There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

Just wanted to share our hymn for the month of May!  What a joy to see my boys singing along!  And yes, youtube can be very helpful when mom doesn't know the tune (or sound near as good as this lady)!

Monday's Mason

Vol.4, Chapter XVII
"As a matter of fact, it is easier to do the definite work of school or profession than the easily evaded, indefinite work which belongs to the home daughter."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4, Chapter VI:  My Lord Chief Attorney-General, Reason
Good and Sensible Persons come to Opposite Conclusions:  "On questions of war and peace and politics, of religion, of education, of public works, of clothing, of food, in fact, upon any and every point, you will find it possible that the Reason of equally good and equally intelligent people will bring them to quite opposite conclusions.  That is the cause of all the controversy in the world.  People think that they can convince each other by the arguments which their own Reason has accepted.  So they could, if the other side were not already convinced by arguments exactly opposite; and upon which side a man is convinced, usually depends upon his will: - 'Convince a man against his will, He's of the same opinion still';  because we must remember that Reason is each man's own particular servant, and plays on his side, as it were, and convinces him of that which he is inclined to believe." 
"Therefore, seeing that all men, who are not idiots or insane, are endowed with this same power of reasoning, we may conclude that Reason is not infallible, and that certain and fixed conclusions need not be right conclusions, but that all depends upong the notion from which reasoning begins."

Monday's Mason

Bear with me, this is a long one!  I thought it well worth all the typing!

Vol. 4, Chapter XVII
"Bargains. - There is another failure in integrity which people do not realise to be as debasing as debt, though probably its effects are as bad; and that is the bargain-hunting in which even right-minded persons allow themselves.
     It arises from an error in thought.  People set out with the idea that they must get the best that is to be had at the lowest possible price; and out of this idea arise the unseemly scramble to be seen at 'Sales'; the waste of time, temper, and health in going from shop to shop in search of the 'cheapest and best' article; the dishonest waste of the time of the assistants in all these shops - a waste for which, of course, the customers pay in the end:  and to these is often added the fretful disappointment of a 'Purple Jar'; a fine and showy thing is brought home which fails to bear the tests of examination and calm judgement.  The whole thing might be set right, and the ways of trade mended, by the exercise of clear judgement informed by integrity of purpose.
     What we want is - not the best thing that can be had at the lowest possible price - but a thing suitable for our purpose, at a price which we can afford to pay and know to be just.  (Italics added)
      Looked at from this pint of view, the whole matter is simplified; we are no longer perpetually running round, harassing ourselves and wearing out other people in search after bargains.  Every purchase becomes a simple, straightforward duty.  We feel it to be a matter of integrity to deal with tradesmen of our own neighborhood, so far as they can supply us.  If they fail to do so, we are at liberty to go further afield; but in this case, we soon fix upon  the distant tradesman who can supply our needs, and escape the snare of bargain-hunting.
      There is a further risk in bargain-hunting in which we should be aware.  Nothing is cheap that we do not want; and the temptation to buy a thing for which no need has yet arisen, because it is a bargain, leads to a waste of money wanted for other uses, and to the accumulation of meaningless objects in our rooms.  It is worth while to remember that space is the most precious and also the most pleasing thing in a house or room; and that even a small room becomes spacious if it is not crowded with useless objects."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4, Chapter VIII
The Ordering of Our Thoughts 
"To know that we must order our thoughts; that we can do so; and how and when to interfere with the career of these same thoughts, is not the whole, but, I believe, it is half, the battle."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4, Chapter XX, Part IV
Vocation, Preparation:
"All callings have one thing in common - they are of use; a person may prepare for his calling years before he knows what it is."  " . . . boys and girls who would be ready for their chances in life must have well-trained, active bodies; alert, intelligent, and well-informed minds; and generous hearts, ready to dare and do all for any who may need their help.  It is such persons as these the world wants, persons who have worked over every acre of that vast estate fo theirs which we have called Mansoul; men and women ordered in nerve and trained in muscle, self-controlled and capable; with well-stored imagination, well-practised reason; loving, just, and true."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4 Chap. XIX, Principles:  Justice in Motive:

"Good principles are offered to us in an unobtrusive way, with little force and little urging.  Bad principles are clamorous and urgent, drowning the voice of conscience by noisy talk, inviting us to go the way we are inclined and to do the thing we like."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4, Chapt.VI, Love's Lords in Waiting:  Generosity

Generous Impulses common to all the World: "The nature of Generosity is to bring forth, to give, always at the cost of personal suffering or deprivation, little or great.  There is no generosity in giving what we shall never miss and do not want; this is mere good-nature, and it is not even kindness, unless it springs out of a real thought about another person's needs."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4, Chapter XIV, Truth:  Justice in Word

"We must keep our tongues from evil-speaking, lying and slandering; and Wesley says that to speak evil of another when it is true is to slander, and when it is false, is to lie."

Monday's Mason

Vol. 4, Chapter X
Humility one with Simplicity - "Humility is perhaps one with Simplicity, and does not allow us to think of ourselves at all, ill or well.  That is why a child is humble.  The thought of self does not come to him at all; when it does, he falls from his child estate and becomes what we call self-conscious.  In that wonderful first lesson of the Garden of Eden, the Fall consisted in our first parents becoming aware of themselves; and that is how we fall - when we become aware."
"Humility sits within us all, waiting for pride to be silent that he may speak and be heard."

Monday's Mason

Volume 4, Chapter XVII - Integrity:  Justice in Action

The Habit of Finishing. - What is worth beginning is worth finishing, and what is worth doing is worth doing well.

Monday's Mason

In reading through the Charlotte Mason home schooling series, I have come across many quotes, ideas that I have marked.  I am going to start posting one a week (on Monday's) for myself and anyone else who might be interested.  These are only tidbits - tiny morsels to chew on.

Volume 4, Part III, Chapter 1

"Love - Love, like a king, has his Lords in Waiting - Pity, Benevolence, Sympathy, Kindness, Generosity, Gratitude, Courage, Loyalty, Humility, Gladness.  Have you ever thrown a stone into the water and watched the circles about it spread?  As a matter of fact, they spread to the very shores of the pond or lake or sea into which you have thrown the stone; more, they affect the land on the further side.  But those distant circles become so faint that they are imperceptible, while those nearest the point where you have thrown in the stone are clearly marked.  So it is with our Love.  It is as if, in the first place, our home were the stone thrown in to move our being; and from that central point the circle of our love widens until it embraces all men."

Supercalifragilisticexbealidocious . . .

Today our pastor posed a question that has stuck with me.  What is your favorite and least favorite word?  His were "yes" and "no".  At lunch we were discussing this as a family and L and I have the same favorite word - Supercalifragilisticexbealidocious.  It is such a fun word and could mean many things, but is pretty positive to me.  Now, if I had to pick a word I might use more frequently, I would probably pick "do".  To me it represents taking action.  As far as a least favorite, I would go with "can't".  I had a 4th grade teacher that taught us "Never say I can't, always say I'll try" and it has stuck with me over the years.  Maybe that is why I dislike "can't", it is sometimes said when an attempt hasn't even been made.  Charlotte Mason's motto is "I am, I ought, I can, I will".  Any thoughts as to what your favorite or least favorite words are?

PS  I forgot to mention L's least favorite word - ignore - he doesn't like the way it sounds and doesn't like it when he is ignored :(.

1st Trimester Break!

See all those checks? We did it!

We made it through our first trimester of the 09/10 school year!

Trimesters

We are on our last week of our 2nd trimester!

No, I am not talking about my pregnancy, but our school year. This year, I intentionally set up our school year to follow the trimester schedule that I find on Ambleside Online. We started after Labor Day and should end before Memorial Day.

Our first break between trimester 1 and 2 fell at Thanksgiving. What a wonderful week to not have school and just spend time as a family, including Dan!

We did take one week of at Christmas, which set us up for a break the first week of March. How we all need it! It is also nice to know that we are 2/3 of the way through our school year.

What I like about trimesters . . .it's different. It puts us on a diffrent schedule from the rest of the education institutions in this area. That benefits us when we travel, visit musuems, have outings, etc. I like that our school year is broken up with a week off here and there. It also give me a chance to start anew more often! If something wasn't working out great one sememster, I'll change it for the next. Of course, I can change it sooner if necessary, but I think I evaluate things more than I did before. I think it is less overwhelming for the boys too. They can look at there daily schedules and see the end.

A school system in our area recently voted down changing to trimesters. Personally, I think it is because it is change, not the norm and people in the Midwest don't really care for change!

Last, but not least, it allows us to take a road trip to visit our family in NC! Do you think it is spring there?!

Obedience

This quote from Charlotte Mason's Home Education Vol. 1 resonates with me.


"The Whole Duty of a Child––First and infinitely the most important, is the habit of obedience. Indeed, obedience is the whole duty of the child, and for this reason––every other duty of the child is fulfilled as a matter of obedience to his parents. Not only so: obedience is the whole duty of man; obedience to conscience, to law, to Divine direction.

It has been well observed that each of the three recorded temptations of our Lord in the wilderness is a suggestion, not of an act of overt sin, but of an act of wilfulness, that state directly opposed to obedience, and out of which springs all that foolishness which is bound up in the heart of a child.

Obedience no Accidental Duty.––Now, if the parent realise that obedience is no mere accidental duty, the fulfilling of which is a matter that lies between himself and the child, but that he is the appointed agent to train the child up to the intelligent obedience of the self compelling, law-abiding human being, he will see that he has no right to forego the obedience of his child, and that every act of disobedience in the child is a direct condemnation of the parent. Also, he will see that the motive of the child's obedience is not the arbitrary one of, 'Do this, or that, because I have said so,' but the motive of the apostolic injunction, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

Children must have the Desire to Obey.––It is only in proportion as the will of the child is in the act of obedience, and he obeys because his sense of right makes him desire to obey in spite of temptations to disobedience––not of constraint, but willingly––that the habit has been formed which will, hereafter, enable the child to use the strength of his will against his inclinations when these prompt him to lawless courses. It is said that the children of parents who are most strict in exacting obedience often turn out ill; and that orphans and other poor waifs brought up under strict discipline only wait their opportunity to break into license. Exactly so; because, in these cases, there is no gradual training of the child in the habit of obedience; no gradual enlisting of his will on the side of sweet service and a free will offering of submission to the highest law: the poor children are simply bullied into submission to the will, that is, the wilfulness, of another; not at all, 'for it is right'; only because it is convenient."

I failed to grasp this concept growing up. It was external consequences that kept me "in line". So now, my question is how to apply this in my child rearing (cause it is not happening!).