In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• Setting high expectations
• The day-to-day for large families
• and  more

Don't forget to join the Mere Motherhood Facebook group and to subscribe to the Mason Jar feed wherever you get your podcasts!

Welcome to season two of The Commons, which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode seven of season two, Brian Phillips chats with author, speaker, and pastor, Dr. George Grant about the lives, motivations, and influences of some of the key figures of the Great Awakening.

-- 

This season of The Commons is brought to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Welcome to Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern (President of the CiRCE Institute and co-author of the book, Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America) contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew and Karen answer the question, "what is the classical pedagogy?" 

Welcome to Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern (President of the CiRCE Institute and co-author of the book, Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America) contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew and Karen answer the question, "what is the classical curriculum?" 

Welcome to season two of The Commons, which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode seven of season two, Brian Phillips chats with guest Gerald Bray, professor at Beeson Divinity School and Knox Theological Seminary, about the lives, motivations, and influences of some of the key figures of the Reformation, including many of the forerunners of the movement. 

-- 

This season of The Commons is brought to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Welcome to FORMA, a podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In this episode, Andrew Kern and Matt Bianco chat about the challenges of teaching reading. Topics include how easy it is to corrupt reading for kids, why some people hate reading, universal questions that can help anyone read well, and much more. 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue their conversation about E.M. Forster's novel, Howards End. Topics of conversation include the differences between Mr. Wilcox and Margaret, capital "R" Romance vs. lower-case "r" romance, Forster's energetic writing, the awkward Wilcox-Shlegel kiss, and much more. 

If you like this show please consider supporting it on Patreon. 

Welcome to season two of The Commons, which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode six of season two, Brian Phillips chats with guest Karen Marsh, author of Saints and Sinner: 25 Christian Who Transformed My Faith, about the amazing life and incredible influence of Francis and Clare of Assisi, two of the most venerated religious figures in history.

-- 

This season of The Commons is brought to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Join Cindy and David as they chat about Charlotte Mason's belief that "children are born persons," focusing, in particular, on the idea that children are not things to be "molded" or "shaped." How does literature and the way that great stories form the moral imagination play into this concept? What about discipline? Would Vigen Guroian's classic book, Tending the Heart of Virtue jive with Mason's ideas? And much more!

////

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Grove City College, a Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh. Learn more at gcc.edu! 

Welcome to Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern (President of the CiRCE Institute and co-author of the book, Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America) contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew (and a special guest) discuss the reasons why Dorothy Sayer's interpretation of the trivium has become so popular and influential. 

Welcome to FORMA, a podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In this episode, David chats with John Hodges, our friend from the Center for Western Studies, about ways of cultivating a love of music. Topics include teaching music when you are "musically limited," self-education in music, composer study, musical pieces that children love, pop music, and much more. 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue their conversation about E.M. Forster's novel Howards End. Topics of conversation include whether this book is about anything, Forster's instance on keeping his characters at arms-length, an Angelina reversal, Margaret's affection for Mr. Wilcox, the Downton Abbey-ness of the story, and much more. 

Welcome to Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern (President of the CiRCE Institute and co-author of the book, Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America) contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew defines "wisdom" and reflects on the ways that it is cultivated. 

Welcome to FORMA, a podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In this episode, we are re-running a conversation David had on the old Quiddity podcast with our friend James Daniels, in which they discussed how to cultivate human-ness in our students and children.

Topics of conversation include common places in the classroom, habits vs. subjects, how the seven liberal arts cultivate humans, how to avoid teaching gnostically, seeing the world as children, and much, much more.  We think it's the perfect conversation for this time of year when the school year is feeling long and the winter months are lingering. 

Money quote: "I'm not teaching content, I'm teaching students." 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue their conversation about E.M. Forster's novel Howards End. Topics of conversation include whether Mrs. Wilcox is meant to a type of a mystic character, the odd relationship between Mrs. Wilcox and Margaret, Leonard's strange chapter (and role in the book), and much, much more. 

Welcome to Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern (President of the CiRCE Institute and co-author of the book, Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America) contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew defines "virtue" and reflects on the ways that it is cultivated. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• Homeschooling through upheaval
• Good age to start nature notebooks
• Cindy's approach to the overwhelming mountain of classic books out there
• 2017 in reading
• and much more

 Don't forget to join the Mere Motherhood Facebook group and to subscribe to the Mason Jar feed wherever you get your podcasts!

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Grove City College!

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they kick off their conversation about E.M. Forster's novel Howards End. Topics of conversation include Angelina's secret sports-life, which Schlegel sister Tim and Angelina see most in themselves, 19th-century European politics, the Bloomsbury group that Forster was a part of, his interesting use of pace and voice, and much more. 

Welcome back to Close Reads, where David, Angelina, and Tim are discussing their 2017 in reading and their reading goals for 2018. Plus, Angelina gets ambushed by a special guest. 

***

If you like this podcast, please consider supporting it via Patreon. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. 

Welcome to FORMA, a podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In this episode Andrew Kern continues his conversation with Susan Wise Bauer (author of The Well Trained Mind) about her new book, Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education, which is now from Norton. 

Topics include the reasons she wrote the book, kids who don't have a place in the system, schooling towards vocation, and much more. 

Welcome to Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew contemplates what classical education has to do with "knowing, glorifying, and enjoying God."

On this episode of the Mason Jar, Cindy Rollins is joined by Karen Glass, author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, to discuss the topic of Narration and her forthcoming book, Know and Tell.  

This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Homegrown Preschooler! 

NOTES:

• Learn more about Karen–and find her books– at her website

Welcome to season two of The Commons, which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode five of season two, Brian Phillips chats with guest David Hicks, author of Norms and Nobility, about the amazing life and incredible influence of St. Benedict, perhaps the most important monk of all time.  

-- 

This season of The Commons is brought to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Welcome back to Close Reads, where David, Angelina, and Tim are discussing listener questions about Twelfth Night. Topics include lots of talk about Feste, strong women in Shakespeare, whether the ending is satisfying, the alternate title, Shakespeare as political rabble-rouser, and, of course, some Christmas-themed banter. 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue to discuss William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Topics include where Twelfth Night belongs in Shakespeare's canon, the somewhat abrupt ending, the lack of change in the characters, the subtitle, and the poem that ends the play. 

/// 

If you like Close Reads, please support us at patreon.com/closereads. 

Welcome to the brand new Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

In this episode, Andrew contemplates why the 7 Liberal Arts are such a crucial part of the classical curriculum. 

Welcome to FORMA, a podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In this episode Andrew Kern chats with Susan Wise Bauer (author of The Well Trained Mind) about her new book, Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education, which is due out in January from Norton. 

Topics include the way we do school today and why it doesn't work, how parents are looking for ways to adapt, what to do for kids for whom there is no place in the current system, and much more. 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue to discuss William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Topics include Shakespeare's innovation (and subversion) of dramatic form, the Shakespearean authorship question and whether it matters, the way the shape of the stage comes alive in the play, and much more. 

Welcome to season two of The Commons which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode four of season two, Brian Phillips chats with guest Karen Wright Marsh, author of Vintage Saints and Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Faith, about the miraculous life of St. Augustine. Topics include his place in Church history, his struggles, and the influence of his devout, Godly, praying mother. 

-- 

This season of The Commons is brought to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Welcome to the brand new Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

Here in episode five, Andrew explores the myriad ways imitation is key to education - both in the ways our children are imitations, and in the way we teach them to imitate. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• what to do with little kids when older kids are studying
• When to start morning time everyday
• Independent reading lists
• and much more

 Don't forget to join the Mere Motherhood Facebook group and to subscribe to the Mason Jar feed wherever you get your podcasts!

This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Homegrown Preschooler! 

Welcome to FORMA, a new podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In episode 8, David chats with Christopher Perrin, founder of Classical Academic Press, about the role the early and medieval monastics played in preserving Western culture, Christian and secular alike. Topics include the evolution of Dr. Perrin's interest in the subject, ways the monastics made the Western canon possible, and how the monastics can instruct us as teachers in 2017. 

Subscribe to FORMA on iTunes here. 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue to discuss William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Topics include Shakespeare's approach to structure, identity (and the motif of disguise), and comedic reversals. Plus, Tim tells another story about classroom hijinks. 

Welcome to season two of The Commons which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode 2 of season three, Brian Phillips chats with guest Wes Callihan about the lives and times of the Cappadocian Fathers: Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Naziansus, and Basil the Great. 

-- 

This season of The Commons is brought to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Welcome to the brand new Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

Here in episode four, Andrew provides a quick and big-picture answer to the question, "what is the Quadrivium?" (with an emphasis on explaining the four mathematical arts). 

Welcome to FORMA, a podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education. 

In episode 7, David chats with Emily Wilson, translator of a brand new and much-lauded edition of the Odyssey. Dr. Wilson, the first woman to translate Homer's epic, is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Conversation touches on her childhood love of the poem, the myriad challenges of translation, and tips for teaching Homer. 

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they continue conversation on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Topics include the number of lines dedicated to the "foolish" characters, the nature of Soliloquy in Shakespeare, and much, much more. 

Welcome to season two of The Commons which focuses on ten key figures and movements in church history!

Here in episode 2.2 Brian Phillips chats with guest Greg Wilbur about the life and times of St. Ambrose, with a particular consideration of Ambrose's role in developing the hymnography (and modes of worship) of the Christian faith. 

-- 

This season of The Commons is bright to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Welcome to the brand new Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning.

Here in episode three, Andrew provides a quick and big-picture answer to the question, "what are the seven liberal arts?".

***

Click here to subscribe (or leave a review)!

Join Angelina, Tim, and David as they kickoff conversation on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Topics include different approaches to Shakespeare, Renaissance metaphors that are key in the play, and much, much more (this episode is long!). 

Welcome to season two of The Commons which focuses on the key figures and movements in church history.

Here in episode 2.1 Brian Phillips chats with guest Wes Callihan about John Chrysostom's unforgettable role in the early church. 

This season of The Commons is bright to you by New College Franklin. Learn more at newcollegefranklin.org. 

Join Cindy Rollins and special guest Pam Barnhill for this special cross-over episode between Pam's Your Morning Basket podcast and the Mason Jar. Drawing on their vast experience, Cindy and Pam chat about which subjects are best for Morning Time plus a whole lot more. 

Make sure you search out Your Morning Basket on your favorite podcast app to get the rest of the story!

Welcome to the brand new Ask Andrew, a weekly podcast where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning. Here in episode two, Andrew provides a quick and big-picture answer to the question, "what is Christian classical education?".

We know you've got errands to run and a ton of cooking to take care of this week, so this Thanksgiving week we'll be bringing you two episode of the Mason Jar!

Up first: Cindy chats with Gayle Boss and friend of the show, Megan Hoyt, about Gayle's new Advent resource which combines Advent and Nature Study. It's called All Creation Waits, and is available now. 

It took a few takes (and some persistent in the face of tech issue), but Angelina, Tim, and David are back with another episode of Close Reads. This week they discuss Kenneth Branaugh's film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. 

Welcome to season two of The Commons which, as Brian Phillips explains in this short preview, will focus on the key figures and movements in church history.

Every Thursday for the next ten weeks we'll be releasing a new episode exploring the lives and work of people like St. Augustine, the Cappadocian Fathers, St. Benedict, Thomas Aquinas, and the Puritans. Join us!

***

Subscribe now - just search "The Commons"! 

Welcome to the brand new Ask Andrew Podcast, a weekly show where Andrew Kern contemplates important ideas, essential terms, and unavoidable themes in classical education - and what they mean for the day-to-day of teaching and learning. Here in episode one, Andrew discusses the show's new direction and what he hopes it will be for listeners. 

***

Click here to subscribe (or leave a review)!

Join Angelina, Tim, and David for another episode of literary debate, witty banter, and all around frivolity as they answer several listener questions and debate the overall artistic quality of Agatha Christie's "masterpiece." 

Topics includes (more on) justice, considering literary world's for their own sake, P.D. James take on Christie (and other mystery writers), the grandeur of red-leafed trees, and much more. 

Welcome to FORMA, a new podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education, aesthetic wonder, and Christian community. 

In episode 5, David chats with film critic, Josh Larsen, about his new book,  Movies Are Prayers: How Films Voice Our Deepest Longings. 

**

Josh Larsen is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, as well as editor and film critic at Think Christian, a faith and culture website. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally for more than two decades.

Josh’s career began in the mainstream newspaper business, where he started out as a beat reporter for a weekly community newspaper and went on to become the film critic for the Chicago-based Sun-Times Media for more than ten years. In 2011, he joined the Christian media landscape as editor of Think Christian, and in 2012 he joined the long-running weekly podcast Filmspotting, aired on WBEZ in Chicago.

A veteran of the Sundance, Toronto, and Chicago International Film Festivals, Josh has given talks on film and faith at various Christian colleges. He also led the “Ebert Interruptus,” a tradition established by Roger Ebert that analyzes a single film scene by scene over several days, at the University of Colorado’s Conference on World Affairs. Josh lives in the Chicago area with his wife and two daughters. 

Read Josh's movie reviews at his website, larsenonfilm.com.

***

Click here to subscribe. 

On this episode of Close Reads Angelina, Tim, and David discuss the finale of Agatha Christie's beloved mystery story, Murder on the Orient Express.

Topics include: The Great Candy Wars of 2017, the detective as a trope, the question of justice in the ending, Poirot's punting, Tim's inner struggle. 

Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. 

In this bonus mini-pod, Cindy and David introduce Hallelujah: A Journey through Advent with Handel's Messiah. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar, Cindy chats with Mary Jo Tate, author of Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms. Like Cindy, Mary Jo is a major book enthusiast, so they discussed all sorts of books to nourish a mom's soul, from classic fiction to modern non-fiction and everything in between. 

You can learn more about Mary Jo at flourishathome.com. 

On this episode of Close Reads Angelina, Tim, and David discuss part two of Agatha Christie's beloved mystery story, Murder on the Orient Express.

Topics include: Some (fascinating) listener theories on the book, Poirot's approach and personality, the role of the reader in a good mystery, Tim shenanigans, and much more. 

Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. 

Welcome to FORMA, a new podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education, aesthetic wonder, and Christian community. 

In episode 4, David chats with culture critic, Brett McCracken, about his new book,  Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community. Topics include: why we need to be less concerned with finding a church that makes us feel comfortable, Brett's journey to this book, and much more. 

Brett is a senior editor for the Gospel Coalition and the author of Hipster Christianity and Gray Matters. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, CNN.com, The Princeton Theological Review, The Gospel Coalition, Mediascape, Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Relevant, IMAGE Journal, Converge, Mere Orthodoxy, ERLC, Canon & Culture and Q Ideas. He speaks and lectures frequently at universities, churches, & conferences. He blogs at brettmccracken.com.

On this episodes of Close Reads Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Agatha's Christie classic mystery story, Murder on the Orient Express. This week they chat about part one. Topics include the way Christie plays with the form of the mystery story, Hercule Poirot's character, the nature of justice in the story, and MUCH more. 

Welcome to FORMA, a new podcast from the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders who are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education, aesthetic wonder, and Christian community. 

Here, in episode three David chats with Adam Andrews, director of the Center for Lit and a highly sought-after speaker on all things literature, about the value of the Great Gatsby. Topics include questionable content in literature, why Gatsby says some of the same things that the ancient epics said, how Jay Gatsby is similar to King Lear, and much more. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• Goal setting for moms
• The purpose of memory work
• Bible study in morning time
• and more

Don't forget to join the Mere Motherhood Facebook group and to subscribe to the Mason Jar feed wherever you get your podcasts!

 Welcome to FORMA, a new podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders that are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education, aesthetic wonder, and Christian community. 

Here, in episode two, David chats with author and speaker Leigh Bortins who founded Classical Conversations 20 years ago. Topics included the C.C. origin story, the growth of classical education in recent decades, and advice for homeschooling parents. 

Join CC to celebrate their 20th anniversary on October 18th at their nationwide birthday party! learn more at eventbrite.com/classicalconversations. 

Welcome to FORMA, a new podcast featuring conversations with authors, teachers, creators, and community leaders that are carefully contemplating the nature and practice of classical education, aesthetic wonder, and Christian community. 

Here in episode one, David chats with Angelina Stanford about her recent article on the ways that mystery stories are the cure for what ails our modern times. 

Topics include why mystery stories became popular when they did, why their traditional form of is freeing and not constricting, and much more. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Tim and David conclude their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. include whether Jack should have left town, whether Jack is a bad guy, and much, much more. This episode covers pages 215 through the end of the book. 

***

Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar, Cindy chats with Lesli Richards of The Homegrown Preschooler, a company dedicated to providing books, curriculum and educational tools for young learners. Topics include new brain research on young kids, teaching math and reading, and much, much more. 

Learn more at thehomegrownpreschooler.com. 

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include Angelina's strong feelings about the book (and David's pushback), whether Robinson misfired with the Boughton/Ames scene, and much more. This episode covers pages 188-215. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include ways the parable of the prodigal son show up in the book, Jack Boughton's concerns about being "elect," rejection vs. restoration, Jack's loneliness, and much more. This episode covers pages 160-188. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

Please consider becoming a patron of this podcast. Learn more at patreon.com/closereads. 

In this "preview" episode of Forma, our new weekly interview podcast, David Kern explains some of the new things that will be happening on the CiRCE Podcast Network. 

Remember to subscribe to FORMA too!

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• Teaching current events in the homeschool
• Scheduling subjects
• Charlotte's motto changing over time
• and more

Don't forget to join the Mere Motherhood Facebook group! 

On this bonus episode of Close Reads, David discusses Marilynne Robinson with poet, teacher, and speaker Christine Perrin, who explains why it took her a while to learn to love Gilead, why Lila is her "heart book," and much, much more. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include how easy it is to focus on the wrong things when you read, the mystery of reading a book, the lack of a problem to be solved in this book, the Jack Boughton revelation, and much more. This episode covers pages 128-160. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy chats with Donna Jean Breckenridge and Leslie Lorio about AmblesideOnline for Groups, a brand new offering from Ambleside Online intended for co-ops, large families, and other homeschooling communities.  

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

**

This episode is brought to you by Morningtide to Eventide, purveyors of planners and calendars designed specifically for homeschoolers. 

It's also brought to you by  our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include all the baseball in the book, the mystery of Jack Boughton, the remembrance of sorrow, and much more. This episode covers pages 97-128. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead. Topics include the book's lack of plot, the various father/son relationships, mroe on theology and suffering, and more. This episode covers pages 68-97. 

***

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

It's also brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

Welcome to episode 12 of A Perpetual Feast, where Andrew Kern and Wes Callihan discuss Homer and all of the things that Homer makes them think about. 

In this episode, they discuss the importance of the setting in the Iliad, Christ fulfillment of the Greek ideals, and much more. 

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina and David continue their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead (while Tim vacations in Aruba). Topics include John Ames' observations of humanity, the goodness of growing old, contemplation of heaven (and the beauty of perishability), and more. This episode covers pages 37-68. 

***

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

It's also brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

In this episode of The Mason Jar, we're bringing Cindy's Morning Time immersion talk that she presented at the 2017 CiRCE conference, held in July in Austin, Texas. 

**

This episode is brought to you by Morningtide to Eventide, purveyors of planners and calendars designed specifically for homeschoolers. 

It's also brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

In this episode of Quiddity, David chats with circeinstitute.com columnist, Joshua Gibbs (who also is the editor of FilmFisher.com) about the challenges and goals of helping our students and children become wise movie-viewers.

Topics include: When to let kids make their own decisions about movies, why the MPAA ratings aren't useful guidelines, why the philosophies in films are often more important to avoid than things like sex, violence, and language, movies and filmmakers that will help students learn to watch wisely, & much more

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Marilynne Robinson's beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead (2004). Topics include whether this is a sad book, a bit on Robinson's biography, John Ames's joy in the face of suffering, and  more.

***

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

It's also brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and Andrew conclude their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel Brideshead Revisited by answering listener questions. 

Topics include:

• The BBC miniseries and Jeremy Irons' audio book 
• The effect of Charles immaturity on his perspectives
• Whether it's a true conversion story
• Which characters display true faith
• Symbolism and conversion
• and much more

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

It's also brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy chats with Elsie Iudicello of FarmhouseSchoolhouse.com about how young moms can navigate the world of Charlotte Mason. Topics include teaching students of all ages in the same home, giving your kids what you missed out on, keeping Charlotte Mason in context, keeping rhythm in your homeschool, habit training and preparation, and much more!

**

This episode is brought to you by Morningtide to Eventide, purveyors of planners and calendars designed specifically for homeschoolers. 

It's also brought to you by  our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now

In this episode of The Commons, Brian Phillips chats with Dr. Keith McCurdy (M.A., Ed.S.) of Total Life Counseling, about raising sturdy kids. Topics include why parents are so interested in this topic, why struggle is good for children, advice for parent/teacher relationships, the value of academic struggle, growing sturdy children in the homeschool, children and technology, and more. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at New College Franklin. Set up a campus visit now!

On this special LIVE episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and their special guest conclude their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel Brideshead Revisited, focusing on the final chapters. 

This episode was recorded at the 2017 CiRCE Conference.

Topics include:

• The love story
• Whether this story is tragedy
• Whether people wanted Julia and Charles to stay together
• The sign of the cross and aesthetic theology
• The ongoing thread twitches
• Listener comments
• and much more

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 9. 

Topics include:

• Julia's prescience
• Julia's guilty conscience
• Bridey's strong words
• Ryder's skepticism
• and much more

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• Introducing morning time to pre-schoolers
• How to use written narration with a formal writing curriculum
• Advice on teaching boys to read
• Charlotte Mason and Classical Education

***

This episode is brought to you by Morningtide to Eventide, purveyors of planners and calendars designed specifically for homeschoolers. 

In this episode of The Commons, Brian Phillips chats with Dr. Craigh Bernthal, professor of English at Cal State Fullerton, about J.R.R. Tolkien. Dr. Bernthal is the author of Tolkien's Sacramental Vision: Discerning the Holy in Middle Earth.

Topics include: 

- How Dr. Bernthal discovered a love of Tolkien
- What a sacramental vision is and how Tolkien captures it
- Tolkien as medievel in a modern world
- Tolkien's interesting story
- and much more

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 9. 

Topics include:

• The interesting structure of the chapter
• Celia's infedelity
• Much more on perspective
• The metaphor of the storm
• Characters repeating patterns
• Whether this first chapter where anything actually happens
• and much more...

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

In this episode of our flagship podcast, David chats with Adam Greene and Devin O'Donnell of Bibliotheca, a typographically elegant multivolume edition of the entire biblical library.

Topics include:

- The challenges of Bible translation 
- Seeing the Scriptures as poetry
- The non-traditional experience of reading Scripture without notes and verses
- Typography and book design
- And music more

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy chats with Camille Malucci (of the Charlotte Mason Institute) about a handicraft called sloyd,  in which Charlotte Mason was a believer. 

Topics include: 

• What sloyd is
• Where it came from
• Why Mason believed in it
• And how to do it in your homes

***

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

This episode is brought to you by Morningtide to Eventide, purveyors of planners and calendars designed specifically for homeschoolers. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 7. 

Topics include:

• Getting to know Julia
• Rex's ignorance
• Why Charles is attracted to Julia
• "Modern" education
• Perspective and Waugh
• and more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

Join David Kern and guest Andrew Pudewa, of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, for a conversation about the importance of memorization -  and how to be a good memorizer. 

Topics include: 

• The habits of good memorizers
• The new science of memory
• Tips and advice for memorization with young kids
• and much more. 

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Learn more about their powerful writing, speaking, and thinking tools at iew.com. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 7. 

Topics include:

• Getting to know Julia
• Rex's ignorance
• Why Charles is attracted to Julia
• "Modern" education
• Perspective and Waugh
• and more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

Join David Kern and guest Adam Andrews, of the Center for Lit, for part two of our their conversation about teaching literature. In this episode they focus on the challenges (and rewards) of teaching contemporary literature. 

Topics include: 

• A summary of Adam's article in our forthcoming summer magazine
• why it's important to read the literature of our own time to help us understand the times in which we live
• how writer's say "ecce homo"
• choosing books specifically for the classroom
• focusing on learning to read well rather than on what we read
• the value of reading fewer books well 
• and much more. 

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

***

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Learn more about their powerful writing, speaking, and thinking tools at iew.com. 

In this episode of The Commons, Brian Phillips chats with Dr. Gregory Thornbury, President of The King's College in New York City, about the challenges of running a Christian, Liberal Arts-driven college in a place like New York City. 

Topics include: 

• What it's like being known as "America's first hipster college president"
• Why The King's College has embraced the challenge of being in NYC
• The challenges of that sort of existence
• The place of the Liberal Arts at TKC
• The challenges facing Christian higher education nationwide
• Advice for making college choices

***

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

***

As always, press the arrow above to listen. Or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here.  

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, David, and a special guest continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 6. 

Topics include:

• The greatest sentence of the 20th century
• What's wrong with Sebastian
• Whether Sebastian's family is being fair
• More on the aesthetic theology of the book
• and much, much more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

This episode is also brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

In this episode of our flagship podcast, Adam Andrews, of the Center for Lit, joins David to chat about approaches to teaching literature. 

Topics include: 

The difference between academic interpretation and "reading well," when themes should matter in lit teaching, how to balance teaching compoentns of literature with letting books be what they are, the habits all great readers share, common practices in literature education that Andrew opposes, and much more. 

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

***

This episode is brough to you by our good friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Learn more about their writing, speaking, and thinking tools at iew.com. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapter 5. 

Topics include:

• Charles' father
• Sebastian's malaise
• The fate of young men during the era
• Religion at Brideshead
• More on the aesthetic theology of the book
• and more...

This episode is brought to you by our friends at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, purveyors of Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization. Learn more here. 

This episode is brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

***

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy and David chat about ways to use summer effectively. 

Topics include: 

• Finishing school work during the summer
• Whether vacations should be educational
• Personal development during the summer break
• and much more!

***

This episode is brought to you by Morningtide to Eventide, purveyors of planners and calendars designed specifically for homeschoolers. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on chapters 3-4. 

Topics include:

• Tim's upcoming vacation
• A comparison of Charles family and Sebastian's family
• Sebastian's faith and Charles lack thereof
• Sebastian and Charles' youth and what it means
• The aesthetic theology of the book
• Aesthetics as a road to faith
• and more...

It's also brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on the prologue and chapters one and two.  

Topics include:

• First experiences with Waugh
• Waugh's nostalgia
• The prologue
• The book's various juxtapositions
• The sacred and the profane
• The book's spiritual hauntings
• 3 key decaying institutions
• and more...

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

It's also brought to you by Schole Academy from Classical Academic Press, featuring new literature courses taught by Close Reads co-star, Tim McIntosh. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy answers listener questions.

Topics include: 

• Whether Charlotte Mason's volumes should be reading a particular order
• Whether morning time is necessary for a true Charlotte Mason (or classical) approach to education
• Whether morning time is too heavy on what is called "the riches"

***

As always, press the arrow above to listen or subscribe to the CiRCE Institute Podcast Network via iTunes here or on Stitcher here. 

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. ​​​​​​​

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David discuss C.S. Lewis's classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it's victory in our Great Books Bracket this spring. 

Topics include:

• Why the Narnia stories have maintained their reputation for so long
• The differences in reading it for the first time as a child as opposed to as an adult
• Which Narnia book should be read first
• Lewis's philosophies on reading
• and more...

Plus, they kick the show off by discussing how to know if dislike of a book is because of the book itself or because of the reader. 

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David conclude their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge, by answering listener questions. 

Topics include:

• How O'Connor's contemporaries viewed her work
• Angelina and Tim's Amazon-style reviews of O'Connor
• Anagogical/allegorical reading
• O'Connor's appeal to non-Christians
• Rapid-fire questions 

and much more...

***

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

*** 

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "Judgement Day".

Topics include:

• The next book we'll be reading on Close Reads
• The complicated nature of this story
• It's serious flaws
• Comparing The Geranium with Judgement Day
• Is it confusing on purpose or because of bad writing? 
• The weird glasses scene
• The good and bad of the "southern code"
• Coleman's wisdom and loyalty
• Tanner's pride and bigotry

***

This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture series, featuring Wes Callihan. 

***

Click here to join the Close Reads Facebook group.