Jun 26 2017

2017 String Camp

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For the second year in a row, I took the kids to String Camp in Knoxville. The youth symphony has four levels of orchestras during camp time and it is a wonderful time for the kids to grow, learn, and have fun while making friends and enjoying themselves.

Boy and girl at String Camp

My kids on day 2 of camp

This year, they were in two separate orchestras, as opposed to last summer, when they were both in the beginning orchestra. My son has gone to the next level, called Overture, while my daughter is still in the beginning orchestra, called Prelude. She has only studied violin for two years now and will need another year before she could go to the next level.  Continue reading »

Jun 18 2017

SMHEA Homeschool Expo

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Every June, my local homeschool support organization, the Smoky Mountain Home Educators Association, puts on a free mini-convention. There are vendors and local organizations who cater to homeschoolers, like the Knoxville Zoo, the Titanic Museum, and Ripley’s Aquarium. There are seminars, too. I am one of the speakers.

Adriana Zoder, Claiborne and Lana Thornton

With THEA President, Claiborne Thornton, and his wife Lana

This year, I spoke about Preschool and Kindergarten in one seminar. The other one was about different homeschool approaches. Education can be done in a myriad of ways. By the way, you can find the slides of my PowerPoint presentations under the tab called Workshops on this blog. Continue reading »

Jun 12 2017

Planting A Garden

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We try to plant a small garden every year so the children can spend time outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Also, so that they may receive the wonderful benefits of useful manual labor. Apparently, the frontal lobe improves as we use our hands to do something productive, as we manipulate tools and build things or rake, hoe and weed etc. It’s been documented by brain researchers.

Boy and girl planting a garden

The kids planted a garden the other day

Gardening teaches many skills. Children are naturally impatient and growing a garden takes some patience. Caring for something outside of yourself also teaches children responsibility. Having to water even when you don’t feel like it helps children mature and build habits of usefulness, of choosing duty over moods. Continue reading »

Jun 7 2017

Asian Trek at Zoo Knoxville

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Zoo Knoxville has a new exhibit called “Asian Trek”. There are two male tigers and one female tiger, plenty of Asian decor, and a family of white-naped cranes (with a baby!). They kids saw the billboards on I-40 several months ago, advertising the tiger exhibit, so they have wanted to go for some time.

My son high fived the tiger at Zoo Knoxville

My son high fived the tiger at Zoo Knoxville

We finally made it there last week. It was better than I expected. They have a pagoda and Chinese lanterns and music as you go through the Asian trek. Continue reading »

Jun 5 2017

Royal Conservatory Music Development Program

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The Royal Conservatory put together a Music Development Program which is followed by music teachers all over the world. Many famous American music schools are proud to call themselves “founding schools” of this program which began twenty years ago.

Mom and children at Milligan College

The kids and I after their violin assessments at Milligan College in Elizabethton, TN

Our children’s violin teacher recommended that we take the assessments this year, in Level 1 and Level 3 respectively. It is a different curriculum than the Suzuki books and it was fun to step outside of those books and into a different repertoire. Continue reading »

Jun 2 2017

Summer Vacay

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The other day I received an email from a famous homeschool blogger with a list of “summer boredom busters.” I admire that sentiment, but we are not bored yet. In fact, I think I may have run the troops a little too much this year – too much even for me. I feel the burn or the burnout and I just want to take it easy.

Father, daughter and son at the pool

My husband and the kids at the pool

The kids want to take it easy. I want to take it easy. We have our three daily meals and they help with preparation and cleanup. We do a devotional. We run errands if necessary. I leave my annual checkups for this time of the year and they just tag along with their books. They work on Scratch (computer programming language from MIT) because they love it. Continue reading »

May 28 2017

End of the School Year

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It is almost the end of May and this means summer break is here. We do not homeschool year round, although learning never stops. Children are naturally curious and they will learn even if I don’t record it as a school day.

Boy and girl holding homeschool certificates of completion

First grade and third grade certificates

We have some summer camps coming up: art, orchestra, app making, manners, soccer, swimming, archery – all these activities involve learning. I have not yet decided if I should count these days toward their next school year. This past school year, I did. But it almost feels like cheating. Continue reading »

May 24 2017

Green and Pink Smoothies

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Lately, I have had a lot of fun making smoothies for us. That blender gets washed every day, I tell you. That’s because it gets used every day. It is such an easy thing to do and yet it took me a bit to get on the bandwagon of this food trend. You don’t need a cookbook either.

Raspberry and cocoa parfait

Raspberry and cocoa parfait (or smoothie)

A couple of years ago, I read a cookbook about kale. All the recipes included kale in some form. It overwhelmed me. I tried a few kale smoothies and other kale recipes, but I did not get inspired.

Well, something happened this year. Not sure what exactly, but one morning I just felt the courage to get the blender out and here’s what I put in it: 1 cup of rice milk, a cup of spinach, and one banana. Continue reading »

May 8 2017

Learning Chess

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Chess is a game I learned from my father. Chess was very common in Romania. Maybe you recall that the two best chess players in the world in the 80s were two Russians. Romania was never one of the Soviet Republics, but we were influenced by Russian culture to some extent, seeing that we had a long border with them.

Chess board with check mate position

My son check mated me for the first time.

And so lots of children learned chess from their parents. It was part of family time – a board game like any other. There were TV shows about it, too. One lady in particular, Elisabeta Polihroniade, appeared on the chess TV show and taught different moves and strategies. We thought she was cool.  Continue reading »

May 7 2017

Daily Schedule Update

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As children grow, so do the routines and schedules we have with them. Homeschooling looks very different for everybody, but one of the most frequent questions I hear from moms is, “What is your daily schedule like?”

Boy and girl visit the dentist

A visit to the dentist interrupts the daily schedule.

 

We have school days Monday-Friday. We take the weekend off. I sneak in letter writing on an odd Sunday afternoon (they both have pen pals), or a home Spelling Bee or some other “school activity” which is fun for them, but I don’t tell them it’s school and I don’t record it as such.

They get a 10-minute break between subjects – they can play or practice their tae kwon do forms and moves or do something else that is physical (no computer). It’s like crop rotation. We have used the brain, now it is time to tax the body a bit.

So here it is, our daily schedule as of 2017:

8:00-8:30 Wake up, make bed, dress up, start a load of laundry if necessary

8:30-9:00 Breakfast (we listen to their orchestra pieces while eating)

9:00-9:30 Devotional (includes Bible memorization)

9:30-10:00 Language Arts

10:00-10:30 Math

10:30-11:00 Piano Practice

11:00-11:30 Violin Practice

11:30-12:00 History/Science (alternate days) Continue reading »