Atmospheres

Our home schooling journey has been one filled with wonder and discovery. I could write for days of our triumphs and our mistakes, but tonight I just want to write for a short while about ‘atmosphere.’

We figured out, early on, that no family is quite the same as another family; and that within a particular family there will be children as unique and rare as can be in spite of the common gene pool. Sometimes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and sometimes it rolls down a hill, drops off the side of a cliff, bobs down a river and lands on a bank in another country. Trying to fit our offspring into boxes and present them with a one-size-fits-all curriculum is a recipe for disaster, which is why Charlotte Mason was such a refreshing person to be introduced to; Charlotte Mason and her educational philosophies applicable for all.

Miss Mason was a British educator and reformer and although she died a hundred years ago, her writings hold fast and true today. She was way ahead of her time as much as she was right on time. She spoke with wisdom and insight when it came to people and education, and whether a hundred years go by or a thousand, people are people and some advice will never go out of fashion or date.

A good ancient path is always the right road to take even in a modern time.

Education is many things and those things do not operate in isolation, but for the sake of this post, one of Miss Mason’s pearls of wisdom is that ‘education is an atmosphere.’ Just as the air we breathe swirls around us without us thinking too much about it, a combination of ideas, values and beliefs are presented to us as we live out our days. This feast for our senses affects the way we live and learn.

One son looked at the borage flowers (pretty, edible star flowers) I had sprinkled over a salad today and said, “We’ve had these growing for as long as I can remember.” Edible flowers are not only nutritious, they make food more beautiful. In that moment I realised that his comment was far more than stating what grows in our vegetable garden, it was noticing that there are very simple ways to improve something’s appearance. Those little blue stars are my ticket to making things lovelier. Same as the fairy lights that go on when the sun goes down, and the lavender and lemon grass room spray that dispels unwanted whiffs.

When I was little, the sun shone through my large, open window onto my bed and I would lie there in the warmth and light, reading books and thinking my best thoughts. Now I have my own little ones and I find myself wanting to usher in the light; it’s what I desire for the atmosphere here. Light rays and light hearts too.

My husband puts peaceful music on when the children go to bed. Friends of ours play the piano whilst their children fall asleep. Why do we do what we do? Somewhere along the line, it was done for us, perhaps, and we breathed it in, absorbing the benefits, and now we do it for others.

New books, photographs on the walls, special meals on the weekends, walks, our countenance for others and the tone of our voices. Stories, boundaries, giving gifts, the topics of our conversation and doing things together. Each one of us hold the power to change atmospheres and impact the well being of people around us.

There is a generation rising up in our wake who will not only fill our shoes, but will soon take them to places we will never go. We can surround these nation changers with an atmosphere for them to learn and grow in so that even though they live in an age so frantic and dangerous, anxiety and burnout will not be part of their story. They will laugh at the days to come!

May they have all the freedom and security they need to become the best versions of who they are.

Old wisdom for new times.

Jesus, please help us to cleanse the air, as it were. No smog, factory smoke and exhaust fumes. Help us to usher in all of the jasmine and lemon scented countryside. Their education and, indeed, their lives, depend on it. Amen.