Revival of Learning

My Very Dear Friends, It gives me particular delight to welcome you here just now...as staunch fellow workers labouring for what one of us- a P.N.E.U.member- describes as a new Revival of Learning.
The note of joyousness which I usually find in Old Students' letters and in the examination papers of their children is to my mind the note of the revival we are working for, because it is almost always joy in books, in knowledge.  You remember that delightful schoolmaster of the Middle Ages, who called his Mantuan school La Giocosa because it was in truth a house of joy, the joys being those of plain living and high thinking, and of great delight in learning, joys shared by prince and peasant, for Vittorine did not believe that the love of knowledge belonged to any one class. Your little schoolrooms often remind me of La Giocosa, in fact, each of them is La Giocosa because the children are vitalized by their delight in knowledge.

From an address Charlotte Mason gave to a meeting of old students from her teaching school, republished in L'Umile Pianta : For the Children's Sake. 1914, May. p. 1-83.

I will say that I consider one of Miss Mason's faults to be her unfailing optimism.  It is not my experience that every child finds the process of education to be a joyful experience.  It's still worthwhile, and one hopes they will learn to find joy in knowledge at some point, but one carries on regardless.



$5.00- Education for All, vol 2- the Imagination (and more) issue!- transcript of the imagination talk from the AO Camp meeting, with additional material I had to cut to save time.  
   
 $5.00- Education for All, a new CM journal,   Feed Your Mind!  This issue contains several articles on handicrafts, outdoor play, nature study and science. See sidebar for purchasing options if you are in the Philippines.


 $3.00 Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Copywork (grades 2/3, carefully selected with an eye toward finely crafted sentences, lovely bits of writing pleasant to picture in the mind's eye, and practice in copying some of the mechanics of grammar and punctuation typically covered in these years.

  $3.00 Aesop's Fables Copywork for Year One!  Carefully selected with an eye toward well written sentences, memorable scenes, and some practice copying sentences that model the basics of capitalization and punctuation.   Suitable for use with children who have already mastered the strokes and letters for basic penmanship.

Picture Study!  Miguel Cabrera's beautiful, diverse families, painted in 18th century Mexico this package includes 9 downloadable prints along with directions for picture study and background information on the artist and his work. $5.00

Common Kitchen:  What's for lunch?  Isn't that a common problem in homeschooling families?  What to fix, what is quick, what is frugal, what is nourishing?  How can I accomplish all those things at once?  We homeschooled 7 children, and I was a homeschooling mom for 29 years on a single income.  I collected these recipes and snack ideas from all over the world.  These are real foods I used to feed my family, my godsons, and sometimes my grandkids.  Includes some cooking tips and suggestions for sides, and for a variety of substitutions.  I think every family will find something they can use here. $5.00