The CMP Review — Week of July 8

July 8, 2024

“Needs of body, needs of mind, e.g., food, warmth, healing – love, justice, hope, companionship, security, etc., etc. A long list — do you notice that in a really happy home they all get attention? Not all at once, all the time, but each need gets answered, some time, in some way. We are in need and we feel a desire, we want something deeply, passionately — affection, notice, a friend, quiet, whatever it may be. Our needs are the ground of our human nature from which our thoughts, hopes, fears and joys grow up. Children are especially needy people. That is why Fathers and Mothers must be peacemakers, must give loving thought and care in order that the children may have their four great needs supplied — Leadership, Healing, Feeding, and Teaching.” (Essex Cholmondeley, Parents Are Peacemakers)

@tessakeath

July 9, 2024

Imagine it is a quiet Sunday afternoon in the remote recesses of Ambleside. You are invited to gather in the drawing room of a Georgian mansion whose Norse name means “summer lodge on a hill.” The occasion is a Bible talk, and the speaker is Miss Charlotte Mason.

This is what Kathleen Conder experienced not just one Sunday every Sunday for several months. She had the privilege of hearing Mason’s “Scale How Meditations” as they were first presented. She experienced firsthand the very early days when the House of Education was guided by Mason’s own active and energetic hand.

In 1952 Miss Conder wrote down her memories of those days. Read or hear what it was like to learn from Miss Mason, not from the books but from the person herself. You can find this touching and inspiring story here.

@artmiddlekauff

July 10, 2024

It was so much fun to discover a wren’s full nest in the Christmas Cactus outside the door.

The eggs are so beautiful and mama bird takes such good care of them. We read that the male will build a few nests in various places and his wife will choose which she likes best.

@rbaburina

July 11, 2024

Back in 2008, I set out for a seven hour drive with my firstborn who was then nine years old. We were heading to our first Living Education Retreat, and I wanted to enjoy time with my son on the way. It was the first time I ever spoke to an audience about Charlotte Mason.

Now sixteen years later we are back. It’s my son’s second Living Education Retreat, and this time he’s joined by his sister and his new brother-in-law. So much has happened in the intervening years, but I am just as excited as ever to be talking about Charlotte Mason.

One of the most rewarding outcomes of implementing Charlotte Mason’s ideas in my homeschool is finding my adult children wanting to learn more about these ideas themselves. It gives me hope that ideas born in Ambleside and replanted in America will grow and expand for generations to come.

@artmiddlekauff

July 12, 2024

I do not know my way around a chainsaw. (If you know me, this is not a surprise to you!)

But I am so thankful that God puts special people on our path. In this case, our neighbours’ grandpa, who came over to give the children an impromptu chainsaw lesson.

Serafina really enjoyed getting to cut disks out of this dead tree in our yard!

The bonus for her is that the wood slices are brimming with crafting possibilities.

@antonella.f.greco

July 13, 2024

This summer, my kids decided to work on a random but delightful project: making paper mâché masks inspired by Beatrix Potter. They proudly showcased their creations during a visit to Grandma’s and participated in Penland School of Craft handmade parade last weekend. I enjoyed watching them brainstorm ideas, work together to develop their skills, and bring their vision to life.

@tessakeath

The first chapter of Essex Cholmondeley’s biography of Charlotte Mason is entitled “Preparation.” The most poignant paragraph of this chapter occurs on page 5:

The strain of poverty told upon the health of Charlotte’s beautiful mother and in 1858 she died. Mr Mason never recovered from this loss. He died soon afterwards, leaving Charlotte at the age of sixteen alone in the world. A friend gave her a home for a time; she was entirely without relations and without means, and she passed through a period of great desolation. In her mind remained one idea: she knew that ‘teaching was a thing to do, and above all the teaching of poor children.’ When she was eighteen she took the first step towards her life’s work.

It is hard to imagine what the young Miss Mason experienced during this time of desolation. While her future was hanging in the balance, she made a choice that would eventually touch the hearts of families and educators all over the world for generations to come. What gave this young sixteen year old the power to move forward?

On page 180, Cholmondeley describes a poem Miss Mason wrote called “Rest.” According to Cholmondeley, the poem was “the outcome of the bereavement caused by the loss of [Mason’s] parents.” The poem has a mystical quality and may even be describing a mystical experience from Mason’s youth. The last stanza of the poem includes these words in quotation marks (italicized by Cholmondeley):

As one is comforted, Whom comforteth his mother!

The words seem to be adapted from Isaiah 66:13. The implication is clear. God took the place of mother and father for this young girl, so that our lives and families could one day be blessed. Read or hear the full poem “Rest” here.

@artmiddlekauff