Beware the Bleak Midwinter of Home Education

It is a truth universally acknowledged.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife, and that a home-educating mother in possession of uneducated children, must be, come February, in want of a governess.¹

There is something in the post-Christmas holiday that tempts us to the mopes, if not full despair, come mid-to-late January. The bright lights and cheery smiles of December give way to the nebulous weeks of mid-term work, muddled by grey days and a gnawing list of ‘oughts’. It is during this midwinter stretch that I bemoan my lack of a governess.² My husband has yet to approve the budgetary allowance for said governess (or the footman to deliver my correspondence, for that matter), so, in the past, I’ve battled the bleak midwinter with morning walks in the woods and a new fountain pen nib.

I’ve had success in previous years, but this year, I’m wagering we can do without any of the bleak midwintering of home education (and the governess) with a few simple practices:

• Read great stories to see your own life more clearly.

• Fast and feast as is appropriate.

• Note glimpses of beauty and goodness, however small.

• Study the beauty of winter light, landscape, and liturgy.

• Acknowledge the good learning already done and that must be done.

• Unfollow curricula groups online and stay diligent in this year’s plan.

I know, I know. How simple. But how profound too. Caring for yourself as a person—finite and eternal—is usually pretty obvious: feed the body, mind, and soul that for which it was made. It’s the overflow of Too Many Things or the pain of Not The Right Things that brings us to the bleak midwinter. Choosing to limit oneself, in quantity and quality, in the Age of Possibility and Opportunity is our generation’s work.

May we do it well this winter.

---

FROM AN INTERVIEW

I file ‘Talking books with Tsh Oxenreider’ under Favourite Ways to Spend a Friday Morning. Lately, she’s shared several conversations with friends about books that have changed them, and I was delighted to be included. I purposely did not choose any Narnia because I actually have read some other books.³ Tune into our conversation to hear which childhood read cultivated my sense of agency in a world of darkness, and which recent read is perfect for mothers leaning into good work.

Azkaban & The Lost Princess + The Wise Woman

---

HOW BOOKS HELP ME MOTHER

Did you know novels are my go-to parenting resources? I’ve shared before how Jo Bhaer, Beatrix Potter, and The Wouldbegoods (E. Nesbit) gave me one of my best parenting tricks for helping my children see their behaviours in a new light. But recently, I’ve discovered a new practice thanks to my girl Emma M. Lion.⁴ It’s making motherhood rather convivial.

---

FROM ANOTHER INTERVIEW

Amanda Faus and I connected on Instagram nearly five years ago, beginning a conversation about classical education that we’ve yet to finish. She and her husband, Patrick, recently interviewed me about ‘mother academia’. While my 2026 Mother Academia cohort is closed⁵, this conversation is full of ideas and encouragement for continuing your self-education this year.

---

DID CHARLOTTE MASON HATE NEW BOOKS?

I’ve been having several conversations with friends about a new-to-homeschooling phenomenon which I call The Law. As mothers begin home education, there is a feeling of safety in following the letter of the law, if you will. Looking back to someone like Charlotte Mason, they use the books she used in her programmes. But, as the mother grows and learns, I find she moves into the spirit of the law. She notes the quality, literary style, and artistic elements of Mason’s book selections but finds updated, accurate versions in anno domini 2026. She understands the philosophy of the Thing, rather than trying to copy-and-paste the Thing. If you feel somewhere in between (or are dreading the coming onslaught of NEW SHINY CURRICULA in February), this one’s for you.

---

A COMMONPLACE RESOURCE

I mentioned feasting and fasting in my list, but I’m aware not everyone participates in a tradition which includes these spiritual disciplines. A few years ago, I made a guide called Liturgia wherein I explained various elements of liturgy (church and commonplace) and how repetitive practices within the home and education can shape affections and longings. This guide is written in the spirit of the Western tradition, giving a high-level overview of the Western calendar before jumping into how I use rhythms and practices to shape the atmosphere, discipline, and life of our home.

---

With that, I wish you a jolly January with nary a bit of winter midwintering. May you, like my favourite Gerard Manley Hopkins, see that the world is charged with the grandeur of God and keep watch for the beating of ah! bright wings.

Venite ascendite et progrediemini en,

1. Jane Austen and me.

2. And cook! And gardener! And nursery maid! And everyone else that Charlotte Mason seems to think I have in Home Education!

3. Someone once asked me, ‘I know you’ve read The Chronicles of Narnia. Have you ever read anything else by C.S. Lewis?’ Have I? Well, let me tell you.

4. Could this be a pub game? Every time Autumn mentions Emma M. Lion, take a sip.

5. I did not expect the response to Mother Academia to be so wonderfully large. To care well for this cohort, I did close the door. God willing, I hope to provide ‘leader packs’ in 2027 where you can take the materials and start reading groups in your local communities.