The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

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S4E52: Music Education in the Charlotte Mason Paradigm with Megan Hoyt

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

03/09/23 • 42 min

...what if the devitalisation we notice in so many of our young people, keen about games but dead to things of the mind, is due to the processes carried on in our schools, to our plausible and pleasant ways of picturing, eliciting, demonstrating, illustrating, summarising, doing all those things for children which they are born with the potency to do for themselves? No doubt we do give intellectual food, but too little of it; let us have courage and we shall be surprised, as we are now and then, at the amount of intellectual strong meat almost any child will take at a meal and digest at his leisure.

Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education Show Summary:

Today’s guest is Megan Hoyt, veteran homeschooling mom, musician and author
Megan tells how she picked up her love of music from her parents and passed it on to her own
What is the overall theme of A Touch of the Infinite?
What are some of the misconceptions you think people have about Charlotte Mason and music education?
What did music education look like in your own homeschool?
How Megan wrote A Touch of the Infinite and what is in the book
How did you start writing children’s books?

Books and Links Mentioned:

Bartali’s Bicycle by Megan Hoyt

The Greatest Song of All by Megan Hoyt

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude edited by Miranda Paul

Hidegard’s Gift by Megan Hoyt

A Touch of the Infinite by Megan Hoyt

Find Cindy and Megan:

1 Listener

S3E45: Teaching Math the Charlotte Mason Way with Julie Rylie and Tabitha Wirges

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

11/24/22 • 45 min

Never are the operations of Reason more delightful and more perfect than in mathematics. Here men do not begin to reason with a notion which causes them to lean to this side or to that. By degrees, absolute truth unfolds itself. We are so made that truth, absolute and certain truth, is a perfect joy to us; and that is the joy that mathematics afford.

Charlotte Mason, Ourselves Show Summary:

Today’s guests are Julie Rylie and Tabitha Wirges of Climbing Higher Math
How Julie and Tabitha each first learned about Charlotte Mason
How do you approach math in a Charlotte Mason way?
What advice do you have for teaching children who don’t enjoy math?
How can moms approach math with less fear and more joy?
What does the Climbing Higher Math program look like?
Why moms don’t need to panic about math in high school

Books and Links Mentioned:

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison

Ray's Arithmetic

Find Cindy, Julie, and Tabitha:

Climbing Higher Math on Facebook

Climbing Higher Math on Instagram

S3E43: Homeschooling Only Children with Kay Pelham and Christy Hissong

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

11/10/22 • 50 min

The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding.

Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education Show Summary:

Today’s guests are Kay Pelham and Christy Hissong
Kay is a veteran homeschooling mom to one son, as well as a piano teacher and literary enthusiast
Christy is also a veteran homeschooling mom of one boy, and teaches at a local Charlotte Mason cottage school
How did each of our guests learn about Charlotte Mason?
What are some of the challenges you faced with homeschooling an only child?
What did reading aloud look like in your home?
How did you figure out if your child had some learning challenges that needed addressed?
How did you use narration in your homeschool?
Was there anything you wish had been different in your homeschooling years?
How does a Charlotte Mason education continue for a mother after her children have graduated?

Books and Links Mentioned:

The Common Room Blog

AmblesideOnline

Uncle Wiggly’s Story Book by Howard R. Garis

Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris

Smart But Scattered Teens by Richard Guare, Ph. D., Peg Dawson, Ph. D., and Colin Guare

SethPerler.com

Find Cindy:

S3E42: Simply Charlotte Mason with Sonya Shafer

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

10/27/22 • 45 min

Children learn to grow.

Charlotte Mason, Home Education Show Summary:

Today’s guest is Sonya Shafer is a veteran homeschool mom of 4 daughters as well as a popular author and speaker and co-founder of Simply Charlotte Mason
How Sonya first discovered Charlotte Mason
How Sonya and her friend Karen Smith started Simply Charlotte Mason
How Simply Charlotte Mason grew over time to cover a complete curriculum
Why it is important for parents to have encouragement and support in home educating
How people can pick and choose SCM resources that work together for a full course of study for the whole family
A little about the Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series
How Sonya has homeschooled her special needs daughter

Books and Links Mentioned:

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison

For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Laying Down the Rails by Sonya Shafer

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Range by David Epstein

Plato’s Lemonade Stand by Tom Morris

Margin by Richard Swenson, M.D.

Know and Tell by Karen Glass

Find Cindy and Sonya:

The Simply Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Podcast

Simply Charlotte Mason

1 Listener

S3E41: Homeschooling in Community with Yolanda Mason

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

10/13/22 • 31 min

Today’s guest is Yolanda Mason, wife and homeschooling mother of 4, founder of the Heritage Learning Center in Charlotte, NC
How Yolanda first heard about Charlotte Mason
Why and how she started the Heritage Learning Center
What is the value of a homeschool community like this?
How narration can be improved in a group
What the learning goals look like in community
What a typical day looks like in Yolanda’s homeschool

If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children when these are overdone, should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play! If she would only have courage to let everything go when life becomes too tense, and just take a day, or half a day, out in the fields, or with a favourite book, or in a picture gallery looking long and well at just two or three pictures, or in bed, without the children, life would go on far more happily for both children and parents.

Charlotte Mason, School Education, p. 33-34 Books and Links Mentioned:

A Reasoned Patriotism Webinar

Find Cindy:

Dawn’s Citizenship Webinar: A Reasoned Patriotism

1 Listener

S3E39: Swedish Drill with Dawn Duran

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

09/15/22 • 40 min

This week Dawn Duran joins Cindy to discuss the value and practice of Swedish Drill
How Dawn first learned about Charlotte Mason
What exactly is Swedish Drill?
What is the connection between Swedish Drill and Charlotte Mason?
What are the benefits of Swedish Drill in the school day?
How did you develop your Swedish Drill Revisited materials?
What ages can do Swedish Drill?
Can this be done in groups or at home with just one or two children?

I will only add, that to give the child pleasure in light and easy motion–the sort of delight in the management of his own body that a good rider finds in managing his horse–dancing, drill, calisthenics, some sort of judicious physical exercise, should make part of every day’s routine. Swedish drill is especially valuable, and many of the exercises are quite suitable for the nursery. Certain moral qualities come into play in alert movements, eye-to-eye attention, prompt and intelligent replies; but it often happens that good children fail in these points for want of physical training.

Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education Books and Links Mentioned:

Home Education by Charlotte Mason

Find Cindy and Dawn:

Dawn’s Swedish Drill Website

Dawn’s Articles on Afterthoughtsblog.net

S3E40: Donna-Jean Breckenridge on Updating “This Country of Ours”

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

09/29/22 • 54 min

Next in order to religious knowledge, history is the pivot on which our curriculum turns.

Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education, Vol. 6, p. 273 Show Summary:

Today’s guest is Donna-Jean Breckenridge, veteran homeschool mom, grandmother and member of the AmblesideOnline Advisory
Before getting to main the subject matter, Donna-Jean gives homeschooling moms a little encouragement and exhortation
How This Country of Ours was chosen as a history spine for AmblesideOnline
Why Donna-Jean decided to expand and update the book
How Donna-Jean annotated, expanded and updated This Country of Ours
What she hopes this new version accomplishes

It is never too late to mend but we may not delay to offer such a liberal and generous diet of History to every child in the country as shall give weight to his decisions, consideration to his actions and stability to his conduct; that stability, the lack of which has plunged us into many a stormy sea of unrest.

Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education, Vol. 6, p. 179 Books and Links Mentioned:

Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

This Country of Ours, Vol.1 by H.E. Marshall: Annotated, Expanded and Updated by Donna-Jean Breckenridge

A Reasoned Patriotism Webinar with Dawn Duran

Find Cindy and Donna-Jean:

Donna-Jean’s Facebook

Donna-Jean’s Instagram

Donna-Jean on MeWe

1 Listener

S3E38: A Tribute to Wendi Capehart

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

09/01/22 • 53 min

Our aim in education is to give a full life.... We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests.... Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking – the strain would be too great – but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest.

Charlotte Mason, School Education, pg. 170 Show Summary:

Today’s episode is dedicated to remembering Wendi Capehart with special memorial messages from a few of her friends
Dawn’s memories of Wendi
How Cindy got to know Wendi
Wendi’s other friends featured in this episode:
- Anne White
- Bethany Yoder
- Brandy Vencel
- Donna-Jean Breckenridge
- Jeannette Tulis
- Kathy Livingston
- Kay Pelham
- Lynn Bruce
- Naomi Goegan
- Phyllis Hunsucker
Wendi’s favorite hymns and folk songs heard in this episode:
- What a Friend We Have In Jesus
- I Gave My Love a Cherry
- Anywhere with Jesus
- Froggy Went a Courtin’
- O, Sacred Head Now Wounded
- John the Rabbit
- There’s Not A Friend (No, Not One)
- The Wellerman
- The Happy Wanderer

Books and Links Mentioned:

School Education by Charlotte Mason

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

Murder Fantastical by Patricia Moyes

The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major

AmblesideOnline

Wendi’s Blog

Episode 20 with Wendi

Find Cindy:

Dawn’s Christmas Book Tradition

S2E44: Reprise of A “Hallelujah” Advent Celebration

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

11/17/22 • 82 min

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 replay of last year’s popular 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 2020’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.

Listen Now: 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

“The Nativity” Parents Review Article

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: