I recently joined Brandy Vencel of Afterthoughts for a conversation about Virtual Scholé Sisters Groups and Technology Tools on the new Scholé Sisters podcast. As part of our conversation, I discussed how I led a short online study of Sarah Mackenzie's Teaching from Rest, using Zoom.us as our live online video/voice discussion platform.
The technology worked well for the discussion, and I think this idea has a lot of potential for bringing us together to discuss books and ideas, even when we are spread out or have circumstances that limit our ability to get out of the house. We can take part in a stimulating and helpful discussion without the hassle of driving, travel time, or arranging childcare.
The next online video/voice discussion I'm starting is of Brandy Vencel's Start Here: A Journey Through Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles. This study is an excellent way to learn about Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education or to deepen your understanding of ideas behind the methods you may already be using.
In order to participate in the study, you'll need to purchase Brandy's study guide and For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley. We will also have readings from Charlotte Mason's volumes and other articles, but they are linked in the study guide and available online for free.
This study will start in June and last 15 months. Each session will last around an hour, although the first session will be a little longer to allow time for introductions. I’d like for participants to contribute $1 per month for a total of $15 to help cover the cost of the online meeting room. If I subscribe to the service, we won’t have to interrupt our conversation halfway through to change meeting rooms.
Please only sign up if you intend to do the readings and participate in the online sessions. After all, we can't have a discussion if no one comes! I am happy to help if you need assistance to get set up, test your video or voice connection, or if you have questions.
Also, I should note that signing up is not a guarantee that you will be able to participate in a discussion. Session time(s) will be determined by schedule overlap between participants.
I would like to be the group contact for one discussion group of 6-8 participants, and if other people indicate on the form that they are willing to act as a group contact, then we can have more groups. You don't need to be an expert to lead a group, all you need is a willingness to learn alongside others and the organizational ability to send a few emails at appropriate times.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if many groups could come together from this, and families all over could have their lives and homeschools enriched by studying Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles?
I would like to be the group contact for one discussion group of 6-8 participants, and if other people indicate on the form that they are willing to act as a group contact, then we can have more groups. You don't need to be an expert to lead a group, all you need is a willingness to learn alongside others and the organizational ability to send a few emails at appropriate times.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if many groups could come together from this, and families all over could have their lives and homeschools enriched by studying Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles?
Sign Ups are open until May 30th June 2nd and I will email information about the group(s) to everyone who fills out the form by June 4th.
Sign Up Here!
Questions? Comment below or send me an email.
I think this is a wonderful idea! I've thought about the same type of online discussion but lacked the knowledge of how to pull it off. Thanks for putting this together!
ReplyDelete~Blossom
I might be interested...do you know what day/time this will be happening? I guess if I volunteered to host a group I would get to pick the time ;) I have a lot of other projects going this summer and I'm already going through the 20 principles on the ambleside forum...I will really need to think through whether I can commit to this too :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jill, it really will depend on how people's schedules overlap. If you fill out the form and select times that could work for you, and there's a group of people who overlap with that time slot, then there can be a meeting then.
DeleteI might be interested...do you know what day/time this will be happening? I guess if I volunteered to host a group I would get to pick the time ;) I have a lot of other projects going this summer and I'm already going through the 20 principles on the ambleside forum...I will really need to think through whether I can commit to this too :)
ReplyDeleteIs there a way to get a paper copy of Start Here? I have it on kindle, but I like marking up a paper copy when I deep read! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think so - although Brandy does have a PDF version that she sells on her site that you could print. I think that's your only option.
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