Kortney Garrison

Homeschooling With Ease

Reading in Quarantine

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Day 73.

Oddly enough, my last post about daily poetry practice was the first day of our family’s quarantine. On March 12, I went to the library and the grocery store–essential services in these parts. Since then, we haven’t ventured far from home.

But we’ve been fine. We have a yard and a small garden, a basketball hoop and a swing, a grill, a hammock, a freezer in the basement, vibrant faith, fine friends, remote work, internet, good health, and deep bookshelves.

Because we homeschool there wasn’t much disruption to our daily routine. We kept on with our school work finishing out our year of Greek Myths and Homer. And of course there were plenty of read-alouds! Here’s what we’ve read during quarantine.

Last Archer and First Fowler by S.D. Smith

The last Green Ember book came out during quarantine. Nicolas and Mabel read and listened to the whole series again and then read the final book, Ember’s End. We read Last Archer and First Fowler aloud together. Last Archer might be my favorite Smith book yet! Now Joseph is listening to Green Ember on audiobook. The entire series is available via Hoopla if your local library subscribes to that service.

Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley

We listened live to Melissa Wiley read this aloud. What a treat!! Her voices are just out of this world. We first read this in the late Summer that Joseph was born. So it was high time we returned to this gem.

Call of the Wild by Jack London

We went to see Little Women in the theater this Winter. One of the previews was for the new movie version of Call of the Wild starring Harrison Ford. The preview starts with narration by Ford. Joseph leaned over and whispered, That sounds like Old Han! Of course he was right. We liked the book and the movie though they are different creatures.

Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K LeGuin

Andy read this aloud to the kids at bedtime. This is not their first LeGuin. They are big fans of Catwings and the her picture book called Cat Dreams. I’m excited for the kids to read more of the Earthsea books–the later ones are my favorites.

The Pope’s Cat and Margaret’s First Holy Week by Jon M. Sweeney

We read Pope’s Cat on Kindle. That’s been a new addition to our reading scheme. Our library has access to many, many books via Kindle. So we have taken advantage of that resource during quarantine.

Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers

This was another read-aloud by the author. I don’t know how much longer these will be available, but it’s so worthwhile. I don’t know if I would have fallen so thoroughly in love with Grady if I didn’t have Jonathan Rogers to read to me.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Another nighttime read aloud by Andy. So much good discussion came out of this book. I’m glad we have it’s characters and metaphors as a part of our shared vocabulary.

Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien

We haven’t read much Tolkien. I much prefer these short, funny novellas to his longer work. I’m working through his introduction to Beowulf on Kindle right now in preparation for our Medieval Studies next year.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

I remember finishing this book while on a school trip to a reservoir where we camped and water skied. Our kids may be a little young for this one, but I got it out from the library before quarantine to read myself. And new read-aloud choices are getting thin!

Swallows + Amazons: Secret Water by Arthur Ransome

For many years we have read a Swallows book during the Summer. When we finished Tolkien, we started Ransome though our Summer proper won’t begin until the end of the week. The books are long, but there’s nothing beats these stories of adventure and friendship between siblings. Bridget, the baby called Vicki in the first novels, is old enough to come along this year!

Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling

We read this in our co-op. Hearing it on audio, I was struck by how absolutely funny the story is. This would be a great story to read outside in the overgrown garden if you happen to have one nearby!

The Children’s Homer by Padraic Colum

This was a part of our ancients study this year. We have one final chapter to read on Tuesday. I love Colum’s work and want to read more. I am a fan of Willy Pogany’s illustrations, but the kids prefer reading along with the graphic novel by Gareth Hinds.

Finding my Way Back to Daily Poetry Practice

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I wrapped up the February Peace Poetry Postcard project sending out poems to fellow travelers all over the States throughout the last month. The letter carrier is still making deliveries of new cards to my place. The poems keep coming!

The time change has hit me hard. We are soaking up the long afternoons, but this far north, mornings are very dark…again. When my sleep is interrupted or I’ve stayed up too late, the thing to go is my writing practice.

I’m also in the midst of moving my writing space. I’ll have a desk for the first time! But it’s on the sun porch that has glorious windows all around and not a bit of insulation or heating. Not a place that calls me out of bed at 5 am. But I have a space heater, a good scarf, and plenty of candles and coffee.

All in all, things feel a little off here on the cusp of the new season. But I still want to be connected to my work.

Ann Kroeker released a new podcast episode called “Can a Poem a Day Make Us Better Writers?” Her enthusiasm has me excited to gather up my notebook and return to my copywork project. I finished copying out So Far So Good by hand, and started in on Ursula LeGuin’s penultimate book of poems called Late in the Day. But these poems are longer, a bit harder to write out by hand, and I’ve been stalling.

Cheered on by Ann, “a writing coach in your ear,” I am returning to this project. Even if I don’t make it out to the porch to write, I want to keep in touch with my poetic impulse. I want to meet the new day and the new season with poems instead of screens. I want to soak in good words written just on the other side of the hills.

Ann has started sharing poems on her Instagram stories. Just click on her picture at she’ll read to you!

Let Us Remember

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…that we are in the holy presence of God

….that we are dust and to dust returneth

One way to think about the coming season of Lent is that it’s a season of remembering. Remembering that tending what is hidden is holy work, remembering the life and death of Jesus, remembering that his death is not the end of the story.

For a few years, I’ve been using the four-fold image of a compass to help me conceive of practices that will draw me closer and help me remember. Help turn my heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Here’s what I’m contemplating for this year.

North :: Scripture Every Day

I want to read each day’s scripture + reflection in Sacred Space. I have last year’s edition, so I have to juggle the dates. But it still works! Pray As You Go is another excellent way to experience scripture as a touchstone, a way to remember and return to our North Star.

East :: Digital Sabbath

From sundown on Saturday to sundown on Sunday, I want to have my computer and phone turned off. This is going to be the most disruptive practice! I use Sunday afternoons to both work on lesson plans for the coming week + to listen to lectures in my poetry class. Of course these good uses of technology tend to slip into mindless scrolling, and that’s the opposite of remembering. I’ll have to find alternate places for this work to live, and I don’t know where that’s going to be yet.

South :: Meatless Fridays

Mostly I’ll need to rethink lunches and make sure that we have meatless options. We eat beans + rice every week already, but I’m moving them to Fridays so that we can be more mindful of this choice.

West : Sacred Reading

Along with a class on formal poetry with Sally Thomas and monthly workshops with Holly Wren Spaulding, I stumbled into a wonderful Shakespeare class at Schole Sisters taught by Kelly Cumbee. It’s weaving together a few different strands of study for me–fairy tales, Greek myths, as well as some Lewis + Tolkien lectures. You can listen to interviews at Schole Sisters and The Literary Life podcasts to get a taste of Kelly’s gentle, erudite teaching.

My work as a poet + home educator is my vocation, part of my path to Heaven. Learning myself and being a lively guide for my children are spiritual pursuits at heart. Through them I am being renewed and transformed. Attending to them in a focused way helps me remember.

If you’d like to read a few more simple ideas that will help you keep Lent with your family, I’d love to send you my ebook called Observing Lent with Our Families. Just click here to enter your email, and I’ll send it right over!

Keep the Needle Threaded

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This is my best writing advice…that doesn’t even really sound like writing advice.

Melissa Wiley wrote a poem about the creative process called “Always Leave Thread in the Needle.” I love the unexpectedness of this piece, the way what we need is found in outside the usual places. In the ashes, fallen leaves, and overturned drawers.

When I finish embroidery for the day, I always thread the needle with fresh thread. This is the hardest part for my tired eyes. If I do the hard part first, I can easily begin stitching the next time I open my project bag.

Dedicate space and time in your day to return to the page. Make it easy to get back to work. Keep your notebook and a box of black pens near you. Have good words in your ears. And quiet too.

Thanks for reading along here this month! I hope that in reading about my writing practice, you’ve been inspired to think about your own process. And maybe even got to the page some mornings. Things will probably get quieter in the coming month as I try to follow my own advice and make space for the coming light.

Click here to see all the Listening to My Life :: Homeschooling an MFA in Poetry posts.

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