Dec 25 2015

Merry Christmas To You

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From our family to your family, Merry Christmas! God with us – Immanuel – what a glorious truth! May we experience divinity in every moment of our lives. Mundane moments can be hallowed when we listen to the right message, when we are tuned to the right bandwidth.

The Zoder Family at Christmas time - 2015

The Zoder Family (us!) at Christmas time – 2015

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, we still hope you will accept our wishes for joy, peace, harmony and goodwill.

We love sharing our homeschool and, by extension, our family, with you through this blog and I especially want to thank you for being my friends from afar. I enjoy your feedback and comments. Please keep them coming!

Dec 24 2015

Violin Recital

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Last Sunday, my children had their violin recital. It was my daughter’s first. She started taking violin lessons in August and she has already learned the first five pieces in the Suzuki violin book number 1. By that I mean that she can play them by heart, but you understand she does not sound like a virtuoso yet, right? She sounds like a five-year-old who has been practicing five times a week for the past five months.

My son has taken violin lessons for two years now. He is working on the last piece in the second Suzuki violin book and then he will have graduated to book number three. He does well for his age but violin is a tough instrument. Just when you think you have fixed your fingering, the bow starts flying in all directions and you need to give it some attention.  Continue reading »

Dec 23 2015

Christmas Break

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Another Christmas has come and we have been allowed to experience it. No matter how you celebrate it or if you celebrate it at all, the idea of coming together with loved ones and exchanging presents is a great one.

This year, my kids are excited to track Santa’s voyage around the world on Santa Tracker, compliments of Google. I have allowed them a whole week (this one) of no school and no instruments. We still read in the evening and do our devotional. They log onto Mathletics.com and Science4us.com which theoretically counts as school but it is so much fun for them, they don’t think of it as a chore. I have reviews coming soon on both, by the way.

Homeschooled brother and sister working on the computer

My kids working on science4us.com

We are still dealing with the loss of their eight-year-old friend, Deborah. My daughter says that “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” reminds her of Deborah and she asks, “Don’t you think of heaven, going there one day and finally meeting up with her again when you listen to this song?”  Continue reading »

Dec 22 2015

Tuesday Tome

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Drum roll please… Announcing a new series for the new year, called Tuesday Tome.

Every Tuesday in 2016 I will post about a book I read in the previous week. Yes, I am going there. I will challenge myself to reading one book per week. That will be 52 books in 52 weeks. I want to slow down my writing and increase my reading. I am in need of filling and feeling.  Continue reading »

Dec 21 2015

The Well-Educated Mind

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When I purchased my copy of The Well-Trained Mind three years ago, I thought I would never be interested in The Well-Educated Mind. I thought I would be reading right along my children as we followed suggestions from The Well-Trained Mind. Who would have time for anything else? I was wrong.

The Well-Educated Mind

The book for homeschooling parents who are thirsty for more

Not that I find myself with “vast chasms of time” on my hands, to use Thomas Jefferson’s expression. But I got my kids on track with their assignments from The Well-Trained Mind and now I find myself curious, hungry, and eager for filling in the gaps in my own education. When I heard The Well-Educated Mind was being revised and re-published in October 2015, I placed my pre-order in September and waited (im)patiently for it to come out.  Continue reading »

Dec 20 2015

10 Tips for Putting Yourself on a Reading Schedule

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I have written here before about how limited the options of a homeschooling mom are in terms of career dreams or free time for that matter. And yet, as our children grow more and more independent, we find we have more and more time on our hands. Or, if you are like me, you have a lot of time between the hours of 2am-6am when you simply cannot sleep. That’s your signal that it’s time to get on a reading schedule.

Here are 10 tips for putting yourself on a reading schedule:

  1. Start with a strong “why.” Are you thirsty for knowledge? Are you preparing to teach literature in the upper grades? Do you personally need help in dealing with a particular issue in your life? Motivation is everything. If you have a strong “why,” the “how” will follow.
  2. Read what interests you but after you have gotten a few must-read titles out of the way, venture into a territory of books you know you should read but you don’t feel like it. Do it for the kids – to give them an example of “reading for a challenge.”
  3. Don’t limit yourself to fiction or to nonfiction. A lot of conservative Christians ban fiction altogether. It’s a big debate. Personally, I feel strongly classics must be covered in a solid homeschool literature program. You are welcome to disagree.
  4. Don’t neglect your daily Bible reading, if you are a believer. The 66 books of the Bible remain your ultimate guide for life and for peace of mind. When I am reading an especially worldly novel, I find my time in the Bible cleanses my mind of the accumulated dross.
  5. Aim for 40 pages a day: 20 in the morning before everybody gets up and 20 in the evening or during breaks – you do take breaks during the day, right? Most books average 240 pages. That gives you 6 days and a sabbatical. You can give or take a few pages a day, of course, if the story grips you or if it leaves you unsatisfied.
  6. If that sounds like too much, work your way up to that number. Start with one page, then see if you can muster five or ten in a day. Once you are up to 40, you can try to go for 50 and 60 and so on.
  7. Susan Wise Bauer tells you exactly how to read a book and how to outline it and its characters in The Well-Educated Mind. It might slow you down at first, but eventually you will reap great benefits from it and it is totally worth your  time.
  8. Don’t get discouraged if you skipped a day. Just pick it up the next day and keep going.
  9. Train your children to help with housework more and more. It frees up a lot of your time and gives them life skills.
  10. Join a book club. You might enjoy the stimulation and the group discussion, not to mention the time away from your beloved children.

Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said that you will be the same person five years from now except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.

I could not agree more. I have been changed by the books I have read and by the people I have met. It’s a journey and a discovery and an adventure that does not cost much but yields a lot of returns, not all financial, but all important.

Dec 17 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 51 – Recitals and Jitters

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Why am I more nervous when my children have recitals than when I used to have my own? Why don’t I feel my feet when they have their annual testing? Thankfully, testing is only once a year. Recitals come around every six months.

And now that our church family is aware that our children can play instruments, they ask for a special music now and then. It has already happened three times this year, so I think we could probably plan on a quarterly special music performance by either one of them for next year.

Thoughtful Thursday

My children, being as young as they are, view music and practice as a chore. Maybe it’s my fault. I do not know how to make it fun. And, perhaps, I do not believe that practice or learning of any sorts should be all cutesy and fun. I believe in hard work and learning or practicing a musical instrument is hard work.

Realizing our need for an attitude change, I recently spent some time with them telling them about the power of music to soothe and comfort the heart in a way that a sermon or a Bible verse or a book or a movie cannot. I reminded them that people come to church (or to kids’ recitals) with their problems, with their worries, with their issues. Music helps lift their burdens.

The kids’ music is, in a sense, an act of service: they have worked hard and they will get nothing material out of it. More skills, yes, but no money or a trip or an award and not even a sticker. Only the satisfaction that they have touched somebody, somehow. Even that may be wishful thinking. We don’t get a real confirmation other than a polite comment here and there from those who care enough to say a kind word.

Continue reading »

Dec 15 2015

Story of the World, Vol. 2, Chapter 13

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Chapter 13 deals with Charlemagne fighting the Moors at Tours. The kids and I had a lot of fun with this one because (1) it’s about France, (2) they got to learn about Charlemagne for the first time, (3) Charlemagne is one of my favorite kings, and (4) I did not have to cook anything. Ha!

After reading them the stories while they colored Charlemagne, I decided that for our craft/activity we would build a tent and re-enact the battle of Tours.

Girl pretending to be a Moor in a tent

My daughter pretending to be a Moor in her tent, happy with her spoils

After being very happy with her loot, my daughter invited me in the tent and we sat there enjoying ourselves, admiring our coins (pretend coins from our play cash register), petting our stuffed animals, and wondering if we should start nibbling on raisins or peanut butter crackers first.

Then, out of the blue, the Franks attacked us! It was loud and scary. Panic set in. We thought too much about our possessions and how not to lose them, so we lost the battle, the famous battle of Tours. And, of course, we ended up losing our possessions, too.

Boy pretending to be a Frank

The Franks are coming!

Great fun was had by all. We even video taped a few of these attacks, but you would get dizzy watching our videos. My daughter likes to spin at the end of every video as she holds the camera in her hands. It will remain a family video.

One last thing: they were touched by the fact that Charlemagne actually did not learn how to write. A lot could be said on the subject. Suffice it to say that it really puts things into perspective about medieval times.

Dec 11 2015

Zoder’s Featured on the Today Show

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Just a quick post about my husband’s business, Zoder’s Inn and Suites, which got an honorable mention the other day on the Today Show. Trip Advisor came up with this algorithm about travel destinations on the rise for 2016 and Top 10 US destinations, as well as Top 10 international destinations.

Zoder's Inn balconies overlooking the Roaring Fork River in Gatlinburg, TN

Zoder’s Inn balconies overlooking the Roaring Fork River in Gatlinburg, TN

Guess what? Gatlinburg, TN is the Number 1 travel destination in the USA and, also, Number 4 in the international market. Hello, traffic! But we have learned to count traffic as a blessing, as it means revenue for all the businesses in town.  Continue reading »

Dec 10 2015

Thoughtful Thursday Week 50 – Looking Ahead to 2016

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Do you have plans already for 2016? Have you started looking ahead? I have not, but I came across a wonderful planning workbook and thought I would share it with you. I saved it for myself and plan on filling it out in the next few weeks, before 2016 rushes in upon us.

Thoughtful Thursday - Looking Ahead

Some of you may be familiar with Live Your Legend, Scott Dinsmore’s community of people who want to do work they love. We homeschooling parents are doing work we love. So I think we fit right in. Even though this workbook is not specific to homeschoolers (or any other profession), it will help you define your educational (and otherwise) plans for the following calendar year.  Continue reading »