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Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas

Our goal is to cultivate the maximum number of thinking moms we can. This podcast is for classical homeschooling mamas who yearn for something more than just checking boxes and getting it all done. We discuss topics that matter to those of us who believe that educating ourselves through reading widely, thinking deeply, and applying faithfully equips us for the task of educating our children.
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Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas
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Now displaying: 2016
Dec 2, 2016

In spite of empty platitudes and trite sayings, we get -- philosophically speaking -- to the bottom of Christmas, after all. How does all the work of making Christmas happen correspond to our search of scholé? Can we simplify Christmas? Should we? And what has that to do with our faith? We talk about all this and more in today's episode.

This is the LAST EPISODE of Season 2! We thank you and send our Merry Christmases your way. We'll be back in 2017, but until then, subscribe to our newsletter or join our forum at scholesisters.com!

Nov 18, 2016

Today’s show is all about thankfulness and Brandy is extremely thankful for Mystie. You see, we had recorded a different episode, but the recording had technical difficulties, and we weren’t able to use it. Mystie was willing to do a special recording, and we are all THANKFUL for her and that she was willing to do this so last minute!

In this episode, Mystie and Brandy first discuss the philosophy of thankfulness and the connections between gratitude and scholé. After that, they talk about all the long list of people and curricula and organizations that make us happily and gratefully classical.

Don't forget to join our FORUM. Did you know? In the Forum there are episode bonuses (we call it the Cutting Room Floor -- it's stuff we cut out) and also back issues of our newsletter. Plus a community of awesome moms just like YOU. Go to http://www.scholesisters.com/join to become a part of it all.

Nov 4, 2016

Brandy's guest today is the one and only Wes Callihan and she is thrilled! If you can believe it, she got through the entire interview without acting like a total fan girl. Wes and Brandy discuss why some children (the hypothetical Boy A and Girl B) are resistant to pagan literature and what to do about it. Two types of resistant prove we need two types of responses! We also get to find out what Wes is reading in his free time, and what advice he’d give to parents whose children are signing up for online classes.

Don’t forget to find us on Facebook!

Oct 21, 2016

On today’s show, Pam and Brandy discuss learning styles and the fact that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to back them up. (Obviously, Pam is trying to get us into trouble.) But REALLY, it was a great discussion, even if somewhat controversial. Also, if you’ve ever wondered how learning styles intersect -- or not -- with the classical tradition, we manage to Go There.

In our Nitty Gritty Question, we also confess our regrets and do over desires in regard to early childhood education in our homes.

Don’t forget about the Scholé Sisters Forum. There are some virtual Scholé Sisters groups forming now, so you don’t want to miss it. Just go to scholesisters.com/join to get more details on that.

Oct 7, 2016

Our guest today is Kathy Wickward, former homeschool mom (she's graduated, folks!), one of the founders of CM West, and one of the masterminds behind AmblesideOnline's living science curriculum. On today’s show, Kathy and Brandy discuss leading our children through encounters with viewpoints with which we don’t agree. Is there ever an age not to do this? And how DO we do this? Kathy shares with us her theory of six degrees of separation from a subject, and more!

Don't forget to join our forum over at scholesisters.com/join -- we've got virtual Scholé Sisters groups and book groups starting up now!

Sep 23, 2016

On today’s show, Mystie and Brandy discuss the ancient Latin motto multum non multa – meaning, much not many. Applied to education, and somehow misapplied to education, we chat about who used the motto in reference to education, what they meant, and what this has to do with Charlotte Mason and The Latin-Centered Curriculum. We also bring up one of the great unmentionables: the dangers of taking a minimalistic approach to life and homeschooling.

Don't forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter at scholesisters.com!

Sep 9, 2016

Today’s show is our version of the which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg dilemma. In this case, though, it’s which comes first – the principles or the practices. And how do we practice when we know that we don’t know all we NEED to know? We go around and around in circles, drawing on folks like James K.A. Smith, Cindy Rollins, Karen, Glass, and MORE. In the end, we made our peace with the issue, and we hope you can, too.

Don't forget you can find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scholé-Sisters-1443844352560693/

Aug 26, 2016

Welcome back! We are so excited to have you with us today for our first episode of Season 2! In this episode, Mystie and Brandy explore the relationship between personality types and scholé. Mystie draws a distinction Brandy had never thought about before -- that some types of scholé are restorative, while others bring about more of a stretching and growing -- and different types serve these purposes for different personality types. The bottom line is that if you are in need of some restoration, knowing your personality type and what restores it can be super helpful.

 

Don't forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter over at scholesisters.com!

May 13, 2016

In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy use Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics to discuss the connection between habits and virtue, and then proceed to convince ourselves to work on shoring up good habits over the summer to pave the way for a better school year. We also discuss a question on assessment sent to us by Amanda Venema – and a big shout out to Amanda for being the first to leave us a recorded message! So…habits, virtue, summer, assessment – what’s not to like? This is a fun way to wrap up Season 1 of the podcast.

Don't forget to go join our new forum at scholesisters.com/join

Apr 22, 2016

In today’s episode, Brandy discusses virtual Scholé Sisters groups and technology tools with Amber Vanderpol. What happens when you live in an isolated place? Are you doomed to loneliness? Or are virtual groups a possibility? And, if so, how are they best organized? What technology exists to support them? And how hard is it to learn to use these unfamiliar tools? We talk about all this and more on today’s episode.

Also: we've got a major announcement coming up in the next Scholé Sisters newsletter so if you haven't already subscribed, head on over to scholesisters.com to sign up!

Mar 25, 2016

In today’s episode, Pam and Brandy have a great conversation with Ravi Jain, co-author of The Liberal Arts Tradition, on the subject of balancing work with wonder. How do both of those fit together? What happens when our students seem to have lost the wonder? What if we seem to have lost the wonder? Ravi had some great thoughts on this.

We also discussed piety in our Nitty Gritty Homeschool question – in The Liberal Arts Tradition, we’re told that piety is the foundation of learning. What are some practical ways to nurture and build it? We discuss all these questions and more in today’s episode!

Check out our website scholesisters.com for tons of great articles on a variety of topics -- self-education, commonplacing, classical homeschooling, and more!

Mar 11, 2016

Today, Mystie and Brandy are daring you to be brave and read a classic, even if you don’t feel like you’re qualified. We tackle questions like why we feel intimidated by reading classic books, strategies for helping ourselves read them, and a whole lot more. In addition, our nitty gritty homeschool question is all about starting Latin, so you won’t want to miss it. As a reminder, all the show notes for this episode can be found at scholesisters.com/ss4 .

Did you know? Scholé Sisters is on Facebook, so look us up!

Feb 26, 2016

Pam is not only Brandy's co-host, she's also the guest this time around. That’s because Brandy really wanted to hear more about her classical co-op and all the changes they have made over the years and how those have come about. Since Brandy doesn't have a co-op herself, what she really wanted to do was listen and learn -- and Pam was full of great lessons, that's for sure! Get ready to be inspired to continue to learn and grow and allow that process to bear fruit in other endeavors, such as co-ops.

All the show notes for this episode can be found at scholesisters.com/ss3 .

Feb 12, 2016

Today’s episode is a conversation about the connection between love and learning. Is it important that our students love their subjects? Is it important that WE love the subjects we’re teaching? What do we do if we’re without love? We tackle all these questions and more – and in the process, we mention a lot of resources, so please remember you can find all of the necessary details in the show notes on our website at scholesisters.com/ss2.

Feb 5, 2016

February is often called Homeschool Mom Burnout Month, which is only sort of a joke. The main thing we’re discussing today is the idea that levity – that not taking ourselves too seriously – is a key to preventing that dreaded homeschool mom burnout. We make sure to refer to sources like GK Chesterton, Charlotte Mason, Catherine Levison, and Carole Joy Seid, just to name a few. It's a lot of food for thought, to be sure!

Be sure to check out all the show notes at http://www.scholesisters.com/ss1/ !

Jan 24, 2016

An introductory episode, naturally, needs to cover all the basics. In this episode, we start by introducing ourselves. Then, we discuss the word scholé – how is it pronounced? What does it mean? After that, we discuss Scholé Sisters groups. Pam and Brandy have more formal groups, while Mystie has mastered the fine art of informal scholé with friends. We finish up by explaining the podcast itself – what it’s for, the format of the show, how it’s going to work, that sort of thing.

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