Of Wars, Watercolors, and Winnie the Pooh

It's here. Leaves turning and falling. New birds visiting for a short time at the feeder as they travel through. The smell of burning wood. An extra blanket and the window open only a crack.

The books are out and we're spending a little more time in. But not all of it!!

The time period in history we will be covering this year is roughly the gold rush through present day. That's a lot of years. That's a lot of wars! I'm thinking it will be a really great year, as there is nothing more exciting to study in a certain 11-year-old's mind than anything that has to do with wars. A.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. It borders on obsession.
We began our school year by taking a trip to the Charles Lindbergh house and museum in Little Falls. We've been here several times but it is a family favorite. It was just as good this time as it was the first time we came.


Before leaving home that morning, we had checked online to see if the museum at Fort Ripley was open. The site said it was open every day except for National Holidays. Since it was Labor Day, we assumed that it probably wasn't open. But since we were so close, Hubby decided we should just drive in anyway, "just in case". I'm so glad we did. When I mentioned to the lady at the counter that we almost didn't stop because of the website, she said, "Oh. You can't go by that." Guess not.
The museum was fabulous. We could have spent much, much, longer there than we did. I think that once our school year is over, a return trip may be in order.

Besides us, there was only one other visitor. She was a woman about my age, thin, with short,dark hair. She approached me between the exhibits and asked if the two boys were mine. She had a thick European accent. I answered yes. She told me to be sure to tell them all about this war (pointing to the WWll exhibits), to tell them just how terrible it was. Her words faltered  over the lump in her throat. She tried to gather herself back together. I gave her a quick hug and asked her where she was from.  She told me the Netherlands, and the boys came back from wherever they were when they heard us talking. She said that many, many people were buried there. Too many. She said she had adopted two families from the U.S. who had soldiers lost in her homeland. She comes here to visit them. She struggled through her words. She ended by patting my shoulder and nodding toward my two guys who were listening with wide eyes and said, "So tell them. Don't let them forget". I wish I had thought to ask her for a picture. I wish I would have had time to ask her some questions. But I am thankful for those brief moments that we almost missed!

And then it was time to crack the books.
Something we look forward to every year!

My but time does fly...



(What's the weather like at your house??)
The new watercolors seemed to be the most captivating thing we did the first week of school. It's fun to be creative with bright new colors... And so this short little activity turned into a long activity, and that's just the beauty of it!

We have times throughout the day for "read alouds", and I think our favorite so far is Winnie the Pooh. Who doesn't love the Silly Old Bear?  I think the funnest part for me has been not only that Sam is enjoying it, but also how much Joshua does. And it's different this time because Josh "gets" some of it now that of course he didn't when he was younger. One afternoon, he was doing the reading. One little funny thing turned into another and another and pretty soon he was doubled over and could barely get the words out. And this made me laugh because it was so funny to see him think this particular chapter was so funny. I'll share the part that was our good medicine for the day. It is from chapter lV titled 'In Which Eeyore Loses a Tail and Pooh Finds One':
       Owl lived at The Chestnuts, an old-world residence of great charm, which was grander than anybody else's, or seemed so to Bear, because it had both a knocker and a bell-pull. Underneath the knocker there was a notice which said:
          PLES RING IF AN RNSER IS REQIRD
     Underneath the bell-pull there was a notice which said:
          PLEZ CNOKE IF AN RNSR IS NOT REQID.
     These notices had been written by Christopher Robin, who was the only one in the Forest who could spell; for Owl, wise though he was in many ways, able to read and write and spell his own name WOL, yet somehow went all to pieces over delicate words like MEASLES and BUTTEREDTOAST.
     Winnie the Pooh read the two notices very carefully, first from left to right, and afterwards, in case he had missed some of it, from right to left.  Then, to make quite sure, he knocked and pulled the knocker, and he pulled and knocked the bell-rope, and he called out in a very loud voice, "Owl! I require an answer! It's Bear speaking." (they have a bit of conversation, and then...)
     "Well," said Owl, "the customary procedure in such cases is as follows."
     "What does Crustimoney Proseedcake mean?" said Pooh. "For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me."
     "It means the Thing to Do."
     "As long as it means that, I don't mind," said Pooh humbly.
And it snowballed from there. Fits of laughter. So good for the body and soul!!
 We have conversations about Heffalumps and Woozles, and "Tut-tut, looks like rain". It's all one big smile from beginning to end.
It's my favorite thing, the "couch" time when we all squeeze in close for a good read.

And it's nice that Joshua likes to read aloud. As a matter of fact, I rather think he likes it, looks forward to it--the sad parts when I choke up and have to relinquish the page. This does happen. And he takes over and reads like a champ.
And so begin these days.

Wishing you a beauty full fall!!

Pursuit and Passion :: A Living Education Retreat

Sometimes I can get myself stuck in the still and stagnant air of square boxes and grids and time-slot scheduling of school days. Even when it's pretty paper! I do know better, but when the days are slipping past too quickly, it's easy to default to a familiar groove. That's what was happening. I needed this fresh wind I had planned for myself since last spring!

 I spent most of this past weekend at Shalom Hill Farm, on the prairie of southwestern Minnesota, gathered with friends and like-minded moms and dads who have chosen the Charlotte-Mason- road- less- traveled way as a means of home educating their children. It was wonder- full.

I traveled with a good friend who lives too far away and we used up all of the oxygen in the car--going and coming-- just catching up on life. (Seems a shame to use "catching up" and "life" so close together in the same sentence.) We arrived in plenty of time, even after a small amount of driving the round-about way due to some road construction. There were no large mobs of people and lines at the registration table.  Instead, a smiling friendly face to welcome us. Our attention was drawn immediately to the simplicity and beauty of this place, both inside and out. Inside, photos of flowers wrapped in frames of twigs and embellished with verses on vellum paper. A science and nature journal display table. Quilts and bookshelves and comfortable furniture placed invitingly at each level. Our room with large windows to look out over these open spaces. Outside, buildings built into the slope of the land were hemmed in by shade trees and then-- there was the wide open rolling prairie. We made our way through the yard behind the retreat center, past the caretakers house to find the others who had arrived early, and ate a light meal of locally grown sweet corn and fruit while seated on a hay wagon near a camp fire. :o) Ahhhhh. 

   

We stretched our legs by taking a nice walk down the gravel road before gathering our things and settling in for the night.

We rose early so that we could begin the morning with prayer and reflection. We walked down the hill under an overcast, misty sky and joined the others at the observation deck. Nancy read from scripture, and she read poetry about gratitude being a "scattered and homeless love". So very beautiful. Read the words for yourself and see if you don't agree!  And she prayed as a rooster crowed and sheep grazed and a playful tiger-striped cat rubbed against our ankles. That's how the day began. And these were the very same things sprinkled throughout the days that made the whole retreat so restorational. So really living.

Jennifer Gagnon (pronounced gone-yo) came from Canada to speak life into our science and nature studies using Charlotte Mason's methods -- to encourage and enlighten and instruct us. It was obvious she had a passion for nature and a love for learning! She shared stories from her childhood experiences that shaped and inspired her to love the natural world around her; especially bees- an interest sparked because her long distance Grandmother had kept bees. Funny the influences one really does have, even as a Grandma! I thought fondly of one of my own grandmothers enjoying the birds outside her kitchen window and the white plastic bird bath she kept filled with water. And the other grandmother working and weeding in her beautiful flower gardens.

 And then there were the immersion groups. There were many living topics to choose from--that was the hardest part! Poetry? Composer study? Picture study? Hand crafts?? How to choose...I had sturdied myself and been brave enough to participate in a similar experience in North Carolina earlier this summer. I found then that I really enjoyed the poetry, so I made my choice to be a student in the poetry group. These are called immersion groups because it is here where the philosophies are put into practice and you participate as the student while an experienced CMer is the teacher. In this way you get to "see" your role as the teacher and then "know" (or not "know"!) the way your child does as the student. Yes, we were expected to narrate! Karla was a gracious, smiling teacher. She willingly shared some personal reflections from her journal written during a difficult time. Poetry had been a comfort to her. And she smiled. I would wish to show forth joy the way she does.

There was time for Q & A and discussion, for sharing ideas.

Cheri (and her five-week-new little boy bundle from heaven!) led an eager group of ladies into the great outdoors on a nature study. I had never heard of wood sorrell before. I ate some. It was good! And it was here that I knew for certain that I would never again leave out nature studies from our schedule. Why is it that something so simple and enjoyable and educational is so easily dismissed by a busy mother as either too great an indulgence or of too little value to spend our time with?? 

 The birds flitted overhead. The crickets chirped below. The breeze blew in our hair. It was divine. It was Divine.

The two days were full but not stuffed. The time passed by but not too quickly.

So now I am back at home and quickly into the swing of our busy lives.

But settled. Trusting. Having a fresh appreciation for the living world. A better idea of what it looks like to include nature studies and living books in the sciences as part of our school curriculum. Eager to begin a new school year that is filled with living ideas. As one of the moms so wisely stated, we are not educating only toward college, but toward LIFE.

A whole life. One to be pursued with passion.

Trip One and Trip Two: Photo Notes

It's mid June and our summer 'to do' list has a few "been-there-done-that" check marks.  The days get longer and the schedules loosen up and we try to cram in as much as we can. So our summer begins outside the 'greater Menahga' area.

Hubby's plan for a week long trip to the Boundary Waters was cut short by miserably wet weather. Again. Plans for a third annual trip are not in the works. Yet. Maybe mid- September would be a nice time to brave the wilds of northern Minnesota? He did manage to get a few more pictures this year. (Disregard the dates. We put in a new memory card and didn't reformat.)

::   Trip One   ::



 Peaceful. And beautiful anyway.

::   Trip Two   ::

And then we loaded up the car for a voyage to the more civilized  Boiling Springs NC to take in the ChildlightUSA Charlotte Mason Conference. The landscape of the whole trip was beautiful.  The people were friendly, as in "how y'all doing today?" The speakers were passionate and personable and I learned oh so much. And came home freshly inspired.

We made plans to spend a day at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky on the way down. I don't know how, but somehow we thought it was in Frankfort and once we figured out on the map where we were going, I managed to direct us on the long way short cut thinking we would be avoiding traffic. After back-tracking over narrow windy in-the-toolies kind of roads, we finally arrived.

So much to see here that we could easily have stayed much longer. Definitely a highlight of our trip.

A little Speed Channel...

A little splish splash..

And we were back on the road in the morning.

At one point, Hubby asked me what I was thinking about. I turned to him and sang out,"Smokey Mountain rain keeps on fallin'...

I keep on callin'
her name..."



It wasn't really raining and I don't do a very good Ronnie Milsap, but that is what I was thinking when he asked me!
And then we finally arrived on the Gardner Webb University campus in Boiling Springs. The boys were not at all interested in getting out of the car and stretching their legs. But then again...

We arrived early, before the 'early registration' time, so we got a bite to eat and drove around town for a little while before coming back. We were assigned to building 'H', apartment 103.

It was a really wonderful three days. We heard some great speakers.
Like Makoto Fujimura.

Saw two battlefields from the Revolutionary War -  Cow Pens and Kings Mountain - in South Carolina.

 Relaxed.

And took a little bit home with us.

It's always good to be home!!