Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 32

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The American Kingdoms or Chapter 32 brought back the challenge of violence. How do you tell small children that the Mayans played a ball game at the end of which the losers were put to death? And if you do tell them, do you tell them how the losers died? Very tricky.

Actually, it’s not that tricky if we divide and conquer this dilemma. Death is part of life and we have already experienced the death of loved ones: one of their friends died last November (still as shocking today as I think about it) and their grandfathers died one year and two years ago respectively.  Continue reading »


Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 31

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Chapter 31 dealt with Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan. What’s not to like? The kids loved it, I loved it. We pretty much stood by the world wall map we have in the living room and, as I read, we followed along the different routes these adventurers took throughout the XIV century.

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One of Columbus’ ships

These true stories of courage, ignorance, dreams of world supremacy, trade routes, and the overpowering desire for Indian spices really capture the imagination of small children and adults alike. I was riveted and I knew these stories already. It’s amazing to remember how little humanity knew about itself just five hundred years ago.  Continue reading »


Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 30

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Chapter 30 or India Under the Moghuls contains two stories. The kids are doing so much better with narration and by “kids” I mean my son, my oldest. He is eight and a rising third grader. I ask him to tell me the story in three sentences. I don’t expect my six-year-old to narrate.

Of course, my son gives me the story in more than three sentences. He is doing a lot better than I expected. If only I gave him a chance, right?

Girl dressed as an empress

Playing dress-up as an empress

Until about a month ago, I did not think that narration was something he could do. Or was I too much in a hurry to get things done that I did not have the patience to wait through his hesitating narration? I think it was more about my inadequacy than his. And that’s what you learn as a homeschooling parent. Sometimes – many times – it is not the child. It’s us, the parents. We mess up and then we think it’s the child.  Continue reading »


Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 29

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African Kingdoms or Chapter 29 contains three stories on Ghana, Mali and Songhay respectively. The kids loved it and I can tell we have crossed into a different phase now. They are more aware of geography. They run to the world map we have hanging on the wall to place these countries from the black-and-white map provided in Story of the World onto the bigger, colorful one on the wall.

Musu Mansa coloring page

Musa Mansa coloring page

Timbuktu was important to share with them. So many Americans use Timbuktu without realizing it is an actual city and it used to be a great center of learning and urban trade in the Middle Ages.  Continue reading »


Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 28

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The kingdoms of Spain and Portugal are covered in chapter 28 and the kids really enjoyed the lesson. Our son loves explorations and Henry the Navigator really impressed him. The saga of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile captured the imagination of both our children. Who needs fiction when history is so full of amazing stories, right?

Ferdinand and Isabella paper dolls

Ferdinand and Isabella paper dolls

We need more writers who can put these stories into great books for little children. However, you will always run into the problem of violence and how to depict it for children while staying historically accurate. For instance, Susan Wise Bauer totally skipped over the Inquisition in this chapter. She put a note at the end of the chapter about her concern over the topic and young children.  Continue reading »


Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 27

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Chapter 27 deals with the War of Roses, the war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York over the throne of England. And you thought you and your cousins had issues.

Tower of London craft

Tower of London craft

Lots of lessons to be learned from this part of medieval history. I remember vaguely watching a movie about it as a child and, of course, I vaguely remember some details about it from medieval history which we took in sixth grade I think.  Continue reading »


Tuesday Tome Week 27 – National Parks

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As we prepare to take some road trips within the United States, my husband and I wanted to check out the national parks West of the Mississippi. So I got this book from the library, to get some information on the subject.

National Parks

Produced by National Geographic, this Guide to the National Parks of the United States is a great reference for any library. I am thinking of buying it for our library and that’s saying a lot. I believe in books in the home, but we already have too many. So I am highly selective when it comes to buying more. When I do buy another book, I usually get it on Kindle, so it sits there tucked away in the digital world.  Continue reading »


Happy 4th of July!

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Is it for real? Is it July already? In 2016? Incredible. Time flies like never before. As a friend of mine wrote on Facebook the other day, “Let’s pretend I don’t like summer time.” In her picture, my friend was surrounded by her three sons and her husband, by the pool. Ha ha! I love summer time, too.

July 4th tofu cheesecake

Festive tofu cheesecake I made for the 4th of July celebrations at our house.

We live in a tourist town which notoriously puts on the first 4th of July parade in the nation. We have not taken the kids to see it, because it is at midnight. Plus, we can see it on TV. What’s more, we would have to arm ourselves with what it takes to deal with crowds and traffic.  Continue reading »


Adventure Camp

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My son went to Adventure Camp last week, Sunday-Friday. It is the second year we have sent him to this camp in Georgia, three hours away from home. Cohutta Springs Youth Camp is operated by our denomination and, as such, we trust their hiring process and the staff they employ. In fact, we know from people we trust that the hiring process is highly selective.

The staff is a very energetic group of 18-22-year-old youth who choose to spend the summer making minimum wage while ministering to children ages 7-15. Sure, they have fun in the sun (and lake water) while they are at it, getting to socialize with people their age etc. But you know they are not there for the money. They want to make a difference in the lives of these kids.

Adventure Camp is for ages 7-9. They have four activities each day and each cabin rotates according to a pre-set schedule. For ages 10-13, the camp specializes in several different camps with a focus: horsemanship, photography, wakeboarding etc.

Adventure Camp

My son (second from the left) and his 11 cabin mates plus their counselor.

The cabins are nestled on a peninsula around a lake at Cohutta Springs Conference Center near Crandall, GA and the setting could not be more picturesque. Twelve kids to a cabin, plus one counselor. They have assistant directors, one for the girls, one for the boys. Then, there is a pastor who oversees the whole operation as Camp Director.

The meals are all vegetarian, with vegan options. The children are expected to clean their own cabin daily and to memorize Scripture every day. They have camp fires every night, and chapel every morning. My son loved it last year and he wanted to go back. Our daughter, who is only six this year, cannot wait for next year, when she is seven and can participate with her brother at the same time.


Mommy Camp

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My daughter and I go to Mommy Camp while my son is at Adventure Camp in Georgia. Mommy Camp is something I came up with last year, when we dropped our son off at Cohutta Springs Youth Camp for the first time.

Playing mini-golf in Pigeon Forge

Playing mini-golf in Pigeon Forge

On the way back, our daughter was feeling really sad that she was only five and could not stay at camp with her brother. Adventure Camp is for ages 7-9.  Continue reading »