"Discriminating Observation.– By degrees the children will learn discriminatingly every feature of the landscapes with which they are familiar; and think what a delightful possession for old age and middle life is a series of pictures imaged, feature by feature, in the sunny glow of the child's mind! The miserable thing about the childish recollections of most persons is that they are blurred, distorted, incomplete, no more pleasant to look upon than a fractured cup or a torn garment; and the reason is, not that the old scenes are forgotten, but that they were never fully seen. At the time, there was no more than a hazy impression that such and such objects were present, and naturally, after a lapse of years those features can rarely be recalled of which the child was not cognisant when he saw them before him." -Charlotte Mason
Have you ever really looked at a tree? Sure we gaze upon it's overall beauty. Appreciate the bounty it brings. But rarely do we stop, look and breathe in the details. As part of our September curriculum, we have been exploring trees.
Charlotte Mason included in her Original Homeschool Series books some lists of attainments, goals or objectives to be met by certain ages. "A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six", a reprint of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's. You can find an older post written about it HERE. One of the attainments is to document + identify six trees.
"11. To mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves; to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them
12. To do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees" -Charlotte Mason
We have begun our journey in identifying trees, but first comes careful observation. "Discriminating Observation." So, for now, we stop and look closely. At the bark. The roots. The leaves. The branches. We take time to breathe in the beauty of the tree. And we are filled. With wonder, delight, peace and sweet memories.
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