Schedule

*Immersions are limited to 40 attendees*

Teaching Elementary Grades in the Home and Classroom with Alveary Team

Join Alveary team members as they walk you through a morning of elementary lessons using Alveary lesson plans. During the first hours, attendees will experience lessons as students, following the scheduling principles and teaching methods laid out by Mason. The second part of the time will be devoted to discussion and questions. Attendees will receive a copy of the lesson plans and schedule used.

Please bring: a notebook, a pencil (in addition to pens for note-taking), watercolors, and a small paintbrush.

Teaching High School in the Home & Classroom with Kerri Forney, Kathryn Forney, Kelli Christenberry

Do you know what Charlotte had the students doing and reading in the upper years? Are you wondering what a Charlotte Mason high school schedule could look like? Would you like some encouragement for staying the course and continuing to apply Mason’s principles and methods for your teenaged students? Come to this pre-conference session on High School led by members of the Charlotte Mason’s Alveary high school team, and join them as they walk you through many aspects of a CM high school day using Charlotte Mason’s Alveary’s high school curriculum. The day will include demonstration, discussion, immersion, and time for questions. The goal of the time together is to spread a feast of ideas and tools to encourage and inspire you along the CM high school road.

Troubleshooting for the Neuroatypical Student or Neurodiverse Classroom with Danielle Merritt-Sunseri

Do you find yourself overwhelmed with the different neurodevelopmental needs of your students? Do you feel unsure of how to adjust when these varied needs don’t seem to line up with your curriculum? Would you like a strategy that is both practical and rooted in relationship?

“One hour’s worth of planning can save you ten hours’ worth of work.” After years of raising children with both typical and various neuroatypical needs, Danielle has developed an effective method of planning and troubleshooting to bring peace and balance to the schoolroom. This method is built on a relationship of respect with students. She will teach you her method, strategies to continually grow with the student, and address some of your current challenges in this 5-hour immersion. Just bring your current schedule, a notebook, and your favorite planning tools (whether spreadsheet or pencil and paper) for a day of coaching and collaboration. We will begin the day with some guiding principles. Then we will begin applying those principles to address your current challenges and to anticipate those that will come. We will incorporate specific examples, which participants will be invited to contribute two weeks prior to conference.

*Keynotes #1-5 will be streamed to broadcast attendees*

Keynote #1 – Human History: To Think the Thoughts of the Man with Dr. Jennifer Spencer

One of the most interesting things about the study of history is that it is made up of humans–ordinary people, just like you and me, who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances or called to some extraordinary duty. These people had lives: farms, spouses, children, communities, and convictions. The best history books and biographies put “skin” on people. They allow you to lament with total strangers when they fail and rejoice with them when they overcome. When you read truly great history books and biographies, you are transported to another time and place, dropped inside the mind of someone you only knew as a name before. You come to know their places of insight and their blind spots–their strengths and their flaws. Through such books, we gain empathy, the ability to think the thoughts and feel the feelings of another person. Looking through the lens of Charlotte Mason’s ideas about history and personhood, Dr. Spencer examines history as it is commonly presented to children and explores how we can better serve both our students and our country through the study of history stories that show the people of the past as fully human.

Keynote #2 – Can Reading Change the Heart? Cultivating the Atmosphere in which Books Live with Dr. Doug Sikkema

Much of the “Great Text” tradition talks a big game about the transformative effects of reading literature—especially those capital-G “Great” books. With soaring rhetoric, promises are made that reading the right books in the right way will put our students on some ineluctable path towards virtue and the good life. But, reality (and history) seems to suggest that good books often don’t work this way.

Such accounts rely too much on the book or the teacher to do the “heavy lifting” when it comes to the character transformation we all want for ourselves and for our precious children. In this talk, I want to look at the subtle ways in which Mason can relieve us from the pressures we feel when introducing our kids to books in the hopes that they will play a part in their character. Mason nudges us towards a healthy corrective by situating reading in a broader context of the atmosphere in which books are read and reminding us that the fundamental work of the mind is to “accept and reject ideas” that are presented to it. . We fulfill our role as teachers and create potential for books to come alive by cultivating a broader context of habits, dispositions, encounters, and experiences–the atmosphere–in which our children read. But all the while, Mason calls us to remember each child’s personhood and entrust them to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Keynote #3 – Reading the Bible as a Living Book with Dr. Matthew Mullins

Books are central to Charlotte Mason’s pedagogical vision, but not just any books. Mason consistently insists upon what she calls “living books” as vital to a life of learning. A living book is one that does not present mere facts, but rather brings facts to life as active, relevant, lively ideas. A living book does not simply convey information but makes information real to us in a way that shapes our lives. Perhaps this is why Mason valued the Bible as “the great storehouse of moral impression.” The Bible is among the most important and influential of books, and yet, for many it is the furthest thing from a living book. In this session we will discuss obstacles to reading the Bible as a living book as well as practical ways around these obstacles.

Keynote 4: Eve Anderson Lecture – Steeped in Stories: The Power of a Multi-Storied Child with Mitali Perkins

All books are flawed, whether written today or in the past. Children who read widely are shaped by stories that moderate each other. To widen the narrow vision of their own perspectives, they can cross borders of race and culture in contemporary fiction and learn from a range of diverse storytellers. But to widen the narrow, limited vision of their own era, they may—dare I say, must—also cross borders into the past to receive stories created there as well. As they revisit old books and cross borders in contemporary fiction as well, multi-storied children learn to discern—and if needed, resist—subversive messages.

Keynote #5 Recovering the “How” of Literature with Dr. Matthew Mullins and Dr. Doug Sikkema

To understand a book, our children must not only grasp what the book means but how it means it. That is, they must understand the form, the genre, the literariness of the book. In An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis says that every piece of literature is made of logos and poiema, the content and the form, the what that is being said and how it is being said. Today we often reduce what we read to its content, encouraging our children only to find the idea or the theme in the story. But to do this is to kill the living book and to miss the real beauty of how the best literature provides a rich, visceral experience that other forms of writing can’t replicate. In this joint talk, Dr. Matthew Mullins and Dr. Doug Sikkema will show us how to recover the “how” of literature. With your participation and help, they will explore several living texts in order to model the ways in which books can truly come alive in the class for our children’s sake.

Keynote #6 – Reading and Re-enchantment: How Words Make us Belong to the World with Dr. Doug Sikkema

Mason’s definition of education as the “science of relations” was cultivated in the 19th and 20th centuries that saw growing alienation of children from one another and from the natural world. Today such detachment from the natural world is even more pronounced and the need for Mason’s educational and ecological insights are even more necessary. As British naturalist Robert MacFarlane has noted, when words like “daisy, buttercup, daylily” are being replaced by “software, hardrive, monitor” in children’s dictionaries, we are cultivating entire generations that no longer have a language for the material world.

And no language leads to no love. No love leads to no attention. No attention to desecration. Children are to be immersed with real “things” and not “signs” and “abstractions” as is so common. In this session we’ll explore how Charlotte Mason’s literary and ecological insights are tied together. We want our children to be response-able stewards of the enchanted creation; we’ll discover together how language and literature play a crucial role in this endeavor.

*Click the “Broadcast Schedule” to see the selection of overlapping workshops and broadcast bonuses available to those joining the online broadcast.*

A Mini-Immersion for Grades 1-3 with Cathy Barrington (B) (C)

A Mini-Immersion for Grades 4-6 with Shannon Whiteside (C)

Come and experience lessons from the perspective of a student. In this mini-immersion course, attendees will assume the role of the student and will participate in the readings, narrating, drawing, and writing that make up the methods of a Charlotte Mason education. Each lesson will be a shortened version of a regular lesson so you can get a glimpse of several subjects that make up the morning lessons. Lessons will include history (century charts), math (math games), Latin, physical education (dancing), science and more. We will also have a Q & A time afterwards where more ideas for each lesson are discussed. You will receive a copy of the lesson plans and a list of resources used. This session will give you the inspiration you need to implement CM’s methods with confidence and clarity.

A Mini Immersion for Grades 7-8 with Parke Stalcup (C) (T)

Join Parke from the perspective of a student as she walks through multiple (shortened) lessons for a Form 3 (7th-8th grade) student. Lessons will include history, geography, picture study, and multiple literature classes.  A lot will be packed in to this time in the hopes that you will get a glimpse of what a Form 3 student’s day would look like.

A Mini-Immersion for High School with Nancy Kelly (C) (T)

Join Nancy as she demonstrates high school lessons in Economics and Composition followed by a discussion period.

Can Your Child Reach the Feast? Signs Your Student Might Need Extra Support with Jennifer Talsma (N)

Providing a full and generous curriculum – a feast, Mason calls it – is only part of the picture for many families. Children facing Specific Learning Disorders (including those commonly referred to as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia) don’t have the same access to the feast, and their ability to participate fully in the relational education we wish to provide them is limited. At times those challenges can be masked by other strengths, or the child may hide them through acting out behaviours, making the disorders difficult to identify. In this session, Jennifer will share with you what common Specific Learning Disorders are and early signs that a student may have one or a combination. Finally, we will explore some of the ways a Mason education supports students with learning differences.

Use of Genre in Science Literature with Danielle Merritt-Sunseri

Having a difficult time connecting with that science book on your schedule?  Maybe a different genre would be a better fit.  Science literature has evolved tremendously over time and students can respond very differently to different genres.  In this workshop, we’ll investigate the many ways that authors engage us in scientific thought, consider cultural context, and the different purposes that this literature can serve.

How to Bring Literature to Life with Dr. Matthew Mullins

One of Charlotte Mason’s key emphases is that the quality of learning is largely determined by the quality of the books we read. “Narrating simplistic, watered-down material will do little more for the mind than narrating what one had for breakfast this morning,” quips one Mason scholar. However, for many parents and teachers, there seems to be an inverse relationship between a book’s quality and its pleasure. But this perception is more a product of our educational training than of a quality books themselves. In this workshop, we will examine strategies for identifying quality books across a variety of genres as well as for bringing those books to life.

Introducing a Charlotte Mason Education with Kelli Christenberry (B)

Is Charlotte Mason Education new to you? Are you a parent or teacher who wants some background for this new educational approach? Have you used a few ideas here and there but feeling drawn to learn and implement more Mason principles and methods? Are you wondering: how do I know if I am doing it right? What is a living book? What is Narration? Nature Study? Is this an approach for younger children only? What about high school and college prep? It is easy to get lost in the terminology, and there are many opinions in the education world that pull in different directions. We will discuss these questions and introduce some terms and ideas to give you a foundation as you learn more about a living education.

*Click the “Broadcast Schedule” to see the selection of overlapping workshops and broadcast bonuses available to those joining the online broadcast.*

From Worksheets and Tests to Narrations and Notebooks: A Necessary and Joyful Paradigm Shift with Elizabeth Millar (B)

Narration, or the art of telling back, is a foundational piece of a Mason education. It is a simple yet rich and rewarding approach to learning. Narration encourages children to engage with knowledge, practice attention, strengthen their mental capacities, and absorb beautiful truths. It is actually a skill that students will use and benefit from for their whole lives. Although you may theoretically consent to the idea of narration as being valuable and worthwhile, you may wonder if it is enough. It can be a scary leap to go from predictable and popular worksheets and tests to narrations and notebooks; so if you need encouragement, this may be the workshop for you to help you fully make that shift. This workshop will be a mix of philosophy and practical ideas – including showing you some of our own notebooks. This has been one of my most important educational paradigm shifts that I am most grateful for!

Teaching Self-Advocacy as a Fruit of Personhood with Danielle Merritt-Sunseri (N)

When a student experiences and interacts differently, it can be challenging to understand their obstacles or see how to remove them.  Both in the home and the schoolroom, this is a common reason why neuroatypical students are offended, despised, and hindered.  Relational tools can allow the caregiver to guide them appropriately and authoritatively, however.  In this workshop, Danielle will explore some of these tools, their integration into a Mason education, and their maturation into self-advocacy, a critical skill that all atypical people need in adulthood.

Historical and Folk Dancing with Courtney Gunter (T)

Join Courtney and learn the Virginia Reel and the Cakewalk, both the historical background as well as the step-by-step movements of each dance. By learning these dances together, participants will learn how to instruct students in dance and discover a way to successfully bring dance into their homeschool and school settings. Courtney will also discuss the importance of dance and movement, as emphasized in Charlotte Mason’s writings and philosophy.  Participants will leave feeling encouraged, equipped, and energized!  Let’s dance!

Handwork and Its Significance in Character Formation with Lisa Cadora

What insights can be gained from reflecting on our own responses to learning a new work with our hands? This practical and philosophical workshop explores the important ways in which our character is shaped by the encounter with reality that comes through interacting with materials.

Relational Governance for a Relational School with Nicolle Hutchinson (C)

Charlotte Mason wrote a philosophy that is true to the way persons learn. She outlined beliefs and practices that, when implemented in a school, create a powerful, natural, delightful learning experience. It’s critical that educators consider HOW to lead and sustain such a unique, relational learning community. Leaders should consider such questions as these: Is the school led behaviorally or relationally? Are the teacher treated as persons just as we treat the children as persons? Do leaders co-learn with teachers like teachers co-learn with students? What does docility and authority look like among the adults in the schoolhouse? What does masterly inactivity look like for leaders? If a student learns through a nature study, couldn’t a teacher learn through a “lesson study?” “Could a secretary learn from a “school study?” With these questions in mind, Nicolle carefully reviewed and analyzed research and literature on relational governance models at the University of Pennsylvania. She discovered 2 major relational principles that empower leaders to lead relationally and successfully, staying true to the way persons learn, work and live. These principles as well as governance practices, protocols and tools will experienced and discussed in this session.

Starting a Natural History Club with Anna Ritter

This session will introduce a Natural History Clubs (NHC) program and its place in a CMI education. Participants will be guided through a virtual natural history outing, following an actual lesson plan, and learn how to tailor curriculum to their own club’s goals and interests. At the end of the session, participants will also receive information on how to establish their own clubs and stay connected with the NHC program across the country.

*Click the “Broadcast Schedule” to see the selection of overlapping workshops and broadcast bonuses available to those joining the online broadcast.*

Parenting the Young Child: Best Practices From Charlotte Mason For a Life of Wonder with Nancy Kelly

Charlotte Mason said, “One of the secrets of the educator is to present nothing as stale knowledge, but to put himself in the position of the child, and wonder and admire with him; for every common miracle which the child sees with his own eyes makes of him for the moment another Newton.” This talk focuses on how to begin a Charlotte Mason education with the youngest of children, from birth to 6, and considers the irreplaceable role of the parent in fostering the child’s wonder and imagination. Fresh book recommendations and thoughtful discussions will be highlighted throughout the talk.

Diversifying the Feast: Finding Beauty Through Culturally Rich Learning with Amber O’Neal Johnston (C)

There are innumerable ways to integrate voices of color into our children’s lessons naturally and consistently through the years. Formal and informal opportunities for diversifying the feast exist within history, literature, music, art, poetry, and more. Some studies will lead our students to grapple with complex stories, tragedies, and trials. But we also have a unique opportunity to highlight the triumphs and joys rooted in every culture. This session will discuss specific ways to shape an inclusive home atmosphere that values people of color and the ideas that their stories and gifts convey to our children.

Neurodiversity on our Bookshelves with Danielle Merritt-Sunseri (N)

Literature is a powerful medium through which people learn about both self and other, but finding neurodiversity on our bookshelves (or for our bookshelves) can be tricky.  Often neuroatypical figures are not explicitly identified with their diagnosis.  Sometimes their lives raise some sensitive discussions that can feel difficult to navigate.  Yet inclusion of these books are needed to heal the broken relationships between our children and the world around them.  In this workshop, Danielle will introduce different ways to explore neurodiversity through books for all ages and will share many favorites from her own bookshelf.

Architecture: An Expression of Human Life with Sandra Zuidema (T)

“Architecture is not a matter of styles and mouldings and students’ terms: it has a human quality: it touches us at every point, and, of all the fine arts, is the one most intimately associated with the lives of all of us. …For architecture has always been an expression of human life, the medium by which nations have recorded – truly, because unconsciously – their emotions, their aspirations, their beliefs.” Waterhouse, The Story of Architecture.

Architecture is less a study of bricks and stone, glass and steel, than it is of the people and their values, and the history that lies within the walls. It is a subject which ties together the art, culture, history, religion, and geography of a people.  In architecture, we discover that what remains is an indication of what matters most.

In this session we will look at why architecture is a subject worthy of adding to our already overflowing curriculum, what methods to use, and most importantly to many teachers, how to go about laying out a valuable set of lesson plans for various age levels. Once you feel equipped to teach architecture, we will jump into a hands-on lesson so you can see how it all ties together. In studying architecture, I have come to develop a lifelong love for buildings and the people that poured their lives into their work. In this talk I hope to inspire you with the same.

Charlotte Mason Sunday School with Min Jung Hwang

The Charlotte Mason philosophy is truly for all children and all families! Why not, therefore, bless our local churches? Whether your home church has a children’s church, a children’s Sunday school hour, or ministry opportunities during the week rather than on a Sunday, let us share the tremendous blessing of Miss Mason’s “code of education from the Gospels” with our home church families. Let us bring in her excellent principles, as well as the Bible Lessons, Narration, Recitation, Picture Study, Poetry, Handicrafts, and much more. Moreover, this philosophy and methods are not merely for when the children are with their home church. As the parents are nurtured and nourished by the Charlotte Mason, Gospel-centric paradigm, our prayer is for a revival of family devotions, mother’s growing in their “thinking love,” and fathers turning their hearts back to their children (Malachi 4:6). This workshop will be a time of discussing the practicalities, as well as vision-casting for those who are longing for something like this in their home church.

Pursuing Accreditation with Dr. Carroll Smith

As the Charlotte Mason educational movement continues forward, accreditation for schools is a next natural step. In this session, Carroll Smith will present the latest information regarding the Charlotte Mason Institute’s progress towards establishing accreditation for schools, answering questions such as: What is accreditation? What is the value of accreditation for schools, parents and the community? What are the major components of accreditation? What are the costs of accreditation? What are the steps of accreditation? What happens after a school is accredited? If you have questions about accreditation; or if you have a school that you may wish to be accredited, then this session is for you.

*Click the “Broadcast Schedule” to see the selection of overlapping workshops and broadcast bonuses available to those joining the online broadcast.*

Plutarch: Prince of Biographers with Nancy Kelly (T)

Why is Plutarch so important? Why did Mason include his Lives in her curriculum? Why North’s translation? What does imagination have to do with it? In this talk, we will look at the answers to these questions. The difficulties expressed in Mason’s day in regard to Plutarch are the same today. Following the presentation, a full immersion lesson will be demonstrated to allow participants to experience Plutarch firsthand. You will come away with the tools and inspiration to begin teaching, carry on, and “bridge the gaps” with this Charlotte Mason curriculum staple.

Could It Be Dyslexia? with Donna Johnson (N)

Maybe you suspect or already know your struggling reader fits the definition of dyslexic. He or she loves stories, poetry, and literacy nonfiction but is unable to read independently and “dig for his own possession” (vol. 3, p. 229). Children with dyslexia need specialized instruction to become proficient decoders, spellers, and readers. This session will inform you about what dyslexia is and is not, how it manifests itself, and what you can do to become “the teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books” (vol. 6, p. 42). It will also encourage you; dyslexia is a learning difference and a gift, not a disaster!

Science Lab with Danielle Merritt-Sunseri (T)

Science is handled a bit differently than many other subjects in a Mason education because the object of our work is a physical Thing.  Students must have time to develop positive relationships with these Things and that relationship will grow and change over the years in ways that are unique to them.  In this workshop, we’ll play with a simple lab and explore various ways that we might fit it to the student’s relationship with Things.

Charlotte Mason & St. Ignatius: Daily Reflection as Spiritual Narration with Elizabeth Millar

Planning & Conducting a Literature Lesson with Nicolle Hutchinson (C)

*Fireside Chats Will Only Occur in Kentucky*

Post-Keynote Chat with Dr. Doug Sikkema

Post-Keynote Chat with Dr. Jennifer Spencer

Meeting the Needs of Neuroatypical Learners in a CM Education with Kim Scarbrough (N)

Come join us as we discuss how we can best meet the needs of our neuroatypical learners in a Charlotte Mason education. What accommodations might we make to honor their personhood so we do not despise, hinder, or neglect them, while still providing a broad and generous feast of living ideas? Kim will share from her 20-year study of Charlotte Mason’s principles and practices as she educated her 4 neuroatypical children, in addition to teaching neuroatypical students in other educational settings. Come join the discussion. Bring your thoughts, experiences and questions.

Beginning with Charlotte Mason with Kelli Christenberry (B)

Starting a CM School with Nicolle Hutchinson (C)

Teen Meet & Greet (T)

We’ll kick off our time together with introductions and games.

Time Share with Nancy Kelly

How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~Dr. Seuss, How Did It Get So Late So Soon?
What a year this has been! How have you done with the time that has been given to you? Join me as we have a chat about “time”, specifically looking at Mason’s references to The Discontented Pendulum and how we choose to order our minutes, days, weeks, and years.

Our Atmosphere of Music with Erika McKnight (N)

Come hear about the many ways our family incorporates music into our daily lives. I will focus especially on how music has affected our son, Joshua, who has Down syndrome. Through our conversation together my hope is that you will leave with ideas that will bring your students (especially those with special needs) into a closer relationship with music.

Living Books, Living Authors with Dr. Matthew Mullins

Parents and teachers committed to the principle that “information is not education,” do not typically struggle to identify the ancient, scholastic, medieval, renaissance, and even modern works of literature we want our children and students to read. If anything, we are overwhelmed by the glut of history. Without the benefit of extensive critical histories, however, identifying quality contemporary books can present a different challenge. Charlotte Mason contends that the books students read should be “varied from time to time, and not thumbed over from one schoolroom generation to another until the very sight of them is a weariness to the flesh.” This need for variation does not mean that we must abandon old books, but it does suggest that we need to make room for new books as well. Mason’s insistence on what she calls high-quality books and living books provides a framework for identifying living books, even if they’re not old enough to have withstood the tests of time. In this session, we will explore a handful of living authors whose work might well fit into the pantheon of “living books.”