Kolbecast

AMDG. Last fall, we heard from three young men who are current Kolbe students. Today, we hear from three young women—Elena, Ellen, and Emily—who are active both in Kolbe academics and in Kolbe’s online clubs. They talk with Bonnie and Hope about their roles in putting together the monthly Kolbe Chronicle newsletter, as well as what they like and dislike about being homeschooled and what they spend...

AMDG. Are you staring down a pile of paperwork? Or maybe that pile feels more like an avalanche? Take a breath, cue up this episode, and listen in as Everett Buyarski and Erica Treat share with Bonnie and Hope what’s really necessary for grade reporting and record-keeping. With some insights from advisors who write letters of recommendation and tricks for PDF creation and viewing, the group discus...

AMDG. Today, voice of experience and mother of four Kolbe graduates Louise Deal visits with Bonnie and Hope about homeschooling with space for life to happen. She shares how she and her husband, who both have engineering backgrounds, chose Kolbe for their children and where those children are now, including one who is a Ph. D. student in robotics and another who is a Ph. D. student in philosophy....

AMDG. The Kolbe employees who make the social media magic happen join us today to discuss outreach and evangelization in the digital realm. Brigid Tebaldi and Lauren Hoang share their insights and experiences about reaching families and fostering community through various platforms, developing healthy interactions with social media, and using the internet to share the good, the true, and the beaut...

AMDG. After an enlightening conversation on higher education generally last week, Dr. Don Prudlo joins us again to discuss the specifics of college visits and college transition. We talk about how to look under a college’s hood, so to speak, beyond what admissions counselors pitch, as well as a few things to consider when discerning what size and type of school is best for individual students. Dr....

AMDG. Dr. Don Prudlo, Warren Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa and way cool Gen X’er, joins the cast today to discuss higher education and human formation. We start with Dr. Prudlo and Jordan comparing their Ph. D. experiences through discussion of small Catholic schools and large research universities. From there, the group discusses how students can make a good impression on t...

AMDG. While standardized testing often elicits groans from students and anxiety from parents, what if it didn’t have to? Today Jordan and Bonnie visit with Jeremy Tate, President of the Classic Learning Test. He explains how high-stakes tests drive and dictate academic focus in America, how he decided to go up against the behemoth that is the College Board in designing a different kind of college...

AMDG. Last week, we visited with Therese Prudlo about structuring school weeks to reflect care of the whole person. Today, Therese rejoins us to go deeper on the need for refreshment and reflection. What does it mean that the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath? What is the practice of “going to your desert” in the middle of busy family life? How do the movies Elf and Babette’s Feast...

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 pers...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 qui...

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 pers...

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 wi...

AMDG. Kolbe 2019 graduate Aviva Lund joins us today with insatiable curiosity and infectious enthusiasm. A current neuroscience major and philosophy minor at Notre Dame, Aviva shares stories and insights ranging from an internship at Yale Medical School to her family’s experience with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. She describes the way sciences and humanities interlace and addresses th...

AMDG. On this special edition of the Kolbecast – released during the 12 Days of Christmas and marking our 25th episode since this school year’s relaunch – fix some popcorn (if Bonnie’s picking the snack) or some cheese and crackers (if Hope is) and settle in for a behind-the-scenes tour of the podcast. The team talks about how the idea to collaborate developed, what Jordan’s recent promotion to Di...

AMDG. Last week we talked to Beth Gath, veteran homeschool mom of six and Kolbe parent ambassador. Today we talk to her eldest two children, Anthony (a junior at Ave Maria University) and Clare (a freshman at Wyoming Catholic College). They share their experience being homeschooled, the way they helped younger siblings, and the connections they developed through extracurriculars such as swim team...

AMDG. Veteran homeschool mom of six and Kolbe parent ambassador Beth Gath joins Bonnie and Hope today to discuss her experience with various seasons of homeschooling. From starting first grade with her eldest when she and her husband also had a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and newborn twins to now having multiple college students and high schoolers in the family, Beth discusses what a typical da...

AMDG. So far this season we’ve met instructors and parents, directors and alumni, but today we meet three current Kolbe students. Aidan, Jameson, and Peter are sophomores in high school. After surmounting the learning curve of freshman year, they’re well on their way to building habits of truth, wisdom, and virtue. In the episode, they discuss learning how to manage their own schedules, the adapta...

AMDG. Today’s episode is about life and life in abundance, from the molecular to the cross-county road trip. Science chair Elizabeth Hoxie joins Bonnie and Hope to discuss the foundational needs to live a healthy life—physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual—and how Kolbe’s science curriculum teaches students the Ignatian concept of cura personalis or care of the whole person. Topics als...

AMDG. Today’s episode is a crossover between Homecoming and curriculum deep-dives as Kolbe teacher and alumna Rebecca DeVendra describes how she’s lived out the idea that, if you’re challenged by something, it’s probably worth buckling down and learning the self-discipline to pursue. From writing “I hate Latin” in her high school textbook to earning a classics degree and from learning how to prope...