We are delighted to have finished our homeschool journey with the graduation of our student in May of 2019! Posts in this section reflect nine years of homeschooling, primarily but not exclusively, applying the Charlotte Mason educational approach. We found a great deal of time-tested wisdom at Higher Up and Further In, as well as Ambleside Online. We also recommend a new source of information on Charlotte Mason and her Philosophy of Education: A Delectable Education podcast. Older posts will refer to our experiences with Sonlight, which we enjoyed for American History in fourth grade, and Eastern Hemisphere Studies in fifth grade.
I have loved Gian Carlo Menotti’s one act opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” ever since I was introduced to it as a child. One year, our elementary school learned the charming Shepherd’s chorus selections “Emily, Emily” and “Olives and … Continue reading Christmas Opera for Children – Amahl and the Night Visitors
There is no question that music is an enormous part of the holiday season. We all have favorite Christmas carols, Joy to the World, Hark, the Herald Angels Sing, Veni Emmanuel, O Come All Ye Faithful, although we might disagree … Continue reading Christmas Operetta – Laud to the Nativity
As we are all forced to slow down a little due this month. I’m pulling out some posts that have languished in my drafts folder. I actually started this post in 2014, and updated it in 2018, now finally posting. … Continue reading Day by Day – Our Living Room Liturgy
The old familiar seasonal pop song, and a line or two in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol are all I ever really knew about chestnuts… I never connected them to the two Chinese Chestnut trees that until last year shaded the cottage at Middle Ridge but whose viciously sharp burrs deter one from any sort of barefoot exploring in late summer and fall. A lovely limey green in spring and summer, by the fall, the burrs drop off of the tree, dry out, turn brown, and eventually open up. The burrs are every bit as sharp as they look. You really … Continue reading Chestnuts roasting…
March started off with the inaugural gathering of the Hampton Roads Charlotte Mason Reading Group on March 1st. Charlotte Mason was a brilliant British educator who established a unique philosophy of education. Her writings and method provide a blueprint for … Continue reading Savoring March
I started writing December Snapshots during the month of December, hoping to write closer to life, instead of my usual practice of looking back via my camera phone pictures and my datebook. On the one hand, I like going back … Continue reading December Snapshots
Rabbit Trails 