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@Farmhouse_Schoolhouse

Boy no.3: “Listen to the music of the whispering pine trees!” Acquaintance: “wow! That’s fancy wording for a little kid. You’re very poetic!” Boy no.3: “That’s not me! That’s Henry Wadsome Longfellow and he wrote a poem that taught me to read. It’s called Hiawatha.” Acquaintance: “Oh, so you are copying a poet? You need to be more original!” Boy no.3: “Copying poets is what I need to do right now, I think. At least, I really think it’s a good idea for me to copy them.” ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I love the way he loves language, the way he relishes great wording and good writing. From a tiny age he wanted to hear about whatever I was reading. He would toddle up and demand “read me loud!” A few weeks ago we were walking in the backyard and we both stopped to watch a cardinal for a few minutes. When the bird flew away we walked on and he shared this with me: “I’m glad I have poems in my head. They jump out at the best times. Usually when I’m outside. It gives me all kinds of ideas and it gives me another way of seeing everything, plus all the words sound like the same kind of music nature has.” Read poetry. Read poetry. Read poetry. Read some more poetry.
Another year of Friday exams with the boys has begun! We roll out the Kraft paper and they color in all the things they learned that week. I love hearing them narrate stories and tell jokes and banter back and forth together. I can’t believe how much they’ve grown. Our paper is suddenly filled with Latin declensions and Greek myths and drawings of the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus and a rather frightening illustration of Eurydice and Orpheus. I’m thankful for the lone letters of the alphabet and squiggly drawings of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle still floating around. As we start a new quarter I’m reminding myself that the purpose of this exercise is not for my children to perform. It’s not the moment when they prove they know something. I already know that they know it. This is a time for them to see the tapestry unfolding, to see the fruit of their labor and the delights of their learning come to life before their eyes. It’s a time for more conversation, more connection, more relationship. ❤️❤️❤️ PS for all those asking, I photograph the paper afterwards for our journal that year.
One of our favorite new practices this last year has been our closing board. For years we started the day with intention and purpose and togetherness by practicing morning time. This was so helpful to our family, especially since I am NOT a morning person. As the years passed I found myself wishing we could close out the day with the same intention and togetherness instead of just slowly petering out and then going our separate ways. I knew I wouldn’t have the energy for something elaborate at this point in the day so we keep it simple. A whiteboard, a marker, and four boys eager to share what they learned that day with each other. We write down a line from morning hymn and a line from poetry. We write down the new letter our little guy learned and the new piece of grammar the eldest learned. We write down bits of myths and fairy tales and Latin declensions and character study reminders and glimpses of our Burgess Seashore study. Once we’ve filled the board we try to find a common theme for the day. Our theme today was “humility,” something we’re desperately trying to instill in the age of preteen boys that think they have life figured out already and handy for this mama who constantly finds herself saying “I don’t know, I never learned that. Let’s find out together.” After we finished our board the little one said, “Let’s not erase it! Let’s leave it so we can share this present with Daddy when he comes home! We can say “Surprise! It’s Time for Humility!” 😂 I replied that “Surprise! it’s Time for Humility!” would make an excellent title for a parenting book. 😉 #ourdailyboard
“The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life.“ George Eliot, Middlemarch. Today is another quiet day. Well, as quiet as it can be with four energetic boys trapped inside by sweltering heat and intermittent lightning storms. We lost a family member this past weekend. Someone dearly loved who lived a faithful life. I am reminded once more that the goal in all this is not to pour information down my children’s throats, but to fill their hearts with truth and goodness and beauty so that they can see these things in the mundane, find it in the humble and reproduce it in all they set forth to do.
Son: “Mom, I’m sorry you feel grumpy and weird today.” Me: “Thanks sweetheart. Me too.” Son: “I know what will make you feel better!” Me: “What?” Son: “We found a brand new species of bug and we’re calling it the Lion Jaw Dirt Louse! But if it would cheer you up we can switch it to the Elsie Louse. Know what else? We spied a whole new bunch of avocados all ready to get with the big stick and there are new crickets and I saw new caterpillars eating stinging nettle and the blue jays are fighting the mockingbirds again. Mom, you just have to see it! You will love it!” 🌿🦗🐛🥑 I crawled out of bed (no small feat) and found that he was right. Today I beheld a newly discovered Lion Jaw Dirt Louse. I saw a blue jay fight dirty. I found a whole cluster of avocados predestined for guacamole. I saw caterpillars munching on stinging nettle. I saw four boys teaching their mother more than she taught them all day. 🌿🦗🐛🥑
🌿🌿GIVEAWAY CLOSED🌿🌿 congratulations @christian_constantino and @sorrells_clan 🙌🏼🙌🏼 Some of you have asked if we are breaking up with Instagram since we haven’t posted in a month. 😂🙈 We aren’t breaking up, we’re just living life and soaking up our time as a family of six. We started school again back in June and we’ve been cheerfully indoors while the rest of Florida swelters. I love watching children quietly (or sometimes noisily) unfold and stretch as the year goes on. This seems like a pivotal growing year for my kids, so much of the mundane training of the early years is suddenly springing to fruition which is a blessing (and relief) to witness. Conversations are fathoms deeper too! They are eager to make more connections and ask difficult questions in just about everything we do. They are lingering at the table longer. Today our morning fairy tale led to a thirty minute discussion on personal initiative and this reminded me of a wonderful new book that I wanted to share with you all! The dear folks over at @circeinstitute have released another excellent resource, “Tales of Wonder.” This book contains 8 essential fairy tales and discussion guides for multiple ages. Yes! This book meets me where I am at!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼 today we are giving away copies to TWO winners. To Enter: Follow @circeinstitute and tag as many friends on this post as you’d like. Every tag is an entry! giveaway closes Friday at noon! Not sponsored by IG 🌿🌿 Happy Tuesday friends!

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Fresh on the Farm

  • A Charlotte Mason Approach to Classical Conversations Cycle 1 Quarter 2 September 13, 2018
  • CM/CC Cycle 1 Week 1 Recap: A Typical Day August 21, 2018
  • GIVEAWAY! Peaceful Press- Precious People Ancient History Study August 7, 2018
  • Morning Time Tips: Your Job is NOT to Make it Magical (or Kids Can Make Breakfast) July 7, 2018
  • Making the Most of a School Year July 7, 2018

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