CPQ January Newsletter
Maybe I’ve shared this before, but I fell in love with nature study while living in the desert. It took a lot of perspective shifting on my part, as most of what I read and saw about nature study was in the setting of green things where a creek ran through it. But I fell in love with shale and the wildflowers that grew up despite it in barren places. When we moved to the plains, I anticipated our nature study time would explode into some Charlotte Mason epic. It was green here—and a creek runs through it.
However, I soon learned the harsh truth: our new home is more barren than the desert. I’ve had to get creative with nature study and shift, again, the lens through which I view this part of the feast. Our wildflower and bird lists are about half a page, while we have four pages each from the desert. The green is often short-lived, and wildflowers only come on years when we get plenty of moisture. And then there are the winters when the high plains turn into the tundra, and we continually compare the temperatures to Antarctica, which is usually warmer than we are. The wind is the most challenging part; any snowfall turns into ice pellets flying horizontally into your face. No thanks. I suppose I’ve become a bit of a Scrooge in this area, and it always hits me right about the end of January.
I’ve tried pulling myself out of that pit for the last few winters. We have kept weather charts, created wind roses, and tried to track moon phases—but I’ll fully admit we had to use the internet as the moon wasn’t visible many nights. I won’t tell you about the winter I tried to do astronomy. This year, I created a list of nature journaling prompts, and we aim to do one a day if we can. I tried to consider where we live and ensure we could have some “stay inside and research” days mixed in with outdoor days. It’s been nice to get back into the habit of nature journaling and all the joy (for me, as both my boys continue to groan when I mention nature study—but I’m impervious) that comes with noticing.
If you’d like help with your winter nature study, download my list here!
-Mariah
On The CPQ Blog
Behind the Scenes
Books is at the printers
Things is in layout
Truth articles are in copyedit
Main article writers for Laugh are being contacted
On Books
Our next issue is at the printers!
This year, our covers will feature the felt and embroidery work of our very own Lisa Hadja. She was inspired to use the Victorian language of flowers to depict our themes this year. For ‘Books,’ she chose amaryllis which represents poetry, primrose which means, ‘I can’t live without you’ (who can live without books?!), petunia which expresses, ‘Your presence soothes me,’ pansy which stands for ‘thoughts’ (so many thoughts about and in books!), and cherry blossom which depicts ‘a good education.’
In this issue, we discuss the idea of books. Emily Kiser shares with us how to consider living books for today’s students, Julie Ross shares with us how books have been with her in all seasons, Gianna shares with us how her CM education inspired her to write a book, and Kimberly delights us with audiobooks and how she uses them in her homeschool.
The digital copy has been uploaded into SimpleCirc for all subscribers to access!
If you missed the preorder period and want to snag a copy of ‘Books,’ you can purchase a back issue from our shop, which will ship straight from the printers.
Something Borrowed
“In all these books, I dwell more on the illustrations than on the text. I feel very strongly that in the nursery, it is through illustrations that children get to know and love the stories. That is the reason that mothers cannot be too careful in choosing books with really fine illustrations.”
Favorite books from 2024
Since we are talking about all things books, we thought it would be fun to highlight our (Cara and Mariah) favorite books from last year. Who doesn’t want to add more to their TBR pile? You’re welcome. : )
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Engler
All the Glimmering Stars by Mark T Sullivan
Hamlet by Shakespeare
The Green Ember series by S.D. Smith
Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud
The whole Flavia de Luce collection
Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament by Sandra Glahn
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Much May Be Done with Sparrows by Karen Glass
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Wise Decisions: A Science-Based Approach to Making Better Choices by James E. Loehr
Volume 6 back issue sale!
You can grab Volume 6 from the shop for 10% off now through February 5th!
Use code VOLUME6 at checkout!
February Recitation Printable
Get To Know The Editors
What’s Cara…
Reading: The Power of Consistency by Weldon Long
Eating: Smoked salmon and blueberries
Making: A simpler life
Drinking: London Fog lattes
Watching: Blacklist
Buying: So. Many. Groceries.
Learning: How a child’s diagnosis can help you understand more about yourself.
What’s Mariah…
Reading: East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit by Amy Stewart (on audio)
Listening to: The Myth of the “Perfect Caretaker” on the In Sickness podcast
Eating: things I’m making with cottage cheese (living that “is this enough protein today?” life)
Making: nature journal entries for the month of January
Drinking: a lemon/ginger/turmeric concoction every morning after my workout
Thinking about: some things I need to do differently, but also: this London Fog cake recipe I printed out, and how I need to make it and take some to a friend
Learning: how to prioritize my health