Apr 4 2018

Exciting Ways Parents Can Get Their Kids Interested In Music

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Are you one of those parents who goes to bed at night hoping your child will be the next generation’s top musician? Would you like to, at the very least, ensure your children appreciate the magic and wonder of music from a young age? Read on, then.

Music is a fantastic thing, and it can help support and inspire young people throughout their lives. Even if your children do not become professional musicians, research shows music makes children smarter, which means you should really think about incorporating music lessons in your homeschool. Continue reading »

Mar 25 2018

Annual Standardized Test

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Every year in March, we take the kids to Berean Christian School in Knoxville for the Terra Nova 3 nationally standardized test. In Tennessee, one must be registered with an umbrella school. We chose Berean for several reasons, but mainly because we trust the two coordinators.

Berean Christian Church Chapel

Inside Berean Christian School, just before testing

Ed and Lisa Lee are a husband and wife team who homeschooled their children in the 80s and 90s, when it was not cool to homeschool. They were called to this ministry of coordinating the Berean Homeschool Umbrella program and have been doing so for many years now. Continue reading »

Mar 17 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 34

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Chapter 34 took us to South America in order to meet a certain Simon Bolivar. The craft was edible and easy to make: arroz con leche. We used to make a lot of “rice with milk” when I was growing up in Romania, so it was a familiar dish to me.

Arroz con leche

Arroz con leche

The difference was the orange juice and the cinnamon. I have to say, I did not expect the orange juice to give it a nice flavor. It just did not seem right. Continue reading »

Mar 12 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 33

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Chapter 33 covered the end of Napoleon and the craft was really exciting. I had no idea it would be so easy to create our own snow globe with a soldier inside to represent the poor French soldiers trudging through Russia in the winter.

Snow globe soldier

Snow globe soldier craft

We made sure the pronunciation of Napoleon’s name is different from that of Neapolitan ice cream. We love Neapolitan ice cream at our house and they asked me if it got named after Napoleon. That’s when I realized we needed to clarify some pronunciation. Continue reading »

Mar 11 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 32

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Lewis and Clark star in chapter 32. Oh, and Lewis’s dog, Seaman. My children love animals and they melted over the idea of this dog that came along during this expedition. In fact, he was the only animal to complete the trip.

Lewis and Clark diary craft

Lewis and Clark diary out of construction paper, computer paper, and two brads.

When I looked him up online, he looks adorable. Well, the statues that represent him. Seaman was a Newfoundland dog and his fluffy tail and long hair make him very cute. Continue reading »

Mar 2 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 31

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Chapter 31 deals with a different kind of rebellion: the factory workers in England smashing machines for being abused in the work place. This chapter is our opportunity, parents, to steer young minds away from entitlement.

Factories in England

Coloring pages – our only craft for this chapter

Why? Because this chapter talks about children working in factories starting at age 8. That’s right. Let that sink in, especially if you have normal children, like I do, who are still learning not to complain when they hear they have to study or read or practice an instrument. Continue reading »

Mar 1 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 30

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Chapter 30 covers Haiti’s fight for independence from France. If we studied anything about Haiti when I was growing up in Romania, I must have forgotten it, because I remember nothing on the subject. So I was learning alongside my children in this chapter.

Symbol of Haiti - the palm tree

Symbol of Haiti – the palm tree

My fourth grader studied big numbers in math this year, so he had the task of explaining to his sister (who is only in second grade) what the difference is between 36,000 white French aristocrats and 500,000 African slaves. Unit studies are not my thing, but when I can make a connection between subjects, I make it. In this case, math and history came together and it was fun. Continue reading »

Feb 18 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 29

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Chapter 29 deals with Napoleon’s rise to power. Two stories about Napoleon document first his becoming a consul and then an emperor. The kids want to understand why Napoleon behaved the way he did, which to me signifies that we are moving into the logic stage of their development.

French and British War Game

The French side is blue but technical difficulties made it so their cards ended up being white instead.

They are not just concerned about the facts. Now they want to know why the facts are as they are. What motivates people to want power? Why does a man want to become a leader at any cost? Greed. That’s the short answer. Continue reading »

Feb 18 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 28

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Chapter 28 is titled “China and the Rest of the World.” It is meant to contrast how the Chinese viewed themselves versus how the world (mainly Great Britain) saw China. If you ever needed a conversation starter on the topic of illegal drugs, this would be it.

Girl throwing clay on toy pottery wheel

Working with air dry clay and a toy pottery wheel

By now, you know I use these history lessons to make applications to our daily lives. Because the opium trade is discussed in the second story of the chapter, this was my opportunity to cover the bad long-term consequences of drugs. Continue reading »

Feb 18 2018

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 27

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Chapter 27 deals with the beginning of the industrial revolution: the cotton gin in the US and Watt’s steam engine in the UK. My son is into technology, so he was eager to learn more about these events. My daughter came along for the ride. As long as there is a coloring page, she is happy.

Boy draws invention on paper

For our activity, my son drew his own invention

The world has changed dramatically since the invention of the steam engine and this chapter describes very well the lives of people before and after Watt’s invention. I like Ms. Bauer’s writing and my children do, too. Continue reading »