By admin, on July 31st, 2009%
Reading in Home Education Volume I continues. It is of great help to me and I think would be of great help to any new parent, not just one who would homeschool or homeschool using Charlotte Mason’s method.
Okra in the garden.
The Short Summary of Home Education Volume – I, published on the Ambleside website, from Charlotte Mason in Modern English says this:
Charlotte discusses the use of training in good habits to replace undesirable tendencies in children. Automatic habits remove many stressful decisions from the child, making life easier and smoother since a child with good habbits will be well-behaved. In adulthood, the properly trained habits that were acquired in childhood will prevent pitfalls that many people fall into.
It’s a work day, but I steal away into the garden for a few minutes.
I wish I’d read Charlotte Mason’s works when my first child was a baby. My own beliefs mesh with hers in theory because I feel that we should look daily to whether or not, and how, God’s Word is fitting into our lives, but reading Charlotte Mason’s Home Education is helping me work things practically into our lives when it comes to daily training and home education, to help form good habits and take our lives seriously.
Picking green beans yesterday.
Do you want an example of how this has spoken to me?
My children are getting older. I have a 21-year-old living at home. He has been working and is about to attend a local college. We probably set into him the majority of what we could set into him as far as a belief system and right-wrong when he was under the age of 5 or 6, but I don’t think it’s ever too late to work on habits. He’s legally a grown man, of course, but I still have a voice and he still has ears.  He tends to be messy with his papers — mail, receipts, so I am trying to help him form better habits with that.
John and Michaela act silly while snapping beans.
I have an 18-year-old who is finishing up the last bit of his homeschool work and basically has graduated from our homeschool. He’s a good fellow, but he likes to stay up too late. My 15-year-old son and my 11-year-old daughter are still forming habits as they go through adolescence. What is it about adolescents that makes them want to stay up late? They fall right in with their older brother and they would all stay up too late.
If I say, “Don’t stay up too late,” and make it, “because I said so,” it goes over like sandpaper. But if I remind them that they can be of no help to their family or to their community if they stay up too late and sleep the morning away, then it puts emphasis on this: I am, I can, I ought, I will. It puts an emphasis on duty. With gentle reminders, I can see it working.
Still being silly, but the beans got snapped.
Charlotte Mason wrote that there was a Code of Education in the Gospels, “expressly laid down by Christ.” She said to pay attention to three commandments given regarding “these little ones.”
- Offend not
- Despise not
- Hinder not
When I first read it, I thought it might be a point we would disagree on, but I read on. She noted that these verses can be taken beyond being applied to an adult who has become like a little one and applied to raising these souls sent to us to raise, remembering their duty to live with the knowledge that they will return to God.
She said, “…we offend them, when we do by them that which we ought not to have done; we despise them, when we leave undone those things which, for their sakes, we ought to have done.”
She talks about how mothers instinctively remove literal objects from the way of a toddler learning to walk. Why, then, would we let our “no’s” to a child be weak and something to be toyed with in regards to bigger things — things regarding character? If a mother laughs at wrongs, if she teaches her child that he can tease her “no” into a “yes,” and that he can get away with doing what started out as unacceptable, then he has learned that he can do wrong and get away with it. She has then offended, or placed a stumblingblock in his way.
I’ll close with one more quote:
…who has not met big girls and boys, the children of right-minded parents, who yet do not know what must means, who are not moved by ought, whose hearts feel no stir at the solemn name of Duty, who know no higher rule of life than ‘I want,’ and ‘I don’t want,’ ‘I like,’ and ‘I don’t like’? Heaven help parents and children when it has come to that!
I hope I have sounded “harpy” this morning. Just wanted to share these Charlotte Mason thoughts and quotes that are really helping me to help my children in their educational process.
Happy Friday!
Lynn
By admin, on July 30th, 2009%
I don’t have much to offer today along the lines of one cohesive train of thought, but rather random thoughts and pictures, because that’s the way life is sometimes.
I hardly noticed this little creature because he blends in so well with his surroundings. I’ve noticed that different plants draw different creatures into the garden, which is one reason I’m so fond of letting wild things grow.
I stop and wonder how often in reality I don’t notice little spots of life around me — you know, the important things that really should get my attention but don’t because I’m zooming quickly by and they get lost in their surroundings: my busy existence.
Kitties growing up. I know we don’t really need three more kittens, but it’s a wonder to watch them nurse and grow and jump and play. It’s a wonder to see something grow up. I stop with my tea cup in hand and look out at them for a little respite from bill paying and appointment making.
Another bright spider — a new one to me, that the Cassia has brought in.
This kitty stops playing for just a moment to look at his mommy. Yes, we think this kitty is a male.
A Thought On CM – Nature
Why are we so instinctively drawn to nature? Is it good to let children get too far away from nature?
All day long, every day, Laura and Mary were busy. When the dishes were washed and the beds made, there was always plenty to do and to see and to listen to.
They hunted for birds’ nests in the tall grass…
In the tall grass they lay still as mice and watched flocks of little prairie chickens running and pecking around their anxiously clucking, smooth brown mothers. They watched striped snakes rippling between the grass stems or lying so still that only their tiny flickering tongues and glittering eyes showed that they were alive.
And sometimes there’d be a great gray rabbit, so still in the lights and shadows of a grass clump that you were near enough to touch him… ~Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie
I’m looking forward to even more nature journaling, flower preserving, and herbal work this coming school year. We’ll sketch and draw, press and label, and make plenty of projects in the CM way.
By admin, on July 27th, 2009%
I’ve had people say, immediately upon entering my kitchen, “Wow, this place reminds me of my grandparents’ house.” I think it’s a compliment.
One young mother who visited years ago said she loved old houses. She said my house had personality.
A very sweet elderly lady with beginning dementia wondered if she had been here before until she reached the kitchen where she said, “I know I’ve been here before. I remember this kitchen.”
While people are going wild over ViNtAgE, I’d like to remind everyone that what they are going wild over is pretty vintage. Vintage that’s in good shape. Vintage that’s been painted or polished up and put in antique stores. What people don’t like is vintage that is yucky, unsightly and hard to use. I have got some of both in my 1921 house.
The pictures you are seeing are pictures of my newly-contact-papered kitchen counters. Yes, contact paper. Now you people with granite countertops take a deep breath. I know it’s hard to not be jealous. But try.
Jessamy, if you are seeing this, I know you know the drill all too well. Do you know how many contact paper designs I’ve been through by now?? In the 80′s and even into the 90s contact paper was in style. I would go to the store thinking, “Hmmm, wonder what kind of contact paper I’ll choose.”
Folks, I know it’s a shock, but contact paper has recently fallen out of the top 100 decorating designs for the home, and now I have to hunt a little harder for any design. Now I go to the store thinking, “Hmmm, wonder what kind of contact paper I’ll have to buy.”
The only real choice they had this time was fruit. But it looks vintage, in its own fruity way and it has been a big hit with the fam. One day maybe I’ll have real countertops. I can dream.
It’s Monday, a work day for me, but I got into the garden for my requisite few minutes this morning.
I filled up a dry-as-a-bone bird bath.
I searched for creatures and found that in the shadow of a black-eyed Susan, the spider had won.
I continue to study Home Education by Charlotte Mason, in preparation for the upcoming school year. I am reading aloud to Michaela every evening from Little House on the Prairie. We are slowly moving our way through the Little House books as bedtime read-alouds, along with beautifully illustrated nursery rhymes (do these ever get old — even for adults?), and some nature readers.
Michaela is reading to me from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and practicing narration. We are doing only a little a night — maybe only a paragraph and I am already seeing an improvement in her ability to remember details.
Today’s Thought on a Charlotte Mason education. Method versus System:
Teaching with CM is to use a method. Not just a system. A method has spirit, and touches every part of our lives. A system can be just a series of things to check off a list each day.
Method implies two things–a way to an end, and a step by step progress in that way. Further, the following of a method implies an idea, a mental image, of the end of object to be arrived at. What do you propose the education shall effect in and for your child? …The parent who sees his way–that is, the exact force of method–to educate his child, will make use of every circumstance of the child’s life almost without intention on his own part…” ~ Charlotte Mason. Home Education Volume 1.
Happy Monday
Lynn
By admin, on July 23rd, 2009%
Come into the garden with me…
and let’s talk about Ambleside Online.
Will I be using it?
Yes, I will be using Ambleside Online.
And that was the answer to the first question in my mind.
The second question required just as much thought, if not more, to find an answer to.
What year of AO will I place Michaela in?
I had to look at several factors:
- This past year was Michaela’s first year homeschooling and thus it was a big transition year for us. We did a ton of fun field trips and nature studies. We did lots and lots of playing. I wanted it to be a gentle transition year for her so that she’d want to homeschool again the next year. The point here? I don’t want to turn around and put her into something this year that totally overwhelms us both.
- While I believe that her education was acceptable in public school, and that her education was acceptable this past year at home, I am keenly aware that she is not used to narration, just as she is not used to a steady diet of challenging classics and “living books.” Last year was our transition year into homeschool. This next year will be our transition year into Ambleside Online.
- She technically is entering 6th grade. She will be doing 7th grade math. But her reading level — and this is key — is right at grade level. That’s all. So I need to be careful not to place her in a year with books that are too demanding. I have no doubts that Year 5, and even 4, will challenge us.
- Ambleside Online says right in their FAQ section, about one-third of the way through the page, in the section At which Year/level should I place my child?, “An Ambleside Online ‘Year’ does not mean ‘Grade’ as it would in public school.”
So those are the facts. Yesterday, armed with the facts, and the booklists for years, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, I went to The Homeschool Gathering Place to start looking at books and trying to decide for myself, which year do I choose?
I think handling the actual books, looking at the content, and imagining yourself assigning reading from them is a good way to get a feel for which year to use. I also think that having the child read from some of the books will give you an idea if they are able to do the reading on their own throughout the year. This latter suggestion has been mentioned in the support group as well.
Pulling books from the shelves for various years and leafing through them, I got a sense that Year 5 would be a good start for us. Year 4 and even 3 have some wonderful books as well, and I’m sure they are even challenging, but I wouldn’t want to put Michaela so far back that she felt bored or demoted. And as I mentioned, she’s a grade-level reader, so I want us to go forward, not backward!
Probably what tipped the scale for me was a statement on the Year 6 Booklist about year 6 being the transition year between childhood education and the education of the upper years, and as such the subject matter being more mature.
Year 5 it will be.
The third step was to start buying books.
Note: The two books in the foreground don’t have anything to do with Ambleside. They are just a couple I picked up while out. Ken, I found a used copy of Spelling Power! I like the way it looks. Joseph and I are excited to finish out the summer with it, and I hope Joseph will continue to use it even after he’s been handed his diploma.
Be still my heart, I bought a new copy of Lessons at Blackberry Inn! It’s the sequel to Pocketful of Pinecones. I started reading it this morning. I found a used copy of Handbook of Nature Study. I went ahead and bought the Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 5.
I also found a beautiful copy of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, which I am going to have Michaela read aloud to me, so that we can work on her reading skills the rest of the summer. We will begin to practice narration.
As for buying the books, I love nothing more than a beautifully bound, hardback book that I can hold and smell and love. Do you love the smell of a book? I love books. Hopefully I can find many of them used to save us some money.
Now that I’ve chosen what year we’ll be using and started accumulating the books, I will print off the Weekly Lesson plans for Year 5. I will start thinking about how to best set up our daily schedules, looking at what days work best for us as far as the weekly lessons and how we’ll set up our school days.
I will continue to read the Home Education Series and the Ambleside’s FAQ, making notes for myself in my homemade CM notebook. I’m enjoying reading the daily digest from the Ambleside Online Support Group and getting to know the people there.
One last thing. We’ve got some chapter books that we’ve accumulated through the years that aren’t that great. I’ll be weeding out to make room for better books. I won’t be getting rid of too many books, mind you, but some!
I’ll close with a quote on really paying attention to our children, understanding what they mean and how they learn and how best to guide them to be useful men and women.
Nothing is trivial that concerns a child; his foolish-seeming words and ways are pregnant with meaning for the wise. It is in the infinitely little we must study in the infinitely great; and the vast possibilities, and the right direction of education, are indicated in the open book of the little child’s thoughts. ~Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Volume I
Happy Thursday!
Lynn
By admin, on July 20th, 2009%
Since blogging about my intent to use strictly Charlotte Mason methods for Michaela this coming year and my desire to use Ambleside Online, I have had some questions from readers about the books I’m using and what I recommend to get started with CM (Charlotte Mason). From the start of this endeavor, I had planned to blog about how it all unfolded for me, so I thought I’d do a “getting started” post.
I have loved Charlotte Mason’s philosophy for a long time. My first exposure to her was from reading A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola, which I first read in June of 2000. At that time Michaela was not quite 2. The subtitle of A Charlotte Mason Companion is “Personal Reflections on The Gentle Art of Learning.” The book is indeed full of personal reflection. There are a lot of Charlotte Mason quotes sprinkled throughout the book, which makes for a nice introduction to the way Charlotte Mason herself spoke and wrote, but much of the 49 chapters is Mrs. Andreola’s personal experience with using Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and Mrs. Andreola’s sharing what she personally gleaned from reading Charlotte Mason’s works. Each chapter ends in a list of questions for personal reflection. I particularly like the formatting of the book, and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful.
My well worn, much read copy of A Charlotte Mason Companion
When asked what my favorite book is to introduce someone to Charlotte Mason, I really don’t have a list to pull from. A Charlotte Mason Companion is the only one I’ve read, but honestly I found it so packed with information and so easy to read, I’ve never strayed from it. It is the only book I can truly recommend at this point.
Having given you a little review of A Charlotte Mason Companion, let me tell you how it affected me. I found that I agreed with all of it. The CM philosophy seemed to embody the way I felt instinctively about teaching, but as Charlotte Mason said in quoting Pestalozzi (again), “The mother is qualified, and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child;…and what is demanded of her is—a thinking love…” A thinking love. Isn’t that beautiful? What the book did for me was give me some direction in taking my instincts and refining them into routines for our homelife. Not that I’ve done so great a job, but it made me see even more the need to live and mother and teach with intention.
In my opinion, hand in hand with A Charlotte Mason Companion should go Pocketful of Pinecones, also written by Karen Andreola. Pocketful of Pinecones is a very sweet, old-fashioned fictional story of a lady named Carol, living in the 1930s and deciding to educate her children at home using nature study. Carol’s teaching is definitely in the Charlotte Mason style.
Since Pocketful of Pinecones is a fictional story, albeit a tale beautifully woven from Karen Andreola’s thoughts and no doubt taken partly from her own experience, I would recommend reading it after you’ve learned a little about Charlotte Mason and decided you want to use Charlotte Mason. On the other hand, the story is so beautiful, it might make you want to teach using nature study and CM methods. 
But what if you want to get straight to the writing of Charlotte Mason herself? First, there’s a lot of writing to read. There are six volumes written over some 40 years–lots and lots of reading, and obviously she gained experience as she wrote and taught, so the last volume is bound to be just as important as the first. According to Ambleside Online, if you are to use CM methods it is vital that you read volume 6. I just don’t see how anyone could read all six volumes over a summer while still cooking, cleaning and tending to daily life, so where does one start?
What I have done is set up a Charlotte Mason notebook for myself.
On the front of the notebook you see the motto of Charlotte Mason students. You can read more about it at the Ambleside site: CM Students Motto.
I started by printing the short summaries of the six volumes, found at Ambleside, and if you look at their notation under volume six, you’ll see why they so highly recommend reading volume 6: CM Summaries. I’m sure I can sit down and read the summaries in one or two days for a quick overview.
In reading the complete volumes themselves, however, I have already started the original version of Volume I. (There’s also a Modern English Version on the Ambleside website.) I’m printing as I go because I just don’t like to read on the computer screen. (We won’t talk about how many ink cartridges I’m going to burn through over the next year or so. Or how many notebooks I’ll need.)
If you want to share and discuss with others while you read, Ambleside Online apparently has a group that discusses CM’s writings. As luck would have it, at the time of this post they are still in volume I. You can read more about the group/list here: CM Series E-Mail List Reading Schedule.
Other things I’ve printed for my notebook include:
- Ambleside’s FAQ section. (Yes, I printed all those pages.) You can easily read them online without printing. I work in front of a computer for 8 long hours three days a week, so again I try to get away from the computer screen as much as possible. I also wanted the FAQ in my notebook. I am serious about using Ambleside Online this coming year, so it was important to me. And last but not least, as they say right on the Ambleside website, “It is not advisable to attempt this curriculum without first reading the FAQ.” I want the FAQ in my notebook for easy reference and where I can underline and make notes.
- Charlotte Mason’s 20 principles. They are placed in clear covers for easy reference.
- I’ve also printed the book lists for years 4, 5, and 6 to pore over, because honestly I don’t know where I’ll place Michaela yet. To be truthful, I want to print off every year’s book list so that I can make sure we’ve read all the must-reads they’ve listed.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking out loud on my blog about whether or not to go with a boxed curriculum. I’ve looked at many fine choices which have come highly recommended by friends and by review, but I’ve been afraid to “box us in,” so to speak. I also couldn’t see myself paying nearly 1000 dollars and then feeling overwhelmed with a schedule that I did not put together myself, although I recognize that with my work schedule I do need some structure.
Since Charlotte Mason has me by the heart and since Ambleside Online is a free curriculum with a ton of support by way of e-mail groups and a huge website, I decided to go with Ambleside Online. It offers me the flexibility to be able to continue with Beyond Five In A Row, and yet the book lists are already written out and the proposed lesson schedules are posted on the website. How much easier could it be? My big job is to further acquaint myself with Charlotte Mason and the Ambleside Online website over our summer break. In addition to that I need to decide which year to place Michaela in (the year does not necessarily equal a grade level) and I need to get our books together and work out which days of the week we’ll do our “weekly” lessons. I have to prepare our home and my mind for a year of Ambleside Online.
Once our school year begins, I’ll continue to read through Charlotte Mason’s writings.
That, folks, is where I am at right now. I hope this post has helped even one of you, and I hope it explains why I’m choosing what I’m choosing. There are more details for me to work through as far as what I’ll do regarding the workbox system and which math I’ll use (we’ve always used Saxon). I will defnitely continue to post about our Charlotte Mason year.
In my sidebar, you’ll find my affiliate Barnes and Noble links to books that I find useful.
I think it’s going to be a fun and beautiful year.
Lynn
By admin, on July 18th, 2009%
I continue on reading Charlotte Mason’s Home Education. I love her! As an educator, she freely admitted that the first and foremost influence on a child was altogether the mother, the father, and the homelife, but especially the mother in the early years. She did her best to impart useful ideas to parents without telling parents exactly how to carry them out. She gave tips, but she put a lot of faith in mothers.
From the Preface to the Third Edition:
Believing that the individuality of parents is a great possession for their children, and knowing that when an idea possesses the mind, ways of applying it suggest themselves, I have tried not to weight these pages with many directions, practical suggestions, and other such crutches, likely to interefere with the free relations of parent and child. Our greatness as a nation depends upon how far parents take liberal and enlightened views of their high office and of the means to discharge it which are placed in their hands.
Miss Mason goes on to say:
The parents of but one child may be cherishing what shall prove a blessing to the world. But then, entrusted with such a charge, they are not free to say, “I may do as I will with mine own.” The children are, in truth, to be regarded less as personal property than as public trusts, put into the hands of parents that they may make the very most of them for the good of society.”
And there’s no ambiguity in what she’s saying. She is saying that the sole responsibility for making the child the most he can be does rest on the parents, and especially on the mother in the early years. She quotes Pestalozzi who said, “Maternal love is the first agent in education.”
Some things to think on today.
Lynn
By admin, on July 15th, 2009%
Just a few pictures from the garden and some quotes from today’s reading.
“As a stream can rise no higher than its source, so it is probable that no educational effort can rise above the whole scheme of thought which gives it birth;…” ~Charlotte Mason
Regarding education and the law that governs education, “there is no part of a child’s home life or school work which the law does not penetrate.” ~Charlotte Mason
“The mind feeds on ideas, and therefore children should have a generous curriculum.” ~Charlotte Mason
“…the mind is not a receptacle into which ideas must be dropped…” ~Charlotte Mason
“…a child’s mind is…a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet, with which it is prepared to deal, and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does foodstuffs.” ~Charlotte Mason
“…so we must train him upon physical exercises, nature, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books;…” ~Charlotte Mason
“Children should be taught to distinguish between ‘I want’ and ‘I will.’ “ ~Charlotte Mason
“We should allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and spiritual life of children; but should teach them that the divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their continual helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.” ~Charlotte Mason
I have enjoyed so very much reading A Charlotte Mason Companion — more than once. It was my first exposure to Charlotte Mason’s ideas.
Now I am enjoying reading Charlotte Mason’s Original Home Education Series. It is rich with ideas that I’m soaking up right now.
I hope to share here what I do with the ideas.
Lynn
By admin, on July 14th, 2009%
Yesterday I had a lovely moment of confirmation. And a gentle urging to be careful regarding any boxed curriculum. I need the freedom to create.
You may notice that we’ve not actively done our Prairie Tuesday in a few weeks. I’ve let it die down a bit to give Michaela a summer. School will be starting up again for us in August and I want her to run and play and not have any school to worry about for some weeks, even if it is fun school that we do.
Yesterday Michaela disappeared into her room for quite a long time. I had no idea what she was doing. She could have been playing with the bunnies, drawing, reading, or just playing. I had no idea. I was busy working.
She came and got me later and said, “Come look at what I made. It’s for Prairie Tuesday.”
She had put together a covered wagon from things we gathered up at our last Scrap Exchange visit: cardstock pieces for the wagon, straws for the axles, bottle corks for the wheels.
I was so impressed with her creativity. I didn’t tell her how to do this! I didn’t even tell her to do this. I was happy that she had been thinking over things we had studied. It was confirmation that she was feeding on ideas that we had talked about in our schooling.
I was also impressed with how she used these ideas she had gleaned about pioneer life. The little bracelet draped across the front of the wagon?
“And mama, this is peppers drying.”
I was reading yesterday in A Charlotte Mason Companion. (Yet again.) I was inspired. (Yet again.)
Charlotte urges us to give children a regular feeding of ideas through sweeping tales of history, wonderful inventions and discoveries in science, lives of great men and women, stories that radiate the moral life as well as paintings, plays, Psalms, poems, symphonies–and everthing else wonderful we can think of. She says these ideas are the children’s very bread of life.
How I love that our reading of Laura and Mary on the prairie has translated into a little girl who made a covered wagon and hung on it peppers to dry for later use!
This is the essence of what school is to me at her age. It’s why I’m so hesitant to box her in.
Lynn
By admin, on March 25th, 2009%
Ahhh, nature study, my favorite part of homeschool. Nature study is something I like to incorporate daily into our lessons. This morning I thought I would share how we do our nature study here.
First of all, my favorite example of a nature journal is this:
The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady
It’s a beautiful and exquisitely detailed book with an amazing story behind it.
It began in 1906 as a diary kept by Edith Holden, documenting her nature observations in the English countryside. Ms. Holden kept the journal to encourage her students. Tragically, Edith Holden drowned in the Thames at the age of 49. For some years, her diary was passed down through her family and was finally published after a great-niece approached Webb & Bower in 1976. The book became an immediate success, a record-breaking best seller, but then went out of print for several years. It is currently back in print, (one can only guess at how long — hopefully for good) and it’s one of my favorite books ever. I’ve had my copy for about 10 years.
Our Nature Study
Ideally we go outside (our own backyard is a fine place for this) and spread out a b lanket.
It’s nice if the weather is warm, but if it’s chilly out, a big sweater works just fine. An added benefit of using your own backyard is that it’s easy to run inside and get a quick cup of hot tea every so often, especially if it is chilly.
As I settle onto the blanket, it’s my instinct to tell Princess of the Universe to sit down right away, but the wiser part of me gives her time to run around and get some energy out. Children love the outdoors and seem to know exactly what to do in it.
“Mom, watch.”
It’s a wild and crazy game. The only part of Earth left is the stack of two wooden blocks that Princess of the Universe must land on.
I can hardly bear to watch this. What if she misses the one spot of Earth left? Will she go into outer space? Will she disappear? Maybe she will come sit down quietly on the blanket.
Thank goodness, she came to the blanket. Sigh.
What are we doing?
I’ll tell you.
Princess of the Universe and I have discussed the style of Edith Holden’s diary. To me, it almost has the look of elegant doodling on some pages.
I have always been a doodler myself. I can fill up a 9 x 12 page with doodles taking a phone number and message down during a phone call. (Did you know that a recent study showed doodlers remember more from their phone conversations?) I digress.
The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady is also filled with an abundance of information about nature and history. In summary, the fun layout makes it interesting to read, the beautiful illustrations make it classic, and the seriousness of the information written makes it a real teaching tool. The bottom line is that I want our nature journals to favor Edith Holden’s.
How do we do that?
At this point, I simply require that Princess of the Universe follow my lead. She writes what I write, copywork-style. Our journal pages are kept in the same fashion in which Edith Holden kept hers. The difference is that we are using information pertinent to our location and our lives and we are using colored pencils to document what we see.
Oh my. Time for another pleasant distraction. My oldest, Daniel, who is off work for the day and has been fishing shows up.
Big Joe and Princess of the Universe must gather around and see the picture of the large fish he caught and released. I sip on hot tea. And wait.
Instead of coming straight back to the blanket, Princess of the Universe goes in the opposite direction, but there is a method to her madness. She needs to show me that she can jump all the way across the blanket.
“Wait!” I say. Let me move our journals. And set my camera to “action.”
Okay, run!
I am happy to report that Princess of the Universe comes back to the blanket, but look!
Another distraction. It’s totally okay, however, because this IS the heart of nature study: observation.
I think the key to successful nature study is to just get yourself outside, relax, and enjoy what comes your way.
Princess of the Universe lets the granddaddy long legs crawl onto her hands. We look at the colors. Gray. Brown. She has a patch of darker brown on her back. We note that she’s missing a leg. We let her go.
Back to work. “Use the right colors to draw your dandelion,” I tell Princess of the Universe.
Her leaf is the right color but needs more definition, I think. I don’t say anything this time because overall she has done a fabulous job. She’s documented some valuable information and she’s done it with care and enthusiasm. (I think the Earth’s-almost-gone game helped tremendously.) Mental note to self: in a lesson soon, we will color together just a leaf, working on detail.
Patience is what wins the race.
Here are our two journals side by side. How did we decide on this information? A few questions did the trick.
- What is growing in our yard this month that we did not see last month? Dandelions. Let’s draw the dandelion.
- What do we know about the dandelion? It’s a food and a medicine. It has many names. Let’s write some of that down.
- What about its scientific name? This is a short and sweet lesson in classification. Over time these little lessons add up to a good working knowledge of how plants and animals get their names.
- What fun fact do we know about March? It’s mommy’s birthday.
- What do we hear as we sit here? Birds. On some days we may try identifying birds by their sounds and drawing a bird.
What do we use as a nature journal?
For now, Princess of the Universe works in a sketch book with nice heavy paper. I have several ideas for preserving her nature journal, but I have not decided yet how we’ll do it. In the past we have used a standard black and white composition book, cutting out our drawings and gluing them in and using the lined paper underneath to write our info on. These pages we are doing now, however, are larger and fuller. I want to keep them whole and intact. For now it’s fine to just keep it all in the sketch book. It keeps things simpler. She can just pick up her sketch book and go.
I’ll be sure and post what we decide to do to permanently store her nature journal for this school year. When it comes to nature study, the point is to just do it.
Lynn
By admin, on March 13th, 2009%
Persica
Persica was a little shy about stepping into the formal garden. Her blue bonnet seemed so faded and small compared to the large, fancy, dark purple bonnet she had seen in Umbrosa’s picture. Persica was a brave girl, however, and dared not shame her family by withering in the face of an opportunity like this. Persica felt, as her mother was always saying in her country way, like ” going to seed” right there. She wanted to fade away and not be heard of until next year at this time, but that would not do. She had come a long way to get here. With a deep breath, she daintily lifted her long, modest petticoats off the rich country dirt scattered about the plain clay coach that had transported her to her cousin Umbrosa’s home in the city and stepped out into a perfectly manicured yard.
Persica d’Veronica with her many brothers and sisters in the background
Persica had been told that she would find her cousin Umbrosa in the “blue garden,” as the keepers of the house referred to it. Persica unfolded the neat letter for the hundredth time and looked at the finely created picture drawing of Umbrosa’s home and gardens, and of Umbrosa herself. Umbrosa was quite fancy. Persica made her way along the perfectly laid stone pathway leading to Umbrosa, trying not to allow her spindly limbs to shake as she went. Everything her mother had ever told her about Umbrosa went through her mind. “You and Umbrosa are cousins. You can’t be so very different from each other now, can you? Now Persica, do not feel inferior in their fine garden. After all, ’twas you who came along first, and you have both been raised and cultivated right at home, not potted up in some large, crowded facility with 1000 other specimens. You should get along splendidly. Yes, you may have only the paler and older colors in your color box, whereas Umbrosa has the newer, richer, more fashionable shades, but you both have been nurtured with the utmost care and love a mother could give, right in your own gardens, and I’m sure your nature observations are every bit as keen as hers. You’ll see.”
Umbrosa
Umbrosa looked more like a ballerina than one of the Veronicas as she ambled across the smooth, hand-picked stones that surrounded her spot in the blue garden. Her manners were impeccable and she had been carefully taught to fit into any garden, not just the blue one. She had been raised to complement the finest of families, and yet here she was nervous about meeting her country cousin, Persica. Persica was older than she was and probably knew much more about the ways of life. Umbrosa’s mother had told her vivid stories of Persica being allowed to run free in the farmer’s meadows and stroll alongside pathways and lanes leading to many a country inn. Persica had been to nearly every home in her part of the country. Umbrosa, on the other hand, was considered well bred, and she had been placed only in the most suitable gardens and conservatories, and that after much scrutinizing by those in charge of her. Still, as Umbrosa’s mother pointed out in her refined voice, “Persica is the offspring of my own sister.” She assured Umbrosa that Persica would have been raised a lady, despite her country freedoms.
Umbrosa d’Veronica and her little sister
The Meeting
Persica was so stunned, she stopped dead still on the ornate walkway. She would never have needed that picture drawing to spot her lovely cousin Umbrosa. There stood Umbrosa, easily identifiable, looking much like herself, and yet different. Persica smiled. Umbrosa smiled back. Instantly, any possible strain or stress between them vanished. Persica walked as if on air to meet Umbrosa, whose own steps became even more dance-like as she moved beyond the larger rocks to meet her cousin.
They talked and they talked and they talked.
“Yes, me too, I love nature!” cried Umbrosa. “We have studied the cardinal extensively. And the robin! We’ve actually learned of all the city birds. I can pick them out by merely hearing their beautiful songs.”
“Would you believe we have had the good fortune to see even owls and hawks from our beds?” said Persica, almost in a whisper as she recalled the events to her cousin. “Oh, the poor creatures scrambling to get away from them! Well, anyway, we studied them too.”
The visit went on and on. They snacked on fresh air and earth’s rich soil, and all the other beatiful gifts from God that feed the plants and animals alike. They found that even though they had been raised in different gardens by different people with different tools, the intentions and notions which had driven their raising had been quite the same. Both of their lives had been filled with love and care from mothers who wanted them to be beautiful creatures inside and out. Nature study had been very important in both their homes.
Persica and Umbrosa had much more in common than not. It was the start of a long and beautiful friendship.
Note
I hope you enjoyed this little story I made up, about homeschooled girls in a parallel universe, inspired by flowers in my yard and the joys of a Charlotte Mason education. The Veronica persica grows wild here. The Veronica umbrosa was purchased from a nursery. They look a lot alike.
Lynn
|
About Lynn 
Approaching-50 mother of four. Thrifter. Content with lots of clothes bought for very little money. Loves retro. (That could be styles from the 40s and 50s. And sometimes stuff even older than that. And sometimes stuff from all time, all mixed up together!) Bluffs about decluttering but secretly loves STUFF. Goes through stages. Has standing and staring spells before rearranging the entire home. Just because. Tune in each day to see what new outfit comes home from G.W. Boutique next. (That's Goodwill, by the way.) Oh, and she owns a spoiled beagle named Annie. And this blog.
Grab A Button <div align="center"><a href="http://www.amothersjournal.com" title="A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong"><img src="http://www.innatelygray.com/images/abitofbirdsong_120_200.jpg" alt="A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong" style="border:none;" /></a></div> The Players
Lil Ol' Me
Son Daniel, 23
Son, Big Joe, 21
Son, John, 17
Daughter, Michaela, 13
Annie Fatso Beagle
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
What You Do Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
|
Recent Thoughts