Mother’s Scholé: Simple Ways to Pursue the Intellectual Life

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In this post, I’m sharing ideas how we can create our own mother’s scholé — or how pursue the intellectual life as mother-teachers. And without the overwhelm.

This is a habit that I have been really trying to cultivate for myself over the past several years. And I want to share ways to help you pursue this life of beauty, too!

I’m also including in this post, ways to enjoy beauty and wonder during the busiest of seasons.

As mothers, we spend our days pouring into our homes, our children, and our vocations. We read aloud, teach lessons, settle squabbles, stir soup, fold laundry, pray with little ones, and build a home that is rich with faith and beauty.

These are all wonderful and important/required duties as a mother, but in the midst of caring for everyone else, it’s easy to forget something essential: mothers are soul-bearers too.

We are called to continue growing — spiritually, intellectually, and imaginatively.

This is the heart of Mother’s Scholé: a life-giving practice of contemplation, beauty, and slow, nourishing learning woven gently into the rhythm of motherhood.

We do not need hours of quiet or long theological study. We need only a willing heart, a little structure, and the freedom to learn in small, meaningful moments.

Let’s explore simple ways busy mother-teachers can pursue the intellectual life throughout the year — without overwhelm and without guilt.

What Is Mother’s Scholé?

The word scholé (pronounced skoh-LAY) comes from the ancient Greek idea of restful learning — a contemplative, unhurried pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. For Catholic mothers, scholé becomes a way of tending to the interior life so we can better lead our children toward God.

Scholé is:

• slow
• intentional
• restful
• beautiful
• nourishing

It is the opposite of hustle, pressure, or academic performance. I think that it is incredibly noble of some mother’s who pursue a deeper intellectual life — one full of a lot of academics and harder to read philosophical books.

I love these rich ideals, too. But these days, for me personally, I need something a tad slower and simpler. And something that I can fit in with my everyday life as a wife and mother.

Mother’s Scholé simply means a mother continues to grow in wisdom and wonder right in the heart of her domestic church.

This really is the heart of our mother’s intellectual life. And it fits beautifully within the other duties we hold as a mother-teacher.

A Simple, Flexible Reading Plan for Busy Moms

One of the easiest ways to cultivate Mother’s Scholé is through a gentle reading rhythm. So, instead of rigid schedules or long reading lists, try a flexible approach built around streams of reading — categories you dip into as you’re able.

Over the past few years, I’ve been on an educational journey — one to grow as a better mother-teacher, and provide a richer intellectual life for myself. And one that will lead me towards a deeper spiritual life.

I’ve tried so many reading plans, but usually fail along the way. This is partly because I have created or structured my plans for an unrealistic life.

Personally, I am Type-A. I love all of the productivity tools, and systems. Spreadsheets are my jam!

But, I also have young children, and one with special needs. Plus, we live on a cattle ranch. I don’t know if you knew this, but animals are super unpredictable.

The following reading plan has been realistic for when things are at their busiest. And I’m sure it’ll work for most of you mother-teachers, too!

Choose 4–5 Reading Streams

These are merely suggestions on what I have enjoyed reading.

Pick just one book in each category:

1. Spiritual Reading (1–3 pages, or maybe 10-15 minutes, daily)
Saints, prayer classics, Scripture commentary, or works of Carmelite spirituality (my personal favorite).

2. Intellectual / Philosophical Reading (just a few pages at a time)
Some of my favorites are: St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Senior, Josef Pieper, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, Belloc, Knox, etc. But, you could easily alter this list to include Plato, Aristotle, some other ancient writer, or even the Early Church Fathers.

3. Literary Reading (a few minutes per day)
Classics, myths, fairy tales, Shakespeare, wholesome novels. Usually I can sneak in some reading time before bed, or enjoy an audiobook when getting in my workout. I also try to read what the children are reading either through pre-reading or reading aloud together. I’ve discovered many favorites this way!

4. Poetry (one poem per day or week)
Poets that draw your heart upward — Rossetti, Wordsworth, Longfellow, Tolkien (I’m on a Tolkien deep dive this year and have really enjoyed some of his poems).

5. Motherhood & Education (once weekly)
Charlotte Mason, John Senior, Catholic educational philosophy, Stratford Caldecott, etc.

This slow reading allows for a more realistic plan. Sure, it’ll take a bit longer to get through our ever growing TBR lists, but it fits better into the everyday life of a mother.

And whenever I have extra time, I might sneak in a bit more. But it’s also very important to keep balance and not get overwhelmed in this process.

A Year of Mother’s Scholé (Seasonal Inspiration)

I put together a few ideas based on the seasons. Here’s an example of a gentle year:

Winter (Advent–Lent):

• Spiritual: On the Road to Bethlehem
• Beauty: A poem each morning
• Novel: One classic slowly (Jane Eyre, Austen Novel, etc)
• Intellectual: Pieper
• Practice: Lectio Divina

Spring (Eastertide):

• Spiritual: Introduction to the Devout Life
• Beauty: Keep a nature notebook
• Novel: Nature-infused stories (or perhaps, The Awakening of Miss Prim, or The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion)
• Intellectual: Lewis essays
• Practice: Weekly mother walk

Summer:

• Spiritual: Scripture study
• Beauty: Visit an art museum or contemplate a new artist over the summer
• Novel: Light reading (saint stories, essays)
• Intellectual: John Senior
• Practice: Monthly retreat morning

Fall:

• Spiritual: The Way of Perfection
• Beauty: Shakespeare with the children
• Novel: Tolkien
• Intellectual: One educational or classical work
• Practice: Commonplace daily

You are free to shift or add books as needed — this is a living plan, not a syllabus.

Mother’s Scholé Essentials

Every mother needs a few simple tools to support her intellectual and spiritual growth.

1. Essential Practices

• A commonplace book — this is my favorite
• Daily “scholé minute” (one paragraph, one poem)
• Weekly quiet time / contemplation
• Lectio Divina
• Nature observation, stargazing
• Reading aloud with the children
• Mother retreat days (monthly or quarterly)

2. Essential Tools

• A scholé basket
• A good pen and notebook — my favorite everyday pens!
• Audiobooks
• Prayer book or missal
• A simple planner
• A short list of curated books — I linked a few of my favorites here.

And here are a few more lovely reads to help inspire this beautiful intellectual life as a mother.

• The Intellectual Life: Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods
• Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation
• Leisure: The Basis of Culture: Including the Philosophical Act
• The Scholé Way