Mother Culture: A Charlotte Mason Support Group in Bradford, Ontario *Note date change!*

** Please note the date changes below.  Thank you all for your kind words and support as our family has struggled to find health this fall.  We are pleased to report that hubby is now recovering at home after a week long hospital stay. **

I am so excited to start a new year of Charlotte Mason Support Group!  As many of you know I host this little book club for very selfish reasons as I am so energized and encouraged by the visits of like-minded mamas every 5-6 week.  You give me a boost that helps me to imagine I might survive this crazy game for a few more weeks. 

If you have never visited, please feel welcome to come and join us.  This is a meeting for home educating parents interested in or practicing the Charlotte Mason philosophy.  Babes in arms are welcome but otherwise it is a nice evening for mom’s to get out and just socialize without our little cherubs.  We meet on Thursdays from 7:30-9:30.  This year, we are going to turn over a new leaf and start promptly at 7:30 and I will give an incentive – an on-time draw – for the first meeting, so come a few minutes early if you can. :)

Our readings and discussion always revolve around the Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education and the implementation of that philosophy.  If you are unfamiliar with her then, in short, she was a British educator of about 100 years ago who believed in the value and ability of all children despite their age or social status: a revolutionary idea at the time.  She taught that we have three main tools of education which are summed up in the phrase, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life”.  In other words, we don’t just set before our kids a vast cornucopia of academic matter (life) but just as important is the acquisition of strong habits (discipline) like attentiveness and perseverance in order to prepare us for adult life and work.  And all of this must be presented in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids but respects them as persons and thereby doesn’t bribe them to learn for the sake of marks or the satisfaction of the teacher but for the love of learning itself.  She encouraged us to do this by not creating a specialized schoolish environment (atmosphere) but by putting our kids in touch with great ideas, amazing literature, beautiful artwork, and music and simply experiencing them. As such, she encouraged the use of narration, living books, short lessons and lots of free time, nature hikes, and being exposed to great art and music. 

If this style of educating resonates with your family and you live nearby enough to the Bradford, Ontario area, then plan to visit and jot the dates in your calendar now.  The book that we are reading this year is For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.  I’ve read this book before and it is among my top three homeschooling book favourites.  Rereading it right now is such a treat.  It’s very inspirational and philosophical.  If you’d like a copy of the book, I have extras in stock at $18.75 each, plus GST.

The dates and reading schedule are below.  Please do let me know if you are coming so I know how many folks to plan for.  If you haven’t been here before, email me for address information at cori@mapletreepublications.ca.

In addition to our book study we also try to bring balance to the meeting with some theory or practical application.  This year we decided to add practical pursuits for moms, or what Miss Mason would call “Mother Culture”, some of the passions and hobbies that we as mamas pursue to enrich our own education, (which, in turn, will enrich the lives and education of our children).  We would love to have 8 different people volunteer to lead discussion on these chats and so far have had many suggestions but only settled on the topic for the first meeting: Catherine Dell’Erba will be sharing about organic living and choosing foods wisely for our families so please feel free to bring any ideas or resources that could add to that discussion as well.

Dates, reading assignments, and mother culture topics are as follows:

September 24^th, 2015 - CANCELLED

Read Introduction and Chapter 1: What is Education? (pages 1-11)
Mother Culture: Organic living facilitated by Catherine Dell’Erba

October 22nd - * NOTE DATE CORRECTION *  

Read Introduction and Chapter 1: What is Education? (pages 1-11)
 & Chapter 2: “Children Are Born Persons” (pages 12-41)
Mother Culture: TBA

December 3^rd  

Read Chapter 3: Authority and Freedom (pages 42-58)
Mother Culture: TBA

January 7^th, 2016

Read Chapter 4: A New Perspective (pages 59-90)
Mother Culture: TBA

February 11^th  

Read Chapter 5: Education: A Science of Relationships; Knowledge of God (pages 91-105)
Mother Culture: TBA

March 24^th  

Read Chapter 5: Education: A Science of Relationships; Knowledge of Man (pages 106-132)
Mother Culture: TBA

(April 2^nd KWCHEA Conference in Kitchener, Ontario)

(April 16^th RVHEA Conference in Ottawa, Ontario)
(April 29^th & 30^th OCHEC Convention in Hamilton, Ontario)

May 5th

Read Chapter 5: Education: A Science of Relationships; Knowledge of the Universe (pages 133-147)
Mother Culture: TBA

(May 28^th KATCH Conference in Peterborough, Ontario)

(May 27^th & 28^th HENB Conference in Sussex, New Brunswick)

June 2^nd

Read Chapter 6: The Way of the Will, Reason, and the Unity of the Whole (pages 148-158)
Mother Culture: TBA

(June??? Tentative: Barrie New and Used Homeschool Sale)

(June 10^th TEACH New and Use Sale in Brantford, Ontario)

Looking forward to seeing many of you at these gatherings! I am so looking forward to these meetings this year.

Blessings on your 2015-2016 home school year!

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca

cori@mapletreepublications.ca
905-778-9412

Free Newby Workshops for the Summer of 2015

Dear Friends,

This year it seems that there are more parents than ever considering this crazy homeschooling life and so once again this year, in partnership with Henry and Corrinna Kiezebrink, I am offering free workshops to new homeschoolers (and those thinking of homeschooling) at my home in Bradford, Ontario and in the Kiezebrink home near Barrie, Ontario.

Whether you have made a firm decision or are still investigating your options, whether you are doing this based on a conviction you have or because the ability to school in a different way just seems to fit for your family, please feel free to come for a visit. These are interactive (question and answer style) small group workshops. If you, or someone you know, are interested in coming please RSVP directly to me at cori@mapletreepublications.ca as soon as possible as attendance is limited to 15 people (since we do have a very cozy space to meet) and the evenings usually do fill up.

You may come either to the home of the Kiezebrinks near Barrie, Ontario on Tuesday, July 21^st or to my home in Bradford, Ontario on Thursday, August 13^th. Both evenings will run from 7:30-9:30.

Both Mom and Dad (and Grandma and Grandpa or other adult supports) are welcome to attend though I respectfully ask that only parents and nursing babes attend as a full house and a late evening often make it hard for little ones to allow the adults the opportunity to get the most out of the workshop.

We will cover topics like:

Yikes! Can I do this!?!

Where can I go for support?

What are the legal implications?

Do I have to contact my local school board?

What about curriculum?

What is a “normal” homeschooling day like?

What about socialization!?!

Please come with questions!

And expect some yummy handouts too!

Henry and Corrinna Kiezebrink bring to these workshops 25 years of homeschooling experience while our little homeschool was established only 12 years ago.  While we aren’t experts, we do have a few years under our belts and hope to share the real deal on homeschooling, the good, the bad and the ugly.  We are obviously a bit biased towards homeschooling but will gladly share the truth about the pros and cons of adopting this crazy lifestyle.

Please feel free to share this invitation with friends and family who are new to homeschooling or who are considering it. You are also welcome to forward this information to your church group or other homeschool groups. See you in the summer!

Peace,

Cori

Maple Tree Publications

905.778.9412

www.mapletreepublications.ca  

cori@mapletreepublications.ca

Winner, Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Well, another Conference Season has come and gone at Maple Tree.  I always so look forward to the time that I get to finally see so many people in person that I have only ever met in this virtual world.  I love communicating with you all through the year but to see real people at conferences is always so encouraging to me.  It’s then that I know that I am not the only crazy one attempting this home education thing and that my acquaintances aren’t just imagined. 

I know that I go to conferences as a speaker and a peddler of books but I actually have a more selfish reason for going.  I love to hear people’s stories. I am a collector of stories.  I love to hear how your school year went, why you are just starting out or what 20 years of this crazy life style has taught you.  Thank you all for stopping by and saying hello at a Maple Tree booth here or there in the last few months.

As a way to say thanks for stopping by and to give back to the community, I was able this year to give a special $25 gift certificate as a door prize at each major conference and book sale that I was at this spring and now I am pleased to share the winners with you all.

KWCHEA, Kitchener: Joanna M.

RVHEA, Ottawa: Leanne L.

OCHEC, Hamilton: Meagan V

KATCH, Peterborough: Amy L.

New and Used Sale, Barrie: Matt L.

TEACH, Brantford: Barb W.  

Congratulations to you all!  I look forward to sending you a special treat of your choice from the Maple Tree store.

Peace,

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca

Juggling…

One of my sweet friends reminded me recently that this life that we are living is always going to be a juggling act and that we are always going to be dropping the ball.  The trick is to choose which ball to drop and when and to make sure that we alternate which one gets dropped from time to time. 

I am sure that many of you also have a similar story: there’s my job as wife and then mom and teacher and small business woman.  I need to feed little people, and make sure I get some exercise in, and that the laundry is relatively under control, and pack book treats into boxes and envelopes and write.  Writing.  I miss that.  Writing has been the ball that has been dropped lately and it’s time to dust it off and pick it up and get in touch again.  I think I am a bit of a modern day old fashioned girl: not much for talking on the phone but I do love to write and exchange notes.  If we can’t sit down and have a proper conversation over a cup of tea, then the written word is one of the best ways to communicate.

Writing soothes me.  I think that’s why I am a journaller.  I write even when I hope that no one will ever read it.  And while this sunny little spot Under the Maple Tree isn’t a very large community, I thank you for joining in this conversation.  It encourages me to hear from you and to hear of your struggles and your victories.  Thanks for indulging me and letting me share my little part of the world with you.  I’ve missed this time.

I can’t wait to tell you a bit about what’s been going on here.  Most of it is mundane and everyday-ish, some is exciting and exhilarating.  Dropping the writing ball has allowed me to do a little better at a few other things.  I have become fairly consistent in exercising and eating better, which has lead to me adding a few new treats to the shelves of our store: the book Trim Healthy Mama and some of the specialty foods that they provide like healthy natural sweeteners. 

We have also done a bunch of the boring behind the scenes work that needs to be done, updating computer programmes and hardware to make Maple Tree run better.  I thought that changing my email address (to cori@mapletreepublications.ca) would be less cumbersome than it proved to be but now we have an address that won’t need to change again as it matches our website. 

We’ve tripled the number of books that are available on the webstore as we continue to work towards being Canada’s Charlotte Mason resource provider, www.mapletreepublications.ca.  Check out all the Simply Charlotte Mason books that we now stock in addition to publications by Maple Tree as well as Life of Fred math, Mystery of History, Story of the World, Jonathan Park, Learning Language Arts Through Literature and much more.

On the home front, the girls are in senior kindergarten to grade ten, if you want to talk schoolish.  I can’t wait to tell you about our experience reading through the whole Bible at the beginning of this school year.  Many of you have asked and so I will update you about that soon too. 

For now though I should leave you with a few more practical updates as I anticipate the excitement of a few more conferences coming up in the next several weeks.  It has been so refreshing to me to see many of you and to serve you at both the KWCHEA conference in Kitchener and the RVHEA conference in Ottawa.  Next weekend Maple Tree will be at OCHEC in Ancaster at Redeemer University.

If you are at any of these upcoming conferences, please come by and say hello.  And, of course, I will happily pack up an order to bring to you at the conference if you have something that you need and want to make sure it’s available when we meet up.

Here’s where Maple Tree is setting up shop in the next little bit:

May 1-2 OCHEC Convention in Ancaster.

https://www.ochec.org/?q=convention
*I will be speaking on “Enjoying Math?”*  (Really, it will be  fun one!)

May 30^th KATCH Conference in Peterbourough.  http://www.katchpeterborough.org/Conference.html

*I will be doing a three part series on Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education: Education is an Atmostphere, a Discipline and a Life.*  I am really excited to be able to share these ones.  Don’t miss out!

June 6^th Used Book and Curriculum Fair and Small Business Expo in Barrie. https://www.facebook.com/events/768354386584075/

June 12^th TEACH New and Used Curriculum Fair in Brantford.

http://groupspaces.com/TeachHomeEducators/item/911069

Looking forward to seeing many of you soon in person and to hearing from you Under the Maple Tree as I get back to adding the writing ball into this jumbled up mess that I juggle.

Peace and blessings,

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca

Free Newby Workshops for the Summer of 2014

Dear Friends,

Once again this year, in partnership with Henry and Corrinna Kiezebrink, I am offering free workshops to new homeschoolers (and those thinking of homeschooling) at my home in Bradford, Ontario. We will also be offering one in the Kiezebrink home near Barrie, Ontario.

If you are new to the homeschooling world or are considering this crazy lifestyle, then please feel free to come for a visit. These are interactive (question and answer style) small group workshops. If you, or someone you know, are interested in coming please RSVP directly to me at mapletreepublications@sympatico.ca as soon as possible as attendance is limited to 15 people (since I do have a very cozy living room) and the evenings usually do fill up.

You may come to my home on either of two dates: Thursday, July 24^th or Tuesday, August 12^th. Both evenings will run from 7:30-9:30. The Keizebrinks are hosting their workshop on August 7^th from 7:30-9:30.

Both Mom and Dad are welcome to attend though I respectfully ask that only parents and nursing babes attend as a full house and a late evening often make it hard for little ones to allow the adults the opportunity to get the most out of the workshop.

We will cover topics like:

Yikes! Can I do this!?!

Where can I go for support?

What are the legal implications?

Do I have to contact my local school board?

What about curriculum?

What is a “normal” homeschooling day like?

What about socialization!?!

Please come with questions!

And expect some yummy handouts too!

Henry and Corrinna Kiezebrink bring to these workshops 24 years of homeschooling experience while our little homeschool was established only 11 years ago.  While we aren’t experts, we do have a few years under our belts and hope to share the real deal on homeschooling, the good, the bad and the ugly.  We are obviously a bit biased towards homeschooling but do hope to share the truth about the pros and cons of adopting this crazy lifestyle.

Please feel free to share this invitation with friends and family who are new to homeschooling or who are considering it. You are also welcome to forward this information to your church group or other homeschool groups. See you in the summer!

Peace,

Cori

Maple Tree Publications

905.778.9412

www.mapletreepublications.ca

mapletreepublications@sympatico.ca

 

Free Newby Workshops!

Dear Friends,

Once again this year I am offering free workshops to new homeschoolers (and those thinking of homeschooling) at my home in Bradford, Ontario.  I will also be partnering with Henry and Corrinna Kiezebrink to offer one in their home near Barrie, Ontario again this year.

If you are new to the homeschooling world or are considering this crazy lifestyle, then please feel free to come for a visit. These are interactive (question and answer style) small group workshops in my home. If you, or someone you know is interested in coming please RSVP directly to me at mapletreepublications@sympatico.ca as soon as possible as attendance is limited to 15 people (since I do have a very cozy living room) and the evenings usually do fill up. (Perhaps they will more so this year as City TV has done a story on us recently that we understand will air soon and will include information about these workshops!)

You may come to my home on either of two dates: Thursday, July 18^th or Tuesday, August 6^th. Both evenings will run from 7:30-9:30.  The Keizebrinks are hosting their workshop on August 20^th from 7:30-9:30. 

Both Mom and Dad are welcome to attend though I respectfully ask that only parents and nursing babes attend as a full house and a late evening often make it hard for young people to allow the adults the opportunity to get the most out of the workshop. 

We will cover topics like:

Yikes! Can I do this!?!

Where can I go for support?

What are the legal implications?

Do I have to contact my local school board?

What about curriculum?

What is a “normal” homeschooling day like?

What about socialization!?!

Please come with questions!

And expect some yummy handouts too!

Henry and Corrinna Kiezebrink hope to attend all of these workshops to share from their 24 years of homeschooling experience as well.

Please feel free to share this invitation with friends and family who are new to homeschooling or who are considering it.  You are also welcome to forward this information to your church group or other homeschool groups.  See you in the summer!

Blessings,

Cori

Maple Tree Publications

905.778.9412

www.mapletreepublications.ca

mapletreepublications@sympatico.ca 

 

A Messy Muddle and Up-Dates...

I was talking to a friend today – on the phone!  (Just talking on the phone while my kids are awake is something that I gave up on years ago but we had business to discuss so I squirreled myself away in my room during quiet time and hoped for the best.)  She mentioned how I didn’t really have a 9-5 job and I agreed.  My jobs as wife, mom, teacher, writer, and small business guru tend to mush together and overlap in so many messy muddled ways.  Perhaps you can relate?  Just finding time to do work on only one job at a time is often hard.  It’s also hard to find moments of still and quiet while the family is awake.

I love my moments of contemplation and sharing when I get to chatter with you all here Under the Maple Tree but I know they have been few and far between lately.  I’ve missed it but I have also so enjoyed bringing Come Sit by Me back to life for you all.  While it was still looking great on the outside, it sure does look amazing with a face lift.  More than that, there were issues behind the scenes that needed a little TLC.  I didn’t realize that when a book gets to be nearly 15 years old, it is possible for the old file digital technology to fail to keep up with new computing.  We weren’t able to continue to print with the files that were available.  Come Sit by Me needed to be rebuilt on a new platform.  I am so glad that now, at the end of the process, we are still able to provide the Canadian Homeschool community with this spectacular resource.  I am also glad to have a few moments to share with you what is coming up in this little place.

First of all, it’s conference season - so let the visiting begin.  This is the season when I get to come out from my little corner and see so many of you at conferences and sales.  Kitchener’s KWCHEA Homeschool Conference was spectacular as usual.  Smile-per-dollar it is a great conference to go to because there is so much packed into one day! 

Now, I am quickly packing up the last of my supplies so that I can pull out for Ottawa in the morning…  And in two weeks: Kelowna!  So many events to look forward to!

And so many other yummy ideas that I wanted to share with you, but for now I think I will simply let you know about what is coming up so that if I find myself in your neck of the woods, that you might come and say hello if our paths cross. 

This Spring’s Conferences, Sales and Events where you will find Maple Tree:

April 4^th – Charlotte Mason Meeting

April 6th – KWCEA Conference, Kitchener

Workshops:
            Homeschooling for “Newbies”
            Working Together

April 13^th – RVHEA Conference, Ottawa

April 26^th & 27^th – BCCHEC Conference, Kelowna, BC

Workshops:

Day by Day and Side By Side

          Enjoying Math?
          Single Income Living in a Double Income World
          In Search of the Secret: The Practical Road to Contentment

May 3^rd & 4^th – OCHEC Conference, Hamilton

May 9^th – Charlotte Mason Meeting, Bradford

May 25^th – Parent’s Guide Conference, Barrie

June 1^st – Toronto New and Used Homeschool Book Sale

June 13^th – Charlotte Mason Meeting, Bradford

June 14^th – TEACH New and Used Curriculum Sale, Brantford,

July? – Newby Meeting, Bradford

August ? – Newby Meeting, Bradford

Also, check out the new website!  It is, as always, a work in progress but we hope that our new look will again be more user friendly and easier to update.  If there books that you would like to see that we don’t carry, let me know.  Often I am able to order them in but just don’t carry them all the time.  Also, if I you have an order that you want to place and might be seeing me at an upcoming conference then let me know.  I can bring your books and save you the shipping!

Whether I see you at this weekend’s Ottawa conference or not, have a great weekend!

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca