Paper Clutter

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Back when I was on a homemaking roll, I invited your questions. Little did I know that I was about to spend the next few months too sick pregnant to do anything much in the homemaking department, never mind write about it. But I have been thinking about those questions! One, in particular, is an easy one to answer and so I thought I'd toss it out there to get those homemaking juices flowing again. Dawn asks:

My biggest problem is paper clutter. What do I need to save, how doI organize what needs to be saved, what can I throw away? Most of the flat surfaces in my home are hot spots for paper and it drives me NUTS! I know what to do with the toys, the clothes, the books...but I'm at a loss when it comes to paper. How do you deal with it?

My first suggestion is that you sort the mail over the recycling bin. If you can help it, never touch something more than once. And my second suggestion is that you read this post by Kim and put those wheels in motion. Once you've nailed down her file system, the rest is easy!

 

Summer Reading

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Every summer, I return to a handful of familiar books and revel in the reunion. These are the standbys, the sure things, the books that remind me of what I really want from my home life, particularly from my home education adventure.

I re-read Educating the Wholehearted Child and sing with the joy Sally Clarkson exudes. I remember that the important things in a child's education are not at all difficult to provide. I first read this book about eleven years ago. There were far fewer choices on the home education landscape back then and most of them replicated school at home. Sally spoke sense to me. She gave voice to what I knew to be true and she offered me the wisdom of her experience. Sally weaves a real books education into a real--and very  rich--family-centered life of faith. Hers is a grace-based approach to children. I have this book memorized in parts but I still like to return to it every summer and remind myself what matters most.

I also read Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum. I'm fairly certain that the book on my shelf is my third copy. The first was given to me by my friend Margaret when Christian was an infant. It was a true original run--copied on a copy machine and stapled down the middle. Laura Berquist had sent a few of these out into the world when this was a fresh idea in home education. Still, Laura's children at the time were much further along the educational path than mine and Margaret clearly knew what she was doing with hers. I had much to learn from them and learn I did. Now, fifteen years later, we can all clearly see that Laura's plan and Mother of Divine Grace programs have been very successful over time. I know lots of kids who have been educated Laura Berquist-style and have gone on to do very well in college and beyond.  She's proven herself to be well worth a fresh reading every summer.

Last summer, I added Donna Simmons' Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers to the list. I found this book to be refreshingly inspiring and very encouraging. Donna's warm wisdom reminds me to keep art and beauty, the rhythm of the days and the seasons, the natural wonder of the child, at the forefront when I plan and ponder. There's something about Waldorf that always slows me down, softens my breathing, and helps me remember that some of my children are still very young and very much in need of gentle rhythms.

Usually, I also pick through my Original Homeschooling Series. This set of six volumes of Charlotte Mason's writings is dog-eared and well-loved. It's highlighted, post-it noted and sometimes committed to memory. Charlotte Mason's wisdom is unparalleled in the world of education, particularly home education. I don't re-read the whole series; I just find my notes throughout.

This summer, though, I am going to focus on Charlotte Mason a bit more narrowly. The good folks at Simply Charlotte Mason have made available some e-books which are beautifully edited. It's as if they took my ratty paperback volumes, found every quote I consider worthy of re-reading, and organized them perfectly. I began with one titled Education Is.. It matters not that my own book has a chapter with the same subtitles; this book focuses it all for me anew. (And besides, I'm not much on re-reading my own book--I know what it says:-).

From there, I'm moving on to Laying Down the Rails: a Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook. THIS is the perfect summer book! This is a beautiful reminder of all those virtues we wish to instill in our children before they leave home. My only problem is that I want to work on all of them right now, and have those tracks well-laid by summer's end. The book is mostly Charlotte Mason quotes and it begs conversation with like-minded moms.

We can do conversation! My thought is to begin a summertime book study. We can read the free ebook first and then move on to Laying Down the Rails.. Then, I'd love to see us move on to Hours in the Out-of-Doors in the early autumn.

Charlotte Mason was a wise woman. She saw the whole child and understood that the family, the atmosphere, the developmental stage of the child, and the unique call of every Christian all work together to educate a child. She doesn't neglect any of these factors. She is no-nonsense in her insistence that parents do their duty to teach their children well. It's all so very sensible.

So, download away at Simply Charlotte Mason. I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts about a Charlotte Mason Education. We can inspire each other to raise and educate happy, healthy, holy children for the glory of God!

While I appreciate the beauty, the materials and some of the methods of Waldorf education, I am not a follower of Rudolf Steiner, his educational philosophy, or his religion. I am a practicing Catholic who is very clear in teaching the faith to her children. Please see this post for any further explanation of incorporating methods or materials that might also appear in Waldorf schools into your home. Take inspiration from what is good and what in in harmony with the true faith and leave the rest. If you can't discern, then leave it all alone.

New Life as we Know It

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Many, many thanks for all your prayers and good wishes for our new baby. You asked about a due date (though some of you caught the ticker in the sidebar;-). Remember that novena my children prayed before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception? The baby is due December 8. Of course, I have had only one baby on my due date. The rest are mostly late. But that one baby was my December baby. And there are oh so very many wonderful December feasts that I'm pretty much assured of festive little bundle.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum has set in with a vengeance. What's that mean? It's Greek and Latin for "Mommy is throwing up all the time. Please be quiet and good." It also means that I obsess about the the perfect food that I'm sure will make me feel perfectly well within minutes. And then I eat it and then--well, I never want to eat it again for the rest of my life. It means I can't eat any sugar or any fruit. If I eat a carb, I need twice as much protein to go with it. It means, in the words of someone who knows, "steak is my friend."  Hyperemesis is getting up at four o'clock every morning because my blood sugar bottoms out and I need to eat. The rest of the day hinges upon whether or not I can go back to sleep. It means that when my husband calls to ask if he can bring me anything on the way home from work, I wish for a fleeting moment that I had Sarah's husband and I ask if he could bring me an IV. I don't even know Sarah's husband; I just know he actually can bring her an IV. Ah...to get hydrated without having to swallow.

Hyperemesis means that my inbox is stuffed to full but it's really hard to put two words together on a consistent basis. I'm much better at reading than writing. So, if you've sent me an email in the last six weeks and I didn't answer, please don't take it personally. I read it, but then I had to leave the computer to throw up;-). And now you know why I didn't get to go see the Pope. I was too afraid of being sick on the Metro or in the crowds.

And what about all those housekeeping resolutions? Well, in all honesty, the major cleaning out was spurred along at break neck speed because I thought we might be looking at major house changes as of  June 1st. We're not. Another long story. For now, let's just say that St. Joseph and I are tight and all heaven had mercy on me. But I'm so glad I put so much effort into cleaning and creating calm. It's stood me in good stead. The house isn't quite what it was a couple of months ago, but it could be if I had, say, a second trimester reprieve. Oh, and the ironing? I haven't touched it in three weeks. The smell of ironing spray makes me gag. But my mom is coming in a couple of weeks and she likes to iron. There's hope.

Patrick has taken over all the cooking. He's a beast in the kitchen. At least that is what he tells me and he tells me that's a good thing. One of his soccer buddies has a chef for a dad. Paddy's taking notes. The kids assure me they're eating well. I'll take their word for it. The kitchen is to be avoided at all costs, save for desperate 4AM runs when I pray all the way down the stairs that the children cleaned up well after dinner and there will be no surprises in the sink.

And what about "school?" We're limping along. Marisa and Colleen are helping to write Serendipity and we are moving oh-so-slowly. Fortunately, it's beautiful outside and we usually spend lots of time outside this time of year anyway.Rebecca continues to keep us supplied with botany lessons. I've planned for it. We will buckle down again in the second trimester when it's 100 degrees outside with 95% humidity.

All in all, I'm grateful for nausea. It's a constant reminder that I'm still pregnant. And really, the view from the couch isn't all that bad.