The Drift from Domesticity, found in Chesterton’s book entitled “The Thing, Why I am a Catholic,” introduces the idea of Chesterton’s Fence. Basically, Chesterton claims that we should not tear down a fence unless we know why it was put there in the first place. We would certainly agree with him if there were a…
One Human Being upon a Larger Plan
In Chesterton’s Emancipation of Domesticity, he states that “there must be in every center of humanity one human being upon a larger plan; one who does not “give her best,” but gives her all.” What exactly did he mean by that, and how does it apply to our lives today? Chesterton clearly saw the home…
Education and the Domestic Life
Chesterton was clearly an advocate for both parental involvement in education and education in the home. His wife, Frances, was involved with Charlotte Mason, and Chesterton wrote at least two columns where he mentioned her by name, and many more where he discussed ideas related to her philosophy. Clearly, he knew that the mother had…
G.K. and Stephanie
Our ninth child, Stephanie, was born at home on St Valentine’s Day – a perfect love letter from God. As a geriatric mother, I had been poked, prodded, and tested, and I had discovered that she would likely be born with Down Syndrome, but that her heart and health checked out and we were safe…
On Understanding and Misunderstanding Chesterton
When I first decided to read Chesterton – I approached his work like a treasure hunt. I knew that so many people found these amazing quotes and looked really smart repeating them, and I was up for the game. What I discovered was that finding these quotes was near impossible because I did not understand…
Homeschooling with G.K. Chesterton
I’ve recently been asked to share some thoughts on using Chesterton in your homeschool with the 2022 Catholic Homeschool Conference. Oh my! Where to start?!? I love Chesterton, but sometimes he can be difficult. Using his works with children is valuable, but not for the faint hearted. There are adapted works that can make things…