Character is one of those words we toss around often. Too often, we do so without a clear understanding of what it is. We say we care about character, perhaps even homeschool for the purpose of shaping our children’s character, but what exactly does that mean and how exactly do we go about such a…
[pullquote align=”center”]We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. [/pullquote] In episode 8 of the Scholé Sisters podcast Brandy and I discussed habits for both mom and kids in light of Aristotle’s thoughts on habit and virtue from Nichomachean Ethics. There’s a lot of talk about character training…
I seem to be getting more and more “how do you do it all” questions lately. I think we’re all looking for the magic secret ingredient that will suddenly make our super-long to-do list possible. It seems like others are doing more and we feel inadequate. Here’s the secret you knew all along: I’m not…
It’s a new year and that means time for new goals. It’s irresistible. And I don’t recommend resisting. I love new year goals and resolutions, but they can lead to discouragement unnecessarily. Sometimes we conclude that because we can never reach and maintain our ideal, then it is the ideal bringing us down. We’re tempted…
What does scholé even mean? Blame Josef Pieper and Christopher Perrin. Pieper’s seminal work, Leisure, the Basis of Culture opens with this: [pullquote align=”center”]The Greek word for leisure (scholé) is the origin of Latin scola, English school. The name for the institutions of education and learning mean “leisure.” [/pullquote] The classical ideal for education, which…
I love to make lists. I even have lists of the lists I have made and want to make. So, why not share all (well, some) of those lists during The Nester’s 31 Days series? Yes, 31 days of homeschool lists. It’ll be a ton of fun if you love lists as much as I…
Who doesn’t want a life that is smooth and easy? Years ago, when I had only quite small children and I had immersed myself in books on educational theory, I latched onto an oft-quoted bit of wisdom from Charlotte Mason: The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself…
If classical education is the art of becoming free, then we need to build our habits of attention. The British-born turn-of-the-century American journalist, Sydney Harris, once posited: The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s leisure. For this to be accomplished, we have…
Repetitio Mater Memoriae, or Repetition part of the Education Is for Life series This motto is a bonus principle! When I started the Education is for Life series, I said I had five principles, trying to condense Christopher Perrin’s eight. But it turns out I couldn’t leave this one out. With each post, my thoughts…
Timing is a funny thing. When I made our Elementary Lesson plans and our Circle Time plans, I considered, but decided against, using The Young Peacemaker. I heard about it a few years ago, purchased it, and used it during Circle Time. We worked through about a third of the 12-lesson book before I ditched…