Nature Study

I always feel so refreshed after a Charlotte Mason support group meeting.  It was so enlightening to have such a wonderful group of women in our living room for the evening.  When we are gathered I often feel like I did as a kid after a day of playing hard when I would come inside and my grandmother would have a veritable feast of wonderful foods laid out for the family to enjoy.  There was always enough to refresh, satisfy and energize and so much left over afterwards that you just wanted to eat up because it was so good but you couldn’t because you were stuffed full.  Each woman who comes to these meetings has areas of expertise that I want to glean so much from.  This evening was no disappointment.  I am filled and trying to digest all of the yummy stuff that we were able to chat about this evening.

Tonight we chatted about math and of course I blathered on a bit too much but we also got to dig into the topic of “Nature Study” and had a great discussion. 

Since Charlotte Mason’s goal in education was to experience and appreciate God and his creation, she felt that “the only sound method of teaching science is to afford a due combination of field or laboratory work, with such literary comments and amplifications as the subject affords.” (Philosophy of Education, pg. 223)

We tend to think of good science education as encompassing lots of great experiments and focusing on the scientific method and though she thought that that was important she also advocated lots of time in the field “observing and chronicling” (pg. 220) but she reminds us that students “shall not depend upon their own unassisted observation.” (pg. 220)  Field guides and other “carefully selected books on natural history, botany, architechture and astronomy” (pg. 220) were useful companions.  And of course, as always, she advocated a more literary approach to science, making time in the schedule for the reading of complimentary literature that was inspiring and informative.

And what better way to record and show knowledge but by way of the trusty nature notebook.  Miss Mason wrote, “Certainly these note books do a good deal to bring science within the range of common thought and experience; we are anxious not to make science a utilitarian subject.”  (pg. 223)  It is so true in our household, indulging in some time with the nature notebooks has become one of the favourite parts of our structured learning time.

Here are some of the notes that I gathered:  (We were also so thankful to Kendra this evening for sharing from her expertise as a naturalist and her background in outdoor education and ecotourism.)

Laboratory work of literary value:

Apologia’s Exploring Creation with… Young Explorer Series by Jeannie Fulbright

Complimentary field guides and the like

*a tip from Kendra in choosing field guides: drawings are better than photos as they can better capture poses and appropriate colours.*

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock

Recommended first guides to invest in:

1) Field Guide to North American Birds By Roger Tory Peterson

2) Lone Pine’s Bugs of Ontario by John Acorn and Ian Sheldon

3) Forest Plants of Central Ontario by Brenda Chambers

Also check out:

other Peterson Field Guides

Stokes Guide to Animal Tracking and Behaviour by Don and Lillian Stokes

Living books that might accompany nature study:

Nature’s Everyday Mysteries by Sy Montgomery

A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

The Burgess Bird Book by Thornton W. Burgess

The Burgess Animal Book by Thornton W. Burgess

Other books by Thornton Burgess

picture books by James Herriot (be advised that some of his novels have adult content and should be reviewed first)

Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

And other books by Farley Mowat

for young readers: Christian Liberty Press’s nature readers series

Besides nature walks here are some interesting programmes that homeschoolers might participate in:

Frog Watch Ontario http://www.naturewatch.ca/english/frogwatch/on/

The Great Sunflower Project http://www.greatsunflower.org/about-project

Journey North http://www.learner.org/jnorth/

Mystery Class http://www.learner.org/jnorth/mclass/

The 100 Species Challenge http://scsours.xanga.com/664162392/the-100-species-challenge/

The Outdoor Hour Challenge http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/

And don’t forget about the value of local events like bird counts, municipal garbage cleanup days and the like….

Wow!  I am really looking forward to getting outside again with my little tribe….

I hope that you can use one or two of these ideas to make science and specifically nature study a much anticipated time in your home.

Happy hiking!

Cori

Making Connections

Once again I am thankful for the opportunity to go to homeschooling conferences and to meet so many wonderfully interesting people.  I had a great time at the recent Rideau Valley Home Educators Association Conference in Ottawa.  My greatest regret though was that, as with every conference, it was such a busy whirlwind of a day that though I met many people, I didn’t get to know many.  One thing that I love is to hear people’s stories.  Why is it that you decided to home school?  What makes your home and family unique?  So here, Under the Maple Tree, I assuage my interests by sharing our family’s stories with all of you and look forward to having the chance to hear more of your stories over time. 

While I am taking the opportunity to share a little bit about our home school I thought I should make a couple of other introductions in hopes that these friends will also encourage you and share in your stories.

First, I was pleased to meet Shannon Ratcliffe in Ottawa at the RVHEA conference.  Most of you will want to check out her exciting new venture: Homeschool Horizons, a brand new all Canadian magazine for homeschoolers!  Shannon has had significant interest in her new magazine which will launch this fall and I know that I am looking forward to subscribing.  Won’t it be neat to have a national forum for connecting with other people who are walking the same road that you are travelling?  Check them out at www.homeschoolhorizons.ca or on facebook: “Homeschool Horizons – Canada’s Homeschooling Magazine”.  Say hello to Shannon and Kimberley and tell them that Cori sent you.  J

Another friend that I would like to introduce you to is Kay Chan.  Kay is the wife of Derek and homeschooling mother to six lovely daughters.  Kay has been a wonderful encouragement to me in my busy days as wife and mom and teacher and business woman.  She generously gave of her time to thoroughly edit and revise my new book, Working Together, despite having a full schedule with homeschooling and caring for a sick baby.  She provides me with many words of wisdom and encouragement.  And now I am happy to commend her efforts as she is working on compiling a book of encouragement for larger families.  Read more about it on her blog, http://www.littleapplesofgold.com/submission/!   Kay would love to share your testimonial if you are part of a large family.  Feel free to contact her at kay@littleapplesofgold.com.

And now after enjoying Kitchener and Ottawa conferences I am very much looking forward to OCHEC in Hamilton in another week.  If you are going to be there then please stop by the Maple Tree table in the vendors hall or come and see me in one of my seminars.  I have the privilege of sharing Charlotte Mason 101 as well as Enjoying Math?!?  Lots of fun and excitement! 

Or if you are in the area, you are welcome to come and visit at my home tonight – Thursday, April 28^th for our second last Charlotte Mason Support Group of the year.  Contact me if you would like to come and need more information.

So many chances to make connections!  I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks!

Wishing you the support and encouragement that you need to finish this school year well!

Cori

Making Time

As I enjoy this long holiday weekend I busy myself about the house trying to make the most of every extra minute: catching up on laundry, baking, playing with the kids, enjoying time in the yard, sewing.  Amidst it all though, I struggle to realize the real impact of this holiday.  Easter: a moment when time stood still and the Lord of all eternity overcame all to set us outside of the economy of the clock.  On Easter He opened the door to eternity for us all.

And today His wish for us all is that we take our focus off of our miserly spending of our precious minutes and accept the everlasting gift of salvation that he gave out on the cross.

Wishing you glimpses of life beyond time this during this day of remembrance.

He is Risen!

Peace and Blessings,

Cori

The Third Floor

I have just been enjoying the freedom to be outdoors that the Springtime weather has finally afforded us....  I just had to repost this article from a previous Under the Maple Tree Newsletter....

When we first moved to our “cookie-cutter” starter home – you know the one that looks the same as every other starter on the street – I was twenty-three, pregnant and a newly wed. Our yard was but an after thought in this big new world of having a whole home to love and to care for, to maintain and to pay for. Now – twelve years, and several babies, mortgage payments and home improvements later – our big little

home often seems to be bursting at the seams with so many little women living under one roof.  It was in these times that we looked out the windows and often said, “If only,” and imagined more space, more rooms, more yard.  When we took the time to think through the costs of moving in contrast to our missionary salary

and the increased effort that so much “more” would take – more cleaning, more payments, more maintaining - our hearts became content and we began to look at enlarging the space we had. Again we were disappointed with the bank balance and decided to curb our desires.

Then Spring came.

As we started to be able to spend more time comfortably out of doors we started the usual maintenance regime – trim, mow, tidy – and we found that the Lord had already started a building project for us: A new pantry filled with the freshest organic food to replace my dilapidated cupboards full of stale crackers and canned soup in the form of a garden hacked out of the overgrowth. A second laundry room equipped with a top of the line, no carbon-footprint, solar and wind powered dryer disguised as an old laundry tree

refurbished after years of neglect. For the first time, a playroom just for the kids with handmade real wood toys (climbers and swings and slides) made out of the neighbour’s old deck.  A kitchen made out of our freshly power washed deck, another neighbour’s discarded garden table and chairs and the BBQ that we received as an engagement gift which was once again painted and refurbished. A hobby room and maintenance room stood in the form of a shed cut into the hillside out of lumber that had been construction forms that a local company had been discarding.  Then there is the den, the lounging spot, with which no amount of our remodeling could compare. This space is decorated with the most exquisite artwork I will ever have – flowers perfected by the Master Gardener and Artist himself – and which adorn our humble abode as though we deserve the honour of these gifts. Despite only being about ten feet by twenty feet it sports the most spacious area on our whole property in which to lounge. All I need now is a good garage sale hammock and my second home will be complete: I’m not ready for an outdoor lavatory yet.

Though it has take us years to realize this blessing, we often teasingly call this yard of ours “The Third Floor” because we would not have done so well to have added a third floor to our humble dwelling.  We love the Lord’s idea of remodeling because not only did he make an improvement to our home but he made an improvement to our hearts. We are content.

And when we start to get complacent, upset by all the extra work of having a third floor he gently wraps his gift in a blanket of snow and puts it away until we start to yearn for more space again.

Hope that you are experiencing more fresh space at your home this week.


Enjoy,


Cori

Enjoying Spring...

What a wonderful weekend it has been!  Of course robins are our first sign of spring – I heard them a few days before I saw them this year.  But the real sign that winter’s grip is lost is when we get to move back outside: the laundry is hung out on the line!  Yesterday was beautiful and sunny and warm.

Then today ushered in one of those miraculous moments that only comes once every few years: a great and vigorous thunderstorm that washed everything clean leaving the world a glowing green that only minutes before had been a drab brown.  An immediate transformation.  Some of the most beautiful scenes of the Great Artist’s work.

Wishing you, Dear Friends, a week of beautiful art appreciation.  There is no entrance fee to this great gallery and the Artist is the most accomplished in history.  Enjoy the spring!

Cori

Respite

What a busy week it has been!  With a new book coming out, two homeschooling meetings and a conference, and many workshops to share, I really felt maxed out.  I kept asking myself, ‘Have I committed to too much?”  Often there is much that is good to do but I have to ask myself if it is reasonable to do it all in light of other commitments, namely commitments to having time for my relationship with the Lord and time for my family.

Well, I made it through it all, family in tact and still keeping up with some time with my Jesus and my Bible.  And what a spectacular week!  I really thrive on those times of visiting with families that are walking the same road as me.  Don’t we all enjoy that from time to time?  I am so thankful for the chance that I had to meet so many people at Newmarket’s CHEN meeting and in my own living room at our little Charlotte Mason support group.  What a blessing it was to me to hear so many of you respond so favourable to the three workshops that I had the privilege to share at Kitchener’s KWCHEA homeschool conference though I am sad that I had to turn away some of you at the door when the room got full.  I am truly blessed and bolstered up by your kind words. 

Thank you too for the spectacular response that you have given to my new book, Working Together.  I really do hope that it will bless your family as it has ours.

As the week starts up again Friends, I wish you peace.  I wish you the moments of respite in which you can count the many blessings of living the highs and lows of the wild and crazy lives that you have.

Peace,

Cori