A Daily Rest - The Logistics

Thanks so much for the wonderful comments in my last post, ladies. I'm glad the article was a blessing to you.

I know it's all fine and good to agree with the author in theory, but several readers have wondered how exactly a daily rest pans out in real life. There are definitely days that I'm left scratching my head, too :)

I think this "daily rest" is likely to be constantly changing, adapting to the need of the moment and the phase of life. For instance, a family with a newborn in the house may have far lighter lessons for a time, enabling Mama to get those much-needed extra moments of sleep. For a family with 4 somewhat older children all doing a full schedule of Ambleside Online - Mama might check out for thirty minutes while the children all have some productive independent work to do. I've learned that what works for my family now probably will not work for my family in even six months. Schedules and routines have to constantly change and grow with us if they are to be our helps and not our masters.

Here's a peek into our day today as an illustration -

It's a Monday and we haven't been outside at ALL today, even though it's gorgeous outside. We have houseguests coming for Punkin's 5th birthday (!) this weekend and there are literal MOUNTAINS of laundry to do. Additionally, we did very light lessons last week as the house and its many projects took precedence for a bit (I'm sure our houseguests will appreciate a door on their room!!! - ha). So, we've done a lot of housework and a lot of school work. It's now 3:30, we just finished a history lesson, and I'm totally fried. Punkin and Little Dude are still napping, and probably will be for another 30 minutes or so. Shug is reading, SweetP is making beaded bracelets. I am blogging - shame on me! So now I'm going to log off and try to get some rest before I hear my little man calling out to tell me he's not interested in staying in bed anymore. Monday nights are Sam's late nights - he'll probably be home at 7pm or a little later. It's very important that I rest now to help me carry out the rest of the late afternoon and early evening. I'll get maybe 20-25 minutes. Less if I don't wrap this up pronto :)

As we add more and more into our school days, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to have time alone with the Lord in the afternoon. If I don't wake up before the children and have time to read the Word and pray then, it's likely it won't happen at all. In the afternoons, if I grab a break, I nap. In the evenings I read just a chapter or two of a book. Last night I read a chapter of A Tale of Two Cities. Tonight I think I'll read the second chapter of Adler's How to Read a Book. Maybe the secret to fitting in a little reading and a rest is to keep both short. You needn't read 100 pages of a book in one sitting to benefit from it :) In fact, less is likely to be more - especially if you can think on it a bit while you do dishes or fold laundry the next day.

I wouldn't cut down on time in the Word or prayer, though. That's one area where longer lessons are better :)

Anyway, glad you all enjoyed the article! Thanks again for the comments! Now, time to crash. Oh, and just in case I hear my boy moments after my head hits the pillow - I whole-heartedly agree with the readers who left this bit of wisdom for us all:

"However, I have to agree with what Nikki said about resting in the Lord. I tend to guard my quiet time so jealously that it can become an idol that I selfishly feel like I can't do without."

Amen, Heather & Nikki. I often say that Motherhood is Selfishness Boot Camp :)

Have a great one, ladies!!!




P.S. Oh, and I have to admit something - I had a rather substantial cup of strong black tea at 3:15 ;)

A Daily Rest

Here's another Parents' Review article to get your minds working. This one is called Simple Things - A Daily Rest (again, about Mother Culture). I hope you enjoy it! I'll be back in a few days to share my thoughts on it, and hopefully hear yours as well :)

Mother Culture

If you've been reading here and there about Charlotte Mason and her philosophy of education, you may have come across the phrase "mother culture". I admit that when I first began researching CM methods, I thought it sounded awfully odd and... well... self-absorbed. There is such a strong voice coming from the world these days, telling mothers that they need to "put themselves first" and claim their rights to "me time" and all that. I was leary. Mother Culture? Hmm... next page, please.

Fast forward several years (and a few extremely stressful seasons) and I've become more educated about Miss Mason's ideas of mother culture as well as more appreciative of her insights. I'm going to blog more on this topic and share my own thoughts with you, but first - some homework for those who might be interested :)

This is what I'm reading through tonight, narrating as I go (in the form of the next blog post!). Would you like to read it too so we can talk about it in a few days?

What Was the Parents' Review?

Did you know that Charlotte Mason founded schools across Victorian England? If you thought she was solely related to home education, that fact might come as a surprise to you. After all, in recent years she's been crowned the "founder of the homeschool movement". It is true that many mothers taught their children at home using Miss Mason's methods, but, yes, she founded out-of-the-home schools as well. To give you the super quick run down, her schools were originally formed as Parents' Review Schools (PRS), while later the titles evolved into what became known as Parents' Union Schools (PUS). Got those acronyms down? Good, because there are a few more :)

Before the inception of the first Parents' Union School, however, Miss Mason formed a club of sorts with parents and likeminded educators. This club sprang out of a series of lectures Miss Mason presented, detailing her educational philosophy and calling for change in England's educational system. The club was called the Parents' Education Union - later, the Parents' National Education Union. That's right! The PNEU :) Sound familiar?

We all know how deeply Miss Mason believed in the absolute necessity of ongoing education and she fervently wished to equip parents and educators to teach thoughtfully "for the children's sake". Before long, a magazine (with articles written by PNEU members and edited by Miss Mason) was published regularly in effort to keep the PNEU unified and focused. Can you guess what it was called? That's right - The Parents' Review (PR).

Whew.

Can you narrate all of that back to yourself after a single reading? ;)

I mention all of this because I plan to take a close look over the next few weeks at several PR articles available through Ambleside Online. Before all that, I wanted to make certain everyone was clear on what the PR even was. AO's advisory has graciously permitted me to link directly to these pages. If you would like to do the same, I encourage you to ask their permission as well.

For those of you interested in a more in depth look at the Parents' Review, you might enjoy reading the synopsis AO offers or consider taking a look at the reproduced issues Karen Andreola has available for purchase. Or, for a more general overview of Miss Mason's work, the Wikipedia article is actually pretty thorough. Shhh... don't tell, but I used it to double check my chronology :)

More to come.

Have a wonderful day!