Charlotte Mason Family Camp 2021

 Hooray!  It’s time to be thinking about warmer days and fun times with your family!  

Registration for the Charlotte Mason Family Camp opens on March 15!  Join other families who embrace the Charlotte Mason philosophy for five days and four nights at MennoHaven campground in Tiskilwa, Illinois.  

This unique camp gives you ample opportunity to nourish friendships with other families, spend time with your own family, be outside in Gods wonderful nature, and rest away from your regular daily duties.  

Each day begins with an opportunity for prayer.   Morning sessions for moms and dads as well as presentations for kids and nature walks fill the first half of the day. The lake and pool are open daily for splashing with your children.  Afternoon occupations include options for handicrafts, science learning, and much more.  All meals are provided.  Days end with bonfires, teen games, star gazing and more.  

Won’t you join us on the prairie?  Enjoy this video about our upcoming camp for 2021 with photos from last year!  

Charlotte Mason Family Camp 2020 Speakers

Our theme of Family Camp this year is Wonder.  Reflect.  Imagine.  Experience.  Each of the speakers/morning sessions will consider a part of this theme.  

On Thursday morning we will have Jason Barney speak on Narration.   

Jason Barney serves as the Academic Dean at Clapham School, a classical Christian school in

Wheaton, IL. In 2012 he was awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching from

Hillsdale College. He completed his MA in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton College, where he received The Tenney Award in New Testament Studies. In addition to his administrative responsibilities in vision, philosophy and faculty training, Jason has taught courses in Latin, Humanities, and Senior Thesis from 3rd -12th grades. He regularly speaks at events and conferences, including SCL, ACCS, and nearer home at Clapham School Curriculum Nights and Benefits. He has trained the Lower School

faculty of the Geneva School in Charlotte Mason’s practice of narration in August 2019 and the faculty

of the Ecclesial Schools Institute in August 2020.  Jason blogs regularly on ancient wisdom for the

modern era at www.educationalrenaissance.com, where he has also made available a free eBook on implementing the practice of narration in the classical classroom.

Jason will present:

Cultivating Wonder Through Narration: The What, Why and How of Narration

This practical session will inspire parents to embrace the tool of narration in home education.

First, we will explore what narration is as a learning approach that cultivates students’ wonder,

reflection, imagination and full experience of what they learn. Second, we will delve into some of

the philosophy and modern learning science behind why narration is so effective. Lastly, we will

explore practical tips for implementing narration in the home, like how to set up expectations

well, the varieties of narration, the narration lesson structure, and making the wonder of

narration a way of life. Come ready with your questions about narration, and let’s explore

together the beauty of how our Story-telling God has made us in his image!

simple things

What a simple thing to enjoy some time with a friend on a bale of hay.  The little boys were sleeping and I kept hearing laughter from the pasture.  This is what I found when I went out to attend to them.

Summer thoughts...

So there has been a few stollen moments in the hammock this summer.  

Beauty in the choices a daughter puts together for the dining room table...see the corn leaves?

Water time at the lake.

Kayaking and swimming.

Jumping 

And watching.

Heritage Lily from an Aunt.  

Last kitty to go to a good home.  (He loved the fountain!)

The lily that just kept on blooming!!

Black raspberries foraged from the sides of the pasture.

Very busy garden growth

visit to nature center

Enjoying the wet lands.

looking for fish and other living creatures.

Thankful for the beauty.  And the slower pace of summer.  

Walk with me.

 It's nice outside.  Let's go for a walk.  

Come with me to our back yard Mary garden.  

Here is our Garden Mary.  

She's seen better days.  It's lovely to look at her and remember the priest that gave her to us.

See the white violets.

Here is the Sweet Woodruff.

The Foam Flower blooms for a short time.  You are very lucky to have seen it today!

Can you see the blossoms hiding under the leaves of the Solomons Seal?

The Ajuga is a low growing early flower, isn't it?

Look up to see Red bud tree flowering.

If you look there you can see the Lilacs...in a few days you will be able to smell them too!

The Bleeding Heart sure has grown.  

These little ones are called Mary's eyes.

Look near those Purple violets.  You can see a stone from an Atrium family.   

 Thanks for joining me!  Let's walk again really soon.

Bootstrapp'n

So today I had to find a way to "soft boot" my computer.

Which lead me down the road of thinking of "pulling myself up by my bootstraps".

As I tried to catch a mental image of leaning over to pull up my boots...as if that would move me farther along in life....I realized what pickle of a statement this really is.
And off a wondering I went.

We just can't do it on our own.  It's never meant to be that way.  We grow our lives hoping for independence

 not realizing that it's in our interdependence that we really live.

We must be able to have the humility to receive help from others in order to live our lives fully.

And those that give us the help might be in the smallest ways.
A smile across the aisle in this busy shopping store.
A kind word after Mass.  (really, you seriously think my kids sit still?)
The rub across the back before he leaves for work.
A child that helps another child find those crazy missing socks.

These are the real strappings of the kinds of boots that I need.

So you won't find me wearing my snow boots or even in a pair of rain boots for that matter.  I'm just writing a list of those things I'm thankful for....and knowing that I just can't pull myself up by my own bootstraps.

Forgive me a sinner

Many years ago my family was able to attend Forgiveness Vespers with the Bishop John of Parma (Byzantine Catholic).  It was an experience I return to in my mind each year when Lent begins.
In our Roman Catholic churches we anticipate Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday while in our sister Eastern churches (Byzantine, Orthodox, etc) they have begun yesterday with the Forgiveness Vespers.  This Rite of prayers and "Lord have mercy"s repeated over and over is just a taste of the beauty of the Divine Liturgy.  Insense fills the air and the sung prayers are heavenly.
There is nothing like a bishop in all his splendor to ask you in your face "Forgive me, a sinner".  To which I replied with a kiss to his ring.  And then as I asked him "forgive me, a sinner" he replied with a kiss to the check and a profound bow.
I wonder how my attitude might change if my pastor or my bishop offered this gesture to me!  Would my bishop's attitude towards me change if I was able to ask his forgiveness?  It's at times like these that I wish my bishop even knew my name.  There are some good things to be said about having a small community!
So I ask you my reader...."please forgive me, a sinner".  May your Lent be frutiful.

A visiting we will go...

The science of relationships is one that cannot be forgotten.  It's one that we nourish over and over.  Perhaps in the moving quickly through life that we forget to invest in the friendships...perhaps it's in the moving quickly through life that we don't relish in the friendships.  

 For we need to spend moments in sharing of life.  In sharing of gifts.

In remembering the years gone past, before the present is swallowed up by the future.  

 This homeschooling, this living, this family life, is more formation than it is information.

School planning: number two

So we've decided to wait until mid September to start school this year.  We usually wait until after Labor Day and Mary's birthday (SEP 8th), but we wait even a little longer this year.  This will allow us to have three whole months of baby time and begin school with real energy and totally into fall.

This week I invited some moms over to do a home retreat.  It was so wonderful to spend the day reviewing what I already know about Charlotte Mason and to get ideas on how to include more narration, more picture study and get the details all worked out.  My plans are coming together now and I feel refreshed.  I made some new friends. I  ate some yummy food and now I need to decide on my focus statement (think mission statement) for the school year.

To a Skylark

By William Wordsworth

Ethereal minstrel! Pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?

Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will, Those quivering wings composed, that music still!

Leave to the nightingale her shady wood; A privacy of glorious light is thine, Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood Of harmony, with instinct more divine;

Type of the wise who soar, but never roam; True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!

Taking a trip with seven.

So we've taken our first long trip with seven.  SEVEN!  We drove nearly seven hours with our six week old baby!  and survived.  and thrived.  

We saw monks and more monks.  

We went to deep places. 

When traveling with MORE, I learned to do with LESS.  Being in a place that was nearly country everywhere (no Target or Walmart or even a kitchen!), meant that I cooked out of mini microwave and shared a bathroom and a shower with EVERYONE.  
And it was good!  Even enjoyable!   It reinforced my desire to do with less.  When I arrived home again, I realized how blessed I am with THINGS.  I want to have less things around and be more reasonable with shopping.  When we were traveling there was the temptation to buy things in the religious gift shops we visited, but then we remembered our commitment to have experiences rather than THINGS.  And the memories (and pictures) are sweet enough.  

ATC (Artist Trading Card) Swap

Last month, 8 year old artist daughter and I came across a blog post inviting artists to send in Marian art work.  She jumped right in!

Today she received her return cards!  Very exciting!

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

My grandma celebrated her birthday this Memorial Day weekend and we did our 4th of July slide the same weekend!

The Four Generations photo

Fun times with the cousins on a new version of the SlipN Slide.

A close up view around the yard

Roses in "blazing" and "red"

Bell Flower

A gift from my M-I-L who got it from her sister.  Comfrey.

Dries-dragon fern 

Blue Indigo and lavender

the few annuals that I put in this year.  

Two of my loveliest flowers having a moment together in a chair in the shade after "swimming"