Journey: An Education for Life Retreat - Registration is Open!!

I've been busy working behind the scenes on school and retreat planning. I'm so excited to announce that registration is now open for Journey: An Education for Life retreat!! Join us, Saturday, October 19th for a day of homeschool encouragement and Christian Classical Charlotte Mason inspired camaraderie in West Central Wisconsin. Encounter ideas on mother culture, how to cultivate rhythm in your day, and spark a love of learning. Find renewed energy to start the year strong and continue throughout your homeschool journey.

Terri Woods, homeschool mom of 9 from Alabama will be our feature speaker. She has over 20 years experience home educating and has spoke at several homeschool events, including Wild+Free. You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/woodsermom/ and https://www.instagram.com/field_and_forage/ I will be speaking as well. You can register, see the schedule, and read speaker bios here. I'm still finalizing a couple breakout sessions, but will post those as soon as information becomes available. 

Lunch will be provided with regular and gluten free options. Living books will be available for purchase. Door prizes will be given. Thirty minutes will be allowed between sessions for transition, networking, brainstorming, bonding, and discussion among participants. I hope this retreat will be a day of encouragement, inspiration, calming, and fun for all involved. I'd LOVE to meet you there!!

Reflections on a Math Immersion Retreat

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a Charlotte Mason Soiree Mini Retreat - Math Immersion day, which was led by Richele Baburina, author of Mathematics, An Instrument for Living Teaching and The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series, both of which are published by Simply Charlotte Mason. Richele has done an immense amount of research on the teaching of mathematics using Charlotte Mason's principles and methods. I have corresponded with her off and on over the years online, but this was my first chance to meet her in person. I love meeting online acquaintances in real life! Richele did not disappoint. She is a lovely person with a real heart for providing home educators with an understanding of Ms. Mason's means to teaching mathematics.

The math immersion day consisted of five sessions, each of which were broken down as follows:

Session 1 - Form I Mathematics
Session 2 - Form II Mathematics
Session 3 - Forms III & IV Mathematics
Session 4 - FAQ & Outdoor Geography
Session 5 - Algebra Crit Lesson

Richele began by explaining Ms. Mason's reference to mathematics as a mountainous land. She then took us through each of the Forms, explaining how the P.N.E.U. motto, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life." applies to mathematics. Richele made it clear that Charlotte Mason mathematics is not discovery based, nor child led. It is imperative that the child has guidance along the proper path. Let's take a brief look at what atmosphere, discipline, and life look like in mathematics.

Atmosphere

1. Attitude of teacher/mother sets the tone of lesson
2. Short lessons
3. Developmentally appropriate
    a. Mainly oral in Form I, moving into written thereafter
    b. Use of manipulatives to introduce concepts allows concrete to abstract thinking

Discipline

1. Must be consistent in frequency of lessons
2. Methods used and natural orderliness of mathematics breed habits, such as:
    a. Attention
    b. Accuracy and Neatness
    c. Reasoning and Thinking
    d. Ability to find truth
    e. Best effort

The chief value of arithmetic, like that of the higher mathematics lies in the training it affords to the reasoning powers, and in the habits of insight, readiness, accuracy, intellectual truthfulness it engenders. (Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, p. 254)

Life

1. Life giving ideas are gathered by allowing the child to draw natural conclusions and allowing them to reason through problems
2. Student builds relationships
3. Experience beauty and enjoyment

Throughout the day, Richele referenced a paper written by Irene Stephens in 1911, under the direction of Charlotte Mason, on the teaching of mathematics. I have skimmed through the beginning pages and it's clear Richele modeled her curricula after the ideas presented in this paper. I have been using Book 1 of The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series with Levi and can see the similarities. Also, in Session 1 of the retreat, Richele gave us an example of how to teach multiplication tables, which can be found on pages 9 and 10 of Stephens' paper. Reading through Ms. Stephens' paper in it's entirety would be a valuable way to learn Charlotte's methods for teaching mathematics to young students.

One caveat I would like to stress is the importance of understanding Charlotte Mason's 20 principles before trying to tackle her methods of teaching. The reading of Charlotte Mason's Vol. 6, A Philosophy of Education, was foundational to the paradigm shift I experienced in my thinking about education. Whether or not you aspire to be a Charlotte Mason educator, I believe Vol. 6 is super important to understanding the personhood of a child for anyone involved in education.

OK, off my soapbox and back to mathematics...ahem!

I found Richele's findings on Algebra and Geometry intriguing as they were closely aligned with the 'Quadrivium' chapters in The Liberal Arts Tradition by Keven Clark and Ravi Jain. I will not get into a debate as to whether or not Charlotte Mason was a classical educator. You will need to do the research and draw your own conclusion. However, I will say that Charlotte's way of introducing geometry first and then following with algebra concurrently is very much in line with classical educators of the past. Also, the fact that she used a proof based geometry after exposing students to practical geometry is a more traditional approach. Richele's proposed example of the method of teaching geometry and algebra via Charlotte Mason, was outlined as the proposed method of classical teaching in The Liberal Arts Tradition as well.

A few of my biggest takeaways from Richele's math immersion day were:

1. How to construct multiplication tables
2. The idea of not getting stuck in a rut in regard to math facts, but rather to keep moving on conceptually, while reviewing. This was a particularly helpful reminder for me in teaching my child, who has the gift of dyslexia. He does not and may never have rapid recall. I have made the mistake in the past of camping out on facts, only to rob his mind of exposure to other concepts.
3. Outdoor Geography and Sloyd were not part of the math lesson. They were separate subjects, taught at a different time.
4. Practical Geometry can begin in 5th grade, after the child has been exposed to fractions.
5. The child must have a strong foundation in fractions, decimals, and percents, as well as a firm understanding of fact tables before beginning algebra.

Overall, the math immersion day was great! I highly recommend it if you get the opportunity to attend. Richele is a humble teacher with an incredible intellect for Charlotte Mason's methods of teaching mathematics. I was reminded of the importance of my role as a teacher/mentor/model for my children. Consistency is a must and my attitude plays a huge part in my child's success.

Mathematics depend upon the teacher rather than upon the text-book and few subjects are worse taught; chiefly because teachers have seldom time to give the inspiring ideas, what Coleridge calls, the 'Captain ideas, which should quicken imagination. (Charlotte Mason, Vol. 6, A Philosophy of Education, p. 233)

Reflecting on the Great Homeschool Convention (GHC) 2018...

For the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking about my trip to Cincinnati, OH for the Midwest Great Homeschool Convention (GHC). This was my third year attending and I wasn't disappointed. The vendor hall was grand as usual and the speakers were amazing! I thought I'd take a bit of time today to review my notes and record some thoughts for those of you thinking about attending an upcoming GHC.

After over nine hours, we arrived in Cincinnati Wednesday evening. I rode with a friend from our CM Study Group and her husband, but didn't have a roommate this year, which was highly unusual. RileyAnn has traveled with me to nearly every homeschool conference I attended for the past seven years. I was bummed when she didn't want to go this year, but I totally understood. However, Wednesday evening was really lonely! Thankfully, it didn't last long, as I woke to an action packed Thursday.

First off Thursday, I worked at helping set up the Beautiful Feet Books booth. Then I finally met in person and had lunch with Brandy Vencel from Afterthoughts blog and Mystie Winckler from Simply Convivial. What a treat to meet online friends in real life! Thursday evening was spent in seminars, as well as much of Friday and Saturday. I will highlight each session below. But, first, I want to share a list of the purchases I made in the vendor hall...

Excellence in Literature by Janice Campbell
- Introduction to Literature
- Literature and Composition
- American Literature

Old Western Culture: The Greeks - The Epics by Wesley Callihan, sold by Roman Roads Media

Jack's Insects Narration & Nature Study Notebook by Karen Smith at Simply Charlotte Mason

Beautiful Feet Books
- Around the World with Picture Books, Part 1 guide by Rea Berg
- Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski
- Anno's China by Mitsumasa Anno

A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today's World John Stonestreet

My purchases were much less than in the past because I tried to be very intentional in my choices. Really, the only unplanned purchase was the Excellence in Literature. I was just so impressed after hearing Janice Campbell speak that I took the plunge and bought a few of her high school literature courses. I have a couple of different ideas for their use, of which I will write more about in future posts.

There were so many great speakers and seminars to attend at the Midwest GHC. It was really difficult to choose. Usually, I had checked anywhere from 3 - 5 sessions every hour on my workshop schedule. Obviously, this is not possible, so I had to narrow it down. Thursday was a bit of a bust simply because both sessions I chose turned out to be more of a 101 on familiar topics. Friday and Saturday held more depth.

Like I mentioned above, I was very intrigued by Janice Campbell since she spoke on many of the topics of which I've spoke in the past and are relevant to my homeschool situation. She felt like a kindred spirit. I ended up attending three of her talks. Martin Cothran from Memoria Press is another of my all time favorite speakers. He appears extremely well-read and intelligent, and yet, he can bring it down to a highly understandable level. I have great respect for him. The Classical Education panel is always entertaining. However, given time constraints and the fact that I've seen them several times in the past, I only attended one of their panel discussions this time. Speaking of panels, the Schole Sisters panel was fun. I loved their book sharing ideas and was pleased that I owned and/or have read all but two on their list.

Here's a brief rundown of my notes and/or a description of each session I attended...

Thursday Workshops

Living Books: The Ultimate Box-Set Curriculum by Adam Andrews - This turned out to be an introduction to Teaching the Classics by Adam and Missy Andrews, which is a program I'm familiar with and have used with our Middle School Book Club. Adam read aloud The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward and then showed us how to talk through it by using the Socratic method of asking questions. One of my biggest take-aways from this session was a comment Adam made at the very beginning, when he said something like in order to teach your children, all you need is love. He was making a point that you don't need fancy degrees because you are already vested in your child and that love will help you provide the best for them. One thing I'm still questioning/pondering about Adam's talk is when he said, "A living book doesn't come alive until you understand what the author is saying." I'm not sure Charlotte Mason would agree with this statement....hmmm?!

The Child as a Person by Lisa Cadora

Ms. Cadora was representing the Charlotte Mason Institute and I was excited to see and learn more about their organization. I love Charlotte's Principle 1, Children are born persons, so I was interested to hear her expound on this. Unfortunately, there wasn't much new information so I only stuck around for the first half hour. Cadora primarily reviewed Charlotte's twenty principles, which I've studied in depth with our CM Study Group. It didn't really give me more insight on Principle 1. I left early and popped into the following session...

Faith & Thinking: Is There Room for Both in the Homeschool? by Andrew Kern

Andrew Kern always provides food for thought, though sometimes too much. He speaks very philosophically so jumping in at the mid point of his talk, was extremely difficult! He was talking about the differences/similarities between faith and thinking. Something that stuck with me is, "Faith is not the same as thought - faith allows for thinking." He also talked about the Prodigal Son vs. the older brother. He said the following in regard to love and harmony at random points throughout the latter part of his talk...

"We can't love without Truth."
"Harmony is in the Holy Trinity."
"When we find harmony we overcome discord in ourselves."

I finished up Thursday evening helping out in the Beautiful Feet Books booth. It was family night and the last hour was quite busy in the vendor hall.

Friday Workshops

What is Classical Education? by Martin Cothran

I assumed this workshop may not provide a ton of new information, but again, I really enjoy listening to Mr. Cothran speak. I was not disappointed. Throughout the talk, Cothran explained the history of classical education. He began by briefly discussing The Lost Tools of Writing by Dororthy Sayers. He then went on to explain two educational movements in America:

1. John Dewey - Progressive
2. Pragmatism

Cothran talked about the progression of modern public education as a result of the two movements. I am familiar with some of the initiatives he mentioned as they were in effect while I was on my local public school board.

After this, Cothran went back to describe classical education in ancient times, comparing and contrasting it with today. He talked about his son that practiced law. Then left that career to start a very successful software engineering company. His story was reassuring.

Cothran closed with three cultures to study if you're interested in classical education: culture of Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem (Hebrew). He stated classical education is a culmination of the Great Books, the Liberal Arts, and the study of those three cultures. Down in the vendor hall, I also picked up a brochure written by Cothran, published by Memoria Press, titled, What is Classical Education?. It's a wonderful overview of his talk in an extremely understandable format. I highly recommend getting a copy if you're interested in learning more about what classical ed is.

An Introduction to Effective Socratic Discussion: Why Do We Do It and How to Do It Well by Dr. Christopher Perrin

Mr. Perrin began with a similar sentiment to Adam Andews when he said, you don't need a degree to teach your students. Perrin went on to discuss the Socratic Tradition, of course, dating back to Socrates, and the four styles of Socratic discussion. A few thoughts that resonated with me from Dr. Perrin's talk were:

1. Socratic discussion takes 5-10 years to master. It's a skill or an art.
2. There's no substitute for a well trained mind.
3. There is no substitute for reading the books and talking about them.

Charlotte Mason's Secret to Successfully Leading Your Homeschool by Brandy Vencel

This was my first chance to hear Brandy speak and I really enjoyed it! Her talk focused on "masterly activity", a concept taken from Charlotte Mason's Vol. 3, School Education, which is a volume I have not yet read. Brandy highlighted nine characteristics of masterly inactivity and some tools for helping us to attain it. I'm really looking forward to reading Vol. 3, particularly after hearing Brandy's talk.

Schole Sisters Panel: Carpe Librum: What to Read as a Classical, Charlotte Mason Mom by Brandy Vencel, Pam Barnhill, and Mystie Winckler

It was great to see the Schole Sisters in person! Mystie moderated the panel, beginning with an explanation of "schole". Then each of them took turns sharing a recommended book to further knowledge on a Classical Charlotte Mason Education. There were five categories of books including: 101, 201, 301, non-fiction, and fiction. Not only did they share their love of books, but they also gave away copies of most of the books they recommended. It was fun to see each of their personalities come out in their book recommendations.

How to Teach with Living Books by Janice Campbell

This is a subject very near and dear to my heart so I couldn't miss this talk! I was thrilled to find out that Janice Campbell was a veteran home educator, who had homeschooled her four boys throughout. I find it very difficult to find veteran moms that have stuck with home educating through high school and are willing to share their wisdom. Ms. Campbell is a gem! Again, this talk was not new information, but I loved hearing about her experience and the fruit of her labor, as well as, seeing her recommended book lists. Campbell also talked about the importance of narration, copywork, and commonplacing.

Classical Education Unhinged! - panel discussion with Dr. Christopher Perrin, Andrew Pudewa, Dr. Carol Reynolds, Andrew Kern, Leigh Bortins, and Martin Cothran

As usual, this panel discussion was lively and entertaining. It was a great way to end a long day of brain drain and thought.

Saturday Workshops

How to Homeschool High School by Janice Campbell

Campbell's main message in this workshop was "Education is not a rat race!" She focused on continuing to spread the feast in high school as a means to educating a child for any career/job. I could see definite Charlotte Mason love throughout each of her talks. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing home education stories about her boys and how they have succeeded in life beyond home education. Again, I found this talk very reassuring.

Spreading the Feast: How to Teach Great Literature to Teens by Janice Campbell

This was the third Janice Campbell workshop I went to and it really tied together the first two I attended. Once more, Janice suggested spreading a feast for your high schooler. She talked about beginning with the end in mind. She advised on the importance of laying the groundwork when children are young so you can read and discuss higher level classics in high school. She explained what a classic book is and how not to kill your child's love of reading them. Campbell further shared how to build reading time as a routine. She closed with information on how to present and teach classics to a high school student. Ms. Campbell has written a series of five college prep English courses with an optional honors track. I mentioned above purchasing the first three and after studying them more in depth, I'm considering buying the final two. If you are interested in home educating through high school and or using living books, I highly recommend Janice Campbell's workshops!

Well, there you have it! My thoughts on the 2018 Midwest Great Homeschool Convention. I attended many more workshops than usual this year and attempted to give a brief run down of each here. However, my experience has sparked many ideas and connections that I look forward to expounding on in future posts.

If you're interested in reading more about my adventures at the 2017 GHC, here are some thoughts I shared from last year.

Chippewa Valley Annual Homeschool Curriculum Fair...

If you're in the area this weekend, please do stop by and check out the Chippewa Valley Annual Homeschool Curriculum Fair. We now have over 35 vendors with 40+ tables of new and used books, curriculum, toys, games, crafts, and misc. educational resources for parents and educators, preschool through high school. It's an awesome event to find tools and resources for upcoming years, as well as a great place to network with other home educators!

Concessions will be provided by the Chippewa Valley Lightning Bolts

Journey: An Education for Life 2017 Audios Now Available...

Journey: An Education for Life 2017 audios are now available for purchase! Your purchase includes a digital download of the following talks:

Is a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education Relevant Today?: (Melissa Greene) The keynote will include a brief introduction to Charlotte Mason. There will be highlights of several key principles of Mason’s philosophy as well as what a Charlotte Mason education is not. The talk will close with thoughts to ponder on whether or not a Charlotte Mason inspired education is relevant today.

Reflections on a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education: (Gretchen Houchin) Encouragement from a retired homeschool mom with practical examples of what worked and what didn’t. The focus will be on high school and older students, but will blend with methods used in the younger years to build the foundation for the upper.

Teaching Through Literature and Living Books: (Melissa Greene) Description and examples of living books, along with practical application on how to use them in your homeschool to cover a variety of subjects. Talk will also include ideas on how to use the methods that underlie Charlotte Mason’s principles with traditional and struggling learners. Book lists and suggestions will be shared.

Charlotte Mason in Real Life: Courage for the Long Haul: (Cindy Rollins) Find joy in the realities of homeschooling when the romance fades. Thoughts from a veteran mama of nine on what truth, goodness, and beauty look like in real life. Strategies will be given for the long haul.

Price: $35

Be sure to include your e-mail address with payment, as this is where the audios will be sent. 

Reflections on Journey:An Education for Life 2017...

Journey: An Education for Life

I'm still coming down from Journey: An Education for Life. Planning a homeschool retreat is exhausting and fulfilling all at that same time. It was a great day, in spite of 90 degree temps with no AC. There were new friendships forged and old ongoing. I loved seeing mamas relax, regenerate, and rejuvenate. We even had a couple of husbands attend.

The session descriptions and agenda were as follows:

9:00 a.m. Is a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education Relevant Today?: (Melissa Greene) 
The keynote will include a brief introduction to Charlotte Mason. There will be highlights of several key principles of Mason's philosophy as well as what a Charlotte Mason education is not. The talk will close with thoughts to ponder on whether or not a Charlotte Mason inspired education is relevant today.

10:30 a.m. Reflections on a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education: (Gretchen Houchin) Encouragement from a retired homeschool mom with practical examples of what worked and what didn't. The focus will be on high school and older students, but will blend with methods used in the younger years to build the foundation for the upper.

12:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Teaching Through Literature and Living Books: (Melissa Greene) Description and examples of living books, along with practical application on how to use them in your homeschool to cover a variety of subjects. Talk will also include ideas on how to use the methods that underlie Charlotte Mason's principles with traditional and struggling learners. Book lists and suggestions will be shared.

2:30 p.m. Charlotte Mason in Real Life: Courage for the Long Haul: (Cindy Rollins) Find joy in the realities of homeschooling when the romance fades. Thoughts from a veteran mama of nine on what truth, goodness, and beauty look like in real life. Strategies will be given for the long haul.

4:00 p.m. Q & A Panel Discussion: (Cindy Rollins, Gretchen Houchin, and Melissa Greene) All three speakers will come together to answer questions from attendees regarding home education in real life.

We did record the retreat, but I'm still waiting to hear if the audio quality is good enough to share. I can't wait to go back and listen again as there were many administrative duties so I wasn't able to focus on any one talk. However, I received great feedback and would love to do it again next year. Below are a few scenes from before and during the day...

 

We had to limit registration to 50 persons in order to get a seat for everyone. Originally, I was bummed about this. However, having a more intimate group turned out to be lovely on a variety of levels. There was a great deal of networking between participants throughout the day and time to take questions from everyone who asked.

Of course, it was a real treat to meet and work with Cindy Rollins. She was so encouraging and really took time to answer questions and talk with moms about a variety of issues. Both she and Gretchen are beautiful mamas that I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to partner with. I look forward to next year...

Early Bird Registration is Ending for the Journey Retreat with Cindy Rollins...

Check out these door prizes, compliments of CiRCE Institute for....

Journey: An Education for Life

There's only three days left until early bird registration ends for Journey: An Education for Life! Don't delay, get your tickets while they're hot! Join us for a day of home education encouragement and camaraderie as we welcome Cindy Rollins, author of Mere Motherhood and A Handbook to Morning Time and co-host of The Mason Jar podcast, to WI on Saturday, September 23, 2017. 

Early bird pricing is $45, but after Sat, Aug 12th, the price goes up to $60. Registration will not be accepted at the door. A working schedule with descriptions and bios is as follows:

Schedule


8:30 a.m. Registration Opens

9:00 a.m. Keynote – Melissa Greene

10:30 a.m. Reflections on a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education – Gretchen Houchin

12:00 p.m. Lunch (provided)

1:00 p.m. Teaching Through Literature and Living Books – Melissa Greene

2:30 p.m. Charlotte Mason in Real Life: Courage for the Long Haul – Cindy Rollins

4:00 p.m. Q & A Panel Discussion – Cindy Rollins, Gretchen Houchin, and Melissa Greene


Session Descriptions


Keynote: The keynote will include a brief introduction to and comparison of Charlotte Mason and Classic Education. There will be highlights of several key principles of Mason's philosophy and what that looks like in the day to day, as well as her methods used and how to incorporate them.

Reflections on a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education: Encouragement from a retired homeschool mom with practical examples of what worked and what didn't. The focus will be on high school and older students, but will blend with methods used in the younger years to build the foundation for the upper.

Teaching Through Literature and Living Books: Description and examples of living books and practical application on how to use them in your homeschool to cover a variety of subjects. Book lists and suggestions will be shared.

Charlotte Mason in Real Life: Courage for the Long Haul: Find joy in the realities of homeschooling when the romance fades. Thoughts on what truth, goodness, and beauty look like in real life. Strategies will be given for the long haul.

Q & A Panel Discussion: All three speakers will be together answering questions from attendees regarding home education in real life.


Speakers


Cindy Rollins is a mom of nine with over thirty years of homeschooling experience. For more than ten years, she blogged her way through her efforts to homeschool under the principles of Charlotte Mason and classical education. Today, Cindy is an occasional contributor athttps://www.circeinstitute.org/, the co-host of The Mason Jar podcast on the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network, & the 2016 recipient of the Russell Kirk Paideia Prize, awarded for a lifetime spent cultivating wisdom and virtue. Cindy is the author of Mere Motherhood and A Handbook to Morning Time. She lives in Chattanooga, TN with her husband Tim and however many children happen to be home.

Gretchen Houchin is a retired homeschool mom of two boys, ages 21 and 18. the oldest was homeschooled through graduation and the youngest through 8th grade. Her homeschool was inspired by the Charlotte Mason method. She enjoys sharing her experiences with others and encouraging them in their homeschool endeavors.

Melissa Greene is a mother of five, who's been homeschooling since 2007. She has two graduates, one through homeschool and the other through public school. She is currently home educating her three youngest children. Melissa enjoys reading, cooking, and being with her family. She spends her free time studying different philosophies of education, facilitating a Charlotte Mason Study Group, and blogging athttp://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/. There you will find ideas for planning your homeschool, book lists for reading, and thoughts about education through daily living. You can also find her on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/melissaondrywoodcreek/

Space is limited so sign up here now....

ANNOUNCING...Journey: An Education for Life...

I'm sorry I've been absent this week, but I think it's for a good cause. You see, I've been working diligently on a new home education conference and I'm so excited to announce it's finally here!!!

   Journey: An Education for Life

Join us for a day of homeschool encouragement and Christian Classical Charlotte Mason inspired camaraderie. Encounter ideas on how to cultivate rhythm in your day and spark a love of learning. Find renewed energy to start the year strong and continue throughout your homeschool journey.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

8:30 a.m.   Registration Opens

9:00 a.m.   Keynote – Melissa Greene

10:30 a.m. Reflections on a Charlotte Mason Inspired Education – Gretchen Houchin

12:00 p.m. Lunch (provided)

1:00 p.m.   Teaching Through Literature and Living Books – Melissa Greene

2:30 p.m.   Charlotte Mason in Real Life: Courage for the Long Haul – Cindy Rollins

4:00 p.m.   Q & A Panel Discussion – Cindy Rollins, Gretchen Houchin, and Melissa Greene

  

Not all those who wander are lost. – J. R. R. Tolkien

That's right! Cindy Rollins, author of Mere Motherhood and A Handbook for Morning Time is coming to WI. You can get all the details and register here. Hurry, early bird registration ends Aug 12, 2017 and space is limited! Please spread the word!

Reflections on the Great Homeschool Convention, Part 2....

Monday, I shared a few notes from the Great Homeschool Convention talks I attended. Today, I'm sharing some of the resources I purchased for our home library.

I love the vendor exhibit hall! It's my favorite part of going to a conference. However, over the years, I have greatly changed the way I view the vendor hall. In the beginning, I was tempted by shiny book covers, the smell of a new binding, and the flip of fresh pages. I was quick to jump at purchasing, eager to go home and try the latest and greatest, only to become frustrated and burned out when my attempt to recreate school at home failed. Thankfully, for my children's sake, and my own, over the years, I've become more wise.

I now use the exhibit hall to pare down and cull. Instead of jumping at the latest and greatest, I create a wide list of possibilities ahead of time. I then map the vendor hall to find specific vendors that sell things on my list. Even though most companies offer sample pages online, I really prefer to page through the entire book in person. I've gotten pretty good at knowing whether or not a book/program will work for my kiddos simply by flipping through it and taking a few minutes to skim around. By using this method, I've been able to cross more things off my list, than I actually purchase to bring home.

This year, at the GHC, some purchases I did make were the Dover Life in a Medieval Castle and Village coloring book for Ruben to color as I read aloud in the fall. We are heading into the Middle Ages/Renaissance/Reformation so I think it will be a good fit. I also bought A is for Art by Lanaya Gore for Levi. This beautiful picture book, sold by Simply Charlotte Mason, was the splurge I couldn't resist. Next, I purchased The Space Between, A Guide to the Iliad, as well as pre-ordered The Journey Home, A Guide to Homer's Odyssey, both by the CiRCE Institute. We will most likely not be using these next year. However, the conference pricing was too good to be true so I purchased them now, knowing we will use them in the future.

The following are a list of titles that I purchased for our home library and am considering for future studies:

Eusebius, The Church History by Paul L. Maier
A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare)
The Heidelberg Catechism by G. I. Williamson
Josephus, The Essential Writings by Paul. L. Maier
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
The New Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
A Castle with Many Rooms by Lorene Lambert (Simply Charlotte Mason)
Winning His Spurs by G. A. Henty
The Dragon and the Raven by G. A. Henty
Confessions by Saint Augustine
Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede
On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius
The Rule of St. Benedict in English, edited by Timothy Fry

Lastly, for mother culture, I purchased Beauty in the Word by Stratford Caldecott, Why Freshman Fail - and How to Avoid It! by Dr. Carol Reynolds, and Better Late Than Early by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Also, I'm waiting excitedly for Old Western Culture: Romans, Aeneid by Roman Roads Media to arrive. I plan to take this course to test the water, you might say, for possible future use of the Old Western Culture courses in our homeschool high school. I will definitely be blogging through my study, so stay tuned!

While in Cincinnati, Riley and I did venture a few blocks one evening for dinner. Fountain Square was beautiful with green leaves and flowers in bloom. Something that is still a few weeks away here in WI.

Best of all, was arriving home and waking to Levi's snuggles. He was excited about his new GHC souvenirs. The red super hero cape, compliments of Memoria Press, is too cute as he runs around the house aiming to save the world that he holds in his hands :)

Reflections on the Great Homeschool Convention, Part 1....

Riley and I arrived home around midnight Saturday from the Great Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, OH. The conference was fabulous and oh, so encouraging! However, at nine hours with a time change, it's a long hard drive and of course, there's no place like home. It was such a joy to see The Farmer and the boys, to cook my own food, and even wipe down kitchen counters and do laundry. I'm amazed at how much the mundane becomes a joy after a little respite. Last night was my first full night in my own bed and today, I'm so glad we had a blank box on the calendar as we get back in the routine. Since Saturday, I even had a bit of time to reflect and look back on my notes, of which, I thought I would share with you some snippets...

Classical Education Unplugged (Andrew Kern, Martin Cothran, Christopher Perrin, and Carol Reynolds - panel discussion)

Kern - Classical education with quest for wisdom and virtue includes everything; classical includes vocational; vocational does not include classical and is utilitarian

Kern - Algebra is logic

Cothran - nature study is science until middle school, then around 8th-9th grade begin formal sciences

Classical Literature for Children (Rea Berg)

The Power of Story
- books provide cultural literacy
- good books help to make a civil society
- they break cultural myopia
- development of moral imagination leads to empathy and compassion; helps to avoid narcissism
- opens our hearts to truth, beauty, and grace

Why College Freshman Fail (Dr. Carol Reynolds)

based on her book by same title - Dr. Reynolds gave seven top reasons why many college freshman fail
- only 59% actually pass and obtain a bachelor's degree

Charlotte Mason Meets Plato: Restoring the Joy of Education in Your Home (Rea Berg)

What is the purpose of education?
Plato - to create philosopher kings
Charlotte Mason - education is a life

Are we mere products of 21st century American notions of what qualifies as education?

The Tradition of Schole: How Christians Pursued Restful Learning Through the Ages and How to Recover It (Dr. Christopher Perrin)

Schole is undistracted time to study things that are worth while.

There are some things about ancient beliefs that we have to throw out. They didn't have the Gospels.

monasticism - the way schole is transformed, fulfilled and extended by the Gospels

Why Memory and Imitation are a Student's Most Important Skills (Andrew Kern)

There are 4 God given faculties or abilities - just focus on these
- Attention
- Memory
- Imitation
- Harmony

We think in order to find harmony. As long as we have hope of achieving harmony, we keep thinking. If not, we stop.

Being transformed is an act of imitation.

Remember that your child is a human being!

Memorization is OK, as long as you know the story. (why behind the how)

Blood and Morality: The Tradition of Adventure Writing for Boys (Martin Cothran)

based on The Dangerous Article for Boys

We need to see literature as an end, not a means to an end!

Why Children Must Play to Learn (Dr. Christopher Perrin)

What makes for a great engineer?
- play that's self-motivating; done for its own sake; is voluntary; is inherently attractive; includes freedom and time, diminished conscientiousness of self, and improvisational continuing desire

Our play history has some bearing on who we become as adults

There is a play deficit. We don't do enough.

A little non-productivity can make us more productive.

Why Play?
- prepares us for an uncertain world (rehearsal); teaches collaboration, sound judgment, mastery, renovation/recreation, innovation, and delight

The opposite of play is not work; it's depression.

referenced: The 5 Best Toys of All Time

Ancient History through Literature: From Pyramids, Pharaohs, and Philistines to Perspective and Purpose (Rea Berg)

Our goal and mission is to expose our children to the best that has been thought and said.

History had been studied through literature and stories until 19th century, now it's a science.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. - Cicero

Inspire your children to love learning and they will be life time learners!

There was so much inspiration, I bought the entire Great Homeschool Convention on audio and can't wait to go back and listen again to several talks, plus others that I didn't get to hear! Rea Berg was Riley's favorite and mine. I also really loved Dr. Christopher Perrin's talk on Why Children Must Play to Learn.

Later in the week, I'll share some of my conference purchases, which will give you a sneak peek into our 2017-2018 academic plan.

Prepping for GHC Through Simplification...

Riley and I are off to the Great Homeschool Convention. For the past couple of weeks, I've been making my lists and checking them twice. I now have ten years of home educating under my belt. Over those years, I have come to know what I like and what I don't. More recently, the art of simplification has been on my heart.

Due to my new less is more thinking, I aim to be intentional upon our arrival. I have mapped my course. After all, the vendor hall is my favorite place to be. I'm like a kid in a candy store. However, it can quickly turn into a bellyache if one is unprepared and overindulges.

After making my lists, I checked our book shelves. I actually found two books on my list that I forgot I had. I'm on a very limited budget and therefore, can't afford unnecessary purchases.  I then priced my list on a variety of sites including Rainbow Resource, Christian Book, Amazon, as well as other various curriculum vendors. I know there will be conference discounts, free shipping, and other incentives, by knowing my prices ahead of time, I'm able to take these factors into consideration and get the most bang for my buck.

I have also printed a list of speakers and the workshop schedule. Since we have about a nine hour drive, I will have time to choose my sessions while enroute. In addition, I plan to buy the conference audio. That way, I don't have to feel stressed about choosing just the right workshops ahead of time because it's inevitable that more than one person on my list will be speaking at the same time. I also like owning the conference audio so I can find added encouragement throughout the year.

Back when I was only five years in, I wrote Prepping for a Homeschool Convention. Much is the same today.  I will be wearing comfortable clothing and shoes, as well as bringing plenty of water along to stay hydrated. I look forward to one on one time with Riley as well as what the Great Homeschool Convention has to offer!

Hey, if you see me at the conference, please say hello. I love to meet fellow home educating Charlotte Mason, Classical Education thinkers :)

Weekly Reflections - Week Nineteen..

At Home

Last week's reflection post is late because I found my tribe, as they say. I had the absolutely remarkable pleasure of attending CiRCE's Winter Regional Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Ruben and I rode with another homeschooling mom and her son. We drove nine hours Thursday, arriving in time for the evening reception at Highlands Latin School at their Spring Meadows campus in Kentucky. It was a lovely evening, featuring hors d'oeuvres, bourbon tasting, piano music by Dr. Carol Reynolds, a school tour, and a full curricula display by Memoria Press. Participants were gifted a copy of Cheryl Swope's book, Simply Classical, A Beautiful Education for Any Child, which highly excited me since it has been on my list to read.

Friday and Saturday, the conference held an engaging array of speakers including Andrew Kern, Martin Cothran, Christopher Perrin, Carol Reynolds, and Andrew Pudewa.  On Friday, there was also an afternoon breakout session with talks from Matt Bianco, Hank Reynolds, and Brian Phillips.  Friday's festivities closed with an evening of Wendell Berry, novelist, poet, essayist, and farmer, reading an original story. Being a third generation farmer myself, this was a highlight for me. I'm currently working my way through one of Berry's novels, Jayber Crow.

While in Kentucky, we stayed at the historic Seelbach Hotel. The weather was fabulous with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's, which is a real treat for Wisconsinites in January.

At the conference, Ruben was fortunate enough to win the complete audio collection of the 2015 National CiRCE Conference in South Carolina so we can continue to glean knowledge of truth, beauty and goodness from CiRCE presenters for some time to come.

Overall, the CiRCE conference afforded a wealth of information and wisdom to contemplate. Many of the talks affirmed my thoughts. It felt like I found my people. I'm still processing and look forward to a chance to discuss what I learned with The Farmer while reviewing my notes.  I will most likely be posting a follow-up or reflective articles in the future.

Around the Web

I didn't spend much time on the web last week given our trip to Kentucky, but a fellow homeschooling mom sent me a link to an article that I did read titled Homeschool Graduates in College ~ From the Professors’ Perspective. I love hearing success stories of homeschool graduates and beyond.

We also listened to The Classical Homeschool Podcast #4, The Homeschool as Monastery, while enroute to the conference as the subject matter was linked to Dr. Christopher Perrin's CiRCE Conference talk, The Monastery School: How Classical Education was Preserved and Extended for Almost 1,000 Years (And What We Can Learn from It).  Dr. Perrin's talk was fascinating and gave me much to ponder.

Added to My Reading List

While at the CiRCE Winter Regional Conference, I purchased the books pictured below and can't wait to dive in...

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig...

I'm trying to get my bearings today after being gone for five days to the Midwest Great Homeschool Convention.  I'm working through mounds of laundry and, since the house looked like tornado alley upon arriving home, cleaning.  The good news, after a week off, we did manage to finish our lessons uneventfully the morning.

Now, I must say, the convention was fabulous and well worth the extra work at home!  I'm still coming down.  Speakers like Dr. Inge Auerbacher, Martin Cothran, Andrew Kern, Dr. Christopher Perrin, Dr. Carol Reynolds, and Ann Voskamp rocked!  RileyAnn and I also really enjoyed entertainment by The Willis Clan.  Exhibits such as Beautiful Feet, Center for Lit, CiRCE Institute, Classical Academic Press, Memoria Press, Rainbow Resource, Simply Charlotte Mason, Sonlight, and Veritas Press made my day.  

After the past year of blogging for Beautiful Feet, I was finally able to meet Josh Berg personally.  Putting a face with the name and e-mail correspondence sure is nice.  Also, I drew great wisdom from time spent speaking to folks like Ian Andrews, Martin Cothran, Andrew Kern and Dr. Christopher Perrin.  Thoughts and ideas have been swimming in my mind since.  There will be future posts as I digest what I've learned.  But for now, below are some sights and scenes from Cincinnati...

I'm Going to a Great Homeschool Convention!!...

I can hardly contain myself!  The Great Homeschool Convention is something I've dreamed about attending for a couple of years and this year that dream is becoming reality.  I've been attending the MACHE conference every year since I began homeschooling eight years ago, which is a great conference to cut your teeth on.  However this year, I wanted to spread my wings so two other local homeschooling moms and I are heading Ohio.

I'm excited about this for a couple of reasons.  First, there will be a variety of speakers that don't normally come this far north, including Andrew Kern, Dr. Christopher Perrin, and Martin Cothran, to name a few. Judging by the list of speakers, it appears at though the GHC is geared for classical educators, which totally peaks my interest.

Secondly, I really look forward to community.  Some may say that in this generation of webinars and podcasts, you can listen to many of your favorite speakers online, in the comfort of your own home, and often times free.  This is true.  However, there is nothing like building face to face community.  My favorite part of MACHE last year was networking.  I loved hanging around exhibit booths like Simply Charlotte Mason.  It was here, that I was able to bounce ideas, touch, smell, and feel resources to get a better sense of whether or not they may work for my family.  I also met other like minded families that became fast friends.  The GHC offers a huge exhibit hall, again, with many vendors that don't normally come my way, such as Beautiful Feet, CiRCE Institute, Classical Academic Press, Queen Homeschool Supplies, Inc., Royal Fireworks Press, and Veritas Press.  I can hardly wait to check out their products in person!

If you are thinking about trying a homeschool conference this season or would like pointers to get the most out of your conference, consider Preparing for a Homeschool Convention.  Also, Pam Barnhill did a great follow-up video to the GHC in Greenville, SC, that was super helpful if you're planning to attend a conference.

Lastly, if you are going to the GHC in OH, let me know in the comments below.  If you happen to see me in OH, please do stop and chat.  I would absolutely LOVE to meet some of my readers and online blogging friends :))

Off to Hear Carole Joy Seid....

I'm off this morning to attend my first Carole Joy Seid seminar.  I listened to Carole speak with Sarah Mackenzie on the Read Aloud Revival and she definitely sounds like a kindred spirit.  Sarah's interview prompted me to buy Seid's new DVD series, Homeschool Made Simple.  You can get a good taste of it in the 30 minute sample offered by Compass Classroom.   I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but look forward to it!  I'm also looking forward to spending today with other like minded book lovers :)

Returning from MACHE with Living Books...

Riley and I had a wonderful time at MACHE, but seeing Levi's face as I walked in the door upon arrival back home was priceless!  Home is always the best place to be :)  Yesterday was spent resting with family and unpacking our new treasures.  I actually cooked three square meals and it felt good! 

Speaking of treasures, I didn't realize Marguerite De Angeli produced a children's Old Testament.  Her illustrations are some of the best!!  It was my big splurge item...

Books that Build Character is a Beautiful Feet recommendation.  It offers more than 300 titles of books to capture a child's imagination and conscience...   

 I was excited to find a copy of Ann Voskamp's Christmas devotional....

The title The Rainbow Book of Nature caught my attention.  Sure enough, it was published by The World Publishing Company along with A Child's First Book of American History, which is another Beautiful Feet recommendation.  As would be expected, the illustrations are fabulous!   The boys were chomping at the bit to take a look...

Riley spotted this wonderful old copy of Daniel Boone by Esther Averill.   

She also found these two Initial Biographies by Genevieve Foster, one of which, has been reprinted and is recommended in Beautiful Feet's new Modern American and World study.   Initial Biographies provide a wonderful retelling of the life of an American President.  Foster wrote four including George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.  They are out of print, with the exception of the Theodore Roosevelt reprint mentioned above, but definitely worth collecting if you come across them. 

 

We spent most of the first day of the conference scouring the used book sale.  The second day we perused the vendor hall checking out the latest and greatest curricula.  I was able to spend some time looking at English Lessons Through Literature by Kathy Jo DeVore and I'm near certain, I'm going to try this with Ruben next fall as an introductory study of grammar.  I love that she uses quality literature to study English! 

I purchased Your Business Math and the handicraft Knitting DVD from Simply Charlotte Mason, which RileyAnn is very excited about!  The girls have used other Handicrafts Made Simple DVD's and really enjoyed them.  I also picked up a couple fact practice speed drill books hoping they will help solidify basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts for each kiddo. 

By using Charlotte Mason's methods, there is not much curricula necessary to purchase.  One is able to adapt most living books to meet the academic needs of each child by reading, narration, dictation, nature study, etc. to cover language arts, history, and science.   This is why we were able to focus on building our library with great used living books!  ...stay tuned for an updated book sale list I'll be releasing this week.  We have many duplicate treasures to share.

While at MACHE, I rubbed elbows with many Charlotte Mason enthusiasts.  I am encouraged to see Charlotte's methods exploding amongst the homeschool community.   I met several new people and it was super fun to spend time talking to other like minded moms!   Unfortunately, MACHE overall didn't provide any Charlotte Mason speakers this year.  However, as mentioned, Simply Charlotte Mason had a booth in the exhibit hall where we spent a couple hours over the course of the conference and there was plenty of CM excitement building in the used book sale. 

I'd love to hear about your conference attending experience.  Which speakers did you enjoy?  What new books/curricula did you find?  Please leave a comment below...