Away We Go

by Walter de la Mare

One, two, three,
And away go we!
Shingle, starfish,
Sand, and sea!
Wind on cheek,
Clear sun on skin;
The tumbling waves
Sweep out, sweep in.

A magic, broken
Music calls
In the water
As it falls;
Voices, a sigh,
A long-drawn hush,
As back - in myriad
Bubbles - gush
The green-grey ripples,
Flecked with snow -
A music solemn,
Sweet, and low.

Parables From Nature

Parables From Nature by Margaret Gatty (Mrs. Alfred Gatty) weaves interesting facts from nature and science into the stories. The collection includes all 29 stories from the first, second, third, and fourth series, originally published in separate volumes.The stories in "Parables from Nature" are challenging, rich and complex, as they seek to uncover God's craftsmanship in the natural world, how the seen teaches us about the unseen. This is a great book to glean ideas from and stretch the intellect, imagination and understanding.

As I have mentioned before we follow the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education in our homeschool, and this year we began using the free curriculum provided by Ambleside Online (which we love). As part of Jordan's Year 2 curriculum we are reading Parables From Nature and I am really enjoying it (Jordan likes it, but it is quite challenging and complex). This collection was originally published in a four volume series and can be read free online here.

Thoughtful Thursday

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

~1 John 2:15-17 (KJV)

Thoughtful Thursday

Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future, but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but His.

~H.E. Manning

Recently Read & Recommend

I am starting a new post series called Recently Read & Recommend in which I post books I have recently read, really enjoyed, and recommend.

So, here is the first book:

The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

First published in 1905, The Scarlet Pimpernel, is the best-known novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, a prolific author of popular fiction and plays. The novel pioneered the tale of the masked avenger and paved the way for such future enigmatic heroes as Zorro and the Lone Ranger. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a relevant and enormously entertaining tale of survival and pluck during times of widespread fear, hypocrisy, and corruption.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book! I didn't know if I would, but after the first few chapters I could hardly put it down. Reading this book made me want to take French lessons again (I took four years in high school and hardly remember a thing). I loved the mystery of it all. Highly recommend!

Nature Study...A Start

As I mentioned in a previous post...I am not a naturalist and I don't have a green thumb. I was born and raised in the city/suburb and I know next to nothing about plants, animals, and nature in general. This fact has made the nature study aspect of our Charlotte Mason based home school a real challenge for me (I should also mention that Science is not my strong suit either).

For the past few months I have been keeping my eye out for nature study helps, but I hadn't put much effort into it. Then, totally by accident, I found online what looked like a cute book and ordered it for Jordan for Easter (and it was on sale). The book is called The Cutest Nature Book Ever! and is published by American Girl. (Note: I did not order from the AG website or pay the list price.)

The book is a mini nature notebook, journal, and activity book all rolled into one. The book is very simple and basic, but it has given me a starting point and I have been on a more in depth nature study resource search ever since (more to come on my finds in a future post).

Jordan has really enjoyed the book and has done some of the activities and journal pages. The pictures below are of her making a bird's nest. I don't know if she got this activity directly from the book or if she was inspired by the book, but either way I am thrilled that we are at least on our way to nature study.

Thoughtful Thursday

Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?'
Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?'
But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?'
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular-- but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Goldfinch

by Walter de la Mare

This feather-soft creature
Tail to head,
Is golden yellow,
And black, and red.

A sip of water,
A twig to sing on,
A prong for nest,
The air to wing on,

A mate to love,
Some thistledown seed
Are all his joy, life,
Beauty, need.

Sunwatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park

And here are the pictures from Sunwatch also mentioned in the Ohio History post:
(This was an extra fun trip because Daddy came with us!)

County Historical Society

As promised in my previous post, here are pictures from our visit to our local Ohio County Historical Society:

And now my personal favorite!

This quilt was signed by at least 30 famous historical

 figures and the signatures embroidered over.

Ohio History

Our local homeschool co-op recently did a 7 week session on Ohio History. For the class we made a modified lapbook for the base of our study using the Ohio Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child. This was our first time doing a lapbook for a group class and while it worked OK I would not recommend it for large groups with a wide range of ages; I think lapbooks are better suited for small groups or families. We modified the lapbook format in that instead of using file folders we used 3 ring binders and cardstock which worked much better for transportation and storage of the lapbook.

In addition to the lapbook we supplemented with lots of books:

Picture Books
Night Boat to Freedom by Margot Theis Raven
Cardinal Numbers by Marcia Schonberg
Ohio Thunder by Denise Dowling Mortensen
Nothing Here But Trees by Jean Van Leeuwen
Aurora Means Dawn by Scott Russell Sanders
The Floating House by Scott Russell Sanders
Warm as Wool by Scott Russell Sanders
B is for Buckeye by Marcia Schonberg
The Giant of Seville by Dan Andreasen

Other Books
A Kid's Guide to Drawing America: How to Draw Ohio's Sights and Symbols by Aileen Weintraub (my kids loved this book)
Heroes of Ohio by Rick Sowash

As part of the class we planned two field trips. For the first trip we went to the local County Historical Society. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and everyone learned a great deal. For the second field trip we went to Sunwatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park near Dayton, and again we had a wonderful tour guide. Seeing the reconstructed village and artifacts in the museum was really interesting and the trip was well worth the drive.
(Pictures from our field trips coming soon!)

Teach Them Diligently

You shall love the Lord your God with all your and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.

~Deuteronomy 6:5-7

COSI

Last week I finally took the kids to COSI. I have been meaning to take them since we got a membership...in January. They loved it and didn't want to leave! We didn't get to see everything, so we will be going back very soon which makes me glad I got the membership. Here are some highlights from our visit:

Gecko Exhibit

(limited time specail exhibit)

More Exhibits

What a fun day!