Hey there! Can we talk for a minute?
We all know that Charlotte Mason uses food as a metaphor for knowledge throughout her volumes, and the curriculum she suggested, which is both very wide and very deep, is often called a “feast.” But then, when you see it all out there and realize that there are going to be 40 subjects instead of the usual 6 or so in traditional curricula, the panic sets in.
How in the world are you supposed to get all this done AT ALL? Let alone done WELL?!
I’d like to attempt to reframe this word, “feast,” but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to go full-on southern in order to do it. We take food very seriously in the south. And the ultimate feast around here is not Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter–it’s the church fellowship dinner.
You know, that day when everybody brings a covered dish, it’s all set out buffet-style, and you wait in a long line hoping that there’s still some of Mrs. Cox’s macaroni and cheese left by the time you get to it. You wish your plate was bigger, because there’s no way everything is going to fit. You take a little of as many tasty-looking things as will fit on your much-too-small plate, by-passing the things that do not look appetizing. (WHY, Ms. Sadie, would you put pineapple in a casserole?! And, I’m sorry, but ambrosia is just gross, and the real estate on my plate is much too precious to waste on canned corn that I can get every day at the grocery store.) You carefully carry your overloaded tray (Do these things have a weight limit?) to a table and sit down with friends.
Once you’re there, the food kind-of takes a back seat. Now comes the best part. You get to coo at a brand new baby and offer her mother some wisdom. You catch up on who has been in the hospital and make a plan to help out the family. You hear an old-timer tell the story about that time when he was a kid that he got in trouble for almost drowning his little brother by trying to baptize him in the pond out behind the house. Another tells the story of being chased with a broom by his best girl’s mother, who had seen him steal a kiss from her by the gate. They were married 60 years before she passed last month. Your husband returns to the table with his SECOND plate piled high.
Where does he put it all?!
While you are enjoying the company and conversation, the little kids are long-done eating (all of them have left enough food on their plates to take home and have for supper) and have started a game of tag. They are building their own memories that they will share one day.
You get up to go to the dessert table. Oh. My. Goodness. Everything (with the exception of that one pie that was obviously made by ‘Mrs. Smith’ and purchased from the frozen food section) looks SO GOOD! You’re already stuffed to the gills, but somehow the even smaller plate they give you here looks woefully inadequate. You take tiny samples of several things back to your table. You eat, you talk, you laugh, and you deepen relationships, all before driving home and collapsing blissfully onto the sofa and into a carb-coma.
You have experienced a feast.
There are a lot of things on offer. You took according to your tastes and your limits. So did your husband. So did the kids. Is anyone worse off for not having eaten a serving of everything? No. Maybe next time you’ll try something new. Life is long, and church dinners will happen again. And, when you look back on this feast, what will you remember? Probably a few of the foods (Mrs. Cox’s macaroni and cheese, for sure!), but mostly you will remember a feeling.
It’s the feeling of relationship.
I would like for you to try to think of the Alveary like that church dinner. There are so many books and lesson plans on offer, but no one is expecting you to make yourself or your kids sick by stuffing yourselves full of everything. Some will take more, some will take less, and what they take will vary, because they are persons. No one will be worse off for having missed something. And when your children look back on their education, they will remember some of their books very fondly, but, mostly, they will remember the atmosphere, the special things you did together, and the feelings of relationship and of an appetite being satisfied.
Written by Dr. Jennifer Spencer, Project Director of Mason’s Alveary <<< They’re currently offering a sample 2-weeks FREE!
As soon as I read Dr. Spencer’s words, I was immediately reminded of why I love the Charlotte Mason community so much. Her words give FREEDOM to all of us who are working so hard right now to prepare and spread the feast. As a dietitian, Charlotte Mason’s frequent food references have always resonated with me, and this is no different.
Please rest, my friends. Rest in knowing when enough is enough. Rest in believing that our Heavenly Father will fill the gaps that are guaranteed to be there even if you do “all the things.” Rest in knowing that no two households or school rooms will look just alike – nor should they. And rest in knowing that you have an entire army of women praying for your school year, your family, your classroom, and…you.
You can find me on Instagram @heritagemomblog. See you there!
This is sooooo comforting! Thank you so much sis for sharing this.
Absolutely! I felt the same way when I read it. I immediately wanted to share it with as many moms as I could. Thank you for reading it!
Love this so encouraging as we begin our year soon!
I’m happy that it resonated with you because I really needed to hear it this week myself!
What an amazing (and relief-giving) analogy! Thank you.
You bet! I found myself thinking about it long after my initial reading, so I knew there was something there that was pricking my heart.
Gosh, YES YES YES! There’s so many awesome things, wonderful, fun looking, amazing things out there to try, that I often feel like we just have GOT to try them all. But I drive myself crazy trying. Thanks for the reminder!
I’ve been there. Everything looks so glittery and shiny and wonderful. I also have to constantly remind myself that we are GOOD.
I love this, I felt like I was at the church dinner! and this exact reminder that God keeps giving me over and over as I gear up for the school year. He is faithful!!
Amen. Yes, He is! I really loved it too. And the wonderful analogy will make it so easy for me to revisit this reminder throughout the year as I begin to veer from the path.
If this article were any longer I’d be in tears. Such a refreshing reminder. Thank you for sharing this. 🙏🏽
You’re so welcome. I seriously wanted to make photocopies and start handing them out on the street corner when I first read it, lol.
Now I have memories of church dinners coming back to me. I miss church dinners. This resonates with me so much. Thank you for posting it!
I know! It was such a wonderful analogy because so many of us can actually place ourselves in that spot and completely understand how it relates to our homes.
Thank you for this message.
You’re so welcome. I know I needed to hear it, and I hoped that it would resonate with others.
Thank you for this so much. I’ve been feeling so stressed about having everything together and giving my children everything I can. Your analogy is spot on. Thank you.
You’re welcome! When I first read what Dr. Spencer wrote, I had to just sit with it for a time because it was so powerful. I already knew all of this, but hearing the way she described it made it really “stick” for me.
Thank you for this. It warmed my Type A heart and brought tears to my eyes. Now, maybe I won’t feel so bad about rarely fitting in Nature Study. ☺
I felt the SAME WAY when I first read it. She nailed it! And yes…let the guilt just slip away 🙂
Do beautiful and freeing! Thank you.
We are on our second week. I have 4 children 6 and under, and this really gave me comfort!
Oh, Mama. I remember those days! I also had 4 children 6 and under at one point, so I know what your days are like. And yes, this post is just what you need. It’s what we all need, actually! Hang in there, do what you can (which is always more than enough), and let the rest go.
Wow, beautiful. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! As a life-long lover of potlucks, this really resonated with me. I love the Charlotte Mason philosophy and have incorporated several of her ideas in my homeschool, while feeling guilty about not getting to everything as often as I “should.” I love comparing the feast to a potluck where everyone takes what they want and leaves the rest.
It spoke to me in the same way! It’s interesting how a simple reframing of our thinking can liberate us so completely.