We like words in our home. One of the first things I remember noticing about my husband’s family that he grew up in is that they were particular about grammar and how they communicated. The had their own secret language that only they knew, which, let’s be honest, I thought was quite strange when I first learned about it. Later, it was one of the most endearing things I grew to love about his family. Even later when we were making our own family and I was reading all the parenting books, there was one that mentioned – having words that were made up and only known by your family, like a secret language, is a proven way to create intimacy, connection and family bonds. Who knew? Needless to say, we have some of the extended family’s words now mixed with some of our own.
As Classical homeschoolers, we also get to study words through studying the art of grammar, the essentials of the english language and latin! I never knew homeschooling would be an adventure in redeeming my own education! I did not grow up in a home that had a secret language or knew what the word etymology meant (where words come from), but it’s such a gift to get to explore language.
The etymology of the word “art” for example, comes from the Latin word ars, which originally meant skill or craft. We love art in our family. My husband was a fine arts major for goodness sake, and I grew up going to my grandmother’s house, “Painting Grandma” as my children refer to her. She was a beautiful woman, a little stern and rough around the edges, but who wouldn’t be growing up through the great depression and seeing the things she saw throughout her lifetime. She was an artist.
As a little girl I remember walking through her house, which we spent early mornings before school, after school and summer days visiting while my mom worked for a season. Her walls were covered with oil paintings. Giant canvases with mountains and rivers and snow covered pine trees to smaller ones with old ships sailing on rough waves adorned those rooms. I remember staring at them for hours. That dear woman, Grandma Georgia, sacrificially gave her time to pass on her love of art and spent afternoons here and there passing on that gift to me. She taught me the basics of oil painting and one of the first I can remember was of a scene of ducks. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but I was sure proud of it and it sparked a love and appreciation for art that I still enjoy today.
Another lesson she taught me through those painting lessons was that art can’t be forced. It should never be done while frustrated or angry that it’s not turning out the way you want it to. Those emotions block you from being able to create freely. She taught me that art is a skill that you work at. She encouraged me to appreciate each stroke and brush drawn across the canvas as each shapes the final piece.
I am grateful I get to pass these life lessons on to my kids through sharing the love of art and it’s history as well as the lessons that come from its etymology as we begin studying great artists this quarter in our co-op adventures and at home!