Sep 19 2016

Why People Don’t Homeschool

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

A Romanian blogger detailed recently how she decided to enroll her child in fifth grade this year, after looking at three possibilities: private school, middle school attached to a high school (which implies the teachers would be infinitely better than in a regular ol’ middle school, since they are qualified to teach secondary education), or a five-day homeschool co-op (if you will, a homeschool school where all the teachers are parents who hold university degrees in their subject).

Today’s classrooms focus on testing and less on art.

The blog post is titled, “Why We Feel Threatened by Homeschooling” and yes, it is in Romanian. The link above will take you there if you can read that language. Continue reading »

Sep 18 2016

Healthy Taste of Knoxville

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

Today is the day when Homeschool Ways will take the show on the road. We will have a booth at an event called The Healthy Taste of Knoxville. This second annual event is held on Kingston Pike, the main highway that goes through Knoxville, just two blocks away from the University of Tennessee campus.

The official poster for the event

It was a few weeks ago the organizers approached me and asked if I would like to bring my books and any information I may have about homeschooling to this show. They told me during the show last year a lot of people were inquiring about “alternative choices” in lifestyle and it included food, education, and spirituality. By a lot of people we mean over 1,000.

Sep 17 2016

The Things We Dare Not Tell

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

Homeschooling blogs abound, but what are the things we dare not tell about our homeschooling experience? Just like in anything else, there is a fine line between encouraging and discouraging our readers. We share our successes to encourage others and we end up discouraging those homeschooling moms who are already not very self-confident.

Sealed lips

We share our vulnerable moments to encourage homeschoolers and risk being ridiculed by moms who put their children in the public school every morning and never think twice about dropping their children off in a building for the next seven hours. “See, that’s why I don’t mess with homeschooling. Life’s too short to pour over algebra with my kids. Plus we need a second income to afford a vacation and nice clothes every year.” Continue reading »

Sep 16 2016

Strawberry Shortcake

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

As a breakfast food or as a dessert, strawberry shortcake does not disappoint. I like mine in the morning, for breakfast, with the sauce over it and topped with banana slices. The picture does not do it justice, but then I have already told you this is not a food blog, right? Without further ado, here is the recipe.

Strawberry shortcake

Ingredients

1/3 c oil

3/4 c non-dairy milk

2 Tbsp. Sugar-in-the-Raw

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c flour

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder

1 lb. strawberries, fresh or frozen

2 Tbsp. cornstarch Continue reading »

Sep 15 2016

Mind the Math Gap

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

When I visited London in the late 90s, which, by the way, seems like a lifetime away, I learned a phrase they use on the subway (or underground) every time doors open and people get on and off. The recording says, “Mind the gap!”

The gap refers to the hole between the platform and the inside of the train. It’s a small gap, but nevertheless people can get caught in it if they step a certain way, or if not people, their rolling luggage or a pet or whatever is dragging behind them on the floor.

I will have to ask my friends who live in London if they still say that on the underground. It’s very catchy, especially if you hear that seven times in the morning and seven times at night on your daily commute. I suppose one blocks it out after awhile.

Math Mammoth First Grade

When I recently read about the homeschool math gap, I remembered the London underground. But then I came back to my homeschool reality. This is some serious research and some good information to have, my dear homeschooling friends.

Sep 14 2016

The Beauty of Homeschooling

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

The beauty of homeschooling is that no two days are alike and you never know what is around the corner. Six months from now or even six days from now you might be switching curriculum and things get better in whatever subject your child was struggling or not thriving. It’s never too late or too early to learn anything.

We will give Foundations a try.

When you homeschool, you have a committee of two: you and your spouse. In some cases, you don’t even need to discuss it. Spouses should trust each other with decisions, but it’s always nice and encouraging if you share in the decision-making process. Continue reading »

Sep 13 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 37 – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fifth volume of The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The Dawn Treader is a Narnian sail boat which belongs to Prince Caspian. Lucy and Edmund join him on this ship and end up going to the end of the world in it.

One of these days, you will have to sit down and read this book. Especially if you miss the seaside and it’s cold outside and you just got overwhelmed by wanderlust. It’s an adventure and most children will enjoy it, too. Continue reading »

Sep 12 2016

Calendar Activities

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

Calendar activities help small children grasp the concept of time, as divided in days, weeks and months. For older children, calendar activities can be a five-minute reading on what happened this day in history. It does not have to take long and the benefits speak for themselves.

Today, for instance, is the birthday of Western Civilization – an event marked by the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC and acknowledged by most historians as the turning point in the Greek-Persian wars. Because they won the Battle of Marathon, the Greeks started believing in themselves as a nation and as a culture. After this battle, the Greeks started developing what we today call classical Greece, which is, of course, the foundation for Western thought and civilization. Continue reading »

Sep 11 2016

15 Years Ago

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

Fifteen years ago, I was working in Stockholm, Sweden. A colleague walked over to my desk and told me a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. For the rest of the day, we tried in vain to get news from the overwhelmed site of BBC, which was loading very slowly. I suppose all of Europe and beyond was desperate to find out what happened.

World Trade Center (image courtesy of Wikipedia.org)

So much has happened since that fateful day. Our lives have never been the same. As I homeschool my young children, it is hard to decide at what age I can talk to them about what happened on 9/11/01. The tragedy seems so senseless. Continue reading »

Sep 10 2016

Scrambled Tofu

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Adriana Zoder

If you like scrambled eggs but your cholesterol is over 200 overall, you might want to learn how to fix scrambled tofu. You get 0 cholesterol and all the benefits of lean protein. The taste, while not close to eggs, is savory and delicious. You can put it on toast and serve it with tomato slices or, even better, on a bagel, with your favorite orange juice or warm morning drink. I like Kaffree Roma prepared with rice milk. If you add a teaspoon of honey, it tastes better than hot chocolate.

Scrambled tofu and toast

As you know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A hot breakfast based on lean protein helps your homeschooling day go much better than a high-sugar cold cereal one. Continue reading »