This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Week 6 of the Big White Farmhouse’s Summer Integrated Humanities program!  Let’s return to some lighter themes this week.

Just jumping in?  You can find the links to the previous weeks here: Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3 // Week 4 // Week 5

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: JOHN SINGER SARGENT

“John Singer Sargent was the most successful portrait painter of his era, as well as a gifted landscape painter and watercolorist.” (via)

Painting realistic portraits requires incredible skill!  His controversial painting of Madame X would make an interesting rabbit trail.

KINDNESS

“Edgar Guest was an English-born poet who spent much of his life in America (and is widely acknowledged as American). He’s often known as the ‘People’s Poet’ due to his highly relatable, optimistic poems on everyday life.” (via)  The poem below reflects on the far-reaching effects of a kind word or deed – inspiring!

Kindness
by Edgar Albert Guest

One never knows
How far a word of kindness goes;
One never sees
How far a smile of friendship flees.
Down, through the years,
The deed forgotten reappears.
One kindly word
The souls of many here has stirred.
Man goes his way
And tells with every passing day,
Until life’s end:
“Once unto me he played the friend.”
We cannot say
What lips are praising us to-day.
We cannot tell
Whose prayers ask God to guard us well.
But kindness lives
Beyond the memory of him who gives.

AN EXPLORATION INTO FOLK MUSIC

“…what is folk music? The most simple explanation is that it is rooted in what claims to be. Folk music is music that comes from the people—ordinary people experiencing the everyday joys and sorrows of life. Typically, folk music is performed with acoustic instruments (as opposed to electric instruments like the electric guitar or the keyboard). This keeps the musicians connected to the earthiness and realism that folk music organically proclaims. It is not music distorted by technology. It is music that has its roots in trees and rocks and minerals that expresses the materials of the human experience. In other words, folk music uses acoustic tonalities because they connect the musician to the natural world. This, in turn, allows the musician to contemplate and express raw human nature.” (via)

I am not knowledgeable in this area at all, so I found this list of 100 Most Essential Folk Songs to give us a head start.  Below are links to the top five songs or you can use the Spotify playlist at the bottom of the article above to play all 100:

• This Land is Your Land – Woody Guthrie
• Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
• City of New Orleans – Steve Goodman
• If I Had a Hammer – Pete Seeger
• Where Have All The Flowers Gone – The Kingston Trio

FOR THE BIRDS…

The reason for studying any bird is to ascertain what it does; in order to accomplish this, it is necessary to know what the bird is, learning what it is being simply a step that leads to a knowledge of what it does.  But, to hear some of our bird devotees talk, one would think that to be able to identify a bird is all of bird study.  On the contrary, the identification of birds is simply the alphabet to the real study, the alphabet by means of which we may spell out the life habits of the bird.  To know these habits is the ambition of the true ornithologist, and should likewise be the ambition of the beginner…” – Handbook of Nature Study, p.27

Things to Do…

• Sit outside in silence and listen for bird calls.  Which can you identify?
• Invest in a feeder. (When we lived in the suburbs, we owned a suction cup window feeder and loved it!)
• Research ways you can create a bird-friendly yard with this post from Audubon.  Maybe you can do some planting in the fall?

MISCELLANEOUS RABBIT TRAILS…

+ Check your local offerings for the opportunity to attend a concert in the park.  They are most often free and there’s nothing like listening to music in community and outdoors!

+ Explore the Smithsonian Folkways catalog for tons of examples of American folk artists.

+ Get in that folk music spirit and pick up an instrument!  Folk music instruments vary widely depending on the region and culture, but popular and inexpensive choices are the ukelele and harmonica.  Maybe you have a guitar collecting dust in the closet?

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Week 5 of the Big White Farmhouse’s Summer Integrated Humanities program!  Today we’re talking about power.

Just jumping in?  You can find the links to the previous weeks here: Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3 // Week 4

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: BENJAMIN WEST

Benjamin West “was an American-born painter of historical, religious, and mythological subjects who had a profound influence on the development of historical painting in Britain.” (via)

I first learned about Benjamin West when reading the book, Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin, to my kids for school.  “Because Benjamin’s family didn’t approve of his art, he had to make his own painting supplies. The local Native Americans taught him how to mix paints from earth, clay, and plants. And his cat, Grimalkin, sacrificed hair from his tail for Ben’s brushes.”  Making paints from natural materials may make an interesting rabbit trail!

A LITTLE MORE SHAKESPEARE

Macbeth “is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambitions and power.” (via)

You can read the play with the book or use it to follow along with this adaptation from the Folger Theatre and Two River Theater Company.

“OZYMANDIAS” BY PERCY SHELLEY

This poem is a metaphor about the fleeting nature of political power.  How transient this life is!  Very thought provoking.  Check out this poem guide for more thoughts.

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

OBSERVING THE STARS ONE MORE TIME

This week, we’re going to search the skies for the Summer Triangle stars: Vega, Altair and Deneb.

The three stars of the Summer Triangle appear similar in brightness. Vega in the constellation Lyra the Lyre is the brightest of the trio and the 5th brightest of all stars. In Carl Sagan’s novel “Contact,” Vega is the source of the first message ever received from an alien civilization. The 1997 movie version features actress Jodie Foster’s quest for the senders of the Vega message. Back in the real world, we’ve yet to hear anything from the possible inhabitants of the Vega system, but researchers are listening to Vega and thousands of other stars every day, just in case.

Altair, in Aquila the Eagle, is another Hollywood star. In the 1956 film “Forbidden Planet,” the fourth planet in the Altair system (Altair IV) is home to the relics of an ancient alien civilization and to an eccentric Earth scientist and his beautiful daughter (Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis). Altair is the 2nd brightest member of the Summer Triangle and the 13th brightest star. We don’t know if Altair is surrounded by any planets, so Altair IV may or may not exist.

Number three in the Summer Triangle and the 20th brightest star is Deneb, which marks the tail of Cygnus the Swan. Alas, Deneb has never starred in a major motion picture, but it has other claims to fame. Whereas Vega and Altair are relatively close to us in astronomical terms—25 and 17 light-years respectively—Deneb is much farther away, an estimated 2,600 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year—a big, BIG number!

Read the rest of the article here.  (You can even print a sky map there too.)

MISCELLANEOUS RABBIT TRAILS…

+ The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli has a controversial take on power: the author contends that immoral acts are justifiable if they achieve political glory.  In his view, the end justifies the means.  Do you agree or disagree?

+ The Metamorphoses: Tales of Change audio story series “involve[s] some form of transformation and explore[s] many aspects of human nature: greed, curiosity, vanity, generosity, arrogance, creativity.”

+ Can you find Shakespearean themes in modern-day movies?  This article, 25 Best Movies You Didn’t Realize Are Based on Shakespeare Plays, can help!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Week 4 of the Big White Farmhouse’s Summer Integrated Humanities program!  This week’s task is to explore the themes of courage and bravery.

Just jumping in?  You can find the links to the previous weeks here: Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: JOSEPH M. W. TURNER

“Joseph Mallord William Turner, known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolorist. He is known for his expressive coloring, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings.” (via)

Spend some time studying these beautiful pieces.  I especially love all of the architectural details.

“IF” by RUDYARD KIPLING

This poem ranks among Rudyard Kipling’s most beloved works and is about a father giving paternal wisdom to his son.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

THE VIRTUE OF FORTITUDE

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. “The Lord is my strength and my song.” “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1808

What does Thomas Aquinas have to say about the virtue of Fortitude?  This video from the Thomistic Institute could be helpful.

BACK TO THE STARS

This week, we’re returning to the night sky and learning about two important constellations known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the Big and Little Dipper or the Great Bear and the Little Bear.

The Great Bear

Long ago in Arcadia there lived a king named Lykaon who had a beautiful daughter called Callisto.  The princess was a huntress and a follower of the virgin goddes Atemis and had sworn to her that she would never love any man.  But one hot summer afternoon while Callisto was sleeping under a tree in the forest, Zeus, the king of the gods, saw her and fell in love with her.  At first, remembering her promise, Callisto resisted him; but presently she returned his love.

When Artemis’ other maidens learned what Callisto had done, they would hunt and play with her no longer.  Sad and lonely, she wandered off into the woods of Arcadia, where there were no people, only wolves and bears and other wild beasts.  There she gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Arcas.

Now when the queen of the gods, Hera, heard what had happened she became jealous.  She descended to earth and appeared before Callisto, full of rage.  Calling out words of power, she flung her to the ground.  At once the princess’s robes dropped from her, her arms and legs thickened and became shaggy with fur, and her face lengthened into a muzzle.  She tried to beg for mercy, but her voice had changed into a roar; she had become a great white bear.

Her little boy, Arcas, did not know her any more; he screamed and ran away out of the forest into the open fields.  There he was found and adopted by a kind farmer.  Callisto could not follow him, but had to hide deep in the woods to escape the hunters, her former companions.

As Arcas grew up he inherited his mother’s skill at hunting with bow and arrow.  He ranged further and further into the great forest, and at last one day he came upon Callisto.  When she recognized her son she forgot her bear’s shape and ran to hug him, growling with joy.  Arcas thought he was being attacked, and drew his bow.  He would have shot Callisto to the heart if Zeus, who sees all things, had not come to her rescue.  Zeus seized the bear by her tail and swung her up among the stars.  Then, so that Callisto might never again be separated from her son, he changed Arcas also into a bear, and tossed him too into the heavens, where they became the Great Bear and the Little Bear.

– from The Heavenly Zoo: Legends and Tales of the Stars retold by Alison Lurie, p.11-13

Things to Do…

• After dark, look up at the night sky and find the North Star and Big Dipper.  “There are four stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper and three in the curved handle. A line drawn through the outer two stars of the bowl, if extended, will touch the North Star, or Polestar.  It is very important for us to know the Polestar, because the northern end of the earth’s axis is directed toward it, and it is therefore situated in the heavens almost directly above our North Pole.” (from Handbook of Nature Study, p.818)
• Now find the Little Dipper!  “The Little Dipper lies much nearer the Polestar than does the Big Dipper; in fact, the Polestar itself is the end of the handle of the Little Dipper.  Besides the Polestar, there are two more stars in the handle of the Little Dipper, and of the four stars which make the bowl, the two that form the outer edge are much the brighter.  The bowl of the Little Dipper is above or below the Polestar according to the hour of the evening and the night of the year, for it apparently revolves about the Polestar as does the Big Dipper.  The two Dippers open toward each other, and as someone has said, ‘They pour into each other.'” (from Handbook of Nature Study, p.819)
• If you’re more of a visual learner, check out this interactive sky chart.

MISCELLANEOUS RABBIT TRAILS…

+ “In World War II [Corrie ten Boom] and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis. In 1944 their lives were forever altered when they were betrayed, arrested, and thrown into the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived.”  Read Corrie’s incredible story in The Hiding Place or you can watch the movie adaptation too.

+ The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the quintessential series for finding themes of fortitude and perseverance.  Those humble hobbits have a lot to teach us!

+ Inspired by Turner’s art, learn more about classical architecture with these lectures from The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Week 3 of the Big White Farmhouse’s Summer Integrated Humanities program!  This week, we’re investigating love and friendship.

Just jumping in?  You can find the links to the previous weeks here: Week 1 // Week 2

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: CLAUDE MONET

Claude Monet was a French painter who became the initiator, leader, and unswerving advocate of the Impressionist style. (via)

I’ve loved Monet’s artwork since I read Linnea in Monet’s Garden as a kid.  His continued study of the bridge and water-lily pond as he lost his eyesight is fascinating to me.

THE STORY OF GUNNLAUG THE WORM-TONGUE AND RAVEN THE SKALD

The Story of Gunnlaug the Worm-Tongue and Raven the Skald is an Icelandic saga composed in the 13th century, detailing the tragic rivalry between two poets, Gunnlaugr Ormstunga and Hrafn Önundarson, for the hand of Helga the Fair, the daughter of Thorsteinn Egilsson.  The result is a competition leading to a deadly duel of honor.

There was a man called Thorstein, the son of Egil, the son of Skallagrim, the son of Kveldulf the Hersir of Norway. Asgerd was the mother of Thorstein; she was the daughter of Biorn Hold. Thorstein dwelt at Burg in Burg-firth; he was rich of fee, and a great chief, a wise man, meek and of measure in all wise. He was nought of such wondrous growth and strength as his father Egil had been; yet was he a right mighty man, and much beloved of all folk.

Thorstein was goodly to look on, flaxen-haired, and the best-eyed of men; and so say men of lore that many of the kin of the Mere-men, who are come of Egil, have been the goodliest folk; yet, for all that, this kindred have differed much herein, for it is said that some of them have been accounted the most ill-favoured of men: but in that kin have been also many men of great prowess in many wise, such as Kiartan, the son of Olaf Peacock, and Slaying-Bardi, and Skuli, the son of Thorstein. Some have been great bards, too, in that kin, as Biorn, the champion of Hit-dale, priest Einar Skulison, Snorri Sturluson, and many others.

Now, Thorstein had to wife Jofrid, the daughter of Gunnar, the son of Hlifar. This Gunnar was the best skilled in weapons, and the lithest of limb of all bonderfolk who have been in Iceland; the second was Gunnar of Lithend; but Steinthor of Ere was the third. Jofrid was eighteen winters old when Thorstein wedded her; she was a widow, for Thorodd, son of Odd of Tongue, had had her to wife aforetime. Their daughter was Hungerd, who was brought up at Thorstein’s at Burg. Jofrid was a very stirring woman; she and Thorstein had many children betwixt them, but few of them come into this tale. Skuli was the eldest of their sons, Kollsvein the second, Egil the third…

Read the rest of the story with the book or you can read for free online or on Kindle via Project Gutenberg.

WALTER GIESEKING PLAYS DEBUSSY “SUITE BERGAMASQUE”

“Suite bergamasque is a piano suite by Claude Debussy. He began composing it around 1890, at the age of 28, but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication.  The popularity of the third movement, Clair de lune, has made it one of the composer’s most famous works for piano, as well as one of the most famous musical pieces of all time.” (via)

Walter Gieseking was a German pianist and was known as an interpreter of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Domenico Scarlatti, Mozart, and Beethoven.  His interpretation of Suite bergamasque is particularly good.

WILDFLOWERS

Flowers and love often have a special connection, so let’s focus on them this week!  A word of advice from the Handbook of Nature Study:

Some flowers are so abundant that they can be picked in moderation if the roots are not disturbed, if plenty of flowers are left for seed, and if the plant itself is not taken with the flower….Everyone should have the privilege of enjoying the natural beauty of the countryside. Such enjoyment is impossible if a relatively small number of people insist upon picking and destroying native plants for their own selfish interests. (p.460)

Things to Do…

• Use a field guide to identify the flowers you see in your backyard or on the side of the road.
• Collect and press a wildflower.
• This tutorial for flower pounding looks fun too!

MISCELLANEOUS RABBIT TRAILS…

+ Philia is an ancient Greek concept of love and refers to deep friendship between individuals who share common interests and experiences.  How Many Friends Should I Have? ‘A Lot,’ says Thomas Aquinas, is a talk from Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P. that may be helpful to ponder this.

+ Learn the language of flowers.  What do your favorite blooms symbolize?

+ Pull out your art supplies and learn how to paint Monet’s Water Lilies with this acrylic paint tutorial.

+ Much Ado About Nothing “includes two quite different stories of romantic love. Hero and Claudio fall in love almost at first sight, but an outsider, Don John, strikes out at their happiness. Beatrice and Benedick are kept apart by pride and mutual antagonism until others decide to play Cupid.”

+ Read through the 10 Greatest Love Poems Ever Written compiled by The Society of Classical Poets.  Which one is your favorite?

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Week 2 of the Big White Farmhouse’s Summer Integrated Humanities program!  This week, we’re really digging into the human condition and diving deep into the concepts of revenge vs. justice.

Just jumping in?  You can find the links to the previous weeks here: Week 1

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: CARAVAGGIO

“Caravaggio was a leading Italian painter of the late 16th and early 17th centuries who became famous for the intense and unsettling realism of his large-scale religious works.” (via)

I love the way Caravaggio uses darkness and light to highlight important parts of his paintings.  Your eye is drawn immediately to one spot, both by the direction of the light as well as way the characters are looking.  So interesting and powerful.

A FABLE FROM AESOP

The Farmer and the Fox
A Farmer was greatly annoyed by a Fox, which came prowling about his yard at night and carried off his fowls. So he set a trap for him and caught him; and in order to be revenged upon him, he tied a bunch of tow to his tail and set fire to it and let him go. As ill-luck would have it, however, the Fox made straight for the fields where the corn was standing ripe and ready for cutting. It quickly caught fire and was all burnt up, and the Farmer lost all his harvest.

AESCHYLUS’ “AGAMEMNON”

Agamemnon is the first play in a trilogy, the Oresteia, which is considered Aeschylus’ greatest work.

“It details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, from the Trojan War. After ten years of warfare, and Troy fallen, all of Greece could lay claim to the victory. Waiting at home for Agamemnon is his wife, Queen Clytemnestra, who has been plotting his murder. She desires his death to avenge the sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia, to exterminate the only thing hindering her from taking the crown, and to finally be able to publicly embrace her good-time lover Aegisthus.” (via)

Watch Part One and Part Two of this 1983 adaptation…with subtitles!

LOOK UP AT THE NIGHT SKY

There’s nothing like looking up at a dark sky on a warm, summer night!  What can you see?

Things to Do…

• Have a bonfire at dusk and observe the light vs. dark.
• Start a phenology wheel, tracking the moon phases, weather, and other natural world observations.
• Learn the full moon names.
• Put the next full moon on your calendar: July 10 is the Buck Moon!

“EVENSONG” BY C.S. LEWIS

Evensong is a poem that reflects on day turning to night and the assurance of God’s safekeeping during sleep.  I chose it to continue the theme of light turning to dark, day into night.

Now that night is creeping
O’er our travail’d senses,
To Thy care unsleeping
We commit our sleep.
Nature for a season
Conquers our defences,
But th’ eternal Reason
Watch and ward will keep.

All the soul we render
Back to Thee completely,
Trusting Thou wilt tend her
Through the deathlike hours,
And all night remake her
To Thy likeness sweetly,
Then with dawn awake her
And give back her powers.

Slumber’s less uncertain
Brother soon will bind us
—Darker falls the curtain,
Stifling-close ’tis drawn:
But amidst that prison
Still Thy voice can find us,
And, as Thou hast risen,
Raise us in They dawn.

MISCELLANEOUS RABBIT TRAILS…

+ Homer’s The Iliad is an excellent choice for thinking about the ideas of revenge vs. justice.  Does revenge give us peace?  What lengths will we go to achieve that revenge?  Are we happier or more content after?

+ Read Medea by Euripides for an ancient Greek tragedy that you could easily imagine hearing about on the latest true crime show.  Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and Medea’s dramatic decision for revenge is tragic.  You can also watch the play here.

+ Discover what Thomas Aquinas said about justice in this video from The Thomistic Institute.

+ Picture study is a common subject in some homeschool curriculums.  This Caravaggio Picture Study playlist walks you through the process and is helpful for both kids and adults alike.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Week 1 of the Big White Farmhouse’s Summer Integrated Humanities program!  To ease into this project, we’re going to start with some light and airy choices.

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: JAN VAN GOYEN

Jan van Goyen was one of the most gifted landscapists in the Netherlands during the early 17th century.

“Many of his earlier pictures, from 1620 to about 1630, show the influence of Esaias van der Velde, his teacher in 1616. These landscapes are highly detailed, have strong local colour, and often serve as a stage for genre scenes. His characteristic style developed from the 1620s, when his compositions became simplified and his technique broadened. A use of low horizons gave his landscapes a Baroque sense of spatial expansiveness. His concern with rendering natural light and the depiction of subtle atmospheric effects, however, are the principal identifying features of van Goyen’s tonal landscapes.” (via)

If you’ve read here awhile, you know that I’m intrigued by cloud formations and photograph them often.  I love the way van Goyen used color within the clouds!  So beautiful and true to life.

A POEM AND A SIMPLE NATURE STUDY

Effie Lee Newsome was a Harlem Renaissance writer who mostly wrote children’s poems.

“Newsome was one of the first African American poets who primarily published poems for children. She was the author of one volume of poetry, Gladiola Garden: Poems of Outdoors and Indoors for Second Grade Readers (The Associated Publishers, 1940), and she published numerous poems in the Crisis, Opportunity, and other leading journals of the Harlem Renaissance. She also edited the children’s column “Little Page” in the Crisis. Her poems helped her young readers celebrate their own beauty and recognize themselves in fairy tales, folklore, and nature.” (via)

Sky Pictures
by Effie Lee Newsome

Sometimes a right white mountain
Or great soft polar bear,
Or lazy little flocks of sheep
Move on in the blue air.

The mountains tear themselves like floss,
The bears all melt away.
The little sheep will drift apart
In such a sudden way.

And then new sheep and mountains come.
New polar bears appear
And roll and tumble on again
Up in the skies so clear.

The polar bears would like to get
Where polar bears belong.
The mountains try so hard to stand
In one place firm and strong.

The little sheep all want to stop
And pasture in the sky,
But never can these things be done,
Although they try and try!

Things to Do…

• Photograph the sky everyday at the same time for a week.
• Learn the differences between ten basic cloud formations.
• Try your hand at solar printing and make unique botanical artwork.

A LITTLE SHAKESPEARE

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy by William Shakespeare and is one of his most popular and universally performed plays.  Use the book to follow along with the play from The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival.

MISCELLANEOUS RABBIT TRAILS…

+ Invest in and take a landscape watercolor class to paint those beautiful clouds you photographed.

+ Embark on a free audio course called A Survey of Shakespeare’s Plays.  “This is a course on Shakespeare’s career, given at Brandeis University in the spring of 2010, by William Flesch. It covers several representative plays from all four genres: comedy, tragedy, history, and romance. We consider both the similarities and differences among those genres, and how his more and more radical experimentations in genre reflect his developing thought, about theater, about time, about life, over the course of his career.”

+ Read the poem, “The Cloud”, by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

I’m so, so excited to announce a project I’ve been working on behind the scenes!  I’m calling it A Summer Integrated Humanities Program and it will be a twelve-week blog series, posted every Thursday in June, July and August.

Inspired by John Senior and his Integrated Humanities Program from the 1970s, I wanted to create something that would help women, especially mothers, pull themselves from the modern consumerist/influencer viewpoints of today and into the perennial truths of the past.  Clearly, this will look a little different from John Senior’s college course.  We’re coming together through a computer screen, unable to sit face-to-face, contemplating the works together and sharing our thoughts.  I still hope it’s a fruitful endeavor.

My goal is to provide a feast of good, true or beautiful things for you to peruse; you can choose none, one or all!  The feast is meant to make you think, ponder and contemplate.  Whether you agree with the authors or not, it should help you in forming coherent opinions and see humanity in a longer lens.  I hope it shows that there’s nothing new under the sun and if we want to affect positive change in our current day, we should probably learn from the past.

Each week, there will be a mix of the traditional humanities subjects of literature, history and theology but also art, music, poetry and nature study.  Since we crawl before we walk before we run, there will be a mix of the simple to the complex, “easier” subjects vs. ones that require more focus and attention.  I also wanted to add a bunch of “touch grass” activities to connect us to the realities around us.  Like Fulton Sheen said, Life is worth living!  I strongly believe that in this technological age, we need to intentionally engage with the natural world as much as possible.

I really hope you will chime in and comment your thoughts and ideas each week too.  We are all a product of our individual experiences and have so much to share and learn from each other.  See you next Thursday for Week 1!