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 so we can answer today’s question: Do my little kids even understand this story?

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?

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 just heard about living books or you’ve been reading the classics for years, you have to ask yourself: Are we building a family literary life of truth, goodness, and beauty?

I’m joined by Shay and Catherine Gregorie to discuss how we can inhabit the world of story with our children, teaching them to trace God’s hand in the uncommon and common moments of our lives.

As we discussed last season, there is a marked difference in how one understands 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 Christ as the logos. To really dive into the power of story, we must first look to the unifying Principle who holds all things together. Then we have to ask: How does He give form to everything?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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 time.

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 sounds.

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 episode is for you. I’m joined by my friend, Emelie Thomas, to discuss all things story. Emelie is kind of famous in Common House for her wise words on story and her ability to name a picture book for any occasion. I know you’ll love listening to her.

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?

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.

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?

Every so often, I like to lift the veil a bit to show what happens in Common House (formerly known as Patreon but now significantly better). I hope you enjoy today’s exclusive resource about the power of story and, well, a story.

Grab your kids and a cup of coffee and enjoy a tale of the fair Bren and the faithful Brohen.

*Note: I did not name my oldest two children Bren and Brohen. Just to clarify.

Everything has a catchphrase, including the classical world. Well, maybe we have two.

I bet you think I’m talking about some truth, goodness, and beauty, but no, not yet. I’m talking about the other one.

Deciding to homeschool is one thing but finding the right method is a whole other thing. When you first start looking at educational philosophies, it can seem like classical education is just one of many options out there. How can you tell if one is better than another? Can one be better than the other? If only there was an objective way to measure an educational option.

Might I suggest there is?

Who knew there was so much Charlotte Mason in the ideas of Plato? If we’re getting our bearings in the classical world, then we need to go all the way back to Plato and get a handle on the Greek vision of education. Actually, we need to go back even further.

I told you this was another world.