All Categories

Hello Gorgeous!

8/7/2018

On July 26 the very hungry caterpillar ate through 3 entire milkweed leaves munching back and forth like a typewriter. July 27 it licked its mouth, wiggled its antennae, and stopped eating. It wandered around the cage, while we ate our breakfast. We thought it may be searching for a good anchor point. Sure enough for the next 7 hours it remained in one spot on the lid horizontally,and swayed its head back and forth forming the faint silky film. And by 8 pm it was fully anchored to a white silky dot and hanging vertically in a U shape. Its color faintly turned green. By 9 am the next morning it was a green chrysalis! By 9 am August 7 a gorgeous Monarch had emerged. A BEAUTIFUL MIRACLE!!!

Orange goo drippings from the chrysalis and the previously shed skin (black dot) at the bottom of the cage

0 Comments

2018

7/5/2018

0 Comments

Living Education Retreat 2017

7/9/2017

2 Comments

A thief may steal or time erode the accumulated treasure of your life,
therefore place yours not on earth.

Heaven's storehouse offers security for profits acquired.
Only then will your abundant heart be with its treasure.

Eyes focused only on light reflect pure simple souls,
yet even a sliver of darkness in a hidden corner muddies a clear reflection.

Be on guard. Evil lusts pull deep into spiritual ruin.

Master God lights for you an ancient path;
master fotune beckons down a wide road.

With only one heart you have to choose
which to love and which to hate.

I was inspired by Art's session on the topic of Poetry and Spiritual Formation and Miss Mason's own poetic work Savior of the World, so this is my written narration in poem form of this year's theme verse Matthew 6:19-24

Nancy opened the LER with a Conversazione focusing on simplicity- the inward reality affecting your outward lifestyle, which Miss Mason said is the key to working with children. We considered a lantern, a protective enclosure for a light source showing light to the house. Having a single eye (Matthew 6) entirely focused on the Light and not clouded by a divided focus on ourselves means we can reflect a pure simple light to our own house. We brought home Botticelli's painting Fortitude- a beautiful visual reminder to raise our thoughts towards qualities and feelings this single-eyed focus encompasses. This is my favorite tangible item I brought home with me this year. I'm searching my home for just the display space it will be most put to my good use!

Art reminded me that God has a great imagination, and He did not simply include the facts in prose in His Book. He breathed out poetry offering new convictions and delights and helping us contemplate things that are outside our frame of reference. He repeated certain texts that we may remember more easily and carry the truths even deeper.
God even used Hebrew parallelism, a poetic form that brilliantly does not lose its meaning across any translation- Hallelujah! What God breathes out; I want to breathe in!!

Reminders and new thoughts for me on handwork, shared by Amy F. -
Handcrafts is like a doorway we open for our children. Keep the doorway visible in your home. Establish roots in one handcraft while soaking in the Great Recognition- that the Holy Spirit gives knowledge and wisdom. Be aware of where to spend your limited energy for creating with the hands is a Godward movement of worship.

There were quite a few teary eyes and many heads nodding and lots of laughter when the panel of high school students from Charlotte Mason homeschools shared their hearts with us this year. Talk about encouragement!! I'm so impressed and proud of those kids!! (And if you've never read the poem The Lanyard by Billy Collins, you must click here.)

Here are a few quotes from the students--

"This made me a completely different person than I would have been, and I thank my parents."

"Observation is like a switch. I've learned to always have it on, not just when its on a test."

"Learning to read was very hard for me. My mom stuck with it and knew when to give me a break. We took nice weather days. Reading expands the room your mind lives in. It is an investment in your kids' future in a rich and beautiful way and they will treasure it forever."

"I can get past problems and find work arounds because I know everything's connected and because Im widely read."

"Im thankful for the weary mama of many who plodded through composer study. It's very dear to my heart."

"When writing, Mom knew when to give me space to think and when to take a break."

"Being in a co-op gave me a different drive to want to receive and learn."

Other poignant thoughts that stuck--

Education is worship.

I give my children my brightest hours.

The more things I have in my home,the more work I make for myself. It is a full time job to continually not bring in too many things or activities. I am the gatekeeper.

It is not too much to strive for unbroken acts of obedience. Obedience is a thing a child can be proud of. Kids proving they can do difficult things is something to talk about.

Let children fail in a safe place. Don't always fix it for them.

Don't let self-depricating thoughts rule.

Proverbs 31:1 tells of a king who was homeschooled by his mother. She is among the wise.

The mother receives from the Spirit of God himself a unique dispensation because of her special bond with each child.

Go and work for the good of souls, thanking God that he frees us from danger.

In front of a painting God can make me faithful to my children.

The Charlotte Mason method is a signpost pointing the way to the living water.

2 Comments

Year 4 came alive

5/21/2017

1 Comment

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that
will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the
repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and
spring after winter.” Rachel Carson

"Mom, I feel just like Robinson Crusoe!"

Great memories are made here...
Little brother wore the same coat that big brother wore another time.
#bestillmyheart
{LOVE}

1 Comment

Eternal Investments

5/14/2017

1 Comment

Flowering Crab Apple blossoms

“Draw me,” the cypress said,
”I will hold quite still and bow my head.”

”Draw us,” the willows cried.
”We will lift our gentle skirts aside.”

The poppies called, “We will give you red.”
“I will give you silver,” the river said.

I recall on this neglected lawn
How the world knelt sweetly to be drawn.

Henry Rago

Mothers Day sunrise - Natures glory came alive!

Jerry Muskrat and his sweetheart joined me

Then Bobby coon came quite close before he realized I was watching nearby

1 Comment

The Wonderful World of Mathematics

4/27/2017

1 Comment

In the beautiful everyday

3/31/2017

0 Comments

First Spring Bloom!

3/23/2017

3 Comments

Random Book Therapy

1/11/2017

2 Comments

The more I read about the former President Harry Truman, the more I like him.
My commonplace book is filling up!
This is a page from the unlikely book I am reading entitled Mr. President by William Hillman.
If you're like me and begin cleaning and organizing books on a cold January day, you might get lost in reading one of them and forget about the cleaning. Ha!

2 Comments

Flowers for Grandpa

8/6/2016

5 Comments

My dad died this week. The boys and I picked the prettiest flowers from our garden to give him. Love you and Miss you, Dad!!

5 Comments

<<Previous

Welcome!

"I am recording this so that future generations will also praise the Lord for all He has done." -Psalm 102:18

I am a mama to 2 sweet brothers who aspires to a "thinking love" toward my children.

Take a peek into our journey towards a living education inspired by the writings of Charlotte Mason.

Be sure to leave me a comment if you're inspired!

I prefer to keep my text and images right here. Please don't copy without permission. Thanks!

Search Here

Instead of T.V.

Librivox free audio books

Seeds of Family Worship
Bible verses put to song

Storynory free audio stories for kids

Storyline Online- famous faces read books to kids

Mister Rogers- episodes online

RSS Feed

Previously...

Our Story

Our Year 1 Rhythm

Cloth Diapering

Century Chart

Learning to Read

Wool Felting

Nature with Little Ones

Playful Learning ABC

Living Math

Raising Tadpoles

Homemade Cleaning Recipes

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Beginning a Foreign Language

Animal Tracking with Kids

Beginning Preschool

First History Lessons

Maple Sugaring with Kids

Children in the Garden

Sloyd handwork

Monarch Miracle

I Participate

"In this field small efforts are honoured with great rewards, and we perceive that the education we are giving exceeds all that we intended or imagined.”
- Mason