Feb 12 2017

Adventure Science Center in Nashville

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

When we went to Nashville recently for TeenPact One Day, we also spent some time at the Adventure Science Center. That place is so big, your child could spend hours in there and not get bored. In the process, your child would be learning all sorts of science concepts hands-on.

Boy and girl play at Adventure Science Center

Sending parachutes up to be released

One can, for instance, lift a car with the help of a lever and fulcrum. The famous Aristotelian quote is written right on the lever: “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Continue reading »

Feb 10 2017

TeenPact One Day Class

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

For the second year in a row, we traveled to Nashville for TeenPact One Day. This is a seminar for homeschoolers ages 8-12 during which they learn about government, civics, politics, how bills become laws, and how they can help a political campaign even before they have the right to vote. They also get to tour the Capitol and see where the State Senate and House of Representatives meet.

Mom and son in front of the Tennessee Capitol Building in Nashville.

They learn a lot of history in the process, too. The staircase inside the Capitol bears bullet marks since the Civil War. Busts of Andrew Jackson and Sequoia along with paintings of former governors beg to be noticed. It would be impossible not to learn at least a little something about history in this place. Continue reading »

Jan 29 2017

It Is Time to Embrace Online Education

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

It is time to forget about schools, universities, colleges and fully embrace online education. This might sound crazy, but it is probably the way we’re heading in the future anyway. Ten or twenty years from now, I do not think there will be many schools left where to send your kids.

The technology needed for online classes does not lack in a middle class family.

If there are, they certainly will not be anything like they are now. But even if the standard education system does continue to live on, perhaps it is time we rejected it and here is why.

It Is Dangerous

It is hard to disagree that schools and colleges have become dangerous places for children and students. Over the past few years we have seen tragic shootings, horrific acts of violence, sex scandals, drug epidemics and much more. It seems clear that schools are no longer safe for children and that is not even taking into account the level of bullying present in the education system. Continue reading »

Jan 25 2017

Cloudy With A Chance of Music

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) regularly schedules concerts for school children. Cloudy with a chance of music was geared toward children in PK-2nd grade. As such, it was very interactive. The conductor guided the children through the program and had a special guest who contributed to the whole program.

The beautiful Tennessee Theater in Knoxville

You cannot beat actually being in the audience at the Tennessee Theater, of course, but should you not be able to attend, you can make your own concert by following the Teacher’s Guide provided on the KSO website and by picking out the songs from YouTube – any orchestra will do. Continue reading »

Jan 22 2017

SNL Writer Mocks Homeschoolers

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

In less than 140 characters, Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich managed to mock Barron Trump, homeschooling, and school shootings all at once in a Tweet that has since been deleted.

Barron Trump, Melania Trump, Donald Trump

The First Family during the Inauguration

Many are now asking for NBC to fire Rich. It’s one thing to disagree with President Trump’s policies. It’s another thing altogether to attack his 10-year-old son. Most of us will never understand the pressure this child has been facing for the past 18 months, since his father decided to run for the presidency. Imagine what it will be like for him for the next four or even eight years to pretty much grow up in the White House.

Jan 18 2017

Spelling Bee

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

We attended our first Spelling Bee and it was a lot of fun. My son got out in the third round, but he said he enjoyed himself and wanted to come back next year. As it is, he finished in the middle of the group, which is not bad for his first time and for being a third grader.

A Spelling Bee is simply a great experience in public speaking, recalling information you have learned, working under pressure, using your knowledge of phonics to tackle a new word, and thinking on your feet. I have written here before that vocabulary is the only proven predictor of future success.

My son, second from the right, pays attention during the BHEA Spelling Bee in Maryville.

I was glad the organizers had prizes for all the children participating. Even though it was a good experience for all, receiving a goody bag as soon as they got off the stage took the sting out of the loss for many of these children. Continue reading »

Jan 16 2017

Orchestra Portraits

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

The night of the Gatlinburg wildfires, my children and I were in Knoxville for their last orchestra practice of the year. That was the night we picked up their orchestra portraits and some merchandise we had ordered: a car magnet for me, which says “Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestras;” two mascot lamas, and sweatshirts with the orchestra logo and roster.

With everything going on since the fire, I have barely had time to enjoy these things or to blog about them. A life-changing event like a national disaster sure puts things into perspective. Nevertheless, as things begin to align toward a new normal, we have time and energy to feel the pride of having joined the youth orchestras this year. Continue reading »

Jan 15 2017

Practice Test

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

Sometime in January, both my children had to spend 45 minutes in a private school for a practice test, when they were in first grade. I could sit in the back of the room as long as I was completely silent. Many of us parents chose to do so and I know we all learned a lot through the experience.

Our cat does not have to test. He just sits pretty on whatever jacket he can find on the floor.

The teacher up front read the test to the students question by question, explained how they are to think through the four answers given, and showed them on the board how to bubble in so that the computer reading the test results could pick it up. Continue reading »

Jan 8 2017

The First Snow

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

For the first time this winter, it snowed. It happened on a Friday night. We woke up on Saturday morning to a foot of snow and the children could not contain their excitement. It was therapeutic for all of us to see Gatlinburg under a white blanket of snow, after the shock of the citywide fire in November. We were snowed in, so we took advantage of a day off and just relaxed.

We love it when we get snowed in.

And so we rejoice that life goes on and snow comes and covers charred structures, grass, bushes and trees. I don’t mean to get all philosophical on you, but the children’s play in the snow conjures up more than just childhood memories these days. Continue reading »

Jan 1 2017

My Word for 2017

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Adriana Zoder

“Onward” is my word for 2017. It came to me in an email from a friend who was inquiring about housing for a friend of hers, who lost her home in the Gatlinburg wildfires. When I told her we had already rented out the condo once we moved back into our home, she thanked me, added a few niceties, and ended the email with “Onward!”

Pioneers in Romania, 1986; source: Wikimedia Commons

It totally took me back to my childhood. In Communist Romania, school children were “Pioneers” – a scouting organization of sorts. Our motto was “Onward!” We used to have regular assemblies and the Pioneers’ Leader would say, “Pentru gloria poporului și înflorirea României socialiste, pentru cauza partidului, înainte!” (“For people’s glory and Socialist Romania’s flourishing, for the Party’s cause, onward!”) and we would answer, in a chorus, “Tot înainte!” (“Onward still!”)