Excited about Birds!

With spring fast approaching, the birds are returning!

Over the winter, our family made bird feeders together one Sunday afternoon and hung them out on our deck. For many weeks, we didn't see any birds. However, over the past 2 or 3 weeks, we've begun to see them! We've had chickadees perched on the bird feeders and have seen blue jays as well. We've heard woodpeckers as well!

We found a great website All About Birds.  It has a vast library of photos, videos, live-cameras, and audio clips of their different calls and songs. We spent some time the day we made the feeders surfing the site looking at birds that we'd be likely to find locally and that our type of birdseed would attract. D loved listening to and imitating the calls and songs.

At first D would get so excited to see a bird on the deck that he'd make so much noise it would fly away. Now he will put his finger to his lips and creep up to the glass door and peer intently at the bird with a big smile on his face.

I've been reading up a lot lately on Charlotte Mason Homeschool Education. One of the key aspects of her method is the use of "living" or "great" books - those that has stood the test of time and engage the reader's entire being. She emphasizes the use of living books rather than text books for learning of all subjects. Of the many aspects of her method that resonate with me, I love the time and energy put into nature study, both formal and informal. It is something that D and I already do and we love. So, I found some great books that will supplement our outdoors study and play this season.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess arrived today.  It was originally written in 1919. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed. I am already in love with this book. We'll see how D responds to it. It is a fine example of a living book. It is a work of literature presenting naturalist study of birds of the Northeastern US through a compelling story. It presents scientific information through a story featuring Peter Rabbit - yes - as in Beatrix Potter - and his interactions with the bird world. This is wonderful because we also just started to read the books of Beatrix Potter as recommended by many Charlotte Mason curriculum sources as being excellent living books to help expand both children's imagination and vocabularies. My mother read them to me as a child and now I'm sharing them with my son. I remember being completely enchanted as a child. D was equally engaged with the characters and the storyline. ( I digress, but was amazed at the level of vocabulary in The Tale of Benjamin Bunny as compared to contemporary children's literature that we've been reading until now. It opened my eyed to how "flattened" the vocabulary of many books written for children today is and gave me a new appreciation for the true classic books.)

I look forward to sharing the chapter 37, "Farwells and Welcomes - The Chickadee" with D tomorrow.

So, our next step will be to incorporate nature journals in the next few weeks to start recording our observations. You'll soon find out how that goes!

Getting Well and the Humbling of a Mom

Well, it is 8:30am on Wednesday. I am the only one awake. Including the cats and dog. Is this homeschooling?

Yes. Particularly when mom, the primary guide, is sick. And when the whole family has been ill for the past 3 weeks.

I have set aside any formal lessons for the past 2 and a half weeks. While I realize this is an advantage to homeschooling, it is also making me very antsy. I recall the on-line Heart of the Matter Homeschool Refresher from last week. A wonderful speaker reminded all of us that it is not "us" that homeschool, but rather we are the instruments through which God educates and communicates with our children and our families. She encouraged us all to check in with God and invite him into all aspects of our lives, including our homeschool, and seek His wisdom.

To say I've been stressed out is an understatement. Having a sick child and sick spouse at home during the busiest month of the year for me, and then getting sick myself was trying. Knowing that many people depended on me to perform and produce caused a deep and ongoing anxiety that I'm sure contributed to this latest round of illness for me.

During my time of bible study yesterday, I heard my inner voice, the small voice inside me that I know to be God, say to me, among other things, "Pull back and stay home. You're needed here. You've been in the world and now you're needed home." I prayed for guidance in what I should be putting my energy into right now. I received that it is okay to let go of the lessons, the yoga classes and the community service work for a while and focus on getting everyone back to a baseline of health and our home back in order. But first, I must take the next 2 weeks to fully allow myself the space, time, and internal peace to heal and prepare the way for a very special little girl who will be coming to live with us in just 2 short months.

It is very hard for me to let go of a well laid plan. It is very hard to pull back and let others take over and moreover to let others take care of me. I think many moms can relate. It is a lesson in humility for me, a letting go of my discipline and will, which often serves me well in life. It is also a surrender of pride. I wish a lesson in humility and pride were a one time thing. For me, at least, it seems I keep revisiting it and reviewing it. While God did not cause this series of illnesses to sweep my household, I do believe that He is using this as a lesson in letting go and letting Him work in all our lives.

In You, O Lord, do I put my trust. (Psalm 31:1)