Let a Woman Learn

In Celebration of Winter - Posts of Winter Past

2009-12-21T15:37:00.007-05:00

Winter -- some times it's rainy, some times it's mild, some times it's cold, some times it's just brown and gray but some times it is very, very white -- as the past couple of years have been. Last year about this time, Daisy captured the beauty of our winter at dusk with her camera. (photo used with photographer's permission-thank you!)

Several years before that we had minimal snow so we used books and projects for our lessons, journals, and copywork to make it seem more real. Now, this year, it appears to be another real, white winter -- in celebration of WINTER I've put my posts from the past together in one list:

Our Favorite Winter-Snow Poetry and Quotes for Journals or Copybooks
Winter-Snow Study with Art Prints and Music of Vivaldi
Our Favorite Winter-Snow Books
Our Borax Crystal and Snowflake Fun and also here at my new blog.

Plus, a few new extras not included in the above links - winter scenes from some of my vintage collectible books:

White Field

In the winter time we go
Walking in the fields of snow;
Where there is no grass at all;
Where the top of every wall,
Every fence and every tree,
Is as white as white can be.
And our mothers always know,
By the footprints in the snow,
Where it is the children go.

~James Stephens~
From My Book House, In The Nursery c1917 The Book House for Children, editied by Olive Beaupe Miller, p193

Snowflakes

Child:
Little white feathers,
Filling the air---
Little white feathers!
How came you there?

Snowflakes:
We came from the cloud-birds
Sailing so high;
They're shaking their white wings
Up in the sky.

Child:
Little white feathers,
How swift you go!
Little white snowflakes,
I love you so!

Snowflakes:
We are swift because
We have work to do;
But hold you youf face,
And we'll kiss you.

~Mary Mapes Dodge~ from Book Trails for Baby Feet, c1946 Shepherd and Lawrence Inc., p312

My Snowman

Of snow I built a snowman,
A jolly looking snowman;
I do believe that no man
Was ever quite so fine!
He felt so very cold, that
I crowned him with an old hat,
A worn-out blue and gold hat,
That once was one of mine.

The sun---which had been sleeping---
Awoke, and came a peeping,
And sent the sunbeams leaping
To see my man so gay,
They peeped beneath his old hat---
His worn-out blue and gold hat;
And soon they grew so bold that
He melted right away!

~Alfred I. Tooke~ from Book Trails for Baby Feet, c1946 Shepherd and Lawrence Inc., p316

The "My Snowman" image is free to download and use as you wish. :-)

Finally - My Grand Re-Opening of Seven Pillars Book Nook

2009-12-18T17:54:00.000-05:00

Finally, finally, finally after a long delay my Seven Pillars Book Nook has moved and been re-designed so that TODAY IS THE GRAND RE-OPENING!!! I'm planning a free book giveaway soon to go along with the re-opening. If you enjoy reading to your children and want good quality literature at reasonable prices, please, take a look at:

Seven Pillar Book Nook

Vintage Collectible Lovely Treasures and Books

"Sustaining" and "Enduring" Books we enjoy, own, and recommend.

For PARENTS who love to hold a book in hand and gather their children around to read a good story together
For PARENTS building a Generational Home Library for their children
For COLLECTORS of Vintage Collectible Books

"I had always felt life first as a story and if there is a story there is a storyteller."
~G. K. Chesterton~

A Grand Re-Opening of My Seven Pillars Book Nook

2009-12-10T19:21:00.015-05:00

Do you enjoy reading and sharing good literature, "Living Books", with your children? Do you want to purchase good books to read to your children? Do you collect vintage, antique books?

Please, visit my Seven Pillars Book Nook blog to look around at Vintage Collectible Lovely Treasures and Books -- good books for parents and grandparents to read to their children.

Seven Pillars Book Nook is Moving and Remodeling

Grand Re-Opening Soon!

There's been a delay due to my scanner problems so a rescheduled date once again!
Things are not going as well as planned. I'm not sure what the problem is with my scanner so until I can resolve the problem my Grand Opening is delayed indefinitely. Hopefully it will be soon!

Evening Landscapes

2009-11-18T15:57:00.004-05:00

Softly the evening came. The sun from the horizon
Like a magician extended his golden wand o’er the landscape;
Twinkling vapors arose; and sky and earth and forest
Seemed all on fire at the touch and melted and mingled together.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~
from Evangeline
Thomas Worthington Whittredge "Twilight Landscape"

"October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruit and leaves, and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky. November the later twilight."
~Henry David Thoreau~

Grammar Help - "Affect" Versus "Effect"

2009-11-16T15:46:00.014-05:00

I always squirm and have to think about it because I just can't remember the correct use of these two words BUT I've found some thing that I think will help me. Grammar Girl has a mnemonic help for understanding and keeping them straight: "Affect" Versus "Effect"

"This is by far the most requested grammar topic, so I have a few mnemonics and a matching cartoon to help you remember....

"...most of the time, affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun; and now we can get to the mnemonics. First, the mnemonic involves a very easy noun to help you remember: aardvark. Yes, if you can remember aardvark -- a very easy noun -- you'll always remember that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun. Why? Because the first letters of "a very easy noun" are the same first letters as "affect verb effect noun!" That's a very easy noun. Affect (with an a) verb effect (with an e) noun...

"But why Aardvark?" you ask. Because there's also an example to help you remember. It's "The arrows affected Aardvark. The effect was eye-popping." It should be easy to remember that affect with an a goes with the a-words, arrow and aardvark, and that effect with an e goes with the e-word, eye-popping. If you can visualize the sentences, "The arrows affected the aardvark. The effect was eye-popping," it's pretty easy to see that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun..."

More grammar at Grammar Girl.

Two New Kinds of Apples - Honey Crisp & Candy Crisp

2009-11-05T14:41:00.025-05:00

I have been wanting to find Honey Crisp apples for a couple of years now and finally was able to find them locally. They are fairly new, at least in our area.

Honey Crisp
Juicy, mostly sweet, some tart flavor
Uses: eating fresh, in salads, baking --- this apple is a patented cross between favorites Macoun and Honeygold produced at the University of Minnesota in the late 1970s.

The other one, Candy Crisp, I haven't been able to find here locally but is available online for delivery at the Honey Crisp web site: Candy Crisp.

A recipe for Apple Brown Betty

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter or margarine, melted
2 cups bread cubes or any cake: sponge, pound or angel food
6 cups sliced apples Granny Smith and Golden Delicious
1 cups honey or maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
Grated rind of lemon (optional)
¼ cup apple cider
Whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss bread cubes and melted butter together.
Combine the honey, cinnamon, lemon rind and apple cider, reserving some of the bread for topping.
Place half of remaining mixture in bottom of baking dish.
Top with half the fruit; pour half the honey mixture over fruit.
Repeat layers.
Top with reserved bread cubes.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until apples are tender and top is browned.
Serve warm with whipped topping.

More good "apple" stuff click here and scroll down.

S510 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

2009-11-04T20:09:00.011-05:00

Read the S510 bill . Watch the Senate Hearing Committee live -- around 70 minutes mark they discuss farmers markets, small local and organic farm and how it will affect them.

Read more from the Farm-to-Consumer Defense Fund:

Senate Food Safety Bill

"The debate on food safety is heating up in Congress. Last Thursday, October 22, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) held a hearing on S. 510, the Senate version of the draconian House food safety bill (H.R. 2749).

While FDA claimed that the bill only covers food in interstate commerce, the language of the bill would impose sweeping regulations on all farms and food processors. Meanwhile, S. 510 does not address the problems of uninspected imported foods or the contamination from feedlots. We think this bill is too bad to be fixed and should be defeated!

ACTION TO TAKE:
1. Contact both of your U.S. Senators and ask them to vote NO on S.B. 510 because it will harm local and sustainable foods without fixing the real problems in the mainstream industrial food system.

For contact information, go to www.congress.org or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

2. Also contact the Chair and Ranking Member of the HELP Committee:
Chairman Harkin, (p): 202-224-0767, (f): 202-224-5128
Senator Enzi, Ranking Member, (p): 202-224-6770

You will have the greatest impact by faxing a personal letter or visiting their district offices in-person. Next best is a phone call, followed by an email.

TALKING POINTS
1. Although FDA stated that the bill only applies to food in interstate commerce, the language of the bill does not contain any such limitation. On its face, the bill applies to any farm or food producer, regardless of the size or scope of distribution. If the intent truly is to limit the bill to food that is crossing state lines, then it must be amended. And even then, the bill would still negatively impact small farmers and food processors who live near state lines and who cross state lines to reach local farmers markets and coops.

2. The major foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls have all been within the large, industrial food system. Small, local food producers have not contributed to the highly publicized outbreaks. Yet both the House and Senate bills subject the small, local food system to the same, broad federal regulatory oversight that would apply to the industrial food system. Increased regulations, record-keeping obligations, and the penalties and........"

Read more here AND here.

"A great painter is at work...."

2009-11-02T14:54:00.008-05:00

"Think what a change, unperceived by many, has within a month come over the landscape! Then the general, the universal, hue was green. Now see those brilliant scarlet and glowing yellow trees in the low lands a mile off! I see them, too, here and there on the sides of hills, standing out distinct, mere bright [an indecipherable word] and squads perchance, often in long broken lines, and so apparently elevated by their distinct color that they seem arranged like the
remnants of a morning mist just retreating in a broken line along the hillsides. Or see that crowd in the swamp half a mile through, all vying with one another, a blaze of glory. See those crimson patches far away on the hill sides, like dense flocks of crimson sheep, where the huckleberry reminds of recent excursions. See those patches of rich brown in the low grounds, where the ferns stand shrivelled. See the greenish-yellow phalanxes of birches, and the crisped yellowish elm-tops here and there. We are not prepared to believe that the earth is now so parti-colored, and would present to a bird's eye such distinct masses of bright color. A great painter is at work...."

~Henry David Thoreau~ Writings of Henry David Thoreau in Twenty Volumes, Volume XVI

Black Cat Cookies & Falling Leaves & Wordsworth

2009-10-30T21:26:00.025-04:00

Orangeblossom has been baking sweet treats for the grandmas and for us again this week. These turned out really cute and taste like a brownie in a cookie.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 wooden craft or Popsicle sticks
48 candy corn candies
24 red-hot candies

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

2. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red-hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Orangeblossom omitted the wooden sticks and didn't make a centerpiece but the directions for making the candy corn clay pot to hold the cookies for a table top centerpiece is here. They look more chocolaty brown in the photo but actually bake a darker brown black. Black Cat Cookie recipe and photo above from Readers Digest.

The Kitten and the Falling Leaves
~William Wordsworth~

See the kitten on the wall, sporting with the leaves that fall,
Withered leaves—one—two—and three, from the lofty elder-tree!
Through the calm and frosty air, of this morning bright and fair . . .
—But the kitten, how she starts; Crouches, stretches, paws, and darts!

First at one, and then its fellow, just as light and just as yellow;
There are many now—now one—now they stop and there are none;
What intenseness of desire, in her upward eye of fire!

With a tiger-leap half way, now she meets the coming prey,
Lets it go as fast, and then, has it in her power again:
Now she works with three or four, like an Indian Conjuror;
Quick as he in feats of art, far beyond in joy of heart.

Illustration of the kitten on the wall by Hilda Hanway from my copy of My Bookhouse, In The Nursery Volume 1 edited by Olive Beaupre' Miller, c1920. It's free to download and use as you wish.

Enjoy!

Free Audio Download "Here I Stand" For Reformation Day

2009-10-23T14:15:00.019-04:00

"In the late afternoon of April 18, 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany, Martin Luther, a 37 year-old Catholic monk was called to defend himself before Charles the Fifth, the Holy Roman Emperor. The speech he delivered that day, "Here I Stand," marked the beginning of the Reformation, a critical turning point in Christian history, that decisively altered the spiritual map of the world....."

Download this for free from The Listener's Bible

"Unless I am convinced by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures or evident reason (for I believe neither in the Pope nor councils alone, since it has been established that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures adduced by me, and my conscience has been taken captive by the Word of God, and I am neither able nor willing to recant, since it is neither safe nor right to act against conscience. Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

True Education Is Repentance......

2009-10-20T14:03:00.005-04:00

"At the beginning of every academic year I like to remind myself and my students that true education is a form of repentance. It is a humble admission that we've not read all that we need to read, we don't know all that we need to know, and we've not yet become all that we are called to become. Education is that unique form of discipleship that brings us to the place of admitting our inadequacies. It is that remarkable rebuke of autonomy and independence so powerful and so evident that we actually shut up and pay heed for a change.

C.S. Lewis said it well: 'The surest sign of true intellectual acumen is a student's comprehension of what it is he does not know; not what he does know. It is a spirit of humility that affords us with the best opportunity to grow, mature, and achieve in the life of the mind. It is knowing how much we do not know that enables us to fully embark on a lifetime of learning; to recover to any degree the beauty goodness and truth of Christendom.'

Likewise, G.K. Chesterton asserted: 'I am always suspicious of the expert who knows he is an expert. Far better to seek the wisdom of the common, the ordinary, and the humble--for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.'

So I tell my students again and again that we have been given much--and that since we have been given much we ought to be able to move to that place of profound gratitude and humility. We have received an amazing inheritance of Art, Music, Literature, Ideas of Philosophy, of Science and Mathematics. We have received a tradition of excellence. We have been taught what it means to have both passion and purity. We have learned of the essence of chivalry, valor, and godly servant-leadership. All this and more have we received in the remarkable bequest of Christendom's great flowering . . ."

Read entire post at George Grant's August 23, 2005 blog entry.

Poetry, Music, and Muffins of Autumn

2009-10-13T17:11:00.028-04:00

AUTUMN

With what a glory comes and goes the year!
The buds of spring, those beautiful harbingers
Of sunny skies and cloudless times, enjoy
Life's newness, and earth's garniture spread out;
And when the silver habit of the clouds
Comes down upon the autumn sun, and with
A sober gladness the old year takes up
His bright inheritance of golden fruits,
A pomp and pageant fill the splendid scene.

There is a beautiful spirit breathing now
Its mellow richness on the clustered trees,
And, from a beaker full of richest dyes,
Pouring new glory on the autumn woods,
And dipping in warm light the pillared clouds.
Morn on the mountain, like a summer bird,
Lifts up her purple wing, and in the vales
The gentle wind, a sweet and passionate wooer,
Kisses the blushing leaf, and stirs up life
Within the solemn woods of ash deep-crimsoned,
And silver beech, and maple yellow-leaved,
Where Autumn, like a faint old man, sits down
By the wayside a-weary. Through the trees
The golden robin moves. The purple finch,
That on wild cherry and red cedar feeds,
A winter bird, comes with its plaintive whistle,
And pecks by the witch-hazel, whilst aloud
From cottage roofs the warbling blue-bird sings,
And merrily, with oft-repeated stroke,
Sounds from the threshing-floor the busy flail.

O what a glory doth this world put on
For him who, with a fervent heart, goes forth
Under the bright and glorious sky, and looks
On duties well performed, and days well spent!
For him the wind, ay, and the yellow leaves,
Shall have a voice, and give him eloquent teachings.
He shall so hear the solemn hymn that Death
Has lifted up for all, that he shall go
To his long resting-place without a tear.

~William Henry Wordsworth~

The photo is from one of my most favorite autumn CDs "Flowers in October" by Tim Janis. It's the Gold Edition with an additional Inspirational DVD with music put to beautiful videos of nature. The wonderful compositions of instrumental music make me listen closely without even trying and I simply drift away in the beauty of his music. On this CD, his pieces are composed with instruments of piano, violin, oboe, flute, penny whistle, acoustic guitar, fiddle, fretless bass, cello, and assorted percussion, along with the occasional synthesizer and recorded sounds. Music that makes it seem as if the sun dances on sunny days and uplifting music for the cloudy days of autumn. Titles are:

1. Isles of Shoals (one of my favorites! Listen here.)
2. Cathedral of the Pines
3. Cry of the Blue Whale
4. A Midnight Full of Stars
5. The White Mountain
6. Ocean Ledges
7. Harvest Moon
8. Penobscot Trail
9. September
10. Mountain Road
11. Echo Lake
12. Dandelion Star
13. Flowers in October
14. In Autumn Gold

We've been busy making muffins from apples, pears, and pumpkin. These are great with a cup of coffee, tea, or some Apple Cider. One of our recipes:

Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease muffin cups. Peel, core and chop 2 cups of apples.

Make topping mixture and set aside:

½ cup butter, softened
½ tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1/3 cup granulated sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together:

1¼ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup vegetable oil
2 egg, lightly beaten

In another large bowl sift together:

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1½ cups granulated sugar

Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and gently stir just until moistened, approximately 10 folds while counting slowly to ten, everything will not be completely blended and some flour will still be visible.

Next, carefully add the chopped apples and fold the apples in with about three stirs. Use an ice cream scoop and fill the greased muffin cups about half to ¾ full.

Finally, top with sugar topping mixture and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Not Looking To Myself But At What God Is, What Christ Is

2009-10-07T10:44:00.005-04:00

by Charles Spurgeon

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick!" Matthew 9:12

How frequently you who are coming to Christ look to yourselves. "O!" you say, "I do not repent enough." That is looking to yourself. "I do not believe enough." That is looking to yourself. "I am too unworthy." That is looking to yourself. "I cannot discover," says another, "that I have any righteousness." It is quite right to say that you have not any righteousness; but it is quite wrong to look for any. It is, "Look unto me." God will have you turn your eye off yourself and look unto him. The hardest thing in the world is to turn a man's eye off himself; as long as he lives, he always has a predilection to turn his eyes inside, and look at himself; whereas God says, "Look unto me."

From the cross of Calvary, where the bleeding hands of Jesus drop mercy; from the garden of Gethsemane--where the bleeding pores of the Savior sweat pardons; from the cross of Calvary--where the bleeding hands of Jesus drop mercy--the cry comes, "Look unto Me..." From Calvary's summit, where Jesus cries, "It is finished!" I hear a shout, "Look unto Me..."

But there comes a vile cry from our soul, "No, look to yourself! Look to yourself!" Ah, look to yourself--and you will certainly be damned! As long as you look to yourself--there is no hope for you. It is not a consideration of what you are--but a consideration of what Christ is... You must look away from yourself, and to Jesus!

David said, and it was a strange thing, too, "Have mercy upon me, for mine iniquity is great." But, David, why did not you say that it was little? Because, David knew that the bigger his sins were, the better reason for asking mercy.

Oh! there are many who quite misunderstand... they think that their good works qualify them to come to Christ; whereas SIN is the only qualification for man to come to Jesus!

Methinks I see one trembling here, and saying, "...I have been something worse; for I have attended the house of God, and I have stifled convictions, and put off all thoughts of Jesus, and now I think he will never have mercy on me." ...says another, ..."But, I am so peculiar; if I did not feel as I do, it would be all very well; but I feel that my case is a peculiar one." ...another one says, "There is nobody in the world like me; I do not think you will find a being under the sun that has had so many calls, and put them all away, and so many sins on his head. Besides, I have guilt that I should not like to confess to any living creature." ...thou sayest, sin will not let thee look. I tell thee, sin will be removed the moment thou dost look. "But I dare not; he will condemn me; I fear to look." He will condemn thee more if thou dost not look. Fear, then, and look; but do not let thy fearing keep thee from looking. "But he will cast me out." Try him. "But I cannot see him." I tell you, it is not seeing, but looking. "But my eyes are so fixed on the earth, so earthly, so worldly." Ah! but, poor soul, he giveth power to look and live. He saith, "Look unto me..."

... it is not seeing, but looking unto Jesus...in all thy troubles...look unto God and be saved. In all thy trials and afflictions, look unto Christ, and find deliverance. In all thine agony, poor soul, in all thy repentance for thy guilt, look unto Christ, and find pardon...remember to put thine eyes heavenward, and thine heart heavenward, too. Remember, this day, that thou bind round thyself a golden chain, and put one link of it in the staple of heaven. Look unto Christ; fear not..."Look unto him...and remember that "he is God, and beside him there is none else."

O, taste and see that the Lord is good! Now believe on him; now cast thy guilty soul upon his righteousness; now plunge thy black soul into the bath of his blood; now put thy naked soul at the door of the wardrobe of his righteousness; now seat thy famished soul at the feast of plenty. Now, "Look!" How simple does it seem! And yet it is the hardest thing in the world to bring men to. They never will do it, till constraining grace makes them. ....

whereas SIN is the only qualification for man to come to Jesus!...there it is, "Look!"..."Look unto me..."

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor--but the sick!" Matthew 9:12

"Looking unto Jesus..." Hebrews 12:2
Spurgeon's Morning by Morning on Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesu's blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesu's name."

Looking to myself to be good enough, to have enough faith, to believe enough, to know enough, to try harder is something I continually struggle with, my sinful heart prefers to look at myself, which only leads to self-condemnation but also real guilt. As the Holy Spirit moves me away from myself, turns my eyes from myself, I can look to Christ and His forgiveness, true forgiveness and liberty in Christ. Continually confessing my sin and looking to Jesus brings forgiveness, even if I have to do it 700+ times a day. How beautiful! What a balm for my soul. I am praying God will keep me looking unto His Son Jesus each day for His forgiveness.

The actual work of the teacher consists of the awakening...

2009-09-29T07:36:00.005-04:00

"The actual work of the teacher consists of the awakening and setting in action the mind of the pupil, the arousing of his self-activities… All explanation and exposition are useless except as they excite and direct the pupil in his own thinking…We are now ready to state the law of teaching: Excite and direct the self-activities of the pupil, and as a rule tell him nothing that he can learn for himself." ~John Milton Gregory~ The Seven Laws of Teaching, p.84

I Learned Most, Not From.....

2009-09-21T12:22:00.008-04:00

"I learned most, not from those who taught me but from those who talked with me." ~St. Augustine~

When does education begin?

2009-09-19T20:09:00.005-04:00

"When a baby is picked up, spoken to, and loved, he is starting his education as God planned it. For all our lives we are human beings, in an active state of learning, responding, understanding. Education extends to all of life. In fact, an educational system that says, one bright summer's day in the dawn of my youth, 'There. Now you are educated. This piece of paper says so,' is doing me a gross disfavor. The truly educated person has only had many doors of interest opened. He knows that life will not be long enough to follow everything through fully." ~Susan Schaeffer Macaulay~ For The Children's Sake p. 8

What can the parent do?

2009-09-18T15:00:00.008-04:00

"...what can the parent do? ...he can present the idea of God to the soul of the child. Here, as throughout his universe, Almighty God works by apparently inadequate means. Who would say that a bee can produce apple trees? Yet a bee flies from an apple tree laden with the pollen of its flowers: this it unwittingly deposits on the stigmas of the flowers of the next tree it comes to. The bee goes, but the pollen remains, but with all the length of the style between it and the immature ovule below. That does not matter; the ovule has no power to reach the pollen grain, but the latter sends forth a slender tube, within the tube of the style; the ovule is reached; behold, then, the fruit, with its seed, and, if you like, future apple trees! Accept the parable....it is his [the parent] part to deposit, so to speak, within reach of the soul of the child some fruitful idea of God; the immature soul makes no effort towards that idea, but the living Word reaches down, touches the soul,--and there life; growth and beauty, flower and fruit . . ." ~Charlotte Mason~

"The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good
conscience and a sincere faith."
1 Timothy 1:5

Constitution Day - We the People

2009-09-17T11:17:00.009-04:00

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution of the United States of America.”

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."
~Patrick Henry~

from the Tenth Amendment Center:

The Tenth Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

1. The People created the federal government to be their agent for certain enumerated purposes only. The Constitutional ratifying structure was created so it would be clear that it was the People, and not the States, that were doing the ratifying.
2. The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people to the federal government, and also that which is absolutely necessary to advancing those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. The rest is to be handled by the state governments, or locally, by the people themselves.
3. The Constitution does not include a congressional power to override state laws. It does not give the judicial branch unlimited jurisdiction over all matters. It does not provide Congress with the power to legislate over everything. This is verified by the simple fact that attempts to make these principles part of the Constitution were soundly rejected by its signers.
4. If the Congress had been intended to carry out anything they claim would promote the “general welfare,” what would be the point of listing its specific powers in Article I, Section 8, since these would’ve already been covered?
5. James Madison, during the Constitutional ratification process, drafted the “Virginia Plan” to give Congress general legislative authority and to empower the national judiciary to hear any case that might cause friction among the states, to give the congress a veto over state laws, to empower the national government to use the military against the states, and to eliminate the states’ accustomed role in selecting members of Congress. Each one of these proposals was soundly defeated. In fact, Madison made many more attempts to authorize a national veto over state laws, and these were repeatedly defeated as well.
6. The Tenth Amendment was adopted after the Constitutional ratification process to emphasize the fact that the states remained individual and unique sovereignties; that they were empowered in areas that the Constitution did not delegate to the federal government. With this in mind, any federal attempt to legislate beyond the Constitutional limits of Congress’ authority is a usurpation of state sovereignty - and unconstitutional.
7. Tragically, the Tenth Amendment has become almost a nullity at this point in our history, but there are a great many reasons to bring it to the forefront. Most importantly, though, we must keep in mind that the Founders envisioned a loose confederation of states – not a one-size-fits-all solution for everything that could arise. Why? The simple answer lies in the fact that they had just escaped the tyranny of a king who thought he knew best how to govern everything – including local colonies from across an ocean.
8. Governments and political leaders are best held accountable to the will of the people when government is local. Second, the people of a state know what is best for them; they do not need bureaucrats, potentially thousands of miles away, governing their lives. Think about it. If Hitler had ruled just Berlin and Stalin had ruled just Moscow, the whole world might be a different place today.
9. A constitution which does not provide strict limits is just the thing any government would be thrilled to have, for, as Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
10. We agree with historian Kevin Gutzman, who has said that those who would give us a “living” Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power.

"The Form of Government, which you admire, when its Principles are pure is admirable, indeed, it is productive of every Thing, which is great and excellent among Men. But its Principles are as easily destroyed, as human Nature is corrupted. Such a government is only to be supported by pure Religion or Austere Morals. Public Virtue cannot exist in a Nation without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics. There must be a positive Passion for the public good, the public Interest, Honour, Power, and Glory, established in the Minds of the People, or there can be no Republican Government, nor any real Liberty: and this public Passion must be Superior to all private Passions. Men must be ready, they must pride themselves, and be happy to sacrifice their private Pleasures, Passions, and Interests, nay, their private Friendships and dearest Connections, when they stand in Competition with the Rights of Society..." ~John Quincy Adams~ The Christian History of the American Revolution, Consider and Ponder page 604, Verna M. Hall, Warren-Adams Letters, Vol. 1, 1744-1777, The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1917, page 222

Lots of great information and links about the Constitution here.

More info for Constitution Day at National Constitution Center and at the Homeschool Patriot.

GOV'ERN, v.t. [L. guberno. The L. guberno seems to be a compound.]
1. To direct and control, as the actions or conduct of men, either by established laws or by arbitrary will; to regulate by authority; to keep within the limits prescribed by law or sovereign will. Thus in free states, men are governed by the constitution and laws; in despotic states, men are governed by the edicts or commands of a monarch. Every man should govern well his own family.
2. To regulate; to influence; to direct. This is the chief point by which he is to govern all his counsels and actions.
3. To control; to restrain; to keep in due subjection; as, to govern the passions or temper.
4. To direct; to steer; to regulate the course or motion of a ship. The helm or the helmsman governs the ship.

GOV'ERN, v.i. To exercise authority; to administer the laws. The chief magistrate should govern with impartiality.
1. To maintain the superiority; to have the control.

GOV'ERNMENT, n. Direction; regulation. These precepts will serve for the government of our conduct.
1. Control; restraint. Men are apt to neglect the government of their temper and passions.
2. The exercise of authority; direction and restraint exercised over the actions of men in communities, societies or states; the administration of public affairs, according to established constitution, laws and usages, or by arbitrary edicts. Prussia rose to importance under the government of Frederick II.
3. The exercise of authority by a parent or householder. Children are often ruined by a neglect of government in parents. Let family government be like that of our heavenly Father, mild, gentle and affectionate.
4. The system of polity in a state; that form of fundamental rules and principles by which a nation or state is governed, or by which individual members of a body politic are to regulate their social actions; a constitution, either written or unwritten, by which the rights and duties of citizens and public officers are prescribed and defined; as a monarchial government, or a republican government. Thirteen governments thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without the pretence of miracle or mystery, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind.
5. An empire, kingdom or state; any territory over which the right of sovereignty is extended.

LIB'ERTY, n. [L. libertas, from liber, free.]
1. Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty, when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty, when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty, when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions.
2. Natural liberty, consists in the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. This liberty is abridged by the establishment of government.
3. Civil liberty, is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty, so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty, not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty. The liberty of one depends not so much on the removal of all restraint from him, as on the due restraint upon the liberty of others. In this sentence, the latter word liberty denotes natural liberty.
4. Political liberty, is sometimes used as synonymous with civil liberty. But it more properly designates the liberty of a nation, the freedom of a nation or state from all unjust abridgment of its rights and independence by another nation. Hence we often speak of the political liberties of Europe, or the nations of Europe.
5. Religious liberty, is the free right of adopting and enjoying opinions on religious subjects, and of worshiping the Supreme Being according to the dictates of conscience, without external control.

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Psalm 19:7-11

Learning is not attained by chance......

2009-09-09T10:51:00.009-04:00

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." ~Abigail Adams~

The Question Is Not, How Much Does The Youth Know When.....

2009-09-04T15:13:00.008-04:00

"The question is not, how much does the youth know when he has finished his education but how much does he care and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him? …....In the end we shall find that only those ideas which have fed his life are taken into the being of the child........" ~Charlotte Mason~

True education is a kind of never ending story....

2009-09-02T19:09:00.006-04:00

"True education is a kind of never ending story - a matter of continual beginnings, of habitual fresh starts, of persistent newness." ~J.R.R.Tolkien~

Students learn what they care about....

2009-09-01T16:07:00.008-04:00

"Students learn what they care about . . .," Stanford Ericksen has said, but Goethe knew something else: "In all things we learn only from those we love." Add to that Emerson's declaration: "the secret of education lies in respecting the pupil." and we have a formula something like this: "Students learn what they care about, from people they care about and who, they know, care about them . . ." ~Barbara Harrell Carson~

Quotes About Education, Teaching, Learning, Homeschool

2009-08-31T20:03:00.026-04:00

"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul." ~Joseph Addison~

[Suffer Little Children to Come to Me by John Gibson (sometimes entitled, "Christ Blessing the Little Children"). Marble. 978 x 2178 mm. 1862-4. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee - "This image may be used without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose." from victorianweb.org.]

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It's that time of year I ask myself the same question: "What is education?" and re-read through my favorite education, teaching, learning, homeschool quotes. One of my favorites is really a definition. Dana asked the same question and mentioned in her post earlier this summer how this definition is more "all-encompassing & multi-faceted" - a good descriptive paraphrase: "parenting" -- that's why I like it too.

EDUCATION, n. [L. educatio.] The bringing up of as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future situations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. ~Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary~

I left the comment at her blog of my own definition which echoes the above:

Education is: the cultivation of a soul, a person – by leading them in the search for truth, knowledge, understanding, wisdom (the internal, spiritual, mental life) while nourishing (nurture) them as they fulfill their earthly, physical vocation (who they are as an individual with all their talents and gifts, their spiritual calling). When good and necessary facts/information, curricula, methods, career, skills, etc., become the priority and it becomes merely a transfer of knowledge only, the person is forgotten and lost.

Once again, I'm reviewing my own reasons as to just what I think about education and why I homeschool. What I believe makes all the difference in the kind of education I aim for.

See more of my favorite quotes:

Students learn what they care about....
True education is a kind of never ending...
The question is not, how much does the youth know when...
Learning is not attained by...
What can the parent do?
When does education begin?
I Learned Most, Not From...
The actual work of the teacher consists of the awakening...
True Education is.....

It's The Time of Year I Ask Myself The Same Question...

2009-08-29T15:29:00.031-04:00

"What is education?" and re-read through my favorite education, teaching, learning, homeschool quotes. One of my favorites is really a definition. Dana asked the same question and mentioned in her post earlier this summer how this definition is more "all-encompassing & multi-faceted" - a good descriptive paraphrase: "parenting" -- that's why I like it too.

EDUCATION, n. [L. educatio.] The bringing up of as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future situations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. ~Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary~

I left the comment at her blog of my own definition which echoes the above:

Education is: the cultivation of a soul, a person – by leading them in the search for truth, knowledge, understanding, wisdom (the internal, spiritual, mental life) while nourishing (nurture) them as they fulfill their earthly, physical vocation (who they are as an individual with all their talents and gifts, their spiritual calling). When good and necessary facts/information, curricula, methods, career, skills, etc., become the priority and it becomes merely a transfer of knowledge only, the person is forgotten and lost.

Once again, I'm reviewing my own reasons as to just what I think about education and why I homeschool. What I believe makes all the difference in the kind of education I aim for.

See more of my favorite quotes:
What sculpture is...
Students learn what they care about....
True education is a kind of never ending...
The question is not, how much does the youth know when...
Learning is not attained by...
What can the parent do?
When does education begin?
I Learned Most, Not From...
The actual work of the teacher consists of the awakening...

August Light and Colors Are Changing.....

2009-08-27T18:11:00.039-04:00

I've been slowed down by the warm sunlight, pausing quite often this past month to linger in that last of the summer life in my garden. The mild temperature has put the the tomatoes in slow mode and they're not ripening well but many of the flowers are still blooming. Sunflowers tower over the walk way near the back gate, changing the canopy each week. Now the seed pods are becoming just as beautiful in their last phase for this season. Pleasant weather was a blessing so I could help my mother with her yard work and exterior house painting. Daisy's unexpected physical illness and emotional struggles made me even more aware of taking things slower, a day at a time, trusting in God for strength and guidance. As I been working on my own personal study, preparing lessons for the new homeschool year, everything hasn't got done in a day yet there is a great deal of accomplishment, little by little. I've learned so much preparing for our new studies, I wonder what they will bring in the days ahead. This "slowing down" has been very good and very comforting. Once again, it's time to start putting away the summer things and move into another season but I hope to keep the "slowing down" very much a part of our days and the next season.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the
earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90:2