The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

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The horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but victory rests with the Lord.

Proverbs 21:31

S2E23: Transitioning to a Charlotte Mason Homeschool with Dawn Garrett Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

Today's guest is Dawn Garrett, homeschooling mother of 3, and Community Manager at PamBarnhill.com
How Dawn came to hear about Charlotte Mason after being a neo-Classical home educator
What did your transition look like when you started using more Charlotte Mason methods?
Did you have any concerns or challenges as you made that transition?
How did your children respond to the change?
What is your advice for parents wanting to make the shift?

Books and Links Mentioned:

AmblesideOnline

In Memoriam by the Parents' National Education Union

Find Cindy and Dawn:

There is a saying of King Alfred's that I like to apply to our School,–"I have found a door," he says. That is just what I hope your School is to you–a door opening into a great palace of art and knowledge in which there are many chambers all opening into gardens or field paths, forest or hills. One chamber, entered through a beautiful Gothic archway, is labeled Bible Knowledge, and there the Scholar finds goodness as well as knowledge, as indeed he does in many others of the fair chambers. You see that doorway with much curious lettering? History is within, and that is, I think, an especially delightful chamber. But it would take too long to investigate all these pleasant places and indeed you could label a good many of the doorways from the headings of your term's programme.

But you will remember that the School is only a "Door" to let you in to the goodly House of Knowledge, but I hope you will go in and out and live there all your lives–in one pleasant chamber and another; for the really rich people are they who have the entry to this goodly House, and who never let King Alfred's 'Door' rust on its hinges, no, not all through their lives, even when they are very old people.

I have a great hope for all you dear Scholars of the P.U.S.; other people will be a little the better because you love knowledge, and have learnt to think fair, just thoughts about things, and to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven in which is all that is beautiful, good and happy-making. I must not take up any more of the time in which there are so many things to be done, so, wish you the very happiest week in all your happy lives.

Charlotte Mason as recorded in In Memoriam (pp 115-116)

S2E22: Charlotte Mason Through High School with Jami Marstall Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

We as teachers depreciate ourselves and our office; we do not realize that in the nature of things the teacher has a prophetic power of appeal and inspiration, that his part is not the weariful task of spoon-feeding with pap-meat, but the delightful commerce of equal minds where his is the part of guide, philosopher and friend. The friction of wills which makes school work harassing ceases to a surprising degree when we deal with the children, mind to mind, through the medium of knowledge.

Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education, Vol. 6 Show Summary:

Today's guest is Jami Marstall, homeschooling mom of 4, two who have graduated, and lifelong learner
How Jami first started learning about Charlotte Mason
Why do you think parents are hesitant about using Charlotte Mason through high school?
What advice do you have for parents whose students are transitioning into high school?
What about writing high school transcripts?
Is high school a good time to outsource some of your child's education?
How did you adapt and change the curriculum for your different children's interests and abilities?

Books and Links Mentioned:

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

For the Family's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Find Cindy:

S2E21: Charlotte Mason and Special Education with Tammy Glaser Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

Today's guest is Tammy Glaser, mother of 2 adult children, one with special needs, as well as a founder of a Charlotte Mason private school
How Tammy discovered Charlotte Mason and decided it would work well for her family
Why Tammy's school integrates special needs, gifted and neuro-typical children in the same classroom
What parts of Charlotte Mason's philosophy are particularly suited for working with special needs students?
What advice do you have for homeschooling children with special needs?
Looking back now, do you still think it was the right decision to use Charlotte Mason methods with your daughter?

Books and Links Mentioned:

Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

Home Education by Charlotte Mason

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

Find Cindy and Tammy:

Tammy's Mathematics Website–Rarefied

Many Christian people rise a little higher; they conceive that even grammar and arithmetic may in some not very clear way be used for God; but the great recognition that God the Holy Spirit is Himself, personally, the Imparter of knowledge, the Instructor of youth, the Inspirer of genius, is a conception so far lost to us that we should think it distinctly irreverent to conceive of the divine teaching as co-operating with ours in a child's arithmetic lesson, for example. But the Florentine mind of the Middle Ages went further than this: it believed, not only that the seven Liberal Arts were fully under the direct outpouring of the Holy Ghost, but that every fruitful idea, every original conception, whether in Euclid, or grammar, or music, was a direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit, without any thought at all as to whether the person so inspired named himself by the name of God, recognised whence his inspiration came.

Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, Vol. 2

S2E20: Cross-Cultural Education and Folk Songs with Wendi Capehart Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

It is by the aid of imagination that a child comes to love people who do not belong to his own country, and as he learns the history of their great deeds and noble efforts, he is eager to learn something of the country in which they lived….of the causes that made the people what they are.

E. A. Parish, Parents' Review, VOl. 25, No. 5, 1914 Show Summary:

Today's guest is Wendi Capehart, veteran homeschool mom, world-traveler, and member of the AmblesideOnline Advisory
How Wendi first found out about Charlotte Mason
What would you say to people concerned that Charlotte Mason is too Western or "white-centric"?
What suggestions do you have for people wanting to add more cross-cultural awareness to a Charlotte Mason education?
What part do folk songs play in a Charlotte Mason education?

Books and Links Mentioned:

"Imagination As a Powerful Factor in a Well-Balance Mind" by E. A. Parish

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

The Big Book of Home Learning by Mary Pride

Extending the Table: Recipes and Stories from Afghanistan to Zambia by Joetta Schlabach

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Commission

Home Education by Charlotte Mason

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

American Folk Songs for Children by Mike and Peggy Seeger

Find Cindy and Wendi:

The AmblesideOnline Poetry Anthology

S2E19: "However Imperfectly" with Donna-Jean Breckenridge Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

But, once more, "This kind cometh forth only by prayer."

Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Vol. 1 Show Summary:

Today's guest is Donna-Jean Breckenridge, veteran homeschool mom, grandmother and member of the AmblesideOnline Advisory
How did Donna-Jean first hear about Charlotte Mason?
Where did the phrase "however imperfectly" come from?
The value of small things done faithfully.
Why Donna-Jean views homeschooling her grandchildren now as a gift.
What to do when you are tempted to compare or to change everything up.
What Donna-Jean is doing these days besides homeschooling.

Books and Links Mentioned:

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Home Education by Charlotte Mason

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

Consider This by Karen Glass

In Vital Harmony by Karen Glass

Principles at the Helm Audio Seminar by Karen Glass

Find Cindy:

Let us try, however imperfectly, to make education a science of relationships—in other words, try in one subject or another to let the children work upon living ideas. In this field small efforts are honoured with great rewards, and we perceive that the education we are giving exceeds all that we intended or imagined.

Charlotte Mason, School Education, Vol. 3

S1E18: Q&A No. 2, On Classical Education with Cindy and Karen Dec 09, 2021

Show notes

"Sound principles that are old may easily be laid on the shelf and forgotten, unless in each successive generation a few industrious people can be found who will take the trouble to draw them forth from the storehouse."

Thomas Godolphin Rooper

Show Summary:

Today's guest is Karen Glass, author and member of the AmblesideOnline Advisory
Why do people think that Charlotte Mason and Classical education are different things?
What is the basis for "neo-classical" pedagogy?
Do we know what Charlotte Mason herself thought of classical education?
Is there a particular version of historical classical education that spoke to Charlotte Mason?
Is there a difference between classical education and liberal education?
How do you determine if Charlotte Mason and classical education are compatible?
What is the most classical thing about Charlotte Mason's philosophy?
Does it matter whether we link Charlotte Mason to classical education? Why?

Books Mentioned:

Consider This by Karen Glass

Norms and Nobility by David Hicks

Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

The Basis of National Education by Charlotte Mason

Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason

School Education by Charlotte Mason

Find Cindy and Karen:

The Literary Life of Adrienne Freas

S1E17: Charlotte Mason Methods in a School Setting with Adrienne Freas Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

And what a barren and dry land should we dwell in if our spirits were narrowed to the limits of that which we can comprehend! Where we err is in supposing that mystery is confined to our religion, that everything else is obvious and open to our understanding: whereas the great things of life, birth, death, hope, love, patriotism, why a leaf is green, and why a bird is clothed in feathers–all such things as these are mysteries; and it is only as we can receive that which we cannot understand, and can discern the truth of that which we cannot prove, and can distinguish between a luminous mystery and a bewildering superstition, that we are able to live the full life for which we were made.

Charlotte Mason, Ourselves, Volume 4, Book 2 Show Summary:

Today's guest is Adrienne Freas, a classical Charlotte Mason education consultant
How did you make the connection between classical and Charlotte Mason education?
How did you come to learn about Charlotte Mason in the first place?
How did you get into applying these principles to charter and public school settings?
How do you train and help school teachers to use these methods?
What are the biggest challenges in helping a school convert to Charlotte Mason methods?
What is the value of discord and challenges in understanding?

Books and Links Mentioned:

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Better Late Than Early by Raymond and Dorothy Moore

AmblesideOnline

2019 Back to School Conference

Find Cindy and Adrienne:

Adrienne's Classical Education Facebook Group

S1E16: A "Hallelujah" Advent Celebration Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

And, Mary, seeking meekly for direction, asked 'how shall this be after the wont of men?' and she was shewn how, by the immediate power of God Most High, the Child should be born, holy, the Son of God; and Mary, not knowing what all this might mean to her, cried 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it to me according to Thy word.'

Charlotte Mason, Parents Review Article, "The Nativity" Show Summary:

Today's show is a special Advent episode with Cindy and Dawn. To start off, Cindy shares how she started using Handel's oratorio The Messiah for Advent. Dawn and Cindy also both share a little about their family Christmas book traditions. After that, we are bringing you the audio from last year's Hallelujah virtual gathering celebrating the launch of the new version of the book, featuring guests Greg Wilbur, Thomas Banks, Kerri Williamson, Lynn Bruce, Caitlyn Bruce Beauchamp, Kelly Cumbee, and Amy Edwards.

Books and Links Mentioned:

Hallelujah: Cultivating Advent Traditions with Handel's Messiah by Cindy Rollins

Papa Panov's Special Christmas by Leo Tolstoy

The Bird's Christmas Carol by Kate Douglass Wiggins

Shoemaker Martin by

The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston

Dawn's Christmas Book Tradition

Jessye Norman's Christmastide

Kathleen Battle's Angel's Glory

Comfort and Joy

The Sounding Joy

Putumayo World Christmas Party

Handel's Messiah conducted by John Eliot Gardner

Find Cindy:

We know how Joseph's mind was disturbed and his heart rent (we may well believe), when the angel came and reassured him with word of the fulfilment of that prophecy of Isaiah's,— a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and they shall call His name Immanuel.'

Charlotte Mason, Parents Review Article, "The Nativity"

S1E15: Recitation Gatherings with Dawn Duran and Maria Bell Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

I think all that I have written is still true, but I would emphasize habit and so-on less; child-mind, no, because a child has as much mind as the rest of us.

Charlotte Mason, In a letter to Henrietta Franklin Show Summary:

Today's guest is Maria Bell, homeschool mother of 4
What is your story of coming to discover Charlotte Mason?
What was Charlotte Mason's idea of recitation?
What does the Dawn and Maria's recitation gathering look like?
What Cindy's own recitation gatherings were like when her children were growing up
How do you keep these kinds of event from being times to "show off"
What role do parents have in preparing the children for these events?
What are some ways people can set the atmosphere with a theme?
Do you have suggestions for people who don't have a large homeschool community already?

Books and Links Mentioned:

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

Find Cindy: