Kolbecast

AMDG.  The Gospel of John begins by describing the Word of God.  What does it mean to use words to study the Word—what joys, responsibilities, and opportunities lay in store?  Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press and president of the Kolbe board of advisors, shares his thoughts and experience with us today.  The discussion covers Mark’s longtime familiarity with Kolbe, the idea that Jesus as...

AMDG.  The harmony between education’s tangible and intangible features is our focus today as Soren Schwab of the Classic Learning Test joins us.  Soren shares some comparisons and contrasts between German and American education, discusses the hyper-specialization seen in some modern education, touches on the concept of school choice, and describes how the infrastructure to support and provide cla...

AMDG.  Visit the Southern Hemisphere with us today as we get to know Mieke Byerley, a Kolbe alumna and homeschooling mother with a Dutch background and 30 years of residence in New Zealand. Mieke shares her experience transitioning to homeschooling as a high school student, including the conflict she had with her parents at first and the way her perspective has changed in the time since.  She desc...

AMDG. Who am I, what is excellence, and what am I called to do here? These are three foundational questions here at Kolbe. Today homeschool graduate and entertainment professional Peter Atkinson of Relevant Radio’s The Merry Beggars visits with Bonnie and Steven about his experience, his calling, and his direction. Peter shares how growing up homeschooled nurtured him an atmosphere of creativity,...

AMDG.  After making the choice to homeschool, it can be difficult to admit when hard days arrive.  After all, we signed up for this, right?  It’s easy to forget that every road comes with bumps and leads to blisters sometimes.  As the school year stretches on and the excitement of the holidays dissipates, Therese Prudlo, Amanda Hayes, and Krysten Pizzurro share their experiences with burnout: what...

AMDG.  Storytelling is foundational to the human experience, and the more new media develop, the more options are available for families to select from.  Today filmmaker, homeschooling dad, MFA graduate of Columbia University, and chair of the dramatic arts department at the University of Mary Daniel Bielinski joins the Kolbecast to talk about making films that celebrate faith, perseverance, coura...

AMDG.  Come along with author, storyteller, and Kolbe mother Kathryn Swegart today as she shares her experience of homeschooling with Kolbe from 1998 to 2008 and her life after homeschooling.  She describes standout memories, the freedom and efficiency she found in home education, and how she balanced expectations and incentives with her three children.  She also describes her transition away from...

AMDG.  As the doldrums of January and February set in, we turn to one of the most important topics for homeschooling families: encouragement.  Karen Allgood, Julie Meyers, Jamie Coelho-Kostolny, and Maggie Hayden join us to share their whys for homeschooling, the highs and lows they see in their own families and their Kolbe families, and some affirming moments they've experienced that brought peac...

AMDG.  Today we continue a conversation we started with Elizabeth Hoxie in Episode 112 on the Ignatian tenet of care for the whole person.  Far from being a trendy #selfcare fad, cura personalis captures the truth that what we do with ourselves during each day—our intellect, emotions, and bodies—forms us into the saint God wants us to be.  Through intentionality in approaching each day and recogni...

AMDG.  In this special Christmas break episode of the Kolbecast, Bonnie, Steven, and Jordan gather for a catch-up over coffee.  Jordan describes where he found inspiration for a new line of essays published in Prime Matters and gives listeners a preview of some of his future works in store.  The group reflects on the question of what life and virtue were like before the incarnation compared to aft...

AMDG. Most people listen to podcasts like ours on their cell phones or other portable electronics, but how many of us actually know and appreciate how the devices in our pockets work?  Today, Kolbe dad and ham radio operator Chris Ranck joins Bonnie and Steven to talk about the geography, cross-generational communication, math, science, abstract concepts, and practical applications involved in the...

AMDG.  Pope Saint John Paul II was simultaneously a visionary and a devoutly orthodox leader (among many other saintly attributes), and a university bearing his name has a lot to draw inspiration from in his example.  Today students at John Paul the Great Catholic University join us to share their experience of their education and formation.  Students Bailey and Alan (a Kolbe alum) discuss the uni...

AMDG.  Kolbe students form connections and community through online interactions. While many of these interactions happen through online classes, extracurricular activities are rich in opportunity for friendship and formation as well.  Today, student leaders from two online groups—the Spiritual Life Club and the Kolbe News Show—and some of their instructors and mentors join the Kolbecast to descri...

AMDG.  Voice of experience and wisdom Danielle Bean joins the Kolbecast today to share insights from her path.  From being a self-described reluctant homeschool to describing homeschooling as the biggest, best, and hardest thing she’s ever done, Danielle describes the changing seasons of life that come with parenthood.  She, Bonnie, and Steven reflect on building a family culture, teaching by exam...

AMDG.  Author, mother, and gracious example of hospitality Emily Stimpson Chapman joins us today. Emily has written on topics from encyclicals and Theology of the Body to good food and good socializing, and our conversation covers a little of everything: living in a way that deeply reverences the dignity of the human person, opening our homes to welcome people in, how it's in saying no to things t...

AMDG. In this replay of a conversation from April 2021, Bonnie and her sister Hope visit with Dr. Don Prudlo 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. Pr...

AMDG.  Join us on a virtual college visit today to The Collegium , a unique Catholic college in Hagerstown, Maryland, with Dean of Students William Stover.  He shares how the Collegium and its innovative model provide a small, newly-opened liberal arts program grounded in the Catholic tradition and providing both education and formation. He also discusses the integration of spiritual, academic, an...

AMDG.  It's never too early to think about what life after Kolbe looks like.  Today, Kimberly Farley—director of homeschool partnerships for the Classic Learning Test —joins Bonnie and Steven with her background in homeschooling and her expertise in college preparation.  They discuss easing stress levels when approaching college prep, constructive understandings of standardized testing, and how to...

AMDG.  Teaching students responsible ways to use the internet is more important now than ever.   Today Kolbe’s chief academic officer Megan Lengyel and her husband Craig, a cybersecurity specialist for some of the world’s largest tech companies, visit with the Kolbecast team about computer safety.  Craig describes how prevention and education are key, emphasizes the importance of ongoing conversat...

AMDG.  Kolbe academic advisors and homeschooling mothers Krysten Pizzurro, Karen Allgood, and Erica Treat are back in this episode to continue the conversation started last week on their insights about the day-to-day of homeschooling reality.  In this episode, they answer listener questions about the challenges and joys of having frequent family togetherness.  They touch on how to keep school days...

AMDG. Kolbe academic advisors and homeschooling mothers Krysten Pizzurro, Karen Allgood, and Erica Treat had so much wisdom to share that we turned our conversation into a two-parter of episodes.  In the first half, they talk about how Kolbe’s academic advising department is here for the duration to accompany families and what that looks like on a day-to-day basis.  The ladies share their experien...

AMDG.  Today Msgr. James Shea, President of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, joins Bonnie and Steven to discuss the transition to adulthood and the beginning of life’s adventures that transition brings.  Msgr. Shea talks about the ambient culture, the modern mind’s romance with utopias, and the good news that this is an age where Kolbe families can shine.  He also describes the ap...

AMDG.  The Church recognizes a turning point for young ones around the age of seven as children begin to reason.  In our school structure, age seven roughly corresponds to second grade—a watershed year in its own right and a bridge to new worlds of comprehension and formation. Today, Nicole O’Connor, Colleen Goodwin, and Marissa Piñón visit with Bonnie and Steven about the mixture of enthusiasm an...

AMDG. Voice of experience and mother of eight children ages 12 to 26, Michele Resuta, joins the Kolbecast today to share some of the wisdom she’s developed through 21 years of homeschooling with Kolbe.  The conversation covers everything from practicalities like bulk cooking and daily Mass to big questions of building strong foundations and the value of responsible stewardship.  Michele talks abou...

AMDG. In this replay of a conversation from April 2021, 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 admission test, and how he’s challenged the societal status quo that e...