Aug 21 2017

Total Solar Eclipse Celebration

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Today, August 21, 2017, we experienced a total solar eclipse. This once-in-a-lifetime event has to be celebrated. I followed my own Solar Eclipse Lesson Plan and we had a great time. We started out with pancakes for breakfast. Instead of maple syrup, which would not have been dark enough, I made a chocolate avocado frosting. I know. It sounds weird.

Eclipse breakfast pancakes

Eclipse breakfast pancakes

I tell you, I could taste the avocados a little bit, so maybe next time I will not use two avocados. Only one. The texture can go more creamy or less creamy and it does not make a huge difference in terms of how runny it is.  Continue reading »

Aug 17 2017

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 17

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Chapter 17 dealt with Russia’s Peter the Great. I have mixed feelings about Russia. I grew up in Romania and Russia influenced our culture in a very tangible way. I do not like Russia because they brought communism to Romania, but I like Russia for its art and literature.

Foam medal craft

We used foam sheets with sticky backs for the medals.

Russian history explains a lot about its art and culture, so I am curious to learn more about all the details that have shaped this country.  Continue reading »

Aug 16 2017

Story of the World, Vol. 3, Chapter 16

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Chapter 16 dealt with people like John Locke and Isaac Newton – fascinating discoveries and advances in the sciences and philosophy. I really enjoy a chapter which speaks about people (or events) I have already studied for myself. Not that I don’t enjoy learning new things. But I have a frame of reference and it intrigues me to see how Susan Wise Bauer covers the topic.

Gravity experiment

The children took balls into the tree house to see how they fall to the ground.

Besides, I am kind of ready to get out of the Dark Ages and move on with human civilization. I am ready for early modern history to actually happen. Bring on the scientific revolution! Continue reading »

Aug 15 2017

2017 Solar Eclipse Lesson Plan

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On August 21, 2017, the US will experience a solar eclipse. Some places are in the path of totality, but even if your location is not, you will still get to experience some darkness or partial darkness for a few seconds and up to a couple of minutes.

Solar Eclipse Glasses

Our children’s aunt bought us solar eclipse glasses. Hurray for aunties!

What are you doing to prepare for this rare event? This is the perfect excuse to get out the physics books and a space encyclopedia and teach your homeschooler about the Sun and the Moon and how they fit together with the Earth.

Here’s a lesson plan if you need one. Continue reading »

Aug 6 2017

Back to Homeschool 2017

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August remains a strange month for me to think about going back to homeschool. I grew up in a country where school always started on September 15. August – all of August – was a part of the time we called “summer holidays.”

Boy and girl going back to homeschool

The last year I have both of them in primary school

In fact, the summer holidays lasted for exactly three months: from June the 15th through September the 15th. When you do this for thirteen years during your most impressionable life stage, it is rather hard to think of August as the month when school starts and May as the month when school ends. But, I live in the US now and have to get over myself. Continue reading »

Aug 4 2017

Library Story Time

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For several reasons, we have been inconsistent with our library visits. Back in January, we bought a lot of books because our house got damaged by wind and water the night of the Gatlinburg wildfire and we lost 40 books from our collection. So I took them to Barnes and Noble and let them choose lots of new books.

Andy Armadillo visits the library

Andy Armadillo from Texas Roadhouse came over to Story Time at our local library.

In retrospect, I wish I had been more careful with our choices, but that’s another story and hindsight is 20/20. I must focus on the fact that they are reading, learning new vocabulary and seeing how stories are put together. All this to say, we have been busy reading books we own, too busy to go borrow books from the local library.

Continue reading »

Aug 2 2017

Homeschooling As A Group

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While I am not ready to join a co-op any time soon because we have tried it and it does not fit our family, I know many homeschooling families love the idea. If you do not have a co-op nearby or if you want to start your own, here are some tips to help you in that endeavor.

A homeschooling co-op is made up of families choosing to team up with other local homeschooling parents and teaching their kids together as a unit, taking it in turns to run lessons.

There are many benefits that come with this kind of small group teaching, such as that different parents with different skills can focus on different areas of education. For instance, parents with a strong mathematical knowledge can teach math, while parents with good grammar skills can teach English. Moms who love sports can teach sports education, while dads with a passion for travel can teach geography. Continue reading »

Jul 30 2017

Simple Ways To Make Moving Home Easier

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I have a friend who is moving this summer. She told me how stressful it was and we talked briefly about it. Homeschoolers are people and people move around. So maybe we should touch on moving a bit.

Luggage on top of car

Make moving day less stressful with these tips

Moving is one of those life situations which everyone has to go through from time to time, a kind of rite of passage. Yet, it is often also one of the more stressful things which we have to do in our modern lives. Continue reading »

Jul 24 2017

First Family Hike After Fire

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It has taken us more than eight months to get back on the Gatlinburg trail for a family hike after the November wildfires. It was therapeutic to be out in nature again.

Family hike and bike in the Smokies

Family hike and bike in the Smokies

So many things have kept us from hiking. In the winter right after the fire, the last place we wanted to visit was the park – even though not much actual burning actually happened on this particular trail. The sheer nature of a busy spring schedule precluded us from going there while school was in session. Then summer rolled around with its whirlwind of camps and tourist traffic. Continue reading »

Jul 23 2017

Math Camp At Home

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The other day I found an announcement about a math camp for homeschoolers taking place in Knoxville. I was ready to take my kids there and then reality set in: driving daily for two hours both ways, trying to entertain one while the other is taking the class, and for what? “Fun math activities.” I think we can do that at home.

Grape geometry - edible math craft

Grape geometry – edible math craft

So… I did what everybody does in such a situation – I Googled “math camp at home.” Thank God for generous bloggers who share their ideas with us… I found some wonderful ideas for math games and crafts and unleashed Operation Stealthy Learning.  Continue reading »