2026 Everyday Graces Mother Culture and Reading Challenge

Join us for a year of "Thinking Love"!

Dec 28, 2025

Turmoil is the natural state of our world. We live in the reality of a fallen Creation, but turmoil does not have to be the natural state of our homes or ourselves.

I would like to invite you to join me in a quiet rebellion in 2026. One where we spend less time scrolling and more time intentionally growing as persons, creating beauty, and developing our minds and our homes into fortresses that better withstand the turmoil without.

Charlotte Mason wrote that Mothers owe a thinking love to their children. A love that seeks their best interest and bends willingly to the task given to her by their Creator- the task of raising these children to His glory. Part of how we do this is by educating ourselves and continuing to learn and grow “alongside, but a step ahead” of our children.

Children are a Public Trust.––Now, that work which is of most importance to society is the bringing up and instruction of the children––in the school, certainly, but far more in the home, because it is more than anything else the home influences brought to bear upon the child that determine the character and career of the future man or woman. It is a great thing to be a parent: there is no promotion, no dignity, to compare with it. The parents of but one child may be cherishing what shall prove a blessing to the world. But then, entrusted with such a charge, they are not free to say, “I may do as I will with mine own.” The children are, in truth, to be regarded less as personal property than as public trusts, put into the hands of parents that they may make the very most of them for the good of society. And this responsibility is not equally divided between the parents: it is upon the mothers of the present that the future of the world depends, in even a greater degree than upon the fathers, because it is the mothers who have the sole direction of the children’s early, most impressible years. This is why we hear so frequently of great men who have had good mothers––that is, mothers who brought up their children themselves, and did not make over their gravest duty to indifferent persons.
Mothers owe a ‘thinking love’ to their Children.––”The mother is qualified,” says Pestalozzi, “and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child; ... and what is demanded of her is––a thinking love . . . God has given to the child all the faculties of our nature, but the grand point remains undecided––how shall this heart, this head, these hands be employed? to whose service shall they be dedicated? A question the answer to which involves a futurity of happiness or misery to a life so dear to thee. Maternal love is the first agent in education.”
We are waking up to our duties and in proportion as mothers become more highly educated and efficient, they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children during the first six years of life is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own. And they will take it up as their profession––that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow on their professional labours.
That the mother may know what she is about, may come thoroughly furnished to her work, she should have something more than a hearsay acquaintance with the theory of education, and with those conditions of the child’s nature upon which such theory rests.
- Charlotte Mason, Home Education, pg. 1-3

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A Thinking Love Challenge

There has been a tragic shift away from self-education in our culture and we are truly amusing ourselves to death. I know there are many other reading challenges out there but I wanted a challenge that required a bit more of me.

Firstly, I intentionally included three months that require me to read something from my never ending TBR (to-be-read) pile. It’s out of control😅 If you can relate, then I hope you also find that category helpful. I’m going to try and choose more from that stack as well.

Each month includes a challenge that is related to what we call “mother culture” in Charlotte Mason circles. Things that edify in addition to our readings- handicrafts, trying new things in the kitchen, etc. We are choosing tasks to help create in us minds more awake to the delights and blessings with which we are so richly bestowed.

There are 12 pages included in the packet where you can track the challenges, your books and Mother Culture projects, common place and quote pages, and even a library book tracker to help keep you from running up fines during the process! There is a 30 day reading challenge tracker page if you are like me and trying to increase your daily reading totals as well.

Download your 2026 Thinking Love Challenge Pack here.

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In February I will be leading a Simplified Organization group study for our paid subscriber friends here in our monthly chats. We will be covering one lesson a month. This book has been immensely helpful for me in keeping our home in a way that works better for all of us. Mystie has lots of wisdom to share and I’m excited to go through this with you! You will need Simplified Organization and the Simplified Organization Group Study Workbook.

Choosing Your Books and Projects

January - Learn a new handicraft, A title from your TBR stack

I will be working on pyrography (wood burning) and learning how to use my new pyrography pen set as well as learning new techniques for shading and drawing. You might choose to learn paper quilling, making a book nook, embroidery, crochet, home canning, or some other wonderful thing that you make. There is as much beauty and development in the process of learning something new as there is in the finished product. Enjoy it!
My TBR stack is somewhat akin to Mount Doom. Because I’m committing to reading more daily I chose two titles: The Lamplighter by Maria Cummins and The Child from the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge. It won’t even make a dent, but that’s okay because we have 11 more months to go!

February - Make a new recipe, Mystery by a British Author

I always enjoy trying new recipes but I don’t do it very often anymore because I am in a meal rotation rut so I wanted to make it a priority to try at least one new thing this year. I have decided to put on my old pastry chef hat and attempt gluten free almond croissants- I will let you know how that goes as they can be finicky without the gluten free part. I haven’t made many recipes from this amazing cookbook so I’ll probably add a few recipes from it to my February meal plan as well.
I’m going with two picks for this month as well- Strong Poison by Sayers and The Woman in White by Collins. Now you might choose an Agatha Christie, or Father Brown, or even take a turn with Sherlock but there is nothing more fun than British mysteries and the game is afoot!

March - Learn or improve a skill, Book based on a true story

I will be working on improving my paper quilling skills. It is a delightful past time but I haven’t practiced it in a few years and would like to make some more detailed pictures and cards.
It’s another twofer- The Girls of Atomic City (I grew up in NE Tennessee but haven’t ever read this story!) and The Devil in the White City (true crime told by the master Eric Larson).

April - Plant and grow something lovely, Book on Theology

Gardening is full of many lessons wether you are growing herbs in your kitchen window or enough vegetables for the farmers market. Make time this year to grow something beautiful- if flowers are your thing, zinnias are a perfect flower to grow in pots because they come back and bloom again after you cut them to put inside!
I have shelves of theology books, many of which I have never read all the way through. Right now I’m leaning toward Happy Lies (about the New Thought movement) or Church History in Plain Language or maybe Systematic Theology cover to cover if I’m feeling like an overachiever.

May - Make jam or a Fool dessert from fresh berries, Book you skipped in high school

Making jam is a really fun introduction to food preservation but Fools are a favorite summer dessert around here. A Fine Dessert which tells the story of the Fool dessert is one of our family treasures and traditions. Whichever you choose, you’re sure to experience delight!
Let’s be honest, most of us probably had at least one book we did not finish in high school or did not like because a teacher ruined it. Let us, with the softening of our displeasure over many years, revisit one of those books. I’m leaning toward The Aeneid or Grapes of Wrath (the first I DNFd and the second my teacher made an exercise in misery).

June - Take a morning and evening listening walk, Book that challenges popular narratives

June walks are always magical. And a listening walk is exactly what is sounds like- you walk in silence, preferably without a device, and listen. Take a morning walk and an evening walk, perhaps on the same day or perhaps not. Listen and absorb the whispers of nature.
I’m a firm believer that we should read books that challenge us intellectually be it through difficult writing, advanced and antiquated vocabulary, or through ideas that are not in alignment with our own. I have not decided on which type of challenge I’m going for but the contenders are: The Camp of the Saints (this would be a re-read), Days of Rage, The Problem with Lincoln, Losing Ground, Untenable, Blacklisted by History, Spencer’s The Faerie Queen

July - Practice penmanship and write a letter, Title from your TBR stack

If you don’t regularly practice copywork with your children, you are missing out! Our digital world has made beautiful handwriting much less prominent than it used to be. There are very few pleasures in life that can compare to opening a hand-written letter from a friend. Pull out your stationery and get to writing!
Back to that TBR pile. July is when we start back to homeschool each summer so I will most likely only choose one book because I’ll be finishing up the pre-reading for our lessons. I think something light and lovely so perhaps a Mitford or Austen.

August - Create a beautiful decoration or space in your home, Book from the MENSA 9-12th grade list

Create a floral arrangement, a cozy nook, a special spot where you can sit to enjoy your reading and tea- but do make something and make it with great love. Grocery store flowers arranged in a pretty vessel on your table will bring you joy and it is worth the little effort. We were made for beauty and it is a balm to our world weary selves.
The MENSA lists are a wonderful resource. Bookmark them to use as you plan your literature selections for your homeschool. For this challenge, I have never read Cyrano de Bergerac so we are going to have it as a read aloud. We might do Silas Marner as well since my boys haven’t read that yet.

September - Have a friend over for tea, Reread a book that changed you

Community is such a vital part of motherhood. We are meant to be in community with our sisters in Christ and to help edify each other and hold each other accountable. Make a batch of cookies or scones, heat up your kettle, and settle in with a friend for a chat.
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” - Charles “Tremendous” Jones. Books that have lingered in my mind and heart: The Gift from the Sea, Jayber Crow, The Dean’s Watch, This Beautiful Truth, In this House of Brede

October - Set a time each week to declutter before the holidays, Title from your TBR stack

I have found that when we begin to near the holiday season things feel a bit overwhelming. It is often a problem of having too much- and not enough. It never fails that our boys church clothes get too small just before Thanksgiving so in October we try on everything to check fit and length. We also go through shoes to make sure everything is still fitting. I spend a few minutes a few times a week cleaning out closets and making additions to a donation box that we put in the car on Saturday nights because we pass by a donation center on the way home from church. Having a system in place makes holiday preparation much more enjoyable!
Going through your TBR stack is also a way to declutter. Not every single book we have in our home libraries have to remain there indefinitely. Getting through several of these titles this year allows us to curate our library and make culls as necessary. Choose a title or two to get through this month and make sure to include your home library in your decluttering times.

November - Choose a podcast or documentary series to listen/watch, Historical fiction title

We have access to so much information that it often causes us anxiety. Rather than let too many choices cause analysis paralysis choose one subject and take this month to dive in deeply. Don’t second guess yourself! The Great Courses have many options to choose from on Audible to listen to and I think the one on the Knights Templar looks interesting.
Historical fiction is such a fun genre and there are so many options to choose from. I usually enjoy books like The Last Bookshop in London, but my history loving son has been after me to read a Jeff Shaara novel about Theodore Roosevelt so that’s what I’m going to do!

December - Keep a prayer journal this month, Poetry Collection

Keeping a prayer journal is something I do on and off, but it’s always a good way to begin the liturgical year (Advent) and end the calendar year by both praying about what’s to come and thanking God for what has passed. This journal is a lovely keepsake.
Poetry is something that most people either love or hate so this will either be a joy or an exercise in persistence. I have many collections of poetry including Wendell Berry, Mary Oliver, George Herbert, Shakespeare, and Elizabeth Goudge’s A Book of Comfort. I will see what I fancy when we are closer, but I don’t think I’ll need to purchase anything new.