CM West :: Retreat at the Beach {Recap}

A few weeks ago, Amber and I rented a beach house for a weekend to host a small retreat for Charlotte Mason-educating mothers.  When we first posted the invitation, we were a bit nervous about filling our slots, but it turned out that we needn't have been: we filled up almost right away! We were thrilled with the ladies who chose to join us and it was a pleasure to get to know them.

My adventure started earlier that day, trying to finish final preparations before my ride arrived.  It was a bit crazy (I had six kids with dentist appointments that morning!), but the busy-ness decompressed as soon as I left the house.

can't remember the last time I went over the Golden Gate!

SUPER windy day at the Presidio with some local friends that drove up to the retreat with me

finally, we're here!

The hardest part of our planning was finding a suitable location.  We found it in this lovely home.  A five-minute walk from the beach, nestled in the Sonoma hills, plenty big enough for a dozen ladies.  There were ocean views from every room and it was a peaceful setting it which to enjoy the weekend together.

We decided early on to base our weekend plans more on Mother Culture than teacher training.  But as we Charlotte Mason moms know, Mother Culture is teacher training in the end, and so I took away inspiration and refreshment that has already positively affected our home and lessons.

We planned a short talk or focused discussion for each day: The Whats and Whys of Mother Culture (a more formal talk pulling from CM's volumes), The Hows of Mother Culture (a brainstorming session about how to fit it these kinds of activities into our days among children and household responsibilities), and Considering Community (a guided discussion on the role community plays in Mother Culture and in the lives of our students).  We also presented some basics of nature journaling and the captain-ideas behind handicrafts before each related session.  Mother Culture is a real passion of mine, and I so enjoyed sharing that with these ladies.  (I'd like to develop bits of those talks into some blog posts because writing them was so mentally productive for me, so you may be seeing lots more about Mother Culture here this summer!)

With the rest of our weekend, we put these principles and methods into practice: walks down to the beach, an afternoon of nature journaling, identifying wildflowers, testing out one another's art supplies, sharing favorite handicrafts, tidepooling, lots of wonderful discussions around the dining table (with wine and/or chocolate!).

adorable figures made by my friend, Amy!

We planned to watch a short film too, but that got co-opted by watching a wildfire develop on the dunes.

We also adjusted our plans to accommodate low tide and a long afternoon of nature journaling, but our schedule had enough wiggle room in it to make those changes simply enough.  I would have liked to spend more time on handicrafts, quiet chats, and painting at the beach, but it was only two days, after all!  I came away feeling like we used our time wisely.

Amber planned out the menu for the weekend and the food was fabulous.  She did an amazing job meeting dietary needs while still creating meals that were delicious.  We created a kitchen rotation to streamline things, but the ladies all happily pitched in whenever they saw a need.  And of course Amber was in the kitchen managing each meal.  (Luckily it was such a big, pretty kitchen.)

I put together some simple welcome bags, which could hardly be called a job because it was so much fun!  Not pictured: chocolates which I ate before thinking to take a photo. ;)  Among other things, Amber and I each contributed an item to the goodie bag out of our own handicraft skills--I brought calligraphy pages to the retreat to share (and made that bookmark), and Amber brought supplies to teach the ladies to crochet (and made that scrubbie).

And I was going to add here the beautiful walk down to the beach and all the specimens we saw, but that will have to wait until tomorrow else this post get far too long.  So this will the nuts-and-bolts of the weekend and tomorrow I'll share some natural loveliness.  A little preview:

This weekend was months in dreaming and planning and hours in Skype chatting, brainstorming, scheduling and re-scheduling, and Evernote-ing (is that a word?).  But it was a pleasure to host (especially alongside Amber!) and the work was a joy.  I honestly learned far more from hosting an event like this than I would have learned attending such an event, so I was grateful for the opportunity.

For more details: Amber shared at Flare of Light, and there's an "official" write-up at Charlotte Mason West.   And if you didn't have a chance to join us this time, CM West is planning a conference in the San Jose area next February, so perhaps I'll have the chance to meet you there!

And remember: If you'd like to stay up to date on West Coast CM information, sign up for emails through the CM West site and check out its Facebook page!

Up tomorrow... Nature Study Outing :: At the Beach Retreat.  (Edited to add: and here it is!)