Family in Feast and Feria

I'm going to be a bit busy this week preparing for the final days before this conference -- it's this Saturday! I'll try to not get nervous about my speech! I can't wait to hear the speeches, shop a little, and meet all the attendees 4Real!

Real Learning Home Education Conference
Seton School in Manassas, Virgina
August 11th, 8:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M.

Registration Fee: $25 (includes lunch)

Schedule for the Real Learning Home Education Conference

8:30 Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
9:15 Coffee and Donuts
10:00 Welcome/The Real Learning Philosophy - Elizabeth Foss
11:00 Living the Liturgical Year - Dawn and yours truly
12:00 Nature Study - Theresa
1:00 Lunch and Vendor Shopping
2:30 Break Out Sessions:

High School - Michele Quigley
Math - Janette
Montessori at home - Meredith
Special Needs - Mary Ellen

3:30 Question & Answer Forum - all speakers
4:00 It’s all About the Relationships! - Elizabeth Foss
5:00 Closing

The conference blog has more information on vendors, speaker descriptions, and location. Day-of registrants welcome, nursing babies only. I hope to see you there!

Can I ask for some extra prayers as I prepare for this? My health hasn't been cooperating lately to concentrate on my speech and final preparations. Thanks so much!

I'm very late, but in case some of you have missed this Fair of Elegant Simplicity, Helen at Castle of the Immaculate hosted A Learning Spaces Tour that exemplified the elegant simplicity in the education areas of home. Helen did a fabulous job, and all the tours are so wonderful. I'm just so inspired by the organization and creativity of these mothers in carving out wonderful learning areas for their family.

I apologize for the lack of "original content" lately on my blog. Frankly, it's no wonder that I get few return readers! And this post is no exception...I'm making note of some wonderful posts and blogs.

Elizabeth Real Learning has been sharing some wonderful ideas on Preschoolers and not missing this wonderful time in their life. How to spur on the creative spirit of your child? Check out her suggestions for The Art Box. Some of the crafty recipes she posted are perfect for my son and his allergies -- did you know that Play Doh contains wheat ingredients? When you have contact reactive allergies to wheat, it's not wise to add that to your art box! I can't wait to see what Elizabeth reveals behind Door #2. I also enjoyed Karen Edmisten's thoughts on this area related to her family.

I didn't think she would have time, dealing with a newborn and 4 other children, selling her house, a cross-country move, on her own, since her husband is now gone on the left coast for the new job, but she did. Melissa Wiley at The Lilting House finished her curriculum series with a Charlotte Mason Curriculum...in my opinion, saving the best for last. There's so much meat to this post, it will take a long time for me to digest it all.

Prodded by Lissa's above entry, Amy set up a Charlotte Mason blog that will break down Miss Charlotte Mason's wisdom in her writings "in manageable, 'muse-able' sized pieces." I'm looking forward to the journey. Thanks, Amy!

Music is a huge part of our home learning plan, and I've been reading and questioning where our journey will go with my son. Shall we follow Suzuki? Piano or violin? Both? Which first? Should I consider getting certified and teach my son? And all the music ponderings bring me to the piano for my comfort. Music is a wonderful, creative, emotional and spiritual outlet. And this picture verified that for me!

I'm still in the research mode of our homeschooling journey. Ds is not yet 3, so I'm taking this time to read on methods and learn about myself and my son, and what would be best for our home learning.

I'm really enjoying The Common Room's posts on Charlotte Mason, Children, and Teachers and Charlotte Mason and Tests. The Headmistress states, "There are certain things that a Charlotte Mason education is and certain things it is not, and since Charlotte Mason wrote the books behind the method, I kind of think her writings are the best field-guides for identifying a Charlotte Mason education." And she clarifies, through Miss Mason's own writings, the misconceptions or mislabels of Charlotte Mason approach.

I am truly drawn to Charlotte Mason, and this is very helpful clarification.

Yes, I'm still alive. Vacations, short or long, are wonderful and relaxing, but it's hard to get back to routines. My brain still hasn't returned...and it's actually planning our beach week that's coming up soon.

The emails do pile up, and lots of catch-up reading on 4RealLearning Forums. If you are homeschooling, or plan to, and you want information, support and encouragement, this is the one place to visit. Every day I am buoyed up by these ladies' (and a few men's) positive outlook on life and their wise advice and shared experiences. To be surrounded in the Internet world by families (and then occasionally meeting them in real life) who love their Catholic faith and live and breathe their Catholic culture in their daily learning and family life is truly refreshing.

Elizabeth Foss, of Real Learning, who wrote the same titled book Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home (a must read, btw), recently reiterated on the 4RealLearning Forums what "Real Learning" means:

Real Learning means that a parent has prayerfully discerned what God wants for each specific child where the whole of education is concerned.... [It's] the philosophy that we are to truly tailor a course of study to each individual child, taking into context the real and practical lives of the family where that child lives.

When you truly understand that concept, it means home is the perfect place for your child to learn. We are the primary educators of our children, and we know our children best. But it also means one size doesn't fit all. What works for one family might not work for another family. Elizabeth explained this so well inKeep Your Eyes on Your Own Work!.

And further application: what works for one child might not work for another child in the same family. It's so important to understand learning styles and temperaments within the members of the family. Theresa at Lapaz Farm Home Learning had a wonderful post on Multiple Intelligence Bonanza!, pointing out Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, breaking down intelligence down into 8 categories: Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist. Theresa posted some links for quick quizzes and other sites to read further.

Another area I need to get caught up in reading is the blogs. What has made this so much easier is using Bloglines to handle all the blogs I like to read, either daily or occasionally. I can organize them by category and can see when there are new posts. I can also save some posts (Keep New checkbox) to reread again, without having to open many browser windows and find all the sites. Thanks so much to Lissa at The Lilting House and Here in the Bonny Glen for that tip!

Now that some cobwebs have lifted from the brain, I need to clean up around here!

Lissa does it again with a wonderful post at The Lilting House chock full of links. This post is on unschooling and resources. But don't get bogged down with a label. Define your own "school" and don't be limited by labels and definitions. I'm looking forward to further fabulous information from Lissa.

Don't miss Lissa's continuation of the curriculum discussion at The Lilting House.

My son will be three in September. Even I married, I knew I wanted to homeschool if I had children. After my son's birth, I've read and researched the different approaches to find our niche in learning styles and home education approach. Even when I decide on the focus of our approach, I know this seeking will not end. There will be twists and turns, tweaks and complete turnarounds as my son and I learn to know each other. I'm still on my journey, reading about different options, but also observing. I'm examining my tendencies, watching my son on how he learns, how we interact, seeing what motivates him.

How nice to find help from The Lilting House for advice on choosing curriculum. Lissa wisely advises "Don't rush into anything." One suggestion is to take this quiz to evaluate what type of homeschooler you are. My result confirms what styles have been very attractive to me, except adding a little bit of classical approach:

Abraham Lincoln You have a Bible and a library card what more could you possibly need? You prefer the Charlotte Mason Method of reading living books for everything: historical fiction, biographies, real histories, nature guides, etc. No soon-to-be-outdated textbooks for you.

Other helpful quizzes would be to find out the learning styles of family members.

In researching approaches, one book that completely changed my outlook is Real Learning (ordering information at top of page) by Elizabeth Foss. I finally was able to think "outside the box" (as in canned curriculum) and see a different approach where being at home is not schooling or educating, but REAL LEARNING. I recommended this book to Melanie, a new mom, at The Wine Dark Sea to include this book in her own research in homeschooling, and she wrote a beautiful review, expressing in writing so eloquently what I feel but can't always put into words. I think it's time for me to reread Elizabeth's for a refresher.

At 4Real Learning Forums "Rabbit Trails" is a common expression. Rabbit Trails are various tangents off a main unit of study, such as learning more about calligraphy when studying the Middle Ages. In a smaller way, a rabbit trail can be exploring a little deeper on a subject covered in a book whether briefly or in depth, such as gardening or the moors when reading The Secret Garden. For more examples and explanations, read What Are Rabbit Trails?.

Today's Wall Street Journal had a front page article on Prairie Dogs. Unfortunately, I can't link to the article, as it is for paying subscribers only, but it's a current events article on the plight of the prairie dogs, and how Boulder County, Colorado is building a fifteen mile fence to enclose them IN to save them.

Seeing the picture of the cute rodent on the paper, my mind traced back to where I read about prairie dogs first and was inspired to read more about them. Where was it? Of course, The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

That got me to thinking of how often when some little piece of information comes my way, I trace back my steps to where the original information came from. Growing up there were some of those influential reads, such as the Little House books, Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Lord of the Rings, The Velvet Room, Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away...those are key in my mind, but there were others.

In reading these books, I had my own rabbit trails, small as they were. For example, Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away piqued my interest about antiques and old houses. The Velvet Room inspired me to try to keep a diary and to taste apricots and learn more about Spanish architecture and history in the US, and learn more about the Dustbowl and the Depression. The Little House series had so many trails I can't even begin to count.

As I'm getting older, can't remember all the trails I took in detail. But they stick with me...and it's fun to have that memory flash and hop on back to my original hiding hole. And I'm looking forward to starting a few rabbit trails with my son as we embark on our learning journey together...and then tracing back to the beginning.

We're busy working on our garden. Spring is busting out all over! Ambrose jubilantly runs to me and says "It's spring, Mommy! It's spring!" Indeed it is! Every spring I put on my rose-colored glasses and smile. The world is new again, bursting with life. It's so wonderful to see our spring season reflecting the Easter joy of Christ's Resurrection.

A while back Dawn posted a nice list of Garden Books for Children. Inspired by this list, I checked out my library for titles. I couldn't find all she mentioned, but I did find some. I also have some on the shelves that I've introduced, or REintroduced during this season. As ds is still quite young, I'm just trying to relate the joy of new life, introduce the seasonal cycles of the year, the growing patterns, basic elements of gardening, and of course flowers, vegetables, plants and BUGS.

Just as I was typing up this post, Elizabeth Foss finished up her wonderful post Down the Garden Trail. I encourage you to stop by to get inspired. Also check in at 4Real Learning for other garden trail ideas.

Here's our humble little list for young ones to read to reinforce what goes on outside.

Garden Art:

In the Garden with Van Gogh by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober

A Picnic with Monet by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
Two favorite board books that use works of art to paint lovely peaceful picnic and garden scenes.

Philippe in Monet's Garden by Lisa Jobe Carmack.
This is a fun book about a frog who came to live in Monet's Garden. The book uses some of Monet's works to illustrate.

Gardening:

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Crockett Johnson.
How many times did we read this book I'll never know. Ds had it memorized quickly. But this year he actually held carrot seeds in his hands and will be able to experience watching it grow.


Jody's Beans by Malachy Doyle, illustrated by Judith Allibone
Jody is given twelve bean seeds by her grandfather. He helps Jody all through the season to grow her pole beans, and we read the steady progress. I enjoy this story because you see the generations of a family interacting, loving and teaching each other.


The Flower Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta, Illustrated by Leslie Evans
Right now my son is at a stage where he wants the names of everything. He wants to label it in his mind. We walk through our garden and he points: "What's that?" I answer the name, such as Petunia. He repeats it to himself. So this book is an extension of our little id walks.


Jack's Garden by Henry Cole
Based on the nursery rhyme, "The House That Jack Built," Jack plants a flower garden. The steps and illustrations cover all the tools, stages, flowers, bugs, birds and other things one will see as the garden grows. The pictures are wonderfully detailed and labeled....another book that's fascinating to dear son to put identifying names to objects.

Bugs

Insects Do the Strangest Things by Leonora Hornblow
This was one of my childhood favorites. It's out of print, but a great book to introduce insects to children.

Terry and the Caterpillars by
Millicent E. Selsam, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
This is my other "childhood bug book." Terry catches some caterpillars and watches them make cocoons and turn into moths. Also out of print, but easy to find.

Seasons:

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
This classic book is well-loved in our home, especially for the wonderful depictions of the changing of seasons.

Around the Year by Tasha Tudor
Walk through the months of the year and the changing of seasons with Tudor's wonderful drawings. We never tire of her pictures.

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Not all the poetry is easily digested by my son at this age, but I'm introducing small bits, and the lavish illustrations help convey the meaning.


Around the Year by Elsa Maartman Beskow
Dawn suggested this book and we love it! This follows months of the year with a lovely poem and illustration for each month.

Reaping from God's Garden:

Because we shop for our food and clothing, I want to have books that show the work and the various steps involved in bringing food to the table.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
We are reading this to see how food can be picked elsewhere than out of our garden or the grocery store aisles. Blueberries are one of my son's favorite fruits, so he really enjoys reading about picking blueberries. The highlight of the book is actual the inside cover illustration, where Sal and her mother are canning the blueberries. That is a wonderful picture of mother and child working together in the kitchen. It's not perfect, it's not neat, but it's loving and productive.

Pelle's New Suit by Elsa Maartman Beskow
Pelle has a little lamb whose wool helps him make a new suit. We follow the process of all the steps required in making cloth and sewing a suit, but also see the chores he does (bartering), like weeding, tending animals, chopping wood, to get help from others.

Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
Another step-by-step process in making pancakes, from harvesting the wheat, grinding into flour, milking the cow, etc.