Free E-Book!

Something for your homeschool!

I am a bit new to the Charlotte Mason style of home education, but what I've seen so far I really like.  I found a really good web site, Homeschooling Down Under, and it seems to be full of all sorts of really good ideas.  I especially think it is great to have someone from New Zealand who has a vision to create a special homeschooling space just for her own people.

You can download their free e-book, which is a geography textbook written by Mason revised in 1925.  Elementary Geography, Book 1 was written to introduce young children to the study of Geography in a step by step, reasonable and interesting manner.  Even though my youngest is 8, this book has been a great read-aloud!

Keep the homeschool fires going, folks!

Ready to Run?

ANNOUNCING....(drumroll, please)

The Family Fun and Fitness 5K!  

This fall, we've scheduled it for October 15, 2011.  Everyone who's anyone is invited to participate, right in your own neighborhood.  Our desire is to get families to start doing some sort of exercise together, with the goal of walking/running a 5K together.

Our family did this last year, in May, and I had purchased exercise shirts for all.  It was a great way to motivate young people to get out and try to get fit.

This year, we're doing it again!  Some will walk, while most will run, and some will do both, but we'll all have some fun.

Why don't you join us?

Googling "how to train for my first 5K" will get you started.  Put your comments here to let us know you will be participating, and we'll all moan, groan, and laugh together!

Taking Time for Tea

For just a few moments, time stands still. I am no longer the busy mother – I become Lady Elizabeth, and my tea companions are no longer my little girls – they become the loveliest acquaintances to converse with: Lady Pricilla, Princess Mae, and Lady Esther.

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For just a few moments, we have the most elegant tea, surrounded by the finest things to be seen. We exchange news of our travels; one has traveled to Washington and England, another across the Great Sea to a new, strange land, and another to Michigan, to visit a Queen and her friends. We discuss the wonders of this modern era: the new steam engine and the telephone.

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For just a few moments, we use the best of manners, and give each other the most lavish gifts – hand-woven silk handkerchiefs from India, the most exquisite hand-painted miniature tea cups, and the finest Egyptian parchment. We have the grandest of times. We tell stories, laugh at old jokes, and revel in each other’s captivating company.

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For just a few moments, I lay aside my responsibilities, and become my girls’ best friend.

Because I know that childhood is only…for just a few moments.