Nature Study: The Basis of All Science

Happy 3rd Sunday of Advent! I wasn't going to blog on Sundays, as this is the day of rest; but for me, contemplation is restful. I was stunned to see that I haven't written a new post in almost a month. This is because I have been pondering many things and have been busy preparing for Christmas and enjoying Advent festivities. Last night at dinner, this repose of the soul enabled me to gain a valuable insight. 

My daughter's friend was visiting, and she lamented that although she was looking forward to her Christmas break from school, she was dreading the science exams that will precede it. She's an 8th grader who is in an advanced science class. This prompted my husband to comment that he was advanced in science in high school. He recalled timed chemistry lab tests. I was surprised to find myself quiet throughout the conversation, and I observed that my mind was fixed upon the phrase Nature Study.

Today I asked our guest more about her class, which is high school level. She described it as physical science but couldn't tell me what that meant. What topics were covered under that heading? All she could relay was that she had learned about energy.   

The only really excellent science class I experienced in public school was in the 6th grade. A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to tell the teacher, Miss Snyder, how much I appreciated her class. I explained that I remembered her class, that it made a lasting impression. (And I'm almost 49, peeps!) She brought science alive. It was hands-on, and guess what? We did Nature studies!

I made a leaf collection, relying upon my grandma's knowledge of natural history and her field guides. I caught some insects and drowned them in alcohol (in hindsight, yikes!), pinned them to a board, then researched and labeled them. I had to be outside, observing God's natural world, to complete these projects. I obtained some intimate knowledge of plants and creatures, especially because I lived in the country. 

I'm extremely grateful that as a child and teenager I had many opportunities to explore fields, woods, lakes, ponds, and creeks. My love of Nature has endured. In fact, I think one motivator for  moving away from the city and back to my hometown was the lure of the quiet rural environment and proximity to the memories of my idyllic childhood wandering in the woods and hopping on stones across water. Yet even with these advantages, I realized as an adult that I really had not obtained a strong foundation in natural science. 


If I had any science education in Jr. High, I don't remember it. I enjoyed learning the names of bones in high school, and I loved Moe's scale of hardness. I was extremely fond of the Periodic Table of the Elements, though chemistry alluded me almost entirely. Newton's laws of motion I found to be extremely intriguing. I did not like dissection and couldn't tell one internal organ from another, largely because the formaldehyde the frogs were soaked in caused everything to be the same color. 

Way back in the 1980s, God was still allowed a presence in schools. In one class in high school, probably geology or biology, the teacher showed us a Creation vs. Evolution film. His comment afterward, which surprised me quite a bit, was that he thought it took more faith to believe in evolution than in creation. This was the opinion of a man of science, and I never forgot what he said. Today, such movies would not be shown, and such comments would likely put teachers at risk of being fired. 

Before kids are introduced to advanced science, they should have many years of time spent intimately with Nature. They should be familiar with local trees, landscape features, animals, flowers and habitats; should know them by name. They ought to be able to distinguish the calls of neighborhood birds and the habits of many creatures. Direct observation, living books and nature journaling should take precedence, with textbooks and lab work taking a secondary role of reinforcement of key concepts. Nature Study is the basis of all science, and without such a background, advanced science classes are almost pointless. Most of all, the child should care about the world around him.

Though I don't enjoy the cold, I understand the importance of getting outside in winter, even for a short time, every day. I'm re-committed to a Charlotte Mason approach to natural science, which, by the way, is in harmony with Catholic tradition. The combination of nature deprivation and excessive screen time has lead us increasingly to being a nation of depressed, isolated, and unhealthy people, and children are the greatest victims. We are disconnected from one another, from the natural environment, and as it follows, from knowledge of God himself as a result. I would go so far as to say that we are losing our grip on reality and the wisdom of what it means to be human. It's time to reunite science with a sense of the awesome and the Divine. 

 

The Home as Sanctuary.

Clutter is a bummer. So are crumbs on the kitchen counters and dust bunnies in the hallway. Between the clutter and the dirt, keeping house can just seem like too much. Here's the thing that we must accept: Housework never ends. It never, ever ends. It's an everyday pattern of doing the same things over and over again. Some would call that insanity. I call it LIFE, plain and simple. But there must be a better way to live.

Maybe my house is too big. But I knew a woman in Columbus who lived in a large Victorian with her husband and two small children, and it only took her about 45 minutes a day to clean her home. Having a smaller space means less to take care of, sure, but if we don't have good habits, we have the same exact problems, only crammed into a smaller space. Having a smaller place to live doesn't necessarily equal less stuff. 

One reason I can't let go of Charlotte Mason is her emphasis on habit formation. Good habits are key to enjoying life and living it to the fullest. What can we do?

On Sunday I returned the master bedroom to a state of sanctuary. I dusted and removed some items. I pared down the books again. It feels better. Today I'm considering that the entire house could be a sanctuary. Can you imagine?

That's exactly what we must do--imagine. Dream. See how we want our homes to be in our minds. See how we want our selves to be. 

I got caught up on the laundry pretty well since my last post, but today my goal is to finish all of it, even if that means that a load is not completely full. 

Yesterday we went to the city and unloaded what the used bookstore was willing to take. I sold some books at our homeschooling co-op and will have another chance at that when we next meet. 

Slowly but surely, it's happening. The key is to refrain from bringing more unnecessary stuff into our homes once we clear the clutter. 

With the holidays fast approaching, the time is now to get our homes in order. Wouldn't you love to live in a space that needs only to be maintained by good, daily habits?
 

Marisa Tomei as Aunt May

Last night for a family movie we watched the most recent Spider-Man installment on DVD. Spider-Man: Homecoming features Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, a much younger and very attractive version of the comic book character. This Aunt May was first seen in Captain America: Civil War, when the latest incarnation of Spider-Man was introduced. 

It seems that Marisa Tomei always plays a lovable character, and her Aunt May is no exception. She perfectly blends the maternal and the sensual, with a quirky, Bohemian style. 

I will soon be turning 49, and Marisa also has a December birthday and will be 53. Being four years my senior, she's my perfect style and beauty mentor. Marisa does not look like a victim of Botox or plastic surgery. I love her waist-length hair and not-trying-to-be-cool eyeglasses. Her clothes and jewelry are simple, and her trim waist is to-die-for. Marissa's Aunt May is totally a look to which I can aspire! I hope I can find some ugly glasses like hers at my next eye doctor appointment...

 

The Daily Minimalist

I received Zara Fagen's book, Minimalist Homeschooling, a couple of days ago, and I dived right in! What it amounts to is a do-it-yourself workshop for discerning your homeschooling values, prioritizing subjects, and resetting your mind to a paradigm of plenty. I'm reading the book with my journal open and pen in hand. 

I'm reordering Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing magic of Tidying Up from the library. Using these two guides together, I'm going to bring order to my home--and my life--once and for all! My key words for this new year are simplicity and contentment. These words encapsulate the minimalist philosophy for me. 

I've changed the byline of Organic Mothering to "The Daily Minimalist" (yes, a bit of borrowing from "The Daily Connoisseur" blog by Jennifer L. Scott!). My plan is to blog a little bit about this journey on a more regular basis, except for Sundays, which are all about rest. Posts will be short and sweet, and I hope, inspiring. 

Today is all about laundry. I got seriously behind again. Clothing is the first category to declutter with the "KonMari Method". I don't have much to do in this area, since I've already pared down my wardrobe. But I recently bought some new items from Dress Barn, and it helps to have all your clothing clean in order to determine what pieces you may wish to purge...  

After clothing comes books. We pared them down in my house, but they are sitting in boxes waiting to be sold to a used book store an hour away! Just moving clutter somewhere else is no good. It needs to leave the house, my friends. Our homeschool co-op has a curriculum sale coming up next week. Whatever doesn't sell there will join the boxes heading to the book store. So in the next two weeks the first two categories for decluttering will be knocked out. Who wants to minimize daily with me?

Ancient History Studies Update

It's hard to believe we are already into the first week of November! I want to update readers on the progress of my history-based unit studies plans. Since my last post, I've found a great blog focused on minimalist homeschooling, "Zara, PhD" (http://www.zaraphd.com/2017/08/01/what-is-minimalist-homeschooling/). The linked post begins a series on implementing a minimalist homeschooling mindset. I have also ordered Zara's book, Minimalist Homeschooling, from Amazon, and I'm sure I'll be reflecting a great deal on her wisdom. It just so happens that Zara is Catholic, so that's a bonus!

I've continued to work on paring down the curriculum during this fall term and to create a schedule that is set and easy to follow. It has been difficult to release the Charlotte Mason mindset regarding spreading a huge feast of books and subjects. My goal was to have only a daily list of subjects, but I ended up reverting to including a loop of additional subjects. Not only that, but I was doubling up on some of the daily subjects as well! I was perpetually clogging my mind with worry about how I could juggle it all. I finally tossed Spanish out of the curriculum for now. I know, incredulous gasp! But baby steps to minimalism it must be.

I plan to get back to the Spanish, but first I need to sort out our priority subjects and focus on them. First things first. Zara, PhD is going to hold my hand through this, but I've already made a start. Basically, the top 3 subjects that are most important at this time are math, writing, and literature. Now, integrating subjects is a great way to go about simplifying things. Tomorrow we'll be finished with Seton's Bible History: Old Testament book. That one book incorporated reading, religion, and history. But we haven't worked in Seton's Religion book for awhile, which is the formal catechism we are using this year, continuing from last year. At this rate, we'll be in this book forever!

You will hear folks in homeschooling circles admonish that finishing a book and checking items off a list does not constitute learning. That may be true, but if you spread your efforts across too many books and subjects, the learning will be thin. It's a good thing to spend enough quality time with a book, to go deeply into the subject--and it's a good thing to finish the book. Dragging books out due to lack of consistency is self-defeating. The priority subjects will constitute our daily core, and then subjects of secondary importance (but still key to our unit studies) will be looped. The Catholic Faith permeates the curriculum, but especially as this is Beezy's sacrament of Confirmation year, I don't want to neglect religion as its own subject.

Beezy is still working on her Hanging Gardens of Babylon art project, from Draw and Write Through History. I think she'll finish it this week. So the Old Testament unit will be wrapped up this week, culminating with a study guide I designed and a test. Then next week we'll move on to ancient Egypt!

Our reading/history book will be Cleopatra of Egypt by Leonora Hornblow (Landmark Books). The brilliant aspect with this book is that Cleopatra's world covers the entire territory for our ancient history studies--Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Bible Lands!

I decided to make writing very simple. In addition to cursive writing, Beezy will have one other writing assignment per day. This can include dictation lessons, written narrations, answering chapter questions, poetry or other creative writing, letters to grandparents, personal journaling, etc... I found a Writer's Express handbook at our homeschool co-op to use as a guide for different types of writing.

We're using Saxon Math now, and it's such a relief to have a solid program to follow. I no longer have anxiety about teaching math! We will use this program all the way through high school, as far as Beezy is able to go into the higher math subjects.

I'll just leave you with the schedule I have planned for the remainder of this term (until Christmas break). Daily subjects are math, literature/history, piano practice, and English. The loop includes art, religion, geography, and science/health. These subjects will be rotated throughout the week, or each may get a few days or more at a time, depending on the need. This works out to 5 subjects covered daily, for a 4-day week.

Remember that life itself and extracurricular activities can take care of some of the subjects. Every subject does not need to be covered every day, every term. When you look at my entire schedule, all of the required school subjects are covered (according to the requirements of my state). It is minimalist and simple, yet we have attained the variety and depth characteristic of a liberal arts curriculum. 

Daily Core: (Open with Pure Faith: A Prayer Book for Teens)

- Saxon Math
- Literature/History: Cleopatra of Egypt
- Piano practice
- English (cursive, grammar, writing skills)

Loop:

- Religion
- Science/Health
- Art
- Geography

Extracurriculars:

- Piano lessons
- Tumbling class
- Religious Ed. class
- Choir and Musical Theater co-op classes

Our New Homeschool Room!

   The fall chill has finally really arrived, complete with frost on the grass this morning. This means our days of homeschooling on the front porch have come to an end. And besides, there's a family of kittens and their mama living on the porch, and I'm allergic.

   This, combined with my husband working mostly from home now, inspired me to create a homeschool room. We've always just done lessons in the living room, but with it being right next to the dining room where Husband works, this is no longer convenient. Also, since we just started using Saxon Math, we really need a table space on a daily basis. 

   I'd considered making the homeschool room in what was once my dance studio, and where Beezy practices on the piano keyboard. But this room is going to take a lot of time to overhaul. So for now I've set up the lesson area in our front hallway. We and our visitors typically come in the back door. My only concern is that there will be too cold a draft in the winter, though hopefully Husband can do some weather proofing. And by then I should have the other room finished.

   As you can see from the pictures, we decorate for Halloween! Our home was built in 1908 and has a lot of great vintage features.

      The brown train case on top of the table was a gift from my sister. She found it in the attic of her house. It had belonged to an elderly woman who lived there previously, and it has my initials! (This is our "Math Box".) The lamp belonged to one of my great-grandmothers, and the lace "shade" is actually a chapel veil over a clear glass hurricane cover. The wooden chairs, which you can view in the photo at the top, were salvaged during a big trash pick-up day in our town. The toy horse is a souvenir from Poland which an old neighbor brought me as a thanks for taking care of his cat.

    This shelf unit holds all of the books we're using for this school year. The basket on top contains the books we're currently using this week. 

    

The desk-chair and globe were a gift from my mother and were discovered at a used furniture store.

   And a few more pics...

     

   I probably should have used the flash for at least some of these, but I think you can see that we get a lot of natural light. I hoped you've enjoyed your visit to my home!!

Goodbye, Things (Book Review)

I had to wait awhile for my turn to borrow Fumio Sasaki's Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism from the library, but it was worth it. I'm not actually finished reading it yet, but I've been so inspired, I just had to share!

Fumio is a single, childless man who lives by himself in a small apartment in Tokyo. He was once a maximalist living with messy heaps of books, CDs, clothes, an antique camera collection that he never used, and various miscellany. He literally lived in the dark, too overwhelmed to open the blinds. He drank too much and squandered his time on video games.

When I was a single gal, I had my own small, cluttered, messy apartment. I didn't play video games or sit around drinking too much, and my lifestyle was interesting, active, and creative. But I can relate to how having too much stuff and living in chaos held me back from feeling as confident, capable, and joyful as I could have. And the thing is, decades later, living with a family in a much bigger space, I am still struggling with clutter. Yes, I've made much progress and have cultivated better habits, but I just wish I had discovered minimalism while I was still single!

I got a lot of help from Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but I must admit to becoming stalled and never finishing the project, which should have taken only six months. I think her idea of paring down by categories is genius. At the same time, there's something so encouraging about seeing an entire room that is finished.

I started with my bedroom, because the space where you sleep should be a sanctuary. Since I've been reading Fumio's book, I'm looking suspiciously at the books in my bedroom, which I did pare down, and thinking that more of them need to go. But I'm going to write a post specifically about book addiction later! I also have some jewelry on the my dresser that I could pare down, and there are a few things left in my closet that I ought to part with.

Fumio lives much more simply than I would want to. I find interior decorating to be a joy, and I like expressing myself creatively with my wardrobe. I'm not into the "uniform" look, which Fumio adopted from his minimalist hero, Steve Jobs. But even here, I can learn from the idea of honing in on a certain style and owning less clothing, making it easier and less time consuming to get dressed and do laundry.

This young man is not against housework, however. He loves keeping house, because the results of a clean, uncluttered home are so beneficial, and it takes him very little time to accomplish his tasks. Charlotte Mason would wholly approve of Fumio's emphasis on positive habit formation!

This week Ive been digging into my kitchen cupboards while my husband is working out of the house. A woman needs a well-functioning kitchen! I had gotten to a place where I wasn't inspired to cook anymore, and I think this decluttering and reorganizing process is going to take care of that problem. I'm looking forward to going to the farmers market and grocery store today!

It takes time, diligence, and persistence to pare down one's belongings and tidy one's home. But as Fumio has attested, it does change your life. He's a new man, and I want to be a new woman! I want to live better, more fully and meaningfully. Paradoxically, this means living more simply and being content with what you have.

The only criticism I have of Goodbye, Things is that Fumio tends to repeat himself, but I think he revisits stories in order to make an additional point.

My laptop battery is running low, so that's my cue to get moving! Read Fumio's book so we can discuss!!