Tag: education

Fun North Carolina Animal Encounters for Homeschool Families
Fun · Homeschool Life

Fun North Carolina Animal Encounters for Homeschool Families

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

We are two weeks into homeschooling this year and have officially had our first field trip. I’ve lived here for so many years and somehow am only now hearing about so many cool things to visit and experience. This week we visited the Greensboro Science Center, a museum, aquarium, and zoo, all in one. Aside from the heat it was quite an enjoyable experience. Some of the zoo animals were understandable hiding/sleeping due to the temperatures but we still got to see otters playing, the adorable red pandas snuggling up together, and many many more. I have been to North Carolina Zoo several times but in terms of ease, I do believe I enjoyed this place even more. As much as we love the big NC Zoo we do tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted whenever we visit. The Greensboro Science Center let us take our time and enjoy ourselves at our own leisure. Of course, now that I know what to expect, I think I’ll wait to return during the spring/fall when it is much cooler.

Every year I am excited to plan out field trips with the girls. It is one thing I always loved when I was younger and wished that I could have more of but they seemed to no longer exist after elementary school. So, since I am the teacher now, I get to plan as many field trips I want. For now though, I’ll admit that majority of our field trips often involve animals of some kind whether they’re wild animals or domesticated. This year promises to be no different as I already have a list of places I’m looking forward to exploring with the girls.

  • The Carolina Tiger Rescue
    • This is somewhere I have visited on multiple occasions but have not taken the girls to yet. I am excited to see their faces when we are so close to the big cats. I personally always enjoyed the tiger rescue and learned something new each visit.
  • Carolina Raptor Center
    • I have lived in NC for almost 20 years and somehow only just discovered that this place existed! This is also on my list of field trips this year but will take some planning due to distance.
  • Aloha Safari Park
    • Another place I only recently discovered and am looking forward to visiting.

The list goes on, between local museums that we have visited before and the usual zoo/aquariums that we always love. I don’t know who looks forward to our field trips more, me or the kids.

Impact of bilingualism on Life Experiences
Fun · Writing Prompts

Impact of bilingualism on Life Experiences

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
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I’ve never answered one of these writing prompts before but when I read this I thought, oh hey!

I am the only child from my family that was actually born in the US after my parents/siblings came to this country as refugees in the 80’s to get away from Communist Romania, ooh boy is THAT a story.

I grew up speaking English and Romanian. How did this impact my life? When you grow up in a bilingual family you find yourself doing things that seem totally normal to you but is completely different to other people. Like translating what teachers or doctors say so that your mother can understand. Imagine getting in trouble at school and then having to translate what your teacher is saying to your parents. Or helping you parents put together invoices for clients or respondings to text messages and emails on their behalf. Not to mention those awkward moments when they have to call a utility company and then randomly hand you the phone to speak for them.

Some key things I find this experience has shaped in my life:

  • I’ve found that it is often much easier for me to understand foreign clients with thick accents than some of my colleagues and I have to avoid offending the client by repeating what they say so my colleagues can also understand.
  • Got me used to talking to strangers/utility companies on the phone (I’m used to it. But I still try to avoid it.)
  • Taught me how to build out invoices. (I wonder if I should include this on my resume, just kidding.)
  • ACTIVE LISTENING – You have to actively listen to someone to be able to translate for them.

It also taught me that there are different levels of fluency of a language. Sure I might consider myself fluent in Romanian, I can carry a conversation, can read and write, etc. But when I had to deal with a Romanian customer using technical IT terms I realized very quickly that I do NOT in fact speak technical Romanian. It’s like a lawyer speaking ‘legalese’.

Reflections on Our Homeschooling Journey This Year
Homeschool · Life

Reflections on Our Homeschooling Journey This Year

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Without further adieu the 2025-2026 homeschooling year has come to an end. This year has been a rollercoaster of a ride when it comes to homeschooling. Homeschooling is already a fulfilling challenge but being a working mom who also homeschools comes with a whole new set of challenges. Biggest challenge we faced this year was schedule. I started the year waking the girls up at 7AM so that they could do their lessons before I started work for the day, but the lack of sleep made them grumpy throughout the day. I then tried to work their lessons in small batches during my breaks and lunch. That also didn’t work for us. I’ve learned that I was still operating on the premise of my public school background, I was used to school as something that happens in the mornings at specific times. I forgot that one of the reasons I even decided to do homeschooling was the flexibility of it. So after prayer and guidance I decided to move our homeschooling lessons to the afternoons when I was done with work for the day. Some days were harder than others but overall this is what ended up working best for us.

Up until now my youngest Emily (6yrs) has also been doing her lessons right alongside her sister Anastasia(8yrs). They have been at the same level and doing their lessons together but this year that changed as well. If she had been going to public school Emily would have only started Kindergarten this year while Anastasia just finished 2nd grade. So when I saw that Emily was still working on learning the fundamentals when it came to reading that was when I knew it was time to separate the lessons and give them both individual attention at their level, which to my surprise they both thrived with and actually preferred the individual lessons.

It has been a year of many changes and lessons for all of us but it has been a successful year. I love seeing how far they’ve come and how much they’ve progressed since we started last fall and I’ve learned what does and does not work for us. But all things come to an end and this year we ended the school year with a bang and went to the lake with their grandparents. It was a perfect way to end the school season and start the summer festivities. We have many activities planned for this summer but at the same time, it is the time for rest and relaxation for all of us.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6