STICKY-SWEET COMMUNITY
Honey bees live as colonies and work together to create delicious honey. This doesn't just happen. It takes an incredible amount of leadership, teamwork, and communication to create the highly complex social community of a honey bee hive.
The bees search for just the right hive to inhabit. To grow their colony, they must go out of the hive and scout for flowering plants and, in the process, direct others where to find good sources. They drink nectar from many different flowering sources (pollinating them to produce even more sources in the process) and then bring it back to the hive. Through a process of regurgitation, they pass the nectar around, each bee adding more enzymes to the nectar to break it down into simpler forms of sugar and ripening it to remove excess water. They then pack the liquid in a cell of a honeycomb, beat their wings to dry and thicken it, and seal it with beeswax to store until it transforms into honey, which they can then use as food. It's hard work, but there's a sweet reward!
Our goal at Honey of the Hive is to offer families the sweet life of Charlotte Mason community by building local hives and pollinating the greater CM community around us. We feel these two parts are equally important. If we only focus on seeking nectar (researching, reading, listening, studying, conferencing), but have no hive to take it home to for sharing, discussing, and processing, we won’t be able to make honey. If we only focus inwardly on building a Charlotte Mason group, we will quickly run out of food and inspiration -- the group may starve and die.
So our dream is to build healthy local communities, pollinate regional communities and connect to national and global communities. You can read more about our vision for inspiring more local hives below. Our hives section explains more about how we actually build local hives and points to a list of local hives already taking flight.
The bees search for just the right hive to inhabit. To grow their colony, they must go out of the hive and scout for flowering plants and, in the process, direct others where to find good sources. They drink nectar from many different flowering sources (pollinating them to produce even more sources in the process) and then bring it back to the hive. Through a process of regurgitation, they pass the nectar around, each bee adding more enzymes to the nectar to break it down into simpler forms of sugar and ripening it to remove excess water. They then pack the liquid in a cell of a honeycomb, beat their wings to dry and thicken it, and seal it with beeswax to store until it transforms into honey, which they can then use as food. It's hard work, but there's a sweet reward!
Our goal at Honey of the Hive is to offer families the sweet life of Charlotte Mason community by building local hives and pollinating the greater CM community around us. We feel these two parts are equally important. If we only focus on seeking nectar (researching, reading, listening, studying, conferencing), but have no hive to take it home to for sharing, discussing, and processing, we won’t be able to make honey. If we only focus inwardly on building a Charlotte Mason group, we will quickly run out of food and inspiration -- the group may starve and die.
So our dream is to build healthy local communities, pollinate regional communities and connect to national and global communities. You can read more about our vision for inspiring more local hives below. Our hives section explains more about how we actually build local hives and points to a list of local hives already taking flight.
SWARM. BUILD. POLLINATE.
Swarm a Colony
Find the right colony. Simply put, a honeybee hive starts with a queen and some bees swarming together in a new location and surviving on what they have until they build a new hive and grow a new colony of bees. To start a new "CM Hive" takes leadership and like-minded families working toward a common goal. "School" is not an isolated occurrence in our day, and education is not something "done" to a child. Charlotte Mason believed education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life (Vol. 6, pp.94-106), so the people we are around, where we spend time together, and what we do during that time really matters. So the first step is for a leader to find other bees (or, sometimes, for bees to find a leader) with common, foundational goals. Then buzz about and spread the word to find others who want to join your colony! Don't be discouraged if you can't find other CM families right away. Many times, there are like-minded friends available who just haven't been introduced to Mason's philosophy yet. Dream BIG, but be thankful and content with what the Lord provides in His timing. He can do mighty things with a few faithful people!
Invest in relationships. We must broaden and deepen Christ-centered relationships within the local community to create a society in which our families may work through the Charlotte Mason homeschool journey together. We want friends for our children to grow up with and whom they can share learning experiences and celebrate milestones. We need a safe place to share what is or is not working in our homes and to not be afraid to admit challenges. We need to know that the loving advice we receive will be grounded in God's Word and in line with CM philosophy. If we don't care about each other personally, we will not respect the hive as the life-giving dwelling place it should be.
To build relationships takes both time and spending time together. The more time you spend together, the more you'll find out if you want to stay and belong. If you decide not to, it's fine! If one local community isn't the right fit, it's OK to try a different one. We are all working toward the same goal, and we dream of a day where there will be plenty of options for CM families to find communities that are just the right fit for them.
Invest in relationships. We must broaden and deepen Christ-centered relationships within the local community to create a society in which our families may work through the Charlotte Mason homeschool journey together. We want friends for our children to grow up with and whom they can share learning experiences and celebrate milestones. We need a safe place to share what is or is not working in our homes and to not be afraid to admit challenges. We need to know that the loving advice we receive will be grounded in God's Word and in line with CM philosophy. If we don't care about each other personally, we will not respect the hive as the life-giving dwelling place it should be.
To build relationships takes both time and spending time together. The more time you spend together, the more you'll find out if you want to stay and belong. If you decide not to, it's fine! If one local community isn't the right fit, it's OK to try a different one. We are all working toward the same goal, and we dream of a day where there will be plenty of options for CM families to find communities that are just the right fit for them.
Build a Hive
Scout good sources. Once we belong to the right hive, we can't just buzz around each other and expect great things to happen. We have to work together to make sweet honey and everyone has to contribute. We have to work at researching, reading, listening, and learning all we can about Charlotte Mason philosophy, principles, methods, and strategies from a variety of good sources. We have to search for good Charlotte Mason sources and inspiration to bring back to the hive. These sources will come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The original volumes, other books, conferences, podcasts, blogs, social media groups...the list goes on.
Share the sweet stuff. Next, we have to share that information with our hive, directing others to those sources of sweet nectar. We prioritize opportunities to meet with others in real life. We encourage casual, thoughtful conversations during Nature Club and Cottage School, but it's hard to hold deep, meaningful conversations with children underfoot (no matter how masterly inactive we are). This is why Book Club is a requirement for all Honey of the Hive members. Here, we can discuss more deeply and methodically specific CM sources. In addition, we can also share prayer requests, encouragement, and general support for one another for homeschooling, marriage, and parenting.
Break it down. As we process what we are learning as a group, we each bring personal experiences and understanding to the conversation. This helps break down the information into simpler, digestible pieces that we can store away in the honeycombs of our minds -- as food for thought and to further process individually. In time, this practical wisdom naturally seeps out, and our children's educational and life experiences are that much sweeter.
Share the sweet stuff. Next, we have to share that information with our hive, directing others to those sources of sweet nectar. We prioritize opportunities to meet with others in real life. We encourage casual, thoughtful conversations during Nature Club and Cottage School, but it's hard to hold deep, meaningful conversations with children underfoot (no matter how masterly inactive we are). This is why Book Club is a requirement for all Honey of the Hive members. Here, we can discuss more deeply and methodically specific CM sources. In addition, we can also share prayer requests, encouragement, and general support for one another for homeschooling, marriage, and parenting.
Break it down. As we process what we are learning as a group, we each bring personal experiences and understanding to the conversation. This helps break down the information into simpler, digestible pieces that we can store away in the honeycombs of our minds -- as food for thought and to further process individually. In time, this practical wisdom naturally seeps out, and our children's educational and life experiences are that much sweeter.
Pollinate the Flowers
Be pollinators. The national and global Charlotte Mason community will thrive and grow more if its local groups are interconnected. When local hives send out workers to gather nectar, each worker spreads pollen dust from different sources, bringing life to new sources. The time we spend with other local communities in play dates, field trips, and local gatherings is invaluable. It builds camaraderie, provides opportunities for new relationships, and inspires the birth of new communities. If a local community wants to feel connected to the larger community, it must prioritize time spent with other local and regional communities.
At Honey of the Hive, we also support this endeavor through our online community. We share questions or ideas we read about in the discussion board. We invite others along when our family goes on a nature hike. We setup field trips and camps that are open to other members of our local community. We host retreats for CM families in our regional community. We encourage conference attendance, both near and far. We want our members to be rooted in our local community but also free to buzz about!
At Honey of the Hive, we also support this endeavor through our online community. We share questions or ideas we read about in the discussion board. We invite others along when our family goes on a nature hike. We setup field trips and camps that are open to other members of our local community. We host retreats for CM families in our regional community. We encourage conference attendance, both near and far. We want our members to be rooted in our local community but also free to buzz about!
Enjoy Honey of the Hive
Some may be tempted to search for information alone or take from groups what they need when they need it without committing to the group. It's important to remember that without the hive, and unity of the whole colony within, the honey would not exist. Relationships are important. Spending time together as teachers, students, and families is important. Letting our kids explore, wonder, and grow together is important. Sharing knowledge is important. Connecting with regional, national, and global Charlotte Mason communities is important.
Building a hive is exciting; there will be bumps along the way, but it will be beautiful and God-honoring. We dream of intergenerational colonies with experienced CM families mentoring and investing in those just behind them. This beautiful vision is a golden opportunity for life-on-life discipleship in both the educational and spiritual realms, the two of which Mason said we cannot allow to be separated (Vol. 6, p.xxxi).
It will take time to grow and flourish colonies, but the result is worth it: the sticky-sweet, golden treat of COMMUNITY, which is the true Honey of the Hive.
Building a hive is exciting; there will be bumps along the way, but it will be beautiful and God-honoring. We dream of intergenerational colonies with experienced CM families mentoring and investing in those just behind them. This beautiful vision is a golden opportunity for life-on-life discipleship in both the educational and spiritual realms, the two of which Mason said we cannot allow to be separated (Vol. 6, p.xxxi).
It will take time to grow and flourish colonies, but the result is worth it: the sticky-sweet, golden treat of COMMUNITY, which is the true Honey of the Hive.