CMP Review 2025-07-08

July 8, 2025

After the Fourth of July weekend we find ourselves firmly settled in to the wonderful summer months of July and August. It’s a time we associate most of all with the outdoors.

That’s probably what Cerise Parker was thinking years ago when she was asked to speak in the month of July. For some reason she was asked to speak about rainy days! “I thought of it as being rather a pessimistic [topic],” she wrote. “Yet, it almost seemed as if our Secretary had anticipated the wet August.”

In our day, rain may not be the only thing that keeps children inside in the summer months. Once indoors, screens are often a serious temptation and distraction. How can we as parents be faithful to Charlotte Mason’s ideals in these weeks of break from formal lessons?

Mrs. Parker’s 1935 paper is full of interesting and practical suggestions. Read or listen and let a voice from the past point to a new direction for the summer. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff