Goss Homeschool Academy

 In July of 2023 we enjoyed a 3 day trip to the Knoxville area for a fun summer vacation with friends and a little bit of school!  Oak Ridge, TN has been on our mind this year after spending the year learning about Chemistry - especially the developments in the periodic table of elements during Marie Curie's life. It's amazing to me how fast things seemed to move in the development of chemistry and physics from 1910-1940! As we finished our biography of Marie Curie and looked into the development of the atom bomb I knew we needed to take a trip to the Knoxville area to learn more! The Oak Ridge site is made up of several locations. We took the American Museum of Science and Energy tour (ages 10 and up only) and it was very thorough and a great tour.....but long! And not really geared to the ages of 10-13! If you want to go with your kids I will give a suggested itinerary below. If you want to take the bus tour which gives you access to multiple sites you can purchase tickets an

We first visited the  "Forest Giants" at Bernheim Forest in Kentucky  in 2021. I had never been to Bernheim Forest but had seen the signs for the park over the years. The very Germanic name of this forest in Kentucky brought back memories of traveling through forest and mountain scenery through Germany, Switzerland, and northern Italy when we were in our early 20s! Although there aren't any impressive mountain ranges in view, the 16,137 acres of land give you plenty of awe inspiring moments in nature! We made our first trip on our way home from Kentucky Kingdom and enjoyed seeing the amazing art by Thomas Dambo. "Forest Giants" is an installation art project that was set up in 2019 in celebration of Bernheim's 90th anniversary. Click here to read more! Eva Mae loved Little Elina and all the trinkets left at her resting place! We went back again a few months later to enjoy the giants and the amazing natural playground that they have at the park! It's so r

  When my children were younger we began the tradition of attending a Seder dinner at a local church and it brought so much meaning to the tradition of the Jewish Feast and the celebration of our Savior, Jesus! A few years later I discovered an amazing video on YouTube from the creators of Super Book! In the video, 3 young adults share a Seder meal with a Messianic Jewish family. Click here for the video! This was the inspiration I needed to have our own Seder meal at home! I watched the video and bought each item needed for the meal (lamb shank bone, grape juice, charoset ingredients, parsley, horseradish, eggs, and matzah crackers.) We set up the computer at the table so we all could see the video and then we would participate with the family while enjoying the clips of the Hebrew Exodus and also the Last Supper of Jesus from the Superbook episodes. If you have young children, I highly recommend doing the food and follow along with the video. ( You can buy the Haggadah used in the vi

I usually try to create a program for students to follow during a dress rehearsal - this month and week has been to crazy for me to put something together so I'm listening to the pieces that we will hear and mentioning some of my thoughts below. I hope to see you at the symphony! 1. Ellington's Harlem  - 15 minutes Instrumentation - like most of Ellington's brass section, the employment of specific mutes for the "tinny" sound make it really fun to keep an ear tuned to the specific timbre of a muted trumpet or trombone. At 3:27 listen for the pizzicato strings. 14:49 pay close attention to the percussion section! This is a super fun section of the piece! Rhythm - the drums highlight the swing rhythm of symphonic jazz Form - the way the piece is performed highlights various districts of Harlem: Commissioned to write the work for the NBC Symphony in 1950, during the period when Maestro Arturo Toscanini was conductor, Duke Ellington wrote “Harlem” on the Ile de France

The snow in our area prevented our January gathering so I decided to write some of my favorite passages from our readings down in this blog post. Essentially, this blog is for me - a time capsule that I visit to look back on what we experience in our home education journey. I hope it can also be an encouragement to others on this journey too. If you're here and reading, thank you! I know how fast paced our culture is now and taking your time to sit and read something for more than a few moments is a commodity. The readings for this month come from these three passages: Miss Mason's Message to the Children Women Must Weep The National Mission These articles were all written by Charlotte Mason during the time England was at war. Miss Mason's Message to the Children This is an article that I plan to share with my own children. We have memorized the Lord's Prayer and although we don't pray it every day, I think that sharing some of the heartfelt understanding of the wor

  World music is a topic often neglected in composer study for many reasons. Firstly, there are so many European musical history periods and composers that we all want our children exposed to, and many times we don't know where to turn for resources in world music. The benefit of video sharing in our culture today allows us to glimpse music performances from around the world. This blog post is just a drop in the water of what is available to learn about the music of Asian countries. I hope you enjoy! China The focus of Chinese music can be centered on the amazing instruments found in ensembles. We had the opportunity to learn from a Chinese Music Cultural Society a few years ago and the way the performer read music fascinated me! Her performance was on the guzheng, a Chinese instrument that has been around for centuries.  Learn more and hear it played at this video: Other important Chinese instruments are discussed in this entertaining video: Specific composers of Chinese music can