One of the cornerstones of Common Place Quarterly is the compendium pieces written by our readership. These are the overflow from our Mansoul issue. The prompt this quarter was: Tell us about a time when homeschooling helped build your character.
We’d love to have you join us in future issues of CPQ! You can find more opportunities to write with us at the bottom of this post. : )
I remember my first read-through of Mary Poppins and, coming to the chapter of the cow with the star stuck in her horn, feeling as if this were a bit too much. I was only a couple of years into my children’s (and my own) living education, and I was still blindly trusting my betters with “all these fairy tales”. While my soul longed for the freedom and grace Charlotte Mason offered in her Philosophy of Education, I still felt like I was stumbling along, wondering if “it was working.” I was trying to catch some of the delight I saw in my children when I read from the genre of the strange and unpredictable. Sometimes I only barely managed to pretend I was enjoying it, while I searched for hidden meaning in the wild woods of wonder.
I am now on my second read-through of Mary Poppins, just a few years further down this living education road, and the other night I was struck by an idea. It was a little like Mary Poppins’ friend, the cow, struck suddenly by her star. I saw myself dancing along, unable to stop, both delighted at my ability and frightened by the lack of control. I, too, danced my journey to the king and found that the only cure to my condition was to jump over the moon. I didn’t know if such a jump was possible, but hopeful, I gave it my best shot. And now I can see that I have made the jump and that both it and the dancing have brought me here -home.
What had felt a little like trudging along (or clumsy dancing) through all those tales had really been a great big leap. And, much to my surprise, it had brought me, not to some unknown territory, but landed me home in the green pasture of an enlarged soul. All these years of reading fairy tales (yes, even reading about that cow) have opened a door to wonder so that in “turning, turning (I came) round right.**.”
**“Simple Gifts” text by Elder Joseph Bracket
Anna Petersheim 2026
A city that is known for its corruption and drug trafficking would hardly seem the ideal place to implement a Charlotte Mason homeschool. The first 3 years here, I struggled greatly with feelings of frustration, feeling that the homeschool life I wanted was impossible in this environment.
Social media didn’t help at all. Every Charlotte Mason mom I saw seemed to be wearing a gingham dress as she skipped barefoot through the grass on the way to feed her flock of chickens, who roamed freely through their spacious yard. My yard is 1/40th of an acre and is completely paved.
So many homeschoolers are also homesteaders, extolling the virtues of being self-sufficient (I believe this!) I tried to grow some vegetables in pots and in the small flower bed, but my bounty was demolished by rats. I saw so many pictures of moms enjoying a quiet cup of coffee on their back porch. I tried this, but it was trash day, and the smell was stronger than my coffee.
I began praying for contentment. I know this is where I should live, and therefore where I should homeschool, but the ideal homeschool life seemed completely out of reach. I decided to focus on ways to do nature study right where we are. I was walking in a park one day, and lo and behold, a dead raccoon! Immediately, I ran home and returned with my children, all of us bearing our nature notebooks. I’m sure the other people in the park were totally inspired and not at all weirded out. I sat out on my porch (not on trash day) and learned to listen to and love the perico ripiao (Dominican merengue music). I noticed flowers springing up from the strangest places. I started walking everywhere, and I noticed murals I had never stopped to look at before.
As we started paying close attention to the things around us, I began to fall in love with my surroundings. Could homeschooling in a city be teaching me contentment? I believe so, and it’s teaching me to observe the beautiful things around me, in whatever form they take.
Lindsey Stelzig 2026
“Thus came Faithful to his end.” As I read the words in Pilgrim’s Progress, the lump in my throat and the tears in my eyes forced me to stop. As my son’s teary eyes met mine, I realized we were sharing this intimate moment. It was minutes before I composed myself and was able to finish the paragraph, never to be the same. Years ago, I embraced Charlotte Mason’s methods in faith, hoping for a richer education for my children. I never anticipated that as I grew in reading aloud to my children, living books would shape my character, too.
When I first began my home education journey, it was a long road to Charlotte Mason and her philosophy. I had never read much outside of required public school readings-I didn’t even own a book-and as a consequence, I was often overly emotional and unable to articulate my thoughts. Those I observed who followed Miss Mason’s methods inspired me. I was drawn to them and their intellectual approach to education. Charlotte Mason’s dense volumes intimidated me, and I struggled to read them. Was it even possible to become like those I admired? Determined to try, I began stumbling over words but persisted for my children’s sake. I’ll never forget struggling with Parables of Nature and Plutarch, unsure even of who Plutarch was. Talk about being humbled! As I labored to read fluently, I found my patience and perseverance growing, reflecting the virtues in the stories I shared. Guided by Mason’s emphasis on living books, I kept going.
As the years went on, I kept reading. To myself and to my children. With every page I read aloud, my confidence grew. Before I knew it, I was finding my voice as a reader, while the stories shaped my heart. I’ve learned to be a better mother from Little Women, inspired by Marmee’s patience. I’ve learned to be a better friend from Wind in the Willows, inspired by Mole’s loyalty. And I’ve learned to be a better Christian from Pilgrim’s Progress, inspired by Faithful’s journey. These stories, shared in quiet moments with my children, are changing us. Turns out, in those tearful pauses, as my reading voice grows stronger, living books are reshaping my character. Charlotte Mason’s methods, I discovered, educate not just children but parents, shaping us together, one story at a time.
Hailey White 2026
Several years ago, we were ministering at a small church with a core group of people who had unhealthy habits. I had set up a Sunday School program using the Charlotte Mason principles I’d been using for our past 10 years of homeschooling ~ principles I was so excited to implement. I just knew everyone would see the beauty of it and would be so grateful that their kids got to encounter a Bible education in such a manner. Well, these people with unhealthy habits did not appreciate or see the beauty. They complained. They went behind my back to change things. They questioned my kids and let me know we weren’t doing a good job of schooling them. They gossiped. They criticized. I was devastated. My own unhealthy habit of craving approval put me down in the dumps. I was anxious, depressed, and questioning my approach to education. Homeschooling continued as usual. One morning, as we went through our routine, I found a YouTube video of our composer’s next piece and clicked play. Composer Study was sort of interesting for us, but definitely not our top love. All of a sudden, Debussy’s “Claire de Lune” began in its slow, emotive way. My ears perked up. I knew this piece! I closed my eyes, lowered my head, and let it wash over me. My kids were preoccupied, so I let the tears come. My first thought as I listened to this beauty was, “They can’t take this from me.” I had let others steal joy and peace from my soul. “Claire de Lune” opened my eyes to the fact that there is so much beauty in this world, untouched by the troubles around us. It got me beyond the huge black cloud of the critics to see that life is so much larger than the pettiness of the complaints or my own fear of failure. In that moment of beauty – beauty that came from my kid’s curriculum – I could sit with it and in it, thanking God for his gifts, not thinking of critics, but savoring soul-healing music.
Lanaya Gore 2026
I reach into my heart backpack and pull out a tiny emotional “tool”. I’m actually sitting in my Toyota Prius having a difficult conversation with a beloved family member. The tool is my knowing eyes. I gaze out at the lowland riverbed stretched out in front of me. The buzzing bumblebee on the clover, the hazy sunset reflecting perfect pink on the lazy drift of the water, the fuzzies floating on the wind, the Cottontail disappearing into the sultry-swaying riverside weeds ARE the tool that I’ve pulled out. The gift I’ve been given. No matter the relational heaviness that I go through, the horrible wars weighing on the world, floods, friends going through health scares, alcoholism, babies in a never-ending NICU, my Lord Jesus has given all to comfort and carry me. The Lord Jesus has used Miss Mason to birth in me a way of knowing, looking, and seeing. Many years into this learning journey with my children have only strengthened my knowing. Knowing the love and care of the God of this world through the sunsets, the bountiful beauty through the pages of books, the glorious jump into prints of artists’ work, and the soaks in the poetry of the world’s mind has been something shockingly lovely.
“For everything created by God is good…” I Timothy 4:4a
Little did I know how perfectly Charlotte Mason’s philosophy would fit the shape of myself, them, YOU. How wholly seen and how wholly comforted as the Holy Spirit moves over the waters of our hearts. We are fed, watered, and comforted by His Truth, Beauty, and FAITHFULNESS. Yes, He’s good, too, but His never-leaving, never-giving-up faithfulness is what gets me every time. My heart’s backpack is so chock full of joy and life. I just need to reach back, open it, and reach in. I can’t forget that it’s there and ready. It’s full and waiting for my next booted climb through the hardships of this world. My children have prayerfully benefited from this gloriously rich life, but I, as the mom, will truly never be the same. I can’t wait for the next moment, the next blessing that I get to know. What’s in your heart backpack?
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Psalm 81:10b
Amy M. Pine 2026
Invitations to Write with Us
Opportunity 1: Tell us about something your child has shared with you that has shown you the science of relations is moving in their education, or share with us how the science of relations has shown up for you as you’ve pursued your second education as a homeschool mom.
Opportunity 2: Tell us about a time you did less. What happened when you permitted yourself just to enjoy your children? Cut a stack of books off the booklist? Throw the plans out the window and spend the day on a nature walk or having a LoTR movie marathon?