A Review of Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins

My birthday was a few weeks ago. I took the kids to my parents' house, and came back home for a slow, relaxing weekend. My mom sent me home with my birthday present, which was two books that she picked off my Amazon wishlist. I keep a wishlist of all the books I will never have time to read. With the whole weekend to myself, I decided to start both of them at the same time. I had to make the most of my time. One book was Home Education by Charlotte Mason, which I haven't finished yet. The other, was Mere

Motherhood by Cindy Rollins, and wow!

I see this book recommended by fellow homeschool moms on instagram often, but I didn't know what it was about. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but if I had known it was a memoir, I probably would have just scrolled by. I'm glad I didn't know. I just finished the last chapter tonight, and it really has been a wonderful read. Cindy did a beautiful job sharing her experience as a homeschool mother of NINE children. I laughed, I cried, and I highlighted through every chapter. I highly suggest checking it out, if you are looking for a little inspiration for literally any stage of motherhood, or maybe even just a bit of entertainment. Incase you like gather a little more info on a book before you make a commitment, here's what you're going to get...

"God is real. He is there.

He doesn't just love your children; he loves you."

-CR

She hooked me in the Author's note. Here she sets the tone for this book. This isn't the story of a perfect family, being homeschooled by a perfect mother. This story is real, and relatable. This story isn't going to make your feel overwhelmed about what you should do, or guilty about what you didn't do while homeschooling. It highlights the magic in what was. Cindy tried it all, but in the end her advice is that if you don't have time to read good books to your kids, you aren't prioritizing the right things.

"You are never going to have a lot of time, but you do have a little time here

and a little time there, and those little times all add up to a life"

-CR

I believe Cindy is best known for her implementation of "Morning Time" at the beginning of every homeschool day. I have heard this idea before, but after reading what she had to say, I can see it is a must in our homeschool day as well. My oldest will be 4 next month, and I have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out what we need to include in our morning basket. I know we can and will, pick up new additions to our morning collection, over the years. But how cool is it that if we start now (or in August), we can dedicate just a few minutes a day to learning or memorizing 14 years worth of information!? What will it be? Latin? Bible verses? Hymns? Poetry? I'm still working on our line up for next year, but I will be sure to update you when I figure it out.

"There are three things that cover a multitude of sins

reading, reading aloud, and written narration."

-CR

Another foundational block in Cindy's school day was written narration. This is another thing I have heard a lot about, but she really brought it all together for me. "Written narration" is when a child reads or listens to a story, and then turns around and writes about what he read. It is the ultimate "test" of comprehension, thinking, and writing skills. Not only do you have to know what the story was about, but you have to organize the information in your brain, and communicate in writing so that others can understand. You obviously can't start the writing part until they can write, but you can start narration as soon as they can talk! Cindy recommends making this an essential part of your day, one you never skip, a happy habit that will hopefully produce confident, critically thinking writers later. I can't wait to look into more ideas on how to implement this with a 4 year old.

After many other stories and lots of insight, Cindy closes on a happy note about what she plans to do next. I'll admit, it's difficult to see "what's next" when I'm still neck deep in diapers and potty training, but it's nice to know there's more fun ahead. One quote that I hope sticks with me from her last few chapters:

"I was not the potter. A potter was shaping my

children, but it was not me."

Isn't that a bit of a relief though? I have three kids and aren't even 4 yet. I haven't even been a mother 4 years. I'm still so new at this, yet I feel like I've already invested so much. I invest all I can, because I want them to turn out the best that they can be. Yet while our role is so very important, we aren't the potters. We don't get to shape these little people into who we want them to be and send them on their way. We give what we can, and we let God do the rest. Thank you Cindy for that reminder, and so many others.