The ability to jump off the beaten path and create your own map is the essence of homeschooling. We are rerouting our homeschool GPS this year toward a new source for artist study. In the past we followed the Ambleside Online schedule (which is incredible), but a twist of fate has changed things up for us.
We plan on concluding our upcoming school year with a voyage to an art museum. A voyage in which we are armed with a guide showcasing its collection. A guide with huge color images and commentaries. A guide linking a copy to the real thing. A guide we scored for fifty cents!
It started with a failed book sale. Yes, failed. Homeschool book sales are indeed one of my obsessions delights in life. It’s the books that linger in the dark corners, abandoned and neglected I seek. They need a new home as surely as a cute fuzzy puppy needs a preschooler to cuddle.
Ok, I digress. Our new-to-us art book didn’t find us easily. I had to work for it.
The adventure started in a church parking lot at an alleged book sale, please note the word alleged. Only two cars were present, mine and one other. Strange, where is everyone? Searching my mind, an idea sprang to life. I’m merely trying to enter at the wrong side, everyone is parked somewhere else. Yes, books induce delusional thoughts. Discount books make the effect stronger.
Finding a door I peered inside expecting to see meandering souls grasping tomes of knowledge surrounded by auras of wisdom. All I found was an empty hallway.
“Can I help you?” a voice lingered behind me. I had discovered the owner of the other car in the parking lot. Awkward.
Not giving up hope a book sale lay await within, I inquired about a start time. Unfortunately, the start time was a week away. More awkward.
Bumbling toward my car I rechecked my calendar. Date correct. Time correct. It was at this location last year, what happened? What’s a book lover to do in a situation like this? You guessed it, find a book store!
Wandering aimlessly around new books and yearning for a discount, I glanced at an announcement board. Homeschool book sale it declared. Same date, same time as my ever-so-accurate calendar stated. Accuracy is only as good as the assumption. I assumed the location was the same as last year. I was wrong. It had moved. Hope of a book sale arose!
Another announcement caught my attention. Yet another homeschool book sale. The following week. At the location I just left! Jackpot!
Onward to a book sale! The day has been saved!
Exasperation morphed into delight as I entered the printed realm. Science, literature, history filled my bag. I even had to go to my car and unload since I started to tilt sideways. Exhaustion eventually set in. I was ready to depart.
“Have you seen down the hallway?” a friend inquired. “A Charlotte Mason homeschooler is there.”
Darkened hallway, piles of books, living books. Delight! I found resources for composer study, folk study and literature galore. Tilting once again, I spied a new treasure,“Favorite Paintings from the Cincinnati Art Museum”.
A coffee-table size book, 50 images in full color, with commentaries for each! It had served its former home well and was ready for new travels. An artist a week during our school year and we would end our journey by seeing paintings outside of a printed page. My mind was spinning in preparation of a family vacation in the making!
In a brief moment of time it happened. I went from a failed book sale to a new approach for a subject. The beauty of homeschooling is the ability to change your GPS at a moment’s notice, reroute your journey into new territory and enjoy the scenery. See failures in their true form-they are merely bypasses, detours, side roads. Savor the view. You never know what you might find.