Homeschooling in East TN (Knox/Blount Counties)

[DaffodilDreams]

My family is moving to the Knoxville area before the end of this year.  We have been anticipating such a move for about 3 years, and it is finally happening!  : )  I have asked about homeschooling in the area before, but now that a move is actually going to happen, I'd like a fresh list of resources, groups, classes, etc. that would be good to plug into once we arrive.  

 

Our dd is 9 (10 this fall).  She loves theatre - all aspects - and theatre has been a big part of her life since she was 4.  She has performed in many plays/musicals, but she has also worked behind the scenes on about half as many productions.  Finding a theatre home for her in our new area will be a priority.  We live in a relatively large-ish city now with several theatres nearby.  It seems that even though we're moving into an area with a smaller population, we might have a lot more driving to do to keep her involved in theatre.  We will be renting a home from a friend on Lake Loudon in Blount County until we figure out exactly where we want to be long term.  The closest city with anything going on will be Maryville.  Can anyone tell me about theatre in Maryville?  I would love for her to become involved with Knoxville Children's Theatre even though it would mean a longer drive.  Does anyone have any experience with KCT - good or bad?  

 

She also loves nature and animals, so I hope to take advantage of community classes or field trips with that sort of focus.  We know about zoo classes, classes at the University Gardens and the Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  Are there any classes like that that I'm not listing?  Do the rangers in the Smokies offer classes?  Please share personal experiences with these classes.  Are they worth the time?  Is attending them a good way to make new friends?  

 

Science is another area of interest to her.  I saw that Knoxville has a Discovery Center for kids.  Is this something you would recommend for a kid who is already pretty smart and informed in many areas of science or is it more for younger kids without as much exposure?  It seems someone also mentioned a planetarium in Maryville.  I've heard Oak Ridge has a nice science museum, but I have not yet figured out how far away that will be from us.  If the museum itself is worth it, we would, of course, make the drive as a family some weekends.  If they also offer decent classes for homeschoolers, I would be tempted to sign dd up for those as well.  

 

I would be interested in any local homeschool groups to join, too.  I'm especially interested in groups that organize lots of field trips and regular park days since we'll need to make new friends in the area.  I'm not really that interested in co-ops unless it's a Charlotte Mason-esque nature study/exploration type co-op or an arts type co-op.  We've found academic co-ops are just not our thing.  

 

I'm open to hearing any other suggestions/ideas for getting involved once we're there.  We're all very excited about the move, but leaving our friends and activities here will be hard.  It would be great if we can jump in soon and start making new friends and finding new activities we can enjoy.   Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to help!  : )  

 

 

 

 

[Lolly]

Welcome to the area. I'm further northish, but have frequented the Knoxville area for years. Living in Maryville, you will be closer to much of Knoxville than the people who live there. Oak Ridge is just a tiny hop from you. The Smokies do offer ranger led classes, but we have never taken advantage of them. Our schedule has kept us too busy to try many of the Knoxville offerings. I do have many friends who use a co-op through high school there. Not my cup-o-tea, not to mention too far for that kind of thing. It is a friendly, beautiful area. I'm sure you will love it.

[DaffodilDreams]

Thanks for your insight, Lolly. I'm glad to hear some areas of Knoxville will be close to us. I hope it will be the downtown and University areas! ; ) I will look into ranger classes. I'm sure dd would love that!

[MSNative]

Welcome!  We moved here a few years ago and love it.  There is an incredibly large and thriving homeschool community here.  For lots of specific info, I suggest you join the Tn Kids Club homeschooling yahoo group.  It is a wealth of info.  I actually think that is the best place for you to try to get answers to your questions. You can search for theater, or science, or art co-op and quickly find what's out there.  http://www.tennkidsclub.org/

 

As far as theater, we are consumers, not producers. :) Happily, we live near Market Square - the best place to see plays and listen to music in the area, imo.  This summer we enjoyed Shakespeare in the Square and live jazz.  So many great and FREE opportunities.  It's downtown but worth the drive from Maryville. :)

Science (and other classes) - We took classes at the Discovery Center and enjoyed them. UT also offers classes for kids in the summer.  A lot of teachers offer science, art and other enrichment classes.  I've never looked at anything in the Smokies.  Too far of a drive and too much traffic for a class, imo. :) 

 

Co-ops - there are sooooo many co-ops/homeschool opportunities here.  I bet you can find something that meets your needs.  I love my co-ops but have a friend who has no interest in them.  She signed her kids up for homeschool p.e. at the Y and has met a great group of kids and moms there.  Blount County also has a good homeschool co-op. http://www.bhea.net/

 

Hope this helps! :)

 

[DaffodilDreams]

Thank you, MSNative!  Yes, that helps a lot.  I just joined the TN Kids Club yahoo group thanks to your link.  I'm looking forward to seeing what's available.  

 

We LOVE Market Square!!!!!  Dh and I spent lots of time there when we lived there years ago - way before it was rehabbed and as fabulous as it is now.  Tomato Head has always been a favorite of ours.  On recent trips, we also had the fortune to give Oodles a chance.  YUM!  We spent last week in Knoxville and the mountains and were able to enjoy jazz on the square.  We missed Shakespeare by a couple of days, though.  : (  I think its wonderful you live near there.  I am sure that even if we live a bit remotely at first, we will spend plenty of time downtown.  Dh and I worked downtown and lived close enough to walk there years ago - pre parenthood, so our doings were not skewed towards family activities back then which is why we'll need some guidance in this area now!  : )  Plus, it has been over a decade since we lived there, and I know from visits things have changed a lot in those years.  

 

I'm so glad to hear UT offers classes for kids, too.  I was hoping that would be the case.  Thanks for the feedback on the Discovery Center classes, too.  We'll give them a try.  

 

I love your statement about so many free opportunities.  That's one of the reasons we've been wanting to move back.  We remember how happy we were there on even a tiny budget back then.  We spend a fair bit on entertainment here, and there we hardly spent a thing to have fun because there was so much to do for free.  It warms my heart to hear it's still that way.  

 

Thanks tons for your reply.  I am so looking forward to getting there!  (even though we will all miss our friends here SO MUCH.  I've always wished I could just pack up everyone I love and bring them where ever I happen to land!  Too bad it doesn't work that way.)

[Pegasus]

Welcome to the area!

 

We know a girl who is very active in the Knoxville Children's Theater and we've attended a few of her performances.  The kids involved really seem to love it.  Until recently, though, they were housed in a run down building in a run down section of town. I heard that they were moving though so hopefully they are in a nicer, more secure, area.  I encourage you to also look into theater opportunities in Oak Ridge, which is an easy drive from the Maryville area.

 

The Oak Ridge Science Museum is nice and they do offer science classes to homeschoolers. They are pretty good for younger kids but my DDs quickly outgrew them (they won't challenge a pre-teen).

 

The Tenn Kids Club group seems to be the only homeschooling group around here that is inclusive.  DH offered fencing classes in the Maryville area for several years but finally burnt out and passed the torch to someone else.  The fencing club still meets weekly but I'm not sure if they are teaching new students.

 

The Smokey Mts nature courses offered through the UTK non-credit program have always looked awesome but I just haven't wanted to drive that far for a class.

 

Let us know if there are other questions we can answer.
 

[Dmmetler]

We just did a ranger-led class in the Smokies last week (we live in West TN, but were in Gatlinburg for vacation), and it was great. There are homeschool days for a lot of the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge things coming up this fall, too.

 

I don't know about theater, but I can tell you that there are at least four Young Champions cheer teams in that area, because DD's team regularly competes against them at state finals. I know the Blount County and South Knoxville teams are both quite good.