wisdom from a children's book
Yesterday Josh and I finished the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. We had started this book two days earlier after I had read an entry on Melissa Wiley's blog, Here in the Bonny Glenn. She is author of The Martha Years and The Charlotte Years books about Laura Ingalls Wilder's great-grandmother and grandmother and is also a homeschooling mother of four children. Fantastic books if you haven't read them! The entry was about the art study they follow using Ambleside Online. Just as we do! She talked about their Michelangelo study and the connection to the book they were reading, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I knew that this book was on our shelves and we hadn't read it so thought we'd give it a try. I am so glad Melissa posted about this book. Josh enjoyed it so much he begged for me to continue reading till yesterday we just read until we finished. We even went on-line today searching to see if there really is a statue of Angel. :)
At the end of the book Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler made a statement that still has me thinking:
Claudia said, "But, Mrs. Frankweiler, you should want to learn one new thing every day. We did even at the museum."
"No," I answered. " I don't agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside of you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."
With all the interruptions we have had to our studies I have gone back and forth in my comfort level. These words jumped out at me yesterday. Looking at "down time" as a chance to "absorb" what we have been learning about makes so much sense! And isn't it so true that if we never take the time to make what we learn truly ours it is all just hollow noise. Facts to spout off. Josh shows me this everyday in his passion for birding. This has become something that is so much a part of him now there is no separating his learning in this area from him as a person. He lets all of birding swell inside of him and it really does touch all that he does lately.
Even today. We were getting ready to do Friday Freewrite and he was being reluctant. I gave him things to look over, to choose from, including Julie's choice today of writing about your favorite book. No interest. Well then how about favorite movie, character in movie/book, line in movie/book? Nada. Nothing. OK then...how about your favorite bird on your life list? Bingo!! He was writing before I got the timer started and kept on writing. Now if I can just remeber to do this with the rest of our sudies :)
At the end of the book Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler made a statement that still has me thinking:
Claudia said, "But, Mrs. Frankweiler, you should want to learn one new thing every day. We did even at the museum."
"No," I answered. " I don't agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside of you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."
With all the interruptions we have had to our studies I have gone back and forth in my comfort level. These words jumped out at me yesterday. Looking at "down time" as a chance to "absorb" what we have been learning about makes so much sense! And isn't it so true that if we never take the time to make what we learn truly ours it is all just hollow noise. Facts to spout off. Josh shows me this everyday in his passion for birding. This has become something that is so much a part of him now there is no separating his learning in this area from him as a person. He lets all of birding swell inside of him and it really does touch all that he does lately.
Even today. We were getting ready to do Friday Freewrite and he was being reluctant. I gave him things to look over, to choose from, including Julie's choice today of writing about your favorite book. No interest. Well then how about favorite movie, character in movie/book, line in movie/book? Nada. Nothing. OK then...how about your favorite bird on your life list? Bingo!! He was writing before I got the timer started and kept on writing. Now if I can just remeber to do this with the rest of our sudies :)
3 Comments:
yep.
Sometimes on that hiking trail of life we have to sit down on a stump, look around and just think about where we are, where we've been, where were going, and what it all means to us. Otherwise it's not a journey. It's just motion.
Theresa,
Said much more poetically than I did. Thank you :)
I'm not nearly so poetic in real life! Trust me, I can barely keep my kids' names straight!
Really, though, I always enjoy reading your posts. They always inspire me to think deeply.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home