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Mary G
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 12:18pm | IP Logged
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I'm getting ready todo a unit on BP (thanks to Elizabeth's review of Miss Potter) and I've been doing lots of reading about BP.
One particular book, Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature is a fabulous read and gives a very homeschool/unschool view of BP's early life.
Here are some quotes I thought y'all might enjoy:
Quote:
• Potter’s childhood and girlhood was certainly solitary if measured by friendships and social interaction with her peers, but in terms of exposure to the world of art, literature, science, fantasy, travel and natural history, it was a rich and enviable one. (pg 25)
• Mackenzie immersed her charge in the rich folklore of the Scottish Highlands. During the summer holidays at Dalguise they walked about the countryside discovering the hidden and the magical about them. Beatrix began to explore alone, comfortably certain that the countryside was filled with fairies, and lost in her own imagination. Her later governesses had only to build upon the already rich repository of fantasy and folklore, nature study and love of drawing that Nurse Mackenzie uncovered. (pg 30)
• Beatrix loved to draw and paint…. Beatrix had observed that her parents carried sketchbooks when they went out in the countryside and she imitated them by making her own out of rough paper that she fastened together with string. (pg 31)
• Her recollection of learning to read, however, was quite specific. ‘I learned to read on the Waverly novels,’ she recalled in 1929. ‘I was let loose on Rob Roy, and spelled through a few pages painfully; then I tired Ivanhoe – and the Talisman – then I tried Rob Roy again; all at once I began to READ (missing the long words, of course).’ Thanks to Nurse Mackenzie and her parents, this rich diet of art and literature contributed to a lifelong delight in rhythm, cadence, wordplay, humour, dialect and dialogue: all nourishment for her imagination and the creation of her own literary style.” (pg 35)
• ‘Thank goodness, my education was neglected,’ Beatrix wrote to an American friend in 1929. ‘I was never sent to school … it would have rubbed off some of the originality (if I had not died of shyness or been killed with over pressure).’ … The curriculum offered by schools that were open to female students was decidedly inferior to what a well-educated governess could provide a precocious student. While her education was tailored to her interests, it was certainly not ‘neglected’ and was, by her own choice, rigorous, in part because so much of it was self-directed. ‘I have always found my own pleasure in nature and books,’ she announced. (pg. 42)
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I particularly like that last quote as it is a great defense of unschooling or rather child-directed learning.
If it's good enough for BP, I guess it's good enough for my young uns! 
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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MaryM
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 12:40pm | IP Logged
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Great quotes. Definitely insights into an education like many of us are hoping to be providing.
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Mary M. in Denver
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 12:54pm | IP Logged
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Which also reminds me that the new Beatrix Potter Mystery by Susan Wittig Albert is due out in 3 weeks  Just to add to your reading... after all, your own rabbit trail can surely spring for some fun stuff too
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chicken lady
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 5:01pm | IP Logged
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I am giddy with anticipation!! I love these charming novels.
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Mary G
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 5:09pm | IP Logged
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chicken lady wrote:
I am giddy with anticipation!! I love these charming novels. |
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No kidding -- and so far, they're clean enough to read aloud! Looks like another Amazon order in my near future
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MaryG
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chicken lady
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 5:19pm | IP Logged
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Oh yes Mary, we read them aloud last year, the girls loved them!
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Mary G
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| Posted: Aug 17 2007 at 5:36pm | IP Logged
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When I finish my unit study, I'll blog post my list of sites, etc. but just thought I'd mention here that Susan Wittig Albert has created a Cottage Tales website with recipes, facts about BP, etc. Looks fun, doesn't it?
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MaryG
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Mare
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Mary,
Thanks for sharing that site. It does look like a wonderful place to get lost in. I looked at the tea party section. Oh, my... I can see us having quite a tea with those recipes.
I just finished up Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature a few weeks ago thanks to the recommendation from Elizabeth. I had to laugh when I saw what you quoted. Those are the same things that caught my attention too.
I am now reading the first book of the Cottage Tales series by Susan Wittig Albert. It is an enjoyable read and so nice to know that others have used them as read alouds.
I just love visiting 4Real and being inspired with wonderful ideas. 
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~Rachel~
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I love the Cottage Tales series too... I signed up for Susan's newsletter (the herbal one) since I got into the herbal series (more adult situations so not good read alouds but great Mum books) YEARS ago. She sends updates and herbal information through that
I also like her Herbal Book of Days... (I think Dawn will second me on this )
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Mary G
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| Posted: Aug 29 2007 at 11:07pm | IP Logged
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Thought I'd mention that I just posted on my blog with all the resources we've found during out BP study! If you know of anything I missed, please let me know!
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MaryG
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Kelly
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Today my five year old asked me, very seriously, which I liked better: "Little Mermaid" or "Miss Potter"? She hasn't decided which one she prefers just yet...she was very taken with the Miss Potter movie!
Kelly in FL
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PDyer
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Thanks so much everyone! I've just started collecting information for a BP unit for my 5 year old too.
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Patty
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Beatrix Potter
