It Has Been A While

It has been a long while since I have posted anything.  I am afraid that I am not very savvy about social media and keeping up with everything.  I started this blog to encourage other mothers in living a more simple and quiet life.  I love helping other moms and I so appreciate when other women share their wisdom and encouragement with me.  I have been homeschooling my five year old and my eleven year old daughters.  I have an older son and daughter who are working on their college degrees and they still live at home with us.  It is such a blessing to have all of my children under one roof.

We had a rough winter. We were struck with a serious flu that killed many people in our state. I felt at times that that I might be one of them.  But now spring has arrived, and I have never been more happy to see it.  I feel like starting everything anew.  My eleven year old participated in the regional spelling bee this year and last year.  After that I have been retooling our homeschool program.  I have been doing some reflecting on the Charlotte Mason method of education.  We have used this method to a degree over the years and it is a philosophy of education that really feeds my soul as a mother and teacher. My children down through the years have delighted in and learned so much from learning in this way.  We have redone our homeschool/dining room to encorporate the necessary things we need.

Let's talk about curriculum for just a moment.  As a core I continue to use the Accelerated Christian Education Paces.  I have added in:

Hymn Study

Scripture Memory

History/Geography (I found a spelling curriculum that uses geography terms for the words and has a wonderful map study.)

We also attend a co-op 2 days a week. (Not Charlotte Mason themed)

Here are some resources that have helped me recently:

Ambleside Schools International - They have many free videos that are helpful.

Ambleside Online - A complete and free Charlotte Mason curriculum.

Simply Charlotte Mason - Lots of Good information and videos.

Karen Andreola - This lady is the gold standard for the Charlotte Mason approach and she provides inspiration like no other.  I highly recommend her blog for the weary souls out there.

I hope this was helpful.  Since April is Autism awareness month, I just want to send a big hug out to all the parents raising children affected by Autism.  I hope to provide more information that will be helpful in future posts.

Happy Spring🌷

Storm Clouds

Yesterday we had a thunderstorm complete with sideways rain and power that flickered on and off.  Little daughter and middle daughter decided to build a storm shelter in their room out of baby quilts tied from the crib to the changing table.  When the thunder clapped they would scramble into their shelter and cling to each other as they held their baby dolls and teddy bears.  When the storm had a lull they would come out and I would read Beatrix Potter stories to them.  There is something about her stories, that really captivate children.  When my son was a toddler, and his Autism was more severe, those stories were some of the few he would sit still for and listen to.

Today when my son, middle daughter and little daughter went on a nature walk we saw the aftermath of the storm.  There was a beautiful fresh smelling debris on everything.  On our slide there were bits of green leaves, fresh blossoms, and bits of flowers.  Little daughter was disturbed by this, but I told her the angels had decorated the slide.  We found an interesting bug on our step ladder that my son drew lickty-split with amazing accuracy.  I was surprised since he usually draws stick figures for most things.  Middle daughter found an interesting purple flower wild flower to draw.  This was our first venture into nature study following the Charlotte Mason Method and I have to say we all enjoyed it.  I think there is something very restorative about nature, and the outdoors are essential to special needs individuals.

Introduction

I wanted to welcome you to my blog.  Oddly enough,the purpose of my blog is to gently urge folks to unplug form all the media, electronics, and busyness of life,and pursue a quieter more meaningful life.  A life that allows you to talk to real people face to face, write real letters on real paper, to read actual books you can hold in your hands, and hug real loved ones and spend quality, purposeful time with them.  Another reason for creating this blog was to create a quiet little place where friends can go for a little respite and inspiration at the end of a hard day.  My hope is that others will be able to block out the countless meaningless voices that are competing for our attention, time, and money and focus on the most important things in our lives.  So relax, breathe, and go hug a real person, look them in the eye and tell them that you love them. Since today is Mother's Day,  please hug your Mama.