Happy New Year Friends!
What a year! It is hard to believe that we launched this blog just 6 months ago. So much as happened since then. I am brimming over with gratitude for all of you. I never expected to make so many new friends along the way. Below you will find a recap of our year here on Expanding Wisdom, a few EXCITING announcements about what is to come in 2015 for Expanding Wisdom, and a review of some of the highlights straight from the Dow house.
A Blog Year in Review:
March 2014
I decided to move forward with getting serious about blogging! Since 2011 Expanding Wisdom was just a place to post the classes I would be teaching and the VERY occasional article {like one post per year occasional}. This is the month everything changed. I actually remember sitting at my favorite coffee shop with the ladies in my co-op. I was expressing my struggle with what to focus on and what to do now that I was going to be graduating from the CiRCE Apprenticeship. I had spent 3 years focusing on the principles, the philosophy, and the transcendent things and now it was time to look at the particulars and the realm of action. One of my friends suggested blogging along with teaching more classes. I could not shake the idea. It stirred and stirred and I knew I had to let it go forever or take action.
April-May 2014
I began working hard behind the scenes learning, writing, and preparing for the launch of the new Expanding Wisdom!
June 2014
Expanding Wisdom launched! June was all about laying the ground work and main content for the blog. I shared my personal homeschooling story, we talked about Getting Started with Classical Homeschooling, and our experience with starting a classical co-op.
July 2014
July was graduation month! After 3 years in the CiRCE Apprenticeship I graduated and attended my first CiRCE Conference. It was amazing. I can’t wait for this year’s in Charleston, SC. July is also the month when our Imago Dei series was born. To this day all the Imago Dei posts combined are read more than any other post.
August & September 2014
In the fall we were so excited to be able to share some posts with the Schole Sisters. This is also when I realized how many amazing relationships could be formed through blogging and online discussion. We announced our Expanding Wisdom Online Community and began reading Dante and Abolition of Man together.
October 2014
October was all about the Arts. We participated in our first ever 31 Day challenge and wrote about one topic for 31 days in 31 Days of Playing with the Arts. I had the privilege of sharing with you some amazing articles by a variety of women. You ladies are so talented. We also had the privilege of interviewing John Hodges from the Center for Western Studies. It was a great interview where he led us through the Chichester Psalms, a choral work by Leonard Bernstein.
November & December 2014
The holiday season completed our year with the launch of our Teaching page, which features real examples of mimetic and Socratic lessons. We wrote and published our first book, ‘A Guide to Teaching Classically’ and explored the similarity between Charlotte Mason and the Classical tradition in our interview and book review with Karen Glass and our article about narration. To top it off we published our first article over at the CiRCE Institute blog.
Expanding Wisdom’s Top 10 Posts for 2014.
2. 31 Days of Playing with the Arts
3. Comparing IEW and the Lost Tools of Writing
4. Narration: A Classical Introduction
5. 20 Steps to Starting a Classical CO-OP
6. Gifts & Tips to Keep you Classically Inspired
7. First Things, Second Things, and Suffering
8. {Step 5} Forms of Instruction Part II: Mimetic Instruction
9. 10 Steps to Getting Started with Christian Classical Homeschooling
10.{Day 9} Playing with Drawing[/box]
Looking to the Future & A SPECIAL Announcement!
We are looking forward to all that is to come in 2015! While I cannot tell all, I can announce that on February 28th 2015 we will be launching Books & Things {the Expanding Wisdom shop} and at the same time releasing our very first at-your-own-pace course for Moms.
Our first product will be a step-by-step guide to Getting Started with Classical Homeschooling. The 11 post series is great, and gives a lot of invaluable information, but we realized there is so much more to learn and discover that only a course would do. It is going to packed with videos, articles, mp3s, a real book, and more! Next month is when it all happens. We are so excited and I hope you are too!
After that, in May, High School students can be on the lookout for a special product especially for them and I have heard that October holds a special surprise as well!
It is going to be a great year. This month we also begin reading and discussing ‘The Liberal Arts Tradition’ by Clark & Jain.
I am looking forward to learning more about this tradition and becoming a better teacher this year. I hope you will join me.
A House Year in Review
This year was a roller coaster ride for us in the Dow house. In and out of jobs a few times, projects, school, starting a blog, work, graduating, and all the daily life a family of 5 could enjoy. Here are some of my favorite moments from 2014:
The Snowtopia of 2014!
Down here in the South we don’t get much snow. SO this was pretty epic for us. {The handsome guy in the picture, that’s my man.}
The Birthday Tree
This year we started a tradition called the Birthday tree. We figure that since we are created in the image of God, our lights are meant to shine. Whenever we come upon a family member’s birthday week we decorate a tree in honor of them, with ornaments and such that represent them. Then we put their gifts under the tree on their Birthday! What a great way to celebrate a life. I highly encourage all of you ruthlessly steal this idea. The kids, and the husband, and any house guests we have, absolutely love it. Let your light shine.
Sweet & Seemly Closed
After years of producing art in a variety of forms as a business. We closed the doors on that season. Art will always be part of our lives, but not in a professional way. Instead we will use our love of art to worship God and bless our family. This was a hard step, but we knew that we had to let some things go, to make room for what we are meant to be focusing on, namely homeschooling, this blog, and doing our part for the Christian classical renewal.
A Wedding
My Best friend got married and I got to be the Matron of Honor
A Surprise Party
Some of my family and friends threw me a surprise graduation party! I especially liked the candy they served. {nerds, smarties, and “book worms”}
My son Started Playing Basketball {for real}
This year was so cool to watch my son. We had are ups and downs, but one of the ups was him deciding at a heart level that he was committing himself to basketball. He has worked so hard training this year and was blessed with a great basketball opportunity. I have the feeling this is the first of many, many games.
A Few Arts & Crafts
What can I say, the 31 Days Series inspired me. It was so much fun actually completing a few Pinterest projects! {as opposed to just pinning them}
It has been a pleasure sharing 2014 with you.
Expanding wisdom, extending grace,
Jen
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