Finding Splendor in the Ordinary
I promised a look through my new Morning Basket binder when I shared our Term Plans and Printables with you, and here it is! I had hoped to get this posted last week…but alas the beach called louder! You understand, don’t you? I’ve always collected all my Morning Basket papers and resources in a few different files, but after years… Read More
I’ve been meaning to share a few plans and printables with you for the Morning Basket this year. This year, I’m working with a 9th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader, and 2 year old. Our Morning Basket shares the same principles it has always embraced – a lovely, common starting point for the day – although this year I… Read More
They are very much like little bread crumbs from place to place, book to book, and the more we add, the more my children’s overall relationship with geography places deepens.
I’ve been doing some bigger picture thinking – you know the kind I mean? When you “zoom out” with your vision in light of everything, taking it all in while keeping your own family in focus. It has been hard for me not to default into this wider scope or focus of thought with all that is going on in… Read More
This series is long overdue for a revival! I enjoyed posting these so much and I learn so much when I dig into the principles Miss Mason sets out for the teacher, so here I am this morning, adding another teaching gem for you to consider. I know we’re all wrapping up our years, and doing so always involves a certain… Read More
I confess, I’ve had this post in draft for nearly two months now. In fact, this post is old enough that our learning room looks a little different today than it did when I took these pictures – I unpacked the geography cabinet and have it in place, the toddler got taller so art supplies moved up a shelf…but I think… Read More
Hello friends! How has your week been so far? Mine seems to move along nicely…until it doesn’t. 😉 You know that kind of week, don’t you? The one that involves a day of picking up a meat order….across town…by 8:00 am, then sprinting to the dentist, and then charging off to buy clothing for the 14 year old eating machine growing boy that… Read More
It’s taken me a bit of time to find a few minutes here and there to piece this post together. We’re so blessed and so grateful for the amazing spaces we dreamed about {for the past 12 years that we’ve been in our home} and worked hard to make a reality and now get to enjoy! Truly! I shared about the… Read More
With our kitchen delightfully humming away, we’re thrilled to be baking with the liturgical year again! For the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we made some simple rose cakes with a silicone rose mold. This mold will be perfect for any feast day that is associated with roses – especially St. Therese of Lisieux. The little treats couldn’t have been simpler… Read More
How is your autumn so far? I hope it’s lovely and rich – full of those warm autumn smells of spiced tea simmering away…and roasting veggies…and leaves tumbling everywhere! We’re enjoying beautiful mild temperatures and are just beginning to see some fall color in our trees! This has always been my favorite time of year! Photo Credit: Sarah Nicole Studio… Read More
It’s fall! Officially!! Pumpkin spice latte’, corduroy and crisp breezes! Delish! And that also means it’s time for that seasonal clothes switcheroo…you know when you go through all the closets and freshen things up a bit! It’s fun to add a couple of pretty autumn pieces to spruce things up a bit! Might I suggest something very simple? My girls and… Read More
As a classical home educator I sometimes focus on just doing the next thing. I’m living this knees-to-the-ground work; it isn’t a theory, or an article – this is real life. Babies and teens; dishes and laundry; books and discussion; active work and scholé – I invest myself wholeheartedly, and there are some days I barely keep up. Sound familiar? In living… Read More
Do you cherish these board-book-filled days as much as I do? They’re sweet and tender aren’t they? We’re all preparing the soil in these delight-filled early years, and it is no less important that we do so with sweet and sturdy little books that are inviting and build the imagination with the good, true and beautiful. I’m often asked about our… Read More
By now, if you’ve been reading here at all, you know that we’re in the process of really re-thinking our spaces, re-modeling them significantly in order to address our family needs, and so…things are a little upside down here for a few months. It meant letting go of a space that was set aside as our learning room, saying goodbye… Read More
Preparing the soil. It’s such an evocative expression, isn’t it? Most of us are tending our gardens, attempting to coax some semblance of life out of them while the heat and lack of rain seek to thwart our best efforts. We water, tend, weed – and if we are attentive and nurture, there is growth and fruit. Sometimes an abundance… Read More
I’m so excited and thrilled to be on my way to the Denver Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educators Conference again! I had a fantastic time speaking to all of you wonderful ladies in 2012, and I’m thrilled that you would welcome me back again! My bags are packed and your workshops are written and ready – I’d love to see you there tomorrow!… Read More
Some time ago, the CiRCE Institute shared a 2003 conference talk by Dr. James Taylor on the topic of using the Good Books and the Great Books as part of teaching literature. It is an extraordinary talk and I took copious notes, just a few of which I’ll share with you below. As Dr. Taylor observes in this talk, The… Read More
I’ve shared with all of you that we are pursuing some remodeling plans. It’s exciting…and daunting. As I planned our booklists this summer, I kept in mind that our year would need to be flexible and I began to consider ways to stretch outside of comfortable routines and spaces. Earlier this summer, I shared with you that I had to… Read More
I’m in the midst of planning week here, and I thought I’d take a minute to share the Morning Basket plans for the year and for Term 1! If you’re new here, or need extra information, check out this post on the Morning Basket: Morning Basket: Ageless, Inspiring, and Still Standing It contains history, explanations, and links to past posts… Read More
How injurious then is our habit of depreciating children; we water their books down and drain them of literary flavor, because we wrongly suppose that children cannot understand what we understand ourselves; what is worse, we explain and we question. A few pedagogic maxims should help us, such as, “Do not explain.” “Do not question,” “Let one reading of… Read More
I’m linking to an older post of mine that has a craft that we enjoyed as part of honoring the Most Sacred Heart. June – Month of the Sacred Heart – A Craft Revisiting that post was fun – the young lady that was crafting the Sacred Heart in that post has now graduated, is working as a summer intern… Read More
The teaching selection I chose for this week speaks to a key component of a Charlotte Mason education – Atmosphere – and an aid the teacher must make use of to ensure a fresh atmosphere. Our own current family circumstances allowed me an opportunity to reflect on atmosphere from a unique position that I’ve really come to appreciate. From: Towards a Philosophy of Education,… Read More
I have been meaning to post some yummy recipes from my menus that we’ve enjoyed lately! This has been a busy graduation week here – delightful though! Since the week was busy getting ready for graduation (and I missed this week’s CM Teaching Tuesday post) I thought it would be fun to throw together a quick post full of pictures… Read More
As we wrap up our year, I’m looking back at a few plans and books to review and chat about. Without a doubt, our Morning Basket time continues to serve our growing family. What began around 8 years ago as a common point in the day with shared reading time, has evolved and grown into something that is full, and… Read More
