From My Commonplace: On Being Worthy

"Unto which the Merlin smiled and said, 'Marvel not, my lord, if among all those who appear to be so extraordinarily worthy there shall not be found one who is worthy; and marvel not if, among all those who are unknown, there shall arise one who shall approve himself to be entirely worthy.'" (p.5)

 

~Howard Pyle, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

 

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My Bookbag This Week:

Devotional: Galatians with the Paul for Everyone Commentary (NT Wright)

The Daily Office Lectionary Readings and Prayers from The Trinity Mission

 Theological: You Are What You Love (Smith)

AO Book Discussion Group: I Promessi Sposi (Manzoni)

Personal Choice: Parents and Children (Charlotte Mason)
Whose Body? (Sayers)

Poetry: Collected Poems 1909-1962 (TS Eliot)

With my Hubby: Emma (Austen)

Family Read-Aloud Literature: Little Britches (Moody)

 

*I am also reading Charlotte Mason's Volume 6 for a local CM book club, but these meetings are infrequent, and it is my third – or fourth? – pass through it and so I just read the brief section assigned as our meetings come up. 

 

 

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In Praise of the Morning Walk

I realized recently that our morning routine needed a revamp.  I am not particularly an up-and-at-em kind of person, which is all well and good.  We're homeschoolers, right?  I don't have to have my kids ready for the bus by 6:30 every morning (thank heavens).   But over time our school start time was getting pushed later and later into the morning.  It's important to me to finish lessons by early afternoon so there is still time left in the day for other pursuits.  But with three official students – this is tricky.  It's possible – even if you don't start lessons at the crack of dawn – but it's tricky.

 

What to do?  How could I balance my need to ease into the day without letting it slip too far?

 

My solution: the morning walk.  

 

I had noticed that we do fine getting ready fairly efficiently in the morning when we have a hard-and-fast deadline to walk out the door – such as for church on Sunday or when we had co-op last year.   Apparently, trying to gather everyone on the couch by 9 am for morning basket did not have the same psychological effect.  I wondered – if I said we were going to go out for a walk at 8:30 – actually walk out the door for a walk – if that would have a similar effect?  A hard-and-fast deadline by which breakfast must be done and clothes must be on?  Even if I don't get up until 7 or even a little later – which is often the case – I still theoretically would have time to eat and get a little devotional time in.

 

So we tried it.  And it has worked beautifully.  

 

And not only has it worked beautifully as far as getting us moving in the morning – we are now consistently on the couch with our morning basket by 9am – it has proven to have a myriad of other benefits as well.

 

My oldest daughter and I tend towards being a little groggy in the morning.   Walking gets our blood flowing a little better so our minds are more awake when we hit that morning basket and the rest of the day's lessons that follow.

 

My son has some sensory-type issues and has said before that being outside helps him feel calmer.  This morning walk is helping to meet those sensory needs before they begin interfering with the flow of our day.

 

One of my goals for the coming school year is to build better habits of physical fitness for all of us – not my strong suit.  Adding this morning walk to the day is the first step towards building those habits.

 

While not a "nature walk" per se – we still try to schedule in a longer nature outing once a week or so – we can't help but notice nature.  The birds, the spider in the bushes, the ants, the vine that got tangled up in another kind of bush, the weeds….   As we continue this tradition, we will start to notice what there is to see in our neighborhood in various seasons.   We are training our observational senses and becoming intimately acquainted with our local surroundings, which is really the goal of nature study anyway.  The nature journal is only one tool we use for that, not the be-all-and-end-all.

 

And perhaps best of all – I am guaranteed a focused time of prayer.  I don't always get my devotional time in – or as much as I would like at any rate.   But here is what has been happening – we take our walk in a small park in our subdivision.   After a couple of laps around the path, I let the children go take some time on the playground there, while I take a couple more laps around.  And while I do, I find the quiet and space I need to reflect further on the morning's Scripture reading and lift concerns up to the Lord.   It has been a delight to find my time 'multiplied' in this way.

 

I never thought we really had time for a morning walk before.  Now I am beginning to wonder how we ever managed without it.

 

Try it sometime.  Maybe you will find it is just what you need too.

From My Commonplace: On Patience

"But trust in God!  Do not lose heart, my poor daughters, nor you Renzo.  Believe me, I can put myself in your place, I can feel all that you feel in your heart.  But be patient! Patience is a poor word, a bitter word for those who have no faith. But you, Renzo, can you not give God a day, or two days, or whatever time it pleases him to take, to make justice triumph?  Time belongs to him, and he has promised us so large a portion of it.  Leave things to him…."  (Ch. 7)

 

~Alessandro Manzoni (trans. Penman), The Betrothed

 

This is the book discussion I am currently participating in over on the AmblesideOnline Forum.  What a delight this book has been!  Gripping plot that keeps me wondering what will happen next, beautifully vivid descriptive passages, and little nuggets like this one that cause me to pause and ponder.  Highly recommended.  (This book is scheduled in AmblesideOnline Year 8.)

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My Bookbag This Week:

Devotional: Galatians with the Paul for Everyone Commentary (NT Wright)

The Daily Office Lectionary Readings and Prayers from The Trinity Mission

 Theological: On The Incarnation (St. Athanasius, with introduction by CS Lewis)

AO Book Discussion Group: I Promessi Sposi (Manzoni)

Personal Choice: Parents and Children (Charlotte Mason)
Whose Body? (Sayers)

Poetry: Collected Poems 1909-1962 (TS Eliot)

With my Hubby: Emma (Austen)

Family Read-Aloud Literature: Little Britches (Moody)

 

*I am also reading Charlotte Mason's Volume 6 for a local CM book club, but these meetings are infrequent, and it is my third – or fourth? – pass through it and so I just read the brief section assigned as our meetings come up.   

 

 

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Getting Started with Ambleside Online Year One: Understanding the Riches

Welcome back for another coffee chat, friends.  I'm feeling a bit sheepish to realize it has been more than six weeks since our last chat.  Sorry about that, my friends.  May was a bit of a doozy for our family, but we are settling into slower summer rhythm now, so let's see if we can't see this thing through to the end over the next couple weeks, shall we?

 

 

If you are new to this series, you can find the index of posts so far here.  The last two installments have specifically broken down how I wrap my mind around what I find on AmblesideOnline's Year One curriculum page – specifically reading, phonics and math here and the booklist here.  Today I want to tackle the remaining subjects – those things you see listed there under "Weekly Practice" – Art, Music, Handicrafts, Singing – hymns and folksongs, Nature Study, artist study, and composer study.

 

Sometimes there is a bit of debate about what to call these subjects.  They have been referred to as the 'extras', which is a really a bit of a misnomer because these things aren't 'extra'.  They aren't optional electives or things that are OK to drop because life got busy and all you had time for was phonics and math.  Sometimes they have been referred to as the 'riches', which is a bit better…but still doesn't really communicate how very vital and important these things are.  We need a word that communicates that these things are as vital and important as the more quantifiable academic subjects, and not just the gravy or the cherry on the top.  (That said, 'riches' is the best term that has been proposed so far, so that's how I will refer to them here.)

 

I will be honest and admit that while we've been fairly consistent about including these things in our days, I have succumbed at times to the temptation to let the more 'academic' studies take the priority.  I'm a checklist person, and I get a little stressed out when we aren't checking things off as quickly as I'd like.  I am more likely to say "oh well, I guess we'll save our handicrafts or picture study for another day" than to say "oh well, I guess the math lesson can wait" on days that aren't running according to schedule.

 

Perhaps it's just as well that I got a little sidetracked there before I finished this series though, and that this post in particular did not get written before the AmblesideOnline Conference last month, because my main takeaway point from that Conference was the need to keep these subjects a high-priority in our schedule because they are necessary and needed (there is even brain research to back this up, apparently).  This was most emphasized in Wendi's talk on "The Uncommon Core", but the thread ran loud and clear through almost all of the talks.  I came home with a renewed commitment to including these lovely things as a high priority in our day, and relaxing a little bit about checking everything off my academic-work lists. 

 

To those of you just starting out – it is worth your time to wrap your mind around these things and build the habits of including them from the beginning.  If you need to start small, start here, and add the academics in later, not the other way around.

 

The good news is that these can all be very, very simple to include – and they also lend themselves very well to being done as a group so you can combine all your children regardless of what "Years" they are following for their reading list.  AmblesideOnline provides suggestions for what to study with lots of links to various resources and articles – scroll down to "subject resources" on the main curriculum page. My hands down favorite post on approaching these subjects is Jeanne's post on 'Fitting in the Nice Bits'.    Click on over and read it to see just how simple these things can be.

 

Jump in and try them!  You'll be surprised at the joy and peace that they might bring to your homeschool day.

 

 

 

From My Commonplace: Words Matter

" 'Good-b'ye, dear!  God bless you!'

The blessing was from a young child's lips, but it was the first that Oliver had ever heard invoked upon his head; and through the struggles and sufferings and troubles and changes, of his after life, he never one forgot it." (p.79)

 

"…the old lady, who had a shipwrecked grandson wandering barefoot in some distant part of the earth, took pity upon the poor orphan, and gave him what little she could afford – and more – with such kind and gentle words, and such tears of sympathy and compassion, that they sank deeper into Oliver's soul, than all the sufferings he had ever undergone." (p.82)

 

~Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

 

I recently read Dicken's Oliver Twist, mostly because I'm trying to keep one step ahead of Michelle before she starts Year 5.  I found myself very moved by it, though – even though I picked it up to pre-read rather than as something for *me*.  It is gut-wrenching in places, and not all of the characters meet the same happy outcome as our little friend Oliver.   Even though Oliver walks through many harrowing, horrifying situations in his young life, he meets along the way those who have compassion on him.  Those who in some way – whether through their words or actions – bless him.  I can't help but wonder if that is what makes all the difference in his life.

 

This thought hit close to home for me because it has been a repeated theme this year – an idea that has continually come up.  I think it started back in February at a church leadership retreat, in which the speaker challenged us with the words of  1 Corinthians 14:3: "On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation."   This work of prophecy – that is, speaking words of upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation – is for all of us.  Tearing down  is what comes naturally.  What if all of us were willing to ask the Lord to give us words of encouragement to speak to those around us?  What if as a parent, wife, and teacher I made it my goal to build others up – to bless others as I myself have been blessed?

 

I was reminded of it again at last month's AmblesideOnline conference – Lynn Bruce challenged us to remember that our children need to know that we are 'ever on their side'.  Our words, actions, and reactions towards our children need to communicate this.  We need to build them up, not tear them down.

 

And I am being reminded of it yet again as I read Charlotte Mason's second volume Parents and Children.  She emphasizes again and again the key responsibility of parents is to nourish our children on the ideas that will 'excite their appetencies' towards the good, true, and beautiful.  

 

Words matter.

 

Lord make me sensitive to your promptings, that I may bless, encourage, console, and build up those around me by the things that I do, the books that I offer,  and by the words that I speak.

 

 

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My Bookbag This Week:

Devotional: Galatians with the Paul for Everyone Commentary (NT Wright)

The Daily Office Lectionary Readings and Prayers from The Trinity Mission

 Theological: On The Incarnation (St. Athanasius, with introduction by CS Lewis)

AO Book Discussion Group: I Promessi Sposi (Manzoni)

Personal Choice: Parents and Children (Charlotte Mason)

Poetry: Collected Poems 1909-1962 (TS Eliot)

With my Hubby: Emma (Austen)

Family Read-Aloud Literature: Little Britches (Moody)

 

*I am also reading Charlotte Mason's Volume 6 for a local CM book club, but these meetings are infrequent, and it is my third – or fourth? – pass through it and so I just read the brief section assigned as our meetings come up.   

 

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From My Commonplace: To Navigate the Future

"In the convex driving-mirror she could see, dwindling rapidly, the patch of road where they had stood; and she wondered why it had never occurred to her before that you cannot successfully navigate the future unless you keep always framed beside it a small clear image of the past." (p.61)

 

~Jan Struther, Mrs Miniver

 

(This is a delightful little book of – essays? Vignettes? Snippets of life? – of an ordinary housewife in the days leading up to the outbreak of World War II in England.  I'm not sure I remember where or why I picked it up now, but it was a lovely book to read and a reminder to savor the ordinary things of marriage and family life. Recommended if you stumble across a copy somewhere.)

 

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My Bookbag This Week:

Devotional: Galatians with the Paul for Everyone Commentary (NT Wright)

The Daily Office Lectionary Readings and Prayers from The Trinity Mission

 Theological: On The Incarnation (St. Athanasius, with introduction by CS Lewis)

AO Book Discussion Group: I Promessi Sposi (Manzoni)

Personal Choice: Oliver Twist (Dickens - Pre-reading for Year 5)

Parents and Children (Charlotte Mason)

Poetry: Collected Poems 1909-1962 (TS Eliot)

With my Hubby: Emma (Austen)

Family Read-Aloud Literature: Little Britches (Moody)

 

*I am also reading Charlotte Mason's Volume 6 for a local CM book club, but these meetings are infrequent, and it is my third – or fourth? – pass through it and so I just read the brief section assigned as our meetings come up.   

 

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Summer Plans

I've been seeing a lot of 'summer plan' posts popping up in various places on the internet.   I thought it might be fun to chat about that over here in this space too.  We are actually still in school mode here at our house, and will be until mid-July, and then will be traveling on the West Coast later in the summer.   So really…we don't really have the leisure of a long, lazy summer here.  That said, we are still in need of a little refreshment to ease the monotony that can lead to burnout.  

 

I don't make super-ambitious reading goals anymore, although I always have a running list of books I want to read going in the back of my mind.  The only reading that I'm for sure going to do this summer is to keep up with the I Promessi Sposi discussion, because I'm co-leading it. (I'm also REALLY enjoying it, so no chore there.) I am also slowly reading Athansius' On the Incarnation as my theology pick at the moment, and would like to finish that this summer and move on to something else.  I'd also like to read Charlotte Mason's Volume 2, Parents and Children, which is one of the remaining two that I haven't read yet.  Truth be told, I will likely be reading novels and other lighter fare more than anything else this summer since I anticipate most of my reading time will either be at the pool while the kids swim or while traveling in the car which doesn't really lend itself to dense reading material.  So, we'll see how we go.

We had a very disrupted school year so are still in school mode until mid-July, like I said. We did 4-day weeks with a 5th day for co-op this past year, so we are keeping the 4-days schedule and plan to take that 5th day for a weekly field trip now that co-op is finished for the year. There are several museums that we'd like to visit, and I'd also like to take some longer, full-day type nature walks. I also set aside much of our normal morning basket fare and we will be doing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, drawing, backyard-type nature study, and some hands-on things related to the topics in CM's Elementary Geography instead. Later in the summer we'll be travelling on the West Coast, mostly to visit family, but hopefully will get some good outings and nature journaling opportunities along the way. So really my 'summer enrichment' will be mostly things that I do WITH the kids. Shakespeare, drawing, nature walks, museums and afternoons by the pool are good for Mama too.

The one other thing that I'd really like to do is do some follow-up study and research after Dawn's Swedish Drill presentation at the Conference (and her recent Mason Jar podcast, and her series of guest posts over at Afterthoughts) and come up with a simple baby-steps plan towards being more intentional about physical fitness in our home after our travel break. So that's my 'something new' to learn about.

 

 

I'm also working towards better habits in the morning - we've been letting far too much of the morning slip away from us before getting going with our school work.  Currently, I'm in the brainstorming mode.  I'd love it if you'd share your morning routine with me in the comments - perhaps your routine will help me think outside the box for improvements I can make to ours.

And that's the plan. What about you?

From My Commonplace: Walking Around in Someone Else's Skin

" 'First of all,' he said, 'if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks.  You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view –'

 

'Sir?'

 

'- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.'"  (p.33)

 

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" 'Atticus, he was real nice…'

 

His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me.  'Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.'" (p. 323)

 

~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

 

To Kill a Mockingbird was the book I took along with me on the plane for my recent trip to Texas for the AmblesideOnline Conference.  I had read it in high school (which honestly is longer ago than I really care to admit these days!) but not again since then.  I've been meaning to re-read it for a while, and I'm glad I finally did.  It is truly a powerful story, and sort of book-ended by the two quotes I've cited here, both conversations between Atticus Finch – a lawyer and true man of integrity in contrast to many in his small Southern community – and his daughter Scout.  Through the course of the novel, Scout watches her Father – and watches the reactions of the rest of the community around her – and learns some very important lessons about seeing people for who they really are and acting with integrity even in the face of opposition.  (I don't want to give away too much of the plot for those who may not have read it.  I highly recommend it if you haven't, or if – like me – you haven't since high school.  It's worth revisiting.)

 

One thing I sort of pondered as I read was just what it was that made Atticus stand out from so many others around him – what made him willing to go against the flow of his community and act according to his principles even though that meant acting in opposition to the deeply held ideals of most in his community.   One idea that struck me was the fact that Atticus Finch was a reader. And he shared that with his children.  Early on in the book there is an incident with Scout on her first day of school.  She gets in trouble with her teacher, who is annoyed that she has already learned how to read, a skill she picked up seamlessly from hours spent reading the paper in her Father's lap in the evenings.   The rest of the students in the class were non-readers, and even described as "immune to imaginative literature." (p.19).  Reading was not a part of their family culture or formative experiences.

 

During the Conference, one of the sessions was a panel of adult children of some of the members of the AmblesideOnline Advisory – the women who created the AO Curriculum.  These young women were raised on Charlotte Mason's ideas, great literature among them.  What did they gain from this upbringing?  One of the answers was as follows, paraphrased of course based on what I jotted down in my notes:
 

"I have the ability to look at things from more than one perspective, to have empathy and compassion, even for those I disagree with.  This is the gift of literature without comprehension questions.  It allows you to experience other things and to let those ideas simmer and stew without the need to form an immediate judgement."

 

It teaches you to walk around in other people's skin.

 

If nothing else, I hope and pray that this rich, literary education I am giving my children enables them to grow up to be people of integrity – people like Atticus Finch who are willing to stand strong in the face of an increasingly hostile culture.

 

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My Bookbag This Week:

Devotional: The Daily Office Lectionary Readings and Prayers from The Trinity Mission

 Theological: On The Incarnation (St. Athanasius, with introduction by CS Lewis)

AO Book Discussion Group: I Promessi Sposi (Manzoni)

Personal Choice: Mrs Miniver (Struthers)

Poetry: Collected Poems 1909-1962 (TS Eliot)

With my Hubby: Emma (Austen)

Family Read-Aloud Literature: Little Britches (Moody)

 

*I am also reading Charlotte Mason's Volume 6 for a local CM book club, but these meetings are infrequent, and it is my third – or fourth? – pass through it and so I just read the brief section assigned as our meetings come up.   

 

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