As the temperature drops below “hibiscus comfort level,” my indoor-plant-lady persona, newly acquired last year, dutifully begins the process of moving these finally not languishing little trees inside for good (for the cold season).
It was getting a little tedious to bring them in just at night if anything below 60° loomed and then drag them out again. And this week, they were additionally weighty and cumbersome, waterlogged as they were by the epic amounts of rain we received (finally!).
I read that you can prune them 30% and who knows what that means, but I gave them what I hope is an invigorating trim, the better to survive the shock of a new environment.
Do you move plants inside? I never used to! When it gets even colder, I will have a rack with the geraniums and maybe some herbs, but I would like to keep it simple…
Anyway, a little history curriculum meditation for this brisk day:
I came across this article (from last year) about being sure to include primary sources in your children's studies: Moving Beyond Interpretation & Getting to the Past as It Was.
He makes a good case, certainly nothing that hasn't been said before, but it's good to be reminded, and he offers examples.
I would add a couple of thoughts; I've discussed them here on the blog, and in my Summa Domestica (affiliate link) I have a section about history that explains at even more length:
As you approach the study of history, be very aware of an often hidden ideology — the study as presented by many historians — and hidden in it — the philosophy adhered to by the ones studied, in these primary sources; namely, what has been called “The Whig View of History” or the Progressive Idea.
This idea, simply put, is that history is a bold arrow moving forward towards an ever improving human race, one which sheds its false and superstitious ideas as it assimilates new, enlightened ones, often assisted by technology.
It's an idea that has been entrenched in the modern (Cartesian) mind, and so is embedded in those whose ideas we study, as well as in the textbooks written by contemporary scholars.
Although this is not a Christian idea, it is espoused by many Christians, without their understanding the inherent contradiction of holding the view that what is past must be inferior to what is present; if that were true, then the ideas of Christ Himself and the Church immediately founded by Him would be superseded, for they became known to us in time, in the past.
Instead of picturing this arrow, ever rising to the glorious human-perfected future, and this is where my second recommendation comes in, it's better to think of a timeline in which the Incarnation is the apex: everything leads up to it and flows from it.
The timeline is a wonderful tool for education in history especially when presented this way, and Zachary Palmer's methods of using primary sources will work best for the child who is keeping a timeline, adding to it, and referencing it often. It's true that textbooks can reduce things dryly to mere dates and facts, but it's also true that you need a context for all those interesting documents you're perusing!
I hope these ideas — primary sources, the overall philosophy of history (avoiding the fallacy of progressivism), and the timeline — will help clarify goals for what is undeniably a daunting subject to try to teach!
NB: I will be at St. Timothy's in Chantilly, VA, next Sunday, Oct. 2, 2-4pm in the school cafeteria — if you'd like to come hear me talk at the ladies' tea on the subject of “How beauty will save the world — and the neighborhood!”
13807 Poplar Tree Road, Chantilly, Va 20151
bits & pieces
- Last week I mentioned dancing — and it's so nice to revive the “community dance” featuring square dancing, contras, and so on. As the children get older, they will want to learn waltzes and swing dances (and don't forget the Ländler! Remember it from The Sound of Music?) — those romantic dances that help young people dance together, acknowledging that the sexes are attracted to each other, while offering them a restrained framework in which to operate. I came across this example of a dance that I just loved for its romance and restraint. Note that the couple are dressed so nicely and they never narcissistically overdo their movements.
- Speaking of history and original documents, here's Wyatt Earp's nephew appearing on a game show. Not only is he interesting in and of himself, of course, as a figure of the Old West (born in 1879) stepping into the Hollywood scene, but the show itself is a relic! Listen to the diction of those speaking! It's eye-opening for us, I think!
- Groceries are getting scarily expensive. Don't be profligate in throwing food away — know whether it's really “expired,” whatever the label might say.
from the archives
- People are starting to realize that you really do need a home library. I've been working on that here for ages! The Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project!
- When you start homeschooling and sports and meetings you start to panic about the state of your house and I'm here to help. Meal planning, laundry, and The Reasonably Clean House.
liturgical living
Two feasts of Our Lady: Our Lady of Ransom and Our Lady of Walsingham!
follow us everywhere!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
My new podcast can be found on the Restoration of Christian Culture website (and you can find it where you listen to such things) — be sure to check out the other offerings there!
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Blayne says
Great links this week! My dinner time mantra is: the most expensive food you buy is the food you throw away!
Jill says
You blessed me years and years ago with your vision of a home library, filled with wholesome, inspiring, and challenging books. I’ve created an extensive library as a result and my children all have thousands of good books at their fingertips. And, as you predicted, our city library has become a place that mostly holds dumbed down, trashy books.
Diana says
It has been horrible to watch the degradation of the public libraries. Ours is shoveling the good books out by the hundred, and the ones they’re stocking are all perversion-promoting wokeness. I’m not personally sure how long I should persevere in trying to use the public libraries. I have wanted to stay to promote relationship and to support good books, but there’s a limit – I’m not sure where that line is (or if it’s already been crossed).
Mary Keane says
Ours is also pretty bad, but fortunately we’re in a fairly large city so the good books are still to be had. I do talk up the good series etc. when I check out the things I’ve reserved online. The librarians invariably have never heard of it. My library has gotten rid of fines as “elitist” so now there’s my new book budget! Joking. It’s really our former Catholic school tuition. We’ve been doing some homeschooling at the library this fall. It’s convenient to walk two blocks and be out of the house while renovating. Excellent play area for the little ones, but I don’t allow the kids to browse the shelves anymore. They do their work and that’s it! I reserve more than they can read for them with Ambleside’s “free reading” lists. If they want a book on a particular subject I’ve taught them to navigate the catalog. We are also fortunate in that the displays are practically invisible to us, due to a quirk of architecture and poor lighting.
Mary Keane says
Forgive me for going on and on and missing the whole point. (“That you did Chief!”) It DOES matter what books get circulated when libraries decide what to get rid of. So you can save books for others to discover by checking them out.
Anamaria says
More and more I am requesting good books to be bought and checking them out! Other people in my city are, too! Most of what we get, I reserve; there’s enough magic treehouse etc (that I don’t love but is fine sometimes) on the shelves that I often let my children check one book out (since they love to be able to pick!), but they’ve always known I have veto power.
I also make sure to complain about super terrible displays and go by myself in June before taking my children 😬
Logan says
You will be in my neck of the woods! Hurray!
Leila says
I hope you can come!
Anel says
The our Lady of Ransom, etc.. link does not work. 🌹
Leila says
Thanks, fixed it!
Diana says
We got to stay in Chantilly years ago!! Such a lovely memory. Thank you, as always, for the wonderful links and your lovely thoughts!
Elizabeth says
Being pedantic, but the dance video is swing (I think West Coast swing) not salsa 😉 Beautiful routine! My husband and I met in grad school but got to know each other through a local swing dance group. A lot of marriages came out of that group! And the partnership of dancing, swing in particular, was a great foundation for a relationship.
Leila says
Gosh, another dancing expert reader told me it’s salsa and that’s how she knew that the music had been added… but actually this is the music! I’m not a dancer at all! I have all these Irish step-dancing daughters and I can’t tell a reel from a jig.
I’ll just change it to say “dance” haha
Kathleen says
Yes, primary sources are awesome. So is reading multiple historians’ works on the same subject as well as learning how historical narrative enters into culture. Studying Custard’s Last Stand is a good illustration of this, what was written, even primary sources, often have an agenda. In that case it was to preserve the idea of military strength and the “idea” of the American West. There are “unreliable narraters” even with primary sources. Historians job is not just to record facts but to analyze them, so it is impossible to completely remove bias. Sometimes the bias is obvious, sometimes the bias distorts facts such as in Custard’s case. Sometimes the bias is less obvious or is harder to see because you share the same bias. But it leads to such rich discussions about history’s role in our lives and imaginations as well as why it is so important to be grounded in truth.
st says
Thank you for posting this. Very helpful information. However, I must say, in my humble opinion, that that dance is definitely not very modest or decent. Just my two cents, and I am sorry to disagree, but her dress is quite tight, and the way their heads are so close together did not make me comfortable at all.
Again, I apologize, but just wanted to provide my perspective! God bless.
Leila says
No apology necessary!
People have different comfort levels… personally, I think our world lacks images of real chemistry between the sexes, but restrained. I thought the dance offered this — a spark, not prudish, but not indulgent either.
I think our young people are in desperate need of being reassured that there are sparks! but that you don’t pour kerosene on the first thing you see and then wallow in the ashes.
But this is a matter of preference… I knew that some would not agree with me, and that’s fine!
Katie says
I agree with the thoughts above on the downward turn public libraries have made lately. I could only find ONE Beatrix Potter book at our local branch, though I still have to check the bigger branches.
Another note, I have been looking back at your older posts on history. There were a lot of comments about Story of the World; since that’s that’s series our co-op uses I tried to reserve judgment…and then last week, we hit the Reformation chapter in volume II. I had to do some pretty heavy alternative explaining to my kids about the ideas in there, and I was just so thankful I had at least gotten a heads up from LMLD and wasn’t completely blindsided. Just wanted to say thanks for once again helping me to be a little more proactive vs reactive!