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July 13 - October 27, 2022
AmongstLovelyThings.com
(CirceInstitute.org)
“The most important thing a homeschooling mother can do is to teach from a state of rest.”
He meant that we ought to enter into God’s rest and then serve Him wholeheartedly—not out of anxiety, but out of love and trust.
ClassicalAcademicPress.com
ScholeGroups.com.
Fulfillment of the divine will and the knowledge that it is being done is a source of serenity and gratitude.
our work in raising up and teaching our children is never really done. But we must remember that we were never intended to finish it.
We can’t really rest in God’s care until we trust that He will indeed care for us.
What we are really aiming for in giving our children a rigorous education is not just doing hard things, but cultivating a habit of focused attention.
“The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.”
He’s calling me to be faithful and to trust Him for the results, which may not look like what I was expecting.
Faithfulness is showing up every day to do the work He has called us to. Whether or not things turn out in the end as I’m hoping they will (for my children to have a strong faith, humble and compassionate hearts, a love for learning, and an academic skill set that helps them seek out knowledge and truth every day and everywhere) is not actually within my span of control. It’s not my assigned task. He isn’t asking me to succeed on the world’s terms. He’s asking me to faithfully do the work.
All true education begins in wonder and ends in wisdom—as
He placed the seeds into your palm, patted your fist lovingly, and asked you to tend them well. To steward them. To help them grow.
You can cultivate the soil (education is an atmosphere!), thin them (a discipline!), and water them (a life!).
We are weary because we forget about grace.
It All Starts with Prayer
no matter what comes our way, we are doing it all for His pleasure.
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. —St. Frances de Sales
Curriculum isn’t something we buy. It’s something we teach. Something we embody. Something we love.
Of course we will use such resources to reach our goals, but the resource will be our servant, not our master.
How you teach is just as important as what you teach.
Pacing doesn’t matter if you are sacrificing mastery and love for truth, goodness, and
beauty. Change the way you assess your success. The quality of study matters far more than the mere quantity of learning.
Perhaps the biggest mistake homeschooling moms make as a whole is overcomplicating things.
In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis warns us against running around in a flood with fire extinguishers.11
If we don’t know where we’re going, what our purpose is for our children, our homeschool, and our family culture, it will be impossible to know what should go and what should stay.
There are a lot of things we can’t control in parenting and homeschooling, but one thing we can do is shape the environment.
warm, conversational, and infused with truth, goodness, and beauty.
Clarifying your vision with a few key words, phrases, or sentences is a practical way to begin with the end in mind and to focus on what really matters.
true breadth is achieved through depth.
We need to lead our children out of the shallows in order to dive in deep.
For example, in our home, we do geography the Charlotte Mason way.12
The truth is, sometimes the curriculum does need a change.
I plan six weeks at a time, and we follow that plan for six weeks, even if things aren’t going as smoothly as I’d like.
They tell me to focus on relationships, to help my children preserve wonder and perceive truth, and to do each day’s work as diligently as I can.
Beauty in the
Word, Stratford Caldecott
readaloudrevival.com.
Have your children write every day. It doesn’t need to be book reports or historical essays. It can be a letter, an e-mail, a grocery list, or a journal entry. Make writing itself a priority.
Then, live your life. Do it in front of and with your kids.
create family traditions,
Remember that children will learn well what they see in us, what they will inevitably imitate.
Perhaps most importantly, put relationships above everything else. God made a true, beautiful, and good world to relish.
You have to begin with what you have, and what you have is a fixed amount of time.
Plan Your Year, Pam Barnhill
The Father Brown Reader: Stories from Chesterton by Nancy Carpentier Brown Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer The Burgess Book of Birds by Thornton Burgess Read-Aloud Book of
Bible Stories by Amy Steedman
Looping can be used wherever there is work that needs to be done regularly.
