It was a surprising highlight of our first year at Ambleside. Our first Parent-Teacher Conference was in October of 2011 after three of our upper elementary children had been with their teachers for approximately nine weeks. The extent of my school interaction up to that point had been our admission interview and an afternoon picnic […]
I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will
Thesis: We each are called into personal and community responsibilities to accomplish good work. I am, I can, I ought, I will Charlotte Mason’s original words, “I am a human being, one of God’s children; I can do right by my fellowmen and by myself; I ought so to do and God help me, I […]
Good and True and Holy Work
Chop, chop, slide. The steam rose as the freshly cut carrots joined the soft, golden onions simmering in the pot. The crisp, wet smell of celery mixed in from the chopping board as it, too, met the business end of this Momma’s knife. The zucchini needed prepped and the herbs were at standby when the […]
New Seasons
The concerned mom followed me through the parking lot of the preschool one morning. “Umm, Dorothy?” she began, “Justin is in a tank top and shorts.” We had recently become acquaintances and had just dropped off our sons to the same classroom. My eyes may have tightened in question although I’m sure my smile widened. […]
What A Yearling!
He lay in a stupor of weariness. He hung suspended in a timeless space. He could neither go forward nor back. Something was ended. Nothing was begun. –from The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings As my daughter and I finished reading this semester’s literature book, The Yearling, my voice unexpectedly left me, mid-sentence. I tried again, but the […]