CPQ September Newsletter
I love a fresh start. A new school year is my jam. Mondays are my favorite day of the week. But today is Thursday. The middle of the week. It’s our 8th week of school. The middle of the semester. Half of my kids are in the “middle grades”. I’m closing in on my mid-forties. It’s all very middle. And I am feeling the very middle-ness of it all. Suddenly, the school year, that just weeks ago seemed so fresh and new and full of exciting opportunities, feels tired and draining and underwhelming. Even a certain teenager has taken to splaying herself across the couch mid-school day and moaning about how exhausting it all is.
I find myself feeling a rising sense of panic. It’s only September; we shouldn't be feeling this way. It’s homeschool; we shouldn’t be feeling this way. It’s Charlotte Mason; we shouldn't be feeling this way! What do I need to change? What is wrong with the schedule? Am I asking too much of them? Am I asking the wrong things of them? Do they need to go to public school? Should I get a job? Should we become minimalists? Should we sell our house and build a log cabin in the woods somewhere and throw our cellphones and laptops in the garbage? (There is nothing wrong with any of these things, by the way…but hopefully you get the sense of the spiraling path my panicked thinking takes).
I wish I was the type of person who enjoyed the rhythms of the middle. The middle is the place where comfortable routines take shape. Where repetition meets ease and mastery. Where the sharp inclines turn into flat and shaded valleys, and one can pause and delight in the bright spots that break through the tree cover and cause the sunbeams to dance. The middle is where teatime happens, and cozy naps mark the time between study and chores. Even after 15 years of home educating, I still find myself panicking in the middle, when I should be resting.
And therein lies the seed of truth…my inability to rest. To trust. That is, of course, what is needed in the middle. To trust that all the summer’s prep will be enough. To trust that all the habits we’ve established will help carry our children to a higher workload, a higher character, and a higher calling. To trust that Charlotte Mason had the right ideas. To trust that the Holy Spirit is working…in me too. And so that might mean that I do need to change some things in the middle, if the Spirit is leading me to. But it might also mean that I need to take a breath, or a walk, and choose to cozy up with the middle.
As many of you are likely starting to stare down the middle of your school year, or the middle of your school day, or middle age, I’d encourage you to get out your copy of our issue “The Middle.” It makes for a great afternoon read during the middle of those challenging weeks. As Tim Laurio reminds us in his article “At the Speed of Hobbits”:
It’s easy to envy others’ stories because you see them from a distance, where the shapes of the mountains are clear. Your own story, by contrast, feels like walking up the side of a rock. But you don’t reach the top of a mountain by looking. The only way to get closer—to partake in the grandeur and glory of life on that mountain—is to put one foot in front of the other and walk...
It’s hard, as one ordinary moment slips into another, to see what it all means—to catch the beauty or understand where life is taking you. But just because you can’t see the shape of the story from up close doesn’t mean that it’s not taking shape. Slow sequences of ordinary moments are how life’s mythologies and chapters are written. The Lord of the Rings’ ambling pace may bore some readers, but to me, it’s a reminder of the speed at which great stories often unfold: one day and one mile at a time.”
-Sarah
On The CPQ Blog
Behind the Scenes
Personhood is about to ship!
Goodness is in layout
Book is getting prepped for layout
Things articles will be turned in October 15th!
Bonus Giveaway!
*this giveaway is now closed*
We’ve had such a fun time giving away our bundles for our Much Ado About Everything giveaway. So much fun that we have a surprise bonus bundle to giveaway here in our newsletter! Lisa writes our Shakespeare column, and she’s been homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason method for 33 years. She and her husband wrote several high school science curriculums and a driver’s ed course. They were generous enough to donate all their sets to CPQ for a giveaway! This giveaway includes:
Friendly Chemistry Teacher Editions (Volumes 1 & 2)
Friendly Chemistry Student Textbook
Friendly Chemistry Manipulatives Booklet
Friendly Chemistry Annotated Solutions Manual
Friendly Biology Student Textbook
Friendly Biology Workbook
Friendly Biology Tests and Solutions Booklet
Friendly Physical Science Textbook
Friendly Physical Science Workbook
Friendly Physical Science Tests and Solutions Booklet
Friendly Drivers Education Textbook
Plus, they can offer free video or audiobook licenses for any of the above
And a back issue of Common Place Quarterly’s Upper Years for good measure.
To enter this giveaway:
Make sure you’re signed up to receive our newsletters here on Substack
Leave a comment sharing your favorite Shakespeare play
A winner will be chosen and emailed on Monday, September 30th.
This giveaway is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Substack. Open to all US entries. The giveaway will be closed on September 29th, 2024, at 11.59MST. The winner will be chosen at random and emailed on September 30th, 2024.
A Big Thank You!
A huge thank you to everyone who sent us items for the giveaway! What an amazing, generous community we have. : )
Living Book Press - Cindy Rollins - Amber O’Neal Johnston - Karen Glass - Laurie Bestvater - Karen Andreola - Jennifer Pepito - Brandy Vencel - Heather Tully - Rebecca Zipp - Lanaya Gore - Micah Pettes - Anne E. White - Donna-Jean Breckenridge - Sally Clarkson - Charlotte Mason Institute - Joey and Lisa Hadja - Min Hwang - Lesley Manning
Sale on back issues!
Today, through the end of the month, you can get some back issues out of our shop for 10% off! No coupon code is needed; the discount will show up in your cart.
Blast from the Past
Get To Know The Editors
What’s Cara…
Reading: The Egg and I, I Cheerfully Refuse, Seven Daughters and Seven Sons
Drinking: lattes and British coffee
Listening to: my kids’ Amazon music queues which include everything from Kidz Bop to Aerosmith to Elton John to Toby Mac to Lin Manuel Miranda to Becoming Bristol
Eating: palak paneer with jeera rice
Watching: Hudson and Rex with the fam plus all the kid sports
Making: level 2 gymnastics Halloween meet outfits…and best laid plans
Learning: to pre-plan and trust the plan
Writing: the kid’s gazette
Thinking about: intuitive thinking vs non-intuitive thinking. Is everyone intuitive about something? Do some people not have to think to understand things that other people take for granted? Do some people never intuit concepts?
What’s Mariah…
Reading: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson and The Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks
Making: hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solutions using Karo syrup for biology labs this afternoon
Listening to: Rend Collective
Eating: some fried eggs smothered in green chili
Watching: Rings of Power
Drinking: Sweet Lemon Everyday Immune tea
Thinking about: how palliative care is a lot like herding cats, and what is it going to take for me to get all these doctors and the assisted living facility to communicate with me consistently?! *face palm*
Writing: a lot right now. It helps me to process difficult things and know how to pray when I’m stuck/overwhelmed.
Learning: to intentionally notice my husband when there’s chaos —he brought me food when I was in the ER with my mom, went to the hospital with me to check on mom several times, helped out around the house, and made sure I was getting enough sleep —and then to make sure he knows I see and appreciate these things.
What’s Sarah…
Reading: The Glass Castle, A Gentleman in Moscow, Competing Spectacles
Listening to: some 90s country. I haven’t listened to anything but Classical and Christian music for the last 16 years. Imagine my surprise when I turned on the 90s country channel on Apple Music and remembered the lyrics to EVERY SONG! I regret giving my CD collection away.
Drinking: Water. With ice. I only drink it cold.
Making: plans for a mini co-op with my friend for our three little girls. I keep saying I don’t like teaching the littles, but then I keep planning things to do with the littles.
Eating: beans…I made a huge pot of them, but my kids don’t love beans. So, I’ve been eating them every day. My current favorite recipe here.
Watching: Anne of Green Gables. My kids and I binge-watch it every fall when my husband has a work trip. I still cry.
Learning: that my oversharing tendencies can get me into trouble (okay…this has been a work in progress since I was about 7 years old)
Does the feast ever give you indigestion? We’re here to help. Are you new to Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy? Are you not quite sure how to keep a notebook? Are you curious how this philosophy looks in a classroom? with special needs? in a co-op? Are you having trouble with dictation or don’t quite understand how to enjoy nature study in the desert?
We’d love to come alongside you in your journeys and help you troubleshoot those spicy areas.
How this will work: We will put a form in our monthly newsletters. If you’d like some help, just fill it out with your information and questions, and we will answer them in a blog post here on Substack. Sound good? Let’s get this dinner party started!
My favorite Shakespeare Play is The Winters Tale!
My current favorite Shakespeare play is A Midsummer Night's Dream because we are reading it together as a family and we began watching it this past week. My boys (7 and 9) were begging to do more Shakespeare because they loved it so much! That felt like a huge win! We have enjoyed how "The Lord Chamberlain's Men" have done them (available on Youtube)...it is all male actors just like a true Shakespeare play would have been!