In a time when it is easy to be overcome by fear or worry, we want this series of blog posts to give you simple, gentle, and dynamic ways to reclaim an atmosphere of peace, joy, and wonder in your home. We can all then help shine light to the world by sharing how we are choosing beauty daily. Please join us by using the hashtag #choosingbeauty on social media.
#ChoosingBeauty – Day 27
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“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?”
-Rachel Carson
“P9163704” by Hunter-Desportes is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Activities
Look: Study the picture. Notice everything you can and try to remember it. Tell about the spider. Tell about the web. This is a Garden Spider. Sometimes people call it a writing spider. Why do you think that is so? If you have read Charlotte’s Web, you might remember that Charlotte was a writing spider. Close your eyes. Can you still imagine the picture? Look again. How does the picture make your feel? Without looking, describe the spider and its web.
Read: “The Mother Murre” The Whole Year Round by Dallas Lore Sharp, p.65-68
Observe: Go outside and look for spiders to watch. Do not disturb them–just watch. Look between bushes or porch columns for large webs designed to catch flying insects. Look down at the ground for webs that are designed to hide hunting spiders. Look for baby spiders dangling from trees. You may even find a spider in your house! House spiders are generally harmless, and they help us by eating insects.
Read: “The Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman
Listen: “Le Festin de L’Araignee (The Spider’s Feast)” by Albert Roussel (1912). This music was written for a ballet about insect life in a garden. Can you imagine a story as you listen?
Share: What do you wonder about spiders? #choosingbeauty
More to Read and Do:
The Life of the Spider by Jean-Henri Fabre
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
©Charlotte Mason Institute 2020
