We had been in Taiwan for about a week when we stopped for a closer look at a food stall we’d passed several times. The pastries cooking on the specialized griddle resembled hockey pucks. Correctly surmising that we didn’t speak Chinese, a worker handed us an English menu.
Officially called Car Wheel Cakes, the delicious pastries could be filled with red bean paste, custard, sesame paste, taro, or even loaded baked potato filling. With so many options, which ones would we choose?
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Earlier this week, one of my friends reached out to me. Because her kids are having a difficult time in public school, she and her husband are considering homeschooling. For the next half hour, we chatted about the realities of homeschooling. How much does it cost? Is it really better than public school? How do you handle subjects that you struggled with—or that your kids may already be behind in? What are the pros and cons? Read on for my answers.
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
Are your kids fascinated by missionary stories? Mine sure are! When offered an opportunity to review a new missionary biography, Venturing with God in Congo, the twins and I were excited. The book provides a firsthand account of Darrell Champlin’s experiences as a missionary to Congo in the mid-1900s. When the package arrived from Conjurske Publications, we couldn’t open it quickly enough.
Have you ever heard of MOOCs? The acronym MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Classes. Many colleges and universities offer these courses for free, with the option to pay a bit more for credit or certification. For motivated high school students, these classes can provide an excellent way to include topics that may be tough for Mom to teach.
I’m no stranger to MOOCs. I’ve extended my understanding of history, health, music, and languages through some of these online courses. My son, who graduated two years ago, completed several computer science courses using both free and paid virtual classes. Since these courses empowered him to excel in this area, I didn’t hesitate to list them on his transcript for high school credit. Now that my daughter is a junior in high school, would MOOCs help her?
God sent me a wake-up call while we were in Taiwan. When the church we were visiting challenged us to participate in a 21 day fast, I began spending more time reading the Bible and praying. As I drew closer to God, He gave me the word Renew as my One Word for 2020. I was keenly aware that I needed to be renewed spiritually. How does that happen?
My mother-in-law, whom we lovingly call Grammy, lives in Taiwan. While we were there for the holidays, it was the perfect time to take a tour of Taipei American School (TAS). Not only does she teach there, but most of her kids also attended TAS. Since we homeschool, two of my daughters had never been inside a school building. What would it be like?
The state of Georgia is known for hot, humid summers and mild winters. Being a transplanted Maryland girl, I sometimes long to see white flakes floating from the sky in the winter. Does it ever snow in Georgia?
Last Friday, on our way to Community Bible Study class, we drove through showers of sleet. Since we had places to go and things to do, I was grateful that the temperatures hovered in the high 30s. The roads were safe. The next morning, though, we awoke to a marvelous surprise.
Homeschooling provides us with the freedom to tailor our children’s education. Although my older daughter started high school at thirteen, we decided to extend middle school an extra year for my fourteen-year-old twin daughters. In their third semester of eighth grade, we completed the Sonlight Eastern Hemisphere Core. Taking an extended holiday break, we traveled to Taiwan for six weeks. Finally, by the third week of January, we were home, had overcome jetlag, and were excited to get back to homeschool. Would you like to see what the twins are studying in their fourth semester of eighth grade?
At the beginning of our first full week in Taiwan, Grammy returned to her teaching duties, and we began exploring Taipei on our own. On Monday, we stayed close to home and wandered through Zhishan Park. Eager for more adventure, we started the following day with a hike up Elephant Mountain. The view was gorgeous. After a restful afternoon, we returned to downtown Taipei to sample delicious street food at the Raohe Night Market.
After achieving success on the trails at Zhishan Park, we felt prepared to venture further from our Airbnb (affiliate link) the next morning. We had heard that the top of Elephant Mountain was the best place to view Taipei 101, which is the tallest building in Taiwan and the fifth tallest in the world. Like most trails in Taiwan, though, the climb up Elephant Mountain was reported to be composed entirely of stairs. Although one girl, who was still acclimating, was reluctant to give it a shot, we all rose to the challenge anyway.
