Laura E. Wolfe

Patterns for Life Audio Chapter 1 Chapter 1 of Patterns for Life: An Orthodox Reflection on Charlotte Mason Education Subscribe to hear the rest and read the study guide! The content below was originally paywalled. For some it may feel like we’re diving right into the deep end, but we start here because if we … Read more

Who should read The Ethics of Beauty? Welcome to The Diner! Come join us for a Slice of Pie: Not a feast, just a mental snack. A deep thought to chew on from a big, meaty book. It’s Mother Culture served from a short order kitchen. For season one we’ll be talking about The Ethics … Read more

Be Honest Okay, so we’re going to drop balls. Being humble is the right place to start, and we need to stay grounded there — but we still want to get things done! So how do we get from lightly bouncing one ball from hand to hand to a performance worthy of the Clown of … Read more

or how to get comfortable with dropping balls There is a common concern that comes up every so often amongst homeschooling moms, though no doubt variations of it exist for all mothers: I feel like I’m drowning. There is so much to do. How do you manage to cook, clean, homeschool, do laundry, garden, spend … Read more

Welcome to The Diner! Welcome to The Diner! Come join us for a Slice of Pie: Not a feast, just a mental snack. A deep thought to chew on from a big, meaty book. It’s Mother Culture served from a short order kitchen. For season one we’ll be talking about The Ethics of Beauty by … Read more

or why garden tools are useful I recently started reading James Clear’s Atomic Habits. One of the first things I noticed is that he talks about how bad systems, rather than bad goals, are what prevent us from making the changes we seek to make in our lives. The word ‘system’ caught my attention because … Read more

Prefaces and Introduction We are now in the process of recording Patterns for Life in audio format. If it’s easier to listen to your books than to read them, we’ve got you covered! Paid subscribers will have access to the audio files and we’ll include notes and discussion questions to help you think through it … Read more

yes, we can be both Catchy phrases are the enemy of good parenting. Here’s the one I’ve got on my mind: “I’m the parent, not her friend.” Sure, this catchphrase can be used to chastise the parent who buddies up to his or her teen, emulating youth culture and facilitating destructive decision making. You know, … Read more

or cleaning house The Christmas decorations have come down, the new year has begun. All the trappings of festivity are tucked away until next year while we move on to the next season of our lives. Somehow with fresh surroundings and new beginnings it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we’re still the … Read more

Patterns for Life is now on Substack If you have read our book (or heard us talk about it in various interviews) you may know that we are largely not present in the online world — at least not in its hydra-like social media manifestations. You will not find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter X, … Read more