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 30
at
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice …
-Psalm 96:11-12
“The Banjo Lesson” by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1893)
Activities
Look: Study the picture. Notice everything you can and try to remember it. Tell what you notice. What is happening in the picture? Have you ever had someone teach you how to do something? Tell about it. Who do you think the man is? How do you think the little boy feels? Close your eyes. Can you still imagine it? Tell everything you remember. If you like, make a sketch.
Read: “Sound” The Sciences by Edward Holden. If you have musical instruments at home, see if you can figure out what is vibrating to make the sound. If a train is five miles away, how long would it be before you heard its whistle?
Observe: Today we will use our ears instead of our eyes! Go outside and choose a quiet spot to sit still and listen for five minutes. What sounds do you hear? Which sounds can you identify? Which ones are new to you? If you like, make a sound map. Use it to tell someone what you heard.
Read: “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman
Listen: “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hand” (traditional spiritual), performed by Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle, Carnegie Hall
Share: What would you like to learn how to do? Who could you ask to teach you? #choosingbeauty
More to Read and Do:
Henry Ossawa Tanner: His Boyhood Dream Comes True by Faith Ringgold
Ask someone at home to teach you how to do something you always wanted to learn how to do.
Make musical instruments from things around the house.
“I, Too” by Langston Hughes
“Spirituals In Concert” Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall, 1980
Like a Bird by Cynthia Grady
©Charlotte Mason Institute 2020
