Simple Beauty Ancients: October

Here are the links to our suggestions for beautiful things for October, with a focus on beautiful words, sounds, and places that are old and beautiful and on early art and music as well as Ancient Greece and the Fables of Aesop. Back to Simple Beauty Page

Simple Beauty Ancients: September

Here are the links to our suggestions for beautiful things for September, with a focus on beautiful words, sounds, and places that are old and beautiful and on early art and music as well as Ancient Egypt and the Fables of Aesop. Back to Simple Beauty Page

Aesop for September

Fables are short stories that have a moral. Aesop who lived in Greece from 640-564 BC, gathered many ancient fables into a collection to share with his community. We’ve chosen a few for you this month, and they are linked below. Read some or all of them with your students and talk about the morals. … Continue reading Aesop for September

Life and Times of Ancient Egypt

Let’s explore the ancient world. We’ve chosen folk tales, myths, biographies, and documentaries from different continents, and we have maps for you to download and trace or fill in too. There are many, many other societies in the area to learn about, but we are focusing this month’s suggestions on Ancient Egypt. If you have … Continue reading Life and Times of Ancient Egypt

Nature Study: Wild Herbs

Nature study can be as simple as a short walk in the neighborhood or as elaborate as a week in a National Park. Don’t make it hard. Just go outside. This month, we suggest you spend some time outside every day that is reasonable and observe what wild herbs you can find in your own … Continue reading Nature Study: Wild Herbs

Hildegard von Bingen

Hildegard von Bingen was a composer, poet, and saint who lived from 1098 until 1179 AD. She was a nun who wrote mostly liturgical music, but her Ordo virtutum is the oldest musical drama that was NOT written for church use. Her music was virtually undiscovered for hundreds of years; she was first recognized as … Continue reading Hildegard von Bingen

The Doxology (or Praise God from whom All Blessings Flow)

Hymns are beautiful truths poetically told, hung on a rhythm, and held in a melody. This makes them memorable. Hymn study is extremely simple. Sing the hymn once a day. We’ve provided you links to different versions to enjoy as well as a link to download the sheet music for the hymn. Some of this … Continue reading The Doxology (or Praise God from whom All Blessings Flow)

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Picture Study is simple. Look at the picture with your children for a few minutes and then talk about what you saw. Try to remember as much about the piece as you can. Enjoy the beauty of it. Art is not a chore; it’s a pleasure. Beginning our Ancient Beauty theme, we’ve chosen some pieces … Continue reading Lorenzo Ghiberti

Teaching the Theological Truths at the Heart of Science

As humans, we naturally break things up into pieces.  We separate work time and playtime.  We separate reading from watching movies, and we separate art from science.  These separations are good and help us make sense of the world.  However, in another sense, these separations are artificial. It is good to find joy in your … Continue reading Teaching the Theological Truths at the Heart of Science

How to Plan a Nature Study Trip

Nature study has been one of the most enjoyable things we’ve done as a family. It has offered multiple benefits including fostering quality family time, honing observation skills, studying nature in the real world, allowing social time for myself and the kids, giving us opportunities to make connections with science. We believe that getting out … Continue reading How to Plan a Nature Study Trip