This last month has been difficult. In unexpected and difficult circumstances, we lost our family dog. We have had some amazing adventures over the past few weeks, but they have been bittersweet. We were forcing ourselves into action to fight off depression. I do want to document those outings because there are some beautiful memories in them. I, however, will start with our most recent trip.
Rather than thinking of myself as a homeschooling mother, I like to think of myself as a Victorian governess. That's weird, I know. It comes from reading too many books. Perhaps I am too influenced by Jane Eyre or perhaps even The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, but I imagine my children running through gardens as they read poetry and become true Victorian naturalists. Thanks to the National Arboretum, I came a little closer to achieving that dream.
The National Arboretum is located in Washington, D.C., but it is located in the northeast section of D.C., quite a distance from the main tourist attractions. While it boasts many horticultural treasures, it is perhaps most notable for the 22 columns that were once part of the U.S. Capitol Building.
Rather than thinking of myself as a homeschooling mother, I like to think of myself as a Victorian governess. That's weird, I know. It comes from reading too many books. Perhaps I am too influenced by Jane Eyre or perhaps even The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, but I imagine my children running through gardens as they read poetry and become true Victorian naturalists. Thanks to the National Arboretum, I came a little closer to achieving that dream.
The National Arboretum is located in Washington, D.C., but it is located in the northeast section of D.C., quite a distance from the main tourist attractions. While it boasts many horticultural treasures, it is perhaps most notable for the 22 columns that were once part of the U.S. Capitol Building.
We began our school day at the columns. During Lent, we are participating in Catholic Madness 2020. This fun program uses March Madness as an inspiration. Rather than filling in college basketball brackets, each day we read about two saints and vote on which saint we think should "win." All the families participating vote online and we find out the following day which saint won. It is a fun way to learn about both well-known and obscure saints. After deciding which saint would get our vote, the girls took a creative route to our next stop in the garden.
Just below the columns, a small garden features the detailed top of one of the broken columns. We settled in on the stone steps leading to this feature and began our poetry time. The daffodils are beginning to bloom at the National Arboretum, though they have not reached their peak yet. I decided to use daffodils as our inspiration. We began by reading A.A. Milne's poem Daffodowndilly, which was a huge hit. After reading it through once, the girls began acting it out as I read it. We then pulled out William Wordsworth's Daffodils, also known as I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud. Again, the girls enjoyed it and decided to act it out. I then worked with Anne on an early reader's poem entitled A Little Seed. Once she was secure in the words, we read it for her sisters.
After a quick stop for a drink of water and a restroom break at the Visitor's Center (always nice to know that's there), we walked to the Herb Garden. This area includes beautiful covered pathways with benches. Meg and Clare sat on benches and worked on their math. Anne ran through the garden and would return to us periodically.
We ended our day with a picnic at the tables near the Visitor's Center. As we ate, I read our ancient history read aloud, The Golden Goblet. We had to keep an eye on the time because we had to take Anne to her martial arts class. We were glad to make it on time because she proudly earned another stripe on her belt. Her achievement was a fantastic end to a wonderful school day.
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