Poetic Knowledge Book Club--Chapter 5

This chapter is called Voices for Poetic Knowledge After Descartes. It describes a private French school run by Andre Charlier, the poetic research methods of Henri Fabre, and the musings of an education professor and Catholic priest, Dr. Thomas Shields. I was most interested in Dr. Shields insights. He wrote an autobiography called, The Making and Unmaking of a Dullard which is now on my to-read list. He brings up a very good point, that growing up on a farm gave him the best possible preparation for his academic life. My one regret as a homeschool mom is not being able to raise the kids on a small farm. I think this is the healthiest way to raise children, especially boys.

To answer Mystie's question,"What are some conditions of life we can create so that 'souls can bloom'?" I can only write about what we got right looking back on the beginnings of this ongoing journey. Certainly, these were not all conscious choices on our part but God worked with us anyway and a lot of things fell into place almost perfectly.

First, we bought a home on four acres of mixed ecosystems in a small and very friendly town. Our "yard" consists of lawn, woods, a small field, a marshy wetland, berry brambles, crab apples, larch ( a favorite of nesting orioles), maples, birch and beech trees. We don't have room for a cow but we do keep chickens. Our boys do get the seasonal work experience mowing lawns in summer, cutting wood in autumn, shoveling snow in winter and vacuuming mud in spring!

Second, we filled the house with nature books, field field guides, butterfly nets, flower presses, cages and aquariums for observations. We tried to keep up with their questions and interests and to also take them to other wild places to explore and hunt for salamanders or sea shells.

Third, and maybe most importantly and most providentially, we live in a very small town that still keeps seasonal festivals. There will be a Memorial Day parade with a gathering in the center of town and the list of all the people from the community who served in the military and have dies will be read. This list starts with our town founder who served in the Revolutionary War. Next will be the 4th of July when we will have a boat parade on the lake and fireworks at night. There is also a weekend long Harvest Festival in September which is mostly a crafts fair and farmer's market.

And last but not least is our entering the Catholic church as a family and living the liturgical year together. It's not easy in a secular world to keep the Holy Days and to remember the seasons of the Church but it makes it all the more meaningful, I think, when you abstain from those Christmas cookies until the Christmas Octave! Not that we are always successful at that! Or hold off decorating for Easter until after Lent is finished.

I think family life in general is very poetic and souls will bloom anywhere they are loved and nurtured!