The Dish: A Mother's Review

The Dish: 

A Mother's Review #2

Knowledge of God

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; the ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work...." 2 Corinthians 9:6-8


I share with you this month my anchor scriptures for homeschooling. These words sit at the front of my lesson plan binder, the front of my weekly plan binder, the front of my records binder, the front of our Treasure Time binder, in a frame on my wall, in my Common Place book, and on various index cards in my Bible and laying around. Why? Because spreading a wide feast is a daily effort of sowing bountifully, with a sweet and beautiful promise of reaping bountifully. I love that Mason believed that mothers work wonders, and I no longer bristle as I once did at her sentiment that we must realize that wonders are demanded of us. Wonders are, indeed, demanded of us, and we must know that to be the case, so that we will go about the task of working them, not in our own strength, but in the strength of Him who makes all grace abound toward us...and who sufficiently gives us all that we need to abound in every good work. Raising children, and spreading a feast of good things before them, is a good but tiring work. We must remember daily that we are sufficiently prepared, by the very grace of God, to do this good work, and that we are promised that our good work will reap good fruit. We musn't sow sparingly, leaning on grace too heavily and letting ourselves off of the proverbial hook, forgetting that born persons sit before us, in need and expectation of a feast. But, as we sow bountifully, we must do so anchored in the matchless grace of a God who enables us for the work before us. The decision to sow bountifully is "purposed in the heart", and isn't made in moments of weakness, overwhelm, or exhaustion. We make a decision to sow bountifully, in our hearts before the throne, and then we depend upon the God of all grace to do so...and to do so cheerfully. Cheerfully spread a feast this month, sowing bountifully, and cling with all of your might to the promise that your sowing will reap abundant and precious fruit. <3

Knowledge of the Universe

A Mother's Nature Study
For your OWN nature study, and mother culture, pick yourself up a copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. I have been delighting in this for my own feast for a while now, and it truly feeds my soul. You will be captivated by the actual (beautiful) nature drawings, blessed by the poems and quotes, and enriched by the nature notes. Read just a bit, or study one picture, each morning...and you will find yourself filled with more awe and wonder for creation than you ever have been.

Mothers are Born Persons Too. God's creation is always worth observing. <3

Knowledge of Man

Foreign Language 
Have you checked out this treasure trove of links for your foreign language studies. Mason's Living Languages has resources for French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, and Latin, and they are are broken down by type and category for you, to easily browse through and order/bookmark. You could easily build a foreign language program for your year using this website, or you could supplement what you are already doing. There are a variety of free resources and resources that cost money. My favorite? The links to videos and stories...they are perfect for our light, immersion style French lessons this year. Enjoy! 

Food for the Mother's Soul

Are you Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Distracted?
You may be suffering from Decision Fatigue.
Decision Fatigue occurs when we spend too much time, and effort, making decisions. This could be a result of our own bad habits (ouch, I know!), causing us to need to make last minute decisions and alterations when we have overslept, under prepared, and failed to do what we know we should. It can also result from a lack of systems and planning. We cure Decision Fatigue by: (a) using systems that are simple, but effective and  (b) planning in a way that allows for the flexibility that life requires, but also orients our days so that we don't have to spend every moment deciding what we should be doing and how we should be doing it. Where do you start? I will soon be talking about Brain Dumping and Block Scheduling, which have cured my own Decision Fatigue.
But, here are some other ideas to feast upon as well:

Meal Planning System 
Check out Mystie Winkler's simple, but effective way to avoid making decisions about dinner. 

Loop Scheduling Discussion
Watch Sarah McKenzie and Pam Barnhill discuss Loop Scheduling, and learn how it can help with decision fatigue in your homeschool. 

The Schedule Only Works When I Do
Read a convicting, but renewing blog post by Brandy over at Afterthoughts, about our part in making our homeschool schedules work effectively. 
 

Around the Table  

What is Happening in the Charlotte Mason World?

Have you checked out the beautiful magtide schedule boards from Morningtide To Eventide? These boards are not only beautiful, but they are revolutionary for building your Charlotte Mason schedules, and altering them to fit life's many changes. They are a visual and tactile way to see what fits, and where you are trying to do too much or too little. They also keep the entire family on track throughout the day, and motivate each child to display perfect execution in the time allotted.  

I am SO pleased to share with you a Coupon Code, exclusively for Delightfully Feasting readers! For the month of October, using coupon code DELIGHTFULLYFEASTING , you will receive a 10% discount off of your ENTIRE cart (so, treat yourself to a planner or set of bookmarks as well!). You also will continue to get flat rate shipping of $10, which is an additional $20 discount, for the month of October. Enjoy!

Something to Chew On

"An observant child should be put in the way of things worth observing."

Resist the urge to attempt to fill your child's mind with knowledge, and do not place upon yourself the burden of educating him.All education is truly self education. We are about the work of spreading a feast for born persons who have been given minds capable of thought, and who are Image Bearers of the God who said "come, let us reason together". They are capable of reason, and they not only hunger for ideas but are fully equipped to feast upon them. A child's mind is an instrument of his education, says Mason, and his education does not produce his mind. You are not endowed with the task of producing a mind, as a mind has already been divinely designed. You are endowed with the task of providing the very best things to be feasted upon, and your time is better spent spreading a wide feast than it is trying to force children to dine at that feast. They will dine without your help, and they will be all the more well fed having pulled their own chair up to the table, and having done their own work to digest ideas, and having been given the freedom to choose between beautiful things. <3