In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy chats with author Megan Hoyt about composer study and Charlotte Mason. Megan is the author of A Touch of the Infinite: Studies in Music Appreciation with Charlotte Mason  and the moderator of the music section at AmblesideOnline. 

Topics include:

• Math and music (6:00)
• The most surprising thing she learned about Mason's method for composer study (10:45)
• A book that encapsulates what Mason was trying to do (18:25)
• How composer study involves more than she originally thought (21:30)
• Teaching music appreciation when you are not a gifted musician (24:40)
• Where to start composer study (29:00)
• How a little bit goes a long way (38:30)
• What she's reading (43:30)

Books mentioned in this episode: 

• A Touch of the Infinite, by Megan Hoyt
• The Term's Music, by Cedric Howard Glover
• When Children Love to Learn, by Elaine Cooper

You can learn more about Megan and her work here. 

In this episode of The Commons, Brian Phillips chats with David Goodwin, President of the Association of Classical Christian Schools, and Kirk Vanderleest, headmaster at the Ambrose School in Boise, Idaho, about the challenges of school leadership.

Topics include:

• the board/headmaster relationship
•  the board/parent relationship
• what a healthy transition in leadership looks like
• filling staff vacancies
• and things they learned while on the job. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. 

Topics include: Comparisons between this book, Netflix's The Crown, and BBC's Downton Abbey; class issues between characters; the lack of appeal in the evil in the book; the slow burn tensions; and how Greek (the language) can help us pronounce "Death Bredon." 

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In this episode of our flagship podcast, Matt Bianco and Buck Holler, heads mentors in our apprenticeship program, join David to discuss the important (and challenges) of mentorship in education. 

Topics include: Beginning new mentorship relationships, why love is so important in mentorship, challenges of being a mentor and a mentee, and much more. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. 

Topics include: Why Tim isn't overly excited about this book, what about it people most like, the modernism of the prose, the various jumping perspectives, and the theme of phantasms. 

In this episode of The Mason Jar Q&A, Cindy and David chat with a much-loved speaker and a dear friend of CiRCE: Mr. Andrew Pudewa, founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). 

Topics include:

• His role in his home (4:00)
• Reading dads (16:00)
• Dad the discpliner (24:00)
• Ideas for busy dads to help teach (28:00)
• How wives should approach their uninvolved husbands (34:00)
• What he wishes he could do over (44:30)

Learn more about Andrew over at iew.com. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. 

Topics include: How to say "Death Bredon," how Sayers ups the stakes and tension in these chapters, the role of young Ginger Joe, Lord Peter as Bertie Wooster, and similarities with Brave New World.

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayer's classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. 

Topics include: the anxiety and cultural malaise of post-WWI Europe, the liturgy of the mystery story, why Angelina loves Lord Peter Wimsey more than Mr. Darcy, Sayers/Wodehouse comparisons, the in-media-res start of the book, and the nature of the advertising in the book. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayer's classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. 

Topics include: The value of mystery stories as literature, Lord Peter vs Sherlock Holmes, Dorothy Sayers biography, and Sayers' rules of mystery writing. 

In this episode of The Commons, Brian Phillips chats with Dr. Keith McCurdy of Total Life Counseling about raising study kids. Topics include our culture's over-consideration of emotion, what it means to be sturdy, expectations and responsibilities, increased rates of anxiety in our children, dealing with teenagers, the influence of technology on kids, and how to help kids be contributing members of a family. 

On this episode of Close Reads, Tim, Angelina, and David discuss some of the books that excited them most in 2016. 

Titles include a difficult Great Book, a fantastical novel about a runaway slave, and several books of culture criticism.