Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas

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! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 https://www.scholesisters.info/crt/ to register! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 spring training? It's going to be amazing!! We're calling it Dead White Guys. A common attack on classical education is the claim that classical education should be discarded because much of the source material was written by white men. Scholé Sisters is bringing in Monique Duson and Krista Bontrager from The Center for Biblical Unity to fit 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! For more information, go to https://www.scholesisters.info/crt/ and while you're there, go ahead and register! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 and operated private college prep schools around the globe. David and his brother Scot did an excellent translation of Marcus Aurelius called The Emperor's Handbook and are currently working together again on translating a series of Lives from Plutarch. David and his wife have four grown children and live off the grid on a ranch in the beautiful state of Montana. Today's episode is sort of a dream come true for Mystie and Brandy as they have read and discussed David's book, Norms and Nobility, off and on since they were in their 20s. David was SUCH a joy to talk to and you going to be so blessed by this conversation. *** 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 in addition to a replay of our big kickoff webinar, you will get tons of accountability, book ideas, and support. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 high school civics at Logos School. Today's episode is a little different because it's not focused on doing the homeschool project well, but on ending it well. Most importantly, how do we let our sons go when holding on feels so important? *** 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 in addition to a replay of our big kickoff webinar, you will get tons of accountability, book ideas, and support. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 responsibilities in vision, philosophy and faculty training, Jason has taught courses in Latin, Humanities, and Senior Thesis from 3rd-12th grades. He has published several books, including A Classical Guide to Narration with the CiRCE Institute and A Short History of Narration with Educational Renaissance. He regularly speaks at events and conferences, including SCL, ACCS and the CiRCE Institute, and has two courses on ClassicalU on Charlotte Mason and Narration. In addition, he has provided training for schools, like the Geneva School, the Covenant School of Dallas and the Ecclesial Schools Initiative. Jason blogs regularly on ancient wisdom for the modern era at www.educationalrenaissance.com. Jason Barney has written a lot over the years about the use of rewards and their affects on children. Abby and Brandy thoroughly enjoyed discussing rewards and intrinsic motivation with him, and we think you'll love what he had to say! *** 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 in addition to a replay of our big kickoff webinar, you will get tons of accountability, book ideas, and support. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 the Sophie plan and in addition to a replay of our big kickoff webinar, you will get tons of accountability, book ideas, and support. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 in addition to a replay of our big kickoff webinar, you will get tons of accountability, book ideas, and support. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 reading our way around the screen time issue. The goal of this seminar is for us all to be better equipped to make just judgments in this area of life. After all, informed opinions are the only opinions worth having. It's not too late to join the seminar! Head on over to scholesisters.com/join and sign up for the Sophie plan! If you join soon, you'll also get our AMAZING Sophie Christmas gift! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 the screen time issue. The goal of this seminar is for us all to be better equipped to make just judgments regarding screens. After all, informed opinions are the only opinions worth having. It's not too late to join the seminar! All you have to do is head on over to scholesisters.com/join and sign up for the Sophie plan! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 book Eve in Exile, which Mystie and Brandy both read and recommend. Today's chat with Rebekah Merkle is all about educating daughters ... and launching daughters. Do you want to value homemaking while still having a well-educated daughter? If so, this conversation is most definitely for you! *** Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? We recently began our newest Sophie Seminar, TechTonic! Together, we're reading our way around the screen time issue. The discussions so far have been great! The goal of this seminar is for us all to be better equipped to make just judgments about this issue. After all, informed opinions are the only opinions worth having. It's 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! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 Scholé Sistership yet? We just began our newest Sophie Seminar, TechTonic! Together, we're reading our way around the screen time issue. We had our first Live session on Monday and it went great! The goal of this seminar is for us all to be better equipped to make just judgments about this issue. After all, informed opinions are the only opinions worth having. It's not too late to join the seminar! All you have to do is head on over to scholesisters.com/join and sign up for the Sophie plan! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 Sophie Seminar, TechTonic! Together, we're going to read our way around the issues surrounding screen time so that we'll all be better equipped to make just judgments about this issue. After all, informed opinions are the only opinions worth having. Head on over to scholesisters.com/join and sign up for the Sophie plan to join in! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 up very soon, but it's not too late to sign up to host a local retreat of your own. Just grab our digital hostess kit and start planning. Our Homeschool Essentials retreats are perfect for homeschool mom groups, even if not all your members are classical or Charlotte Mason. This year we'll be talking all things habits and habit training. To register to be a hostess, or just to attend, head over to scholesisters.com/habit and sign up! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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-your-mail hostess kits have sold out just like Brandy predicted, BUT this doesn't mean you can't still sign up as a hostess. If you want to host, just grab the digital hostess kit and start planning your own local retreat. It's the perfect thing for the homeschool mom group even if not all your members are classical or Charlotte Mason. This year we'll be talking all things habits and habit training. To register to be a hostess, or just to attend, head over to scholesisters.com/habit and sign up! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 one of our annual online local retreats?? We are SO EXCITED about this year's plan! Mystie has gone above and beyond to make hosting dreamy for you. The real – yes: delivered in your mail – hostess kit has exclusive swag for you and your guests, plus all the papers and supplies to make it fun and simple. It's the perfect thing for the homeschool mom group, even if not all your members are classical or Charlotte Mason. This year at the retreat, we'll be talking all things habits and habit training. To register to be a hostess or just to attend, head over to scholesisters.com/habit and sign up! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 support groups and retreats on Classical and Charlotte Mason philosophies. She is passionate about fostering supportive community for home-educating parents. Danielle has been hosting a local Scholé Sisters retreat for years so Abby and Brandy thought it'd be great to get together with her for a bit and discuss the ins and outs of of hosting a local retreat, and get her to explain why she loves retreats so much. Danielle gives plenty of helpful tips along the way so listen up! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 Brandy talk with Melissa about creating and nurturing community. Trust us, Melissa knows how it's done! She built a thriving homeschool community in her own backyard! Building a homeschool community takes time and energy, which is why we don't just ask Melissa about building community – we ask her how to know if it's worth the sacrifice. *** This summer, Scholé Sisters will be hosting some workshops led by Melissa who plans to walk us through what it takes to build a community, whether it be large or small. These workshops will be FREE for Sistership Sophie members! Just go to scholesisters.com/sisters to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 Training. Our coach this year was Dr. Carl Trueman, professor of biblical and religious studies from Grove City College. He gave us an amazing history lesson on Marx and Marxism and answered a lot of great questions at the end. Replays are available, and if you sign up shortly after this episode comes out, you'll still have time to register and attend our live debriefing session with Mystie, Abby, and Brandy on May 10th. Just go to scholesisters.com/true to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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's Spring Training? In seeking to understand the times we are in, we have hired as this year's coach Dr. Carl Trueman, professor of biblical and religious studies from Grove City College. Dr. Trueman is the author of the remarkable book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. Understanding the times helps us prepare our children, yes, but also prepares US to live counterculturally with confidence. Dr. Trueman is the perfect coach to help us understand how to navigate these strange cultural waters. Just go to scholesisters.com/true to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 scriptures and the Western tradition, with the goal of forming godly, virtuous, self-governing men and women." Today's episode is something of an intervention. It looked like Abby was going to abandon politics altogether and so, naturally, Brandy got a lawyer and came to the rescue. You will love not just that is worked … but HOW it worked! *** Are you ready for this year's Spring Training? We are SO excited to invite you to join us LIVE for the Excellent Marxmanship Spring Training. This year's coach is the one and only Dr. Carl Trueman, professor of biblical and religious studies from Grove City College. Dr. Trueman is the author of the remarkable book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. We need to understand the times so we can prepare our children, yes, but also so that we can be prepared to live counter-culturally with confidence. Dr. Trueman is the perfect coach to help us understand how to navigate these strange cultural waters. Just go to scholesisters.com/true to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 to enhance your reading? We've still got some copies of our 5x5 challenge reading journal in the shop! The Scholé Sisters 5x5 Journal helps you read, review, understand, and assess. It is designed to help you go deeper in your reading and thinking. Stop waiting for the right time or pen or month! The time is now — start building habits of thinking and cultivate your intellectual life. Go to scholesisters.com/journal and get your copy today. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 leading voices in its renewal. An award-winning musician, Greg has released seven albums of his compositions of congregational psalms, hymns and service music as well as theatrical musicals and film scores, and his hymns can be found in more than ten hymnals. Having taught for almost thirty years, he is a frequent speaker on music, the Quadrivium, arts, liturgy, and worship and serves as Chief Musician and liturgist at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, TN. Greg, his wife, Sophia, and daughter, Eleanor, enjoy travel, reading, cooking, taking walks and life in middle Tennessee. In today's episode, Mystie and Brandy dig interrogate Greg about music. In The Liberal Arts Tradition, music appears twice: once as a sort of poetic mode of knowing, and later as a liberal art that looks suspiciously like math. We want to know where instruments come in. *** It's not too late to join the Excellent Marxmanship seminar going on now in the Sistership. Excellent Marxmanship is all about Marx with an X – and how he has made his marx (pun intended!) on the world around us. To join us as we read Plutarch, the Communist Manifesto, and more, go to scholesisters.com/marx *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

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 going on now in the Sistership. We are already learning lots and having a great time. Excellent Marxmanship is all about Marx with an X – and how he has made his marx (pun intended!) on the world around us. To join us as we read Plutarch, the Communist Manifesto, and more, go to scholesisters.com/marx *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Welcome back to Scholé Sisters. Today kicks off our 17th season of the show. This episode has been SIX YEARS in the making! It's our one hundredth episode! In honor of 100 episodes and also over a MILLION downloads, Mystie went through and figured out our top five most-referenced books. Today we're sharing a little bit of the personal history of the podcast, and then we jump into these top five books and tell you why you should own them, too. *** On Monday, February 7th our Excellent Marxmanship seminar started up in the Sistership. It's not too late for you to come and join us! Excellent Marxmanship is Marx with an X – and how he has made his marx (pun intended!) on the world around us. Join us as we read Plutarch, the Communist Manifesto, and more. You'll be glad you did! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today is our annual so-called Christmas episode, and the least Christmassy one we've ever done. Oops. No matter! We were all together in Idaho and recorded this conversation, inspired by chapter 3 of the book The Supper of the Lamb just for you. It might not be super Christmassy, but we like to think this episode is a gift nonetheless. *** Please note: If you are not in the Sistership, you are really missing out! Our 2021 Sophie Christmas gift came out this week. It's a Plutarch resource you will NOT want to miss. The annual gift is only available until January 6th, so go grab yours ASAP. We will also be giving away the prizes for 5x5 Challenge Finishers soon so watch for instructions on how to get that. There is also ... so much more! Why don't you just head over to scholesisters.com/sistership and join us? *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today's episode is the second of the two that we are doing that cover ideas from CS Lewis' book The Abolition of Man – more specifically from his first essay in that book, entitled "Men Without Chests." If you haven't listened to episode 97 yet, we recommend you go back and do so before listening to this one. Today we're discussing yet another phrase that gets thrown around in classical circles: ordo amoris, or, in English, ordering the affections. *** The end of the year is sneaking up on us and with it comes the end of our annual 5x5 Reading Challenge. There will be prizes available for finishers, of course! Do you long for some accountability to help you get your reading done? Some interesting discussion? General help finishing strong? All of that and more is available inside the Scholé Sistership. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join us! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today's episode is the first of two that we (Brandy, Pam, Mystie, and Abby) are doing that covers ideas from CS Lewis' book The Abolition of Man – more specifically from his first essay in that book, entitled Men Without Chests. This book contains a lot of terminology that gets thrown around in classical circles and we're going to tackle those definitions together! *** Announcement: We are doing reading journals again this year! (The real, physical copies that we sold out of so quickly last year.) They are going to have the same great layout you have come to love, which helps you make a reading plan, track your progress, and also improve in your ability to process and review a book. The cover will be updated so that you can tell last year's copy from this year's copy on your shelf. Make sure you are in the Sistership so you can be one of the first to know when it's available in the shop. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership to join. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today, Mystie, Pam, Abby and Brandy toss around the question of whether or not virtue can be taught. This can be a controversial subject, but we think you'll find it is worth talking about rather than avoiding. *** Last Saturday was our annual retreat and it went SO WELL. It was so refreshing to spend a whole day thinking about memory and remembering, why it's essential for education, and how we can incorporate it into our educational process. If you missed you, replays are STILL available! In fact, you can even still host a group; it just won't be live, and you'll use the replays instead. If you want to get in on the 2021 annual retreat, head on over to scholesisters.com/memory and sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Our guest today is Dr. Christopher Schlect. Dr. Schlect has been a fellow of history at New Saint Andrews College for many years where he teaches courses in ancient and medieval civilizations, US history, the history of American Christianity, medieval education, and Classical Rhetoric, among other subjects. Dr. Schlect is the Director of New Saint Andrews College's graduate program in Classical and Christian Studies and also serves classical and Christian Schools around the country through his consulting and teacher training activities. Mystie and Brandy cornered Dr. Schlect and demanded an answer to that strangely confounding question: What is a liberal art? What followed was wonderful thoughts on what liberal arts are, what they are for, how to use them, and much encouragement for homeschooling moms like all of us. *** If you are listen to this episode right when it comes out, the big thing you need to know is that our annual fall retreat is coming up NEXT WEEKEND! We have been preparing something super special and we cannot wait to share it with you. We are meditating on the idea of memory and its connection to education – you might even say that this whole retreat is a response to Hugh of St Victor's assertion that without memory there is NO education. Memory is essential, which means it pays to spend time thinking about it. We hope you join us for a rich feast of ideas and practices on Saturday October 9. Go to scholesisters.com/memory to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Our guest today is Betsy Farquhar. A Southerner by birth, Betsy currently lives in the Northwest with her Renaissance man husband and their three amazing teenagers. She's the managing editor for Redeemed Reader where she and her team read ahead FOR you and review new books for children and teens. Betsy learned to make bread with her grandmother at age 11, owns several cast iron skillets, and believes running out of butter is a bonafide emergency. She still calls her mother regularly for advice about dinner and life. This year as the New Year rang in, Betsy and a friend gave themselves a cooking challenge: cook like it's 1999, which basically means very little internet. Along the way, Betsy has learned about a lot more than cooking. From digital noise to treating the art of educating a bit like a recipe, we think you will LOVE her thoughts. *** Remember: our fall retreat is all about MEMORY. Will we cover ideas about memory WORK? Yes. Will we cover the topic far beyond those narrow bounds? Also yes. Head on over to scholesisters.com/memory register and prepare to think about memory like never before. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Our guest today is Karen Harris. Karen Harris is married to Wes and is the homeschooling mother to 10 children. She and her family love to read, travel, and have adventures together. The author of "A Happy Mother of Children: Disciplines of Happiness," Karen continues to write and learn from her home in Maryland. Karen and a friend have been on a mission to give themselves the classical education they never received using Susan Wise Bauer's plan from her book The Well-Educated Mind. Abby and Brandy were SO inspired by Karen's story of burnout and revival that they couldn't wait to share with you! *** Memory is an essential ingredient in our homeschools.​ We homeschool moms worry if we're doing it right, if we're doing it enough, if it's going to work at all. Want to sort out your ideas about memory in education? Come to the Scholé Sisters retreat — ​Homeschool Essentials: Memory —​ and rest assured that no matter how imperfect our efforts, they are all worthwhile. After the retreat day — which is basically a homeschool mom in-service — you will reenter your homeschool with renewed vigor and vitality and vision. Go to scholesisters.com/memory to register! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today, Brandy, Mystie, Pam, and Abby are tackling the big issue of censorship. They attempt to juxtapose some thoughts from Plato and John Milton and pursue questions like what is censorship, why would we do it, and when we should avoid it. *** If you want to dig into this topic with more depth and practical advice, you'll love our Spring Training event taught by Rosaria Butterfield: Intellectual Hospitality. We only have so much time with our kids at home. Whether or not we censor particular books, we still have to choose where our time and energy will go, which books we will buy and read, and what to prioritize during our school hours. Rosaria's sessions are down-to-earth, relatable, and practical. Intellectual Hospitality is your next step to dig into today's topic. Find it at scholesisters.com/hospitality *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

This special summer season is one episode long and all about our annual retreat. We are in the process of making some major changes to it, all of which we think you're going to love. The purpose of the retreat has always been to foster, first and foremost, real life community. We've taken steps to make that time of homeschool fellowship even better than before. Want to know more about it? Listen up! Pam, Mystie, Abby and Brandy are discussing all the many changes they've come up with so far and explaining the how and why behind them. You're going to be as excited as they are about it! *** Don't leave without registering for this year's retreat! As you just heard, the new topic is Homeschool Essentials and this year's theme is Memory. This retreat is going to be so much fun. Registration is open TODAY and you know you hostesses want to get your hands on that awesome hostess pack so go to scholesisters.com/memory to get yours. Early bird pricing ends August 6th, so don't delay! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

In today's episode, Pam, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss portions of Saint Augustine's book On Christian Doctrine that deal with the need for background knowledge in order to read with understanding, especially understanding metaphors. This was a very fun reading assignment! *** Don't forget to become a Sophie level member of the Sistership! You will get our Spring Training sessions with Rosaria Butterfield this month, along with access to all the other wonderful things going on, AND our annual summer gear! Click here to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Renee Shepherd is back with us again today. Renee and her husband, who were both homeschooled, are now homeschooling their six children. She is currently finishing her graduate degree in Classical Christian Studies at New Saint Andrews College, where her favorite things to study are theology, Latin, and literature. Renee brought a lesser known article by Dorothy Sayers to our attention, and that's what Mystie and Brandy are discussing with her today. We think you will be interested in how it rounds out what Sayers said in her well known Lost Tools of Learning. *** Spring Training is coming up later this month! Registration is open for our annual Spring Training. Our coach is the one and only Rosaria Butterfield, author of a number of wonderful books, including The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert and The Gospel Comes with a House Key. We asked Rosaria to coach us on what we like to call Intellectual Hospitality. How do we read classics with discernment, handle disagreements with grace, or confront inconsistency & error with love? Rosaria is going to help us with all that and more. Just click here to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

In today's episode, Pam, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy break down the transition to independent work from preschool all the way to high school and beyond. This conversation gives us a lot to think about! *** Spring Training is coming up next month! Registration is now open for our annual Spring Training Our coach this year is the one and only Rosaria Butterfield, author of a number of wonderful books, including The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert and The Gospel Comes with a House Key. We have asked Rosaria to coach us on what we like to call Intellectual Hospitality. How do we read classics with discernment, handle disagreements with grace, or confront inconsistency & error with love? Rosaria is going to help us with all that and more. Just click here to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

In today's episode, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss their way through the entire Thinking Person's Checklist at the back of Alan Jacob's book, How to Think. This was a fun and interesting conversation to have and they think you're really going to enjoy it! *** Spring Training is coming up next month! Next month — the month of MAY — is our annual Spring Training, as you well know. We are pleased to announce that our coach this year is the one and only Rosaria Butterfield, author of a number of wonderful books, including The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert and The Gospel Comes with a House Key. While registration is not yet open, now is the PERFECT time to go ahead and sign up for your Sophie membership. You'll get all the normal fabulous benefits of being a Sophie, and as usual the Spring Training sessions are included in your membership at no extra charge. Click here to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today's guests are Karen Elliott and Erica Robertson from Rafiki Schools. Karen has served with Rafiki since 1990, including twelve years on the mission field, most of that time in Jos, Nigeria. Upon returning to the U.S., she became the Director of Africa Operations for the Rafiki Home Office and was responsible for managing the ChildCare and Education Programs for all ten Rafiki Villages as well as curriculum development. She served at the Home Office for ten years before being named Rafiki's Executive Director in January of 2012. Erica has worked with the Rafiki Foundation since 2010. She was the headmaster of the Rafiki School in Rwanda for three years, and held the same position in Nigeria for five years. She currently serves as the Director for Africa Operations at the Rafiki Home Office in Florida. Today's episode is our way of remembering that Christian classical education isn't just about America or the West – it's an attempt to raise up well-educated and faithful Christians around the whole globe. What does it look like to pursue this Christian heritage in Africa? Today you'll get a very exciting glimpse! *** Are you thinking about summer reading for your kids or maybe even pulling together your book lists for next year? How do you know what books will be best for you and your family? How do you know which book lists to pay attention to and which to ignore? Can you defend your choices when people cast doubts on them? On March 27, at 9:30 am Pacific, Steven Rummelsburg will be teaching a workshop on How to Choose Good Books followed by a 45 minute Q&A session. By the end of the class, we will understand what makes a classic a true classic and why we should seek out and study the classics. Come get your bookish priorities reinforced and reinvigorated at Steven's How to Choose Good Books workshop. Click here to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Today's episode is our attempt to answer the question of what is scholé? And how do I know if I'm doing it right? Is scholé just restful learning? Or is there more to it than that? These are interesting questions to tackle! *** So what is scholé anyway? What gives with using such a weird Greek word? Scholé Sisters has a short, free guide to understanding what scholé is and how to get some in your life and homeschool. We want to make scholé approachable and practical. Scholé is more than reading and more than restful learning. It's an approach and an attitude. Our Beginner's Guide to Scholé will help you jumpstart your own schole practices. Click here to find it right on the front page of our website - for free. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Our guest today is Amber Johnston. Amber lives in Georgia nestled among pine trees, hammocks and ziplines with her husband and their four children. Her happy place is the back porch on a rainy day, preferably with a giant mug of hot tea and a good book. When they have the chance, her family enjoys extended worldschooling trips to immerse themselves in other cultures. Amber blogs about adding mirrors and windows to a traditional Charlotte Mason education at HeritageMom.com and you can also find her on Instagram as @heritagemomblog. Today's episode is all about tackling a foreign language. Amber is not just wonderful about telling you HOW to go about foreign language; she also gives you a big WHY. Let's face it: foreign language can be intimidating and so we put it off until the kids are older. If we are going to get brave start 'em young, we need a really big WHY. *** Ready for the Commonplace Workshop? Are you intimidated by commonplacing? Not sure if you're doing it right? Uncertain how to get started? You're not the only one. So, on February 20th at 9:30 am Pacific, join us for a LIVE Commonplace Workshop where we will break down the process of getting started and keeping up with commonplacing. It doesn't need to be complicated and you don't need to make it a keepsake. At the Commonplace Workshop we'll each share our own commonplace practices and real life examples, helping you see how doable and unfancy - and how beneficial! - commonplacing can be. Click here to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Do you keep a commonplace book (or wish you did)? Today's episode is serves as a first half for our upcoming Commonplace Workshop. Pam, Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss what a commonplace book even is and why anyone would want to keep one. It's a great discussion you don't want to miss and will get you ready for the Workshop, which is happening this month! *** Ready for the Commonplace Workshop? Are you intimidated by commonplacing? Not sure if you're doing it right? Uncertain how to get started? You're not the only one. So, on February 20th at 9:30 am Pacific, join us for a LIVE Commonplace Workshop where we will break down the process of getting started and keeping up with commonplacing. It doesn't need to be complicated and you don't need to make it a keepsake. At the Commonplace Workshop we'll each share our own commonplace practices and real life examples, helping you see how doable and unfancy - and how beneficial! - commonplacing can be. Click here to register. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Click here to follow us on Instagram!

The death of culture and festivity is not a less important death than bodily. No matter what government officials say, Christmas is coming and must be honored with festive celebration – piety requires it. In this episode, Brandy Vencel, Pam Barnhill, Mystie Winckler, and Abby Wahl discuss how festivity and scholé fits into the curricular framework found in Kevin Clark & Ravi Jain's PGMAPT formulation in The Liberal Arts Tradition. With occasional timely musings about how festivity is different and difficult this season, they return to our responsibility to keep up the cheer – because we do have a hope that extends beyond the grave, a true reason to truly celebrate with as many of our number as we can. *** Join the Sistership Sophie Level to get Christmas gift access! Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? If not, you really should since the annual Christmas gift for Sophie level is so close to ready that it'll be out by the time you listen to this. Santa's elves have been working away for months on an amazing printable 5x5 Challenge Journal that is FREE for all of our Sophie members in December and January! Click here to join. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Our guest today is Maria Bell. Maria educates her children at home in the Charlotte Mason tradition and enjoys studying and sharing with others the biblical roots of Miss Mason's philosophy. She is a linguist by training and profession, but her heart is for the ministry of motherhood and the pursuit of Truth. She resides in the Washington D.C. metro area with her husband and three children. Today's discussion about memory work and recitation is just delightful. Maria Bell sees these things not as building piles of knowledge, but as nourishing the soul in a way that promotes spiritual growth. Her words are a soothing balm to the soul *** Preparing for a new school year in January? If you need to teach logic this year, consider using the Scholé Sisters Liberty of Logic course. This is a very unique approach. Teacher Steven Rummelsburg will help you go deep into logic as a liberal art and then assist you in teaching your children the art using the class textbook. We cannot recommend this course enough! Click here to learn more. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook!

Today's discussion about physical training in classical education was one Brandy, Mystie, Pam, and Abby got to record when they were all together in Phoenix for the Loving Well retreat. They do get philosophical and discuss why these things are important, but they also get practical and talk about a bunch of ideas that they hope will help us all get started if we're ready to get physical in our homeschools. *** Join the Sistership Sophie Level to get Christmas gift access! Have you joined the Scholé Sistership yet? If not, you really should since the annual Christmas gift for Sophie level is coming up soon. Santa's elves have been working away and while Brandy isn't quite ready to tell you what it is, she wants you to know that (1) it's nothing at all like last year and (2) it's pretty awesome. Click here to join. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Our guest today is Ravi Jain, who is now tied with Cindy Rollins for the Scholé Sisters title for Most Appearances as this is his third time on the show. Ravi Jain has a BA from Davidson College, an M.A. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a Graduate Certificate in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida. He coauthored The Liberal Arts Tradition with Kevin Clark, now translated into Chinese. Ravi currently teaches Calculus, AP Calculus, and Physics at the Geneva School in Orlando, Florida. He has given over 150 talks and workshops throughout America, Africa, and China on topics related to education, theology, mathematics, and science. He has served as a deacon in his church and is a founding Alcuin fellow. He enjoys spending time with his two boys, Judah and Xavier, and his wife Kelley Anne, whom he met in Japan. Today's discussion is Brandy's favorite so far from this season because she finally got to ask Ravi Jain about a number of things she's been thinking pondering; his thoughts on things like multiculturalism and Western Imperialism and how they relate to Christian Classical education in general and the Christian classical school movement in China in particular are fascinating. *** Join the Sistership! Have you joined the Scholé Sisters Sistership yet? If not, you are missing out on some of the best conversations for classical homeschooling moms on the internet. Mystie is leading a book study for Sophie level members through The Liberal Arts Tradition right now. It's never too late to join because this study will always be available for Sophies in the form of a study guide. This is just one of the many benefits of a Sophie level Sistership membership. Click here to join! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!

We are absolutely thrilled to have Susan Wise Bauer on the show today! Susan Wise Bauer is a writer, historian, educator, and farmer. She's the author of twenty books and the founder of the educational publishing company Well-Trained Mind Press. Susan's parents taught her at home for most of elementary and middle school, and all of high school. She went on to earn graduate degrees in divinity, English literature, and American studies. She has been married to Peter since 1990. They have four grown children, all taught at home; one child-in-law, one grandchild; and many, many sheep. Today's discussion is all about giving ourselves the classical education we never received. That's was Susan Wise Bauer's book, The Well-Educated Mind, is all about, and it's why we knew she was the perfect person to discuss this with. You are going to LOVE listening to her! *** Join the Sistership! Have you joined the Scholé Sisters Sistership yet? If not, you are missing out on some of the best conversations for classical homeschooling moms on the internets. There is always something going on designed to enrich your life as a mom for the better. Whether it's a Sophie mentorship, a book club, or even a Scholé Everyday 7-day challenge with Abby, you'll be glad you joined. Click here to sign up. *** Download this episode's Scholé Sheet! Scholé Sheets are designed to help you think through and apply the ideas you've taken in, then bring your thoughts into the Sistership and join the conversation happening there. Click here to download your copy for free. *** Click here to get the show notes for today's episode and download Your Scholé Sheet. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Today's discussion between Brandy, Pam, Mystie, and Abby centers on the differences between communities and networks as spelled out by John Taylor Gatto in his wonderful little book Dumbing Us Down. To which do you belong? Is there an ideal? There's a lot of food for thought in this episode. *** Registration for Loving Well is now open! Registration is now open for this year's online local retreats which will take place live on Saturday October 10th. The theme of this year's retreat is Loving Well and our guest speaker is Karen Glass! This is going to be a wonderful time in which we deeply explore the topic of love as it relates to homeschooling, mothering, and continuing our own educations. Click here to register. If you want to host a local retreat event, just click here to fill out the form and we'll help you pull it off. *** Download this episode's Scholé Sheet! Scholé Sheets are designed to help you think through and apply the ideas you've taken in, then bring your thoughts into the Sistership and join the conversation happening there. Click here to download your copy for free. *** Click here to get the show notes for today's episode and download Your Scholé Sheet. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Is there really such a thing as classical education for preschoolers? You may be surprised to learn that yes the ancients actually had opinions on what to do with the little ones entrusted to us. In today's episode, Mystie, Brandy, and Abby discuss a bit about what Plato, Aristotle, and Quintilian had to say on this subject. *** Registration for Loving Well is now open! Registration is now open for this year's online local retreats which will take place live on Saturday October 10th. The theme of this year's retreat is Loving Well and our guest speaker is the one and only Karen Glass! This is going to be a wonderful time in which we deeply explore the topic of love as it relates to homeschooling, mothering, and continuing our own educations. Click here to register. If you want to host a local retreat event, just click here to fill out the form and we'll help you pull it off. *** Download this episode's Scholé Sheet! Scholé Sheets are designed to help you think through and apply the ideas you've taken in, then bring your thoughts into the Sistership and join the conversation happening there. Click here to download your copy for free. *** Click here to get the show notes for today's episode and download Your Scholé Sheet. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!

Our special guest today is one of our favorite people, Karen Glass! Karen Glass has been homeschooling her children for 25 years, and she's not quite finished yet. She is one of the founders of the AmblesideOnline curriculum project and has delved deeply into Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education. She has lived in Poland, where her husband ministers, for over twenty years. In the last few years, she has begun writing books to share some of the things she has learned along the way. Today's episode covers more about the fall retreat. In the first part we formulate our response to the extrovert revolt that took place after Episode 74. After that, we discuss the Loving Well theme and how each of us (including Karen, who is this year's guest speaker) plan to approach it in our talks. *** Early-bird registration is now open! Our annual fall online local retreats are something we forward to every year, and this year is no exception. Click here for early-bird registration for the Loving Well retreat. If you want to host a local retreat event, we are still doing this (in states where it is legal). Just click here and fill out the form and we'll help you pull it off. *** Click here to get the show notes for today's episode. Click here to join the Sistership. Click here to follow us on Instagram. Don't forget to find us on Facebook!