Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas
Our goal is to cultivate the maximum number of thinking moms we can. This podcast is for classical homeschooling mamas who yearn for something more than just checking boxes and getting it all done. We discuss topics that matter to those of us who believe that educating ourselves through reading widely, thinking deeply, and applying faithfully equips us for the task of educating our children.
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SS #152: Freedom Isn't Free (with Lauren Scott!!)
02/28/2025
SS #152: Freedom Isn't Free (with Lauren Scott!!)
Our guest today is Lauren Scott! Lauren and her husband Nathaniel, a second generation homeschool dad, have enjoyed home educating their two sons from babyhood to the teen years. Lauren holds a degree in history, is a leader in her local homeschool community, and often finds herself vacillating between “brown thumb” and “crazy plant lady” when caring for her large flower and vegetable garden. You can find her writing at keptandkeeping.com , where she encourages Christian women to Rest in Grace and Labor in Love. Today, Lauren, Mystie and Brandy discuss the school choice issue, consequences of government involvement in private education, and principles YOU can use to judge programs like these. We chose this topic months and months ago and had no idea how timely it would be. You’re going to love this conversation! *** If you’ve considered upgrading your Sistership membership from FREE to Sophie level, now is the time to do that! The live replay of the workshop Abby did with Jami Marstall on teaching literature co-op classes for teenagers was absolutely FANTASTIC. To get the replay and so much more, all you have to do is make sure you are a Sophie level member of the Sistership! Just go to scholesisters.com/join and sign up. ***
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SS 151: Death of the Scrappy Homeschooler
02/14/2025
SS 151: Death of the Scrappy Homeschooler
Welcome to Season 26 of Scholé Sisters! At the risk of sound like grumpy old ladies, we are kicking off this season with a conversation about homeschool history and how you can tap in to some of homeschool culture’s strengths. You’re going to love this conversation! *** If you’ve considered upgrading your Sistership membership from FREE to Sophie level, now is the time to do that! Our 2025 book clubs are underway and they are fantastic! Modern Times, Norms and Nobility, Bleak House, and more! There is something for everyone. And in March, Abby, along with Jami Marstall, will be teaching a workshop on leading homeschool co-op classes that you do NOT want to miss. To join us, all you have to do is make sure you are a Sophie level member of the Sistership! Just go to scholesisters.com/join and sign up. ***
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SS #150: 'Tis the Season of Joyful Sacrifice
12/13/2024
SS #150: 'Tis the Season of Joyful Sacrifice
Today’s episode is our annual Christmas episode! Mystie, Abby, and Brandy are discussing one of their favorite Christmas books, The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston. You’re going to love this conversation! *** It’s time for the Sophie Christmas gift! Every year, we give a little something to our Sophie members to say thank you and offer them a bit of encouragement. This year, we’re having we’re having Heather Lloyd from Concordis Education give her excellent talk "Culturing Olive Trees: Families that Bear Fruit." Mystie and Abby predict that you are going to LOVE IT! This live event will take place TODAY, Friday December 13th, at 2:30pm Central time. If you would like to join us live, or catch the replays, all you have to do is make sure you are a Sophie level member of the Sistership! Just go to scholesisters.com slash join and sign up. ***
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SS #149: Reimagining School
11/22/2024
SS #149: Reimagining School
Today’s episode is our annual retreat recording! We love recording when we are all together (even though the sound quality suffers). This episode is basically a follow-up in which we give Mystie a soap box and encourage her to talk more about de-institutionalizing classical education. You’re going to love this conversation! *** The Stable and Steadfast mentorship inside Sistership is taking next week off for American Thanksgiving. It’s 10 weeks long with break weeks for Christmas as well, which means it’s not too late to jump in and join the conversation! If you would like to read up on the subject of God-given rights, that you might be better able to think through the news you read, go to scholesisters.com/join and sign up. ***
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SS #148: De-Institutionalizing School (featuring Heather Olsson!!)
11/08/2024
SS #148: De-Institutionalizing School (featuring Heather Olsson!!)
Our special guest today is Heather Olsson! Heather is wife to Dr. Phil Olsson, mother to seven, and Mimi to 14 grandchildren. She educated her children at home for 20 plus years. The Olsson family moved in 2020 from Green Bay, WI to Moscow, Idaho, where Heather has taught and been a Dean at The Jubilee School. She just began her second year as Head of School at Jubilee and also trains teachers through Concordis Education Partners. In today’s episode, Heather teaches Mystie and Brandy about Prussian education and how many of our so-called classical forms are coming from the Prussians rather than the tradition we claim. You’re going to love this conversation! ***
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SS #147: Strong Mothers, Special Needs (with Adelaide Garner!!)
11/01/2024
SS #147: Strong Mothers, Special Needs (with Adelaide Garner!!)
Our special guest today is Adelaide Garner. Adelaide is wife to Ben, and mother to four little treasures. They are Reformed Evangelical Christians. She was a pastor’s wife for many years, but their family has moved into Ben owning a small business. Adelaide and Ben are second generation homeschoolers and use Charlotte Mason’s principles. They live in a 120-year-old farmhouse on several acres outside of Houston, Texas. Six years ago, Adelaide, after many years of struggling with her own health. decided to become a certified health coach. When she learned to ask better questions, she found better answers for her health and the health of her family. She enjoys helping women find a grateful, sober-minded, and non-anxious approach to caring for the wellbeing of their families, to the Glory of God. We had a few audio issues during this recording, so you'll have to forgive us for the handful of snags you hear along the way. With that said, today's conversation was fascinating because it combines a book we all read for last year's mentorship, A Failure of Nerve, by Edwin Friedman, with issues surrounding autism and other special needs. *** The live kickoff for our newest Scholé Sisters mentorship took place a couple weeks ago. Our mentorships are for Sophie-level Sistership members. However, our kickoff was for everyone, even those of you on our free plan. If you are not yet in the Sistership but want to watch the replay of the live kickoff for the Mentorship (which we've named Stable and Steadfast: Standing on Your God-given Rights), go to scholesisters.com/join and sign up! ***
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SS #146: Education — Training Religious Habits
10/11/2024
SS #146: Education — Training Religious Habits
Today’s episode is the fourth and final in our series exploring Charlotte Mason‘s chapters on habits from her book School Education and so Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss one of the most off-limits topics: religion. You’re going to love this conversation! *** The live kickoff for our newest Scholé Sisters Mentorship will take place on Friday, October 18th at 1:30 PM Pacific. Our mentorships are for Sophie level Sistership members. However, our kickoff is for everyone, even those of you on our free plan! If you are not yet in the Sistership but want to participate in the live kickoff for the mentorship (which we’ve named Stable and Steadfast: Standing On Your God-Given Rights) go to scholesisters.com/join and sign up. ***
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SS #145: Why Latin? (with Angela Reed!!)
09/27/2024
SS #145: Why Latin? (with Angela Reed!!)
Today’s guest is Latin teacher extraordinaire, Angela Reed! Angela has been a student of lingua Latina and classical civilization for over twenty-five years. She started on this path in high school when she took her first Latin class and, for extra credit, joined the Latin club. Angela has been enthusiastically carrying a classical torch ever since. When she first encountered the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason, it was not long before she began to study how Latin fit within it. This research led to some surprising insights, experimentation in the classroom, and a new direction for her teaching: Living Latin Lessons—live online classes offering a Charlotte Mason approach to Latin. Angela and her husband live in Florida and share a life of books, music, and outdoor adventures with their five children. In today’s episode Mystie and Brandy talk with Angela about defending the study of Latin and how a person's reasoning changes as they get older and become more experienced. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Are you ready for our annual Homeschool Essentials retreat?? This year’s topic is attention, because without attention, we cannot learn. Join us LIVE NEXT SATURDAY on October 5, 2024 for a full day of refreshment as we look deeply into this topic. We cannot wait to spend time with you all! Go to scholesisters.com/attention and register today! ***
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SS #144: De-stress With Natural Consequences
09/13/2024
SS #144: De-stress With Natural Consequences
In today’s episode Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss the idea of natural consequences with a perspective shift that can really de-stress your motherhood. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Are you ready for our annual Homeschool Essentials retreat?? This year’s topic is attention, because without attention, we cannot learn. Join us LIVE on October 5, 2024 for a full day of refreshment as we look deeply into this topic. We cannot wait to spend time with you all! Go to scholesisters.com/attention and register today! ***
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SS #143: If You Build It, Moms Will Come
08/02/2024
SS #143: If You Build It, Moms Will Come
In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy dig into the history of the Scholé Sisters annual retreat, giving you a behind-the-scenes glance at our decision making that we've never shared before. *** Are you ready for our annual Homeschool Essentials retreat?? This year’s topic is ATTENTION, because without attention, you cannot LEARN. Join us LIVE on October 5, 2024 for a full day of refreshment as we look deeply into this topic. We cannot wait to spend time with you! You can grab a hostess kit or individual registration by going to scholesisters.com/attention. ***
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SS #142: Attention is a Homeschool Essential
07/19/2024
SS #142: Attention is a Homeschool Essential
In today’s episode Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss ATTENTION, because it’s the topic of the 2024 Scholé Sisters retreat. They do this using a chapter on solitude from AG Sertillanges’ book The Intellectual Life. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Are you ready for our annual Homeschool Essentials retreat?? This year’s topic is ATTENTION, because without attention, you cannot learn. Join us LIVE on October 5, 2024 for a full day of refreshment as we look deeply into this topic. We cannot wait to spend time with you all! Early bird registration is open now and only lasts until July 31st, 2024 so don’t delay! Register today by going to scholesisters.com/attention – that’s scholesisters.com/attention. ***
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SS #141: Raising Children Who Love to Learn
05/17/2024
SS #141: Raising Children Who Love to Learn
In today’s episode Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss what it means when we say we want to raise kids who love to learn. What are the implication of this goal? Does it affect how we teach? You’re going to love this conversation! *** It’s not too late to catch the replays of our annual Spring Training Sessions! The second session was just on MONDAY! Our coach this year was Andrew Zwerneman from Cana Academy. Andrew taught two sessions on history. The first session gave us a classical view of history. The second session proposed a method for teaching history. It was so great and we got amazing feedback from everyone who attended. To catch the replays, just go to scholesisters.com/history to sign up. ***
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SS #140: Rewards and Motivation
05/03/2024
SS #140: Rewards and Motivation
In today’s episode Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss rewards and how to connect them to intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation. *** Don’t forget to register for our annual Spring Training Sessions! This is happening SOON! Our coach this year is Andrew Zwerneman from Cana Academy. Andrew is going to teach two sessions on history. The first session will help us get away from Marxism and adopt a classical view of history. The second session will propose a method for teaching history. It’s going to be so great! To register just go to scholesisters.com/history to sign up. ***
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SS #139: A Classical College Education (with Andy Patton!!)
04/19/2024
SS #139: A Classical College Education (with Andy Patton!!)
Our guest today is Andy Patton. Andy Patton has held various roles in healthcare technology and venture capital. As an entrepreneur in the healthcare space, he built and successfully exited his first company. He has also started and currently owns a company in the construction industry. Before going into business, Mr. Patton spent his early career as a high school teacher of Latin, Greek, music, and math. He joined New College Franklin as President of the College in 2023. Prior to that, he served for nine years on the Board of Directors, including the last five years as Chairman of the Board. He has taught courses on Dante as well as Economics. In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy discuss classical college education with Andy Patton. Is there a difference between attending a classical college and being a classics major at a "regular" college? Can the classically educated get jobs after they graduate?? You’re going to love this conversation! *** We are pleased to announce that registration for our annual Spring Training Sessions are now open! Our coach this year is Andrew Zwerneman from Cana Academy. Andrew is going to teach two sessions on history as a classical subject. The first session will help us get away from Marxism and adopt a classical view of history. The second session will offer us a method for teaching history. It’s going to be so great! To register just go to scholesisters.com/history to sign up. ***
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SS #138: A Little More Conversation, Please (with Andrew Zwerneman!!)
04/05/2024
SS #138: A Little More Conversation, Please (with Andrew Zwerneman!!)
Our guest today is Andrew Zwerneman. Andrew J. Zwerneman serves as President and Master Teacher at Cana Academy. For 40 years, he has taught and consulted in secondary schools that emphasize classic humanities. For 19 years he headed schools — 2 at the public charter school, Tempe Preparatory Academy in Tempe, Arizona, 17 at Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church, Virginia. Andrew has degrees from both Notre Dame AND St. John’s University, and he has authored two books: History Forgotten and Remembered and The Life We Have Together: A Case for Humane Studies, A Vision for Renewal. In today’s episode, Brandy and Mystie are peppering Andrew with questions about seminar-style teaching: what it is, where it comes from, how it fits into the classical tradition, and more. You’re going to love this conversation! *** We are pleased to announce that registration for our annual Spring Training Sessions are now open! In fact, one reason why we asked Andrew to be here today is because we hired him as this year’s coach. Andrew is going to teach two sessions on history as a classical subject. The first session will help us get away from Marxism and adopt a classical view of history. The second session will offer us a method for teaching history. It’s going to be so great! To register just go to https://scholesisters.com/history to sign up. ***
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SS #137: Fairy Tales are True (with Vigen Guroian!!)
03/25/2024
SS #137: Fairy Tales are True (with Vigen Guroian!!)
Today’s guest is Vigen Guroian. Until his retirement in 2015, Dr. Guroian was Professor of Religious Studies in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Virginia. He is now a Permanent Senior Fellow of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, Senior Fellow at the Center on Law and Religion at Emory University, Distinguished Fellow of the John Jay Institute, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum. He also is on the faculty of Memoria College online. Most importantly for our purposes, he is the author of a book we love and highly recommend: Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination. Today’s episode was such a delight to record. Abby and Brandy had a great time discussing with Dr. Guroian truth and how it relates to fairy tales. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Did you sign up to do the 5x5 reading challenge this year? If so, you need to join the Sistership as a Sophie membership and get the accountability you need and the support you want. With weekly check-ins and quarterly zoom-style meetups, you will be encouraged to continue in good reading habits as well as get fun advice on which book to read next. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. ***
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SS #136: Moral Training with Charlotte Mason
03/08/2024
SS #136: Moral Training with Charlotte Mason
Today’s episode is the third in our four part series on Charlotte Mason’s chapters from School Education that cover the training of physical, intellectual, moral, and religious habits. Today, we’re discussing the training of MORAL habits. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Did you sign up to do the 5x5 reading challenge this year? If so, you need to join the Sistership as a Sophie membership and get the accountability you need and the support you want. With weekly check-ins and quarterly zoom-style meetups, you will be encouraged to continue in good reading habits as well as get fun advice on which book to read next. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. ***
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SS #135: Unit Studies Are Overrated
02/23/2024
SS #135: Unit Studies Are Overrated
Today’s episode is on unit studies and why Charlotte Mason disapproved of them so much. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Did you sign up to do the 5x5 reading challenge this year? If so, you need to join the Sistership as a Sophie membership and get the accountability you need and the support you want. With weekly check-ins and quarterly zoom-style meetups, you will be encouraged to continue in good reading habits as well as get fun advice on which book to read next. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. ***
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SS # 134: What is the 5x5 Reading Challenge?
01/12/2024
SS # 134: What is the 5x5 Reading Challenge?
It has come to our attention that while we discuss and refer to the Scholé Sisters 5x5 Reading Challenge regularly, we've never actually done an episode on it. Today, we remedy that problem! We discuss the history of the challenge as well as how it works. Today's episode is hosted by Abby Wahl (because Brandy is in the middle of a cross-country move). Her ever-faithful cohost is, of course, Mystie Winckler. To join the 2024 5x5 Reading Challenge, go to scholesisters.com/5x5 and sign up! ***
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SS #133: Mom is the Magic of Christmas
12/15/2023
SS #133: Mom is the Magic of Christmas
Today’s episode is our annual Christmas episode. We begin by revisiting the theme of our very first Christmas episode, Don’t Be the White Witch. We continue with a discussion of generosity and tradition-making that you will love. *** Every year, we give our Sophie members a special Christmas gift. This year, our Sophie members are receiving a workshop on book selection that Mystie and Brandy filmed with Dr. Christopher Schlect from New Saint Andrews College. In a world of woke, how do we go about choosing books? If you want access to this Christmas gift, don’t delay! Christmas gifts always disappear after Epiphany. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. ***
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SS #132: Intellectual Training with Charlotte Mason
11/24/2023
SS #132: Intellectual Training with Charlotte Mason
Today’s episode is the second in our four part series on habits and training. Last time, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy talked about physical training. Today they’re discussing intellectual training, including that most controversial assertion of Charlotte Mason, that attention can be trained. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Have you heard about the ongoing Sophie Mentorship inside the Scholé Sistership? It started on October 23rd and it’s not too late to join! The mentorship is called Grow Up: Courage to Be the Adult in the Room. We’re reading from four different books and having various types of rich discussions as we flesh out how to grow up so that we can better mother our children. There is a 3-week break over Christmas to give time to catch up if you want to jump in now. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie to be a part of this fabulous four-month study. ***
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SS #131: Outsourcing for High School (with Jami Marstall!!)
11/03/2023
SS #131: Outsourcing for High School (with Jami Marstall!!)
Our very special guest today is Jami Marstall. Jami has been homeschooling with Charlotte Mason’s principles, primarily following AmblesideOnline, for the past 17 years. She has graduated three of her four children from the family homeschool and has one high schooler left. Jami loves to read about and discuss educational history and philosophy. She always dreamed of being a professional student and homeschooling continues to be the perfect career to fulfill that ambition. Today’s episode is a conversation Abby and Brandy absolutely loved having with Jami. It is so common to put homeschoolers into public school for high school because mothers feel unequipped for such a big undertaking. They discussed an alternative that all three of them have used that has helped them homeschool for the long haul: outsourcing. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Have you heard about our new Sophie Mentorship? It started on October 23rd and it’s not too late to join us! The mentorship is called Grow Up: Courage to Be the Adult in the Room, and we’re spending a bunch of time immersed in ideas surrounding being an adult and becoming a strong leader. We’re reading from four different books, including the classic Art of War by Sun Tzu, and having various types of rich discussions as we flesh out how to grow up so that we can better mother our children. Go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie to partake in this fabulous four-month study. ***
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SS# 130: Empathy Is Bad for Your Kids
10/20/2023
SS# 130: Empathy Is Bad for Your Kids
Today’s episode is the annual episode we recorded at the retreat when we were together in real life, which means we have to apologize to you for the sound. You’d think it’d be better in person, but the reality is that a single shared microphone is a questionable idea. With that said, we had so much fun discussing a portion of Edwin Friedman’s excellent on leadership, A Failure of Nerve. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Have you heard about our upcoming Sophie Mentorship? It starts very soon on October 23rd! If you like today’s podcast discussion, you will love the mentorship because we’ll be spending extended time immersed in ideas surrounding being an adult and becoming a strong leader. In fact, the mentorship is called Grow Up: Courage to Be the Adult in the Room. We’ll be reading from four different books (including the classic Art of War by Sun Tzu) and having various types of rich discussions as we flesh out how to grow up so that we can better mother our children. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie to be a part of this fabulous four-month study. ***
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SS #129: Physical Training with Charlotte Mason
09/29/2023
SS #129: Physical Training with Charlotte Mason
Today’s conversation is the first in a four-part series covering Charlotte Mason’s chapters from School Education on training children physically, intellectually, morally, and religiously. Today we cover physical training — not so much the how as the what and the why. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Have you registered for our fall online local retreats yet? If you are listening to this episode the day it comes out, the retreat is NEXT SATURDAY October 7th! Our annual Homeschool Essentials Retreat always takes a deep dive into one aspect of homeschooling. This year’s topic is TIME, the most essential part of homeschooling of all! Discussion is an important part of our retreats. When you purchase an individual registration, you can still enjoy post-session discussions online in our Zoom rooms! They are so great! We cannot wait to spend time with you all get yourself registered ASAP by going to to scholesisters.com/time. ***
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SS #128: Division or Dialogue (with Pastor Chad Vegas!!)
09/15/2023
SS #128: Division or Dialogue (with Pastor Chad Vegas!!)
Our guest today is Chad Vegas. Chad is the founding pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield, CA, where he has served since 2006. Chad received his M.A. from Talbot School of Theology. He also spent nearly two decades in public school education as both a teacher and Board Member. He has been married to Teresa since 1994 and they have 2 children. Chad is the co-author of Missions by the Book: How Theology and Missions Walk Together, available at all major booksellers. Our conversation in this episode kicks off with Pastor Chad’s interpretation of Matthew 18 – what does it really mean and how do we know if it’s being abused or misused? After that, Mystie, Chad, and Brandy dig deeply into public conversation and where we Christians can and should draw lines. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Have you registered for our fall online local retreats yet? Our physical hostess kits are sold out, but digital hostess kits are still available. Our annual Homeschool Essentials retreat always takes a deep dive into one aspect of homeschooling. This year’s topic is TIME, the most essential part of homeschooling of all! We cannot wait to spend time with you all on Saturday, October 7th so mark your calendars! Just go to scholesisters.com/time to sign up. ***
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SS #127: Curriculum as Crutch
09/01/2023
SS #127: Curriculum as Crutch
Today’s conversation is all about curriculum. What does it mean to say that curriculum can be a crutch? Is that a bad thing? What does a healthy relationship with curricula look like? You’re going to love this conversation! *** Have you registered for our fall online local retreats yet? Our physical hostess kits are just about sold out, but digital hostess kits are still available. Our annual Homeschool Essentials retreat always takes a deep dive into one aspect of homeschooling. This year’s topic is TIME, the most essential part of homeschooling of all! We cannot wait to spend time with you all on Saturday, October 7th so mark your calendars! Just go to scholesisters.com/time to sign up. ***
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SS #126: Hosting a Desert Retreat (with Kara Hughes!!)
08/04/2023
SS #126: Hosting a Desert Retreat (with Kara Hughes!!)
Our guest today is Kara Hughes. Kara is a Christian homeschooling mama to 5 children – a toddler, and then a 4th grader, 5th grader, 7th grader and 9th grader, all of whom use AmblesideOnline. She loves reading and hiking, and especially the two together when she can get them. Kara is also the librarian at a homeschool curriculum library, and is trying to reteach herself piano, convince her piece of desert to grow something, and actually finish a knitting project someday. Today is the second of our two summer episodes. In this one, Abby and Brandy get into the nitty gritty of hosting a Scholé Sisters retreat with special guest, Kara Hughes. *** Are you ready for the annual Scholé Sisters Online Local Retreat? Our annual Homeschool Essentials retreats always take a deep dive into one aspect of homeschooling. This year’s topic is TIME, the most essential part of homeschooling of all! We cannot wait to spend time with you all on Saturday, October 7th so mark your calendars! Early bird registration is now live. Just go to scholesisters.com/time to sign up. ***
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SS #125: Numbering the Days of Your Homeschool
07/21/2023
SS #125: Numbering the Days of Your Homeschool
Today is the first of our two summer episodes. In this one, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy wax philosophical about this year’s retreat topic: time. *** Are you ready for the annual Scholé Sisters Online Local Retreat? Our annual Homeschool Essentials retreats always take a deep dive into one aspect of homeschooling. This year’s topic is TIME, the most essential part of homeschooling of all! We cannot wait to spend time with you all on Saturday, October 7th so mark your calendars! Early bird registration is now live. Just go to scholesisters.com/time to sign up. ***
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SS #124: Redeeming the Five-Paragraph Essay (with Renee Shepard!!)
05/19/2023
SS #124: Redeeming the Five-Paragraph Essay (with Renee Shepard!!)
Our guest today is Renee Shepard. Renee was one of the fortunate few to be homeschooled back when that wasn’t really a thing. When she had her own children, she wanted to provide an even better education for them. That drove her to a study of classical education, and over the last ten years she has been homeschooling her children while staying a step ahead of them as she completed her Masters in Classical Christian Studies at New Saint Andrews college. She has been teaching the progymnasmata at various homeschool co-ops for the last 5 years and next year will begin teaching part time at Logos School. Today, we’re going to talk about this classical approach to writing — called the progymnasmata! — how it relates to the modernist five-paragraph essay, why it’s better than modernist writing curricula, and so much more. *** Renee Shepard isn’t just our guest for this episode; she’s the teacher we hired to teach summer school this year! Renee is going to unwrap a big gift for us, one that has been sitting under classical education’s tree, untouched, for a very long time, and that is CLASSICAL WRITING. Did you know that classical education has its own, highly effective way of teaching writing, that writing was taught this way for at least 1500 years, and that when we abandoned this way of teaching, that was when writing began to decline? You’re a classical homeschooler; you don’t have to use a modernist writing program. Renee will help. To register for summer school, go to https://www.scholesisters.com/writing and sign up! ***
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SS #123: Honor Thy Philosophical Fathers (Brent Pinkall on Chinese Classical Education)
04/28/2023
SS #123: Honor Thy Philosophical Fathers (Brent Pinkall on Chinese Classical Education)
Our guest today is Brent Pinkall, author of the fabulous new book, Redeeming the Six Arts: A Christian Approach to Chinese Classical Education, which the Sisters cannot recommend enough. Brent Pinkall is a Lecturer of Rhetoric at New Saint Andrews College. Before joining the NSA faculty, Pinkall taught rhetoric at a classical Christian college in China for more than five years. He has also taught at various public universities in China, including Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, and Central China Normal University. In addition to rhetoric, Pinkall has taught college-level courses in logic, epistemology, history of classical education, classical pedagogy, astronomy, English, and English literature. He has ministered in China for more than twelve years, with a focus on promoting classical Christian education there. *** Are you ready for this year’s spring training? It’s going to be amazing!! We’re calling it Dead White Guys because the latest attack on classical education seems to be the claim that classical education should be discarded because much of the source material was written by white men. Scholé Sisters has hired Monique Duson and Krista Bontrager from The Center for Biblical Unity to fit all of us for conversing on these issues. Session 1 is all about Critical Theory and Session 2 is basically a defense of classical education against the attacks of Critical Theory proponents. Each session ends with a live Q&A! It's going to be so great! Go to to register! ***
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