Mother Culturing: Second Quarter 2024

What we need is a habit of taking our minds out of what one is tempted to call “the domestic rag-bag” of perplexities, and giving it a good airing in something which keeps it “growing”… Is there, then, not need for more “Mother Culture”? 

“MOTHER CULTURE” PARENTS’ REVIEW – VOLUME 3 

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; 
Or surely you’ll grow double: 
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; 
Why all this toil and trouble? 

The sun above the mountain’s head, 
A freshening lustre mellow 
Through all the long green fields has spread, 
His first sweet evening yellow. 

Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife: 
Come, hear the woodland linnet, 
How sweet his music! on my life, 
There’s more of wisdom in it. 

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings! 
He, too, is no mean preacher: 
Come forth into the light of things, 
Let Nature be your teacher. 

She has a world of ready wealth, 
Our minds and hearts to bless— 
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, 
Truth breathed by cheerfulness. 

One impulse from a vernal wood 
May teach you more of man, 
Of moral evil and of good, 
Than all the sages can. 

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; 
Our meddling intellect 
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— 
We murder to dissect. 

Enough of Science and of Art; 
Close up those barren leaves; 
Come forth, and bring with you a heart 
That watches and receives. 

~ The Tables Turned by William Wordsworth ~

It was another eventful quarter, but the summer is looking to be a little more low-key, which makes me glad! Hopefully, I can keep it that way. It’s funny how you can look at a stretch of several weeks with no or very few plans, and suddenly, you’re doing something almost every day. I have gone into this summer trying to be more intentional about scheduling our time and not overbooking ourselves, but it’s hard when there are so many good things to do! 

We had a few eventful things happen this last quarter, beginning in April with the eclipse! We drove up to Wyoming in 2017 to experience totality with that eclipse and knew we wanted to do it again with this one, so we rented an Airbnb in northern Arkansas and meandered across the prairies two days before the event. We stopped to visit a friend in Missouri and, on a whim, also went to the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site in Independence. I highly recommend the tour of his home if you’re in the area! 

The eclipse itself was a wonderful experience, and I’m so glad the kids got to see it at an older age so they could actually remember it this time. We spent the rest of the day lounging at our cabin and picking out all the new birds that aren’t in our area. I am now enamored with Carolina Chickadees. 

On the way back, we stopped at the Little House on the Prairie Museum in Independence, Kansas, which has been on our bucket list since we first read Little House on the Prairie to the kids several years ago. The next day, we visited Fort Larned (very well done!) before finally making our way home. 

Around all of this, my husband traveled almost non-stop for about seven weeks for his business. It was a challenging time for all of us, and we were happy to have him home for a while when all the travel was done! 

In June, we finished our school year (seventh and fourth grades!), then attended our annual horse camp for a week (the kids as campers and me volunteering as a camp mom), and did our exams the following week. I was honestly dreading exams as they have not been very peaceful for us in the last few years, so I picked up the A Delectable Education Exam Planner and listened to Celeste Cruz’s interview on The New Mason Jar about exams, and I felt so inspired to not only do exams differently (written!) but also in how I view their purpose. Our exams went so much better this time around, and I feel much more confident about doing them in the future! 

And, of course, with the warmer weather, we’re getting hikes in with friends! I am very much looking forward to more of these this summer as well!

And now on to the culturing! 

Read (or Finished Reading)  

FOR ME  

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. I listened to the audiobook version of this while cooking supper and doing other miscellaneous things around the house. It was a good story. 

A Mother’s Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul by Holly Pierlot. This was one of the recommended resources in the CMEC 2018 Retreat package, which I’ve been working my way through the last few weeks. I devoured this book and found it so inspiring and practical. I am not Catholic, so there were parts that didn’t apply to me, but I still found so much to take away from it. I highly recommend it! 

Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde. I’ve been waiting fifteen years for this sequel! I really enjoyed the first book in the series (Shades of Grey), and this one wrapped up the story nicely. 

FOR (OR WITH) THE KIDS  

Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann. This was fascinating, and I learned so much about pre-15th-century North and South America that I had no idea about before. I plan to pick this up for our permanent collection.

Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac. Read for both kids. A compelling story with a good lesson. 

Miracles On Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson. Though the brother is a tad bit meaner than I was comfortable with, the story overall is great, and I appreciated the lessons it taught. Both kids enjoyed this one, too. 

Born to Trot by Marguerite Henry. This was a special request from C as she is enjoying all things horse right now. We all liked this book, especially the story within the story. 

John Muir: America’s First Environmentalist by Kathryn Lasky. Not too terrible in-depth, but a good background story on this inspiring man. 

The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono. This is actually a way-in-advance pre-read for B for Year 8. I decided one day to start listening to audiobooks to get more pre-reading done, and I finished this in one supper-making session. I really like this story and will be glad to hand it over to him when the time comes. 

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly. Another great story, though I admit the alchemy parts and “sorcery” were a stretch for me. I think it was a good lesson, though, and a neat glimpse into Polish culture. 

Fine Print: A Story about Johann Gutenberg by Joann Johansen Burch. Not particularly well-written, but interesting nonetheless, and we all learned something we didn’t know about Gutenberg. 

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright. Read for C, but both kids ended up reading this one. I love Elizabeth Enright’s stories; this one in particular, which took place in Wisconsin, is very good! 

Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz. Another one for C to go along with her history readings! 

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. I read this with both kids at night when my husband was out of town. My kids really enjoyed this book.  I wasn’t crazy about the lying and cheating as means to a good end, but it gave us an opportunity to talk about that. 

FOR SCHOOL  

The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White. This book and a little of the next book, The Queen of Air and Darkness, are assigned for AmblesideOnline Year 7. B loved this book and couldn’t wait to read it each week. However, because we were behind and content concerns, I opted to skip the readings from the next book, and that worked out just fine. 

Bright Valley of Love by Edna Hong. This was very inspiring, and I’m glad it was part of our school year. 

The Taste of Chaucer by Anne Malcolmson. This was a great introduction to Chaucer! The background information was so helpful, and the translated stories were very engaging. We both enjoyed this one. 

Men, Microscopes, and Living Things by Katherine B. Shippen. This was an interesting exploration of the history of biology that gave B a great framework for future biology studies. 

The Ocean Of Truth: The Story Of Sir Isaac Newton by Joyce McPherson. This was the second time through this book for me and I enjoyed it a little more, though I still find it a little preachy. C liked parts of it, but found other parts a little confusing. However, I think it did give her a good understanding of the life of Issac Newton. 

More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. I’m not a huge fan of books “defending” the existence of Jesus, but I think this had good points and things for both of us to think about. 

Ivanhoe by Sir Water Scott. We both enjoyed this one a lot! I never read this in high school, so I was glad to have some exposure to Sir Walter Scott in my old age. 

The Life of the Spider by Jean-Henry Fabre. As much as I appreciate spiders, I sometimes struggled through this one. We learned a lot about our 8-legged friends, and I will have my daughter read it also, but (and I know I’m in the minority in this opinion) parts of it were a challenge. 

CURRENTLY  

I am currently reading A Lantern in Her Hand, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, A Chicken’s Guide to Talking Turkey with Your Kids About Sex (some day I will finish this book), and in my morning liturgy, Revelations of Divine Love. 

For B, I am pre-reading Incident at Hawk’s Hill and reading with him The Fellowship of the Ring. For C, I am pre-reading The Tough Winter (fitting when it’s 104 degrees outside), and reading with her The Children of the New Forest (which we will also finish reading someday). 

Made 

I am primarily making food these days! We signed up for a CSA earlier in the year, and our first delivery was the week of June 11^th. We haven’t been part of a CSA in years, so it’s been fun to stretch my culinary muscles again and find interesting ways to prepare whatever we happen to get each week. 

We also started our garden back up in late May and planted tomatoes, peppers, a raspberry shoot that won’t produce anything until next year, potatoes, onions, fennel, and more strawberries. The yarrow, comfrey, thyme, and strawberries I planted last year came up again, so we’ll have some herbs to dry. We also got a pear tree and an apple tree (we’ll get a second pair next year, depending on how these two do), as well as an elderberry bush, a blueberry bush, and a grapevine. The goal is to produce at least some food in our yard, so we’re giving it more of a go this year. The majority of our produce, however, will come from the CSA. Perhaps I’ll get some canning in before the season is done! 

Enjoyed  

CMEC 2018 Retreat. My friend Joy recommended this in a recent post on her site about summer schedules, and I have been so encouraged by it! Her recommendation came at a perfect time, as we were just wrapping up our school year, and I am beginning to plan for next year. I am still working my way through the talks, but the one on the topic of the End-of-Term Reflection has inspired me to sit down this week with the handouts provided (and some chocolate) and do a true reflection of how our year went so I can plan a better year next year. 

Morning walks. I mentioned above that the book A Mother’s Rule was recommended in the CMEC Retreat handout, so I found an audiobook version and started listening while I was cooking supper one night. I was so inspired by it that I went for a morning walk the next day. And, aside from the week I volunteered at our annual horse camp in early June, I’ve been walking every morning (except weekends) ever since. This is really kind of a minor miracle as I am a person very averse to exercising that doesn’t also fulfill some purpose other than making me healthier (e.g., it needs to get me to the top of a mountain or bike me to the store). Also a small miracle: I have been enjoying it! I actually look forward to it and roll myself out of bed each morning to do my morning liturgy and then head outside. It helps that I found a new path near our house that goes past a little goat farm and often includes wild turkeys. Whatever the motivation is, I am so glad this has become part of my routine! 

Schedule. After I finished A Mother’s Rule of Life, I went through the questions in the book and then sat down to make the kids and me a schedule. We began using it last Monday, and I am so happy with how it has gone so far. We are getting things done. We are getting outside. We are taking care of ourselves and our home. And the kids still have a good chunk of free time each day. I know we’ll make adjustments as we go, especially when we start up our longer school time again in the fall, but I am hopeful this is a practice we’ll continue! 

Bee Grateful Farm Honey Chocolate Caramels. A few months ago, these were a new item and on sale, so I added them to my Azure order. They’re so good, and I love the simple ingredients! 

On the Blog

12 Things to Do for Homeschool Spring Nature Study 

Eugène Delacroix Picture Study Aid and Art Prints 

John William Waterhouse Picture Study Video Session 

Free Printable Homeschool Calendar for 2024-2025 

YouTube Picture Study (and Art for Frame TVs!) 

Simple Monthly Meal Planning System for Families 

Record of Readings and Recitations for Homeschoolers 

Summer of Mother Culture: Mothers Are Born Persons 

10 Things to Do for Summer Nature Study (free printable!) 

Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool Seventh Grade Recap 

Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool Fourth Grade Recap (take 2!) 

New in the Shop  

More next quarter!

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