Kolbecast

AMDG. Ever wonder why Kolbe elementary and middle grade course plans are set up with four days, not five? Struggling to figure out how to divide up high school weekly course plans? Therese Prudlo rejoins the crew today to talk about how, yes, it’s important to get your work done, but it’s even more important to protect the margins of the day. Reflecting the Ignatian tenet of care of the whole person, the group discusses the importance of leisure and unstructured time, the idea of “schedule busting,” and the need to take a moment. Not only is it okay—it's important. 

AMDG. Today Bonnie and Hope visit with Carola, a current Kolbe mom from Spain whose family started homeschooling during the pandemic. While sharing insights from her own Princeton University education, Carola discusses how she’s found in homeschooling an opportunity to teach both her children and herself. She also talks about balancing time with toddlers in the house, navigating working from home while simultaneously schooling from home, adapting expectations throughout the year, and how sometimes, students would just like to show what they’ve learned and get a nice cheer. 

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast? Write to us at [email protected]. 

AMDG. Today Bonnie dons her concert blacks for a visit with Dr. Carol Reynolds, “Professor Carol” as she’s widely known. She’s the creator of a host of art appreciation and music history offerings and a luminary on the classical education speaker circuit. From discussing Discovering Music, Professor Carol’s music history curriculum for high school students, to visiting about how the devil is in the details, the conversation is enriching and—dare we say it—harmonious with our goals as Kolbe educators and families. Also listen in for topics including how to feel more at ease teaching music appreciation, the need for friends and colleagues to provide much needed perspective, and the wisdom of knowing and enforcing your own limits. At the end of the day, even if the day has gone off the rails, if you’ve read, created, or gone outside with your children, you’re doing just fine.  

Resources: 

The Professor Carol website, home to the offerings discussed in the episode 

Articles of interest by Dr. Reynolds: 

• Studying Music the Classical Way

Our go-to post on encouragement: “Get Thee behind Me: A Note on Discouragement” by Kolbe co-founder Dianne Muth 

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected]. Subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

AMDG. Kolbe mathematics chair Kelly Powers joins the conversation today to share the awesomeness of mathematics and the awesomeness of God. On the math side, she talks about how she reassures parents who say they can’t teach math, the tricky middle school years’ developmental stage where students most resist showing their work, and the art of judicious calculator use. On the faith side, she talks about the importance of being around people who lead us to our vocations and how living out your vocation involves passion, love, joy, and the opportunity to lead by example. We also discuss “learning in the extra moments,” the benefits of playing board games, the necessity of strong reading and writing skills for STEM students, and the overarching idea that mistakes make you much stronger if you give yourself the opportunity to grow and build on them. Mrs. Powers brings it home with enthusiasm about all of the coolness that mathematics has to show – it is out there, and if you let it find and amaze you, it’ll win you over. 

Kelly Powers and Jordan Almanzar discussing distance education 

“Slow and Steady Wins the Race” by Kelly Powers on the Kolbe blog 

Mandelbrot set 

Homeschool math helps: 

• Azul board game

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected]. Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

AMDG. In this special Vocations Week edition of the Kolbecast, we visit with Sister Margaret Mary and Sister Anne of the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa. With a sparkle in their tone, the sisters share their homeschooling experiences growing up from daily Mass to drivers’ ed. They also discuss the otherworldly life they now live, including their vocation stories and the ever-ancient, ever-new life of faith. In the end, their reflections come back to the guidance, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2). 

Kolbecast Episode 30 referencing the Marian Sisters  

The Sisters will be moving to a new convent soon.  

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Send it to [email protected]. Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery.  

AMDG. Jon and Chris Bates join us today to share their experience as a homeschooling military family and the insight they bring to their new roles as Kolbe academic advisors. The group talks about local history and Smithsonian field trips; tailoring curriculum to fit each individual student (including the Bates’ experience with giftedness, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and the autism spectrum); necessary habits for parents to bring themselves consistency and mental clarity in the middle of homeschooling; and the uniqueness of every family.  

Along with several other Kolbe academic advisors, Jon and Chris appear in A COVID Christmas Story. 

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Send it to [email protected]. Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

AMDG. Familiar voices Everett Buyarski, Megan Lengyel, and Nicole O’Connor join the crew today for a review of the past year and a preview of the next. They discuss the challenges that came with Summer 2020’s amazing growth in enrollment, as well as the increased service and support infrastructure they’ve developed. They also share exciting developments for 2021-2022, including improvements to the elementary grade scheduling, expanded AP class offerings, Kolbe’s new National Honor Society chapter, and the addition of Homework Hangouts. We bring it home with how the Kolbe team has seen the benefits of the Kolbe Difference in their own homes. 

• Kolbe admissions events, including webinars and shadow week

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Send it to [email protected]. Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

Ep 29 The February Staredown 

AMDG. The weather’s bad, we’re tired of pushing through, we can’t quite see the end of the year yet, and yet we’re already thinking about next year. Jordan, Bonnie, and Hope muse today on how we can honor the needs for both rest and progress in these winter (or winter-like) conditions. They discuss tangible markers of progress, the idea of learning to rest but not quit, the benefits and differences of internal and external motivation, how they gear up for a new year, and more. 

We’d love to hear how families stay the course and make the best of a long-haul season. Send your strategies to [email protected].  

Mentioned in this podcast: 

• Josef Pieper’s book Leisure, the Basis of Culture

Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast player for effortless episode delivery. 

AMDG. On this very special episode of the Kolbecast, Dr. Anthony Esolen joins the crew to provide advice to families who are intrigued by but have no idea where to start with classical education. Dr. Esolen begins by explaining how the imagination is the driver of the person. From there, he preaches encouragement—don't be afraid to teach your children!—and describes how formation of the human person through classical education contrasts with the “lackadaisical utilitarianism” prevalent today. We don’t shy away from the big questions, either. Is classical education too rarefied for those on the path toward blue collar jobs, and why or why not? If we’re called to be salt and light, should children instead be evangelizing within public schools around them? And what about the ~socialization question~? Listen in and find out. 

Content warning: Dr. Esolen’s direct and vivid style includes some analogies and language that, depending on your family, may make this episode most suitable for listening when little ears are not around. 

John Senior’s book list

Horatio Hornblower series

Bishop Barron on evangelizing through beauty

AMDG. Today Kolbe alumnus Gregory, a current student at Wyoming Catholic College, reminds us of both the richness of books and the importance of getting outside and reading the book of creation. In conversation with Bonnie and Hope, Gregory reminisces about his favorite Kolbe courses, reflects on lessons he learned through experience with the alluring artifice of procrastination, and recounts with disarming candor his path to college. By his endearing yet understated enthusiasm, Gregory invites us to encounter the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity, attentive to our commission as stewards of nature and open to the path toward holiness. 

Have a question or suggestion for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at [email protected].