Jan 7 2016

Advent, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa

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At our local library, Anna Porter Public Library in Gatlinburg, about three weeks ago, we participated in a workshop explaining the three main holidays celebrated in December: Advent (Christmas), Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. This post should have been written about three weeks ago, but such is life. A homeschooling blogger can only do so much through the holiday season.

Hanukkah Workshop

Ms. Ethel lighting Hanukkah candles

Ms. Ethel, our children’s librarian for years, retired at the end of 2015, so this workshop, her last, was special. With her Jewish heritage, Ms. Ethel was able to give us a Hanukkah prayer in Hebrew as she lit the Hanukkah candles. I picked up on the words Elohim and Mitzvah but not much else. Continue reading »

Jan 6 2016

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 15

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Chapter 15 deals with the first kings of England, including the Norman Conquest. Three stories took us through three hundred years of medieval history in the British Isles. It is familiar territory for me, as I took a course in British History and Civilization when I was studying at the University of Bucharest. But that was many years ago and it is good to revisit these topics.

Alfred Cakes

I experimented with different sizes because the recipe said to make four cakes out of all the dough and it just seemed like they would be too big.

The kids colored the picture of Alfred the Great and the Bayeux Tapestries while I read. Then, we worked on the map. For our craft, we baked Alfred cakes. Continue reading »

Jan 5 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 1 – How to Read a Book

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Mortimer Adler is many things to many people. Or a nobody to some. He has become an important figure in my life because of his work in putting together a collection of the best works in Western literature. Then, I got to read his own work and learned some more.

What better way to start my Book of the Week Club than with a book about how to read books? I know of no better book that Mortimer Adler’s classic “How to Read a Book.”

Tuesday Tome Week 1

I read Adler’s book in about 10 days but it can totally be read in a week if you get one of those easier weeks without deadlines outside your normal homeschool routine. Translation: no canning projects or publishing deadlines and then it can be done in a week. Continue reading »

Jan 1 2016

Today – My Word for 2016

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My word for 2016 is Today. In 2015, I experienced a lot of sudden deaths: about one per quarter. People I knew and loved disappeared just like that out of my life. And just when I recovered to a degree, wham! another one would depart. Plus the increase in terrorist attacks has really shaken my foundations. So I realized on a new level that life is short and can end at any moment.

Hunedoara Castle

Hunedoara Castle in Romania, one of the sites we plan to visit in April 2016 (by Andrei Stroe via Wikimedia Commons)

Tomorrow is not promised. Today is all I have. I plan not to plan in 2016. That does not mean I will not plan at all. It just means that I will plan one quarter at a time – 12 weeks, according to the 12-week year principle.

Things are shaping up nicely for 2016. It looks like we will take a trip to Romania, which will give me an opportunity to teach the kids about my home country and try my hand at a unit study.  Continue reading »

Jan 1 2016

Science4us.com Review

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Here we are again, talking about science. Science4us.com is a wonderful online curriculum for K-2 which can also be used in grades 3rd-5th for review of key concepts. It was developed in 2010 and has since received several awards. The Department of Education gave them a grant for game-based learning innovation and they used it well.

Science4us.com activity

Science4us.com activity

This is an online curriculum so once you pay ($7.95 per month) they will send you login information and you are good to go. Once logged in, you can choose from four books: Life, Physical, Inquiry, and Earth/Space. Inside each book, you will find different modules which can be picked up in random order. Once inside a module though, you should start from the top left and work your way down through the activities in order.  Continue reading »

Dec 31 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 52 – Happy New Year

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This is it, friends! 2015 becomes history tonight. We welcome a new year and with it new aspirations, goals, resolutions, plans and lots of homeschooling.

Happy New Year

I hope you have a wonderful celebration and stay up all night. Just kidding. Do whatever you like. I know some people have to work tonight and tomorrow morning. It’s the nature of their work. Others, like me, prefer to go to bed as usual and be happy I don’t have to make awkward conversation with strangers.

What did that Johnson and Johnson commercial say? Having a baby changes everything, right?  Continue reading »

Dec 30 2015

Year in Review

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How has your year been? Have you learned some important lessons? Have you had fun? Have you read some good books? Have you experienced any losses?

For me, in a way, 2015 has been the year of sudden death: my dad in January; my children’s friend in November; a youth camp counselor in June (while my son was at summer camp, but they did not tell the little guys about this incident which took place on a lake nearby, at a sister camp focused on wakeboarding); 140+ Parisians, people with whom I feel I have a cultural connection; Scott Dinsmore, an inspirational blogger I have followed for more than a year now. Every one of these deaths is too sad for words.

All this has lead me to appreciate Today. Today. Tomorrow is not promised. Today is all we get.

Boy and girl reading a music program together

My children checking the piano recital program as they waited for their turn.

In 2015, I have published four books: 101 Tips for First Grade Homeschooling, The Homeschooling Mom’s Devotional Journal, Life in the Smoky Mountains and Kitten in the Storm. Or 11 if you count the seven bilingual editions of Kitten in the Storm as a new book, which, truth be told, that’s what they are. Each of them needed translation, layout, design, a new cover, editing, copy-editing and so on.  Continue reading »

Dec 29 2015

101 Tips for First Grade Homeschooling

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A couple of weeks ago I published 101 Tips for First Grade Homeschooling. For one day only, on December 30, this book will be available for FREE on Kindle. If you do not own a Kindle device, you can download the free Kindle app on amazon.com and read the book on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

After December 30, the book will be $3.99 for the Kindle format and $5.99 for the paperback format.

This represents the third volume in my “How to Homeschool” series and it deals with a lot of issues you might run into when your homeschooler is in first grade. The first two volumes cover preschool and kindergarten.

101 Tips for First Grade Homeschooling

The third volume in my How to Homeschool series

When I decided to publish a series by that title, I knew I wanted to keep the books short and sweet, perfect for busy homeschool parents. In the spirit of “just do this,” I have written 10 chapters with 10 tips each. Chapter 11 focuses on Tip 101 – in this volume, it deals with sex education. Continue reading »

Dec 28 2015

Mathletics.com Review

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Mathletics.com is an online math program for Kindergarten through 12th grade, put together by 3PLearning.com. As such, you will receive login information and you are ready to go.

What is neat is that when you purchase your subscription to Mathletics they give away a year’s worth of education called “school-in-a-box.” It is a UNICEF sponsored program.

Mathletics Kit

Your Mathletics kit comes in a pretty box

UNICEF will send a physical kit containing education essentials to teachers in schools that have minimal supplies or right after a disaster and all that thanks to your signing up for Mathletics. It makes one feel good when one contributes to somebody else’s development.  Continue reading »

Dec 27 2015

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 14

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I read Chapter 14 to the kids in the car, while my husband was driving us to the piano recital. It was my way of distracting everybody – especially myself – from nervousness. I think it worked. My kids did well on their recital, considering their age. It was my daughter’s first piano recital and she played two songs. My son played three songs. It was his second piano recital.

Homemade viking bread

Crusty, gritty and oh so yummy viking bread

Lots of nervousness going on and lots of dynamics among all of us, so I decided we needed to distract ourselves completely with history.  Continue reading »