

Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for Classical Homeschooling Mamas
Brandy Vencel, Mystie Winckler, and Abby Wahl
Scholé Sisters is the podcast for the classical homeschooling mama who seeks to learn and grow while she’s helping her children learn and grow. Scholé Sisters is a casual conversation about topics that matter to those of us in the trenches of classical homeschooling who yearn for something more than just checking boxes and getting it all done. In each episode, we cover our Scholé Everyday (suggestions for inspiration and growth), and a topical discussion relying on principles we find in books by people like David Hicks, James Taylor, and Charlotte Mason. Come and join the Sisterhood of the Podcast!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 2, 2024 • 59min
SS #143: If You Build It, Moms Will Come
Discover the fascinating origins of the annual retreat for homeschooling moms and how it supports meaningful education. The hosts dive into the significance of attention for successful learning and discuss the impact of modern cultural shifts on childhood freedom. Tune in to understand the value of community in education through engaging online retreats. They emphasize the need for personal connections and reflect on how nurturing environments can enhance the homeschooling experience for both moms and children.

Jul 19, 2024 • 1h 8min
SS #142: Attention is a Homeschool Essential
The hosts dive into the vital role of attention in homeschooling, emphasizing how solitude enhances learning. They explore emotional dynamics in relationships and the importance of communication in strengthening connections. The historical contrast between parlors and salons sheds light on the value of meaningful interactions over superficial chatter. Strategies to cultivate interior solitude are discussed, revealing how it fosters deep thinking. Plus, they touch on the impact of modern distractions and the need for boundaries in our digital age.

May 17, 2024 • 1h 3min
SS #141: Raising Children Who Love to Learn
In today’s episode Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss what it means when we say we want to raise kids who love to learn. What are the implication of this goal? Does it affect how we teach? You’re going to love this conversation! *** It’s not too late to catch the replays of our annual Spring Training Sessions! The second session was just on MONDAY! Our coach this year was Andrew Zwerneman from Cana Academy. Andrew taught two sessions on history. The first session gave us a classical view of history. The second session proposed a method for teaching history. It was so great and we got amazing feedback from everyone who attended. To catch the replays, just go to scholesisters.com/history to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

May 3, 2024 • 1h 25min
SS #140: Rewards and Motivation
In today’s episode Mystie, Abby, and Brandy discuss rewards and how to connect them to intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation. *** Don’t forget to register for our annual Spring Training Sessions! This is happening SOON! Our coach this year is Andrew Zwerneman from Cana Academy. Andrew is going to teach two sessions on history. The first session will help us get away from Marxism and adopt a classical view of history. The second session will propose a method for teaching history. It’s going to be so great! To register just go to scholesisters.com/history to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Apr 19, 2024 • 1h 11min
SS #139: A Classical College Education (with Andy Patton!!)
Our guest today is Andy Patton. Andy Patton has held various roles in healthcare technology and venture capital. As an entrepreneur in the healthcare space, he built and successfully exited his first company. He has also started and currently owns a company in the construction industry. Before going into business, Mr. Patton spent his early career as a high school teacher of Latin, Greek, music, and math. He joined New College Franklin as President of the College in 2023. Prior to that, he served for nine years on the Board of Directors, including the last five years as Chairman of the Board. He has taught courses on Dante as well as Economics. In today’s episode, Mystie and Brandy discuss classical college education with Andy Patton. Is there a difference between attending a classical college and being a classics major at a "regular" college? Can the classically educated get jobs after they graduate?? You’re going to love this conversation! *** We are pleased to announce that registration for our annual Spring Training Sessions are now open! Our coach this year is Andrew Zwerneman from Cana Academy. Andrew is going to teach two sessions on history as a classical subject. The first session will help us get away from Marxism and adopt a classical view of history. The second session will offer us a method for teaching history. It’s going to be so great! To register just go to scholesisters.com/history to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Apr 5, 2024 • 1h 11min
SS #138: A Little More Conversation, Please (with Andrew Zwerneman!!)
Our guest today is Andrew Zwerneman. Andrew J. Zwerneman serves as President and Master Teacher at Cana Academy. For 40 years, he has taught and consulted in secondary schools that emphasize classic humanities. For 19 years he headed schools — 2 at the public charter school, Tempe Preparatory Academy in Tempe, Arizona, 17 at Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church, Virginia. Andrew has degrees from both Notre Dame AND St. John’s University, and he has authored two books: History Forgotten and Remembered and The Life We Have Together: A Case for Humane Studies, A Vision for Renewal. In today’s episode, Brandy and Mystie are peppering Andrew with questions about seminar-style teaching: what it is, where it comes from, how it fits into the classical tradition, and more. You’re going to love this conversation! *** We are pleased to announce that registration for our annual Spring Training Sessions are now open! In fact, one reason why we asked Andrew to be here today is because we hired him as this year’s coach. Andrew is going to teach two sessions on history as a classical subject. The first session will help us get away from Marxism and adopt a classical view of history. The second session will offer us a method for teaching history. It’s going to be so great! To register just go to https://scholesisters.com/history to sign up. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Mar 25, 2024 • 1h 15min
SS #137: Fairy Tales are True (with Vigen Guroian!!)
Today’s guest is Vigen Guroian. Until his retirement in 2015, Dr. Guroian was Professor of Religious Studies in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Virginia. He is now a Permanent Senior Fellow of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, Senior Fellow at the Center on Law and Religion at Emory University, Distinguished Fellow of the John Jay Institute, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum. He also is on the faculty of Memoria College online. Most importantly for our purposes, he is the author of a book we love and highly recommend: Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination. Today’s episode was such a delight to record. Abby and Brandy had a great time discussing with Dr. Guroian truth and how it relates to fairy tales. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Did you sign up to do the 5x5 reading challenge this year? If so, you need to join the Sistership as a Sophie membership and get the accountability you need and the support you want. With weekly check-ins and quarterly zoom-style meetups, you will be encouraged to continue in good reading habits as well as get fun advice on which book to read next. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Mar 8, 2024 • 1h 17min
SS #136: Moral Training with Charlotte Mason
Today’s episode is the third in our four part series on Charlotte Mason’s chapters from School Education that cover the training of physical, intellectual, moral, and religious habits. Today, we’re discussing the training of MORAL habits. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Did you sign up to do the 5x5 reading challenge this year? If so, you need to join the Sistership as a Sophie membership and get the accountability you need and the support you want. With weekly check-ins and quarterly zoom-style meetups, you will be encouraged to continue in good reading habits as well as get fun advice on which book to read next. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Feb 23, 2024 • 1h 7min
SS #135: Unit Studies Are Overrated
Today’s episode is on unit studies and why Charlotte Mason disapproved of them so much. You’re going to love this conversation! *** Did you sign up to do the 5x5 reading challenge this year? If so, you need to join the Sistership as a Sophie membership and get the accountability you need and the support you want. With weekly check-ins and quarterly zoom-style meetups, you will be encouraged to continue in good reading habits as well as get fun advice on which book to read next. Just go to scholesisters.com/sistership and join as a Sophie. *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.

Jan 12, 2024 • 21min
SS # 134: What is the 5x5 Reading Challenge?
It has come to our attention that while we discuss and refer to the Scholé Sisters 5x5 Reading Challenge regularly, we've never actually done an episode on it. Today, we remedy that problem! We discuss the history of the challenge as well as how it works. Today's episode is hosted by Abby Wahl (because Brandy is in the middle of a cross-country move). Her ever-faithful cohost is, of course, Mystie Winckler. To join the 2024 5x5 Reading Challenge, go to scholesisters.com/5x5 and sign up! *** Click here to access today's show notes. Click here to join the Sistership.