One Thousand Gifts

266. The Still Small Voice that speaks Truth.

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267. Children leaning on me, showing me my prickliness.

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268. Hunger that humbles. (Deut. 8:3)

To see my complete list of gifts, click here.

Killing Plants

I love this:

If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener.

-- J. C. Raulston, American horticulturist

But, then again, maybe it simply doesn't take much to stretch me!

Why Do You Homeschool?

If you've heard this question asked you might like to visit Holy Experience and see Ann Voskamp's post on Why We Homeschool. Lovely reading. Inspiring reading.

One Thousand Gifts

260. Kiss on my forehead.

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261. Sharing truths and ideas.

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262.Depth in friendships.
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263. Robins and worms.

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264. Green nature journals - thanks for small things.

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265. Re-energizing conversations.

To see my complete list of gifts, click here.

Outdoor Hour Challenge - Backyard Bird Focus #1

The winter was a very quiet time for us as far as nature study goes, and now we are excited to be able to get out and enjoy more moderate temperatures and bright sunshine. There's no telling how long it will last, so we aim to make the most of every opportunity.

It was with great excitement that I read that Barb, at Handbook of Nature Study, was starting a backyard bird focus for the Outdoor Hour Challenge. It was just the kick-start I needed to get back outside. Barb's challenges are so manageable - they require very little in preparation, equipment, and time, but they are effective ways of focusing attention. Anna Botsford Comstock's book, Handbook of Nature Study, is Barb's main text, and thus the name of her blog, and her challenges give me an incentive to pick up the huge volume and take a bite out of it - a small bite, directed by Barb's suggestions in preparation for the challenge.

I spent some time on Sunday evening reading the section on robins that Barb had pointed me to and highlighting some of the paragraphs that I wanted to read to my children. There were so many interesting things! Here are a couple of the parts I enjoyed:

The robin has many sweet songs and he may be heard in the earliest dawn and also in the evenings; if he wishes to cheer his mate he may burst into song at any time.

A robin can run or hop as pleases him best, and it is interesting to see one, while hunting earthworms, run a little distance, then stop to bend the head and listen and look; when he finally seizes the earthworm he braces himself on his strong legs and tugs manfully until he sometimes almost falls over backward as the worm lets go its hold.

The most noticeable thing about a very young robin is its wide, yellow-margined mouth, which it opens like a satchel every time the nest is jarred. This wide mouth cannot but suggest to anyone who sees it that it is meant to be stuffed, and the two parents work very hard to fill it.

Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford Comstock, Cornell University Press, 1911, pages 58-59.

Can't you just picture those little mouths, bulging with food?

I read the section on robins to the children on Monday after lunch as we sat on the couch together. We looked at our field guide and examined the pictures in the HNS. Then we prepared for the outdoor portion, pulling on shoes, mitts, and jackets.

The objective of our outdoor time was to spend 15 or so minutes looking and listening for any indications of birds in the area. (We chose to walk to the nearby playground and not limit ourselves to our own little backyard.) We knew that at that time of day we might not see any birds, but we were going to try. We listened for bird calls, looked for signs of nesting, and watched for little bird footprints in the sand.

And our efforts were rewarded. On the way to the park we saw two robins, both male, perched in two neighbouring trees.

Then, while at the park, we heard crows and began to look for them. The children saw one, but I managed to see two!



After a little bit of time just moving around, looking and listening at the playground, we were getting chilly and decided that it was time to head home. I was thankful to have seen all that we had, and was ready to call it a successful Outdoor Hour Challenge.

And then My Girl spotted this little fellow.


He was hopping along the ground, probably trying to stay out of our way, since the little boys can be a bit noisy. Once the boys had progressed down the street a little way, My Girl and I were able to stand and watch him for a while. He moved to the middle of a small front yard and hopped a bit one way and another.

After watching him for several minutes we were ready to move on toward home when we noticed that he had begun to lean close to the ground. Suddenly he jabbed his head down and snapped it back up with a long pink worm in his bill!


He dropped it to the ground and began to nip at it with his bill. I don't say 'peck' because that brings to my mind a repeated back and forth motion, whereas this little robin was giving a single stab at the worm then pausing while the worm wriggled and resettled on the ground.

Finally the robin lifted the worm and gulped it down!




Now, doesn't he look like a fellow who's proud of his accomplishments? But modest: see how he faces away from us out of humility!

I'm so thankful that we stayed around long enough to see that sight! It was fun to watch his little head tip side to side, listening for whatever sound it is that worms make, his body parallel to the ground as he got close enough to hear. And then the "gulp, gulp, done" with which he dispatched the worm. Fascinating, but icky if you think about it too much!
We walked home and the little boys played outside while My Girl and I went in to do an entry in our nature journals.

My Girl, giving the final details to her illustration before cutting it out and pasting it into her journal. She traced the outline of the robin from the Cornell University bird colouring book and then added markings and colour.

My Girl's finished entry.

Little Man coloured and cut out the robin from the Cornell University colouring page to illustrate his journal later in the day, and Brown Eyed Boy was permitted to put his illustration in Little Man's journal, too, as he didn't have his own. (That matter has since been rectified and all of us - except for Dear Man - now have our own nature journals.)

ChildLight Charlotte Mason Conference 2009

June 10-13, 2009

ChildLight USA will be hosting the annual

Charlotte Mason Conference

at Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

This is an internationally attended conference with speakers from England, the United States, and Canada who are veritable experts on Charlotte Mason. All have spent a good part of their lives studying Charlotte Mason's writings, and each brings his or her own personal expertise to bear on the practical and philosophical aspects of a Charlotte Mason education, and, whether that experience be in educational psychology, school administration, curriculum planning and design, home education, or so much more, these speakers know how to bring life to a CM education.

One exciting thing about this conference is that it brings together home educators, school educators and administrators, and researchers on equal footing. Workshops are led by individuals of any background who are particularly specialized in the field on which they present. The mix of people attending and presenting is a wonderful cross section, bringing together all who are interested in a CM education without bias in any direction, be it home or school.

Another thing to note about the conference is the low price. This is a 4 day international conference being offered for $79 per person or family (early registration with a group of 3 or more). That is a great price for a conference of this calibre! Accommodation is reasonable ($25 or less per person per night) and a meal plan at the university dining hall is available, as well.

If you are interested in attending and want to have more information here are the links:

Conference General Information

Tentative Schedule

Registration Form

There are several people from our group already planning to attend. If you would like to associate your registration with ours in order to take advantage of the group rate, please email me (talsma at cyg dot net), and I'll make sure you are in the loop. If you'd like to have some specific feedback about previous conferences, you can email me about that, too, and I'll hook you up with someone who has attended and you can get more info that way.

Early registration is until April 30, but to make that deadline we'd need to have all the information in earlier than that.

Please take a look at the ChildLight website to find links to audio files of some of the workshops from previous years, too.

Spring Outdoor Hour Challenges: Birds

Handbook of Nature Study has two new posts that you might be interested in checking. Both are related to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, a guided nature study time that Barb offers on her blog. With spring in the air, one of the first things that is noticed around our yard is an increase in bird activity. (Has everyone spotted the robins yet?) Well, Barb has begun a bird focus for this next set of Outdoor Hour Challenges, and the first challenge involves three birds that I see every year: the robin, the cardinal, and the house finch. While we haven't seen the cardinals yet this spring, I know they'll come because they nest in the neighbour's cedar. The other post that she's published this week is links to audio files of the bird calls from this week's focus.

All Barb's Outdoor Hour Challenges include a reading from Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, and outdoor challenge, and a follow up indoor activity, usually relating to entries in a nature journal.

This is a great challenge to participate in to ramp up your Nature Study times with your children now that the weather shows potential for cooperation. Even if we do get more cold weather, these challenges don't usually involve a great deal of outdoor time, making them very accessible for all kinds of families.

Enjoy the link!

Blessed with Gifts

251. Contentment.

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252. Fragile life kept in Your care.

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253. Ministry of the Body of believers in times of pain.

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254. Prayers of a husband.

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255. Faith shared by family members, allowing us to pray together.

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256. Relationships that are close enough to allow vulnerability.

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257. Quiet in the house.

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258. Tears.

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259. Conversations that move things along.

To see my complete list of gifts, click here.

A New Method of Narration

Narration is a key component of a Charlotte Mason education. It is the process by which the student learns the content of whatever she reads, hears, or observes. Sometimes people mistake it as a method of evaluation: a chance for the teacher to see whether the student learned the material. But it is not intended to be that. Charlotte taught that by narrating the student makes the material her own, and that a lesson not narrated is a lesson wasted.

So we narrate. A lot. And sometimes the children get tired of it, wanting to do things differently. In a CM school, all children had to be prepared to narrate after any section of reading, but only one was selected to do so. In our CM home school, there is often only one student, and she gets tired of always being the one chosen to narrate. To mix things up a bit I will sometimes narrate, but mostly it is My Girl doing the narrations. There are the times when Little Man is part of the lesson, and he will have a turn to narrate, as well. On those occasions, I have often received less than thrilled glances from My Girl when I once again call on her to narrate, having her bear the bulk of the narration responsibility.

We've been reading the Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5, as part of our Creation studies all year. Little Man is usually a part of the reading, and I was typically reading the passage and selecting a student to narrate each passage. Occasionally My Girl would read the passage, and I would sometimes take a turn narrating. It was going all right. But not great.

Last week we tried something different.

The three of us sat on the couch in the living room, I showed them a regular die from one of our board games, and I explained the process:

An even number rolled before a reading meant that My Girl would read. Odd would mean I would read.

An even number rolled before a narration meant that My Girl would narrate. Odd would mean that Little Man or I would narrate, alternating turns.

Suddenly the whole process became exciting! Both children were attending with more care to the passage being read, and the narrations I received from both of them were better than I'd ever had with this book! And, I was no longer the 'bad guy', picking who would narrate, favouring one over the other. Nope, it was all in the hands of the die. In fact, one day the die was definitely biased and picking My Girl constantly to read AND narrate, so, when I rolled a 4, I thought I'd try to give her a break and rolled again. I rolled another 4. I rolled again. I rolled a 6. At that point we were all laughing and My Girl said, "I guess I really have to do this one, too," and off she went, narrating beautifully!

It was a simple change. It'll probably work for a while and then we'll have to try something else again. But for now I am content. And thankful. And pleased with the Ones I Love. They really are terrific students!

Do You Love Me?

A loose paraphrase from John 21:15-25

. . . Jesus said to Peter . . . 'Do you love me?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Tend my sheep.'

Jesus commissions Peter to a great task. And the only qualification is love for Jesus.

No question of "How long have you known Me?" or "What evidence is there of your spiritual maturity?" or even "Why do you think you'd be good for this role?" No. Simply "Do you love Me?"

It has been described to me in so many sermons and Bible classes that Peter's love was imperfect, inadequate, not at all what Jesus was looking for.

Well, how much less adequate is my love for Jesus? But still, that's the only question He asks to determine whether I'm with Him or not. And my love, inadequate as it is, is enough.

I have nothing to prove to Jesus.

Thank You Lord

232. Quiet in the evening.

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233. Deep, even breaths of sleep.

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234. Invitation given by My Girl.

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235. Invitation accepted.

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236. Three dear children who I treasure.

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237. Encouragement of friends.

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238. Thankfulness.

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239. Serving hearts.

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240. GEMS breakfast: an opportunity to invite a neighbour to a church activity.

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241. Your voice.

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242. Four years with Brown Eyed Boy.

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243. Observances.

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244. Voice of welcome and invitation.

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245. Imperfect love that is enough.

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246. The Doggie named Sherman.

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247. New narration strategy.

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248. Friends who phone.

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249. Long-distance prayer: No-distance Presence.

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250. Glorious news. Miraculous news.

Come and Have Breakfast

After appearing to the disciples on the beach and performing the miracle of the 153 fish in the net, Jesus spoke to the disciples. But He didn't say, "Now, what have you just learned about Me/My power/our relationship/trust..."

No.

"Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.'" (John 21:12 NIV) He nourished their bodies, took care of their physical needs, didn't focus their attention on Himself in any way. He was simply with them, caring for them.

I love this about Jesus. I believe He says things like that to me, too, if I would listen: "Come and take a walk with Me. Come and rest for a while. Come and be filled at the table. Come sit with Me."

Engaging Students in Artist Study

Linda Fay has a new post on Higher Up and Further In about Artist Study and Art Appreciation. It's a simple, interesting way to get your children engaged.

I particularly liked this idea she presents:

At the end of the term, I show my kids some more pictures from the artist we studied that term. These are the ones that we didn't get to but I thought they might like. Together, we download their favorites and put them on a flash disc, take it to Walmart and have each printed for about a quarter each. Then the children get to add them to their personal artist albums.

I can hardly wait to start my own children on their personal artist albums!

By the way, after you've read her post, you might like to click the link she has at the bottom to see her post titled Our Picture Studies. In that post Linda Fay gives a more extensive description of the proccess.

In The News

This from one of our members this afternoon:

Please, if you are able, take a look at an article today's National Post (p. AL8) called Recess to the Rescue which covers all sorts of contemporary research findings about how time spent in nature is as effective or more effective than medication for children with ADHD. It talks about the important role of recess and how walks in natural settings are more effective than those in urban settings on improving concentration and attention. And it talks about the role of play, and playful learning environments. (Maybe the article will be on the web tomorrow, not sure how the National Post does that).

As if that was not enough, the Hamilton Spectator, had a story sub-titled, Intense Cognitive Training may overcome disabilities (p. Go 6), which discusses the Arrowsmith program, which uses the close study of works of art (by students) to improve cognitive abilities and improve attention.

...nature study, picture study...are we on the verge of an appetite for a new paradigm for education?

On Narration

In case you've never visited "Higher Up and Further In", I'd like to point you in that direction. Linda Fay has a terrific blog that covers all sorts of things educational from a CM perspective, as well as branching into other areas of life.

This week she put up a post called "Narration Thoughts from a Highschooler." These are her daughter's responses to questions about narration. It's interesting to read the student's perspective on the value of narration and to see how much she has come to appreciate the discipline of narration.

Why don't you take a moment to visit this post by Linda Fay and then, if you've never been there before, you might want to spend some time browsing. Her sidebar list of "Starting Points" might be where you'd like to begin looking. Or maybe you'll scroll down to "Categories" and pick one of those to dive into. Whichever direction you take, I know that you'll be inspired by her wisdom and enthusiasm.