Semester 2, Week 8

What I’m Reading: Lavender Blue Murder (A Teashop Mystery #21), A Dark and Stormy Tea (A Teashop Mystery #24), and Lemon Curd Killer (A Teashop Mystery #25) by Laura Childs
I started reading the teashop mystery series quite a long time ago.  I would read one or two new ones a year.  By the time I reached the 18^th book, I was frustrated by the formula and the trajectory of the main character.  I wondered if Laura Childs had started using a ghost write because the characters and situations seemed a little ridiculous.  I gave the series a break thinking I would probably never read them again.  Then a year or so ago I wanted a Christmas mystery to read.  I turned back to the tea shop mysteries.  This year I’m finally back in the mood for cozy mysteries.  All of these books increase my tea drinking cravings helping me clean out my never-ending stash.  They’re also good and predictable reads for the end of the day.  Just enough fun mixed into a formula so that I don’t have to do much thinking to enjoy the book.  If you’re looking for a clean, cozy mystery series, this is the one for you.

Co-op
We had two park days for co-op during this school week.  The first park day was one rescheduled for later in the week due to inclement weather.  It was a busy day for us between going to the park, ballet class, and a family dinner.  It was hot, but there was a little bit of shade.  I felt like a great mom because all the kids enjoyed the carrots I brought.  We only had four families come, but I think it was a great amount so that we could really get to know one another.

Our second park day was our end of the year “party.”  It’s basically another park day that includes ice cream.  It was a great turn out.  We were missing a few of our families, but we had a well-attended event.  It’s great that the last two park days have been close to our house.  We also are really enjoying the spring weather.

Fourth Grade Highlight

We are on the final lesson in the grammar book.  I don’t think we will complete the very last assignment.  We are analyzing two sentences a week, and we’ll get through what we can.  We are spending our other grammar day completing a Mad Lib.  Both the kids think the stories are hilarious. 

We started listening to Little Britches by Ralph Moody.  We aren’t very far in, but we’re enjoying it so much.  This book will carry over into our summer reading.

Kindergarten Highlight

We finally finished reading through the Beatrix Potter books! I’m still keeping our nice collection on the top shelf of the kids books, but I look forward to the day I can pass the box along to my daughter’s care in her room.  What a good series of books.

Mom Highlight

I’m busy planning next school year, but I’m in the encouragement phase.  I’ve chosen our books, divided our weekly readings, and now I’m laying out our daily plans.  I’ve been listening to a few podcasts and reading books/articles to remind me of my priorities.  I’m {currently} feeling confident in taking off some of the books and tasks.

Semester 2, Week 7

What I’m Reading: The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason by Laurie Bestvater
I don’t know how long I’ve had this on my TBR, but I finally broke down and bought a copy.  It’s a good how-to on notebooking for the Charlotte Mason method.  Even though I already have a good handle on how to work out narrations/observations, this is an encouraging read and gave me a few new ideas I might be able to implement.

What I’m {nature} Journaling: My son discovered a tiger moth camouflaged on our back door.  It is a pretty moth and has intriguing antennae. I’ve also been seeing some interesting insects that have met their demise in the dogs’ water bowl, but I haven’t fished them out to identify them!

Co-op
We had our last co-op class day.  It was full of excitement as everyone is finally feeling comfortable around one another with better friendships…always just in time for everything to get wrapped up.  It was a busy day for me as we also had open house for new families.  I was completely peopled out by the time I got home.  We still have a few more activities planned with co-op for this school year, so we still have more to look forward to.

Fourth Grade Highlight

My son can now pretty well label a United States map.  Now we’re focusing on state capitals.  It’s always nice this time of year to see the progression of what’s been learned and accomplished over the school year.  We still have another month or so, but I feel like most things learned at this point are just icing on the cake. (I did have my son start writing out a list of things he wants to learn this summer, so the learning never ends in our house.)

History-wise Paul Revere was wrapped up and now my son is moving on to Thomas Jefferson.  I feel like I know very mixed things about him, so I’m looking forward to my son’s narrations to see if I learn anything new.

We also made a small change in dictation this week.  I’ve added in the grammar from Simply Charlotte Mason.  It’s a good review in most cases, but it’s also some new lessons we haven’t gone into depth with.  The way I laid out the week also gave my son more focused chances to study the spelling.  I was giving him a lot of this on his own before, but it’s become more challenging.  I can see that we need to work on better habits. 

Grandpa engineering was this week.  They learned more about energy, potential energy, and pendulums.  They applied this to real life with my son on his bike.  Then my son built a car.

We finished listening to By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  It was good, not quite as enthralling as some of the other books.  It was fun to hear Laura’s very first mention of the Wilder’s crossing her path.

Kindergarten Highlight

My daughter had her very first lesson in math about place value.  I’m not quite sure how much of that actually got across to her.  I guess we’ll see the next time we do math!

Phonics/reading is going well.  My daughter is looking forward to her summer challenge.  I don’t think she quite understands what it entails, but I guess that’s what bribery is for (bribery is anti-CM).

Mom Highlight
I’m feeling far more encouraged about school this week.  I guess it has to do with getting over that middle hump.

Semester 2, Week 6

What I’m Reading: Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson
What a delightful read.  I saw this book mentioned in a book subscription and put it on my TBR.  I ended up getting a copy while I was ordering school books. I found out that D.E. Stevenson is related to Robert Louis Stevenson of Treasure Island.  What a neat connection!

Frances goes to Cairn for her first real holiday.  Her choice isn’t to do anything in particular but because she once saw a picture of Cairn and thought it would be a nice place to visit.  That’s my kind of travel! She goes there at the same time that troops are coming in (WWII) and befriends several of the wives.  She also befriends some locals, but there isn’t very much a focus on them as a particular young gentlemen who is stationed in Cairn.  It’s definitely a love story, but I found that there was so much more depth as she described the places and people.

I was pleasantly surprised at the richness and recommend this book wholeheartedly.  (I read a couple of the Miss Buncle books about a decade ago when one of them was free on kindle.  I enjoyed it very much but have never read anything else by Stevenson thinking they may all be too light.)

What I’m {nature} Journaling: Baby blue birds and irises.  The baby blue birds have hatched in the bird house.  I saw mama bird bringing a worm while papa bird looked on from the fence.  My irises are blooming too.  I thinned them out in the fall, so it’s so nice to see them growing all nice and straight and sans aphids. 

Fourth Grade Highlight

Right now my son is reading about Paul Revere in his independent history reading.  I like hearing him make some connections to other people we’ve discussed. 

I’ve noticed in the past with other assignments that my son’s reading comprehension isn’t always spot on.  I’m not sure if it’s a maturity thing or something we need to focus on a bit.  Narration is helpful for me to hear what he knows, and I try not to ask too many leading questions.  This summer we’re participating in the library reading challenge but I’m also setting up a reward system of my own for the kids.  I’m hoping this will help me better guage where my son is with his independent reading comprehension.

Kindergarten Highlight

I’m having so much fun listening to my daughter learn how to read.  She really likes Bob books and is not going to be left behind in our reading challenge this summer.  We finished one of her nature books this week, so she asked when she can start picking her chapter books like her brother does.  I told her she’ll get to do that more as she learns how to read, but it’s also coming up in the next school year and I bought a few for to choose from this summer.

Mom Highlight
We (mostly I) needed a school reset this week.  We are half way through our semester (not counting exams), but it’s feeling like February.  And technically, we should have been where we currently are by the end of February. We have had quite the school year.  I drastically reduced our school load, but it seems like we haven’t made any headway.  I’m sure by the time I do our evaluation, I’ll feel differently, but I’m in a will we make it through the hump funk.  We have also received some discouraging news about a close family member who has a cancer battle in the upcoming months.  It’s been a lot. 

Thus, a reset in the form of a nature walk.  I realized while we were at our favorite nature preserve that’s been a year since we’ve been.  I can’t believe it.  We enjoyed a slow walk, stopping at every bench to eat snacks.  We saw so many things that we’ve been studying in recent years.  We saw mushrooms, wildflowers, spring blooms, working ants, butterflies, a caterpillar, nesting birds, chirping birds, bees, deer, nuts.  We also brought along a picnic.  The kids always love running around afterward looking for pecans and walnuts.  You know what we didn’t see? Squirrels and chipmunks.  That’s a first.

I felt far better after our morning out.  We still took it easy with school work since I had to be away for a day and we needed a work day to go through all the kids’ clothes.  I’m not sure how my attitude is doing going into the second half. I’m still feeling a little discouraged that we aren’t farther along, but I also don’t feel like we have so much that we can’t make it through.  I’ve been trying to look on the bright side that school going into June at least gives us some routine. I would love to just be done, but I also really think our curriculum is worthy of our time.  I wouldn’t be soul satisfied if we were to leave things undone.  It’s too good to neglect.

A day has passed since I wrote that.  I received a message from a(nother) friend who is researching Charlotte Mason.  I kept my affirmation brief in reply, but it’s so hard because that’s how much I love CM.  I could talk about all the things we do and the philosophy and the soul feeding we’re doing every day.  My little explosion of how lifegiving our schooling is was enough to encourage me for these upcoming weeks.  Yes, it’s not been a breezy season of school, but school isn’t a burden. If we were to set it aside right now, it would be a break but we would just be seeking these same things to fill our days.  When we miss tea and poetry or art or nature walks or our variety of books and subjects, the kids are sure to be asking when we’re going to do it again.

Semester 2, Week 2

What I’m Reading: Howards End by E.M. Forster

I’m reading this to follow along with The Literary Life Podcast.  This isn’t a book I would have chosen on my own.  I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t hate it.  I didn’t really like the style of writing jumping from one event to the next and not always understanding the timeline of going fast and slow; it didn’t have a great flow. The really compelling part of the book was the story of the classes and place/home. Forster wrote a clear picture of the middle and lower classes in their social/educational/working life but also the cultural story of where we find refuge or sanctuary and ultimately ourselves.

What I’m {nature} Journaling:  We have had so much rain building a natural pond of our backyard that I got to observe a wonderful bit of nature the morning we finally had sunshine.  I could visibly see the evaporation happening all over our backyard, deck, and neighbor’s yard.  The shear volume of moisture plus the perfect rays of sun made for a magical five to ten minutes of vapor swirling rise.

Co-op

We went on a field trip to a local bread factory.  It was amazing.  We had fun watching the entire process of loaves of bread and buns being made.  By the entire process, I mean everything.  We heard the flour being sifted in the silos, dough being lifted into the final mixer, the mixed dough being dropped and then processed to the pans, the oven, the cooling rack, the slicer, the bagger, and finally the loaves being loaded for delivery. (I’m leaving out steps but only because we saw this on such a giant scale that it’s difficult to remember things in order.)  We also left with a loaf of bread and a bag of donuts.

Fourth Grade Highlight

My dad and son complete an engineering project together once a month.  The previous month my dad left a packet to read along with questions for my son to answer.  He’s slowly been chipping away at it.  It’s a completely different task for him as I have never had him do reading comprehension worksheets before.  This does not fit into a Charlotte Mason education, but I do think it’s a good skill to learn how to research, find pertinent information amongst all the other information.  I don’t know if he’s actually assimilating any information.  I do like that my son is writing out some definitions.  I would prefer that he could see these things on his own and want to put them in his science notebook.  However, he hasn’t quite caught on to the significance of keeping such information.

Kindergarten Highlight

My daughter is finding more moments for independent play and crafting.  We opened up one of her birthday presents of jewel crafting.  After a little help getting her started, she can finally do it on her own.  She also started weaving her first potholder this week.  She’s not completely independent on it yet, but she has caught on quickly.  It’s a matter of practice to make her better.

Mom Highlight

We took the puppies to our vet for the first time.  The kids were very helpful since the puppies aren’t quite ready to be on the leash.  Both pups are growing quickly and getting into everything!  It’s like having the days of a newborn and a toddler mixed into one.  Their cuteness covers over a multitude of teaching moments. 

We also finally made it to our living library as a family.  I accidently checked out the wrong Roosevelt book, but I told my son it was a good opportunity to learn about a different Roosevelt than the one he intended.  My daughter found plenty of princess books and a really good one about dogs that both of the children enjoyed. 

Fourth Grade Curriculum – Second Semester

* Updates * to the beginning of the year

I really like our adjustment to semesters this school year.  We fill so much of our school year with real life experiences that it is incredibly difficult to follow a traditional three 12-week terms in a Charlotte Mason education. 

On track, going well, no changes: Bible, The Chronicles of Narnia, fairytales, engineering with Grandpa, history, geography, grammar, copywork, dictation, Spanish, art lessons, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, piano. 

Daily Riches and Skills

Family Folder

Memory Work: We will continue memorizing the state capitals. I am adding in a few lines from Shakespeare’s As You Like It as this is the play we will be reading this semester. The poem we will memorize is “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth. The three scripture passages we’ll be memorizing are Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 42:8, and Matthew 6:33-34.

Songs: We will learn five songs over the semester changing to something new after six weeks. The hymns are “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Me” and “Anywhere with Jesus.” The folksongs are “The Mermaid” and  “Shenandoah.”  I’m changing up our Spanish memory work, and we are going to  “Cielito Lindo.”

Math

My son is now is Saxon 5/4.  It’s going well.  He typically does four or five lessons, then we have a day where we do timed math facts and Simply Charlotte Mason Arithmetic. I’m having him do the odd problems on the odd lessons and the even problems on the even lessons.  At the end of the week, we go over the problems he got wrong during the week.  So far this system seems to be going okay. 

Literature

Shakespeare

We will be reading through As You Like It two days a week for 15-20 minutes. We had a great time going through A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so I’m hoping we’ll like reading this play together too.  Even though we’ve read through the Lamb’s version in a previous year, I thought we’d reread through the synopsis.  I use the Folgers version with my son, so sometimes I read the summary notes at the beginning of the scenes to explain what we’re about to read.

Poetry

I decided to buy the Amblesideonline Year 4 poetry anthology since all the collections I checked out from the library had too many poems to sift through.  I had said before that I didn’t really want to ge the anthology again, but I guess sometimes it’s a better way to get what I want.

Free Reads

We’re still using the AmblesideOnline Years 3.5 and 4 free read lists.  I still have a pile of books I want to read with my son.  I also pulled the books out that I had in a different free read tub I had kept to the side for my son to choose from in his free time.  Since he never picks from there, and I do want him to read them, I’ve decided I’m going to alternate him reading one of those on his own in between us reading the other books together.

Weekly Academics

The remainder of our subjects rotate once or twice a week. This is how we fit it all into our Charlotte Mason education.

History and Economics

My husband has asked that we add in reading and watching The Tuttle Twins series and then discuss them.  They have an easy series for my son to read on his own.  I’m having him read half a book and week and then narrate to me.

Science

Science will be divided into three parts – nature study, nature observation, and engineering. Our nature study topic is the sky.  I plan for us to make daily moon observations during the day or night.  I’m hoping this will stir up curiosity about other things we might see.

Riches

While I prefer introducing a new handicraft each term/semester, we’re repeating weaving potholders this semester.  We’re having a makers’ market again at the co-op family night.  I still have a lot of loops left from last year’s projects.  Now my daughter is old enough to join in.  I’m going to expand on his knowledge this year by emphasizing colors and design.

Composer

We will be reading Clyde Bulla’s The Ring and the Fire and listening to selections from Wagner.  I’m looking forward to doing something a little different with our composer study.

Artist

We are studying Whistler this semester using the Simply Charlotte Mason resources.

Semester 1, Week 15 a.k.a. the week that took several weeks a.k.a. the time we got two puppies

What I’m Reading: Tex by S.E. Hinton
I was first introduced to S.E. Hinton in eighth grade.  We read The Outsiders and then watched the movie.  The entire experience was great.  I don’t know what took me so long to read more of her books.  The beginning of Tex is even better than The Outsiders and I wondered why this wasn’t the book chosen for us to read.  I got the answer father along in the book.  Tex has a few more scenes that are so relatable that I feel like they might be more influential in real life.  I felt more removed when I read The Outsiders.  Maybe Tex was more realistic since I’m older now.  I guess I’ll just have to go back and reread The Outsiders.  Anyway, I highly recommend Tex. 

What I’m {nature} Journaling:  I made a few notes about our new puppies in my nature journal.  It reminded me of keeping a baby book.

Co-op
Co-op is back in full force.  We started off the semester with our first class day.  My daughter enjoys being with the kids.  My son missed the first day since he was traveling with his dad.  I look forward to hearing his reaction once he’s back in his classes.  I’m helping in his storytelling class and liked to hear the kids retelling about one of their favorite moments.

I went to the mom’s morning out.  It was at a local coffee shop that I’ve been wanting to check out but have never gotten around to.  I had a delicious everything bagel with cream cheese and a honey vanilla cinnamon latte.  If you haven’t had either, go now and get one if not both of these things.

Finally we had our Valentine’s party.  There were several crafts, a few games, and lots of treats.  No card exchange this year.  I liked that it was simple, but I also know how much I enjoyed the card exchange when I was a kid.  I always loved decorating my card box and picking out my valentines.

Fourth Grade and Kindergarten Highlight

This was supposed to be a very quick and easy week.  Of course, every single time management plan immediately got thrown out the moment we decided we were going to get puppies (and we were ready just like you are when you have a child…except a little more because we’ve actually had dogs before). We were completely on track to finish our semester before Valentine’s Day so that I was going to give us a slow start and special few days to gear up for our second semester.  Instead, we were completing the academics during puppy naptime.  The end of the semester is being completely overshadowed by the puppies.

My son has been asking for a puppy for years.  I always said no because our dog was high maintenance.  Since we knew she was reaching the end of her days, we have been saving, planning, and researching for puppies and the best fit for our family.  We decided on two goldendoodles.  We’re in love.  They’re snuggly and playful.

Field Trip or Travel
A perk of homeschool is the flexibility to put school off a few days for last minute travel.  My son accompanied my husband to pick up the first puppy.  They traveled north and I travel west.  The week was chaotic and getting into a new routine even harder.  However, we have faced this bump (is it a bump if it’s joyful) in the road with grace.  I did ask my husband to review geography with my son while they were on the road.  I don’t know if they did, but they did travel through at least one capital, so that’s something!  The trip was definitely a good lesson in responsibility as it was my son’s job to look out for the puppy while my husband was driving.

Semester 1, Week 13

What I’m Reading: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year, my husband and I listened to Dracula and the accompanying podcasts by The Literary Life Podcast.  This is most definitely a book I would NOT have read of my own choosing.  Sometime last year, we (my husband and I) had a lengthy discussion about his reading/education of Frankenstein in high school versus my recent reading/education of the book.  Wow, what a difference.  This sparked interest in Dracula as we repeated this conversation.  We both decided to set aside our perception of the book to read it together.  We were changed by this tale of the dragon, the princess, and the hero. We had lively discussions and praiseworthy revelation. You should read the book, but you should also listen to the podcast.

What I’m {nature} Journaling:  Friends, it’s cold outside.  We did walk in the cold, but I didn’t write a single thing down about it my nature journal! I felt like we had neglected our insect portion of our journals this semester, so I had the kids find an insect from a book to copy into their books. I was excited that my son read through a lot of the insect book as he chose what to draw; usually he’s rushing through his nature journal assignment.  I had plans to do the same, but again, I didn’t write in my journal.  I guess I need to pick up my resolve.

Travel: We do not have co-op this month (minus a mom meeting), so we are filling our time with travel and appointments (and another illness…).  We have traveled around the southern states.  It’s been cold.  It’s been beautiful.  It’s been great getting home to snuggle in the warmth. We especially liked our extended stay in North Carolina as we visited the mountains.  The kids enjoyed the toy stores.  I enjoyed the Battery Book Exchange in Asheville and bought some lovely editions of Penrod by Booth Tarkington, The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge, and The Santa Fe Trail by Samuel Hopkins Adams (we just finished up one of his other Landmark books, The Erie Canal).  I was happy to find all three.  I have an original of Penrod and Sam that was my husband’s grandfather’s book.  Finding a hardback edition of Penrod was a special find for me even though it wasn’t a first edition (I’m only into collecting for reading’s sake). I bought the Elizabeth Goudge book since I have a new interest in her.  I read checked out The Rosemary Tree from the library a couple years ago after several podcasts mentioned it.  I was so moved by the book that I ended up buying one on my Kindle so that I could take my time reading it.  Her writing is so perfect as a before bed read.  I’m trying to shift over to more physical copies of books this year that this was my favorite find of the day.  I waivered in buying The Santa Fe Trail.  Now that we have access to all the Landmark books through our living library, I’ve been holding off on some of my book buying.  I have already read The Tree in the Trail with my son.  It’s such a great book for explaining the Santa Fe Trail that we don’t need to read anything else.  However, I was thinking I may read the book for myself when it’s time for me to read The Tree in the Trail with her in a couple of years.  Even though the Landmark books are written for older children to teens, I find that many of the stories are captivating, far less dry than history books written for adults, and tell very compelling stories.  I was more convinced to buy this edition since it was in perfect condition, had a dust jacket, and was a good price. 

Fourth Grade Highlight

We finished The Erie Canal by Samuel Hopkins Adams. His grandfather helped build part of the canal, so he had firsthand access to stories and letters and did other research to write the book.  Parts of the book were rather dry.  I read the highlights of the book aloud to my son so that he would get a general overview of who, what, why, and how.  We read this because my history plan of choosing Discovery biographies from our living library was thwarted during an extended illness.  We’ll go back to my original plan during the next semester as we will have full access to the library again. I do have a small pile of TBR Landmark books in my son’s TBR, so we may still pick one of those up before the end of the school year.

We finished reading Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge and then watched the movie.  I always have my son draw a picture of his free reads for his notebook.  He mixed in a little Star Wars delivering the silver skates as the prize.  Definitely not a true rendering.

We’ve started The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.  It is so good so far.  I read this book in college, but I don’t remember anything about it.  I do think it’s one that took me a long time to read the first time because I didn’t find it interesting.  Total opposite this time!

Kindergarten Highlight

We finished reading the first Betsy-Tacy book. I’m enjoying this series.  It’s fun having a chapter book series to read with my daughter.  When my son was this age, we read the robot in the wilderness series and the Ralph mouse series.

Charlotte Mason Arithmetic is going slowly and I’m not sure how well but still on track as we haven’t given up. Phonics has picked up a little as my daughter is recognizing certain words as we’re driving and from a book she checked out at the library this week. She also received some kindergarten workbooks for Christmas to keep her busy when she’s asking for school but I’m working with her brother.  The scissor skills book is especially nice as she colors, cuts and then creates new art work with the glitter glue and stapler she also received.

Mom Highlight

We’re almost there, folks. I can almost see the end of our semester.  I’m about to plan out our exam questions and need to print out our second semester family folder.  If we take zero breaks we’ll finish school before Memorial Day.  I know that won’t happen, so I’m feeling more positive (as in happy and in full knowledge) that our completion in June won’t be so bad afterall.

Winter Rhythms and Mental Health

Our autumn season was punctuated by coziness. Now we’re hunkering down for winter.  I am actively pursuing positive mental health to keep my family and myself not only afloat but buoyant in our winter rhythm.

Several years ago I read a few books that had underlying themes of enjoying the cold or dreary seasons. I’ve since taken the advice to heart and sought out joy or wonder in ordinary, forgotten, or neglected portions of life.

Last spring as we were wrapping up our school year, I focused heavily on creating different seasonal rhythms within our school and home.  Those same rhythms have continued to pull on my heart through autumn and now that it’s winter.  Much of our Christmas break is carrying over into our new year.  While I typically strive to wake up early to get started on our day in a timely manner, I’ve set that aside for this season. I’ve turned off my alarm, and I’ve been letting the kids watch a little extra tv – Tuttle Twins and The Creators for the win! I’m more willing to cook up a warm breakfast or lunch for the children and myself.  I linger over my cup of coffee and time in the Bible.  I brew copious amounts of tea. And I run the space heater.

Routine for Mental Health

We’ve thrown out a rigid routine for this season, but we haven’t thrown out our routine altogether.  We all benefit from a routine and challenging ourselves with hard things.  This is not a season of rest. Routine gives us sense of purpose and place.  We are still going to maintain making beds, brushing teeth, getting dressed, and devoting ourselves to school. But maybe we’ll stay in our pajamas if it’s a rainy day.  Maybe we’ll watch an extra movie or documentary so that we can spend a little extra time snuggling under warm blankets.

Movement for Mental Health

I absolutely have to go out of my way to make it a point for us to get outside.  I’m NOT a fan of the cold, but I know how beneficial it is for us to get outside.  A brisk walk or nature observation is incredibly good for our mental health.  I also have to prioritize indoor exercise.  That is also not my favorite.  When I’m outside exercising, I don’t view it as work, but I sure do when I’m inside.  I open all the blinds to help motivate me, but it’s not quite the same.  I’m also becoming very aware of the types of body movements I’m making.  I’m someone who is often lost in my thoughts and find myself clasping my arms as if to protect myself and my soul.  I’ve been trying to do the opposite – making big movements – big strides, outstretched arms, lifted hands.

Reading for Mental Health

I’m taking more classes through The House of Humane Letters again this year, have a list of books to read along with The Literary Life Podcast, and another long list of books to read for learning and for fun.  I have found that I’ve recently been reading several non-fiction or very heavy fictional books.  I want to have a little more balance, so I’ve thrown in a mystery to help.  I’ve even changed around a few of the books I’m reading with the kids. 

Every year our church spends three days reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  People in the congregation sign up for 20 minute blocks to read where the last person left off.  There is something very powerful in reading Scripture out loud. 

I’m also reading my Scripture cards out loud in the morning and evening.  I have stored up anxiety (hello, living in your mind) that I am actively using ALL my senses to release and heal by storing up new memories and stories.  I also actively pursue at least two if not more daily activities that I know contribute to this new story – movement, cooking, art, knitting, tea drinking.

Music and Art for Mental Health

I cannot quote the book word by word since I don’t have it in my possession, but I read quite a few good things in the book Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine Pittman.  While I already knew that singing was good for you, there is science behind why it’s good for you.  I’m making it a point in this season to sing… a lot… out loud… and often.  Did you know there’s also science behind artist study within the Charlotte Mason method? It’s good for your mind’s attention and for your soul’s rest.  The attention you are giving with your eye movements are triggering rest in your brain.  Again, I don’t have the exact study or brain names, so you’re welcome to link in the comments to some such things if you so desire.

Education for Mental Health

During 2023 my husband was pursuing the phrase “out with the old, in with the new.”  Our spring/summer was ruled by “rhythms” and our autumn by “cozy.”  I planned to be quite a bit further along in school this year.  How are we only at week 13 when we’ve been doing school since August?  As I reflected on what we have and haven’t done, I saw just how much we HAVE done.  We’ve traveled every month; we’ve had sickness every month; we’ve followed our rhythm every month.  Now that I see that our school year is going to linger into June (far later than I planned), I’ve come to the conclusion that we need a goal or mantra to keep us going.  We’re going to use the philosophy of Charlotte Mason and remind ourselves that education is a life. We will keep filling our days with academics but mostly with what is feeding our souls in this moment and for our future. 

Whatever season you are in, I hope you will take full advantage of your winter.