Home Education as the Hearth

With any practical endeavour, it helps me to have some kind of image which gives meaning to the work at hand. And the no-small-task of home education is no exception. It’s such a big job, with so many facets. I can easily become overwhelmed by details. I can easily become discouraged by comparison. I can easily lose sight of the vision that was ignited in my heart, for my family. 

The image of a hearth is not new for me, as the title of my blog suggests. But I have only recently begun to apply it to the area of home education. I’m currently in a season of evaluating what we’ve done so far, and looking ahead to how we will move forward. But before I can get into the practical elements of planning, I’m taking some time to sketch out the big picture again. 

And I’m picturing home education like a hearth. These are some thoughts that are helping me envision the kind of learning life I want to kindle in our home. 

~ Gathering ~

The hearth is a place of gathering. 

The flame draws us to itself, and to each other. 

It’s a place of coming close and reconnecting.

The hearth is a communal place, and room must be made for all of us. 

This is the beautiful power of fire. We are brought together by something bigger than any one of us. We draw up to a flame that has burned for century upon century. We are in good company. 

The hearth says, you are not alone. 

~ Warmth ~

The hearth is a place of warmth. 

It takes the chill out of the air. It thaws icy attitudes. It melts stubborn ways. It softens hard edges.

In the warmth we can relax, and be ourselves. 

The hearth is a comfortable place, and a comforting place. 

Here we receive rest for our weariness, and balm for the chapped places of life. 

Here we curl up and know that it is well with our souls. 

The hearth says, you are at home.

~ Cheer ~

The hearth is a cheery place. 

Fire dances and flickers and crackles and sings. 

The hearth is a place for kindling joy and sparking delight. 
It’s a merry place. (Hobbits and badgers most welcome.) 

It's a place for laughter and cocoa and tales of adventure. 

Fire revives us, reminds us to lift up our heads and lighten our hearts. 

The hearth says, you can kick up your heels. 

~ Sustenance ~

The hearth is a place of sustenance.

It is over the fire that the tea kettle whistles and the stone soup simmers. 

It is over the fire that the raw ingredients of the day are brought together into something that is nourishing for all. 

It is deep under the coals that soul food is baked, steady and stick-to-your-ribs. 

It’s a place to partake, to share the bread and wine. 

The hearth says, you have everything you need. 

~ Light ~

The hearth is a place of light.

By the glow of fire, we see things as they are meant to be seen. 

We see truth. We see living ideas. 

Something in us becomes illuminated. Inspiration flashes and ignites creativity, passion, wonder. 

At the hearth our torches are lit, torches which we will carry out to the corners of our world and light our varied paths. 

The hearth says, you were made for discovery.

~ Invitation ~

The hearth is a place of invitation. 

First, we gather as family. 

And the circle expands to friends, neighbours, and others we know and love.

The fire is always bright enough for more. The circle extends to those for whom our windows glow as beacons in the night. 

It is not ours to hide under a bushel, but to blaze as a signal on a hill, summoning hope and signalling home. 

The hearth says, you are always welcome. 

This is the image I want to keep burning in my mind's eye as we forge ahead into our next chapter of home education. 

* image: By the Hearth, 1894, by Philip Eustace Stretton

 ~lg

Hearth Aflame

"Peasant Woman By A Hearth" by Jozev Israels

As I was flipping through the carol section of the hymnbook the other day, humming merrily along, I stopped to sing through the words of "There's a Song in the Air." This verse in particular struck me:

"In the light of that star

lie the ages impearled;

and that song from afar

has swept over the world.

Every hearth is aflame,

and the beautiful sing

in the homes of the nations

that Jesus is King!"

I love the hearth imagery, which is why I chose the name "Little Hearth" for this blog way back when. Back then I was living in a tiny apartment over a shop on an old main street in Ontario. We were newly married, and I was just getting the hang of setting up and keeping up my own little home. I had no fireplace, no literal hearth, but I wanted our home to be a place that was lit from within. I wanted to create a place of coziness and cheer. I wanted our home life to glow with a spiritual flame. 

Now, we live in a sprawling old farmhouse on PEI, which I can hardly describe as "little!" Instead of an apartment, we have what we like to think of as our own little homestead. We have a couple of acres, a flock of chickens, and a few children. Our lives have expanded. But in many ways the vision is the same. 

Warmth. Cheer. Gathering. Sustenance. Light. A welcome refuge in the darkness. 

This vision is still my desire and prayer. That the hearth of our home would be aflame with the light of Jesus. If I were to choose the name of my blog today, I think I might just have called it "Hearth Aflame." 

~lg