Jun 28 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 26 – The Man Who Loved China

Posted on by

Simon Winchester, the author of The Man Who Loved China, is quite an accomplished writer. This book is the biography of Joseph Needham, a Cambridge professor who learned Chinese and traveled to China to learn about the history of science in China. While there, he discovered what the Western world did not know: that the Chinese had discovered many, many things way ahead of the Europeans. At the end of the book, Winchester compiled a list of Chinese discoveries and the year they were used in China for the first time.

The Man Who Loved China

Personally, I love biographies. Even if I don’t agree with the person’s morality or political leanings, I still love a well-written biography. In this case, I did not agree with Needham’s lifestyle choices (he had an open marriage) or his Communist leanings, but I enjoyed the book because I learned so much from it. Continue reading »

Jun 27 2016

String Camp

Posted on by

My children attended String Camp for the first time this year. Organized by the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestras, this five-day camp happened at Hardin Valley Academy in Knoxville. About 256 string players showed up and they were organized in five orchestras according to their skills and experience.

KSYO String Camp

On the last day of camp, they wore “concert attire” – as you can see, very relaxed atmosphere.

Since my children had no orchestra experience, they were placed in the entry-level orchestra called Prelude. Erin Archer is the conductor of Preludium, the equivalent of this entry-level for the regular youth orchestra, and so she directed Prelude during String Camp. They played Over the Rainbow and the main theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. The theme of the camp was “That’s Entertainment!” and so all the repertoire was from movies and musicals. Continue reading »

Jun 21 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 25 – Vegan Lunch Box

Posted on by

A few years ago, I found this book at the library. I took it home and found quite a few recipes that were delicious. When I saw it again the other week, I took it home again. I went through it all over again and discovered other things I would like to make from it.

Vegan Lunch Box

So you are thinking, “We are not vegan. We homeschool. We don’t need a lunch box cookbook.” Well, do you sometimes think about implementing a meatless day in your week, in order to encourage the kids to eat more fruits and vegetables? You know, like Meatless Monday? This would be just the cookbook to get you started.  Continue reading »

Jun 19 2016

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 26

Posted on by

Chapter 26 or France and England At War was a great chapter about the Hundred Years’ War. The kids loved the idea that a baby became a king. A king in diapers was such a funny and silly concept, they brought it up over and over.

Joan of Arc paper dolls

Joan of Arc paper dolls

There were lots of crafts we could have done. I chose the Joan of Arc paper dolls and skipped the coloring page. There was a lot of coloring for the paper dolls. I was impressed that, for some reason, my kids did not shy away from cutting and pasting. They used to avoid glue projects like the plague. I guess we are growing and changing ever so steadily.  Continue reading »

Jun 16 2016

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 25

Posted on by

The End of the World or Chapter 25 shocked the kids, especially my six-year-old. After the first page, she started talking over me, saying things like, “I don’t like this story…” I told her that it gets better and she listened quietly, but still making comments at the end about how sad this chapter is.

Europe at the time of the Black Plague.

Europe at the time of the Great Plague.

There are two different stories in this chapter, one about the plague itself and one about how the Black Death changed the feudal system. We answered the questions and worked on the map. Then, we did a craft which is a spinning wheel showing the progress of the plague, i.e. its spread from rats and fleas to humans.  Continue reading »

Jun 15 2016

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 24

Posted on by

The Ottoman Empire or Chapter 24 hit home with me, as I grew up in Romania, and our medieval history was riddled with battles against the Turks. In fact, as late as 1878, Romania was fighting the Ottoman Empire or what had remained of it. It’s always interesting to read history from an English source, a source that would not be as biased as a Romanian historian, for instance.

Dancing bear crafts

Dancing bear crafts

My children did not appreciate the fact that Muslims took over Constantinople and called it Istanbul. My daughter, who loves art and would color anything, refused to color the page I had printed out from our history curriculum – a page depicting the fall of Constantinople. I then offered the portrait of Suleiman. She took one glance at him and said, “No, I don’t want to color him either.”  Continue reading »

Jun 14 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 24 – Helping Parents Practice

Posted on by

If you are a Suzuki parent, or any parent who needs to enforce daily instrument practice in your home, you need this book. Even if your children do not take music lessons, as a homeschooling parent, you can benefit from Helping Parents Practice. The author, Edmund Sprunger, has put a lot of psychology into this book and it’s only the first volume.

Helping Parents Practice

To be honest, I am not sure I can handle volume 2. Yet. I am still digesting this one. It’s not another book to make parents feel guilty, OK? The subtitle is “Ideas for Making It Easier.” And I tell you, I did not get the subtitle until about page 50.  Continue reading »

Jun 12 2016

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 23

Posted on by

Chapter 23 deals with The First Russians. I was tempted to work on a kokoshnik craft, but I only have one daughter and I usually include both children in our projects. I did not want to make different crafts. So I decided to cook a big pot of borscht, according to the recipe provided.

Borscht with vegan sour cream

Borscht with vegan sour cream – despite its beautiful color, the children refused to even try it.

Since we make a similar soup in Romania, I knew the taste I was trying to achieve. It always helps to know what your goal is when you are cooking foreign recipes, right? Well, I still changed a few things around because for instance I did not have tomato paste and used tomato sauce instead. But it came out nice and mouth-watering and, apparently, it’s all for me, because my kids will not touch it. My husband is not a red beet fan, so he is not interested either. Oh well, more for me.  Continue reading »

Jun 9 2016

SMHEA EXPO 2016

Posted on by

On June 25, 10am-3pm, Smoky Mountains Home Education Association will present its second annual Homeschool EXPO in Knoxville, TN at West Towne Christian Church, 9300 Middlebrook Pike.

This is a free event. There will be an exhibit hall and several workshops on how to homeschool. Before the break out sessions, homeschooling families are invited to participate in a general session.

SMHEA EXPO

June 25, 2016
10am-3pm

Last year, this event drew about 200 families and they expect just as many if not more this year. Come be encouraged, make local connections, and pick up a tip or two or more for the next school year.

The vendors will have drawings and lots of cute mascots will be on hand for pictures with small children and children at heart. Last year, the Zoo brought several animals and had a seminar where the kids could pet a snake or a rat. Glad I was not there. Daddy took ours to that seminar while I was presenting in another room.

This year I will be speaking on two topics:

  1. 10 Foundational Principles for Preschool and Kindergarten – Laying a Solid Foundation: if you follow these principles, I guarantee your children will be read for first grade. Also, you will learn how these principles can be taken into the older grades.
  2. 10 Ways to Homeschool: you will learn more than one way to skin the homeschooling cat and how to choose the right one for your family.

So I hope to see you there. Please walk up to me and introduce yourself. I really enjoy meeting new homeschooling families.

Jun 8 2016

Our Trip to Romania

Posted on by

More than a month after our return, I finally have the chance to write about it. I have had so much other homeschooling matter to deal with on the blog, it has been hard to squeeze the trip about Romania in here.

Hunedoara Castle in Romania

The four of us at Hunedoara Castle, on a cold and rainy April day. Universal was filming Dragonheart 4 there, but most of the castle was open.

We had so much fun and covered so much territory, literally and symbolically, that it has been hard to express it all in one post. A series of posts will do, but for now, just an overall post should take care of business. Continue reading »