go, but who is counting? The kids learned about their new schedule and curricula on Monday. We made new binders together for their different subjects.
We walked in Knoxville, on the Greenway, between violin and harp lessons
They are so much older and more mature, I could say to them, “This is how I would like to tackle our subjects. Let’s give it a try for a few weeks and see if it works. We can always switch things up.” Continue reading
An ancient grain, einkorn contains gluten, but it does not bother me. They have not messed with this kind of wheat, which goes back 12,000 years.
My einkorn banana bread came out very nicely from the first try
Whole Foods sells einkorn flour and I made the banana bread recipe on the box. Some people say einkorn flour is expensive and, well, maybe it is, compared to other flours. However, you can make the recipe three times out of one bag of flour, which means the cost is not as high as you might think per loaf of bread. Continue reading
Tortillas rock. My son challenged me to make tortillas. In his quest for whole foods, he told me he would not eat store-bought tortillas anymore. Could I please learn to make tortillas for him (and the rest of the family)?
My homemade tortillas, which do not break anymore
When there is a will, there is a way. I first made a tortilla recipe from an old cookbook I have. Not good. They came out tough and breakable. Continue reading
On August 14 we start our 11th year of homeschooling. Our son is in 10th grade and our daughter in 8th grade this year, 2023-2024. We have homeschooled them exclusively – a journey of faith and audacity.
Visiting the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA – July 2023
On August 4, 2013 I published my first blog post here, on this blog. So my blog is as old my homeschool. The two go hand in hand and one has inspired the other. Honestly, I needed to blog just as much as I needed to respond to God’s calling to homeschool my children. Continue reading
On August 4, 2013 I pushed Publish on my first blog post here at Homeschool Ways. Ten years ago, we started homeschooling our oldest from Kindergarten on up and my sister suggested I document it all in a blog. A blogger herself, she understands the therapeutic power of writing about one’s experience. So thank you, sis, for planting that seed of an idea in my head a decade ago.
Photo op at the Pittsburgh Zoo, July 2023
In that sense, this blog has helped me a lot. From the feedback I have received over they years, Homeschool Ways, the blog, has also helped many readers. That was the point, really. As I received help in the beginning of my homeschool career from other moms who have gone before me, I wanted to help others. Continue reading
Driving Force is a Dick Francis novel, i.e. a thriller from the world of horse racing. Queen Elizabeth II loved these novels and Mr. Francis wrote about 40. His son continued the legacy with more titles in the same vein, after they co-authored a few titles.
I read Driving Force by Dick Francis on Libby, the library app, on my phone, in dark mode to protect my eyes
A few years ago, I read a Dick Francis novel and liked it, so I decided to try a few more. Well, I could not stop until I read four of them in row. Driving Force was the first in my little Francis cavalcade. Continue reading
One book leads to another. As I read Angela Gheorghiu’s autobiography, she mentioned the most famous cake in the world: the Sacher torte from Vienna. This lead me to discover a whole series of books about rich desserts and wealthy people. Talk about a unit study. That is how I discovered a historical novel titled The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe.
I read it from READS, Tennessee’s electronic library
Have you ever wondered who the richest man on the Titanic was and if he made it out alive? The answer is John Jacob Astor IV (net worth $2.6 billion in today’s money) and no, he did not. He put his wife on Lifeboat #4. Continue reading
In a previous post, I shared how our son has started a whole food revolution while I was also finding myself pushed in the same direction by a podcast. It just seems like the winds of change are blowing toward more healthy choices in the kitchen.
I used heavy cream, 365 brand, to make butter
So… in this context… our son has decided he wants homemade butter. Last Thanksgiving, we went on a field trip to Sam Houston Schoolhouse. They made butter in mason jars over there. He loved the taste of it. Now that he is interested in whole foods, he wanted me to research how to make butter faster. Continue reading
This post will start a new series, in which I hope to detail many of the changes we are making to our cooking and eating philosophy. Yes, a health reform is underway at my house!
I made einkorn banana bread – with einkorn flour from Whole Foods
Our son, in his awakening to all things leading to self-improvement, has stumbled upon the concept of “whole foods.” Not the store, but the concept of unprocessed, as close to nature as possible, whole foods. Continue reading
O Viata pentru Arta (A Life for Art) by Angela Gheorghiu and Jon Tolanski is the autobiography of Angela Gheorghiu, as dictated to Tolanski. He wrote it in English but I read the Romanian translation. I wanted to hear the diva’s own words in her native Romanian.
My copy of “O Viata pentru Arta”
Angela Gheorghiu, many people say, is the best operatic soprano in the world. She has been compared to Maria Callas and has been dubbed “the last diva.” The last because the younger sopranos do not behave like divas. And diva because, well, she misses rehearsals and performances for reasons like “I don’t like this wig.” Continue reading