“Fulfilled” (Psalm 1)
What is fulfillment? I was recently reminded of this poem—the first thing I ever posted on this site, and probably my favorite of all the poems I have written. It is my attempt to delve into Psalm 1. This poem … Continued
“Prayer Warrior”
One day I had an intense prayer walk. In the image of a George Herbert poem, I felt that I was thundering at heaven. As I thought about it later, I realized that intercessory prayer has shifted as I have … Continued
The Weight of Absence
Reflections on the experience of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic lead me to a George Herbert poem about being stretched, “The Temper (I)” A friend wrote to me recently about the “weight of absence,” and I am finding absence heavy, … Continued
“Let It Be”
What do you do when all your plans for education—your own as well as your child’s—are swept aside by unexpected circumstance? This “mother culture encouragement” letter was sent out to our Sursum Corda homeschool community.
Advent Devotional 2020
Here are weekly devotionals for families to use, featuring picture study, activities, and discussion questions. This version was offered to our Sursum Corda community; a version with prayer prompts by Sarah Groot was sent to our FOL Covenant Church community.
“Garden Chat” about Erasmus
Our Form III (middle school) history class was covering Desiderius Erasmus as we learned about the Renaissance, so I interviewed my father, Nathan Feldmeth, a professor at Fuller Seminary with a specialty in Erasmus. Several mothers mentioned that they enjoyed … Continued
Latin Class Prompt Cards
Our Latin coaches asked for some “transition” phrases and other conversational Latin to use in class, so I made a set of prompt cards which we printed and put on binder rings. Printable Prompt Cards
Reading Old Books
How do you get started, reading old books? It might not be as easy as it sounds, even for those who believe in its importance… Here are some ideas and tips for Charlotte Mason homeschoolers who are practicing “mother culture”—the … Continued
Shakespeare’s Henry V (a Latin Reader)
This is the third in a series of illustrate-it-yourself Latin readers that I created for our homeschool community, Sursum Corda. The first was The Geography of Narnia; the second was The Dogs of Sursum Corda (featuring community input describing their … Continued
Annuntiatio: A Latin Tiered Reading
A “tiered reading” takes an excerpt of real literature, makes progressively easier versions of it, and lets students walk through from a gentle conversation introducing a few of the words, to a version in simple language, to a slightly more … Continued
“A Prayer for Time”
While reading the beautiful prayers of Thomas Cramner in the Book of Common Prayer, I decided to try writing in his style. A Prayer for Time Almighty and Most Merciful God, who holdest all time in thy hands, and bestowest … Continued
“Metaphysical,” a text message poem
Here is a poem first “published” as a text message! After reading Helen Gardner’s introduction to The Metaphysical Poets, I decided to write my “narration” (re-telling in my own words some of what I learned) in verse! Gardner suggested that … Continued
Super-Hopers
I created this tiny Latin word study to post on our homeschool community’s dedicated social media platform. I like this word I found in the Latin translation of the Psalms! (“super” as a prefix means pretty much the same as … Continued
Storytelling in Latin with Social Media Collaboration
Here is a little story I made up…with some help from my friends! I posted several “polls” on our homeschool community’s dedicated social media platform, asking what characters to use, where they should be, and what they were seeking. Here … Continued
“O Mira Gratia” (Amazing Grace Sung in Latin)
Every two months, our Sursum Corda homeschool community learns a song, a scripture verse, and a proverb in Latin. The first song for the 2020 school year was this Latin translation of “Amazing Grace.” My sister, Lindsay Feldmeth Westra, graciously … Continued
“I Feel Like a Kid Again!” Learning Languages with Your Child
It is not easy to work on a foreign language with a child. When I work on literature or history, I have a sense of easiness. Even if I have never read the particular book or studied the subject at … Continued
The Geography of Narnia (a Latin Reader)
This is the first in a series of illustrate-it-yourself Latin readers that I created for our homeschool community, Sursum Corda. It uses mostly words from chapter one of our textbook (Familia Romana), along with familiar proper nouns. Apart from proper … Continued
Antiphona (Call-and-Responses) for Latin
There’s nothing like a 30-second snippet of literature that feels like an inside joke! The teacher calls out a phrase, and the students respond in these “antiphona.” Most of these we used in upper school Latin class last year, but … Continued
Creative Margins: Hello From Paul (Colossians 1:1-2)
Here is the first study on Colossians, using my Creative Margins method. Hello From Paul Colossians 1:1-2 (ESV) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers … Continued
Creative Margins Bible Study: an Introduction
Why would we need another style of Bible study? Let me tell you why, in this introduction to my new concept of “Creative Margins,” an imaginative and playful way to engage with scripture, drawing on the practices of medieval Christians. … Continued
Latin Vision Board & A Whirlwind Tour of Latin Literature
This “vision board” collection of images was created for students to paste in the front of their Latin journals, to inspire them with thoughts of all the great works they will someday read. On the first day of classes, they … Continued