At the beginning of the summer, I knew we needed rest but the pull to finish the books we didn’t make it through and the urgent need to power through home projects really battled each other as I processed plans for the next few months. In the past, I would become so overwhelmed by all of the mental conflict involved in processing needs vs wants vs expectations that I would retreat into a state of avoidance, creating the ideal but unachievable plan-on-paper, then letting everyone watch tv or play games too long or without boundary until dysregulation became the name of the game because I couldn’t actually work the plan.
But, this summer we are fresh off an ADHD diagnosis which has led to a lot of learning and, ultimately, a greater understanding of myself and how to parent better. But, once again, though I know better, it’s still been hard to do better and the typical overwhelm began to set in. Thankfully, though, I knew enough to understand that the rest we really needed was a rest from the expectation to finish the school we didn’t get to. I just needed to let that expectation go. I also knew that working toward decluttering the house and creating systems for the new school year, though a lot of work, would create the mental space needed in order for us to thrive in a restful way this fall. So, that became the new expectation.
Understanding the neurodiversity in our family has helped me hold on to a great deal of peace when pulling back and shifting focus. It has also helped me to feel safe in prioritizing needed life skills over academics. Where I would have powered through in the past, continuing to push harder into what I thought we should do or just giving in to what I wanted to do in the moment, I now accept that I can’t do everything, and at the same time, my brain and my children’s brains will want to do less than possible or in some cases, necessary.
In order to not live inside either of those scenarios, I decided to challenge myself to do one project a week and my kids to do some predetermined OYO school work before playing. This way, decluttering and fall prep is happening, the kids are continuing to learn and engage their brains, and there is time each day for everyone to decompress and just relax without any shame. I am present and aware, but not in charge of everything. Each person has autonomy within the family unit which has allowed for a lot of working side by side. They are learning to follow a rhythm of work before play and I am learning to see things through to completion. It feels an awful lot like, “I am, I can, I ought, I will,” and I am here for it.
-Cara
On The CPQ Blog
Behind the Scenes
Truth: ready for final copyedits
Laugh: ready for layout
Mansoul: articles coming in next month
Atmosphere: main article writers being contacted
Compendium Submissions
When we first began compendiums in Common Place Quarterly, we would put a call out to the community for submissions. We would post as many as we could in the magazine, and the rest would go on social media. Then we went through a couple of years where we reached out to a handful of people to write the compendiums for us all year. As we begin Year 8 of the magazine, we thought we’d open up submissions to the community again!
We have strong feelings about our compendiums.
The compendium is not the heart of the magazine, but it is the heart of our readership. It represents feet on the ground. It does not need to be, nor should it be, perfectly written or perfectly “perfect” Charlotte Mason (though it does need to be assuming a heart towards Mason’s methods). You don’t need to sound like you know all the things. Your philosophy does not need to be fully fleshed out. You don’t have to have all your dishes done or have been previously published or own seven chickens or know how to make sourdough bread. But you can know all those things and write about them, too! The point is that this piece is not and will never be about obtaining any standard of perfection. It is about the reality of living life, building families, growing character, and doing the hard thing of educating our children at home. You can make us laugh, make us cry, or be wildly practical. We want to help you share your heart and where you are today.
Won’t you consider sharing with us?
Our first issue of 2026 will be Mansoul. The compendium topic for this issue is: Tell us about a time when homeschooling helped build your character.
Submissions need to be 300-400 words, and they will be due July 15th!
Use the form below to submit your compendium.
Do you have a Charlotte Mason conference coming up? Send us the information at mariah@commonplacequarterly.com, and we will share it in our monthly newsletter!
Something Borrowed: Afternoon Edition
Episode 258: Afternoons | A Delectable Education
Productive Afternoons | Simple Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason Afternoon Occupations | Charlotte Mason International
Afternoon Occupations | Our Cooper Nest
Leisurely Afternoons - Part 1 | A Modern Charlotte Mason
Leisurely Afternoons - Part 2 | A Modern Charlotte Mason
July BOGO sale
All back issues in the shop will be BOGO 50% off for the whole month of July!
Use code Julybogo at checkout. : )
July Recitation Printable
Get To Know The Editors
What’s Cara…
Reading: I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel and Boys in the Boat. I am a little bit in limbo. I kind of started Sanatorium. I am trying to make my way through Catcher in the Rye. And I am about to start No Time to Be Dumb with my older girls while starting Harry Potter book 2 with my youngest son. There are a lot of books beginning right now…we’ll see what gets finished.
Buying: butcher block countertops
Eating: angel hair pasta with Prego poured on top because it’s camp week and comfort food is where I’m at. But also, I bought a freezer dump meal set from This Crafty Home a few weeks back, and it has made me not dread meals after long camp days this month.
Making: chocolate chip cookies and the Truth Magazine.
Drinking: more healthy versions of drinks that still taste like coffee
Watching: Breaking 4 and Fixer Upper
Thinking about: what to do with an extra room in our house that could go in many different directions.
What’s Mariah…
Reading: Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (book five in this series—moving right along and enjoying it!), Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, and A Gentleman in Moscow aloud with my husband
Buying: my grandpa’s truck for our son’s first vehicle
Eating: beef stir fry
Making: plans to hike the bluff next month
Drinking: water and coffee
Thinking about: This quote from East of Eden: “Suppose it were true—Adam, the most rigidly honest man it was possible to find, living all his life on stolen money. Lee laughed to himself—now this second will, and Aron, whose purity was a little on the self-indulgent side, living all his life on the profits from a whore house. Was this some kind of joke or did things balance so that if one went too far in one direction an automatic slide moved on scale and the balance was re-established?”
Learning: about how the vagus nerve contributes to emotional regulation, how outpatient hospice works, how to integrate chickens, how to focus on what matters and let the rest go—to name a few.