tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10098912336236160782011-10-29T13:26:23.597-06:00Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-32128754832398788982011-07-26T17:40:00.001-06:002011-07-26T17:42:31.972-06:00

 King Arthur's Knights Would you like to have your children read great classic literature, but aren't sure whether they would finish it?  Would you like to read aloud to them, but your schedule and your children's schedule don't always coincide?  Perhaps you would like to read more, but don't have the time to sit and read.  Enter My Audio School.  It's the brainchild of a homeschool mom of five,

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-91225685263623936962011-03-30T09:09:00.000-06:002011-03-30T09:09:11.485-06:00

Edouard Vuillard, Interieur a la Table à Ouvrage 1893It seems everywhere I go in the Blogiverse, everyone's reading it.  One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  I am too.  I'm not too far in yet, but it's a book to read slowly.  Slowly is mostly how I read anyway, so that's good.  Somebody said, "Ever forward, but slowly," and I think it's a fine way to read or to live, even though I sometimes go

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-17530132019463468772011-03-18T21:24:00.005-06:002011-03-18T21:38:19.514-06:00

Two Lessonsby John CiardiI.A frightful Scowl met an Owl sitting in a tree.The Owl said, "Who?"---If it was you who answered, "It is me,"Then hide your face. You're in disgrace.And the next time you reply to a bird in a treeDon't say, "It is me."Say, properly, "It is I."II.People who say nooz for newsMust think that kittens' cries are moos.Kittens, properly, say mew,Rhyming it, properly, with

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-59185245831760615792011-01-22T21:41:00.001-07:002011-01-22T22:07:00.139-07:00

One of my favorite things in life is nature."Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"  ~Matthew 6:26 Nature Walks...I live on the northern prairies and I'm sure they call this "Big Sky Country" because out here, there is nothing to block the sky. Te flora of 

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-83550129775985846382011-01-16T12:38:00.001-07:002011-01-16T12:39:28.050-07:00

Kindgergarten at our house was very simple.  The Charlotte Mason method doesn't require much formal "seat work" for children under about 6 or 7.  Instead it mostly requires reading aloud for short periods of time, listening to beautiful music, observing nature, and free play outdoors.  Discovery through the five senses is the very best way to allow a young child

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-39573694164167641502011-01-09T10:58:00.005-07:002011-01-09T11:26:58.647-07:00

 Mrs. Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren  As a child growing up, we did not have any sort of art appreciation courses in school, and we did not live near art museums so learning about great art was non-existent.  Art class, yes.  We learned to use paste, scissors, water colors, crayons and such, but art appreciation was not a part of my education until I had children of my own.  As a home

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-33150599632602260782010-02-06T12:51:00.001-07:002010-02-06T12:51:49.998-07:00

 "Baby Owl"by Andrew WyethMuseum Syndicate This picture reminds me of the many times the children and I found a dead bird along the way, took it home, and proceeded to really observe it, really look it over -- its feathers and the colors of them, its beak shape and the legs, and how the eyes were set. Then we would try to sketch it in our nature journals.  

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-45365425498059735042009-11-01T14:58:00.002-07:002009-11-02T07:30:48.448-07:00

click to enlarge Hymns have always been a big part of our worship.  We worship at our church in a more musically contemporary way with hymns sprinkled in now and then.  We like that too, but hymns have such a deep richness, a history, a boldness, and a beauty in lyric that is incomparable.  Today, being Reformation Sunday, I am reminded of one favorite hymn writer -- Martin Luther -- who

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-42515178764530070212009-10-12T07:49:00.000-06:002009-10-12T07:49:28.755-06:00

Pic by Holly Heyser NorCal Cazadora "Why does it snow?  Why does it snow?" The children come crowding around me to know. I said to my nephew, I said to my niece, "It's just the old woman a-plucking her geese." With her riddle cum dinky dido, With her riddle cum dinky dee. The old woman sits on a pillowy cloud, She calls to her geese, and they come in a crowd; A cackle a wackle, a hiss and a

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-36321502818152492202009-10-09T22:17:00.002-06:002009-10-09T22:20:26.266-06:00

click image to enlarge Several years ago I clipped this article from a newspaper or magazine or something.  I'm not sure what its origins were really.  But the message was strong and clear and I knew I would refer to it again and again since I, myself, have four boys and just one daughter.  The article puts it well.  Young boys just don't always fit well intothe mold of a school desk and their

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-81981908916424851872009-10-08T18:13:00.007-06:002009-10-08T21:11:26.459-06:00

Stitching by Giggleface StudiosThere once was a Mother Hen who wanted to raise her chicks in the way of the Lord. She wanted to raise healthy chicks fed on the very best wheat and the plumpest worms available. She wanted her chicks to be smart and wise and hard workers. She prayed, she listened, she heard. What did she hear her God say? "Homeschool."Could she do it?Homeschool seemed way out of

Gumbo Lilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747138637571716591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1009891233623616078.post-43174461740072788392009-10-07T08:41:00.005-06:002009-10-08T16:34:13.094-06:00

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!" "Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully with a shout of joy." "Let them sing for joy on their beds." Music has always been an integral part of our family life. Chickens aren't known for their beautiful singing voices, but they still have their own sweet clucking sounds that bring communicate perfectly to their chicks. Children naturally love to sing

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