Rethinking our Charlotte Mason year

I emailed an online friend awhile ago and we chatted a bit about our homeschools and the feeling of being a *little* overwhelmed J  And I made the following comment to her:  we haven’t been narrating everything under the sun.

Now, before you throw anything at me, let me say that I understand and completely agree with Charlotte Mason’s method of narration.  I realized later that the reason I said that we haven’t been narrating everything in our curriculum is because we’re behind. 

I felt that I needed a picture somewhere in this post :)

 Then I got to thinking, why are we behind?  I read to my dd6 every day, at least twice a day (which is supposed to be the norm for year one), from our school books and she narrates.  The process lasts 15 to 20 minutes, which is the recommended amount of time for such a young child to spend on any one subject.  So why aren’t we getting through all the readings for the week?

Because my child can’t.  And that’s okay.  

Beauty and the Beast is a long fairy tale for a 6 year old to narrate.  So is Aladdin.  And the Tales from Shakespeare stories.  And the stories from Parables from Nature.  At least they’re long for my child to narrate.  We have to read and narrate a paragraph or two at a time (depending on how long the paragraph is, of course).  And again, that’s okay.

I love what Nicole says on her blog:  you have to fit the schedule/curriculum to the child, not the child to the curriculum.  It’s about the child.  I think CM was definitely about the child, and more concerned about an appropriate amount of time spent on a certain subject (depending on the age of the child), rather than getting through a certain number of pages.  Because if it’s about the latter, it’s not really about the child anymore.

And besides, we all know that our children are not going to be able to read every wonderful book in the world, and are not going to learn everything there is to learn in the world.  There will be gaps somewhere.  No one is complete in their education.  If they were, they would be on the same plane as God, and that’s impossible (and we shouldn’t strive for that anyways!).  We ultimately want our children to fall in love with learning, to pursue a relationship with God, and to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty.  How each child gets there will be different.

So, gleaning lots of wisdom from Christy Hissong in her two great posts (scheduling for peace and scheduling for peace revisited), and from Nicole, I’ve decided to cut back – not necessarily on the books, but on our schedule.  I’m going to take the AO year one books and stick them into our daily schedule, and not worry about if we finish what the AO schedule says we’re supposed to finish for that week.  We’re going to spend the suggested amount of time for each reading, getting through what we can, and the next week continue where we left off.

I think having a schedule is important, but what I do not mean when I say schedule is a schedule with times of the day.  For example, at 9:00 we do this and at 9:20 we do this, and so on and so forth.

By schedule I mean three things:
1.  Knowing what to do
2.  Knowing for how long to do each thing
3.  Knowing when to do each thing, i.e. what comes next

The times of day that each thing happens really depends on each family and how they can get each thing accomplished.  For me in particular, at this season of my life we usually cannot sit down at some time in the morning, before lunch, and accomplish everything in one sitting.  Things spill over into the afternoon on most days and that’s okay.  (Which, on a side note, I kind of like because I think it shows my children that learning is a part of our life and happens at any time, not just at a certain time of day.)

I’ll be back in a day or two to share our particular family’s schedule, so stay tuned!

Some wisdom from Anne Shirley

I’m currently reading Anne of Green Gables, and goodness!, why haven’t I read this book sooner?  Although sometimes I think a book can’t really speak to us until we’re ready for it, whenever that may be. 

 Anyway, I am loving Anne – this eleven-year old passionate, full-of-life-and-wisdom, little girl.

Early in the story the Cuthberts are trying to decide whether to adopt her or not (they were wanting to adopt a boy originally).  Here’s a snippet of their conversation:

“What good would she be to us?”

“We might be some good to her,” said Matthew suddenly and unexpectedly.

Our children are not our slaves.  Their purpose is not to serve us.  We are to serve them, through love and discipleship, through discipline and teaching.  Who knows what God has in store for them?  And He has given us the great privilege of being some good to them.

The rest of these are Anne quotes:

“I’m not in the depths of despair this morning.  I never can be in the morning.  Isn’t it a splendid thing that there are mornings?”  

Totally agree, Anne.  Joy comes in the morning.  Darkness, winter, night – I think those are all things to be thankful for because when the morning does come, it gives us perspective.  We understand that it won’t always be dark, it won’t always be winter.  There is hope.  God won’t always feel far away, we will find Him again.

“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.  Of course, you must make it up firmly.”  

Ahhh, yes.  A good reminder - everything begins with our mindset.  Something that I need to be reminded of often.  (Ahem.)

“There is nothing more to do except to pray and I haven’t much hope that that’ll do much good because, Marilla, I do not believe that God Himself can do very much with such an obstinate person as Mrs. Barry.”

Haha!  This makes me laugh.  But it’s also a sober reminder that God has given us a choice to listen to Him or not.  Just like with our own children – we teach and disciple, but they ultimately have to make the decision to be humble and teachable.

“Saying your prayers isn’t the same thing as praying.”  (I can’t find the exact quote in my book so it may not be exact.)

Yes.

I could keep going, but that’ll do for now.

I’m about halfway through this book, and it’s quickly becoming an all-time favorite.

What have you been reading lately?

January books

I have a goal to read more this year.  Not because I want to say, "Hey, look at how many books I read!" but because I love to read and I'm a homeschooling mom educating her children with real, living books so, um, I should probably educate myself along the way as well.  My reading has been abysmal the last several years and I'm finally ready to remedy that.

Anyways, all that to say that I want to keep track of the books I finish each month, as well as our family read-alouds, as a sort of accountability piece and to just keep track of books.  (And now that I've said that I probably won't post another book post again, because that's what I do when I commit to some blogging thing.  We shall see.)

So here are the books that I finished in January (I finished five, which is like a record for me.  What else am I to do when I nurse a baby several hours each day?)

Persuasion by Jane Austen (own)
This was the first book I read for the back to the classics challenge and I'll have a review posted soon.  I'm probably one of the only people who have never read Persuasion before now (Remember what I said about my abysmal reading?  Okay, I lied.  My reading has been abysmal for probably forever.).

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (kindle)
This is the second book I read for the classics challenge and, again, I'll have a review soon.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (library kindle)
This is the second book in The Giver Quartet.  I read The Giver last year and really liked it so I was looking forward to this one.  I was a little disappointed.  It didn't get that interesting until well over halfway and then it just kind of ended.  That being said, it's a quartet, and I'm looking forward to reading the other two books to see how it all fits together.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (own)
I had been wanting to read Lewis' Space Trilogy for awhile and finally got it for Christmas.  It is worthy of its reputation so far (I'm halfway through the second book, Perelandra).  Engaging and, as all Lewis is, makes you think.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (library)
For the first half of the book or so I didn't get what all the fuss was about.  But then toward the end when it all came together, it hit me, and I was very moved.  I think part of its having such an impact on me was because when I read this, I was a little down and I related well to the main character, Meg.  Great book.

Family read-aloud:  The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer by Thornton Burgess (own)
This is the second of Burgess' The Adventures of ... books that we've read.  We love these.  I found a bunch of these at a yard sale last summer, score!  They are such good and wholesome nature stories, teaching about animals and character at the same time.

What did you read?  Anything good?

An update! Finally!

Well it sure has been awhile!  We've been quite busy around here the last several weeks/months, and I'm sure most of you have been as well.  I felt it was time to share some pictures and give a little update as to what's been going on with us.

I've been wanting to blog, but my hands just haven't been free to type lately.  Man, is nursing demanding!  I spend most of my time reading while I'm nursing Paige; trying to type on the computer is too difficult.  She is four months old now (four months!!) and I gave up nursing long before this point with Izzy and Addy (unfortunately).  I've decided that I just wasn't informed of the time required and demanding nature of nursing the first two go-arounds.  Although, I guess that's just an excuse.

I've had conversations with other moms about how nursing is supposed to be the most natural thing between a mother and her baby, but it sure doesn't feel like it's natural.  It feels like work sometimes, especially in the beginning.  But, that's the way God intended it, isn't it?  It's a gift He's given us, this time spent with our precious babies.  I must stop many, many times throughout the day (and sometimes at night) - stop whatever task that's taking up my time - and spend it with my child.  I must stop what I'm doing and hold her close, gaze into her face, feel her soft skin against mine, breathe her in.  These beautiful moments with her snuggled up against me so much throughout the day will only last so long.

Oh, there's just something about a baby!  Jared and I have commented to each other that it seems as if we are just enjoying Paige more than we did Izzy and Addy (again, unfortunately).  I don't know if it's because we could have lost her, or because we're a little older now and a *little* more laid back (him more than me on that last point).  I think it's a little of both.  And maybe because at this point we aren't planning to have any more kiddos, so that's probably a factor, too.  (Although, you never know...)

I had to throw in this pic because Izzy is such a goob.

Speaking of Izzy being a goob, I accidentally signed up for Amazon prime (actually I forgot to cancel the one month trial) which allows you to borrow one free kindle book each month.  The pickins' are quite slim.  I did manage to find a book called The Child Whisperer, though.  It's basically about learning your child's inner nature and how to respond and nurture that nature in raising him/her.  Izzy is hands-down type 1 - fun-loving, playful, happy, social.  Addy is a little harder to figure out.  I'm thinking maybe she's type 2 - sensitive, emotional, relaxed, tender (someone is going to say yeah right to the last two, but that's probably because we haven't been encouraging her to live true to her nature).  It's all very interesting.

Paige, well she's a baby and I'm just not sure yet.  She seems like a type 1 - she loves to be talked to - she gives the biggest smiles all the time and is so happy.  She does not like to be left alone!

I just love this picture.  So, so sweet.

What else?  How about some random photos from the past month or so?  

Christmas at the square.  No Paigey-pie (that's her baby nickname) - she was at home with Nana and Papaw.

Christmas day.

Izzy and her new pogo stick.  She's pretty good! 

Izzy's teeth are beginning to fall out.  She's lost three so far and is about to lose a fourth.

No tea time is complete without covering yourself with stickers.  And my sweet mother-in-law got me my new favorite thing - a book holder!  Love it.

Oh yeah!  Paige has started rolling over!  (That's light from the window on her face.)

Paige in her big girl chair!  We haven't given her any cereal or anything yet; she just hangs out with us and gets mad after about ten minutes.  Luckily Jared eats fast.  This doesn't happen too often because she's usually hungry when we are.

Remember what I said about Izzy being type 1?

Hmmmmm, I don't think they love their baby sister or anything.

Until next time!  

Back to the classics challenge 2016

I have never taken part in a reading challenge before but I'm going to attempt one for 2016 - The Back to the Classics Challenge.  I think it's important for me, as a homeschool mom who plans to educate her children with beautifully written books full of great ideas from great minds, to continually get in touch with those minds myself.  Hopefully this challenge will help me stay disciplined to actually finish the books I start!

I copied and pasted the categories from the above link (the official rules are listed there).  My books choices are in bold, although I'm having a hard time deciding on a couple of the categories!

Many of these are free for kindle (score!), and I've linked those.

1.  A 19th century classic
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - I've never read Dickens (wait...maybe I read Great Expectations in school at some point?) and picked this up recently at a library book sale.  I've heard it's a good first Dickens read.

2.  A 20th century classic
The Space Trilogy books by C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) - I've been wanting to read these for awhile.  Our library only has the 2nd one (?).  Sooo, hopefully I'll be getting these for Christmas. *cough*

3.  A classic by a woman author
Persuasion by Jane Austen - I've only read Pride and Prejudice by her, but several people have mentioned that Persuasion is their favorite Austen so I figured it would be a good one.
Or
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter - I have this and have heard great things about it.  Actually I read a review somewhere about how the book made the reader want to become a better mother, so that seems appropriate :)

4.  A classic in translation
The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) by Alessandro Manzoni - This is a scheduled book discussion on the AO forums and a lot of people are excited about it, so I thought maybe I'd join in lurk.

5.  A classic by a non-white author
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin - I don't know much about this book, but from reviews, it looks to be very powerful.

6.  An adventure classic
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves by Edmund Spenser - Another book discission book.  This is book I of The Faerie Queene, which I had never heard of before this year, but it has come highly recommended, especially for Christians, and I am soooo intrigued!  I'll have to come up with a copy.  (Maybe this could be a Christmas present, too??? *cough, cough*)

7.  A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic
Utopia by Thomas More - A third book discussion book, plus it's short, so it'll cancel out I Promessi Sposi!
Or
Phantastes by George MacDonald - I just want to read more of MacDonald.

8.  A classic detective novel
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I've always wanted to read Sherlock Holmes, and I own all of them, so what a perfect time to dive in!

9.  A classic which includes the name of a place in the title
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - A classic I missed in childhood (along with many, many others!).  I read somewhere that this book was written for all ages, but only in the last century has it been considered a children's book.  So hopefully it'll count.

10.  A classic which has been banned or censored
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - Apparently this is one of many banned books that shaped America.  I've heard it's really good.

11.  Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I haven't read it since high school.  It's been sitting on my shelves and I've been eyeing it.

12.  A volume of classic short stories
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger - I had a hard time finding a collection of short stories.  I found a decent list here, and our library has this one.
Or
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - I've heard great things about this book, but I would have to find a copy.

Anyone else joining?

On indifference

The one church out of the seven in the book of Revelation that Jesus had nothing positive to say about was the church of the Laodiceans (Rev. 3:14).

This church was neither hot nor cold.  These believers were indifferent.  Basically, they were satisfied with where they were.  They believed they had "need of nothing."

I keep thinking how dangerous this is, to think that we are in a good place.  To think that because things are going well, we are good to go.  To think that because we understand something, we understand everything.  To come to a place where, whether we realize it or not, we stop seeking the Lord with all our of our being - a place where there's no passion for God, no zeal.

We will be vomited out of His mouth.

Whoa.

Jesus basically tells this church to "be zealous and repent."

Be zealous:  Seek the Lord with our whole being.  Be on fire for Him.  Desire Him to be the center of our lives.  These are things we must actively do.  This is not a passive way of living or thinking, it's an active way.

Repent:  This begins with humility and acknowledging that we need God.  We are nothing without Him.  We know nothing without Him.  There is always more to learn.  There is always more growth to be had.

May we always seek first His kingdom and righteousness.

Christmas hodgepodge - advent, books, and handicrafts

I thought I would share some of the things we are doing during this Christmas season.

Morning Time

Our morning time in December is centered around Christmas.  I keep it simple and only do 3 things.  First, we read a Christmas-themed poem. You can find some here and here.  I also have a book called Favorite Poems Old and New, from which I sometimes read.

Next, we sing a Christmas hymn.  Right now we're learning "Away in a Manger."  We either listen to it on youtube or just sing it ourselves.  We'll focus on this song for two weeks, then learn another one.  I haven't decided on the other one yet!

Last, we read a Bible story.  We've deviated from our normal plans and are focusing on advent readings.  We began with creation on December 1st and we'll read a story everyday, leading up to Christ's birth on Christmas.  I found a free advent reading guide from StoryWarren.com using The Jesus Storybook Bible, which we own.  (Although, you don't have to have this storybook Bible to follow this guide because it includes the passages from the Bible.)  The girls LOVE this storybook Bible.  I like it too, for the most part.  I'm not the biggest fan of the illustrations (I would prefer them to be more life-like, not cartoonish), and I sometimes have to edit what is written (for example, why couldn't the author write that God said, "Let there be light," instead of "Hello, light!").  But I do like how each story points to Christ.

The reading guide comes with lovely paper ornaments, which I printed off.  Each day, after we read the story, one of the girls will put the ornament on a little tree that we have in our extra living room.  (I actually put the ornament in an envelope and hide it somewhere in our real Christmas tree, and after we read the day's story one of the girls has to find the envelope - they think this is so fun).

That's it for morning time.

Christmas books

Another thing we are doing for the season is reading a Christmas story each night before bed.  I checked out a bunch of good Christmas picture books from our library and, along with some books we own, I wrapped them up.  Each night one of the girls picks a book and unwraps it, then we read it.  This is the first year we've done this and they are loving it.

So far we've read Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo, The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Some others in our stack are (off the top of my head, so I most likely won't include them all) The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg, Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck, Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant, I'll Be Home for Christmas (Toot and Puddle) by Holly Hobbie, A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles Schulz, The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden, and Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

For our composer study, we're listening to The Nutracker by Tchaikovsky, and to go along with that we're reading The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman.  We're reading this at lunch time (my normal read-aloud time), every other day (the other days we're continuing with our current read-aloud, Mr. Popper's Penguins).

I've had this copy for a couple of years - I found it at a used bookstore for 2 bucks I think.  It's been sitting in my closet, just waiting until the girls were old enough to read it!  We're really enjoying it so far.

The illustrations are lovely.

Handicraft

We're still doing hand-stitching for our handicraft and we're stitching Christmas cards.

We are obviously not done with those :)

This isn't a handicraft, just a craft, but the girls also made a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas.  I remember doing this when I was growing up!  

(In case you're curious, the girls rotate days to *do* everything - hang the advent ornament, choose a book to unwrap, and tear the chain link.)

And now a couple of random pics.

She's such a happy baby!

Sweet sisters :)

That's it for now!  What are some things you're doing for Christmas?

What I need

I've been on a reading kick lately.  Well, sort of.  A reading kick for me means that I actually finished a book in the past three months :)

I'm not writing today about the book that I finished (which was Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis - I pretty much gobbled that one up, it was so hard to put down!  I will definitely have to read it again.).  I'm writing about a little book by George MacDonald called Sir Gibbie.  MacDonald was actually a big influence in C.S. Lewis' writings.  I've only read one other book by him, At the Back of the North Wind.  However, of the little bit that I've read, I've quickly discovered that he is an author whose books I will continue to read.  He is so thought-provoking, very much like Lewis.  I've already filled up a page and a half (front and back) in my commonplace of quotes from Sir Gibbie, and I'm only beginning the fifth chapter!

There's a quote that I wanted to share, but first, a little setup.  Gibbie is an eight year old boy who pretty much lives on the street all day everyday.  He does have a father, but he's an alcoholic and neglects Gibbie.  For food, Gibbie relies on the charity of those with whom he comes in contact.

"These, the half-cookie, the turnip, and the dulse, with the smell of the baker's bread, was all he had had.  It had been rather one of his meager days.  But it is wonderful upon how little those rare natures capable of making the most of things will live and thrive.  There is a great deal more to be got out of things than is generally got out of them, whether the thing be a chapter of the Bible or a yellow turnip, and the marvel is that those who use the most material should so often be those that show the least result in strength or character."

I wonder why?  Is it because we, who have so much, take it all for granted?

(And by we, I mean me.)

It makes me think of Little House in the Big Woods when Laura gets her first doll for Christmas.  It's the only real toy she has.  And she cherishes that doll.  She loves it and appreciates it.

It makes me think of people in other parts of the world who have never had or seen a Bible, maybe because they've just never heard the gospel or because Bibles are forbidden.  But when they do get one, there's so much joy.

Is it because we, who have so much, do not stop to think about why we do the things we do?

(Me again.)

Is it because we, who have so much, do not slow down?

Okay, I should share another quote I wrote down (and then I'm going to bed because it's 10:30 pm and I don't know when baby girl will wake up!):

"Hardy through hardship, he {Gibbie} knew nothing better than a constant good-humoured sparring with nature and circumstance for the privilege of being, enjoyed what came to him thoroughly, never mourned over what he had not, and, like the animals, was at peace.  For the bliss of the animals lies in this, that, on their lower level, they shadow the bliss of those - few at any moment on the earth - who do not 'look before and after, and pine for what is not,' but live in the holy carelessness of the eternal now." 

I've been thinking a lot lately about slowing down.  I don't have to do it all.  I don't have to have it all.  I just need to be where I am.

I need to be mindful of my choices and get as much out of them as I can.  I need to slow down and not rush through life, trying to cram in more and more.  I need to be grateful for what I do have, what I'm given, and not take it for granted.  I need to be humble in my thoughts and actions.  I need to have an ear and a heart for guidance.

I need to pray.

I need to trust.