Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Post from the Past: Thanking God for Our Thorns

One of my all time favorite stories I love to read each Thanksgiving... it's worth the read... and please feel free to share what thorns you'll be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

• The Thanksgiving Special

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Post from the Past: Things to do for Thanksgiving

For those of you looking for some things to do for Thanksgiving (whether homeschooling or not)... check out some of the following ideas from a post from the past:

FREE Thanksgiving Unit Studies and More!

Please feel free to share any of the ideas or traditions you do in your home for Thanksgiving!

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November 4, 2009 - November Lessons

Dear Friends,

The Liturgical Calendar holds such treasure to inspire our children this month. Themes of gratitude, remembrance, and preparation help our hearts stay open and receptive to the needs of others. I've assembled some of my family's favorite resources and traditions here.

Please help yourself to anything that might be nourishing to you.

On The Liturgical Calendar for November:

All Saints Day ( Nov. 1)

Commemoration of All Faithful Departed (All Souls, Nov. 2)

A beautiful reason to make a Saints & Souls Tree

(This is nice way to decorate the dining room for Thanksgiving, too.)

St. Martin (Nov. 11)

This is one of my favorite days of the church year. Here's an especially lovely version (thank you, Lisa) of the story of Martin, Bishop of Tours.

Today, the children and I will be culling warm layers from closets and dressers and taking these donations to the thrift shop, making soup, and lighting our lanterns to enjoy on the supper table.

Advent Begins (Nov. 29)

From the archives:

Advent Inspiration

Advent, Part 1

Advent, Part 2

Advent, Part 3 

Advent, Part 4

Lighting the first candle

St. Andrew (Nov. 30)

 Another beautiful story to share with your children.

Poetry: Poetry For Young People Series: Walt Whitman

Geography: European countries and capitals

Natural History & Science:

These topics are combined this month as we finish up Biology class with a project; Kevin has chosen to study the garden spiders who are weaving amazing orb webs all around our yard these days. So far, he's been creating art in several different media and taking lots macro photographs. We've found a chapter in this book to be very helpful:        Discover Nature Close to Home by Elizabeth P. Lawlor

Oh, and honey bees! Our art teacher's husband is a beekeeper. His delicious honey won a prize at The State Fair this year. It was so kind of him to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with the children yesterday. We read about bees beforehand in Jean Henri Fabre's, Storybook of Science. The bee stories come near the end of the book-- so wonderfully told and informative-- a must read for Charlotte Mason-inspired folks like us.

Math:

Continuing Saxon 6/5

Book Club: Our theme this month is "Hard Times". And who knows hard times better than Dickens? We're reading The Cricket on the Hearth,  Librivox has a free audio version that is very good-- grab a cup of cocoa and read along!

Picture Study:

Yesterday, we toured the Picasso exhibit at The Nasher Museum of Art. The docent was wonderful and our small group of children was very engaged. They allowed us to stay and sketch for a bit after the tour which was very cool. Kevin ended up sketching a study of the child's feet that Picasso had done for this painting:

First Steps, 1943

I love the face on this baby ♥

Happy Learning, Dear Ones.

xo Ann

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November 2, 2009 - November Abiding

Well now. If I were able to stop time, I would do it today.
Our pretty little town is nicknamed "The Southern Part of Heaven," a name that suits it well.
When we first came for a visit many years ago, my husband warned,
"If I take you there, you will never want to leave."

That was, and still is, true.

As daylight savings time ends, I relish this downshifting into "the slow time." The mornings are misty
and chilly; the afternoons are brief, golden, and ripe.  Long evenings are the time to pull on a sweater and inhale the ancient smell of woodsmoke and fallen leaves. I want to walk fast and far,
on and on-- forever-- in the damp forest. Instead, I come home and kiss my sweeties, stir the soup, light the candles, and feel a longing for something that I cannot name.


Since I can't stop time, I promise to savor every single hour.
And I hope that you are happy, well, and soaking up the blessings that rain down all around us
every golden day.

xo Ann

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October 16, 2009 - true

You can understand and relate to most people better

if you look at them ~

no matter how old or impressive they may be ~

as if they are children.

For most of us never really grow up or mature all that much ~

we simply grow taller.

O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear

uncomfortable disguises like adults,

but beneath the costume is the child we always are,

whose needs are simple,

whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.

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