If you ask me what two situations most reflected beauty and induced awe, it would have to be standing at the foot of the Atlantic and gazing upon the luminescent Alaskan stars.

I think the sea and the sky are almost designed to act on us this way. They are meant to instill a sense of beauty and awe. Beauty and awe are two of the most underrated aspects of education. These qualities inspire us to do things great and small. I imagine many of our most famous sea explorers became so because they felt this inherent response to the sea and the sky. Education’s challenge is to bring beauty and awe to our studies (even through the hard material) because the things we are studying are beautiful!

Charlotte Mason wrote of beauty and awe in every one of her books. She taught the value and importance of teaching a child to appreciate the beauty and awe of Nature, Literature, Art, the Bible and more. But how do we bring beauty and awe into education? Ask yourself why you first began to take an interest in something. Then ask your student.

I asked a student once who loved to track cargo vessels, especially those through Sioux St. Marie, and he had seen them often as a kid. His experience, along with his unique interests and personality, melded into a lifelong love of naval know-how.

Looking back on my own life, my love for studying the Mediterranean Sea and its cultures, the oceans and their rhythms, is rooted in my experience of them. I think there’s a pretty good chance that experience drives your students’ interest, too. Give your students opportunities first to experience what they are studying; then go and study it. They will be much more likely to find beauty in their learning.

But, education cannot rest solely on the beauty of a past experience. We need to foster it with new and growing experiences. Our task is to carry that beauty through the education journey of our WinterPromise families. This is why the design, methods, activities, and events we choose to include in our curriculum—like our Sea and Sky program—are essential. We hope that as you learn with us, your family’s knowledge grows and your sense of beauty and awe blossom into a life of discovery.