Ordinary and Extra-Ordinary: Nature's Timing

We took the Handbook of Nature Study Challenge this week to find the Extraordinary in the Ordinary.  Actually, the extraordinary found us, and we used it. 
While we were walking our dog, E and I noticed lots of little butterflies around us.  It turns out they were painted ladies!  Simply beautiful.  (Of course, we're simply walking the dog, not prepared to take photos).  
Then we came across this different butterfly just hanging out on a blade of grass.  This little guy or gal let us sit right down next to it on the sidewalk and watch it for several minutes.

This is E's sketch of the Gray Hairstreak from her journal page.

What you can't read in her journal is that we could even see it rub the back of its wings together.  

Especially with a dog at our side, it was extraordinary how this butterfly, which we later learned was a Gray Hairstreak, just sat there soaking up the dew and sun in our presence.  
 

Now, our extraordinary discoveries did not end with butterflies.  Later that day, we went outside to complete an item on our May Grid - closing our eyes and smelling a flower.  

Since we have an array of lilies in our front yard, we simply walked out the front door to do this one.  This time, though, I was photo-ready.  

 

This lily is an example of a "perfect" flower with both anthers and stigma to produce a seed.  I took advantage of this Charlotte Mason moment to show this to E, who, sadly, was not very interested. 

However, it was pretty cool when this tiny little bee (E said it's called a Sweat Bee, but I think that's some kind of Southern euphemism; I'll have to look into that one) flew in and landed on one of the anthers, hopefully dragging some pollen with him.  (If you look closely at the 2nd anther from the left, you can see a reddish brown bulge.  That is the bee.)  Now THAT's extraordinary timing! 

What Grade?

That is an important question to many.  

"What grade are you in?"  my kids are asked.  

Even at church they are grouped by grade rather than age.  

Recently I was talking to a new homeschooling mom about curriculum choices.  She wanted to know if I "test" my kids.  You know - the standardized kind.

When I told her I have never tested my kids, she was shocked.  How do I know if they are working at "grade" level she wanted to know.  

I made a lame pitch against standardized grade levels that she didn't seem to really consider.  

I found myself saying out loud that I don't home-school my kids for academic reasons, but so that I can nurture them and their learning.  

Inside, though, I know that while my heart is to nurture their whole beings and teach them as they need, sometimes I do worry about meeting traditional standards.

So, here I am to reinforce my conviction against standardized "grades" and to encourage you to do the same.  

Since I'm not an authority, I've tracked down some real authorities for us.

1.  "Children are unique and delicate human beings with special talents, strengths and weaknesses. Each has his own developmental schedule, which we ignore at our peril."  (Raymond S. Moore, Better Late Than Early; love that book)

2.  “The question is not, -- how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care?  (Charlotte Mason, School Education: Developing a Curriculum)

3.  Michael Smith at HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Agency) said at my very first home school conference that our primary goal of educating our children is to get them into Heaven not Harvard.  Remembering that usually helps me keep my focus.  

While I'm legally and spiritually qualified to teach my own children, I do not always know what "grade" level their lessons would be.  They are learning.  They are learning to care.  
When someone asks what grade one of the kids is in, we usually follow the traditional roles and say whatever grade corresponds with his age.  
But I don't like it.   
As long as I am teaching with all my heart as if teaching for the Lord and not for man, though, I have peace.   Colossians 3:23