The CMP Review — Week of October 2
October 2, 2023
What’s on your reading list this October? Are you diving into spine-tingling spooky tales or cozy autumn reads?
I’m currently reading Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel. But as I plan my next read, I’m torn between The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins or The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
Got a recommendation for my next read? Share your favorite autumn books below! Let’s build the ultimate fall reading list together. 👇
@tessakeath
October 3, 2023
“The great recognition, that God the Holy Spirit is Himself, personally, the Imparter of knowledge, the Instructor of youth, the Inspirer of genius.” It’s an idea that infuses education with meaning and life. What could more powerfully transform the daily routine of a home educator than the thought of “the divine teaching as co-operating with ours in a child’s arithmetic lesson”?
When it first dawned on me that every grammar lesson could be an encounter with God, I was energized. I was excited. But I had nagging doubts. Friends of mine challenged the notion. What basis did I have to believe it is true, besides Charlotte Mason’s own word?
That doubt led me to a study of Scripture, and from there a deeper look at Mason’s writings in the light of Christian theology. It’s a journey that not only gave me confidence in the Great Recognition. It also led me to the great words of Christ: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Hear my story here.
@artmiddlekauff
October 4, 2023
My children and I have so many fond memories due to The Handbook of Nature Study. Our favorites include feeding chickadees by hand, awakening moss, and building a cricket habitat from which we watched a tiny maestro play his violin.
Did you know the author, Anna Botsford Comstock, credits her mother in particular for kindling her love and appreciation of the natural world? She’s a self-taught nature illustrator, writer, philosopher, and the first female professor at Cornell University. Her book—a compilation of 8 years of leaflets (the majority of which Comstock wrote herself)—was published in 1911 by Cornell and has never gone out of print!
Its 3 lbs. and over 900 pages might seem daunting, but it’s really an easy-to-use guide. If you’d like to see how, find my article “Reading Nature’s Truths” in this month’s VISTA bundle from Wild+Free with glorious images from @aolander.
@rbaburina
October 5, 2023
Continuing my library tour from last week, the next book I’m sharing about is by Charlotte Mason… or is it?
Find a full transcription of the book here.
@artmiddlekauff
October 6, 2023
A strong sign of hope for the future!
Milkweed pods, bursting open, ready to float their seeds forth into the world.
Next year, these will bring us beautiful plants with awe-inspiring flowers, bees, monarch caterpillars, chrysalises, and butterflies.
All this beauty which begins with these seeds floating on this fluffy milkweed floss!
@antonella.f.greco
October 7, 2023
This past weekend, I dedicated some time to make and replenish my fire cider, elderberry syrup, and honey garlic. To me, an important aspect of homeschooling and parenting revolves around nurturing my children’s physical health. This commitment extends to safeguarding our well-being during the challenging fall and winter seasons.
In addition to these remedies, I rely on nourishing foods such as bone broth, an abundance of fresh vegetables, and probiotic-rich fermented foods. Of course spending quality time outdoors in the sunshine is a cornerstone of our wellness routine.
What are some of your favorite strategies for maintaining the well-being of your family?
@tessakeath
October 8, 2023
“Feed us, the children, as sheep.”
This prayer we find in chapter 9 of Christ the Educator.
The writer continues, quoting Jesus: “‘I will be their shepherd,’ he says, ‘and I will be close to them,’ … ‘They shall call on me,’ he says, and I will answer, ‘Here I am.’”
And then the writer concludes: “Such is our Teacher, both good and just. He said he had not come to be served but to serve, … he who labored for our sake and promised ‘to give his life as ransom for many,’ a thing that, as he said, only the good Shepherd will do.”
And so Christ the Educator is Christ the Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.
The writer was Clement of Alexandria, writing around the turn of the third century. It was about that same time that the first Christian art began to emerge. In the Catacombs of Priscilla, an unknown artist drew the Good Shepherd on the ceiling, a symbol in art echoing Clement’s symbol in words.
Charlotte Mason offered her own symbol too, a symbol in poetry. It too calls us to revere the beautiful Shepherd, the One who stood with us when the hireling fled. Read or listen here.
@artmiddlekauff