thoughts and songs from Heather
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In Renaissance times, students often memorized colloquia (dialogues, like skits) as a way to learn Latin. I have been reading the Colloquia of Erasmus and Corderius recently. Here I try my hand at a few modern versions: one between students … Continued
This article about the “wonder” in learning Latin first appeared on the website of the Sursum Corda homeschool community. What do you think of, when you hear the word “grammar”? As a child, I picked up the attitude from adults … Continued
My belief in Jesus does not make him more real! It might, however, make me more real… In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to … Continued
Feeling humbled as I read about scholars of the humanities in the Renaissance, in this poem I reflected on scholarly ambition and my own self-image. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine … Continued
A few months after our first Phrases & Praises sheet, designed to be posted on a family fridge or wall, I asked my students to come up with some new phrases that would be useful in the strange times we … Continued
My Latin students were posting on our dedicated social media platform, and responding to one another’s work…but one student complained that everyone was just saying “bene” (‘good,’ lit. ‘well’) all the time. So I created this handout of all kinds … Continued
I had just been teaching my Latin students about chiasm, the literary device that makes a kind of mirror of repeated words, or concepts, or grammatical forms–and often nests the most crucial thing in the very middle. This poem considers … Continued
thoughts on the much-maligned study of grammar, and on why humans actually enjoy learning details… In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to write a … Continued
I had been reading about medieval meditation, and on Good Friday I imagined Christ’s passion as a form of study. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we … Continued
I start this poem remembering a day full of the joy of learning, in graduate school…then reflect on how rare and precious that was in my education, and how I long to see it in my daughters’ days. In April … Continued
Reflecting on how naked it feels to make or learn, compared to the comfort of critiquing and teaching—and how wonderful it is, after all. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” … Continued
Imagining what it feels like for Jesus to relive that day every year, as his people remember. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to … Continued
Swatting at to-do lists, I imagine a more instinct-driven life. In April of 2020, living under stay-at-home orders, my daughters and I began the “Quarantine Sonnet” Project. Each day, we each tried to write a sonnet, and we posted them … Continued
