“This fine Maple, with its hard wood, its beautiful autumnal colors- red and yellow and orange- and its sweet sap, is the close western relative of the famed Sugar Maple of the eastern states. If it were as abundant as the true Sugar Maple and grew as accessibly, it would doubtless be an important hardwood […]
Our Tree Trip in Utah Read More »
As soon as he is able to keep it himself, a nature-diary is a source of delight to a child. Every day’s walk gives him something to enter: three squirrels in a larch tree, a jay flying across such a field, a caterpillar climbing up a nettle, a snail eating a cabbage leaf, a spider
Have you ever worried about the phantom “holes” in your child’s education? You know, the important lessons, connections and facts that we might miss by not using the nationally sanctioned public school curriculum? I especially worried about these “holes” when I realized my six year old didn’t know the days of the week in the
Yesterday we made a visit to our local Tanaka Farms to hand pick vegetables for soup. After walking through the corn maze we headed over to where we saw the green tops. The children enjoyed the farm land, pulling the carrots and onions right from the earth. The carrots were so loose in the ground
Autumn Butternut Soup Read More »
Hello All, Rachelle here, this is my first time blogging/posting, anywhere, woohoo! I am the mother of 4 wonderful daughters, and love CMism in my life. We recently moved to a more rural area and home and are beginning our “Homestead” adventure, starting with Shelby and Daisy. Well, we actually started with their home… my
I used to have this picture perfect image of what homeschooling would be like, especially after reading some of Charlotte Mason’s writings. I imagined joyful children delighting in living books, asking for “one more page pleeeeaase!”, dancing to classical masterpieces, painting beautiful pictures, running through grassy meadows with butterflies and songbirds fluttering about. Ahhh…. so
Picture Perfect Homeschooling Read More »
I love my schedule. I refer to it throughout the day. It’s like having a road map to know what comes next. Over time, parts of my schedule become habit, and I hardly need it, but I still find satisfaction in checking something off my list, feeling productive, doing as I ought. I have a
How does one explain “living books” to someone not familiar with this cornerstone of Charlotte Mason philosophy? Sometimes it helps to put it into language people are more familiar with. Here is one of my favorite quotes about good literature, which, of course, is what a living book is. “The classics are books that refuse
Living Book Review: Time of Wonder Read More »
The kids came up to me this morning jumping up and down with excitement saying, “Rain!! Rain!! It’s Raining!!” They immediately headed for the closet where the dusty umbrellas were and headed outside to play. Oh to be so filled with elation at the simplest things and to be able to express it so freely
I really like the old naturalists, John Muir, John Burroughs, and John John James Audubon, who weren’t afraid to approach animals, and who didn’t wait for a government permit to touch a species for the purpose of study. John Muir made his own gun to shoot Sea Gulls. John Burroughs hunted, and he dug up
Death and Nature Study Read More »