I simply adore Victoria magazine...the earlier version that went out of print...and of which I now have stacks upon stacks of the old issues that I still relish on a regular basis. That magazine alone has created a soft spot in my heart for old Victorian repasts...of course the most famous being 'tea time'...something I seldom if ever actually do...but always wonder why I don't or won't! Well, here's some fabulous...even homeschool...inspiration that you must, must, must take the time to read! I started the excerpt here to hook you in so that you positivley can't resist reading the rest of The Virtues of Tea
by Lynn Bruce
A pot of tea can change your children's lives. It did mine one day!
On that fall Friday afternoon, with lessons finished and the children happily creating a parallel universe of some sort in the backyard, I brewed myself a little pot of Earl Grey and settled into an oomphy chair to revel in a moment of satisfaction over what I appraised as a well-rounded week of lessons -- the rarest of rarities! But then, through the steam rising from my cup, my eyes happened upon a stack of oh-so-thoughtfully chosen poetry and art books gathering dust in a corner. Ohhh, I thought, then there's THAT . . .
Feeling less smug, I rued the many weeks that slip past with no time to squeeze in these disciplines of beauty. Days are consumed with managing the flow of routines and getting necessary facts into little heads like stuffing kindling into a firebox. But what use is dry kindling without lighting and stoking a fire? I sighed over unexplored poems, art, symphonies, Psalms, even family folklore -- those inspirations that spark the kindling in our heads and draw fire and light into the furnace of the heart.
I knew the dust would just gather deeper unless I found the missing habit, the pleasant ritual, that would weave the loose ends of these "disciplines of beauty" into the fabric of our days. I gazed into my cup of tea, growing cooler by the minute.
Suddenly resolved to minimize my margin for motherly regrets, I dusted off a poetry book, fetched more teacups and called in the children. And though I did not realize it 'til many pots of tea later, in that one resolute motion, the countenance of our afternoons was forever lightened. By some felicity of momentary grace, I just stumbled upon that pleasant ritual to steadily stoke those fires . . . daily teatime!
Now you must go read the rest of it! But you may finish this blog first...then go read the rest of it!
While we're on the topic of Victorian pleasures from the past, I've been looking for magazine subscriptions for our kiddos as Christmas presents this year (I've had enough of the avalanche of toys I'm still contending with) so imagine my delight when I happened upon this treasure of a publication, The Girlhood Home Companion by Jill Novak as described below:
The Girlhood Home Companion is a beautiful 4-color companion guide, magazine, and study in character all rolled into one publication. The Girlhood Home Companion encourages young ladies (ages 10-18) how to enjoy their precious girlhood years while walking closely with the Lord and developing a deeper relationship with Him. Filled with the wisdom of writers from the past and present, each edition of The Girlhood Home Companion features encouraging articles and stories that center on one character quality per issue. Each theme is explored in-depth through editorials, articles, and stories that will minister to the heart of your daughter, while teaching her the practical skills of homemaking, cooking, crafts, sewing and other girlhood pastimes.
Now if I could only find some equivalent of this type of magazine for young boys...or somehow persuade Mrs. Jill Novak to create one for boys, too! Has anyone seen anything like this for boys...or even for children in general...??? Please let me know if you've come across any type of publication like this. The best I've found so far for boys is The Boys Bugle (which is really geared toward older ones and rather sparse in the photo dept. but it is free to download) and either Boy Scout or Christian parenting type magazines that aren't quite what we're after here.
Perhaps even a Backwoods Home magazine tailored to boys would be nice. In the meantime, it looks like Model Railroader or Discovery Magazine for Kids (Creation Science) is about the extent of my 'for boys' choices at present. Please, please with sugar from a china server and silver spoon let me know if you happen onto anything that would be wonderful for boys! Or someone out there with a house full of boys with tons of non-stop action and ideas, please start one. Otherwise, I might just be threatened to start one myself - as if I already don't have enough undone, unfinished, unrealized pots on the fire!
(Illustrations from God's Wisdom for Little Boys by Elizabeth George)