Dominion Family

Winter has arrived here in Alabama. It didn’t really have the right to behave like spring all through January and suddenly like a fickle child turn into winter.

I tried walking in my winter coat yesterday but it felt like I was carrying a burden. I have a particularly lovely winter coat that makes me look rather like Jadis from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ( the book). That would be it makes me look like the Jadis from my imagination not a Nicole Kidman wannabe.

We tried to take pictures but our real camera battery died and our digital will not cooperate once again. The little boys were outside already when I woke up, socks on hands. They are rolling up most of the snow to make a fort and leaving the yard less than lovely. Isn’t that always the plight of the mother: Let them make a mess or don’t?

My favorite snow time was in Nebraska. It would snow and the prairie would look so pretty dotted with farms. There weren’t very many vehicles to mess up the roads and make it all look like what it was: muddy slush. Rockford, Ill wins the lifetime muddy slush award.

We have had a cedar waxwing at the feeder. That was a big deal. As I look out the window from my perch at the computer I can see a cardinal and a junco. Juncos are also called snowbirds. There is really quite a ruckus out at the feeder. The mockingbirds are bullies.

Have you ever read Bird Life in Wington to your children? It is one of my husband’s favorite read alouds.

I especially love the first chapter where we learn the vulture trusts God for his food while the hawk seeks his own.

  Leave a Comment »

If I had my druthers I would decorate my house in book illustrations. As it is I spend most of my extra cash on books. I spend my spare time reading but I do enjoy seeing ideas on blogs of how other people decorate their houses. I can store those ideas in my mind and use them if the opportunity ever arises. My main decorating theme is keep it sparse and use baskets. My husband’s main theme is lamps and light. That hardly has anything at all to do with today’s poem and illustrations but there you have it. The illustrations on this page are from 2 wonderful illustrators: Arthur Rackham and E H Shepard. The book they were illustrating is The Wind in the Willows.
Of course, you have already read it and it is one of your family favorites. But if you missed it you have a wonderful treat in store. The Wind in the Willows is on my top 10 book list for family reading aloud. It may be in the top 5 but I haven’t actually come up with a list yet. Mr Toad is the sort of Barney Fife of literature. Now where else could you go to get that sort of deep literary analysis?

This particular poem is great for recitation nights with the theme of humor.

Mr Toad

The world has held great Heroes,
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!

The clever men at Oxford
Know all that there is to be knowed.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr Toad!

The animals sat in the Ark and cried,
Their tears in torrents flowed.
Who was it said, “There’s land ahead”?
Encouraging Mr Toad!

The army all saluted
As they marched along the road.
Was it the King? Or Kitchener?
No. It was Mr Toad.

The Queen and her Ladies-in-waiting
Sat at the window and sewed.
She cried, “Look! Who’s that HANDSOME man?”
They answered, “Mr Toad.”

– Kenneth Grahame

  Leave a Comment »

After posting about The Wind in the Willows yesterday, I asked the children what their favorite read alouds were over the years.

Coming in at #1 without any hesitation from all parties:

Penrod & sequels.

Penrod is quite possibly the funniest book ever written. The sequels are also funny.
Penrod & Sam
and Penrod Jashber. A slight word of caution here. Penrod smokes in chapter 1 and the books are not PC.

It became apparent immediately that comedy ruled the read aloud favorites.

The other big surprise was that most of the children enjoyed reading The Chronicles of Narnia on their own rather than in a family setting.

If you want to get the whole family jabbering for hours just bring up Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Hilarious.

The Wind in the Willows did make the top 5.

Another unanimous choice was the Ralph Moody Little Britches series.

Still no surprises, everyone mentioned Little House on the Prairie & Co which have been read out loud in our family at least 3 times.

We have read through all the Tom Sawyer books and it is about time to read through the series again. Don’t let your children grow up without these books preferably read out loud.

The Black Arrow came in as the favorite R L Stevenson book which was a surprise. This book is part of the Scribner Illustrated Classics series illustrated by NC Wyeth. If you have a choice always choose Wyeth.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was that all 4 older boys picked The Last of the Mohicans as a favorite. This wordy, now unpopular tome, was a favorite of the boys. Several of the boys went on to read many other Fenimore Cooper books. Go figure. (Late breaking news: Timothy did not pick this book and I didn’t ask Nicholas because Nicholas went on to read many Fenimore Cooper books.)

Also getting honorable mention were the Scout books by Piet Prins.

And of course the little boys mentioned Winnie-The-Pooh. But you don’t have to be a little boy to like Pooh.

Then there are the not-to-be-missed authors Howard Pyle (Men of Iron), Lois Lenski (Cotton in my Sack) and George MacDonald (The Princess & the Goblin).

These were the books most often mentioned last night as we discussed it. When I begin to go over all the other wonderful books we didn’t get around to discussing my head swirls. All of a Kind Family, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Children of Green Knowe, Meindert DeJong books, Treasure Island, Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, Heidi, Hans Brinker, The Bird’s Christmas Caroll, Dickens’ Christmas Stories, Patricia M St John……

Of the writing of wonderful books there is no end. Building a lasting family culture starts with family reading.

My favorite resources for picking read aloud books are:
The Book Tree: A Christian Reference for Children’s Literature

We use this book to play a little game. We read book descriptions and excerpts from the guide and see who can guess the book first.

And the Bluedorn’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

  Leave a Comment »

I am a bit dissatisfied with the read-aloud thread, I keep thinking of books I missed:
Farmer Giles of Ham ( the book our family has read aloud the most), and not to be missed by agrarian readers.
Cheaper by the Dozen is another book I missed mentioning.

The thing that really gets me though is that all my children do not remember all these books. It makes me want to sit down on the couch and read aloud until everyone has caught up.
The truth is that when our big boys were little boys, about last Friday, we read out loud in the mornings and at night. Our night readings were generally longer with cries of one more chapter heeded. These days we have an active home with all ages coming and going at all hours (2 of our members work nights). It is much harder to get even the younger set together to read. We are still reading just not nearly as much as in the good ole days and not in the evenings. I am determined to do better.

The changing face of a large family is sometimes hard to cope with. Just when something is working the whole logistics of the family change. Something slips through the cracks. Then one day we are all sitting around chatting and someone says, “remember when..” and I wonder why we stopped doing that particular thing. I don’t know. It is just the shifting sands of family life.

I sometimes look at families with 2 children, and think it is so different to raise your children and then be done with it. In the large family the key is to remember it is not a sprint but a marathon. My 22 yo may have been reading for almost 20 years but my 5 year old is just starting out. I can’t afford to lose interest now. It may seem late in the game to me but I could be a 29 yo mom with a 5 & 8 yo feeling that all of family life is before me. It is before me. I am not 29 but I do have little ones who need to hear books more than they need to watch Andy Griffith. I am still the keeper of culture in my family. All that said, don’t forget the masterly inactivity. It truly is a tightrope walk sometimes.

  Leave a Comment »

( I just accidentally deleted a few comments in the spam folder. Please feel free to try again. I will try to be more careful.)

Yikes I missed The Black Fox of Lorne in the reading aloud post? This is why I didn’t do a top 10.

Yesterday 2 books arrived in the mail. They were almost free. A few months ago Carmon suggested that I become an Amazon Associate since I discuss books and reading so much on this blog. I am the absolute worst salesman on the earth. I hate the idea that I might be making money off of my friends. I am more inclined to talk you out of buying something than in. BUT I just wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone who clicked on the links. It really was thrilling for a person who has made less than $10,000 in my entire life to earn 2 books!

The two books?

The Discarded Image

I have been wanting this book for a long time. I can’t decide whether to move it to the top of THE STACK or read it in its turn.

Mulliner Nights

I bought this for Tim, except when he tried to take it to work last night I balked. I think I might read it instead of Taliesin. Everytime I pick up Taliesin it just looks boring. What do you think?

I don’t have one of those cool sidebars that Amy has to let you know about my delicious links and I won’t say that Amy is less than forthcoming, but here are two articles I highly recommend.

Time for Reading This comes recommended by Dr Grant and it is something I have been thinking about extensively lately as I contemplate contemplation, rest and leisure.

Andrew Kern discusses science. It is interesting to me that while Andrew speaks extensively of science in the classical school, homeschoolers have a great advantage, especially if we move our science programs away from the highly specialized mode and more into the natural sciences. I am still trying to get my mind wrapped around the question: What is rationalism and how does it influence science and education? It would be easier if I could say rationalism=bad or rationalism=good. Not being that simplistic makes the mental exercise difficult for this hobbit.

(And continuing to read what Andrew says in part 2 of his article, I think part of my own problem with science is that I don’t have a strong classical background. I am a sloppy thinker.)

  Leave a Comment »

Did I forgot to mention Kate Seredy on the read aloud thread? I have happy memories of reading The Good Master and The Singing Tree.

Because I have been asked so many times I am going to tell you my top 5 Circe 2006 conference cds:

#1. Andrew Kern Welcome. This is a great introduction to Andrew, Circe and the conference. It is inspirational with the ethereal quality that Andrew brings to the table. The minute I heard this lecture I knew I was in the right place. Having said all of that, just remember that I am a global thinker. I am much more comfortable with ideas rather than facts.

#2. Or maybe 1 1/2 Vigen Guroian’s The Business of Reading Great Literature. I am absolutely positive that Vigen is a hobbit. This is not a slick production lecture but it is full of insight. Any of Vigen’s CD’s would be a blessing although if I was on a short leash I would skip the poetry colloquy.

#3. Martin Cothran. I can’t find my Circe notes but all of Martin’s big lectures were wonderful and what is more they were practical. If you like nuts and bolts then Martin is the man.

#4. James Daniels’ Leisure as the Basis of Schooling and What are We Doing to our Boys. It is great fun to listen to James describe his own Arkansas background in What are We Doing to Our Boys.

#5 Tie between James Taylor’s Knowledge from Literature and Laura Berquist’s Last Things First. I loved listening to Dr Taylor and I love his book Poetic Knowledge. I am also a fan of Laura Berquist and consider her books on homeschooling among the most practical around. Laura had a few controversial comments in her lecture. Not all the ClassEd girls I know agreed with Laura but I was somewhat relieved by her relaxed approach.

The problem with this list is that it is based on the lectures that I heard. Patti or others may have other and better recommendations.

Now I would like to say something about Circe and homeschooling. Circe is an institute designed to help classical schools improve and grow. Therefore their focus is on the Christian classical school. Not everything they say or offer fits the homeschooling model. For instance, in the article I linked to yesterday Andrew made the point that we should have teachers who are masters and authorities. I agree with him in principle it is just that I believe our best chance of finding those sorts of teachers is through books. That is what Charlotte Mason taught also. We don’t want to get in between our children and the masters. Most homeschoolers do not have the option of attending a classical Christian school. Even when we do have that option it is often inferior. It ends up being someone else’s mom teaching the kids.

As an aside, it is very important for the homeschooling mom to continue to grow and learn. She must have something flowing through her. She must be excited about learning. I know 50 year old homeschooling moms who have learned Latin on their own. There are seasons of life. There is a time to learn and a time to rest. Late pregnancy is a time to rest. Nursing a newborn is a time to learn. Nursing a toddler is a time to wrestle. God gives us this time. We need to have wisdom in these things.

My own personal philosophy of education is somewhat syncrestic and ever, not changing, but forming.

I applaud the ongoing work of those who are genuinely trying to offer quality schools but for now I believe homeschooling has the advantage over the Christian classical school and I believe that we will continue to have the advantage for many years to come. Even so, I love what Andrew is doing in the classical school movement and I love his definition of classical education and I can’t wait for the 2007 Conference.

Education is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue, and it is accomplished by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty. Andrew Kern

  Leave a Comment »

The last 2 days I have ended up sitting in Doctors’ offices reading Climbing Parnassus. Yesterday Timothy had his wisdom teeth out and today James’s strep throat reached proportions sufficient that even I felt the need to take him to the doctor.

I can’t begin to tell you the irony of the situation. As I am sitting there today waiting for Billy Ray (honest injun…) and Bobby Joe to have their turn, I am forced to sit right next to the television. So I am reading Climbing Parnassus while The View is on. I can’t decide if I am happy The View is on and Regis and Somebody is over. Regis had a real live wedding and the preacher said that God is our father and mother. It made me wonder if the poor couple’s vows took.

I am reading the last 40 pages of Parnassus where the author makes the case, against his own will, for the cultural reasons we should study Greek and Latin. In spite of the fact that throughout the entire book I have felt ashamed and embarrassed, as I sit watching The View, I at least get to feel the smug satisfaction of knowing there is a Parnassus to climb. If we had a culture raised on classical ideas we would not have The View.

And all the while I am reading I am thinking of the question: Why do I think homeschooling has the advantage over Christian classical school? And I am thinking that I am in way over my head. That I review books I know nothing about. That I try to philosophize when I should perhaps be baking cookies. That I am 45 years old and 3 of my children have already graduated. That C S Lewis was talking about me when he said, “to be intellectual without intellect.” It is just too painful. But then there is The View and I know that
I may be on the plain, miles away from the foot of the hill but at least I am moving towards the mountain. I probably won’t get there but I can point the way.

  Leave a Comment »

So I flippantly said that I believed that homeschooling still had the advantage over classical Christian schools and a rude person asked me why ?

I am tempted to answer: because. Or better yet: because I said so.

The last few days I have been pondering why I do truly believe that and I am going to begin to answer the question in this post. I don’t anticipate getting to the heart of the matter in this post but perhaps we can keep it on the table for a while.

I am going to be discussing this issue from my perspective, from the schools I have been around and the criticisms I have heard aimed at homeschooling. In some sense I believe this will deteriorate into a straw man but that can’t be helped. I will be speaking in generalizations because, frankly, if I don’t we won’t get anywhere at all. All picky eaters should now vacate the building.

There are many, many circumstances that would cause me to be very thankful for a local Christian school, classical or otherwise. I will not be discussing those circumstances. If you have made the choice to put your children in an institutional school for one reason or another, I am not here to judge you or condemn you.

It occurs to me that one of the main arguments for starting community schools is that they are efficient. Why have 20 moms teaching Latin when one teacher will do? I personally believe the efficiency argument will not hold up because if we are going to argue for efficiency we will have to start arguing against the classical model altogether. Many classical educators espouse agrarianism because it speaks their language. Efficiency is the destructive god of our day not the key to the hearts and minds of students in the classical model. This very efficiency is what makes the school setting unyielding. Contemplation is lost among the wheels of efficiency.

The truth be told, and I have told it often, almost all classical schools I have been around are just somebody else’s mother teaching the kids. While many classical educators argue against children being with their own moms all day long, they have substituted a system that is vastly inferior. They take women out of their homes and spheres to teach each other’s children in a institutional setting. I think the problem here is that many of the men who start classical schools are visionary. They don’t intend for their school to be run by moms but that is just the way these things pan out. In the meantime they have created a system that is hard to change.

And that leads me to my next point. Home schools are small and adaptable. I can change the focus of the vision for my school tomorrow morning. As soon as a school becomes an institution it loses this ability to change and adapt. Many a classical school administrator is looking out the window wondering how such a lovely model turned into 6 subjects and lunch. Yet, how does he change that? If he changes things too quickly he will lose his financial base which is already paltry, which is why he has so many moms teaching which is…..

As long as the classical model is struggling for definition, home schools will have the advantage.

This leads me to the next point. What is a classical education? I believe a truly classical school would teach Latin, Greek and Mathematics. There would be absolutely no need for this sort of school before 5th grade at least. The classical schools with which I am familiar are still busy teaching numerous subjects all day long. Give me a school teaching only Latin, Greek and Mathematics before lunch each day and working on a farm operation after lunch and I would be tempted to enroll my sons. As it is the only way I have for my sons to learn hard work out in the weather is to keep them away from the time consuming institutional school. Homeschooling is the only option the provides the flexibility to pursue the truly classical. The true classical education should be rigorous and liberating.

I think homeschooling is vastly superior in the grammar stage. Especially while there are people defining grammar as singing silly songs and memorizing dates. I want my grammar-aged students memorizing Robert Louis Stevenson and hearing Andrew Lang’s Fairy Tales. I want them exploring the world around them not reading about it from a 2nd grade science text.

I have not yet begun to fight.

I have at least one more area I want to discuss which is mentoring and discipleship but I will hold off on that until later.

  Leave a Comment »

Mentoring and Discipleship

In a comment on The View from the Plain Linda mentions the book A Thomas Jefferson Education, I have not read that book nor do I intend to because I just don’t like to read books by Mormons (there you have it), but Linda mentions that the author makes the point that education does not take place apart from inspiration. To put it another way, all education is ultimately self-education.

God has gifted some men and women to be inspirational teachers. Some homeschooling moms have this gift. Putting a child in an institutional school is no guarantee that he will have inspired teachers. As a matter of fact, we could almost say that in the government schools he will be inoculated against inspiration. An inspired teacher can go into a classroom and make it work. He or she can make changes and adjustments based on the real needs of the students. American government schooling is set up to be the antithesis of this. Most great teachers will not have the heart to stay in that system.

Most of us have had one or two gifted teachers in the history of our institutional schooling, so that among the hundreds and hundreds of classrooms we have sat through we can each probably think of 2 great teachers. I can think of 2. Neither were charismatic; they just loved their subject. Maybe a few of you can think of more.

George Grant has a cd series on Thomas Chalmers. Not only is George Grant an inspired teacher but he goes into some details about that life of Chalmers that illustrate that this man was able to pass along his vision to those around him. Listening to this cd set has changed my life and it has changed my husband’s life. It has given us a vision during a time of floundering. The thing about this cd set is that it just sort of fell into our hands serendipitously. Inspiration is like that.

So having inspired teachers teaching a subject is the superior method. The question then is how do we inspire our own children. Must we put them in school in order to have gifted teachers? Homeschooling is still the easiest way to get your children in touch with great teachers, the great teachers. In this day of Internet, cd’s, video, and co-ops there isn’t any reason at all that your children can not be introduced to great teachers. Charlotte Mason was recognizing and promoting this long before modern conveniences made it this simple. Charlotte wanted the teachers in her schools to get out of the way so that her students could meet the master teachers amongst their books.

My advice is that the homeschooling mom and dad each pass on to their children the things that they love first. We each have our own El Guapo (Poetry, literature, history and birds in this home). We will inspire our children through the things we love. My children love baseball just because my dad is a mentor in this area. He is a gifted teacher and a gifted coach and that spark has caught.

My next suggestion is to make sure your children are reading books by authors who love their subject. This will take some time and research but it will reap huge rewards. Ambleside Online is a good place to start looking.

I use Gileskirk with my highschool students just because of this element of having a teacher who loves his subject. If you know of a local co-op that has a talented teacher by all means use it. Just don’t assume that because someone is teaching a subject at a co-op, they are gifted. You will waste too much time and energy if you are carting your children around to classes when they could be reading a great book.

Pray that God will open your eyes in this area. Homeschooling is far better when our children are inspired. Pushing and pulling donkeys is hard work. If that describes your school, you need to get to work looking for inspiration for yourself and your children. Ask God for wisdom; he promises to give it.

I would love to hear about your efforts in this area!!

  Leave a Comment »

For several weeks now I have been wanting to tell you about one of my favorite blogs.
It is my friend Willa’s blog. She actually has 2 blogs and they are both inspiring and practical, not an easy combination. Willa refuses to be put into a homeschool box so you will find all kinds of educational outworkings on her blogs including unschooling, classical education, and Charlotte Mason. She has all kinds of nuts and bolts schedules and lists posted around her blog. So have fun exploring.

Not to brag but I have been waiting for Sora to update her blog recently and yesterday she did, writing in response to my post on the advantages of homeschooling. Sora linked to all the articles bantered around in our comments although I don’t have the heart to go back and read a couple of them. Sora is another blogger who refuses to be put in a box.

I finally joined Paperback Swap and it is fun. I am especially excited because I can get Michael Innes books which our library does not carry. The Deputy Headmistress recommended this author to me and she has never disappointed me. If you are thinking of joining, if you click my banner I get free credits. I have already sent off 2 books and I am awaiting 2 to arrive. You would be surprised at the books you can find. I was able to get the Peri Wolfman book A Place for Everything: Organizing the Stuff of Life in hardcover, which Meredith recommended last week. Just take your Amazon Wishlist over to Paperback Swap and see what happens.

  Leave a Comment »