Why Do You Homeschool?

If you've heard this question asked you might like to visit Holy Experience and see Ann Voskamp's post on Why We Homeschool. Lovely reading. Inspiring reading.

If you go over to the ChildLight weblog you will find a new post by Sandy Rusby Bell about getting rid of the all-or-nothing mindset. It's a realistic post that I think you'll find encouraging.

New Subscription Feature on this Blog

Because publication of posts on this blog happens rather sporadically, I'm adding a "Subscribe by Email" gadget in the sidebar. If you enter your email address in the box and click "Submit" you will automatically receive an email notification when there is a new post. That just might save you the time and effort of going to the WHHE blog when there is nothing new, and it will highlight new posts for you.

I hope some of you find this useful.

Jennifer

ChildLight Charlotte Mason Conference 2009

June 10-13, 2009

ChildLight USA will be hosting the annual

Charlotte Mason Conference

at Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

This is an internationally attended conference with speakers from England, the United States, and Canada who are veritable experts on Charlotte Mason. All have spent a good part of their lives studying Charlotte Mason's writings, and each brings his or her own personal expertise to bear on the practical and philosophical aspects of a Charlotte Mason education, and, whether that experience be in educational psychology, school administration, curriculum planning and design, home education, or so much more, these speakers know how to bring life to a CM education.

One exciting thing about this conference is that it brings together home educators, school educators and administrators, and researchers on equal footing. Workshops are led by individuals of any background who are particularly specialized in the field on which they present. The mix of people attending and presenting is a wonderful cross section, bringing together all who are interested in a CM education without bias in any direction, be it home or school.

Another thing to note about the conference is the low price. This is a 4 day international conference being offered for $79 per person or family (early registration with a group of 3 or more). That is a great price for a conference of this calibre! Accommodation is reasonable ($25 or less per person per night) and a meal plan at the university dining hall is available, as well.

If you are interested in attending and want to have more information here are the links:

Conference General Information

Tentative Schedule

Registration Form

There are several people from our group already planning to attend. If you would like to associate your registration with ours in order to take advantage of the group rate, please email me (talsma at cyg dot net), and I'll make sure you are in the loop. If you'd like to have some specific feedback about previous conferences, you can email me about that, too, and I'll hook you up with someone who has attended and you can get more info that way.

Early registration is until April 30, but to make that deadline we'd need to have all the information in earlier than that.

Please take a look at the ChildLight website to find links to audio files of some of the workshops from previous years, too.

Spring Outdoor Hour Challenges: Birds

Handbook of Nature Study has two new posts that you might be interested in checking. Both are related to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, a guided nature study time that Barb offers on her blog. With spring in the air, one of the first things that is noticed around our yard is an increase in bird activity. (Has everyone spotted the robins yet?) Well, Barb has begun a bird focus for this next set of Outdoor Hour Challenges, and the first challenge involves three birds that I see every year: the robin, the cardinal, and the house finch. While we haven't seen the cardinals yet this spring, I know they'll come because they nest in the neighbour's cedar. The other post that she's published this week is links to audio files of the bird calls from this week's focus.

All Barb's Outdoor Hour Challenges include a reading from Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, and outdoor challenge, and a follow up indoor activity, usually relating to entries in a nature journal.

This is a great challenge to participate in to ramp up your Nature Study times with your children now that the weather shows potential for cooperation. Even if we do get more cold weather, these challenges don't usually involve a great deal of outdoor time, making them very accessible for all kinds of families.

Enjoy the link!

Engaging Students in Artist Study

Linda Fay has a new post on Higher Up and Further In about Artist Study and Art Appreciation. It's a simple, interesting way to get your children engaged.

I particularly liked this idea she presents:

At the end of the term, I show my kids some more pictures from the artist we studied that term. These are the ones that we didn't get to but I thought they might like. Together, we download their favorites and put them on a flash disc, take it to Walmart and have each printed for about a quarter each. Then the children get to add them to their personal artist albums.

I can hardly wait to start my own children on their personal artist albums!

By the way, after you've read her post, you might like to click the link she has at the bottom to see her post titled Our Picture Studies. In that post Linda Fay gives a more extensive description of the proccess.

Prang Refills Are In

Lots of activity on the blog this week!

I just received the box of Prang Refills for the Oval 8 watercolour sets. (At 8:45am the Purolator man knocked on the door - you should have seen me and the kids run to answer it! Hmmm. Fortunately I was already out of my p.j.'s and into day clothes.) The colours available are red, blue, and yellow and they will cost $0.65 per oval tablet.

If you are interested in refills for your sets, please let me know, and I will bring them with me to the next meeting.

In The News

This from one of our members this afternoon:

Please, if you are able, take a look at an article today's National Post (p. AL8) called Recess to the Rescue which covers all sorts of contemporary research findings about how time spent in nature is as effective or more effective than medication for children with ADHD. It talks about the important role of recess and how walks in natural settings are more effective than those in urban settings on improving concentration and attention. And it talks about the role of play, and playful learning environments. (Maybe the article will be on the web tomorrow, not sure how the National Post does that).

As if that was not enough, the Hamilton Spectator, had a story sub-titled, Intense Cognitive Training may overcome disabilities (p. Go 6), which discusses the Arrowsmith program, which uses the close study of works of art (by students) to improve cognitive abilities and improve attention.

...nature study, picture study...are we on the verge of an appetite for a new paradigm for education?

On Narration

In case you've never visited "Higher Up and Further In", I'd like to point you in that direction. Linda Fay has a terrific blog that covers all sorts of things educational from a CM perspective, as well as branching into other areas of life.

This week she put up a post called "Narration Thoughts from a Highschooler." These are her daughter's responses to questions about narration. It's interesting to read the student's perspective on the value of narration and to see how much she has come to appreciate the discipline of narration.

Why don't you take a moment to visit this post by Linda Fay and then, if you've never been there before, you might want to spend some time browsing. Her sidebar list of "Starting Points" might be where you'd like to begin looking. Or maybe you'll scroll down to "Categories" and pick one of those to dive into. Whichever direction you take, I know that you'll be inspired by her wisdom and enthusiasm.