Never stop learning about yourself

The Gift of Wisdom Book Review By Rebekah K. Bohannon Beeler More than chicken soup, The Gift of Wisdom: Lessons for a Lifetime is the full enchilada. A Living Now Book Award winner, The Gift of Wisdom is chock full of practical, loving advice derived from real life lessons learned by those who have lived them. The Gift of Wisdom is a gentle reminder that all are flawed but that does not determine the life lived. A lifelong reference for everyone from graduates to retirees, The Gift of Wisdom is just that- a gift. Profound yet simple, existential and remarkably accessible, The Gift of Wisdom can ease life’s complications and celebrate life’s successes with its relatable and calming teachings. From work to home, friendships to parenting, finances and proficiency, and marriage to aging, the careful testimonies given will uplift each reader by encouraging a life lived with fortitude. This book will enlighten and engage its readers to further achieving what is most important in life. This is a gift that keeps on giving. Order your copy for only $19.99 by visiting www.thegiftofwisdom.com. Use special coupon code gift4you to receive free shipping in the US.

Anne Frank Ballet Trip

The Anne Frank Ballet at CCP Educated and Inspired By Rebekah K. Bohannon-Beeler In a special performance to benefit the Tennessee Holocaust Commission (THC), the Nashville Ballet presented “The Anne Frank Ballet” at the Cumberland County Playhouse on Monday May 7. Based on Anne Frank’s Diary, the cast of five dancers portrayed Peter van Pels, Margot Frank and three dimensions of Anne Frank to better represent the complex internal struggles she endured throughout two years of life in the Annex. Tennessee Holocaust Commission member Felicia Anchor said, “[Anne Frank’s diary] is the entry point, the portal for young people to understand what happened in the Holocaust.” Two performances were scheduled for the one-day event each followed with an open-audience question and answer session with liberators, survivors and performers. The school matinee was prefaced with a narrated video to set the scene for The Anne Frank Ballet. Following the school matinee, the Q&A session was held with Jimmy Gentry, American Armed Forces veteran and a liberator of the Dachau Concentration Camp, and Frances Cutler-Hahn, hidden child Holocaust survivor, as well as the cast of the Nashville Ballet. The students were able to listen to the testimonials of Gentry and Hahn and ask questions about what they had come to understand and ask the dancers for advice on how to achieve goals. As a prelude to the public performance Monday evening, the Cumberland County Playhouse’s Company of Dance performed a modern dance entitled “Loss of Innocence” depicting a group of friends playing together in early Nazi years who then began to distrust and exclude other members of the group until they were no longer able to play together. “Castle in the Cloud,” “Our Children” and “Will There Really Be a Morning” performed by Playhouse Music Education students and “Children of Terezin” performed by Playhouse Theater Education students set the audience to view the Holocaust from a child’s perspective who saw and felt what was happening without understanding why. The public performance was succeeded with a Q&A with Tennessee Holocaust Commission member, Felicia Anchor, born in Bergen-Belson concentration camp while her mother was a prisoner, also Art Pais, a Lithuanian Jew forced to live in the Kovno Ghetto and prisoner at the Dachau Concentration Camp, and was again joined by Frances Cutler-Hahn, hidden child survivor, and the dancers of The Nashville Ballet. “I have seen ‘The Anne Frank Ballet’ three times,” said Hahn to the performers with tears in her eyes, “and each time is powerful and more so.” The courage and fortitude shown by those who shared their touching stories and unique perspectives enriched the performance allowing for a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Holocaust through the eyes of a survivor, through the eyes of a liberator and through the eyes of a child. An exhibit from THC entitled “Living On: Portraits of Tennessee Survivors and Liberators” was displayed for the audience to see the faces and read the stories of Tennessee residents who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. For more information about the Tennessee Holocaust Commission and its endeavor to educate Tennesseans about the Holocaust visit HYPERLINK "http://www.tennesseeholocaustcommission.org" www.tennesseeholocaustcommission.org. Also, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.ccplayhouse.com" www.ccplayhouse.com and HYPERLINK "http://www.nashvilleballet.com" www.nashvilleballet.com for current listings and events to support the arts. Picture caption: The Playhouse Music Education students singing “Our Children” in The Anne Frank Ballet performance performed at the Cumberland County Playhouse presented by The Nashville Ballet and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission on Monday May 7. Photo by Rebekah K. Bohannon-Beeler

Going Old School

Homeschooling is a privilege. One of the greatest things about homeschooling is the freedom to hand pick the curriculum from which my children can better understand the world around them. When I talked to my grandmother about homeschooling, she told me stories of how well she was taught in the church that was used for a schoolhouse during the week in their community and the readers they would use in the classroom. Listening to her gave me a great idea. It seemed that I would be able to incorporate my love for antiques into homeschooling. I have always seen primary readers when I perused through the old books section of local antique shops and I thought they were beautiful but other than that I didn’t pay much mind. Until, of course, I was able to reuse them as an inexpensive addition to our curriculum. We could use them for subjects such as Reading and Grammar for which they were intended but the way these old stories were written also integrated History and Social Studies and broadened their vocabulary to include tools, accessories, clothing, and cultural and social institutions that are no longer conventional. Antique readers reflect a time when church and school were commonly held in the same building and, in contrast with the books and lessons widely used today, Christian overtones are presented in the stories; wonderful words, stories, art, and lessons my children may have otherwise been neglected from the separation of church and state. Generally inexpensive, the readers range in price usually from $6 to $12 depending on how old and in what shape. I used the readers based on my children’s grade levels and found an Aldine Readers Book Three by Spaulding and Bryce (Newson & Company, 1918) for $10, a The Silent Readers Fifth Reader by Lewis and Rowland (The John C. Winston Company, 1920) for $6, and a Webster Readers Third Reader New Trails in Reading by Stone and Stone (Webster Publishing Company, 1932) for $2.50! Surviving antique readers are not uncommon and bring a graceful nostalgia to our homeschool environment and give my children more perspective on where we came from and where we are going.

Wilderness trip 2012

My children are students at one of the many schools to take part in Wilderness at the Smokies fundraising partnerships in the resort’s effort to broaden their reach and invite students’ families to the resort at a special rate while allotting a portion of the proceeds to the school. It’s a win-win-win; a family affordable vacation to introduce the summer, the school gets supported and the Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel and Waterpark Resort in Sevierville gets publicity and a jumpstart on their busiest season. Accommodated in the Stone Hill Lodge, we were capsized in an adventurous water world. Outside our lodge was Salamander Springs Water Park which included pools, water slides, and water play place and activity tower. A shuttle took us to the River Lodge just down the hill and a skip, hop and a jump we were in the Wild WaterDome located inside the hotel. There is a wave pool, surfing, indoor tanning, indoor/outdoor hot tub and pool, water play place, three tube slides, toddler water play area, restaurants, and a tiki torch watering hole for those who want to take in a shaken not stirred beverage and a game on the flat screens. We climbed to new heights in the new attraction the Wilderness Adventure Forest, an indoor arcade complete with a rock climbing wall, two-level ropes course, bowling, gaming, laser tag, laser maze, black light mini golf, and a large climbing den play area for younger visitors. These activities give a welcome break to water logged guests and can be added to the reservation package. The Wilderness Adventure Forest creates the new concept of enjoying the great indoors with the activities of the great outdoors! I impressed my family by climbing the rock wall to the top and hitting the buzzer, perfecting my agility in the laser maze without breaking a single laser and whole heartedly braving both tiers of the ropes course. They have never seen me so athletic and versatile and learned very quickly how competitive their mama really is. Then there is Lake Wilderness outdoor water park and a beautiful 18-hole mini golf course. Lake Wilderness has a flowing river that circles you through gentle rapids, sprayers and wave pool. We noticed a flock of life guards making their way to the Lake Wilderness part of the park and since we were heading that way thought we would see what the hubbub was about. There didn’t seem to be an emergency and it turns out there wasn’t. What was happening, thought, was the new slide the Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel and Waterpark Resort had planned on opening earlier hadn’t been completely tested and the life guards were invited to be the guinea pigs. “It’s insane. Insane,” one life guard said to me with an obvious adrenaline rush as he was walking back to his post in the Wild WaterDome after having been a tester of the newest addition to Wilderness at the Smokies. The tube slide, called the Wild Vortex, was approved to open to the public Sunday June 3 and its name says it all. Yours truly was one of the first guests who stepped into the capsule at the top of the tower to the Wild Vortex and standing with my head back and my arms crossed over my chest I heard from the speakers a very calm, “Four…three…two…one.” From there I felt the bottom of the capsule disappear beneath me and I, screaming, fell with the jet stream of water down the 39-foot vertical drop and arched up the sharp loop and down again and into the slender pool which acted as a speed buffer. Spiking speed with the jet water stream, gravitational pull of the vertical plummet and sleek design it took about three seconds to slide down the Wild Vortex. I agree with the life guard, it is insane. However, it is possible to get stuck in the slide as some of the other guests found out on Sunday. A common trend shared by those who got stuck are sliders who broke formation or didn’t gain enough speed to make it up the arch and they actually stagnated before making it to the loop and slipped back to the area below the vertical drop. This trend is why a secondary tower over looks the area that arches up to the loop and is monitored by another life guard who can open one of two escape hatches located near the platform to assist sliders. This was one of the reasons I was comforted enough to try such an outrageous slide and it was enough of a reason to keep my claustrophobia at bay. The Wild Vortex is, in short, Vortextremely Feral! Being a parent and having the opportunity to help our school while making these incredible memories with my family at Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel and Waterpark Resort where I got to enjoy with the delight of a child all the amenities of a water theme park, imagination and adventure of the great indoors, and comfort and luxury of a four star hotel all made every bit of being a grown up (and the coolest mom ever) one of life’s major perks.

Big Adventures Require Big Britches!

Hello all! I'm back reporting that I am now homeschooling Z2 and my only preschooler this year is Z4. My other Z's are at public school and are doing well... and I am resolved to reserve the right to homeschool at any point as needed. So far, Z1 is making wonderful progress in the fifth grade at school and I find that I was wrong in my assumption that because I homeschooled her that she would want me to look over her shoulder and help her with every little thing and do her thinking for her. I am so glad I was wrong. She has actually grown into the fortitude to finding answers on her own and only if she really is stuck on a problem does she ask for help. Z3 is in Kindergarten and adores her teacher so much, has a boyfriend, and always makes good grades. She loves school more than any kid I have ever met. She is always excited when she gets there and is so funny about getting to go that getting up early doesn't bother her for a second. I wish all the kids could learn that from her. She is legendary and wants to get to do homework. She loves being big and is reading her sight words, sounding out other words, writing so well and drawing like an artist, counting to 100, knows her phone number and address and birthday and makes her Christmas list all year long. Z2 is learning so much since he is the main student here at XYZ's Elementary. He tells his dad that I am kicking his butt with homework but I told him he is in the third grade and I only do that so he will be smarter than me. This promotion to "smarter than mom" seems to give him incredible strength and motivation and he just loves throwing that in my face. But if it works, it works. We have been brain busting with multiplication and multiplication with regrouping and keep his brain warmed up with word problems and large scale addition and subtraction. He reads these Animal Fact File volumes that are encyclopedias of the animals extinct and present on this earth. In fact, the little man memorizes them! That is what he likes to do for fun! I recently took the Z's on a trip to East Tennessee and while there we visited Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokey's and Z2 was leading us around telling us what each fish was and its diet and where they could be found in the wild. It was like having a personal tour guide! He is reading chapter books now and is using his creative writing time to create plays and stories and songs. He illustrates absolutely everything and I have pictures of all the wonderful things he sees and dreams up. When he gets done with worksheets he always asks if he can color the pictures on them. I am happy to oblige because he thinks he's just getting a break but I know that he doesn't employ his left brain for certain activities and right brain for others. I have decided that his brain doesn't separate tasks in this way but instead both sides work together all the time. For example, when he finishes math he makes art out of it and draws his numbers and letters into these really elaborate pictures and colors them. He will work on something for a long time fully concentrating and when he completes a project shows it to me and it ends up being this incredibly detailed step-by-step guide and illustrations to how to do mantis style kung fu. He truly is a wonder. I would like to take credit and I am sure that I have helped some but only God could create such a wonder!
Well, I am trying to fulfill my blog resolution and keep up and share how much we are learning together. Until next time we'll be busy learning our X-Y-Z's!

Wake up Time for School!

Hello! Hello! It sure is nice to be back although I am not complaining about my time away. This past summer was jammed packed. The summer reading program was a huge success and the kids loved going to the library two and three times a week to pick out books, join their special events and turn in their reading list for a prize. We also went to the library for a couple of the other activities they held; a dance class and a bluegrass concert. The band playing the concert invited my kids to come up and sing with them and it made for a very special memory. Z2 earned all the stripes on his white belt and passed his promotion for his yellow belt and has since earned a stripe on his yellow belt. I registered Z1 and Z2 in an art class hosted by the city art council and they stayed there all day making their unique creations, some of which we entered in the county fair exhibits and won ribbons. All my Z's went to Bible school at our church and a friend's and we made every effort to create, learn and expand this summer. I think we did very well at it, too.
Now, Z1 is enrolled back in dance and it's time to settle back into a routine of supervised and recorded learning. I had Z1 and Z2 make entries in their Wonder Journals about their favorite part of their summer and surprisingly the library program got rave reviews from both of them. They each entered several items in the fair and won ribbons and money and they were so proud to see their creations on display beside their awards. Z1 picked blackberries and I helped her make jelly. She has the knack for it. Not long after that I helped her make banana bread and she really gets into the science of the kitchen.
Between all this and birthdays and holidays and whatever days we are ready to start our second chapter of homeschooling and looking forward to the mysteries that will unfold in our learning. This week we made a Wonder Journal entry about what we hope to learn, do and see this new school year. Z2 wants to go to China and learn how to read bass notes on the piano and Z1 wants to learn how to shoot small game and how to make her own pancake batter and other food. I also told them to write about what they were curious about today. In response Z2 wrote he was curious about Sumo defense techniques and Z1 wrote that she wondered how big is the biggest spider and how do flowers get their color. Pretty amazing subjects for our first week and I am so proud that I get the privilege to answer their questions and go with them on this quest to find the answers.
As far as preschooling goes I am still trying to get Z3 to memorize letter sounds and she loves to read her books which has expanded her vocabulary so much. Z4 is right behind her learning new games and asking and using phrases correctly. She will be starting her colors first then her letters and numbers. Z4 loves to draw and I am encouraging her to draw something and then tell me what she thinks it is and give her creations a name. She is also potty training and understands rewards and standing ovations as symbols of successes. Z3 won several ribbons in the county fair for her entries and this school year is so much more exciting because next year all my Z's will be old enough to enter their crafts in the fair so we will have to take advantage of our school time to be creative so they will have plenty to enter. Z3 and Z4 celebrated their birthdays together since they are only a month apart and it never ceases to amaze me how kids know when they are older. They just get it somehow and inherently know they are bigger. It's ama-Zing!
Okay, so you'll be hearing from us; our progresses and successes our to do's and our done's. And this year is going to be full of exploration and I look forward to sharing our findings with you. Until next time, I'll be learning my X, Y with my Z's!

I've been in a time machine

Oh my how the time does fly! Incredible! I have actually been in a time machine and have written this post in the future and when I finish and return to the present we will still be in April. Yeah, I know. Nice try, right? I have been so busy with my Z's I don't know where to start. I suppose I will just start with the summer. I weighed the pros and cons and I have decided not to enroll the kids in summer session for homeschool. There were several reasons for this one major factor being that I wanted us to have a VACATION together. And they are kids and I want them to get to be kids for a while. We are having a no-fuss-educational-summer-vacation. All in the world that means is I didn't want myself or the kids to get burnt out so I am taking the vacation approach to our schooling. No school "officially" but everything that I can make educational I will. And that also means doing things with the kids I didn't have time for during the last school year such as library time. Our library offers a free summer reading program complete with craft projects and professional guest speakers and demonstrations twice a week and the kids are reading, reading, reading and it isn't a chore for them. They love the attention and time I give when I read to them and the bigger Z's love to read to the little Z's and we are learning new words and definitions and cultures and histories. It is wonderful! We also go swimming twice or more per week and have been fishing a couple of times. Creativity is our theme this summer and we hope to end it with a photojournal of our last school year and enter our crafts from the past year in the agricultural fair. We have so much to do and it's gonna be a blast getting it done!