Saint Helen
Happy Name Day, Elinor!
May God grant you many years.
Click on the image for the link.
Category: books
Desiring the Kingdom
Yesterday I wrote about The Good Life. And there is wonderful reason. For a couple of weeks I have been reading a little book called Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. I saw this book over at Through the Mind to the Heart, and it intrigued me. Lisa A is linking up with Mystie @ Simply Convivial for an online book club discussion. I decided to order the book…the title was the hook. However, I do not think I will be able to keep up with all of the Tuesday postings. We shall see!
The premise of the book is a re-envisioning of Christian education. Smith claims that liturgy is the heart of forming a Christian rather than ideas. Therefore he argues that what we do far out ways what we know. He uses the term liturgy in a broad sense to sort of create a seamless connection between all of life. He describes man as a lover above all. He contrasts that with other opinions from philosophical references that make man a thinker, or a believer. His idea that man is a lover gives the basis for what he says man believes to be the good life. The good life that a man chooses is driven by what he loves. And so I have been asking myself…what do I love? Or better, how does God love me?
I have read the contents page to see how Smith develops the idea of man as lover and how a love of God is formed in us. And surprisingly he describes the world as sacrament. This development will be interesting to read coming from a Protestant/Reformed perspective.
But for now I am just pondering the incarnation and how amazing it is. God has met me in the flesh. He has taken on matter, and through this incarnation He fills my life with grace. (I am thinking water, oil, bread, wine.) But, it is so much more than that. My interaction with the physical world, my liturgies, speak of a deep, unseen, and possibly unlearned love. For me this book all but says it…maybe the whole world is made of love. It’s in us, it is our DNA.
To love is to live, and move, and have our being.
Archangel Michael Week!
I thought it might be nice to share our week with you in advance.
- Above is a little song we are learning…My Father’s Angels.
- We are also going to make flower arrangements on Thursday in small Mason jars with the Asters, or Michaelmas Daises growing in my garden and place them in the icon corner.
- I am shopping today for fresh Blackberries for cobbler for Friday night. Legend has it that on the day that Archangel Michael defeated Lucifer in heaven and kicked him out, Satan fell into a Bramble bush and cursed it.
- We are telling the story of the War in Heaven.
- We are reading Saint George and the Dragon all week.
- We are also working on memorizing Psalm 23 and reading Sometimes I Get Scared.
- Having lots of conversations about fear and courage. What is good fear? What is bad fear? When do we need to be courageous? What happens when we are not courageous?
- Praying the Akathist Hymn to St. Michael the Archangel on Friday.
- Watching How to Train Your Dragon for a movie night on Friday.
- Just for Mom.
The Dying Season
“The Garden of Earthly Delights” (the “Millennium”) Hieronymus Bosch
About ten years ago I discovered and fell in love with the literature of Flannery O’Connor. Her form of horror let me experience the cathartic nature of the grotesque (and literature’s role in purging), and how grappling with evil is an intricate part of the journey of faith. Often times I believe horror to be deeply and honestly religious. Confronting my own evil is what it is all about, and this is horrifying. Literature by O’Connor, Twain, Poe, King, and the like make good people nervous. It’s hard to accept that ordinary people do evil things, I do evil things. That is what should scare me the most….not the Other, the delusion that evil exists in the Other and not in me. Every year about this time I revisit Flannery…I love her writing.
Autumn is a time of year when the themes of death surround. Grey rainy skies, cold dark nights, bare branches on trees, leaves falling purple, yellow, orange, and red, and gusts of chilly wind. It’s beautiful…this dying season. It is the perfect time of year to be frightened, a little unnerved. And yet there is a peaceful quality to autumn that reassures me that death has no sting…Pascha, death has passed us over.
Halloween brings out all of my ghosts..the things that haunt me. Fear is a wonderful gift, a purging gift. I would not want to live in this fallen world without fear. A fallen man without fear is a monster.
For a good autumn read try:
A Good Man is Hard to Find
&
Wise Blood
A Few Weekly Finds
On the Web…
100 Days of Real Food
I enjoyed perusing this website. Although I may not always buy organic, and I do not stress about that much, I do like cooking real food. This website offers simple ideas and a few free meal plans. I like simple. I plan to use some of the recipes from here to plan my menu for next week.
T- Tapp
I recently saw this workout on a website I visit frequently. The author of the blog struggles with sever Diastasis Recti, and she has found ways to put her body back together after seven pregnancies. I also have this condition, although not as severe, and I am looking for ways to strengthen my abdomen and put my organs back in place.
I bought the Basic Workout Plus during a Deep Discounted Tuesday at half price. It is a fifteen minute workout that promises to put my organs in place. I hope it works. My week has been crazy, and I have not started it yet.(I guess I could be doing the workout instead of blogging…couldn’t I?) I plan to start this weekend when I have a little more time to myself.
Heritage History
This site is wonderful..it even has many stories you can read for free! I have used it to supplement Caroline’s history. Take some time to explore this site. The prices are reasonable as well!
At the Library
This little picture book is perfect for a quiet time with a wee little.
Pond Babies by Cathryn Falwell
As you can see, we have babies on the mind around here.
Baby-Led Breastfeeding
You would think that by now I would be an expert at nursing…but I am not. I do ok, but I have been struggling in the evening with frequent feedings and not producing enough during this batch feeding. I picked this book up, and I have found many helpful reminders and some new things to try. Yesterday afternoon I relaxed as I laid down with Samuel, tried new nursing positions, and enjoyed some skin to skin snuggle time as well. Nursing is wonderful when I relax!
A morning spent at the park and library after an orthodontist visit was just what we needed after an intense first three weeks of school. My older girls are loving their online classes, but getting back into the school groove after a long summer has not been without its moments of drama. I cannot believe that September is almost come and gone!
We never had a governess…
Pride and Prejudice Chapter 29
Elizabeth felt all the impertinence of her questions, but answered them very composedly. — Lady Catherine then observed,
“Your father’s estate is entailed on Mr. Collins, I think. For your sake,” turning to Charlotte, “I am glad of it; but otherwise I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. — It was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s family. — Do you play and sing, Miss Bennet?”
“A little.”
“Oh! then — some time or other we shall be happy to hear you. Our instrument is a capital one, probably superior to — You shall try it some day. — Do your sisters play and sing?”
“One of them does.”
“Why did not you all learn? — You ought all to have learned. The Miss Webbs all play, and their father has not so good an income as your’s. — Do you draw?”
“No, not at all.”
“What, none of you?”
“Not one.”
“That is very strange. But I suppose you had no opportunity. Your mother should have taken you to town every spring for the benefit of masters.”
“My mother would have had no objection, but my father hates London.”
“Has your governess left you?”
“We never had any governess.”
“No governess! How was that possible? Five daughters brought up at home without a governess! — I never heard of such a thing. Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education.”
Elizabeth could hardly help smiling, as she assured her that had not been the case.
“Then, who taught you? who attended to you? Without a governess you must have been neglected.”
“Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such of us as wished to learn, never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary. Those who chose to be idle, certainly might.”
I never saw such a woman…
Pride and Prejudice Chapter 8
Elizabeth was so much caught by what passed, as to leave her very little attention for her book; and soon laying it wholly aside, she drew near the card-table, and stationed herself between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister to observe the game.
“Is Miss Darcy much grown since the spring?” said Miss Bingley; “will she be as tall as I am?”
“I think she will. She is now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s height, or rather taller.”
“How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners, and so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the piano-forte is exquisite.”
“It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”
“All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?”
“Yes all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover skreens, and net purses. I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”
“Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy, “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse, or covering a skreen. But I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half a dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished.”
“Nor I, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley.
“Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished women.”
“Yes; I do comprehend a great deal in it.”
“Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished, who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.”
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”
“I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.”
“Are you so severe upon your own sex, as to doubt the possibility of all this?”
“I never saw such a woman, I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united.”
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice of her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew many women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst called them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention to what was going forward. As all conversation was thereby at an end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room.
I never saw such a woman….such wisdom. I keep Elizabeth always in my mind as I raise my daughters. Pride and prejudice… it is a constant struggle.
Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic
Education as Communication
As my children grow I am concerned about the mind and how it processes information and how it is developing. A child that has no academic skills can scarcely have a decent conversation or express himself properly. Academic education is essential in the arena of communication. To begin the wonderful process of learning to communicate, I concentrate on awakening the mind with great literature, lots of outside in nature discovery, many conversations, playing nursery rhyme games, learning to read independently, and learning to do simple math. I also use dictation as a pathway to writing. I believe in an easy approach, very gentle, and free to adjust to the needs of the young child. If a child’s life is full of all the things I have written about in this series, I believe this experience is quite enough.
This foundation of reading, writing, and arithmetic continues even as my children get older. I feel that if they are reading good books and having great conversations about the books, learning to communicate with sentences, and if they are progressing in their understanding of arithmetic this is more than enough. The extra classes get swept up in all the conversations of life and left for the child to pursue as their interest leads them. I may introduce science and history and art as we go along, but I try to always keep it organic to what we are experiencing in literature or our daily life.
Here are some my favorite resources for reading:
The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading
This phonics based reading program is absolutely my favorite homeschool resource. The pages of this book are worn, stained, written in, and filled with memories and reminders. I have taught three children to read with its simple and straight forward approach. No bells and whistles, just plain old reading instruction. I look forward to using the same book with Elinor, age 3, starting this year.
Reading Strands
This is published by the same people who offer the Writing Strands curriculum. I do not use the writing curriculum, but the Reading Strands book is a great resource for the Socratic method of discussing literature. It gives great examples of literature conversations, and it also has wonderful reading lists for all ages. I return to this book all the time.
Caldecott Medal Winners
Nothing is better than building a great picture book library in the home. Even my older girls still love a good picture book. I also have added many Orthodox picture books to my growing collection. Reading aloud to young children is a great privilege and joy. This Caldecott list is a great place to start.
Newberry Medal and Honor Books
Some of the greatest books I have ever read were written for young adults. This list is an invaluable resource for those who want to expose children to life changing literature.
The New Lifetime Reading Plan
I bought this book, I think it is the first edition, for myself when I was twenty years old. I have referred to the concept many times. Over a lifetime I plan to read and read well. I use this persuasion on my children. If you are going to read, read well.
A few writing resources:
In this section I have not bought any resources that I think are any better than dictation and copywork. I use the Bible, a child’s own thoughts, lines from literature, and whatever comes to me to help children begin the awesome journey of sentence writing. All writing requires is one well put together sentence after another. As the child grows in confidence and creativity the sentences become paragraphs, and paragraphs become stories. Essay writing comes afterward when a child has had enough life experience to have an opinion, to stake a claim in the world of ideas and argument. This Rhetoric stage requires more instruction. I am yet to have a resource list for this stage. So far, I have used the five paragraph essay, and basic story writing instruction mostly found on the internet.
A few arithmetic resources:
Blocks, beads, M&Ms, pennies, and other fun things to count. Calendars, tally marks, and counting the inventory in the pantry. Colors, shapes, and seeing them everywhere. All this stuff is free and easy to teach a young child. Why buy a curriculum?
Math-U-See
AS the child grows, but is still very young…2nd grade… I like to introduce adding and subtracting. Keeping with my foundation of math in the real world, I like Math-U-See as a spine. It is just what it says, it is math you can see. I use the manipulatives consistently, and I love how it teaches place value. Numbers are abstract and very foreign to the concrete brains of youngsters. This curriculum does a great job of making numbers tangible and fun for young mathematicians.
Key Curriculum Workbooks
My kids have loved these workbooks, and I guess I would pay a lot for them. Fortunately they are very economical. The price is not reflective of the value. Again, the approach is simple and the content is engaging. I have been pleased at how well my oldest daughter learned fractions, decimals, and percents through this curriculum. She even did their Algebra workbooks..can’t complain there either. My second daughter finished fractions and the process was almost painless. I was a little worried with her because she does not like Math all that much. Love these workbooks!
Orthodox Homeschooling
Great Picture Books
When I go to the library I like to have a plan when it comes to picture books. Let’s face it, not all picture books are equal. I let my Littles explore themselves, but I also have an idea of the books I want to take home. This list has not been updated since 2009, but I plan on making my own and sharing it here later this year. This list contains an alphabetical list of great picture books, including most of the famous Caldecott winners. The A-Z list is handy if you would like to incorporate literature into alphabet units. Enjoy!
A Chime of Hearts 