Encouragement - Charlotte Mason

“Children are born persons.” 

This is Charlotte Mason’s first principle. However, this isn’t always how we view children. Especially in those moments when they seem to behave like anything but a human. As you find yourself in the thick of homeschooling you may relate to this feeling more than you’d like to admit. In moments consumed by lesson plans, HEMs, deadlines, etc. we momentarily lose sight of who our children really are. We view them as empty vessels that must be filled with information and experiences. They become an agenda, a checklist, a project in which we can succeed or fail. However, they are not born empty vessels, they are not projects. Our children are fully human, made in the Imago Dei, possessing a body, mind, and spirit. Our role as parents and teachers is to cultivate what the Holy Spirit is teaching them. We create space for the Good, True, and Beautiful and allow those things to do what they were intended to do: point them to their True Father, Creator, and keeper of their souls. When you find yourself pursuing perfection in tasks completed over the cultivation of eternal souls, pause, and ask the Lord to remind you who your children really are and what they really need. 

Sincerely,
Katie Lockette
Asst. Director of Faculty & Academics