First: I have an article up at the Charlotte Mason Institute blog: Sunday-Keeping for Children. I share a bit about Mason's vision for Sunday observance and practical advice from the Parents Review.
I've already been asked to share a follow-up here about our family's personal Sunday traditions, and I hope to get to that soon! So let me know if you read the article and what other elements of Sunday observance you would like more details on.
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We have been busy lately with springtime festivities...
Luckily, we finished up OUR school year at the end of April, so we have had extra time for these kinds of events!
We did exams a couple weeks ago, which I'll share about here soon. I also finished up my school filing last week, including surveys, audits, exam scanning, and more. It always takes a good few hours of time, but it's worth it to have everything finished and books closed on the school year. It also helps me in prepping mindfully for the year to come.
Up next on my list: the summer clothing switch out (prayers appreciated!), school planning, conference talk writing, and a big stack of books. :)
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First, if you're not signed up for the announcement emails, please head over! But we have three future events now formally on the calendar:
CM West :: Retreat at Warm Beach in September 2018
Registration is now open for this event in the Seattle area this September. The theme is Mother Culture, and I'm sure it will be a lovely time of handicrafts, nature journaling, living books, and more. I won't be able to attend this event, but I'm sure it will be a great opportunity to learn and grow with other Mason mamas.
CM West :: Retreat at Old San Juan in February 2019
We just signed the contract to return to the location of last year's retreat: Saint Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista! Registration will open this fall.
CM West :: Conference at Puget Sound in September 2019
No details on this yet, as it's a year and a half away. :) But the Seattle group has secured this lovely venue to host next year's retreat. So feel free to mark your calendar!
We also have two videochats going for western mamas: Amber and I have an ongoing dicussion of Volume 5, and Amber will be hosting a new discussion beginning on Volume 1 using Brandy's Home Education study guide with our good friend Brittany Lindvall. For more information, sign up for the email list!
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Speaking of Amber, our family had the rare and delightful opportunity to spend the day with her family at the beach last week!
I won't see her again until February, likely, so there will be lots of Voxer chats and Evernote collaboration until then!
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I am hosting a few weeks of Mother's Notebooks @keepingcompanycm. If you want to see inside the notebooks of Mason mamas of all ability levels and interests, head on over! It's a publc account, so even if you aren't an Instagram user, you can still read along.
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I'm in the middle of writing a big {What We're Reading} round-up of Easter books, birthday books, and more. Coming up later this week!
What a fun catch up! I so wish I could join you all on one of your CM retreats! :) Looking forward to the week on Mother's Keeling. I'm not a mother yet, but I do find the best CM ideas for "adults" (and not just "kids") in what others do for mother culture activities.
ReplyDeleteMy family leaves for Italy tomorrow for 2 weeks, I look forward to reading and taking notes on all of your latest posts when I get back! :)
Oh Frannie, I am jealous of your Italian vacation! I hope you have a fantastic time!
DeleteYes, I should really call it "Adult Women Keeping," but that doesn't sound as snazzy. LOL But you are certainly welcome to chime in -- it's not just for moms. :)
That is definitely not as snazzy! Hahaha I look forward to making some contributions when I get back. We are going to Rome, Assisi, & visiting family in cozenza.:) I'll have about 20 hours of keeping time in driving/flying alone! It's a 2.5 hour trip to the airport, we have a layover, and a 6 or so hour flight from Toronto to Rome. With a few hours of driving in Italy to family/ back to Rome. LOTS of keeping time! And not to mention all the keeping I plan to do in Italy. And when we get to the beach, I'll be doing a little nature study, of course. This will be a very CM trip. :)
DeleteThat sounds like an absolutely amazing trip!
DeleteWow, that sounds amazing! Italy + Keeping = Pretty much ideal! :) Can't wait to hear about it!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your article on Sunday-Keeping for Children! As you’ve asked what other elements we’d be interested in knowing about when you write up about your family’s personal Sunday traditions, I’d love to hear about the practical elements of how you organise yourself. For example, do you prepare on Saturday? How do you get some rest time built into the day for yourself? Do you still do chores so you don’t feel like you are cleaning up after a tornado every Sunday evening before you begin your week? That sort of thing! Can’t wait to read it when it’s finished!
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, Lauren! Because I think yes, it definitely takes some extra thinking about your Saturday and Monday plans to make Sundays be restful, joyful and, holy. Thank you for these thoughts and I'll be sure to address them! :)
DeleteCeleste, I'm wondering if you would be willing to share sometime what you do at the end of the year to organize all the kids' schoolwork... specifically, do you keep it all? and do you have much loose paper that you have to go through? I only have two kids schooling right now and I haven't figured out a great system- it's become a hodge-podge of schoolwork but I want to keep most of it since it isn't busywork but quality work they have done. Any thoughts or ideas? Thank you in advance. Your home and school are lovely to read about.
ReplyDeleteHi Danielle, I keep all of their notebooks and not much else. :) For younger kids who aren't keeping many notebooks, I keep a few samples of copywork, all of their drawn illustrations, and a few samples from math. I have all the notebooks on a shelf in the office and all of the loose papers in our files. But I admit I don't have a super-great system either! Using notebooks and expecting quality work DEFINITELY helps make the culling process easier though! :)
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