The weather has turned. Yesterday was sunny and gorgeous . Today the wind is strong and the air is brisk. I'm glad we did this (above) before the cold came. Bedtime stories are much more fun in a tent, don't you think? We're reading Vol. 1 in a vintage Child Craft set. Lovely old books!
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"Any book is good that helps your mind grow straight and tall." -Schoolhouse in the Parlor by Rebecca Caudill These past 2 weeks were our official beginning of the kindergarten year at our house. I wanted to make it feel special to start school, partly because every other person at church or in line at the grocery store has been asking our oldest for 2 months now, "So, are you all ready to start school?" and, "You must be in kindergarten next year, right?" His usual response was "I do homeschool." To which, there was usually no reply, a smile and a nod, or a change of subject. I'm not even sure he knew what that meant. To me it felt a little silly to say, "Yes, we're starting school," or "Today is the first day of kindergarten," because education has become our way life and we've been learning lots all summer. That wasn't really going to change much just because I announced it to be the first day of school. I'm not even sure I really like the term 'kindergarten'. But I recently read this article and found myself partially agreeing. There are certain rites of passage that come with being a kid in today's society. The excitement of the first day of kindergarten is one of them, I think. So, I wrote down a few plans, ordered some new books, planned a couple of fun field trips and an extra special lunch menu; we bought some new crayons and off we headed into the wide world of SCHOOL! Here are some favorite quotes from our "school" time thus far, & some books we're reading. "I love this, Mom!" he told me at one point during the day. An art museum through the eyes of a kid is really a treat. "But none of all this beauty Which floods the earth and air Is unto me the secret Which makes September fair. T'is a thing which I remember To name it thrills me yet: One day of one September I never can forget." -September by H. H. Jackson ""Hey, a lady bug came to join our village! Did you see her open her wings?" "That sounds like a bird! Wait, nope. It's just branches rubbing. See that tree there?" -out in our woods one windy morning "Look, a giant ant!" "There was an owl lived in an oak, Wisky, wasky weedle; All the words he ever spoke, Were, "Fiddle, faddle, feedle." -these two got some giggles "There was an old woman tossed up in a basket, Seventy times as high at the moon, And where she was going, I couldn't but ask it; For in her hand she carried a broom. "Old woman, old woman, old woman," quoth I, "Whither, Oh whither, Oh whither so high?" "To sweep the cobwebs out of the sky! And I'll be with you by and by." (the history behind this little rhyme about King Henry the V is interesting) "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom;
and the grace of God was upon Him." Luke 2:40 After reading the assigned pages for book study one week this summer (169-226 of Vol. 1) I wrote a list using all the terms used or qualities or responsibilites proposed in the text for both moms and kids in regards to education. These are some of my goals for the upcoming school year. I hope to revisit this to help me keep a clearer picture of what our days can look like and who I am called to be.
Mother-teacher "smiling goddess" "a little heaven below" makes home atmosphere of peace, sweetness and light high culture (art, music- beautiful things) knows psychology (child's development) knows the art of education sympathy w/Children tact common sense common information (about things esp. in nature) joyous nature governing power (discipline) unruffled gentleness "artist" handmaid to Nature preserves personality (of child) wisely orders the nursery and sows opportunities NO WOODEN TEACHING Child Training "all occupations subserve purposes of education" senses- look, feel, listen, smell, see ideas- size, shape color, form, number (observation) copy faithfully express freely (often stifled in today's kindergartens!) perfect execution w/o stress or strain just eye and faithful hand (straighten table cloth, hang a towel or picture, pack a parcel) (goes along with an ordered nursery) attention obedience Discovering: the softest nest we've ever seen (thistle down, and orange yarn we put in our suet cage this spring!! also grass and possibly horse hair) Pretty sure it belongs to a goldfinch! Listening: to a favorite! Dvořák from the past school year Watching: an 'accidentally' too-soon-picked sunflower unfold in a cup of water Observing: leg and toe-developing-tadpoles Looking: (once more) at fishermen (from here) Harvesting: nature's bountiful "crop" (in his words) Helping: do cow chores at a friend's house Comparing: blades of grass from the yard on our nature table
It is my pleasure to host this edition of the CM Blog Carnival Welcome! Grab a cool drink, pull up a chair and enjoy some refreshment and inspiration. I wanted to share with you few quotations that I've been pondering after reading an intriguing Parent's Review article titled Adventures in Education by Sybil Marshall. It gave such a wonderful glimpse into a school of the past where Mason's ideas were being implemented. These are the ideas that stuck out to me from my reading. "...their minds were reaping the real benefit. fed with countless real experiences, the children's imaginations began to work as never before. The creative impulse that is born with every child atrophies unless his imaginative response to his environment keeps it actively in use. When in use it demands outlets in many different forms, but above all in words." Nancy over at Sage Parnassus shares with us some great insights for enhancing the reading experience in a simple and natural way- A New Way to Listen: Commonplacing for Little People "...thoughts need the freedom of time to become seasoned, to become personal, to become knowledge." Leah at Homegrown Babies shares with us, and I'm a tad jealous, because I want to go!! A Charlotte Mason 'pilgrimage' "The teacher's greatest asset is the children's desire to learn, but as this is a natural thing it must be used in a natural way." Lindafay shares with us some good beginner tips at Higher Up and Further In- The First Stage of Nature Journaling "Fed on stories of all kinds, the children's horizons get wider and wider, calling for still more detailed observation of nature, of animals, of people... the need for factual knowledge leads them back again to books, and the spiral continues upward and onward." Amy shares some yucky bugs and good ideas at Fisher Academy- Nature Study Monday:Insect Pests Barb shares a wealth of things to try at your house for a simple study on trees at Handbook of Nature Study- For the Love of Trees: A Year-Long Tree Study I'm looking forward to giving some a these a try! Lanaya at Delightful Education shares with us her thoughts on-
(Habit) Training in Truthfulness Oh, and one by Yours Truly :) on Thinking Practice Thanks so much for joining me here. I hope you have enjoyed reading all these as much as I have! And, a special thanks to Amy for heading up the carnival for us all. Upcoming carnival: @ Epikardia on 7/24 Topic for discussion (optional): Principles #9-10 For more info see: The 20 Principles. {an overview} Submit posts here: charlottemasonblogs (at) gmail (dot) com To find out more about upcoming & past CM blog carnival schedule, Click Here! "Her dark skin, dark brown hair, keen little grey eyes," "... -these formed the outward shape of a woman carrying something strange and cherished along her ways of life." "...The hope was burned deep in her that beyond the harsh clay paths, the everyday scrubbing, washing, patching, fixing, the babble and the gabble of today, there are pastures and purple valleys of song." "She had seen tall hills there in Kentucky. She had seen the stark backbone of Muldraugh's Hill become folded in thin evening blankets with a lavender mist sprayed by sunset lights, and for her there were the tongues of promises over it all." "She believed in God, in the Bible, in mankind, in the past and future, in babies, people, animals, flowers, fishes, in foundations and roofs, in time and the eternities outside of time; she was a believer, keeping in silence behind her gray eyes more beliefs than she spoke. She knew... so much of what she believed was yonder- always yonder. Every day came scrubbing, washing, patching, fixing. There was so little time to think or sing about the glory she believed in. It was always yonder..." "With the baby she called Abe in her arms, Nancy Hanks came to this Rock Spring more than once, sitting with her child and her thoughts, looking at running water and green moss. The secrets of the mingled drone and hush of the place gave her reminders of Bible language, 'Be ye comforted,' or 'Peace, be still.'"
- Abe Lincoln Grows Up by Carl Sandburg Trying new things: Dandelion salad as described in this video about Great Depression Cooking. I had always heard dandelion was edible, but I never knew quite how to prepare it. We liked it! (A special thanks to Shanda for the recommendation.) Fuzzy, our caterpillar, is still alive and kickin'- no cocoon yet, though my 4 yo has decided it will be Fuzzy's birthday tomorrow, and we are having a party at 8am. He even called Grandma and Grandpa to personally invite them. I'm guessing with a party at 8am, pancakes are on the menu. We went on a picnic one recent Sunday after church and sat under a Willow tree on the shore of a lake. These are the buds we brought back and put in a jar of water on the window sill. Here they are on Day 1 and today. Leaves and roots have developed now. We read that Willow is one of the only trees that will root itself. So, we could plant this and it might grow into a tree! Hmmm... Our plum trees are in bloom and they smell Sooooooo wonderful! The newspaper has been fascinating lately; so are highlighter markers. He has been highlighting the letters he recognizes. We did this activity when I taught 1st and 2nd graders. They liked it too! Last month we started growing a sweet potato vine. We read in a kids gardening book that if you simply put a sweet potato in water it would sprout roots and grow a vine. He wanted to try it out. See all those roots and the tiny little leaf? We give it fresh water every few days. "12. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers with leaves (one every week); to name those, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them." He picked his first wild flower (viola or violet) of the season to press and add to his Leaf and Flower Collection book. More on that to come... Oh, do I have ideas! He also picked me one for my hair and told me I had to show Daddy how cute I was :) I wanted to share this wonderful new resource a friend showed to me. We use it along with our breakfast Bible reading. It is laid out story-by-story. There are photographs of the actual places mentioned in the stories (the Sea of Galilee etc.) and also famous works of art depicting Biblical scenes. We don't use it every day, but often. It really helps make the stories come to life, though I think they already are alive in his mind/imagination based on the way he plays throughout the day. I think Daniel in the Lion's Den is stunning! I had to call my old college roommate to remind me how we used to make this recipe. I can't believe I forgot! A yummy little snack. Spinach tortillas, grated cheese, a dash of salt, broiled until crisp. We had a lovely Easter with family (despite everybody but me having nasty coughs.- Anyone have a good natural remedy for easing the cough of a 5 month old? Poor baby!) One last thing before I end this overloaded blog post. We're still bird watching. I set up this little corner on the window ledge with binoculars, bird books and an Audobon Society plush Chickadee that makes the sound when you squeeze it. We have lots of them around.
He usually calls me over when he spots a bird nearby. We try to quietly crack the window open so we can listen for the bird's call/sound. Sometimes we visit this website after the bird has left, to see if we identified it right. This is a Northern Flicker; one of a pair we watched feed for quite a while in the yard. "Mother did not answer. She was still gazing up at the sky. After a while she said, 'I made up a sort of saying for myself, Nat. I will lift up my eyes unto the stars. Sometimes, if you look at the stars long enough, it helps. It shrinks your day-by-day troubles down to size.' She smiled. 'We'd better go back. Granny and Father will be wondering where we are.
-Carry On Mr Bowditch by Latham In my teaching methods classes in college we were required to take one on poetry. The teacher quizzed us on devices such as assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia. We were required to write poems and then have them critiqued. It was painful. Oh, ya, and we read a few poems too. We were also strongly encouraged to teach poetry to our students once we were in classrooms of our own. So, I did. A co-teacher recommended I begin with nonsense poems for my low ability students. It was fine, but not a big deal in my mind. I still didn't get it. Up until now that has been my experience with poetry in a nutshell- significantly lacking in zeal. When I joined our local co-op community, I watched these young kids read Shakespeare, and Robert Frost and John Greenleaf Whittier like it was second nature, and I caught the poetry bug. I finally got what all the fuss was about. The words were a delight to my ears and the process was an enjoyable way to pass part of a morning. What a revolutionary idea! Read poetry, and enjoy it. Hmmmmm....... Now at home, we read a poem usually during lunch. It's nice. The interesting thing is that my son is starting to request it if I get busy with his brother and forget. So, this past weekend when I awoke and looked out the window with my babe in my arms and an overjoyed 4 year old at my side, a stream of phrases flooded my mind.... POETRY! Daddy kept the baby warm indoors and started breakfast!! while the two of us bundled up and headed out to wonder at the... New Snow The pines are white-powdered, Delicately tossed With fairy filigrees Of silver frost. The top of the mountain Is lost in a cloud, While the world is silent And the winds unloud. Drink in the beauty, The shadows… the glow… The wonder of winter And the new white snow! -Catherine Bryant Rowles This book has been our guide so far. I'm loving the seasonal way it is put together. Makes it really easy for this busy mom to pull out when my hands seem to always be full these days. All the work is done for me; I don't have to go hunting anywhere online or at the library. There is also a compilation of free poems for young kids online here. Charlotte Mason reminds us,
"A thousand thoughts that burn come to us on the wings of verse." (Vol.4, pg.10) I love sharing this beauty with my boy. |
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! Categories
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August 2018
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 “It may be that the souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living.”
- Mason |