CM 34: LOST IN HOMESCHOOLING? APPLY THE PHILOSOPHY OF WONDER - Jennifer Macintosh

CM 34: LOST IN HOMESCHOOLING? APPLY THE PHILOSOPHY OF WONDER - Jennifer Macintosh

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Julie -

Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Show. A podcast dedicated to discussing Ms. Mason's philosophy, principles, and methods. It is our hope that each episode will leave you inspired and offer practical wisdom on how to provide this rich, living education in your modern homeschool. So pull up a chair, we're glad you're here.

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Let Them Wonder

An article by Jennifer Macintosh, written September 23, 2014



As a classical home educator, I sometimes focus on just doing the next thing. I'm living this ‘knees to the groundwork’. It isn't a theory or an article. This is real life. Babies and teens, dishes and laundry, books and discussion, active work, and ??? I invest myself wholeheartedly. And there are some days I barely keep up.

Sound familiar?

In living out the nitty-gritty, we may look past the grander perspective. We may not consider at the beginning of a day that we are literally, brick by brick, rebuilding a Christian culture through our very ordinary days.

There was a particular day, a few years ago, that stands out in my memory, in which I was privileged to see the grander perspective within the smallness of a day. The day started in an ordinary way for us. Which is to say that it was naturally full, and my plans and book lists had been considered and lived enough that they were moving along on smooth rails or smooth enough. Which was reassuring.

Our morning basket of work, having been completed, we enjoyed a short break and began to maneuver toward the books for the day. Bigger kids situated themselves in quiet corners of the house for their reading. I prepared books and lessons for my younger children. In the midst of my tidying, I happened to pass a window, and, looking out, I noticed that my two younger children had slipped out of doors and were sitting quietly on the front porch steps.

I hastily checked the time. Yes, I could leave them alone for a few minutes, but our morning preparations were complete and my big kids were working. Now was the time to work with my younger students. My carefully considered plans were before me.

I stood there at the window for a moment, and it almost seemed as if I could sense time slowing her usual pace. The morning fog hadn't yet lifted, and it spread out over our hills on that cool autumn morning in an enchanting, mysterious way. The children were completely content there. I sensed that intruding would irreparably sever the beauty in that moment, so I sat our plans down, reminding myself that this moment was exactly the kind of moment I had in mind when I considered those plans in the first place, leaving a generous amount of margin in our daily schedule. That margin, the unstructured white space, is meant for that "something" you can't plan for. Margin gives space and time to let them wonder.

Dennis Quinn in the muses as pedagogies of the liberal arts says, "What excites the passion of wonder is the confrontation of mystery." Confronting mystery? The passion of wonder? We've all heard the word "wonder" parsed around here and there in various circles. It seems almost cliché. Maybe it's because we hear this idea shared in ways that seem flowery or sentimental, that we're tempted to eschew it as if it were meant only for those perfect classical educators.

But if we remove those prejudices, the idea is simple. Insisting, from the Bible, in Matthew 18:13, insisting that we become as little children. It is so integral that a classical education, one which cultivates virtue and wisdom and is rooted in the good, true, and beautiful, cannot be pursued without first going through wonder.

Aristotle was perhaps one of the first of many who observed that wisdom begins in wonder. So, perhaps we could stop and consider it anew, not because it's for the perfect, but because it is worthwhile. It is, in fact, for the ordinary. For you and me. And our children. And it is foundational.

The Oxford Dictionary defines wonder as "surprise" or "admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable." Notice that there is no implied resolution to this admiration. In other words, we can wonder. Be in awe. Admire. Question. And we can stop right there and just let it be. Or we may feel invited to go further up, further in.

Wonder lays the foundation.

The motto of the integrated humanities program, from the University of Kansas, which was in operation between the years of 1966 and 1982, was: Let them be born in wonder.

This idea of wonder began for me as something I interiorly understood as good, but through the years, it developed and grew into something very rich. I could see that my young children were so naturally tuned to wonder that I could learn much from them, and did. I learned that wonder is very much alive in the teen years. I just need to see with their eyes. And I learned that wonder becomes a part of the atmosphere, not because I plan it, but because I model it. It is very simply confronting the mystery found in a thing or idea. A ladybug. Bluebird. Rock. A mud puddle. Sunflower. The stars. And admiring the beauty. Wondering at how they are, how they work, how it came to be. Who put them there in the first place?

It is an idea that invited humility, a certain smallness. And in that humility, we're open, and the ground of our mind is made receptive and the seeds of wisdom can grow there. In letting them wonder, we do nothing less than our part in rebuilding Christian culture. Without wonder, there is snobbery, selfishness, a sort of anti-empathy. You can look around today to see our culture replete with that and it doesn't take a great deal of logical connect the dots to know where that leads.

John Sr. says it led to the death of Christian culture. Rebuilding culture will be a road that passes through wonder. Toward the practical, open to wonder.

Imagine that you are the mom standing there at my window, observing those children quietly looking into the gardens, the hills, the fog, layered over it all. Imagine those are your children. Would you interrupt them? Would you tap on the window and give them a five-minute warning? Would you point them to the schedule and redirect them, knowing that practically speaking, your day demands a certain attentiveness to plans and schedule, which are good and useful tools.

I could have done that. And I'll confess to you that I thought about it for a brief moment. But there is more at stake here than the schedule, the lesson plans, the day, or even the term of work. We are educating persons made in the image of God. And they seek beauty. When they find beauty, when our children encounter a mystery and wonder, we are faced with the choice. Ignore it and redirect or rebuild culture one ordinary little brick at a time. Let them wonder.

Some practical ideas. Model it first. Choose sincerity, not sentimentality. Learn to see again with the same eyes you had when you were a child. When you encountered mysteries around every corner. Learn to see them again. Go outside. Wonder is everywhere in God's creation. Give yourself permission to truly delight in some small thing that you encounter today. Confront the mystery of the dewdrop. A bug. A pattern of symmetry found in a leaf.

Wonder is often, not always, found in moments of leisure. Rest. consider your days carefully. Your schedule and your outside the home commitments and leave room for wonder. Nothing snuffs out wonder faster than too much structure. Wonder can sometimes be quiet and contemplative, and then there are those of us with boys. Sometimes, moments of wonder are loud, active, and seem chaotic. Be careful that you don't miss or worse, squelch, the genuine and authentic wonder of a boy while waiting in vain for something idyllic and not real.

Ask yourself, are they admiring in awe, inquisitive, looking to know a thing? If yes, let them wonder. Look at the stars. No curriculum, no agenda, just you, your kids, and the night sky. Nothing communicates our smallness and God's magnificence, how fearfully and wonderfully we are made, like gazing at the heavens.

Teens like to spend time confronting the mystery and wonder within an idea. At this point, they've met these ideas and now they're really grappling with them. Encounter it and engage it. Be sincere. Challenge them toward truth. It is knowable. Rich, living books introduce ideas and invite wonder. Fill your days with them.

To conclude. As my own children continued to sit on the front porch, I chose to step aside and allow them to encounter that moment. Eventually, they wanted to express some of the things they saw through a drawing. Wonder invited them to look closer. Observe more details. Which led to some rich questions and invited reading to understand more. Tiny seeds of wonder leading to wisdom. Who knows what the Holy Spirit will do with them.

I'm right alongside you, rebuilding culture, confronting mystery, and wondering about rocks, rainbows, and ideas like liberty and honor. What are the ways you encourage and nurture wonder in your home? How do you ensure that wonder is woven into the atmosphere of your ordinary days?



Julie -

Thank you for joining us today on the Charlotte Mason Show. I'm your host, Julie Ross, and I would love to meet you in person. All of the Great Homeschool Conventions have been rescheduled to 2021. Go to GreatHomeschoolConventions.com to find a convention near you.

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Thanks for joining me today. Until next time, may your home be filled with books, beauty, and Biblical truth.


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