The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

On this week’s episode on The New Mason Jar, Cindy and Dawn chat with Joyce MacPherson, veteran homeschooling mom, author, and Cindy’s personal friend Who were some of Joyce’s first biographies about, and how did she start writing them? Why Joyce chose to write one of her most recent books about George MacDonald How Joyce decided to write about Jane Austen Where Joyce and her daughter went to learn about Austen in England How Joyce started writing the Shakespeare Scriptorium series

On this week’s episode of The New Mason Jar, Cindy and Dawn talk with Julie and Diana about their book discussion group, which recently celebrated its 20th year of meeting and reading together: How the group started and how they choose new books for the group to read Some of the ways they make book discussion nights special How Diana and Julie divide up roles and duties to share the load A little about the format of each book club meeting Why the ladies stick to classic literature and biographies instead of contemporary novels Julie and Diana’s tips for running a similar book club with their friends For full show notes, including links to books and podcasts mentioned, please visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/120. 

On The New Mason Jar this week, we bring you a special Q&A episode recorded with Kay Pelham and Jami Marstal as a follow-up to our 2025 Back to School Online Conference How can a mom of many finish well with her last few students, implementing more of Mason’s methods now that she has more time with fewer children? What is some advice for dealing with disrespect from teens and pre-teens? What are some principles to help guide the upper years, making time for what really matters without overloading ourselves and our students? How should you approach starting a Charlotte Mason education with an older student? How can we communicate about Charlotte Mason’s principles with those unfamiliar with them in a community or cooperative context? To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/119. 

Today on The New Mason Jar, we bring you a conversation Cindy and Dawn had with Anthony Coafield, Australian homeschooling father of three boys and founder of Living Book Press How Anthony and his wife found out about Charlotte Mason’s philosophy How stories shaped Anthony’s life from a young age Why and how Anthony started Living Books Press How Anthony juggles the publishing work and homeschooling his boys What Anthony has done to accommodate his children’s various learning needs What might people mean when they say they use a Charlotte Mason approach? What is some advice Anthony has for dads who are the primary home educators? Be sure to visit our website at https://thenewmasonjar.com/118 to view the full show notes for this episode, including links to all the resources mentioned in the show. 

On this week's episode of The New Mason Jar, Cindy and Dawn talk with Sue Lee, veteran homeschool mom and French teacher How Sue first learned about Charlotte Mason How art history led Sue to studying French In what ways did Sue's teaching change as she learned about Charlotte Mason's principles? How Sue started teaching French classes for homeschoolers What are some of Sue's tips for teaching a foreign language? How can a family plan a trip to France or another dream country? What is the role of beauty in education? To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/117. 

Today’s New Mason Jar episode features another episode from our archives with guests are Kay Pelham and Christy Hissong Kay is a veteran homeschooling mom to one son, as well as a piano teacher and literary enthusiast Christy is also a veteran homeschooling mom of one boy, and teaches at a local Charlotte Mason cottage school How did each of our guests learn about Charlotte Mason? What are some of the challenges you faced with homeschooling an only child? What did reading aloud look like in your home? How did you figure out if your child had some learning challenges that needed addressed? How did you use narration in your homeschool? Was there anything you wish had been different in your homeschooling years? How does a Charlotte Mason education continue for a mother after her children have graduated? To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/116. 

Today on The New Mason Jar, we bring you an episode from the vault in which Cindy and Dawn talk with Jami Marstall, veteran homeschooling mom of 4 and a lifelong learner herself How Jami first started learning about Charlotte Mason Why do you think parents are hesitant about using Charlotte Mason through high school? What advice do you have for parents whose students are transitioning into high school? What about writing high school transcripts? Is high school a good time to outsource some of your child’s education? How did you adapt and change the curriculum for your different children’s interests and abilities? To sign up for the 2025 Back to School Conference, please visit MorningTimeforMoms.com. For the full show notes of this episode, you can visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/115. 

On this week’s episode of The New Mason Jar, Cindy and Dawn talk with Lauren Fee, homeschooling mom of five with a passion for Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, especially as it applies to Bible lessons for children How Lauren came to learn about Charlotte Mason Which of Charlotte’s “20 Principles” should be considered by those responsible for teaching the Bible to children? Who was Canon J. Paterson Smyth, and why did Charlotte Mason recommend his work? How Lauren has created a children’s Bible study curriculum using Smyth’s work for the modern church Is this curriculum only for use in churches, or can it be used at home or in schools as well? To get Lauren’s curriculum 20% OFF through July 12, 2025, use coupon code MASONJAR20 when you check out at ChildrensFeast.com/shop To view the full show notes for this episode, including quotes and book links, please visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/114. 

This week on The New Mason Jar, Dr. Jason Baxter returns to the podcast to talk with Cindy and Dawn about Dante as part of a new series of Mothers Education Course episodes When Dr. Baxter was first introduced to Dante’s Divine Comedy Why Dr. Baxter thinks Dante wrote this work in the form of epic poetry? How this translation is different than other modern English translations Does the language and mood of Inferno feel different from that in the Purgatorio? Why Jason chose the artwork he did for the covers of his translations Jason’s encouragement for the busy homeschool mom in approaching Dante Hear more from Dr. Baxter in Cindy’s summer discipleship which you can still register for here: Morning Time for Moms 2025 Summer Discipleship: Life Together You can also sign up for Jason’s summer class at TheHouseofHumaneLetters.com To view the full show notes for this episode, including quotes and book links, please visit our website at https://thenewmasonjar.com/113. 

On The New Mason Jar Podcast this week, Cindy and Dawn talk with Anne White, AmblesideOnline Advisory member, about how she continues her own education as a veteran homeschool mom A little more background on how Anne learned about Charlotte Mason What kinds of books Anne remembers reading as a child How Anne realized she needed to continue her own education as an adult What ways Anne seeks to grow in knowledge now and keeps her curiosity alive What Anne’s reading life looks like these days How can busy moms use the little pockets of time in their day to keep moving forward? Learn more about Cindy’s 2025 Summer Discipleship “Life Together” and sign up to join in today at MorningTimeforMoms.com. To view the full show notes for this episode, including quotes and links to books and resources, please visit https://thenewmasonjar.com/112.