And it Begins!!

 Hello Friends, 

 So this week was a mellow week for me in one way and not so much in the other. (But I guess you can't have everything;)) My plan was to go trough all my books and organize and purge, to get ready for school. I did eventually get it done. ( felt great.) My husband was baddling a bad cold this week and now we are all dealing with it at the moment. Ick! But as much as we struggled to get done what needed to be done, there has been great success in the schooling area!! Let me explain. 

   I have been wanting to start reading the first volume  of The Charlotte Mason Original series, but kept getting side tracked with other things and as soon as I pick it up, just to put it back down feeling   frustrated that I couldn't get past the first few pages. Well, I picked it up and I'm on page 45 yey!!!! I know, the little things get me really excited. But wait, there is more exciting news.

 So as I was going trough my Intagram someone had a picture of a DVD that they were watching about the Charlotte Mason  method  and I started looking it up with no success. I asked for some information and the kind women pointed me to http://www.livingbookslibrary.com/2014_07_01_archive.html?m=0

   I didn't end up finding the DVD but I found a recording of Home Education!!!!!! This for me, was and is still epic! ( as I often wished there was something like this out.) I couldn't wait to put my kiddos to bed and put my head phones on and go trough the book. It's about $12 for a PDF download of CM Home Education. I can't wait for the lovely ladies to record Volume 2. Parents and children.  They do have Volume 4  Ourselves available as well. I highly recomand these recordings as well as the written work of Miss Mason. I defiantly am getting a lot out of them. There is something completely wonderful about going to the original source.  You can't get this from a secondary source.

  Now, I wanted to touch on one more thing. Little ones ages two to four doing Nature study. I have moms say that their little one doesn't know how to draw or doesn't have much of an interest. I know every child is diffrent. I can tell you what we do and maybe it can benifit you as well. With my little one, he sees that his older brother and sister are doing nature study and he wants to be involved as well. In everything from nature study to math to narration. So we got him a scatch pad of his own. When we take walks we collect a little of nature for later drawing or pressing. ( flower pressing) 

 Now I don't recomand that you let your children loose to rip every flower they see. We don't want that. But if there is an  abundance of Queen Ann's Lace we will pick a few to press for later or if you know me even a little you know that I take lots of pictures. We take an empty egg carton or a paper sandwich bag and collect our treasure from our walk. We bring our treasures home and the children choose to draw what they found.  Let me just say that it's up to you the parent to guid your children in their studies . If you will be excited about a topic and show intrest, they will also!

   I love the Parents' Motto from CM.

 Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life. It's our job as moms and educators of our children to make our children's education experience a pleasant one. Not that they will always do things that are always pleasant. But I think teaching them that learning is not doing this worksheet or going trough this text book and they are done. Learning, it's a life style, it's a way of life. Giving them a calming, safe, atmosphere to be who The Lord God created them to be. Preparing them to be confident in who they are In Christ.

 -The Preface in the Home Education-

Mother's duties to her Children. 

 "The women receives from the Spirit of God Himself the intuitions into the Child's character, the capacity of appreciating  its strength and it's weakness, the faculty  of calling forth the  one and sustaining the other, in which lies the mystery of education, apart from which all it's rules and measures are utterly vain and ineffectual. We have a high calling mamas and God created you with everything you need to guide your children. Blessings to you.

              

August Hello!

Good evening friends,

  It has been a while since my last post. This summer has been wonderfully busy. Gardening, exploring God's creation, spending time with family. We tryed doing some school, but nothing formel.  I have been thinking of all of you, wondering what summer is like for you, what have you observed over the summer?! I can't believe it's August already and soon we will be back to a regular routine. Wishing you the most out of the rest of your summer. I will be returning soon with more details of what's to come this  upcoming school year for us!

 Oh, the Charlotte Mason book study is going wonderful, so encouraging. God is good! 

     Blessings to you and your family.

The Love Of Birds and a little Music

  Hi Friend, 

 Hope you had a wonderful day today!

I woke up to our newly four year old, franticly saying come to the living room mom and see the birds at the bird feeder, mom you've got to see this!!! Their are so many birds on the bird feeder and I don't even know their name. What a sweet boy! I love him so much.

  I never thought I would be a bird watcher.... Ever... But this last year the sound of birds singing by our window had been so beautiful, how can you not be so blessed by their lovely song?!!  Maybe it was just a long winter for me, because I was so excited to see a spring bird and to hear the new sound of hope, spring is around the corner it would chirp at me... So, first things first we got a bird guide and some bird feeders, we started to visit our local Metropark to get to know the birds at there feeders. And now our children as well, as our daddy enjoy watching the lovely birds at our window. 

 This post was actually ment to be about music.. And here I am talking about bird love. 

 I will mention, that we had a great time visiting the Cleveland Orchestra with our two older ones today, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. To see their faces enjoy the orchestra brought warmth and joy to my heart. 

   I love music and I appreciate good music. Music that lifts you up and has a history about it.. Anyway a little ramble about our day. Hope you have a spectacular day tomorrow! 

  I leave you with a poem by Victor Hugo

  Be Like the Bird

 Be like the bird, who

Resting in his flight

On a twig too slight

Feels it give way beneath him,

Yet sings

Knowing he has wings. 

Photo update of our adventures!

              

As we visited our local farm, I couldn't help my self, but admire all that was around us! Including some lovely Beehives. My dream one day.

   John my husband had taken a few days off of work this week due to a small burn on his fingers. It's a lot better now and the salve I made a month a go came into good use!! 

Anyway,it was nice to have him home so I could catch up on a few things I needed to get done. Like clean out all the winter clothes. Fun job!!!! Just kidding.. My least favorite thing to do. But it needed to be done.  So a little field trip  after cleaning was a must. Plus we were out of eggs! 

      

      

 Alex enjoying this lovely baby chick. 

    

 

       Teaching Benjamin to be gentle.

He loved every minute with these babies.

   

   New life!! So precious. 

   

    This beauty was found on our Mother's Day trip to the metropark.  It really warmed my heart to see this male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Watching the kids explore in the creek and watching my husband enjoying nature was the greatest gift any natural mama could ask for ;)

      

   Look at this! Breathtaking, isn't it?!

  

    Follow the leader.

  

   They insisted on a under bridge photo.

  

      Exploring is what they know.

      

    The Majesty of My Lord!

      

       Observing the world around her.

  Beehives at our local farm! 

  So that was a little picture update of our weekend. Can't wait for this coming weekend! I'll be sharing more pictures and sharing what we have learned along our journey.

   I leave you with a fun poem called 

   The Optimist

   By: Anonymous

   The optimist fell ten stories,

 And at each window bar

He shouted to the folks inside:

Doing all right so far!

         Blessings to you my friend.

The Love Of Reading

Hello Dear friend,
  I have been away for some time, and am happy to be back!
Since spring is officially here. We have been busy gardening and reading and exploring spring life!
  I am learning more new things about my Favorite Charlotte Mason, my book study is going wonderful and I'm so blessed to have ladies that are also so eager to learn about all the wonderful things that Miss.Mason suggest. If you haven't read my past posts, I started a Charlotte Mason book study group. We are going through the book by the lovely, Karen Andreola. A Charlotte Mason Companion. This year, since I have been reading lots about Charlotte Mason I have been wanting to implement some of her ways in our school days. We started with Living books. And it's such a blessing to us. Even my little guy who is 20 months old loves books. It's a wonderful gift to give to your children.The love of books that is.To share with them GOOD BOOKS. I recently was asked by an Instagram mamma how do I read with my little ones? Well, I love to be very Enthusiastic, and sometimes even a little theatrical. Now, I would be a little Embarrest  to read like that in front of other people, but the children enjoy it and it gets their attention. Another thing that helps is the books that we read. I love real living books, Biographies, character building books, such as the Lamplighter series. Books about real people. I find that my children can relate more to these types of books. They will say things like, I can't believe that so and so would do such a thing to Mary. Or can you please read one more chapter. The older children can sit through a great deal of chapters when I read, the other two little ones fidget and sometimes interrupt, I then stop and find something quiet for the little ones to be busy with while we finish with the older two. We also read one on one. I sit down with a book to each child's ability and I follow each word with my finger as I read a few sentences and then my child,  also following with their finger. I help at the words that are difficult for them to read. 
  Reading has been a big struggle for my oldest who will be ten in July. I can say with joy that this year has changed so much about how he feels about reading. We still struggles at times,but we see much improvement and it's all glory to Our Lord. I am so so blessed to have such wonderful writings and teachings by Charlotte Mason. It is truly a gift and a breath of fresh air. 
   
 We also love Audio books and poetry. 
 So far this year reading had been our focus, even though we worked on other things, such as math and writing ect. Reading was something that needed much work. I have great plans for the upcoming school year and want to implement a lot more of the lovely Charlotte Mason way. Tell me about your reading story, have you always loved to read? What kind of books do you read?! 
  It's always a blessing to share a little of our joy with you.May you be blessed. Happy Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mamas!
   
All Things Bright and Beautiful 

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
     
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruit in the garden,
He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood, 
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water, 
To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small, 
All things wise and wonderful:
 The Lord God made them all.
          ~ Cecil Frances Alexander~

    

Honey Bear Bath

 Happy Sunday friend!
  Unfortunately the little guy and I stayed home from church this morning because we both didn't feel so well. I know we will be fine though. The weather has been so totally lovely. I want to spend every minute outside, preparing the garden for planting and enjoying the sun.
Ministry garden update, Benjamin and I planted  flowers and Basil for our ministry garden this morning and we started our tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, last week. We are typing up some letters to our local Home Depot and Nursery to see if they would be willing to donate some Rain Barrels, some tomato cages and soil. I know and expect the Lord will provide!
  Today I wanted to share with you a simple Recipe for a wonderful baby wash that I absolutely love. Its called Honey Bear Bath, and it only has three ingredient's. It smells and feels wonderful.

  This wash is very foamy, it also soothing for dry sensitive skin.  
  
You will need:

1 Cup of water


1/2 cup honey ( honey is very good for skin, it has antioxidant properties, helping to protect and maintain healthy skin and hair. I use raw local honey.

1/2 cup liquid soap, I use Peppermint Castile soap,  you can use any scent you would like, like lavender! 

Add all ingredients together and shake in your jar or whisk together with a Wisk. I used a mason jar and tripled the ingredients to make more.  This recipe came from the 2009 Summer. Herb Quarterly magazine. Subscribe to The Herb Quarterly Here   I love this magazine for all the great information and recipes. A true treasure.

 Here are some photos:

   

   

Mommy's helper

 

 

                                                     It looks so lovely. And very safe for your little ones.

 Let me know if you try this bath wash. I will also be posting on the next post how we made our own healing salve and how we infuse our herbs. Have a beautiful Sunday friend.
                                                        Blessings.
                                                               Elena

 

 

 

 

The Glory Of God

Good Morning Friend,
   I wanted to share with you something I read this morning that so much applies to nature. The Creator..
  I always Stand in amazement at nature, to me it all points to Jesus Christ. The majestic hand that... you know what, here is Psalm 104. It describes it in a way I cant. May you be blessed today.

Lord My God, You Are Very Great

 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
    covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.                                                                                                He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
 he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

 He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
    and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man's heart.                                                                                                The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

He made the moon to mark the seasons;
    the sun knows its time for setting.
 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their dens.
 Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
 Here is the sea, great and wide,
    which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

 These all look to you,
    to give them their food in due season.
 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
    when you take away their breath, they die
    and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works,
 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains and they smoke!
 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!