In the Heart of my Home

A is for Apples and Artists

Fridays in our house are dedicated to art and Shakespeare. It's my ahhhh at the end of the week. Our Shakespeare studies are outlined here. Look for that whole page to be re-designed. I had trouble following it last week;-)

In our framework for lessons here in the heart of my home, Along the Alphabet Path, art is definitely an every age endeavor. There is more than enough here for everyone. Using Museum ABC as a spine, we have an introduction to 26 great works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For the letter "A" we studied Cezanne's apples.

The Met website does a fabulous job with this particular piece, with a wonderful online lesson. There is an online biography of Cezanne with plenty of information about the artist and his place in the art world. 

There are online games and activities and there are suggestions for "on paper" games and activities.

That would be plenty.

But wait, I have more;-).

Remember Degas and the Little Dancer? We love her. Laurence Anholt has written a whole series of books like that one. These are painstakingly researched books which bring to life the stories of real children who knew the artists. Cezanne's story is one of his son, Paul, and the friendship father and son develop when they are reunited on a painting expedition in the mountains of southern France. 

And, there's an app for that! Well, almost. Anholt's Van Gogh and the Sunflowers book has been developed into an iPad app. It's a truly lovely app, at that:-) I look forward to seeing more of his books broadened this way.

We also really enjoy Mike Venezia's series, Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists. His volume on Cezanne offers plenty of biographical detail so that children can create a notebook page and lovely reproductions that expose them to much more of this artist's work. 

The Met site suggests a simple hands-on still life activity. Laurence Anholt's Artists Activity Book poses a charcoal challenge in the spirit of Cezanne. Anybody else find that charcoal is most challenging for mothers? Ah, the mess. Let them make a mess. Say it with me. Maybe we'll believe it. There are activities in the Artists Activity Book for each of the books in the artist series. This book is a keeper!

Then, pulling books off my shelf, I found a more detailed still life activity and a lovely biography in Monet and the Impressionists for Kids. In Discovering Great Artists, MaryAnn Kohl offers still more still-life instruction. Clearly, there's a theme here.

Finally, for the child who is just super stuck and can't get anything on paper, there's a coloring sheet in Masterpieces: A Fact-Filled Coloring Book that provides the basic forms and lets kids focus on color. .

For more about our Storybook Year, please visit here.

Meet The Art History Mom

This afternoon, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Kristen Nelson, The Art History Mom. Kristen's website is a treasure trove for all moms, homeschooling or not. Please take a few minutes and get acquainted. There's nothing to buy. Everything she offers is absolutely free of charge.

Who?

Artistic roots.

Growing up in New Orleans, Kristen was exposed to all sorts of wonderful music, architecture, art, and people. Her passion for art was born in her teen years, when she attended Metairie Park Country Day, a school with an excellent art curriculum. In college she studied fine art and art history at Colorado State University. During this time she spent her first summer in Italy studying Renaissance frescoes. If she wasn’t hooked on art before, that surely did it!

In her late 20s, she took a break from her high-pressure advertising career in Atlanta to follow her dream of living in Italy. Through an amazing job at Trinity College’s Elderhostel program, she led tours of the Italian art scene throughout the country from her base in Rome.

Museum match-making.

Two years later she returned to the States and resumed her career in graphic design. She met her husband, Christian, on a blind date. Not knowing anything about her, he suggested they meet at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art. The first time they met face to face, they were standing under the gaze of a Rodin sculpture.

Christian is a golf enthusiast who works in finance, but he loves art as well. His favorite period is Soviet Constructivism. Hers is Italian Medieval. What’s yours? If there is a certain genre, work of art, or artist you’d like to see featured in her blog, please head over and let her know. She’ll do her best to oblige you.

Friends in artsy places. 

To make sure Kristen gets all of her art history facts straight, she consults with her beautiful and brilliant friend, Monica Shenouda, who currently lives in Florence. Kristen and Monica worked together in Rome. Since then, Monica’s earned her doctorate in art history from the University of Virginia. When Monica’s not teaching for Pepperdine University’s Study Abroad program, you can find her giving tours of places like the Uffizzi Gallery for Context Travel. Kristen likes to think that her art blog is a way for all of us to break from the daily routine and join Monica in Italy, where artistic tradition is so deeply rooted.

Why?

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau

Art is so important. More than merely looking at pretty pictures or objects, it’s about learning how to see. This means recognizing beauty not only in art, but throughout the world around us. Although some people enter this world with the eyes of an artist, the ability to see is a learned skill anyone can acquire, especially impressionable children.

Think about the many images our kids are exposed to on a daily basis. Just to name a few: loud, often violent video games; over-stimulating TV commercials; and visually cluttered billboards hovering above as they ride in the back of our SUVs. But how many of these images actually give meaning to their lives? Or elevate their hearts and minds?

A lifelong gift.

Kristen's mother-in-law, Carol, tells an interesting story. When Carol was 7 years old living in Pensacola, Florida, just after World War II, her mother spent $25 (a small fortune at the time) on an art book filled with photos of masterpieces. It was placed prominently in the living room.

Her young daughter, Carol, quickly discovered the great treasure and was soon spending hours devouring its contents. The pages were filled with a beauty and mystery that fed her soul for years—after all, she didn’t have an iPad! Carol would gaze at the people in the paintings, make up stories about them, and imagine what it would be like to be part of their worlds.

Kristen's mother-in-law, Carol, holding her childhood treasure.

Later in life, when visiting museums, Carol would point and exclaim, “That’s Raphael!” or “Look at that gorgeous landscape by Turner!” Because Carol shared her artistic enthusiasm with her son, when he became Kristen's husband, they were able to enjoy art together. Now they're intent on passing this appreciation on to their children.

Great art is a click away.

It’s Kristen's hope that her blog will help you foster a deep affection for art in your child, too. Sadly, young people in America are under-exposed to images that enlarge their worldview in an inspiring way. And unless you live in a major metropolitan city, it’s difficult to visit museums to show your kids great paintings, sculpture, and architecture.

That’s why Kristen is bringing the masterpieces to you! She’ll cover all genres, posting different works of art along with kid-friendly talking points. Discussing art can be intimidating, so Kristen will make it easy for you. And although copyright restrictions exist for works created within the last 90 years, modern art will be included whenever possible.

As a parent, your part is to look at the images with your child and discuss what you see. (Kristen loves to hear your comments, and your children’s!) The featured pieces will be followed by a related art project, enabling your little ones to create something beautiful, while reinforcing what they’ve learned.

Along the way, your kids will expand their vocabulary and gain useful knowledge about geography and culture. I hope that together you discover not only the joy of art, but the joy of exploring it side by side.

So, are you with her?

If so, please subscribe here. It's free:-)

How?

So, how do you get the most out of this website? Here are a few tips.

1. Show your excitement. As parents, we all know that our children imitate our attitudes and actions. (Don’t you hate that sometimes?) That’s why it’s important for you to model enthusiasm. It sounds obvious, but if you are excited about viewing and discussing art, your kids will be, too.
2. Read before you share. I highly recommend reading the blog post before you share it with your kids. Take into consideration the ages of your children and plan accordingly. For little ones, you may only want to show them the images and talk about the colors and shapes you see. My 5-year-old likes to look at the artwork and go straight to the Fun Facts section. Tweens and teens might need a little more substance so they can explore the links within the post.
3. Timing is everything. If your kids are like most, as soon as you sit down with your laptop or tablet they are on top of you. This is the perfect time to pull up Art History Mom and explore a recent post together.
4. Allow interest to build. When first introducing her site to your kids, keep it short and sweet. The more art history I show my children, the more enthusiastic they become—but it takes time. You might want to start with a specific blog post your child will find interesting. Show them the images and point out a few engaging facts. Each time you visit the blog, spend a little more time. The point is to keep it positive so your kids will want to revisit the site and explore more art.
5. Tools of the trade. At the beginning of each post you’ll see a link to a page of flash cards. Print these out and cut them along the dotted lines. Then have your child write the answers to the questions on the back of each card as you review the post together. You can use them throughout the week for pop quizzes!
6. Pause for questions. You can read the post to your child or let him or her lead. If you’re guiding your child through the post, don’t forget to pause after the questions, giving some time to think and answer.
7. Display the art. Print out the featured artwork and post it in a prominent place in your home for a week or so. It will reinforce the lesson and you can engage your child by asking them questions about the artwork.
8. Bigger is better. Although this site is smartphone-friendly, you’ll have a better experience viewing the posts on a desktop, laptop, or tablet.
9. Homeschooling. If you’re a homeschool mom, I would be overjoyed if you choose to use this site as part of your curriculum. Incorporate it into your weekly routine and designate a special morning or afternoon to learning about art history.

Click here to see Kristen's full site!

Could it be a Storybook Year?

Late last summer, as I was gathering my thoughts on curriculum and trying to plan the year, I hit a wall. Actually, I was probably already flat up against the wall, but the time of year compelled me to do what I'd always done, so I pressed on. But I didn't want to plan. And I wasn't enthused about all the things that had previously sparked so much creative energy. It wasn't exactly burnout. It was more like beaten-out. I hadn't wanted to share learning ideas for over a year, but by last summer, I didn't even want to write them for myself. It just wasn't fun anymore.

I thought about just sending off for several boxes of pre-planned curriculum. And then I consulted the budget. I looked around my house at all the resources we own. I didn't order anything. Nothing. That became the plan. Use what we have and just get the job done. 

We have an abundance of picture  books. I love picture books. When I was in college, I'd forego the coffee shop in the Student Union Building and head instead to the tiny corner of the adjacent bookstore that was home to the children's books. I saved my latte pennies for a hardbound copy of The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit. Way better. I loved the small room in the Ed School library that was lined with shelves of children's literature. When we were assigned a semester-long project to compile an index card file of children's books, I filled three boxes. Every card was color-coded and annotated and illustrated. I still have those cards. I loved that project.

For over twenty years, I have been inspired by the art and the literature of picture books. I've thrown my whole heart into creating with books, whether it was bulletin boards in a classroom or fullblown unit studies for many ages. Literature-based learning was where I invested most of my creative energy. Some people love their cameras, some their paints, others their yarn or fabric. For me, it was always those beautiful books and the endless possiblities of things we could do with them.

I recalled a conversation with an old friend. Several years ago, we wondered if everything in an elementary curriculum could probably be taught with a good picture book. This year became my year to test the theory. Sort of.

We read widely from these lists (and more), both as read-alouds and read alones. Sustaining attention for long stories is a cornerstone of how we learn in our home.

The Montessori maps come out for geography review a couple times a week. 

For my fifth-grader, I have a good math text, Rosetta Stone, some art history, nature notebooks, and, at his request, Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. All the rest? Picture books.

For my third grader, math, Rosetta Stone, nature notebooks, drawing instruction, and picture books. 

For my little ones, lots of mama time. And picture books.

I take the week's copywork from the picture books. I take the poem to memorize that week from a picture book. Every night, each of the three youngest girls chooses two picture books for me to read before going to sleep.

What unfolded is not a curriculum. It's a "freedom within limits" plan that works for us. I share it here to tell you what we've been up to, not so much as to suggest you adopt it. It's entirely real learning in the heart of our home. I thought about all the categories of books, all the subjects typical programs of studies will cover. Also, I was sure to leave some grids for me to add in books I love and just don't want them to miss.  I gridded all the different categories in a weekly planning sheet. The sheet has changed several times this year as I add and delete as necessary. I've thoughtfully included the things that are important us, the components of a Charlotte Mason curriculum that I hold dear. 

We read the books together or the children read them to themselves. Sometimes, they have books in common on their charts. Sometimes, they have their own particular books. I sit down the weekend before and plan out the week. I key the saints' picture books to the liturgical year. Usually, I'll ask if there is a book they want to read and let them choose within each discipline. Occasionally, I'll gather up the stack myself. It's important for me to gather all the books before the week begins so I don't spend hours looking under couch cushions or behind beds for the books I am certain I just saw.

Sometimes, there is a theme across disciplines. Nicky might read  A Swim Through the Sea, Man Fish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau, and mom's choice of Night of the Moonjellies. Katie might ask about Manassas Battlefield Park as we drive by it daily, back and forth to ballet. The following week, I'll write in books like Follow the Drinking Gourd, Henry's Freedom Box, Civil War Artist, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War.

More often, though, this is not about unit studies, but about a wide banquet of varied topics. If a child is super-interested in something, it's simple enough to scuttle the written plan and dig deeply with more on-topic books. Two important things about scuttling the plan:  

• There must be a plan to scuttle; this isn't freewheeling and hoping that books thrown everywhere will catch someone's attention.
• If you ditch the plan, it's only to do something better. It's never to do nothing. And we need a written plan for the "something better."

Every day, the children respond in writing to at least one book. They can choose a writing project from a long list of projects or they can propose another. Not every book requires a formal response. Some books, we read, we talk about just a little, and then we close it and put it on the shelf. But every day requires some kind of writing. Every day. They might dictate a simple narration. They might peck out their own narrations. They might take off and create an elaborate screenplay. Whatever they choose, they must write something.

With the time that's left in the day, they can choose from other ways to respond to books and get as creative as they like with any book they've read that day or previously. We're busy. We're productive. We're surrounded by good language and great art. And the creative energy has returned to our educational adventures.

It's all good.

Tell me about your book: 

• Write and tell a friend about the story. 
• Make a detailed map of the setting of the book.
• Is it a circle story? Can you draw it?
• Did something really catch your attention? Want to research it further?

• If historical, add it to your Book of Centuries. (we do this with every historical book)
• Write a letter from the main character to you.
• Choose a character you’d like to have as a friend.  Write him or her a letter. 
• Plan & cook something to go with the book
• Tell why it would (or wouldn’t) make a great movie. 
• Describe an incident from it as though you were an on-the-scene TV reporter.
• Create a collage.
• Make up a rhyming poem about it
• Illustrate w/drawings or photos
• Explain its funniest (or saddest or most exciting) incident.
• Make a new book jacket for the book
• Do a puppet show.
• Read the book aloud as radio theatre and record it.
• Write 3 paragraphs in a diary as if you were your favorite character. 
• Design and draw costumes for some of the characters.
• Design quilt squares to go with the book
• Tell what your home would look like if you were one of the main characters. 
• Write a biography of one of the characters.
• Write a human interest story about one of the characters in the book.
• Write a letter to the editor about an issue in the book.
• Create magazine ad for the book.
• Create a television ad for the book
• Draw it into newspaper cartooning squares.
• Play charades w/themes from the book
• Pretend a character had made an important decision differently. Write a new ending.
• Make a list of facts you learned in the book
• Write an Amazon review.
• Plan a field trip inspired by the book
• Compare versions of the same story.
• Compare the book to the movie version
• Make peg dolls to go with the book.
• Compare it to another book the author/illustrator has written. This might be a comparison of art or of the story.
• Use its title to write your own story. 
• Write a letter to the author
• Pretend you are the author. Write a publisher, pictching your book.

 Picture books make me happy. This blog is for sharing what makes me happy. I can't promise you a book a day. There's no way I'm going to post big plans for every book. I do hope to share a little of our picture book love on a regular basis here. A quick review, a picture or two, some ideas on where the book took us--little snapshots of books we all love. I know that not all my readers are homeschoolers. I'm certain, though, that these books can enrich the lives of all the children we love.

 

 

 

Really Noticing the Art in Our Homes

On a Friday in Ponte Vedra, far from the chill and ice of home, my family gathered in the oceanfront home of my Aunt Diane. We were far from the dining room table, from our books, from our schedules. But we were in full learning mode. We had a mission.

(That's a museum chair Nick. Careful.)

My aunt is the founder of the Thomas and Diane D Jacobsen Foundation; both her home and her office are hung with museum quality art. We had spent the previous day in the office, where Aunt Diane and her assistant Kelley gave us a tour of the more contemporary art hung there and illuminated the fine points of the "Art of Seating" chair collection which is traveling museums across the country. We had the opportunity to better understand how furniture, while certainly functional, is art itself. Kelley's children were there, too and we all were able to spend all the time we wanted to get up close and personal with some amazing art.

 

 

When Kelley asked us to meet her at my aunt's home the next day to help her with a project, we were all glad to go. Our assignment was to help write a scavenger hunt for various ages who might come tour the art in the home. School groups and adult fundraisers have been known to walk through each room, taking in the vast collection of mostly American art. Kelley thought we could help come up with some clues to send art lovers off on a search. 

I took Sarah and Mike took Karoline and the rest were on their own. We went from room to room, looking carefully at paintings, sculpture, and furniture, and recording clues that might lead a keen observer to find "our" art. We noticed that Sarah was drawn to dancers and is a big fan of sculpture. One of her clues was "The dancer who couldn't find her leotard." You can see the dancer on the table below.

(This painting was a huge favorite. Goldilocks and the Three Bears is the bedtime story of choice.)

We spent a couple of hours sitting in the living room, soaking up the view of the ocean outside and listening to Kelley and Diane as they applauded our clues and then told us so much more about everything we saw inside.

Most of us don't live in homes hung with fine art. But almost all of us live in homes with pictures on the wall and statues on the tables. How carefully do we look at the details of the art that graces our homes? One afternoon, gather all ages and send each child off with a pencil and paper. Challenge them write a clue about a favorite piece of art. And then another and another. Framed prints, photographs, folk art and embroidery, statues, even pottery can be considered. You do it, too. The idea is to look closely and notice.

Notice.  

(Needlepoint on a stool? Hmmm. Coming soon to a Virginia home we all know.)

Then, come together. Read one clue at a time aloud and see who can guess which piece it describes. Does anyone have something additional to add about that art? Is there a question raised that would prompt follow-up research? 

 

(That's the "Girl in the Red Shawl," my personal favorite, and Man with the Red Solo Cup, my other personal favorite.)

Often the familiar items that surround us almost every day go nearly unnoticed by the people who live with them. It is amazing how much we can appreciate the familiar when we take the time to really notice.

Pin It

A Pleasant Way to Spend the Afternoon

 

Intentional Weekend: Nature Center

A visit to the Nature Center is always time well spent.

 

Checking out the snakes and chatting with the naturalist to see if he thinks the snake at Bull Run last spring was a Cottonmouth. (He doesn't, phew.)

 
 
 

Watching turtles and waving at fish.

 

Trusting that the glass is sound and secure.

 

Examining the garden and marveling at new growth.

 

And maybe the most fun of all: singing and dancing on the outdoor stage. We're looking forward to going back and being spectators when the Arts in the Parks take stage. See you there?

Creative Inspiration: Paint Creekside

Morning dawned bright and beautiful. When the question was posed, they couldn't decide: drag the easel outside and paint in the sunshine or go to the woods and play in the creek?

It hit us all at once.

Duh.

Paint Creekside! 

So we did.

{quick big brother assembly}

{The best watercolor water  for nature pictures is collected in the creek}

{sittin' 'n' thinkin'}

{she dresses herself.}

{sharing sunnies from karoline's easter basket. sarah annie looks worried that she's going to be cut off.}

{serious stuff}

{Nick's masterpiece}

In the Image of the Creator

I'm talking shamrocks and rainbows and having the confidence to create over at the Herald today. Won't you please join me? Click here:-)

 

Chasing Away February Gray

When the outside is undoubtedly gray, day after day after day,

it's time to make color come alive inside.

I like to wait until midwinter for

an infusion of new color

with which to doodle,

jot,

and journal...

We can get them all broken in just before it's time to capture the glorious colors of spring.

See Ginny for a grand collection of color.

{This winter's art supplies come from Stubby Pencil Studio. I was not compensated in any way for this post. We're just getting to know them, but so far, we're pleased:-)}

 

Happy Morning Crafting

Gracie is an early bird, often ready for the day to begin an hour or more before the other girls awaken. Nicholas is often up, too, but he wants his quiet and his sports headlines and he isn't a very good early morning companion. Just so happens that Gracie doesn't really need to talk to anyone in the morning; she's happiest with a bottle of glue, some markers and popsicle sticks. Crazy, ridiculous happy.

 

So, this summer, I called to mind my own happy mornings at a preschool in Charlottesville, where we'd take a few moments the night before to prepare a table for arriving children the following morning. Usually, we'd leave out the makings of a very simple craft or drawing activity. The assumption is that teachers might be busy greeting children or talking with parents, so these should be activities that required little or no instruction or supervision. Honestly, though, I loved it when I could pull up an undersized chair and work right alongside them.

This summer, the "school" table in the sunroom has been a perpetual craft table. I tidy it at night and try to leave something inspiring there for Gracie and whoever shakes off sleep and joins her there.

 

My very favorite activity at that long-ago preschool was making "stained glass pictures." (I've even shared it with you previously.) We'd cut tissue paper into squares and leave them in a basket for the children. Then, we'd water down some liquid starch and provide soft paintbrushes and plain white copy paper (this doesn't work as well with construction paper). The children would place the dry squares on the white paper and then paint over them with starch, overlapping at will. Can't quite capture it, but there's something infinitely relaxing and rewarding about this process. Really, you must try it.

 

This summer, we took the basic idea and tried it with glass jars, after I saw something similar on a blog I've now forgotten. [Please email me if this was you--I'm happy to link:-)]

Instead of starch, I used diluted white glue. I gathered jars of all sorts. My favorite shape is a Dijon mustard jar.

 

The children "painted" on the squares, being careful not to leave any edges dry.

 

It was a rewarding process and they were surprised to see how different each person's jar was, though they'd all begun with the same materials.
 

The finished product is both beautiful and useful.
 

While they make lovely flower vases, do be careful. They don't take kindly to water drips and filling and emptying is most definitely a mom job.

 

They make lovely votive candle holders, though.
 

And my absolute favorite pencil holder ever.
 

Beautiful, useful crafts that even the littlest hands can successfully complete.

Happy summer morning!

How a 3-year-old leaves her work

by Mary Beth

How to Calm a Cranky Afternoon

Stir

two cups flour

one cup salt

2 cups water

four Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tsp cream of tartar

in a heavy saucepan

cook over medium-low heat

until it's so stiff you need a tall, strong boy

to continue stirring for you

turn out onto waxed paper

sprinkle liberally with food coloring

you might want to choose purple because

if you add a few drops

lavender essential oil

magical things will happen...

in the kneading and the rolling

Mama will inhale the lovely scent and find her shoulders

relaxing

and then the cherubs will come

from near and far

to twist and pound and roll

and

and sculpt

and sniff.

Lavender and squishing dough through one's fingers--

creating silliness--

calming craziness--

magically

 quieting

a rowdy rumpus!

No lavender? Vanilla extract works nearly as well:-)

The Fine Art of Fingerpainting

 

A few weeks ago, we had a fingerpainting party in the backyard.

My neighbor came over and brought with her an teenaged exchange student from France who was staying with her family for awhile.

The girls "painted" and we chatted. And a good time was had by all.

 

Our French visitor commented that she had never seen anything like it.

Later that evening, Katie said to me, "Mama, didn't you say that C was from France?"

 

"I did. She lives in France with her family and is visiting to have a chance to practice English."
 

"And don't the French have all that really good art. You know, like Monet and the Versailles and everything?"

"They do. Lots of very fine art."

 

"Then how in the WORLD could she never have heard of fingerpaints? Can you believe that? She's lived her whole life and never, ever, fingerpainted.

Amazing."

Sidewalk Chalk

 
 

In The Beginning

The first week of Family Bible Study. Photos by Mary Beth

~Mary Beth

Past due Pp Post

We took our time on Pp week and now I've taken my time Posting all the Particulars. I don't always Post all we do along the Alphabet Path, but Pp was Particularly Packed and Pleased the People in my house enough to make it worth recording for Posterity.

Pp is for Packages delivered by Post.

~

We don't know who sent it, or even the Place from where it came. Perfect Present for these little girls (and some brothers, too)! They so enjoyed making Paper dolls. Thank you to the Present Person!

Pp is for Pellets.

Nicky is studying birds and, with Stephen's help (and not a little Persuasion), he dissected owl Pellets and reconstructed a mole skeleton.

Pp is for Peter!

Karoline was so taken with Peter in a Snowy Day that we read a few more Peter stories for Pp week:

Peter's Chair

Whistle for Willie

Pet Show!

and we brought a Peter doll into our home to love.

Pp is for Painted Pebbles

 

We painted stones a la Egyptian scarab stones, an activity in Global Art.

Pp is for Pope

Lolek: The boy Who Became Pope

This book truly deserves its own Post. Nicholas has read it countless times since he got if for Epiphany. And I've read it aloud to everyone several more times. I can't say enough about the sensitivity with which it's written. Clearly the author-illustrator team has a deep love for John Paul II. I find the illustrations utterly charming and Nicholas was quite taken with finding the whisper-printed "Totus Tuus" in every illustration. Just a perfect, perfect picture book! Check out the website here.

Warning: it has ignited in my children a Passion for Polish Pottery;-)

Pp is for a Pink Princess Party

 

Pretty, Pretty Pretzels. The Pink Princess book was also a present, from those Alphabet Path Pals across the country. Nothing like kindred spirits, is there girls?

Pp is for Popcorn Balls

We love to make and eat these and now, we think they might have magical Powers;-).

Pp is for Patricia Polacco

The Lemonade Club

Thank You/ Mr. Falker

Ginger and Petunia

When Lightning Comes in a Jar

The Keeping Quilt

I Can Hear the Sun

Thunder Cake

Rechenka's Eggs

For the Love of Autumn

Chicken Sunday

Pink and Say

The Trees of the Dancing Goats

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair

Mommies Say Shh!

Luba and Wren

Nearly every Post on the Alphabet Path has its own Author Study now. We are enjoying becoming intimately acquainted with each author.

Pp is for Pedestrian

Sarah Annie, always the dramatic one with timing milestones, has a Pp Post of her own

And, of course Pp is for St. Patrick, but we're Procrastinating a bit and we'll get to that next week.

We've Reached the End of the Alphabet Path

Late in the summer of 2007, I was rather melancholy. Michael had left for college. I had a baby approaching a first birthday and lots of other birthdays looming on the horizon. In my thoughts and prayers, I wanted the mama who started a home education adventure with Michael to sit down with the mama who just left her first child at college and was wondering how to muster the enthusiasm to offer the same adventure to her very young children. I wanted the experienced mama to benefit from the enthusiastic, idealistic mama. Mostly, though, I wanted to capture the joy for my children and to commit again to being a good mama.

Through the end of August and most of September, I mused aloud in this space. I was pretty much misunderstood and for the first time in my life, I comprehended the limitations of words. It was a very lonely time. Lonely times are good, though. They provide clarity like no other time can.

During that time, there was a dear friend who was hearing what I was writing and understanding it perfectly. She knew what I was trying to convey here and she knew what I was holding close to my heart.Privately, we shared ideas and theories with a joy that comes so rarely in a lifetime. While people parsed words and bandied about arguments, we began to dream a story. Just when the chatter around us reached its loudest cacophony, Katherine retreated quietly to create something beautiful.

Katherine took very best I ever dreamed for my children and made it so much more beautiful. She understood that what I wanted was an intentional education, rich in faith and literature and beauty and creativity. She wove it all into a beautiful package and surprised me with it one morning.

"I stayed up all night creating this blog," she said. "I think I got right. You can do what good teachers do. You can show, instead of tell."

And so it was that I was formally introduced to Michael and Mrs. Applebee. The story, the art, the books--it was all like we had imagined it would be in those long conversations together. Only it was so much better.

After the first few installments, I began to write the stories, to weave the magic of it all, happy again to be creating a beautiful education for my children. And then, my daughter began to collaborate, writing stories to delight her little sisters. Time went on and we were blessed with other contributors.Kindred spirits caught the vision and help to convey it.Good mamas who were caught up in the enthusiasm of great education. Serendipity became more than just the Alphabet Path. And over time, The Alphabet Path story grew and grew and grew until Cindy designed a website so that we could find our places easily.

Today, we find ourselves at the end of The Alphabet Path. Our characters--now a part of our family culture-- have reached the end of their adventure. Every single contributor on Serendipity has had or will have a new baby this school year. We've only just begun. God has smiled on us and blessed us with precious new souls to share His truth and beauty. This journey is and always has been about those children. Just as she did with Mrs. Applebee, Emily has created the art for our final story. And Mary Beth has woven all the characters into a final story. Michael and Mrs. Applebee are having a grand parade and party. It's a celebration. A celebration of so many things, really. I'm struck by the implications of the artist and the author. Katherine's daughter drew the picture; my daughter wrote the story. These precious girls, more than anyone else, understand the gift of The Alphabet Path. They understand the treasure of a rich education in truth and beauty. Because of them, it's easy to look with joy towards the future of our real life path. Because of them, I have a good idea where this all leads and I am giddy with anticipation for what is yet to come.

(Psst, Katherine moved her blog back to Typepad. It's really pretty. You can see it here.)

The Feast of Eric Carle

At the end of this week of feasting in the middle of Lent, I found myself this morning utterly charmed by the Google logo. At my friend Donna's site, I learned it was a special occasion, the 40th anniversary of the publication of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I did a little mental inventory of craft supplies. I did some googling. Mary Beth did some googling. We had a little conference. And the day began to wiggle along most delightedly. I needed this day. I needed the charm of delight-directed children. I needed the relative ease of pulling off some fun learning. I needed Stephen's bemusement as I frosted a caterpillar cake. "I think," said he, "it must be the Feast of Eric Carle."

Indeed.

Mary Beth took pictures to capture the day, of course. So, she's going to take this post from here.

I took more pictures and I'm going to do this just like the St. Patrick's Day Post. Enjoy!

I printed these out at DLTK, here! Then I made the numbers to correlate to the day--not to the number of items.

 

 

 

 

Science Today: The life cycle of the butterfly. Nicky and Katie both did this. It was printed out from here and they put them in the right places and then made their own.

 

 

Pattern Block Mat Printed out here! Katie, Kari, and Nick all did this one.

Thumbprint Caterpillars! From Ed Emberley's book

Egg Carton Caterpillars after we had omelets for lunch. Even Paddy was inspired to do this one!

 

 

 

Then, from our very old book (which is now out of print) we made our own Eric Carle collages.

 

 

 

I made all of the things that the caterpillar ate.

Mom topped the day off with going to the store and collecting ingredients for this.

 

Isn't he very cute?!

 

 

This was a very fun day, even if we planned as we went.

Next time, we're going to do this project.

The Daily Details

Katy and Becky both wrote to ask what the days look like inside my plan. Here's the daily detail (at least theoretically):
Monday: Download monday_rhythm.pdf
Tuesday:Download tuesday_detail.pdf
Wednesday: Download wednesday_detail.pdf
Thursday:Download thursday_detail.pdf
Friday: Download friday_detail.pdf
Hope this is a help as you plan!

Charlotte Mason Summer Study: Education is a Life

Education is a life! Isn't that the truth?
    I think I'm most aware of this truth when I consider how much I've been educated since leaving formal education. First, there was a "unit study" on marriage, with a little rabbit trail on weddings. Running along at the same time was a study of real estate. These studies were followed quickly by an intensive study of pregnancy and childbirth. Then, there was the all night cramming as I learned about breastfeeding and launched a lifelong study of child development. All too soon, we were knee deep in books about surviving cancer. That's a lot of learning in the first three years after college!
    The common thread throughout these studies was my own intense interest. I wanted to know. Instinctively, I searched out the best resources: books written by people who cared about the subject at hand and long talks with experts in the field. And there was prayer. My husband and I prayed incessantly through that time of intense education.
    When I consider the education of my children since then, there are certainly similarities. I have tried to provide for them in our home and in our adventures together away from home an education that is infused with living ideas. I've tried to bear in mind always the admonition of St. Edith Stein: "The children in school do not need merely what we have but rather what we are." And so I have hoped and prayed and worked to give them the best of what I am.
    In Education Is...we read "that children should be fed a great intellectual and moral ideas through a generous curriculum." As we plan, let us plan for the banquet. Let them feast on great ideas, because "only those nourishing ideas become part of the child; mere knowledge does not." We know this to be true when we look over our own education, both in school and out. We know that what we have retained, what has become a part of us are the the good, the beautiful, and the holy--the things that mattered to us. We plan a curriculum with the intention of bringing the best of what the world has to offer into our homes and the hearts of our children. In Catholic Education: Homeward Bound, Mary Hasson and Kimberly Hahn encourage us not to be afraid:

Authentic Catholic education relies on and includes all that is true, good, and beautiful---in short, everything that points the way to God, the source of all truth, goodness and beauty.

It's a big world, full of God's endless bounty; why limit ourselves to only those resources in the boxed curriculum? Let's look at some of the particular methods of a Charlotte Mason-inspired education:

~Living Books

My favorite "definition" of living books comes from Educating the WholeHearted Child.

• A living book is written by a single author, a real and knowable person
• A living book is a literary expression of the author's own ideas and love of the subject
• The author of a living book addresses the reader as an intelligent and capable thinker
• In a living book, ideas are presented creatively in a way that stimulates the imagination.

I stop now and consider my plans for next year. Are living books the backbone of the studies? Am I choosing and presenting to my children the best of what passionate authors and illustrators have to offer?

~Narration:

I admit that writing seems to come as naturally as breathing in my household. My children write almost as readily as they play soccer. And the similarities do not escape me. My husbands writes sports television shows. His area of expertise is soccer. I write a little too;-).(I do not play soccer.) Narration is natural in our verbal household and even my student who struggles most is able to write well. What exactly is narration?

The cornerstone of a real life, real books education is narration. When a child is read story or reads it himself, he is required to retell it, with as much detail as possible, after paying attention to the first and only reading. After a trip to an historical site or a day in an apple orchard, the same method is employed, encouraging the child to use rich, descriptive language to tell about what he knows and cares about. young children narrate orally, with Mom occasionally transcribing what is said. Some young children will naturally use drawings to express themselves and these, too are narrations, either with or without captions.

The benefits to this approach are numerous.Because they are required to narrate after hearing a story or passage read only once, children learn quickly to pay close attention to that reading.They also learn to pay the same attention to the many facets of a field trip. The more details they notice, the more detailed their narrations.Children as young as four can be trained to be very observant and to retell stories and events with amazingly complex, textured language and sentence structure. It is the ideas in the stories or the experiences that fuel the narrations. These products, child-produced oral histories or essays, are a far cry from fill-in-the-blank workbook pages or the questions at the end of a textbook chapter.

Narrations require that a child engage his heart. He must be personally connected with the idea being presented in order to recount it.  ~ Real Learning

~Copywork:

For small children, copy work is a handwriting practice: First a letter, then a word, then a phrase, then a verse. All are done to the very best of the child's ability and saved in the notebook. Excellence is expected.

As a child matures, copy work is the careful study of literature. It is a child's chance to become familiar with the test of great writers, word by word and phrase by phrase. A child copies the work and in doing so learns the intricacies of it on an intimate level. ~Real Learning

~Dictation:

Of dictation, Laura Berquist writes,

Studied dictation is a useful tool in the development of children's writing ability. First, the children are working from models of good writing. They see and study correct usage, punctuation, and spelling, as well as excellent writing of various styles. In the old days of Catholic education, schools were financially poorer, but they turned out excellent scholars as well as faithful Catholics. One reason for this was that neither the children nor the schools could afford books, so lessons were copied and then worked on. This meant that the children were continuously exposed to models of correctly written material. This is another example of the truth that children learn by imitation.~ The Harp and the Laurel Wreath (an excellent source of dictation material)

So, how, exactly does this work?

For the very young child, I simply dictate the words and sentences from the phonics patterns and storybooks we are studying. Our phonics lessons are extracted from rhyming books primarily. As the student becomes a capable reader, dictation passages are taken from copy work material. First, we read and discuss material, noting grammatical patterns or spelling of note, The next day , the child copies it (this may take two days). The third day, he studies it. Then I dictate to him as he writes it. The copy work and final dictation go in the the notebook.

The older child's spelling comes from his dictation work and his own writing. I pull misspelled words from his writing, write them correctly and have him copy them ten times. If I notice a pattern to his mistakes, I will have him copy several words that have the same pattern [the AVKO books are a great resource for pattern lists].~Real Learning

~Picture Study:

The study of pictures should not be left to chance, but they should take one artist after another, term by term, and study quietly some half-dozen reproductions of his work in the course of a term...We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child's sense of beauty,  upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sight of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture. ~Home Education

~Music Study:

Music appreciation follows a similar pattern. I choose one composer every six weeks. We read a little about his life and listen to a Music Masters CD which intersperses his music with an interesting biography.Once a week, we repeat the cassette. Then we play the music often--very often--for six weeks. At the end of the six week period, the children offer narrations of the composer's life ~ Real Learning.

In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God. It must therefore translate into meaningful terms that which is in itself ineffable. Art has the unique capacity to take one or other facet of the message and translate it into colors, shapes, and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who look or listen. ~John Paul II, Letter to Artists

~Book of Centuries:

From the time they are very little, I teach my children to keep notebooks, journaling what they have learned in history. These notebooks become the Book of Centuries . At least once a week, I type their oral narrations for them to illustrate and to place in the
notebook. The notebook is organized chronologically, in order to facilitate the child physically placing an event into the proper time period. Simply insert a tabbed divider for each century into  the notebook. The child files narrations, maps, and other drawings behind the tabs. The organization will help them develop a concept of time.~Real Learning

Do take advantage of the free Book of Centuries download at Simply Charlotte Mason.

~Hands on Math:
Well, all I can say here is that those gnomes sure are hands-on(look for more adventures in the fall)! And we like Math-U-See, too.

~Nature Study:

If you are a nature study novice or if you are in need of a reminder with regard to hows and whys of nature study, start with MacBeth's Opinion. Little else is necessary to get you started.MacBeth is the the master of outdoor education and an inspiration to everyone who is blessed to hear or read her wisdom.

In Charlotte's words:

We must assist the child to educate himself on Nature’s lines, and we must take care not to supplant and crowd out Nature and her methods with that which we call education. Object-lessons should be incidental; and this is where the family enjoys a great advantage over the school. The child who finds that wonderful and beautiful object, a “paper” wasp’s nest…has his lesson on the spot from father or mother~Parents and Children.

The plan is to discuss Hours in the Out-of-Doors: A Charlotte Mason Nature Study Handbook right after we finish Laying Down the Rails. And Laying Down the Rails starts next week!

Tell us all about how education is a life in your home and and how you implement Charlotte Mason's methods as you and your children pursue an authentic education. Be sure to leave a link to your post. If you don't have a blog (or even if you do), feel free to join the conversation at the message board. The rest of the series is here.