Expounding on 1 Timothy 3:6-- advice to new converts

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6)

My husband wrote this in a different context the other day, but it was so good I had to share:

There is a perilous trap for neophytes in the Church: Obsession with Apologetics. When the neophyte does not possess sufficient self knowledge, he may deceive himself and say," Ah! I love the truth!" But in his heart he merely wants to be like those whom he reveres, because he doesn't know what it means to really love. He has yet to discover that, to discover how he is loved.
But just like a child doesn't know how to be a man, or a son a father, neither does the novice know the way. He loves winning, he loves pontificating, arguing, agreeing with the right people, pointing his finger, and saying true things (though he doesn't know their full meaning). He says what he has heard, and marvels at the continuity, and imagines that if he says these things to others he will be just like those who said it to him. He is exactly what a novice is... immature. And if anyone grants him an apostolate because he is zealous, not discerning his immaturity, they make a grievous error, imperiling his soul.
In the natural course of time, his false pride will wilt and whither, if no one feeds it with honors of which he is not worthy. When his pride is frustrated to death, he will despair, and learn humility. Then, he is no more a novice. Then, he will see that the love he had for the truth before was like the love of a boy for a girl, because he will know then that his love now is like the love of a man for his wife and his children. Then, he will understand.
You can see his arrogance, not because he speaks the truth boldly. But because he doesn't say it with decency. He doesn't understand, he even resents the maxim of the philosopher," Maxims are unbecoming in the mouths of youths." Pontificating what he has not allowed to change him. And you will see his immaturity in other plain ways: impunctuality, imprudence, course jesting and foolishness. He always has a river of words coming out of his mouth. These if they are given a ministry become vain and puffed up, imagining themselves to be something when in truth they are nothing but neophytes.
And many a Christian ought to recognize themselves in this presently, and others looking back. It is a constant peril. Humility, humility, humility! How important it is to wait upon the Lord, until such a time as when you have what you have in the mind in the heart. If a man is honest with himself, he know this will take years of constant prayer, reading the scripture, frequenting the sacraments, oft resorting to the Church to seek the face of God before the sacrament. In time such a man will be approved of God, having in him a new thing... in the quietude of his soul, he will know it. And this is why in the Early Church, it was established that no one could be a theologian unless they had experienced God.
So, put your face to the ground before the sacrament, pray for God's will, learn by doing righteousness, and hold your peace. There are enough pests in the Church, trouble making busy bodies. The Church already has its fill of babblers, learn holiness through fearless and quite servitude, holding the mystery of the Gospel in a good conscience. Don't go in pretending or wanting to be somebody. As Christ said,"When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” And this is how you should be in the Churches.

If you liked this, check out his blog

Mama Mondays: On the nature of Authority

My kids are memorizing the Ten Commandments in their Catechism lessons.
Naturally, this has led to all sorts of interesting discussions about what they mean.
Number four is a tough one-- one they have mulled over quite a bit, and one that directly affects them and convicts them regularly:

"Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- (Ephesians 6:2) "that all will go well with you."

The other day, my sister in law  and I were watching our children playing at the park, and she described to me her battle with the issue of getting one child to sleep in her bed.
My thoughts ran over the range of ideas about how to solve this problem.
Many of my friends genuinely enjoy being in bed with baby. Even if that means staying that way as baby grows into a toddler... and school-age child.
Some (like me) think it's lovely, but impractical and doesn't meet our parenting goals.
Some downright object because of their parenting philosophies.

For those of us who choose to fight this battle-of-the-beds, and those who vacillate between the two, there are many methods. And they all work so long as we remain consistent and accept certain aspects of the method's downfalls. There is no perfect sleep solution.

One thing we all know, though, is that it's not enough to say: "because I say so." One cannot COMMAND a child to sleep. Mind you, there is a time and a place and way for saying that it's time to sleep, but that isn't the issue. The issue is the location and quality of the sleep that will be gotten.

In fact, unless the child has been trained from the beginning to sleep away from the parents or has been allowed to co-sleep, this often marks the first real battle-of-the-wills in the young parent's life.

Charlotte Mason talked a great deal about the issue of authority, which is one of the main reasons I get slightly ruffled -- or at least...... question--- when proponents of AP (And by AP I mean anything goes) parenting or unschooling families claim they use Charlotte's methods. Not only was she methodical and disciplined but she advocated order, structure, discipline, and even the occasional-- gasp-- spanking!

However, once I began to really immerse myself in her work, I realized that there was a great big difference in her view of our parental responsibility to discipline and most of the loud-mouthed pro-discipline parenting gurus out there.

Where the biblical parenting books I had read previously advised me to take authority, Charlotte often reminds us that we have it already. And where most of the parenting books I had read say to smash the child's will beneath your own until he is finally and perfectly submitted, Charlotte insists that we must enslist the Child's will beside our own until he has submitted of his own accord and because he is motivated to do right.

That's all fine and dandy, you may be thinking, but how do we do that?

And that's where the brilliance of Charlotte's methods becomes glaringly obvious, as well as the fact that her methods cannot really be separated one from the other. They are a system, part of a greater philosophy.

She says that we use the ONLY things we really have at our disposal:

Our own example.
Some of the most helpful parenting advice I have read in the past has involved the idea that children see everything we do. What a terrifying thought! And yet it is absolutely true-- children are so malleable, and imitate the things they see around them. This should be a good reflection for us on the power of our surroundings, but more than that it should inspire us to behave as we would like to see our own children behave. We ourselves set the tone in our family and thus, in the world.

Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” She answered, “Go home and love your family.”

It's true... children see.




Likewise, Charlotte admonishes us to remember those to whom we ourselves owe obedience. She says that letting the children see that we have our own things we must do because "we ought" helps them to realize that this is the natural order of life and not something they will one day escape.

The child's good habits.
Charlotte's insistence upon instilling good habits in children and intentional parenting (vs reactive parenting) results in the child being "formed" in good character from the earliest days. Like the advocates of tomato staking, CM teaches us that we should be vigilant over our children's behaviors and exposures from the very beginning, so that we will later be free to allow THEM freedom, knowing we have laid down the rails and that they will, with minimal maintenance, always stay on the right track. This is why she absolutely insists on teaching children the habits of attention, obedience, and truthfulness first and foremost.

The child's natural desire for order, truth, and beauty. This tendency will be a great benefit to them if it is cultivated.

In the past few months on facebook, for example, many of my friends have been discussing techniques and ideas for not yelling at their children. Having tried this myself I at first decided that quiet, Michelle Duggar-esque conversations with children simply weren't going to work with my flesh-nature.

Thankfully, as my Husband and my friend Cherry have frequently reminded me: there is the Holy Spirit to help me.

As if I needed anything beyond that, there is also this:

"Be good-natured in your position of authority. Have confidence. Don't be anxious, domineering, interfering, or demanding. Have confidence in the children. (Vol I p 29-30)

What's that? I don't have to TAKE authority? It is a gift given me by God that I must only use? OH.

Because how many of my arguments with my children are actually based on me not having confidence in my authority, or in my children's ability to do what I am asking them to do?

In combination with principle number one up there, that children DO what they SEE, I'm pretty sure that all my problems would be solved if I would just remember these wise words.
I'd no longer be playing referee between grumpy, authority-taking children left and right. I'd no longer be reproaching them for harsh words and tones of voice every few minutes.

In fact, I'm pretty sure we'd have those promised "smooth and easy days" Charlotte speaks of.

So how does this relate to the eternal bed-battle or to any other battle which I might have to pick with my child?

I must only be intentional.... training my child BEFORE the problem occurs. Instead of responding with wonder and awe and furor when a child fails at an expected behavior, I must examine how well I have prepared him to pursue the expected behavior. I must reproach only myself for not having done a better job at training him. I must remain calm, and continue to enlist his little will to firmly face the challenge side-by-side with me to overcome the flesh!

Make a list of the ten biggest problems you face with your children:

Do I want my child to behave in church? I must play church at home. I must teach them to sit quietly for a time, and by my own example, have a quiet time each day.

Do I want my child to be polite? I must be polite to them. I must play polite dinner games that teach table manners.

Do I want my child to play nicely with other children? I must teach them to share, and to get in the habit of using nice words and tones of voice. I must respond to THEM with kind words and a gentle tone of voice. I must share with them, and give them space.

I must only be intentional.
Say it with me: INTENTIONAL.
I must have a plan, and a vision. An end-result in mind.

My reactions should be gentle. My intentions firm.

Not only does this benefit children, but it also does wonders for marriage.

When applied, it would:

-- remove sources of marital strife that come from conflict over the children's character deficiencies or the reactions of one or the other parent TO those deficiencies.
-- give confidence to the couple in their parental authority and methods.
-- create situations where teamwork becomes not only possible, but vital.

God's ways work. Charlotte Mason studied them. If you give these ideas a chance, let me know how it goes!

"Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:66)

Planning Days

When I think about planning, my main goal is to keep it simple.

Trouble is... I enjoy planning. Probably a little too much!

While spending time doing homeschool planning is something I enjoy, it's not something I need to do too much of at this stage in life when I'm juggling school for the kids, school for myself, the demands of home life, of caring for my sick father in law, of and marriage and parenthood with young children. I could spend all day immersed in my lists, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what I did, not what I planned.

So if you're like me, you'll need a system...and  here's how I have worked it out.

Just like staying organized or clean or growing in prayer, homeschool planning requires regular time and attention.

The formula I have used this year is super simple, but it works really well and I hope to stick to it in following years. I have each of these scheduled into my calendar as much as possible.... with the only ones I've slacked in being co-op, and that's for a good reason (babies! Ah!!!)
By next year I hope to have co-op days regularly scheduled each month as well.

YEARLY
1 yearly curriculum review and planning retreat day (full day with goal setting, curriculum selection and review, evaluation of the previous year, checking in with those pesky govt. requirements etc.)
2 bi-annual philosophy/method retreat days (one in the spring and one in the fall, preferably with like-minded friends and family. Some people go to conventions.... I like to get together and dig in with friends and hear what they are up to, and pray together.)

MONTHLY
1 monthly evaluation session (as easy as ten minutes with a cup of coffee & a notebook on the deck) that includes a one-subject review (for example, focusing on history, or math)
1 monthly method session (studying CM, praying, and chatting with husband or friends)
2 bi-monthly co-op days (I do mine on first and third Fridays.. or will when we get back in gear here.)

WEEKLY
1 weekly lesson planning day (I do mine on Sunday evenings and love it that way)
At least 1 weekly blog post or journal entry about the journey

DAILY
1 morning check-in with my CM study group on facebook for info/inspiration and a prayer covering.
1 evening check-in with my notes for the following day.

That's it!
It's enough to satisfy my inner love of list-making and book-reviewing and coffee with friends, while making sure to keep me on track. It's also enough to make sure I'm on top of my goals, enough to make sure my kids don't come to the table in the morning and find me empty handed.... and enough to ensure we are always growing and learning in Charlotte's methods and ideas and doing our part to share them with others.

If you have a system that works for you, I'd love to hear about it!

Easy crockpot yogurt

Source: creativesimplelife.com via Food on Pinterest

Totally excited to have found this and don't know why I didn't think of it--- I have made lots of yogurt in my life, but never without the proper equipment (ie yogurt makers.) A friend of mine found this super easy yogurt recipe using a crockpot. Love it, and going to try it asap. Yay!

Finding the ever-elusive quiet time to grow

I've gone through so many phases in my search for the elusive quiet time.

As the spring / summer season gets into high gear, I'm able to get outside again which is hands-down my favorite way to go. I get up early, set the baby monitor on the deck, and sit outside bonding with birds and squirrels and the occasional cat while spending some quality time with God. I like these mornings so much I could let them go all day, but alas, the little, noisy ones are often the ones who wake up first and my quiet praise is interrupted by gleeful exclamations of: "Carolina wren bird! See? Tea-kettle!!Look, Mommy!!"
Now, don't get me wrong-- I recognize the praise in that. But that doesn't make the interruption less painful.

In the past I've tried it all, from getting up before sunrise to hiding out in the bathroom to forbidding speaking before a certain hour, and everything in between. Nothing seems to work as long as I'd like it to, so my personal devotional time has taken on three qualities.

First, it's fast and condensed.
Second, it's usually outside
Third, it is usually recorded, so that I can go back and remember the whirlwind graces later.

Also, since I'm usually nursing a baby, there are times and seasons. Sometimes all I can do is hold a tiny bible in one hand while I sit on the couch, and other times all I can do is read something on the computer. Or listen while I'm out running. Sometimes all I can do is pray the rosary on my fingers while soothing a fussy baby. Sometimes all I can do is read a ten-second passage or recite a memory verse while I'm scrubbing dishes, and meditate on that.

One has to be flexible and ready to listen for the Holy Spirit wherever He wants to speak. If we make an idol out of our quiet time, God will take it from us. In a sense, motherhood is a great gift, because while it makes quiet time with God next to impossible, it frequently reminds us that too much introspection and self-help is the opposite of what we need. We need to put others first, to walk away from sin, to see Jesus in the weak, the poor, the sick, and the aggravating. This is why when I wake up, the first thing I do is roll out of bed and do a spiritual pushup, exclaiming: "Serviam! (Let us serve!)" just like one of my favorite Saints, Josemaria Escriva. Sometimes, that's ALL I get the entire day. And that's OK.

Developing a habit of regular family prayer has made a huge impact in this area. It feeds my personal quiet time and in turn forms the family prayer time. Should I miss a quiet time it gives me that slow-down-and-pray time in which insight seems to just come.

As a family, we pray daily morning and evening prayer and study the catechism or read saints biographies together. My husband and I pray together at the end of the day on days he is home. And in the evening, we do a family bible study. We also have a weekly prayer group with friends AND a monthly discipleship encounter.

But even with all that, I have found that I REALLY need a personal, one-on-one, quiet time with God. And while I would rather it be a power hour out on the deck with my Bible, even just five minutes in the bathroom has been incredibly helpful.

There are several techniques that have really helped me.

The first is one I usually reserve for times of crisis and deep prayer. Usually it has to do with me having questions--- I want some answers from God. I write down my question, and as the week goes by and I listen for the "still, small voice" I record quickly what I hear. Then I am able to form a picture that is clear in my mind of what God is saying about a particular situation.

For every day, I do a simple Bible devotional-- one on my own, and one with my family, usually led by my husband. I try to encourage my children, as they get older, to make time for personal study too.


The SOAP method goes very well with inductive Bible Study, which is my favorite type of Bible Study. As opposed to deductive Bible Study (when you begin with a subject and work backwards to see where Scripture has something to say about it and what), inductive Bible study takes a passage and lets it speak to you. While I use deductive Bible Study methods when I know it is time to teach on a topic, the rest of the time I use inductive Bible Study in my personal quiet time and practice Lectio Divina with the children, which is basically the same thing.

SOAP includes the following steps:
Scripture
Open with a short prayer, and read a passage in your Bible. Write the verse or verses that stand out to you in your reading in your journal.

Observation
What did you observe about the scripture that struck you? If you're using the inductive method, at this point you would mark your Bible with symbols to visually represent what you are reading. Can you make lists of things you notice or compare? If you are not using the inductive method, simply write in your journal what  you have observed in the passage.

Application
How can you apply the observation so that it affects your life today?

Prayer
Write out a prayer to God based on what you just learned and ask him to help you apply this truth in your life.

Or, for an easier, simpler method, you can try The GOAL method. Every morning sit down and work systematically through your Bible, record the following four things you find in the passage you are reading (I do this when I wake up late or am short on time):

GRASP
Grasp this promise.

 OBEY
Obey this command.

 AVOID
Avoid this sin.

LIVE
 Live this principle.

Later in the day, you can encourage this same thing with your children by using Lectio Divina:

My good friend, a seminarian, wrote these two formats for the use of my homeschooling co-op and we find it very effective.

He says:
A lesson using Lectio Divina might follow one of the following formats:

1) Extended Session (20-45 minutes)
a) Introduction, explanation, and lectio (10-15 minutes)
b) Meditation, students pick a word, phrase, or image and write a meditation (10 -25
minutes)
Afterwards, student can share what they wrote.
c) Contemplation (1-2 minutes, maybe more in some circumstances)
You can have either silence or classical music playing. Students should be
encouraged to “talk with Jesus about what they wrote.” Also, as to avoid distractions,
students should close their eyes.
d) Oratio (1 minute) The teacher can close with a brief spontaneous, vocal prayer and a
formal prayer with the students such as a Glory be, Hail Mary, or other appropriate
prayers.

2) Short session (5-10 minutes, to be used at the beginning or end of class)
a) Read the passage and have students pick a word, phrase or image (1-2 minutes).
b) Ask a couple of students to share what they picked (1-2 minutes)
c) Then a brief silence (1 minute) and then a vocal prayer to end (1 minute).
The short form could be used throughout the day as a focus activity to begin class.

Ultimately, the whole point is to be steeped in the Word, however it comes to you, hearing it clearly through the crazy, bustling rhythm of a busy family life. However it works, however it comes, making time for Him each day has been the only way I've been able to find peace.

Early Years Guide: Pre-narration skills

There are many mothers out there who have decided to try homeschooling and are looking to use the CM method. Having been one myself, I know how hard it was to sit on my hands and not to force/coerce my kids to sit down at the table and start doing copywork before they were ready.

In fact-- ooops--- I may have done just that.
It's HARD!! I know it is. We read with excitement all the wonderful things our kids will be doing. We see our friends and fellow homeschoolers posting about it on facebook. We want to dive in. Yesterday.

But I do believe Charlotte was right to say that we should wait.
There is just so much going on in there to process and so much of it must come naturally and peacefully if it is to blossom in them at all,  and so to before six to require a narration is just asking for trouble.

Now, we all know there are lots of things TO focus on during Year 0, whether we decide to spend a lot of time doing nature study, painting, or helping around the house. Ideally we are fully integrating the child into our grown up days while leaving them lots of room and space to grow in quietly and peacefully, preferably outdoors. And we aren't just letting them loose-- we are intentionally parenting them into those guiding rails we hope to set them free to follow later.

For those of us who have had one or two learners go through the Early Years period of a CM education and have regrets about how it went because we feel we didn't trust Charlotte as much as we should have, it's maybe doubly important to surround ourselves with reminders that this next time will be different-- better--- and more peaceful and joyful both for the child and for the parents.

On my end, when I hear all these mothers around me frequently flying into a panic over their pre-K curriculum, I am often so relieved not to be a part of the hive-mind. But even still, I  feel certain that every couple of weeks I need to re-read Charlotte's statements about the importance of waiting, lest I be tempted to just plop my three year old down and hand her a worksheet..... or a copy of Plutarch.

Wait... she already does that by herself.
Narration, for example, is one of those areas I really struggle. It seems to me to be something that I need to groom and build into the children and not something that will naturally bubble over one day. And yet today I was reminded of the beauty of the act of narration and the reasons why a child's narration is a perfect "test" of her ability to grasp the text or the world around her and compose it in a pleasing manner.

Whereas my seven year old, who is wrapping up AOY1 and who I hustled into "doing school" beginning promptly on her second birthday (doubting Charlotte every step of the way, mind you), truly struggles to narrate not because she doesn't WANT to do it naturally but because I ASK her to do so, my three year old excels. And so does my five year old, who loves to retell every story we tell him with great gusto, using such exact and precise language I've often wondered if he somehow memorized the text after hearing it once.

Today, we were sitting at the table and my three year old began recounting a story she had told us the night before. As she continued, I realized this was something she was developing a HABIT of doing.... every time the occasion presented itself, she had begun to tell us stories. I remembered that my older two children had gone through a similar phase.

I have been constantly amazed watching her grow and develop, noticing with joy all the telltale "signs" that she is onto the new skill. I recalled with great fondness the hours we used to all spend at the dinner table when they were tiny, telling stories-- whatever stories we wanted-- each in turn. Some of the little ones would talk the whole hour if I let them, with very few prompts other than "I see!" and "and then what happened?"

Now, this is story telling, not narrating (usually) but I call it pre-narration because it seems to be the stage in the early years that prepares the fertile ground for narrative abilities. In the moment, I had a lightbulb go off: THIS IS SCHOOL.

For a Charlotte Mason family, this act of letting a young child "tell" a story as she will is preparing her to later tell back her schoolbooks. But it's so natural and so painless and so enjoyable for both child and parent and onlooker! Yes, it's all those things.... and more!

Because as a parent, or as a sibling, it can be cute for a while to listen to these stories they want to tell over and over again. But it takes REAL kindness to sit and listen to a three year old with rapt attention for twenty minutes. It takes selflessness and courage, too.

It teaches those habits to your older children-- the habits of patience, of kindness, and of perseverance. Of attention! And so around the dinner table we go for another round, with the realization that though this is technically "school" it is really just me and my children, delighting in one another and building narrative skills.

And once again, Charlotte was right.

Below, here is my three year old telling us the tiger tale.



And here is a sweet little French girl doing the same thing that your own kids will love watching and listening to in preparation for their own French lessons later. Happy pre-narrating!

Fatherhood

My husband just wrote an amazing post over at his blog, Stromatais, on the topic of Fatherhood.

I want you guys to read it and pass it around if it touches you-- this is a message we strongly believe in and that has transformed our family as the vision has been revealed to us.

Click HERE to read it, and please share.

Learning when you aren't looking

I was feeling like a mega failure at homeschooling today....it's been a crazy month, and I just can't seem to get a handle on how to keep up. Instead of sticking to the lesson plans I've been racing around trying to incorporate our wild life into the things I'm hoping to be teaching.

Yes, there are teachable moments everywhere-- but I was feeling so frustrated that we had had very little time over this crazy vacation season to actually sit down and study our lessons.

BUT THEN....I had my family over for dinner.
It's my daughters' birthday and we were celebrating.

Just a few of the things I saw/overheard which completely changed my mind---and that reminded me that sometimes you just need to see your kids from outside the boxes you draw around your lesson plans. ;)

1. One of my kids asked for a broom to sweep up the porch. They all jumped in the air excited to help him, and left all the adults in the room standing around with their mouths hanging open when they did it. What kids do that??!

2. My seven year old daughter BEGGED me to read "just one page" from Paul Johnon's "A History of the American people," a book my dad -- who is an American Historian-- just finished.

3. My youngest (3) randomly recited a poem at the table: the Land of Counterpane.

4. My sister in law, a public schoolteacher who puts in countless hours training and curriculum selecting, was complaining about having a month to teach her kids fractions. My seven year old introduced her to Life of Fred. She left the house with the title of the LOF with fractions in it so she could buy it to teach her kids(!) Even better, she said: "then I can knock out some language arts requirements too." ;)

5. The same sister in law was talking about how she had Romeo and Juliet on the shelf in her third grade classroom and one of her students had picked it up and read it and had been talking to her about it. She expressed how amazed she was that her 3rd grader not only could read it, but would... after all it was on her reading list for ninth graders. We were able to testify to the fact that most "reading level" indications are meaningless. Good books are good books, and everyone will enjoy them. She found this idea amazing, and I loved sharing in her "aha!" moment.

6. My son, five, walked around spelling all the items in the room. And used both memory and phonetic rules, as appropriate, to do it. (Does it have a silent e?)

7.  My five year old son also spontaneously narrated the story of St. Paul's conversion in a manner that left all of us rapt with attention.

I'm not saying I'm going to lose the lesson plans (as if!) but only that in times of stress when we feel like we aren't "doing enough," it might be good to take a step outside our plans to see how much our kids are growing in all the beautiful ways we are guiding them... and if we have laid down the rails properly, in all the ways we aren't.

“They (children) must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this–that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of space, wherein to wonder–and grow.” -Charlotte Mason: Volume 1, Home Education, Part II, P.44

Principles of scheduling

Last year's Year 0 books

It's FINALLY spring again, and I bet I'm not the only one working on homeschooling plans for next year!

I've been working on next year's schedule for weeks, it seems, and making very little headway.
Part of the reason, I realized, was that I didn't have a vision in mind--- or rather, I had an end goal but few concrete steps to help me achieve it.
I mean, yes, of course, we have the methods to go by.... we know what Charlotte wanted us to do, and how often. But the methods are only half  the battle in scheduling. I also needed to evaluate what things and activities were important to my family, to discern our strengths and weaknesses, and to give thought to my husband's and children's preferences. I need to consider what has been working for us and what needs to go.

I admit that I'm daunted by the prospect of having three kids in three different AO years and soon four kids in four different AO years. Those I've spoken with who have done it have called it glorious, but I'm not walking the path yet so from down here it just looks.... frightening. :D

Over and over I've worked out scenarios in my head. Should I teach all the children at once, which results in running around and heart palpitations and stress? Or one at a time? Should I be done by twelve or go all day? Should I do one subject per day or switch them up and do them all every day? There are so many decisions to make, and each one of them could be the critical thing that gets my school year off to the wrong start come the first fall breeze.

Over the past year I've tried and retried at least six different organizers, planners, scheduling worksheets, etc. Each one of them worked well but needed tweaking. So as I sat here, last night, trying to re-write next year's schedule, I suddenly realized that before I can write the schedule I need to have some principles, and not just the CM methods,  in mind.

Now yours may be very different, but I thought I would share what I came up with, because to me this is the stuff that makes this whole home education endeavor glorious--- when we inspire one another.

So, without further ado.... my new principles of scheduling.
1. We work around the liturgical year, and NOT the "school year."
2. We use CM's methods (short lessons/perfect execution/living books and narration etc.)
3. We schedule one subject per day of the week
4. We go by checklists and not time slots
5. We schedule a quiet time each day, masterly inactivity, and outdoor time.
6. We have each kid in their own year, but we combine subjects where we can.
7. We don't have to fit it ALL in each week, because when the weather changes here in the Carolinas,so does our schooling style.
8. A little bit every day goes a long way.
9.  We keep in mind that education is a discipline, an atmosphere and a life.
10. We schedule chores and habits into our work day and we know when to stop and play.

There are some things we do every day:

Morning and evening prayer
Hymn Study
Catechism
Bible reading and memorization
Crossfit
Yoga
Folk Song study
Habit training
Arithmetic
Copywork or dictation
Foreign language
Reading/Recitation
Voice or Musical instrument
Poetry
Masterly Inactivity
Outdoor Time
Quiet time
Free Reading
Chores

And some things we do once a week:

The Rosary
Confession and Divine Liturgy
Picture Study
Literature
Fine Arts
Geography
Science
History
Picture study
Music theory
Art theory
Music study
Shakespeare
Plutarch
Dance
Torah Study
Gospel Study
Handicrafts/ Life skills
Nature Study and journals
Map Drills
Prayer journals
Book of Centuries
Commonplace books
Shabbat dinners
Havdalah

And some things we do once a month:

Purge toys/books/clothes
History overview week
History Projects week
Formal science lessons
Family service project

And some things we do once a year:

Birthdays
Anniversaries
Liturgical feasts
Family events
Community events

Now, if I could just get that schedule written.... ;)

Teaching children to pray scripture

I am going to keep the person who developed this anonymous until he asks me to do otherwise, but below is a portion of a paper on lectio divina he has written.
His advice is sound, and several of us have been using it for some time with great success in our homeschools.  In our homeschool, we use these techniques in place of simple narration for our bible reading each day.
Please comment with any feedback after you try this with your children to let him know how it goes and what you would change.

Incorporating Lectio Divina and Contemplative Prayer into a Curriculum
Depending on the age and the time that one is able to dedicate to Lectio Divina, I would
recommend anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes for one session. The first objection a person might raise is that children of any age are not able to spend lengthy time in silence, and this objection is very valid. Thus, to accommodate children, a variety of different adaptions should be used.
First, I have found that incorporating writing and journaling into Lectio Divina is very helpful.
The best way to do this is by having the students write their meditation. This can take from 5 to 10
minutes. The important thing is that students should be directed to write their meditation to Jesus as if he was present (mindful of mentioning that Jesus is, in fact, always present).
Second, incorporating opportunities for students to share what they have written and/ or
meditated on. What is important for this kind of tool is that teachers should avoid evaluating or analyzing what students share. In using this tool, I have never found a student who shared something erroneous, blasphemous, or something that might cause concern. If this happens, I would suggest that a teacher gently correct the error, but mindful that the goal is to foster in the student a dialogue with God. In offering feedback, the teacher should limit what they say to simple affirmations. The teacher should be mindful that often the most profound meditations are the simplest.
For example, a student might meditate on Jesus’ love for them. They might say that they imagine
Jesus telling them how much he loves them, and they in turn respond by telling him how much they love him. On the surface this may not seem interesting, but for prayer this can be huge. See the previous discussion on value of simplicity and the theological virtues. But I should also add a caution. Children are often very sensitive to adult’s expectations. The goal is simply to affirm when students are communicating with God (no matter how imperfect it may seem).
Also, a teacher should never force a student to share what they wrote.

A lesson using Lectio Divina might follow one of the following formats:

1) Extended Session (20-45 minutes)
a) Introduction, explanation, and lectio (10-15 minutes)
b) Meditation, students pick a word, phrase, or image and write a meditation (10 -25
minutes)
Afterwards, student can share what they wrote.
c) Contemplation (1-2 minutes, maybe more in some circumstances)
You can have either silence or classical music playing. Students should be
encouraged to “talk with Jesus about what they wrote.” Also, as to avoid distractions,
students should close their eyes.
d) Oratio (1 minute) The teacher can close with a brief spontaneous, vocal prayer and a
formal prayer with the students such as a Glory be, Hail Mary, or other appropriate
prayers.

2) Short session (5-10 minutes, to be used at the beginning or end of class)
a) Read the passage and have students pick a word, phrase or image (1-2 minutes).
b) Ask a couple of students to share what they picked (1-2 minutes)
c) Then a brief silence (1 minute) and then a vocal prayer to end (1 minute).
The short form could be used throughout the day as a focus activity to begin class.

Pope's Note to Chief Rabbi of Rome for Feast of Passover

VATICAN CITY, March 25, 2013 (Zenit.org) - Here is a translation of the note that Pope Francis sent to the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo di Segni, for the feast of Passover, which starts today at sundown.

The Holy Father met Rabbi di Segni on March 20, during his audience with delegations from other Christian confessions and non-Christian religions.

* * *

A few days on from our meeting, and with renewed gratitude for your having desired to honor the celebration of the beginning of my ministry with your presence and that of other distinguished members of the Jewish community, I take great pleasure in extending my warmest best wishes to you and Rome's entire Jewish community on the occasion of the Great Feast of Pesach. May the Almighty, who freed His people from slavery in Egypt to guide them to the Promised Land, continue to deliver you from all evil and to accompany you with His blessing. I ask you to pray for me, as I assure you of my prayers for you, confident that we can deepen [our] ties of mutual esteem and friendship. - FRANCIS

Review: On the Shores of the Great Sea

On the Shores of the Great Sea by M.B. Synge

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I substituted this book-- which is the first in a series of five world history books-- for some other recommended history spines in both AO and CWH for our little homeschool. It could be categorized as a living history book.

We LOVE it!

The kids look forward to reading it every week (they are 6 and 5) and I am finding it so good I don't want to put it down.
Mostly dealing with the history of the peoples around the Mediterranean, this work tells ancient history in a way that is both fascinating and inspiring.... just by reading and narrating my kids and I are retaining historical facts and figures, inspired to learn more, and enjoying lots of historical play and conversation.

Highly recommend the entire series. This book says it is for ages 9 & up, but children who have been exposed to good literature from the beginning will have no problems understanding it, even at a very young age.



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Dawn

LY hence, shadows, that do keep
Watchful sorrows charm'd in sleep!
Tho' the eyes be overtaken,
Yet the heart doth ever waken
Thoughts chain'd up in busy snares
Of continual woes and cares:
Love and griefs are so exprest
As they rather sigh than rest.
Fly hence, shadows, that do keep
Watchful sorrows charm'd in sleep!

--  John Ford (1586-1639)