30 Minutes Devoted to Thought Brings About Education

November 29, 2017

I am currently very slowly reading a book called "The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had" By: Susan Wise Bauer.  And it said something that really struck me. So I wanted to share.

"The first task of self-education is not the reading of Plato, but the finding of thirty minutes in which you can devote yourself to thought, rather than to activity."

The author even recommends scheduling a set time for it 4 days a week. Maybe doing exactly that will help me make progress with the stack of books that I have on my nightstand. What book are you reading right now to keep yourself learning and growing?

And Nature Study Comes to Me

November 26, 2017

I got to spend Thanksgiving visiting my family and sister in Arizona this year and while we were enjoying the lovely warm fall weather and letting the kids play at the park nature study found me.  I discovered a beautiful moth with tiny golden crescents on its wings laying on one of the picnic tables.  Being out of town we certainly didn't have our nature notebooks or anything with which to record the discovery.  But I did take the time to point the creature out to the children and appreciate delicate thing we call life.  Today I am grateful for beautiful bugs.

They Slept Through Singing Time

October 25, 2017

After a trip to the dentist to get all the kids teeth cleaned, we started with singing time.  And this is what homeschool looks like at our house this morning.

Who knew going to get your teeth cleaned would wear out my youngest two so much they would fall asleep during music time.  Kyrilene slept right through the music and voices in my arms while her brother passed out on the floor next to the dog who didn't even twitch when we started our music for our morning singing.

"Handel is Still Alive!"

October 17, 2017

Today while reading his history lesson in "This Country of Ours" Chap 33; Treysen looks up and yells 

"HEY MOM GUESS WHAT?!!" 

Then when he realizes I am standing right there, and he says a smidge quieter

"Handel is still alive!" 

My response is "umm well...." and he continues

"Well, what I mean is he is alive during my chapter in my book mom, He's like 2 years old and living in Germany, but that is SO COOL, right mom?"

and I couldn't agree more. It made me smile, so I had to share.  A fine example of the science of relations.  I love to see our composer study and our history lessons suddenly click and make sense for my son.  It gives me hope that we must be doing something right, and it encourages me to continue.

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them...or at least Me

October 8, 2017

So I have found Kyrilene carting around a 'Birds of Utah Field Guide' book many times over the last several weeks and today at quiet time she says to me

"Mom want to see the pretty bird in my book?" 

Does anyone know how hard it way not to brush that aside with a that's nice dear now get in bed? SO HARD. As I tucked her into bed for nap time with her book I asked her to show it to me again and I asked her to tell me about the colors.

"This one is my favorite, it's going to be my pet." she says.

As I looked at the picture of a black-billed magpie I couldn't help but think really of all the colorful birds in this book this is the one? So I told her its name and studied the parts of the bird with her for a few minutes. And I think it truly took a child to remind me that there is beauty in all of God's creations, even and especially in the common magpie. She has now named this picture Ana (from Frozen) and we are going to watch for them on our next trip to the park, I hope they haven't all migrated already. But if so she may find another bird to appreciate that day.

Sea World VS Solar Eclipse, and Eclipse WINS!

August 21, 2017

Seriah says if you compare the solar eclipse to Sea World the solar eclipse wins. I love that this girl loves science.  We watched the Solar Eclipse this year from Rexburg, Idaho at the kids Grandparents house.  It was so worth taking them up for it.

It's All It's Cracked Up To Be

August 12, 2017

It's our first official egg. It is cracked from being laid on a hard surface. So we cracked it into Tupperware to keep in the fridge until tomorrow. The kids are now arguing over who gets to eat it and they more than willingly fell all over each other to help get the nesting boxes all settled with chopped straw for the hens.