"They must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens."

*Quote by Charlotte Mason

If you have read about Charlotte Mason and her philosophy, you know she is not advocating neglecting your kids, or even ignoring them. No, she advocates for giving them the freedom to explore, to observe, to learn, without a parent or teacher constantly butting in with our knowledge, our questions, etc. It's hard sometimes to be near them, but to be quiet. Dads seem to be more eqipped at this:) In fact, these pictures were taken by Joel on the babes afternoon walk. I asked him to take the camera with him to get some pictures of the new neighborhood (to share with you, of course:). He took the best photos, I can't wait to share them bit by bit. This one reminded me that though I fret sometimes that we can no longer reasonably walk to parks with ponds and geese and beautiful scenery, the babes find beauty to observe everywhere. They will stay like this on the sidewalk forever watching a little bug pass by, if I give them the time and space and freedom and don't try to rush them along to see what I think is a better view right up the way. That, I think, is a good lesson for us all:)