Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas
Scholé Sisters is a podcast for classical homeschooling mothers who want to grow personally while educating their children. The hosts discuss topics relevant to classical education, drawing on principles from authors like David Hicks, James Taylor, and Charlotte Mason. Each episode includes a segment called Scholé Everyday with suggestions for inspiration and growth, followed by a topical discussion. The podcast aims to build camaraderie among homeschooling mamas seeking more than just checking boxes.
Episodes
SS #180: Pusillanimity: The Unpronounceable Vice Holding You Back
In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss the vice of pusillanimity (and remind each other how you say it). Are we being held back (or holding our children back) due to a false humility or fear? Let's talk about it! You're going to love this conversation! *** Registration is still open for our annual fall retreat! Come and join us for the first installment of our new virtue series. We w
SS #179: Scrappy Adulthood (with Hans Winckler!!)
Our guest today is Mystie's eldest son, Hans Winckler! Hans is a father of two, has been married to his wife Faith for 3 years, and works in real estate sales ... all in spite of being a college dropout. In today's episode, Mystie and Brandy talk with Hans about adult life without a bachelor's degree. Is it possible to be successful in life without one? You're going to love this conversation! ***
SS #178: Diversity is Not Your Co-op Strength
In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy talk straight about diversity. We are told again and again that diversity is our strength, but what if diversity is actually undermining the success of your co-op? You're going to love this conversation! *** Registration is still open for our annual fall retreat! Come and join us for the first installment of our new virtue series. We will be talking all
SS #177: Build Real-Life Community (with Hayley Beck!!)
Our special guest today is someone whose name you may know: Hayley Beck. Hayley was born and raised in Australia, and has been married to her husband, Randy, for 28 years. They lived in California for the first 23 years of their marriage. She and Brandy became real life friends back in 2012 when Hayley attended Brandy's Charlotte Mason book club. These days, the Becks live in Montana with their 7
SS #176: Prudence: Queen of the Virtues
In today's episode, Abby, Mystie, and Brandy introduce the new virtue series of retreats, why we're doing it, and why we're beginning with the virtue of prudence. We also explain why the annual retreat is so awesome! You're going to love this conversation! *** Registration is now open for our annual fall retreat at Early Bird prices! Come and join us for the first installment of our new virtue ser
SS #175: Real Human Wisdom in an AI World (with Cindy Rollins!!)
Our special guest today is the one and only Cindy Rollins! Cindy homeschooled her nine children for over 30 years using Charlotte Mason's timeless ideas from the beginning. She is the author of Mere Motherhood: Morning Time, Nursery Rhymes, and My Journey Toward Sanctification and others, including Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love and her latest Beyond Mere Motherhood: Moms Are People Too. She hos
SS #174: Machine Culture
Today's episode is a conversation about machine culture a la Paul Kingsnorth's book Against the Machine, but we managed to tie it to government funded homeschooling and online learning. It was a wild ride. You're going to love this conversation! *** John Muir Laws — artist, author, and nature enthusiast — is teaching our Spring Training Sessions this year. Come join us and embrace the practice of
SS #173: Think for Yourself
In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss the importance of independent thought (versus depending on gurus, for example). You're going to love this conversation! *** John Muir Laws — artist, author, and nature enthusiast — is teaching the Scholé Sisters Spring Training Sessions this year. Come join us and embrace the practice of nature notebooks for every age. Session 1 is on May 5th at
SS #172: Maximize Motivation (with Dr. Ben Merkle!!)
Today's guest is Dr. Ben Merkle! Dr. Merkle is the President of New Saint Andrew's College. He has served as a minister at Christ Church, Moscow and also a part-time campus minister with Collegiate Reformed Fellowship, a campus ministry of Christ Church. Dr. Merkle is the author of The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great. Mystie and Brandy decided they need to ask Dr. Merkle whether New
SS #171: The Vice of Envy
Today's episode is a continuation of our ongoing conversation about vices – about the seven deadly sins. We're using the chapter of Rebecca Deyoung's book Glittering Vices to discuss ENVY. You're going to love this conversation! *** Have you bought the Scholé Sisters' new book, Scholé Every Day yet? It is getting great reviews. If you are trying to get a book club off the ground, make this book yo
SS #170: Saturation Love
Today, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss the essay "Saturation Love" by Jim Wilson. And yes! They remembered to discuss the tough questions that naturally arise when reading the essay. You're going to love this conversation! *** Have you bought the Scholé Sisters' new book, Scholé Every Day yet? It is getting great reviews. If you are trying to get a book club off the ground, make this book your fi
SS #169: Our 10th Anniversary Extravaganza (with Sarah Mackenzie and Pam Barnhill!!)
Our guests today are our dear friends Sarah Mackenzie and Pam Barnhill! Sarah is the author of Teaching from Rest and The Read-Aloud Family. She's the host of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, which has been downloaded 16 million times in more than 167 countries. She makes her home in the Northwest with her family, where she reads, homeschools, and runs Waxwing Books, a boutique publishing house ded
SS #168: Your Child is Behind?
Welcome back! Today is the beginning of our spring season and we're kicking off with a discussion on being behind – how do we know if our child is behind? Some say being behind isn't even a thing! And is it important to have standards? Can't my child just develop at his own pace? You're going to love this conversation! *** It's our birthday and we're giving you presents! Come join us in the Scholé
SS #167: The Causes of Christmas
Today's episode is what you've been waiting for. That's right! It's our annual Christmas episode. This time, we used a different approach, talking through aspects of Christmas and celebration using Aristotle's Four Causes. You're going to love this conversation! *** Our new book — Scholé Every Day — is now out and available! If you want to help us promote it, head on over to Amazon and buy it ASAP
SS #166: Artificial Intelligence (with Jami Marstall!!)
Our guest today is Jami Marstall. Jami has been homeschooling for almost 20 years with Charlotte Mason's rich, living methods. She and her husband John have four children, three of whom have graduated. Jami is not particularly looking forward to homeschool retirement when her youngest graduates. She firmly believes that mothers are born persons and have minds which hunger for ideas too! Her perso
SS #165: Book Club Joy
This is the fall episode recorded each year at the retreat. As usual, the Scholé Sisters apologize for the decline in sound quality. They feel like it is worth it that they get to record all togheter in the same room! Today they're talking about all the nitty gritty details of book club. You're going to love this conversation! *** The Scholé Sisters fall mentorship — Feminism Detox — kicked off on
SS #164: Teaching Courage
Today's episode is a continuation of our ongoing discussion of virtues and vices. Brandy, Mystie, and Abby contend that if classical education is supposed to form virtue, courage and fortitude have to be covered. What does THAT look like? Listen up because they talk all about it! You're going to love this conversation! *** Are you ready for the Scholé Sisters fall mentorship? The new mentorship —
SS #163: You Should Have an Opinion on These Things
Charlotte Mason says our young adult daughters ought to develop their opinions rather than being tossed around by circumstance or culture. Ought a well-raised young lady have an opinion? Brandy, Abby, and Mystie are here to discuss it! You're going to love this conversation! *** Don't forget to register for our annual retreat! There are many possibilities: watch live in the comfort of your home an
SS #162: Classical Preschool: Gymnastic
Is classical preschool even a thing?? In today's episode, Abby, Mystie and Brandy talk about gymnastic and explain how you can start training the body in the preschool years. You're going to love this conversation! *** Don't forget to register for our annual retreat! There are many possibilities: watch live in the comfort of your home and get access to our zoom room discussion groups for fruitful
SS #161: Feminism Detox (Announcing the Fall Mentorship!!)
In today's episode, Abby, Mystie, and Brandy are discussing feminism and the view of women found in Herman Bavinck's book The Christian Family. You're going to love this conversation! *** Don't forget to register for our annual online local retreat! There are many possibilities: watch live in the comfort of your home and get access to our zoom room discussion groups for fruitful interaction, or ho
SS #160: We Did a Thing (Announcing Our Book!!)
In today's episode, Abby, Mystie, and Brandy are announcing a secret project they've been working on for over a year. It's pretty exciting!! *** Don't forget to register for our annual online local retreat! There are many possibilities: watch live in the comfort of your home and get access to our zoom room discussion groups for fruitful interaction, or host an in-person local group and enjoy discu
SS #159: Curriculum Is More Than Something You Buy
In today's episode, Abby, Mystie, and Brandy are geeking out about curriculum, which is the topic of this year's annual retreat. Did you know? Curriculum is something you buy, and also something you can't buy. You're going to love this conversation! *** Today is the day! We are opening early bird registration for our annual online local retreat. This retreat is one of our favorite things in the wh
SS #158: Postmodernism Wants Your Kids
In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy explain exactly why they chose this topic for the 2025 Spring Training Sessions and why they think it's important for us to prepare our kids for the world we're launching them into. You're going to love this conversation! *** The annual Scholé Sisters Spring Training just happened, and replays are now available! Dr. Glenn Sunshine did a great job teachi
SS #157: Reward Systems in Sunday School?
In today's episode, Brandy, Mystie, and Abby revisit the topic of rewards and prize systems – specifically what to do when one is implemented at church. This was a chance to try and apply our principles to a real life situation where we don't want to be perfectionists and we DO want to be peacemakers. You're going to love this conversation! *** If you've considered upgrading your Sistership member
SS #156: Wonderfully Inconvenient Motherhood (with JoAnn Hallum!!)
Our guest today is JoAnn Hallum! JoAnn is a first-generation homeschooler from the Central Valley of California who has been teaching her four boys for about 10 years. She loves to read and to tell people at parties they should read Charles Dickens. With a fine art degree in Printmaking, she discovered she loved writing when she became a stay-at-home mom. She now writes on Substack and Instagram,
SS #155: Improving Conversation
Today's episode is a discussion about conversation. Or maybe it's a conversation about discussion?? No matter, the point is that Isaac Watts has some helpful advice for us if we want to have fruitful interactions with others. 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! Next week, we're
SS #154: Discussion is Part of a Classical Education (with Everett Vencel!!)
Our guest today is Brandy's son, Everett Vencel. Everett recently graduated from New College Franklin and now works as an audiovisual engineer at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church and as a personal assistant to the owner of a water heater company. In his spare time, he reads anything he can get his hands on and is studying Information technology. He and his wife, Emily, are expecting their first bab
SS #153: You Probably Think This Episode is About You
Today's conversation is a discussion about the vice of vainglory. The sisters have been reading a book by Rebecca DeYoung called Vainglory: The Forgotten Vice and it's so good! 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 tea
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
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 cl
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, w
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 w
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 thr
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 outsi
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 f
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 philo
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 w
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
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
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
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 c
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, a
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 degre
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
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 member
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 con
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
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 filme
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 Schol
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 an
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 goi
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 thi
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
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 Home
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
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 wa
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 C
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
SS #122: Put the Masterly Back in Masterly Inactivity
Today, Mystie, Brandy, and Abby attempt to straighten out one of the biggest misunderstandings in the Charlotte Mason world: masterly inactivity. The term is constantly misused, so they start off with definitions. But keep listening because they'll go into detail on how exactly this concept can be applied to real life. You're going to love this conversation! *** Are you ready for this year's sprin
SS #121: Barefoot in the Kitchen with the Ideal Type (featuring David Hicks!!!)
Today's very special guest is David Hicks. Does the famed author of one of the bestest books EVER, Norms and Nobility, really need any further introduction? Well, what you may not know about him is that he spent thirty years of his life in private education, serving as head of school for a number of schools across the country, and culminating as Chief Academic Officer for Meritas LLC, which owned
SS #120: Let Them Go (Launching Boys with Toby Sumpter!!)
Our guest today is Toby Sumpter. Toby pastors King's Cross Church in Moscow, Idaho. He and his wife Jenny have been married over twenty years and they have 4 kids, one of whom has recently flown the coop. He is a co-host of the CrossPolitic Show and author of Blood-Bought World and No Mere Mortals. He holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies with an emphasis in church history, and he teaches
SS #119: Rewards Revisited (with Jason Barney!!)
Our guest today is Jason Barney from the Educational Renaissance Podcast! Jason serves as the Principal of Coram Deo Academy in Carmel, IN. In 2012 he was awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching from Hillsdale College. He completed his MA in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton College, where he received The Tenney Award in New Testament Studies. In addition to his administrative resp
SS #118: Grit and Bear It
We're discussing GRIT today. What is grit REALLY? And do kids need grit? DO moms need grit? And if we need it … how do we get it? You're gonna enjoy thinking through these questions. *** Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? In January, we kicked off our annual 5x5 Reading Challenge. It is not too late to join us! All you have to do is head on over to scholesisters.com/join and sign up for th
SS #117: Religion is Essential
Is real education necessarily religious? And if so, where does that leave modern claims to a secular education? These are the questions we raise in today's episode. *** Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? In January, we kicked off our annual 5x5 Reading Challenge. It is not too late to join us! All you have to do is head on over to scholesisters.com/join and sign up for the Sophie plan and
SS #116: Feasting in a Time of Fasting
Today, we present our annual Christmas episode! In light of inflation and the fact that, for many of us, Christmas has to be different this year compared to last, we thought we'd go over the first couple chapters of Little Women and discuss how to feast in a time of fasting. *** Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? We are really enjoying the current Sophie Seminar, TechTonic! Together, we're
SS #115: Indoctrinate Me
Today's episode is a response to the popular saying that real education teaches kids "not WHAT to think, but HOW to think." We think this is a dangerous false dichotomy. Can we make a good argument in favor of indoctrinating your kids? We're gonna try! *** Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? We are really enjoying the current Sophie Seminar, TechTonic! Together, we're reading our way around
SS #114: Well-Educated Daughters (with Rebekah Merkle!!)
Our guest today is the one and only Rebekah Merkle. Rebekah has dabbled in a number of occupations ranging from running her own clothing label to designing fabrics to becoming a full-time high school humanities teacher (which is fitting, because she was a student in one of the founding classical Christian schools in the USA). Most importantly for today's discussion, Rebekah is the author of the bo
SS #113: The Ideal Type
Today's episode is our annual retreat episode, meaning we recorded it when we were in Dallas. As is typical of that style of recording, the sound quality is questionable ... but the content is great (if we do say so ourselves)!! We discussed the existence of the Ideal Type using David Hicks' authoritative book, Norms and Nobility. We think you'll love this conversation. *** Have you joined the Sch
SS #112: How to Build an Educational Philosophy (Part 3: What Does a Well-Educated Person Look Like?)
Today's episode is the final in our three-part series designed to get you started on forming an educational philosophy. Whether you have been studying philosophy for years, or you are brand new to classical homeschooling, you are going to LOVE today's discussion, which explores what a well-educated person is like. *** Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? We're about to start our newest Sophi
SS #111: How to Build an Educational Philosophy (Part 2: What is Education?)
Today's episode is the second in our three-part series designed to help you get started forming an educational philosophy. Whether you have been studying philosophy for years, or you are brand new to classical homeschooling, you are going to LOVE today's discussion, which centers on the definition of education. *** Are you as excited about this year's local online retreats as we are?? It's coming
SS #110: How to Build an Educational Philosophy (Part 1: What is Man?)
Today's episode is the first in three-part series designed to get you started on forming an educational philosophy. Whether you have been studying philosophy for years, or you are brand new to classical homeschooling, you are going to LOVE today's discussion, which centers on the nature of man. *** Are you as excited about this year's local online retreats as we are??? The physical delivered-in-yo
SS #109: Aristotle vs. The Behaviorists (The Habits Episode!)
In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss the new retreat format and why we love it, what's different compared to last year, and also take a deep dive into this year's theme, habits, by discussing what Aristotle had to say about habit in Nichomachean Ethics. We hope you're ready to geek out about habits with us because that's what today is all about! *** Are you interested in hosting on
SS #108: Hostess with the Mostess: It's Retreat Time (with Danielle Cyrus!)
Our special guest today is Danielle Cyrus. Danielle was a pre-law student when God disrupted her plans and led her to education. She has 4 children and has been married to Grant for 20 years. She began homeschooling as her oldest reached school age and has been neck deep in books ever since. Danielle is a tutor in the Classical Conversations Essentials program and has led various home-education su
SS #107: Building a Community (with Melissa Cummings!!)
Our special guest this week is Melissa Cummings. Melissa and her husband Steven are second generation Christian homeschooling parents of five. She directs a Classical Christian homeschool co-op in her rural community, and also manages to pull off the annual Paideia Northwest conference for mamas raising kids for Christ. You can find her at JoyfulDomesticity.com. In today's episode, Mystie and Bran
SS #106: Stop Looking for Hacks (You Need a Philosophy)
So many people are turning to homeschooling these days, and the first question they usually ask is about curriculum – what should they use and how should they use it. In today's episode, Mystie and Brandy discuss why it's useful to back up and talk about why everyone needs a philosophy and how to go about building one. *** Earlier this week on Tuesday, Scholé Sisters hosted our annual Spring Train
SS #105: You're Not the Boss of Me, Now (A Discussion About Authority)
To prepare for today's episode, Abby, Mystie, and Brandy read the first two chapters of Charlotte Mason's third volume, School Education, which is all about authority. Our conversation centers on trying to grasp exactly what is unhealthy authority, what is healthy authority, and then how do we fight the anti-authority culture we live in? It was s a great discussion! *** Are you ready for this year
SS #104: Political Rehab (with Brett Stroud!!)
Our guest today is Brett Stroud. Brett is the President of Providence Classical Academy in Bakersfield, California. He is a graduate of the Torrey Honors Institute, a great books program at Biola University, and of the Pepperdine University School of Law. The mission of Providence Classical Academy is "To provide the children entrusted to its care with a liberal education grounded in the Christian
SS #103: Becoming More Human (How Could You Say Such Things?)
In today's episode, Brandy, Pam, Mystie, and Abby discuss the idea that classical education "makes you more human." Depending on what you think this means, the phrase can come off as offensive, in conflict with Charlotte Mason's assertion that children are born persons, and more. Because of this, they're taking a deep dive into what this really means and why they think it matters. *** Do you want
SS #102: Music to My Ears (with Greg Wilbur!!)
Our special guest today is the one and only Gregory Wilbur! Greg is founder and president of New College Franklin—a Christian college that concentrates on the classics and the seven liberal arts with a discussion-based approach and spiritual formation. In addition to teaching and developing curriculum, his current academic focus is advancing the disciplines of the Quadrivium by bringing together l
SS #101: Tell Me What I Wanna Hear (Josef Pieper on Flattery and Lies)
In today's episode, Abby, Mystie, and Brandy dig into Josef Pieper's lesser-known work Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power. They end up spending a lot of time on the idea of flattery which is … super uplifting. The good news is that they decide in the end that what we are already doing in classical education works for this issue, too! *** It's not too late to join the Excellent Marxmanship seminar g
