Month: May 2012

Beginning a Charlotte Mason Education (Or How to Begin Your Journey Into Delightful Living) by Gladys Schaefer

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Inquiries Angel, a beautiful young mom, very pregnant with their second child, caught me after class to ask me about homeschooling.  I started gushing about Charlotte Mason. Their first child, a five year old, is one of the delights of our church. His joy in life and his easy ability to make friends with any age always puts a smile on my face. The Wonderful Aiden Another Sunday brought me similar inquires from Jodi, a mom of three lively preschoolers, and my own daughter, Samantha, the mother of our beautiful grandchildren and I are in a long standing discussion of the pros and cons of homeschooling vs. public schooling vs. private schooling.  We do agree on following, as closely as possible, the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason.    My Granddaughter Zoe This article is an attempt to provide a reference point for those searching for information on this educational journey and to a path that leads to a wonderful way of life. Directions “It may be that the souls of all children are waiting for …

The Gypsy’s Garden by Hannah Schaefer Ezell

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Hello sweet friends! I hope that this thought finds you each well and happy as we come to the ending of another school year and the beginning of a new free-learning period that is summertime. As I look back over this school year, I have to say that I am considerably more learned than I was at this time last year, though I didn’t take a single class in anything. Not in the traditional style anyway. I consider this past year as a year of transition — but looking over my life, I have to ask … which year, exactly, wasn’t a year of transition? This is where my thoughts take flight. If each and every one of us were to give a year by year, maybe even month by month story of our lives, I am almost positive that not a single one of them passed without some life changing event or another happening, shaping us, making us colder to some things, warmer to others, and leaving us in some moment quietly pondering what …

The Beauty of Aesthetics by Lori Lawing

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ON May 2, 2012 The Scream (one of Edvard Munch’s four originals) sold for $120 million at Sotheby’s.  Why?  What is it about this painting?  Is it the haunting expression of the androgynous figure? The wispy curves of the face and fiord?  The blood-red sky?  Whatever it is, it strikes me.  Something is going on that touches my soul.  BEAUTY. ON our first morning in Florence we entered a non-descript building through a side street door.   My two teens and I had taken a trip, the culmination of 10 years of schooling and delighting in art. We rounded the corner of a long hall.  There he was – larger than life, towering 17 feet high.  It took my breath.  Michelangelo’s David.  More grand than I had imagined.  Why do we among the crowds flock, admire, and marvel at this masterpiece of perfection?   BEAUTY. ON an early spring morning my nine year old took me by the hand as he scurried out the front door.  “Mom, Mom!” Quietly he led me to see, springing up from …

Classical Music Appreciation for the Non-Classical Music Lover by Leslie Noelani Laurio

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Instilling an appreciation for classical music can be daunting for a parent or teacher raised on pop, rock and rap music. But it can be done. I know — as a young mother, I had good intentions of teaching my children to love the best kinds of music. Before my first child was even born, I would turn on the local classical radio station and plug in headphones, then put the headphones up to my pregnant stomach so the baby could hear it, but I wouldn’t have to listen. By the time I had two preschoolers, I had a plan to listen to exactly two hours of classical music every day (for the children’s sake!), but after a half hour, I had usually had enough and needed to turn on some pop music for relief. Yet now, we listen to classical music for quite a bit more than two hours a day, and it’s by my preference rather than because the schedule says so. I won’t try to convince you of the reasons why classical …