Preparation continues for the uncoming school year; however, our first official school day is still not set.  Ambleside’s Online Yahoo! group is such a rich resource, I want to follow along with them for the school year, and Term I begins in September.  That does not mean I can’t start a few days early, but for studies such as art, Plutarch, hymns, folksongs, etc., it’s nice to work as a group for information sharing purposes.

Meanwhile, the Year 5 books keep rolling in.

A few of these I had on hand already, like the “Little House” series which qualifies as free reading, but many I have been ordering at the best prices I can find on line.

One book in particular I had to think about was Bulfinch’s Age of Fable: whether or not to get this illustrated version, The Illustrated Age of Fable.  The inside cover says this:

Since it was first published in 1855, Thomas Bulfinch’s masterly collection of the myths and legends of Greece and Rome has proved so popular that even today it makes essential reading for any newcomer to mythology.

Now for the first time, Bulfinch’s stores are published with the full-color honors they deserve. For this special edition, his ninetheenth-century literary references have been replaced by paintings — 100 of the most stunning and dramatic masterpieces ever inspired by myth. The array of artists includes Michelangelo, Botticelli, Titian, Poussin, Rubens, and Burne-Jones.

Some of the paintings are disturbing in the sense that they interrupt our comfortable existence and show us pictures of tragedy, suffering, revenge and conquest. Some pictures, such as An Allegory with Venus and Cupid, I wondered about. There’s nudity, as is not uncommon in art from the time period. There’s also seduction, envy, father time and more. I must admit it’s a good lesson even for me to have a visual of how tricked one can be in the face of beauty and temptation. But is Michaela old enough for this painting?  Is anyone old enough for this painting? I won’t put it here because I don’t really want it on my blog in case some of my readers think it’s better done without.

Some of the paintings inspire me!

At any rate, I purchased the illustrated copy.  I am a very visual person and I think Michaela is the same way. The art books we already have, she will sit and look at them for hours, carrying them with her from room to room.

I like that Ambleside is broken into Terms and that the group follows some subjects together.  I noticed that in Term III we’ll be studying Monet and some specific paintings of his.  (You can see the Art Schedule on this page.)

Over the weekend, Michaela and I drove over to Barnes and Noble. I was so excited to find a book of 14 large framable Monet prints, at least two of which are included in our Term III Ambleside art study.

I love that we’ll have a large version of Women in the Garden.  This book was only $9.98 and they let me apply my teacher discount.  They have new teacher discount cards, by the way, that can also be used online!

Reading in Charlotte Mason’s original series continues with the CM Series group.  The feedback from reading with a group will be of great help I think. 

I am still getting the hang of it.  The group sent a notice that reading was in volume 6, pages 112-119, but then they sent an updated notice that reading continues in Volume I.  It was, however, good for me to read what was assigned in Volume 6!  I am finding that Charlotte Mason did not care for unit study where connections were made for the child ad nauseam.  I must admit that there have been times when we’ve been on rabbit trails before and my children had stopped running long before I had.  They were ready for a new idea.  I’ll need to be careful of this!  This is not to say that I don’t like Unit Study. I love that Ambleside offers room for free reading and biography, and we’ll be using Beyond Five In A Row for some of  this.  What I am saying is that I need to make the distinction between doing something because I’m enjoying it and doing something because it is benefitting Michaela.

Following along with the group reading is a good way to read the original CM series and not be overwhelmed.  It was easy to join the group (if you’re using Ambleside, or plan to), then print the assigned pages, and read and discuss via e-mail throughout the week.

It’s Monday, a work day, so I must run.  Happy planning!

Lynn

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