The Commonplace

The second of my bonus episodes is here! It was my sincere pleasure to speak with Sally Clarkson about her newest book, Well Lived: Shaping a Legacy of Gratitude and Grace . Consider it the perfect bridge between seasons four and five: how our lives are stories that give shape to our souls. Footnotes for this episode: Well Lived: Shaping a Legacy of Gratitude and Grace www.sallyclarkson.com At Hom...

It's about that time of year when you're starting school and possibly attending co-op. Even if you're not in a co-op, you've probably noted some needed habit training in your crew. This is a case study about my real-life habit training for co-op last year. I'm grateful to report co-op is a smashing good time for all this year. __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footn...

It’s time to end season four but let’s talk about what’s next. Season five, Feminine Soulcraft, begins in the Spring of 2025. __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footnotes for this episode). You can leave the podcast a rating and review here . (I thank you!) --------- Join the 850+ mother-teachers in Common House (It’s like a Patreon, but better.) where we think deepl...

I can’t leave this Latin question alone, can I? Our children are inheriting the richness of the Western tradition and the debt we owe to our Latin past is great. From history to theology, poetry to philosophy, we’re standing upon the shoulders of Latin writers. If all you’ve ever known of Latin instruction is terrified, bored students with a strict teacher, I think you’ll enjoy today. Get ready to...

One thing I rarely hear mentioned in the classical world is the need for re-reading great stories. Maybe it’s a fear of ruining our habit of attention or a symptom of our modern need to consume and move on, but we’ve missed something important when it comes to revisiting stories. So, let’s ask: How does re-reading change us as readers? I’m joined by Laura E. Wolfe and Lisa Rose to discuss why it’s...

Could we have a season about story without touching on my favourite storyteller, the great Jack Lewis? We could not. Many of us know Lewis as the great author of The Chronicles of Narnia , The Screwtape Letters, or Til We Have Faces . Some of us know him as the everyman theologian who gave us the wartime addresses and Mere Christianity . But there’s a lesser-known third part to Lewis: the medieval...

It’s generally accepted that children need good stories. It’s not generally accepted that good stories are the most important thing read to children. We moderns think of fiction as a treat, a bonus, or an escape; it’s nice but certainly not something we have to require for school. This is why many new classical moms find themselves confused while looking over a book list of The Chronicles of Narni...

We know it’s important to consider the ideas we take in because they form us deeply, but have you ever considered how what you act out forms you just as deeply? The practices we choose to make habits (or the ones we unintentionally form as habits) shape the story we tell ourselves about God, ourselves, and our lives. So, we should all be asking: What practices help me tell a true, good, and beauti...

Once upon a time . The words are an invitation into a world where virtue sparkles and vice is grotesque, and children love to inhabit such a place. But for the mom reading her first set of Grimm’s fairy tales, it’s a different story. They’re dark. There’s magic. Things get a little wild. If you’ve ever found yourself rewriting an old fairy tale on the fly because you weren’t sure it should be read...

Who hasn’t looked out over a sea of young children staring blankly out of the window and wondered if they’re paying attention? Who hasn’t considered explaining the story or the vocabulary to ensure the children really get it? Perhaps we need to reconsider how young children move and understand in God’s world so we can answer today’s question: Do my little kids even understand this story? I’m joine...

Once you begin looking at curricula, it doesn’t take long to notice there’s a lot of overlap on the book lists. Homer. Plato. Plutarch. Dante. Milton. It can leave a mom wondering why we have to read these books in classical education. To get that answer, however, we have to ask a slightly different set of questions: Why do some stories last and why does that matter? I’m joined today by Mr. Joshua...

While moms may be the ones buying the books, it’s the family that inhabits the worlds within them. The atmosphere, habits, and ideas of our home are shaped by the stories we read together which means we’re forming the minds, imaginations, and hearts of everyone involved. Whether you’ve just heard about living books or you’ve been reading the classics for years, you have to ask yourself: Are we bui...

As we discussed last season, there is a marked difference in how one moves in the classical world and the modern world. The classical world is a symphony; the modern, a machine. The classical world is harmonious; the modern is fragmented. The classicist is an encounter-er; the modern man, a manipulator. If there is a single idea to explain these differences, I’d venture to say it’s recognition of...

Once upon a time, there were mothers with the power to build worlds with their words. Will you be one of them? That’s the question I’m posing to you, dear listener, this season. But not without first answering some of your story questions. Ps. Did you catch our season trailer? It’s magic. __________ Today’s episode is brought to you by Davenant Hall. Davenant Hall , the educational wing of The Dav...

It’s time to end season three but we’re not leaving the classical world beyond the wardrobe. We’re just going to go camping. __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footnotes for this episode). You can leave the podcast a rating and review here . (I thank you!) --------- Join the 700+ mother-teachers in Common House (It’s like a Patreon, but better.) where we think deeply...

I couldn’t start closing out this third season without answering the question in the back of everyone’s minds: Do I really need to teach my kids Latin and Greek? __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footnotes for this episode). You can leave the podcast a rating and review here . (I thank you!) --------- Join the 675+ mother-teachers in Common House (It’s like a Patreo...

Scouting is a thing in a Mason education but I think it deserves its rightful place in classical education too. Using my favourite Charlotte-Mason-is-classical pegs, we’re going to show how scouting belongs in a classical education and how you can get started. I’m joined by my own Withywindle Scoutmistress, Kriste Janczyk, and we hope you enjoy the conversation! __________ You can find the full ep...

For most people, classical education becomes synonymous with the liberal arts. The classical tradition, however, is larger than the liberal arts (great as they are) and, if you look closely, you’ll see your children need a few things before the liberal arts. What is this foundational work in the early years? Let’s talk about it. __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my foo...

It’s just about that time when the classical Charlotte Mason gift guides will abound and while I like heirlooms carved by a dwarf in Narnia just as much as the next homeschool mom, I don’t know if that’s exactly the gift guide we need this year. Tune in for this bonus episode pulled straight from Common House as ‘tis the season (Can you believe it?), and we’ll get back to the liberal arts next tim...

Pursuing the good life means asking, over and over again, “Am I loving the right things at the right time and in the right way? “ __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footnotes for this episode). You can leave the podcast a rating and review here . (I thank you!) --------- Join the 650+ mother-teachers in Common House (It’s like a Patreon, but better.) where we think d...

As you now know, there’s a new language beyond the classical wardrobe door. We recognize it well enough to know we love what’s being said but we find ourselves hardpressed to translate it to share what is meant. Never fear. I’m joined today by the wonderful Heidi White to learn more of what classical educators mean when they say, “Classical education nourishes the soul.” It’s even better than it s...

Reading good stories is a no-brainer for the mom coming through the classical wardrobe. We know, in our guts, this is something we ought to do for our children. But once we actually start reading stories, we can find ourselves with a lot of questions. What’s a good story? What about magic? Won’t my kids be confused if I give them the Bible and myths? What do I do with Disney?! Well, today’s episod...

If we want to cultivate virtue in our children (and, let’s be honest, in ourselves), we need to learn about the sacramental imagination. Some define it as "seeing the love of God in all things” but I’m partial to seeing “a halo to the edges of all earthly things”. Without this awareness of God’s Reality, how do we know the way further up and further in? __________ You can find the full episode not...

In this mini-series on virtue, I think it important to consider the miry bog we find ourselves in. We’ve inherited philosophies and practices that make cultivating virtue more difficult than one might imagine. We’re looking for the function of an organ we’ve nearly destroyed. But, don’t worry. There’s a path out of the bog. __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footnote...

Mothers at the ready! Guard the city gates! Actually, I’m not kidding. Your child’s soul is a bit like a city, and, in the pursuit of virtue, Plato, Mason, and St. John Chrysostom have quite a bit to say about guarding the City of Mansoul and the imitation of goodness. Swords at the ready? __________ You can find the full episode notes here (including my footnotes for this episode). You can leave...