52 Weeks Book Challenge

This Week I read Heart's Safe Passage, the sequel to Lady in the Mist by Laurie Alice Eakes. The main character, Phoebe Lee, is a young widow who was trained to be a midwife by Tabitha from Lady in the Mist. The book begins with Phoebe visiting her pregnant sister-in-law, whose husband is being held prisoner in England during the war of 1812. The next thing Phoebe knows she is being kidnapped and brought to the British Privateer of Captain Rafe Docherty, who has promised to get her brother-in-law out of prison in exchange for information that will help him take his revenge out on the man who destroyed his family. Secrets abound in this seafaring tale. I actually enjoyed this book better than Lady in the Mist.  

"I wonder does the mind need food, too, and regular meals, and what is its proper diet?" Charlotte Mason Vol 6 Ch.

Garden Spider on our back door

Jellyfish at Assateague

When I first began learning about Charlotte's philosophies, I didn't understand her term "self-education". I had wondered if she meant that the children just wandered aimlessly and "studied" only what they wanted. I began reading Vol. 6 and writing a "narration" for myself as I worked through the book. Many things impressed me about this chapter but the one thing that stood out to me was that the mind needed food and a regular diet of it. That spoke to me because I wasn't comfortable with the idea of just letting my children pick and choose what they felt like learning. I was so inspired that I could become their "guide". I love offering ideas from great works of literature or poetry and watch as my kids take in and digest the material. We have always homeschooled our family and before I found Charlotte Mason, I used unit studies with a brief diversion to textbooks. I must say that by presenting living ideas, my children have remembered so much more than any other method I have used. There is so much less pressure on me or my children when we are learning for the shear joy of learning rather than to earn a physical reward or just to spit out answers for a test. One of the ways I guide "self-education" in my children is through nature study. We all have nature journals. Sometimes I pick a specific theme for that weeks drawing but mostly I have just let each child choose what they want to draw. They spend time looking up all sorts of information on their specimen, which has led to some really fascinating conversations.Thanks for stopping by my blog- Have fun with the rest of the CM Blog Carnival.  I've included my "narration" on "self-education" below.     

One of our Nature Journals

Philosophy of Education vol. 6 Chapter 1 ‘Self Education’

From what I can gather there was a movement in the educational community in Charlotte’s day that started professing success in “self-education” for children. This probably included things like dance or other types of self expression. Charlotte doesn’t disagree with using some of these types of things, and even goes so far as to say that she looks forward to seeing the manner of citizen it produces, but in reality these “external educational appliances” “which are intended to mould his character are decorative and not vital”. The point being, that people are not ‘built up’ from without but from within. To accomplish this, Charlotte reminds us that the function of the mind is like the body and needs a quantity of nourishing food each day. That knowledge is not and should not be attained through sensation, but rather, by being “fed” the great thoughts from great minds is what makes one thoughtful. There are examples given of children who love learning and with a single reading of a passage can recall, point by point, in their own words, what was read. They can recall the details months later because the mind has been properly fed, material digested, and the thoughts have now become the child’s in the form of knowledge. She challenges us to look at a method of “self education” that is practical and pleasant and has produced capable men and women, with great character, over the past 30 years. In the final paragraph she likens the student’s education to a horse. A horse that is “light” rides over the ground using his own joyful will as opposed to the horse that is heavy in hand, which becomes a burden to the driver. Like the driver of the horse, the teacher then becomes one who is a guide to the student rather than someone who is forcibly feeding information.

52 Weeks Book Challenge

This week I was a bit pressed for time so I chose something I knew I could read quickly. A friend of mine mentioned on her blog that she had read the book "Holes" over the summer and unexpectedly enjoyed it. So I decided to pick up a copy while I was at the library last week. Holes is a Newberry Award winner written by Louis Sachar. The main Character, Stanley Yelnats, is convicted of a crime that he says he didn't commit. He is found guilty and is sent to a boys detention center called Camp Green Lake. There is no green, no lake and no "camp" to be found only miles and miles of desert wasteland. Every day the boys are to dig a hole that is 5 ft. wide and 5 ft. deep. If they find anything interesting they are to report it to their camp counselors or to the "warden". The boys are told that the digging is building "character". Stanley believes they are really digging because the "warden" is really looking for something. You'll have to read it to find out what. I must agree that this book was really surprisingly good. It was very well written and had enough mystery and suspense to keep me turning the pages well into the night.  

Organizing??

For some reason, I usually get bitten by the organizing bug during the month of January. I don't know if it is because putting the Christmas decorations away makes me want to have everything in it's place or that the cold weather keeps me indoors more so looking at disorder makes me frustrated enough to organize it. I don't know, but bitten I am. There are several projects on my list this January, but I haven't been physically up to doing them, so I started thinking what needs organizing that I can do sitting down? 

It took me a few days, but one night while I was "blogging" I realized that I had bookmarked so many sites in my  favorites list and wondered how many of those sites were actually still functioning. Aha-- an organizing project I could do sitting down! It only took me a few hours to go through each bookmark. I can't believe how many sites "could not be found". There were also many sites that I had bookmarked that when I went to them I wondered why I had saved it. I decided to add "folders" and "file" each bookmark so that I could find things easier. It may not be much, no one will see it but me, but it makes me feel like I accomplished something. 

Next project..... 

This is NOT my closet but mine is not much better!

                           

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I have been meaning to add this recipe for a few weeks. We invited some dear friends of ours over for dinner earlier this month and I wanted to try something new. Our friends were bringing freshly baked bread (so good it would knock your socks off) and I thought that a hearty soup would be a great accompaniment. After several Internet searches, I settled on this recipe by Aaron McCargo Jr. from the Food Network. I did make three substitutions, I used turnips instead of potatoes, I used one packet of Swanson's Chicken Flavor Boost instead of bouillon cubes, and I used chicken broth instead of water. Enjoy!

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced small

2 quarts water

 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbs. bouillon flavoring

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 small white onion (about 1/4 cup)

2 stalks of celery, diced

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. cracked black pepper

1 1/2 lbs. frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup heavy cream

pinch of salt

1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions:

Add diced potatoes to a large bowl filled with cold water. Set aside. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and allow to poach; about 8-10 mins. Dice the chicken when cooled. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the celery, cooking until translucent, 2 min. Stir in the flour and whisk until it forms a roux. Add the Italian seasoning and pepper and cook for 3 more minutes. Whisk the roux into the broth and bring back up to a boil. Drain the potatoes. Add the potatoes and the chicken to the broth over low heat. Stir in the frozen vegetables. Place a lid on the pot and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cream and a pinch of sea salt and cook for 5 more minutes. Preheat the oven as directed on the pie crust package. Lay the pie crust on a baking sheet and place into the oven. Cook according to package instructions or until the pie crust is golden brown. When the crust is cooled break it up into pieces. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the pie crust. Makes 6-8 servings.

A Year of Firsts

This will be a year of firsts for my sweet grandson Alex. He's already had his "first" rolling over from tummy to back and back to tummy. His first taste of baby cereal was a few months ago. Tonight he celebrated another first......

Green Beans!!!!

As you can see below it was not thrilling but not that bad either.

52 weeks book challenge

This week I have read Lady in the Mist by Laurie Alice Eakes. This book takes place on the Eastern Shore of Virginia in a small seaport town. For over a year, the townspeople have been suspecting the British Navy of kidnapping young men from the town. Tabitha Eckles is a young, single woman and the towns only midwife who also is serving as a doctor/veterinarian. Because of her profession she is also the keeper of many secrets like the names of father's of illegitimate children. The mayor's "redemptioner" Dominick Cherrett, is keeping his own secrets. Who is he really? Why is a man of noble British birth serving as a bondsman to the towns mayor? Who is behind the kidnappings? There is mystery, intrigue, and romance within these pages that will keep you guessing until the end. It did take me a while to get into the story line because I had never read anything by this author before and her writing style was just a little different, but once I got used to the flow of her writing than I couldn't put it down. This is book one in the series. 

Sunday Thoughts

Think Through Me 

by Amy Carmichael

Think through Me, Thoughts of God;

My Father, Quiet me,

Till in Thy holy presence, hushed,

I think Thy thoughts with Thee.

Think through Me, Thoughts of God,

That always, everywhere,

The stream that through my being flows

May homeward pass in prayer.

Think through me, Thoughts of God,

And let my own thoughts be

Lost like the sand-pools on the shore

Of the eternal sea.

Lessons from "Our" Pond

Just a short walk from our driveway is "our" pond. It's not really ours but I like to think of it that way. After living in city limits until 2006, I count it as a major blessing to be within walking distance of such beautiful natural surroundings. Almost every day we walk down to the pond to see what's going on and admire God's creation. We have watched geese raise their young, Mr. & Mrs. Mallard swim from one side to the other, turtles sunning themselves on fallen logs, and several kinds of fish being caught. There is a grey heron that lives on the banks of the pond and every once in a while we see a kingfisher perch on the dock. On a few different walks we were so excited to see a bald eagle fly over and one of those times Dan and Abi watched it dive into the pond to fish. We have watched water snakes sun themselves on the rocks and even saw a huge snapping turtle crossing the road one day. Lately I have been taking a few moments to pray and thank God for not only "our" pond but for the lessons He is teaching me.

 Today while I was standing there, it was a bit breezy and I noticed the gentle ripples across the surface of the water and how it was distorting the reflection of the trees along the banks. I thought back to a time when there was no breeze and the pond looked like a mirror reflecting the trees with perfection. The Lord's plan is for us to be a reflection of Him to the world. How often do I let the things of this world blow across that perfect reflection, distorting all that He is working in my life. I was reminded that I daily need His help to show the world who He really is, for there is no way that I can do that perfectly, without Him.