CMP Review 2026-03-09

March 9, 2026

In choosing to follow Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and principles, I’ve found that her influence extends far beyond our homeschool lessons. There are many aspects of life where her ideas have challenged, encouraged, and shaped me.

The Parents’ Review article on Mother Culture has especially impressed upon me how important it is to take time for our own growth. About making time for mother culture, the article says:

The only way to do it is to be so strongly impressed with the necessity for growing herself that she herself makes it a real object in life.

The article goes on to say that, “if we would do our best for our children, grow we must; and on our power of growth surely depends, not only our future happiness, but our future usefulness.”

Not only our happiness, but our future usefulness! Grow we must.

With that in mind, I spent this past weekend making a little space for my own growth, taking a basket weaving class with a dear friend who also happens to be a Charlotte Mason homeschooling mother. Getting to spend time together weaving, learning and growing in skills with our hands, and enjoying the fellowship of a shared pursuit is something I am incredibly grateful for.

Sometimes growth looks like reading a book, studying a subject, or spending time in nature. Sometimes it looks like learning or further developing a handicraft alongside a friend. However it takes shape, I want to make it a real object in life that it does take place. Nurturing our own growth is not separate from our work as mothers, but it strengthens it.

@tessakeath