Charlotte Mason

We Were All Meant To Be Naturalists

October 15, 2016by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

“We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.”

Charlotte Mason

Home Education Vol 1. Ch2: Out-Of-Door Life For The Children p.61

Charlotte Mason

An Observant Child

October 3, 2016October 1, 2016by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

observant child.jpg

“An observant child should be put in the way of things worth observing.”

Charlotte Mason

Home Education Vol 1. Ch2: Out-Of-Door Life For The Children p.69

Calendar of Firsts, Charlotte Mason, Our Nature Journals, Summer

Calendar of Firsts ~ Week 31

August 8, 2016August 5, 2016by raisinglittleshootsLeave a Comment

My Calendar of Firsts for this week:

So much is going on in the natural world!

Still heaps & heaps of rain!
No more ripe raspberries in the garden, which has lead to a shortage of Raspberry Lemonade !
The blackberries in the garden are ripening, the apples are coming along nicely too.
Most days I walk past a Horse Chestnut tree, and most days I have been rewarded with a wee treasure on the ground.

You can watch a wee video here on my instagram account.

What is happening in the natural world where you live?

Happy exploring!

Calendar of Firsts, Charlotte Mason, Keeping A Nature Journal, Nature journaling supplies, Nature Journaling Videos, Our Nature Journals, Summer

Painting In My Nature Journal

August 6, 2016August 19, 2016by raisinglittleshoots4 Comments

I recently shared my Calendar of Firsts on the Ambleside Online Facebook Group.

Some of the ladies there asked if I would make a video of how I use my watercolours, so, drum roll please, here it is!

The original sketch I shared is above, and here is the copy I did for the video

The supplies I used:

Moleskine diary for the original sketch

Leuchtturm 1917 sketchbook for the copy

Fountain Pen with waterproof ink

Da Vinci 1503 size 8 watercolour brush

Watercolours:

Buff Titanium
Moonglow
Indigo
Ultramarine (G)
Cobalt Blue
Shadow Violet
Permanent Rose
Naphthamide Maroon
Piemontite Genuine
Potter’s Pink
Cadmium Yellow Light

White Gel Pen for highlights

This is just a short video to share how I work. I would love to hear how you create.

Calendar of Firsts, Charlotte Mason, Nature, Our Nature Journals, Summer

Calendar of Firsts ~ Week 30

August 1, 2016by raisinglittleshoots4 Comments

My Calendar of Firsts for this week:

So much is going on in the natural world!

Still heaps & heaps of rain!
Lots of ripe raspberries in the garden, which has lead to the making of lots of Raspberry Lemonade
The main star of the week has been this wee hedgehog. We haven’t seen the hedgehogs in the garden since last autumn. We knew they were there, as they were eating all the food we left out, and there was disturbance in the dry leaves. Yesterday we were treated to a lot of shuffling and woofling by this tiny, and most beautiful wee creature.

You can watch a wee video here on my instagram account.

What is happening in the natural world where you live?

Happy exploring!

Calendar of Firsts, Charlotte Mason, Nature, Our Nature Journals, Summer

Calendar of Firsts ~ Week 29

July 28, 2016by raisinglittleshoots2 Comments

My Calendar of Firsts for this week:

So much is going on in the natural world!

Still heaps & heaps of rain!
Ripe raspberries in the garden
The full, golden Hay Moon. At the stables they are struggling to get the hay in due to the rain.
The Cherry leaves are turning colours, we are moving towards cooler, shorter days again.

What is happening in the natural world where you live?

Happy exploring!

Charlotte Mason, Exploring Nature With Children, Our Nature Journals, Summer

St. Swithin’s Day Week ~ Exploring Nature With Children

July 16, 2016July 15, 2016by raisinglittleshoots4 Comments

This week is St. Swithin’s Day Week in Exploring Nature With Children. July 15th is St. Swithin’s Day itself, and here, in north-west England, it has poured with rain.

Saint Swinthin, or more correctly, Saint Swithun, was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of England during the ninth century. He was known for his humble and generous nature, and legend tells us that he requested to be buried modestly, outside the cathedral. Much later, the cathedral was rebuilt, and there was an attempt to move his remains to a special shrine within the cathedral. The move was delayed by a severe rain storm, and it is believed this storm is the origin of the old wives’ tale that if there is rain on St. Swithin’s day, then it will rain for the following forty days. However, if it is dry on St. Swithin’s day, then the next forty days will be fine.

Rose has been busy experimenting with sketching from photographs: