cultivators from 2017
Megan Hoyt
Charlotte, North Carolina
Megan Hoyt stumbled upon Charlotte Mason's principles twenty years ago and is now part of a collectif of veteran educatiors who provide educational support for teachers and administrators through books, quiet retreats, and one on one mentoring. She moderates the Music section of the AmblesideOnline forum, teaches writing to middle and high school students, and works as a freelance writer. She has a BA from Southern Methodist University with a double major in English and History and a lifetime teaching certificate. She also holds an MA in Theology from Regent University. Hildegard's Gift, her first picture book about Medieval composer Hildegard of Bingen, was released in 2014 with Paraclete Press. She lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husband, three furry pups, two of her four children, and four grandchildren.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Megan Hoyt stumbled upon Charlotte Mason's principles twenty years ago and is now part of a collectif of veteran educatiors who provide educational support for teachers and administrators through books, quiet retreats, and one on one mentoring. She moderates the Music section of the AmblesideOnline forum, teaches writing to middle and high school students, and works as a freelance writer. She has a BA from Southern Methodist University with a double major in English and History and a lifetime teaching certificate. She also holds an MA in Theology from Regent University. Hildegard's Gift, her first picture book about Medieval composer Hildegard of Bingen, was released in 2014 with Paraclete Press. She lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husband, three furry pups, two of her four children, and four grandchildren.
Mandy Deter
Birmingham, Alabama
The hope of education for every child became a pursuit almost 20 years ago for Mandy. She was mentored by Charlotte Mason after her friend, Melanie Walker-Malone introduced her. Joining the small, determined staff and student learners at Red Mountain Community School in 2005, she has been shaped by the atmosphere, discipline and life and the great feast for the past 12 years in that setting. Her own three children have struggled with dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADD and depression in this Mason school setting. Understanding the struggling learner has become a tender longing for Mandy and she has discovered hope for these students in Mason's broad and deep philosophy. Before teaching at Red Mountain, Mandy earned a History degree from Samford University in Birmingham and applied that liberal arts education to jobs on Capitol Hill. She returned to school to earn a BS in Nursing and worked in psychiatric and medical settings until she began teaching her own children at home and then at Red Mountain Community School. When she must, she can be referred to as the school nurse but much prefers reading great books with the uninjured children in her class!
Birmingham, Alabama
The hope of education for every child became a pursuit almost 20 years ago for Mandy. She was mentored by Charlotte Mason after her friend, Melanie Walker-Malone introduced her. Joining the small, determined staff and student learners at Red Mountain Community School in 2005, she has been shaped by the atmosphere, discipline and life and the great feast for the past 12 years in that setting. Her own three children have struggled with dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADD and depression in this Mason school setting. Understanding the struggling learner has become a tender longing for Mandy and she has discovered hope for these students in Mason's broad and deep philosophy. Before teaching at Red Mountain, Mandy earned a History degree from Samford University in Birmingham and applied that liberal arts education to jobs on Capitol Hill. She returned to school to earn a BS in Nursing and worked in psychiatric and medical settings until she began teaching her own children at home and then at Red Mountain Community School. When she must, she can be referred to as the school nurse but much prefers reading great books with the uninjured children in her class!
Melanie Walker-Malone
Red Mountain Community School
Birmingham, Alabama
As a child, Melanie Walker-Malone remembers driving to her grandparents house from her suburban home and longing to live in a neighborhood with old trees, cracked sidewalks and city parks nearby. Over the next few decades, Melanie worked to make that a reality and now makes her home only one block away from where her grandparents used to live. Discovering Charlotte Mason and making a commitment to the honor of persons, gracious atmosphere, living ideas, and habit training have steered her in directions that have made all the difference. In Annie Dillard’s words, “How we spend our days is, after all, how we spend our lives.”
After studying Mason and implementing her methods and practices in her own homeschooling years, Melanie and 'a band of merry women' initiated the work of Red Mountain Community School in the fall of 2005. This small-by-design school has grown from 9 students in grades 1-3/ 2 teachers to a K-12 school with 77 students/ 10 teachers in Avondale, Alabama. Melanie is most content when her children and pets are nearby, surrounded by beloved books and the natural gifts from garden and neighborhood.
Red Mountain Community School
Birmingham, Alabama
As a child, Melanie Walker-Malone remembers driving to her grandparents house from her suburban home and longing to live in a neighborhood with old trees, cracked sidewalks and city parks nearby. Over the next few decades, Melanie worked to make that a reality and now makes her home only one block away from where her grandparents used to live. Discovering Charlotte Mason and making a commitment to the honor of persons, gracious atmosphere, living ideas, and habit training have steered her in directions that have made all the difference. In Annie Dillard’s words, “How we spend our days is, after all, how we spend our lives.”
After studying Mason and implementing her methods and practices in her own homeschooling years, Melanie and 'a band of merry women' initiated the work of Red Mountain Community School in the fall of 2005. This small-by-design school has grown from 9 students in grades 1-3/ 2 teachers to a K-12 school with 77 students/ 10 teachers in Avondale, Alabama. Melanie is most content when her children and pets are nearby, surrounded by beloved books and the natural gifts from garden and neighborhood.
Rose Green
Windsor, Ontario
“Finding the right curriculum that works best for your family is no easy feat and should never be a knee-jerk reaction”, says Rose, a 36-year-old mother of 7. “When I was first introduced to the Charlotte Mason way, something just clicked and I knew we had found the rhythm we needed for our growing family”.
A college graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, Rose has always possessed a trepidatious and analytical mind, especially when it comes to educating her children. Through a meeting she attended with several other home school mothers, she was introduced to Charlotte Mason and her philosophy on education. She hasn’t looked back, or even doubted, since: “Charlotte Mason always said that children are born persons, not empty vessels that we need to fill. That really hit home with me.”
Anyone who has attended a l’HaRMaS retreat in the last several years would know Rose not only as an organized woman, but a free-spirited and creative mind with a knack for decorating and an artistic flair for presentation. At home she covers all subjects, but among her homeschooling community she presents her students with a fresh and challenging handicraft every term. “It gets me so excited to see my students enjoying a handicraft skill that I introduced to them, to see what ideas they come up with on their own because of the skill they learned. I love sharing this talent and passion with whoever will listen”.
Windsor, Ontario
“Finding the right curriculum that works best for your family is no easy feat and should never be a knee-jerk reaction”, says Rose, a 36-year-old mother of 7. “When I was first introduced to the Charlotte Mason way, something just clicked and I knew we had found the rhythm we needed for our growing family”.
A college graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, Rose has always possessed a trepidatious and analytical mind, especially when it comes to educating her children. Through a meeting she attended with several other home school mothers, she was introduced to Charlotte Mason and her philosophy on education. She hasn’t looked back, or even doubted, since: “Charlotte Mason always said that children are born persons, not empty vessels that we need to fill. That really hit home with me.”
Anyone who has attended a l’HaRMaS retreat in the last several years would know Rose not only as an organized woman, but a free-spirited and creative mind with a knack for decorating and an artistic flair for presentation. At home she covers all subjects, but among her homeschooling community she presents her students with a fresh and challenging handicraft every term. “It gets me so excited to see my students enjoying a handicraft skill that I introduced to them, to see what ideas they come up with on their own because of the skill they learned. I love sharing this talent and passion with whoever will listen”.
Michelle Cross
Michelle lives in Windsor with Ian, her engineer husband of sixteen years, five wild things (all boys) and the family dog, Mr. Darcy. After a career in administration and business writing, while also working toward a social work degree, marriage and parenthood quickly changed the direction of her life. Having spent her own childhood buried in books, and writing both stories and poetry, Michelle knew that a love of the written word was a precious gift she could pass on to her children. The choice to home school became an easy one; facing high school this year with her eldest brings a renewed focus and commitment! Michelle also enjoys drinking vast amounts of tea, brainstorming project ideas, collecting pretty journals, deep conversations with friends, watching all sorts of documentaries, and daydreaming about traveling.
Michelle lives in Windsor with Ian, her engineer husband of sixteen years, five wild things (all boys) and the family dog, Mr. Darcy. After a career in administration and business writing, while also working toward a social work degree, marriage and parenthood quickly changed the direction of her life. Having spent her own childhood buried in books, and writing both stories and poetry, Michelle knew that a love of the written word was a precious gift she could pass on to her children. The choice to home school became an easy one; facing high school this year with her eldest brings a renewed focus and commitment! Michelle also enjoys drinking vast amounts of tea, brainstorming project ideas, collecting pretty journals, deep conversations with friends, watching all sorts of documentaries, and daydreaming about traveling.
Tammy Glaser
http://www.harvestcommunity.school
Manning, South Carolina
Always an intrepid pioneer, Tammy spent ten years in the Navy after graduating from the U. S. Naval Academy and resigned to homeschool her children, one of whom was in the first wave of the rise of autism. She became interested in Charlotte Mason's ideas in 2000 and has been paradigm shifting ever since. In 2013, she and a friend launched Harvest Community School, a Mason-style private school which hosts all kinds of children from special needs to ordinary to gifted. While they are thrilled to have received a full five-year accreditation in less the three years of operation, they are even more thrilled to watch how God changes the lives of the staff, children, and families at Harvest. Besides teaching every day, she spends her free time knitting and crocheting, reading, writing, speaking, tutoring, bird watching, singing, and nurturing her daughter's talent in art. She and her husband Steve share their time between Kansas, Indiana, and South Carolina.
http://www.harvestcommunity.school
Manning, South Carolina
Always an intrepid pioneer, Tammy spent ten years in the Navy after graduating from the U. S. Naval Academy and resigned to homeschool her children, one of whom was in the first wave of the rise of autism. She became interested in Charlotte Mason's ideas in 2000 and has been paradigm shifting ever since. In 2013, she and a friend launched Harvest Community School, a Mason-style private school which hosts all kinds of children from special needs to ordinary to gifted. While they are thrilled to have received a full five-year accreditation in less the three years of operation, they are even more thrilled to watch how God changes the lives of the staff, children, and families at Harvest. Besides teaching every day, she spends her free time knitting and crocheting, reading, writing, speaking, tutoring, bird watching, singing, and nurturing her daughter's talent in art. She and her husband Steve share their time between Kansas, Indiana, and South Carolina.
Laurie Bestvater
book of centuries
prov.en.der.com
Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts
Laurie is a sometimes writer & indie teacher who gets inordinately excited when she thinks of a world full of people educated by Charlotte Mason’s wisdom. She loves a steady rain, BLTs, and remembers Anne of Green Gables as the first book to awaken “THE LONGING” that makes her spend time with OPC (other people’s children) long after her own have picked the bookshelves clean and gone on to exciting adventures of their own. If she’s not traveling to “spread the word,” you’re likely to find her in her community garden plot, with a notebook, or stirring something (literal or figurative!) in her role as Mary Poppins to a medium-sized flock of Lutherans. Some know Laurie through her book, The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks With Charlotte Mason, her recovery of the original Book of Centuries from the Mason archives, and her work in the prov.en.der collectif. Oh, and she really does live in an ivory tower with a rocket scientist she met in high school.
book of centuries
prov.en.der.com
Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts
Laurie is a sometimes writer & indie teacher who gets inordinately excited when she thinks of a world full of people educated by Charlotte Mason’s wisdom. She loves a steady rain, BLTs, and remembers Anne of Green Gables as the first book to awaken “THE LONGING” that makes her spend time with OPC (other people’s children) long after her own have picked the bookshelves clean and gone on to exciting adventures of their own. If she’s not traveling to “spread the word,” you’re likely to find her in her community garden plot, with a notebook, or stirring something (literal or figurative!) in her role as Mary Poppins to a medium-sized flock of Lutherans. Some know Laurie through her book, The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks With Charlotte Mason, her recovery of the original Book of Centuries from the Mason archives, and her work in the prov.en.der collectif. Oh, and she really does live in an ivory tower with a rocket scientist she met in high school.
Dawn Duran
Fort Meade, Maryland
Dawn Duran is a mother of two young boys, ages 6 and 9, who has been married to her husband Gabe for 15 years. She feels blessed to have discovered the life-giving philosophy of Charlotte Mason in her early years of researching homeschooling methods so that they have been implemented in the Duran home since the outset of their homeschooling journey.
Prior to adopting her most prized role as homeschooling mother Dawn worked as a physical therapist specializing in orthopedics. As a former collegiate volleyball player and strength and conditioning specialist Dawn has a passion for health and wellness. She obtained certification as a Stott Pilates instructor and routinely implemented the principles of Stott Pilates into patient treatments. This passion now manifests itself in helping other families implement fitness practices into their home routines to address the oft-neglected physical aspect of the whole person.
In addition to implementing AmblesideOnline with her sons in the Duran Family’s home school, Dawn also teaches online Health Science classes for Kaplan University and periodically works as a physical therapist at a local hospital.
Fort Meade, Maryland
Dawn Duran is a mother of two young boys, ages 6 and 9, who has been married to her husband Gabe for 15 years. She feels blessed to have discovered the life-giving philosophy of Charlotte Mason in her early years of researching homeschooling methods so that they have been implemented in the Duran home since the outset of their homeschooling journey.
Prior to adopting her most prized role as homeschooling mother Dawn worked as a physical therapist specializing in orthopedics. As a former collegiate volleyball player and strength and conditioning specialist Dawn has a passion for health and wellness. She obtained certification as a Stott Pilates instructor and routinely implemented the principles of Stott Pilates into patient treatments. This passion now manifests itself in helping other families implement fitness practices into their home routines to address the oft-neglected physical aspect of the whole person.
In addition to implementing AmblesideOnline with her sons in the Duran Family’s home school, Dawn also teaches online Health Science classes for Kaplan University and periodically works as a physical therapist at a local hospital.
Anne White
Anne Writes
ArchipelagO
Kitchener, Ontario
Anne always knew she wanted to teach, write, read, and provide shelter to unwanted books; homeschooling three daughters gave her a chance to do all of them at once. (She once won a Homeschool Blog Award in the category of "Cyberbuddy: the blogger you'd most like to have coffee with.") Anne has contributed to the AmblesideOnline curriculum since its beginning, and her study notes for some of Plutarch's Lives are now available in book form. She is also the author of Minds More Awake: The Vision of Charlotte Mason. Anne is an inconstant crocheter, a frequent thrift shopper, and the Tolkien character she most identifies with is Frodo.
Anne Writes
ArchipelagO
Kitchener, Ontario
Anne always knew she wanted to teach, write, read, and provide shelter to unwanted books; homeschooling three daughters gave her a chance to do all of them at once. (She once won a Homeschool Blog Award in the category of "Cyberbuddy: the blogger you'd most like to have coffee with.") Anne has contributed to the AmblesideOnline curriculum since its beginning, and her study notes for some of Plutarch's Lives are now available in book form. She is also the author of Minds More Awake: The Vision of Charlotte Mason. Anne is an inconstant crocheter, a frequent thrift shopper, and the Tolkien character she most identifies with is Frodo.
Jennifer Larnder Gagnon
Kingsville, Ontario
It as been twenty years since Charlotte Mason's philosophies first spoke to her heart and the ever expanding journey of teaching and living in a new way began. Jennifer's nest is empty but she has borrowed children in her Science Clubs, high school science classes and a once a week gathering of elementary students for Charlotte Mason Morning Enrichment. Jennifer helps mentor the CM study group in Essex County and leads a young mothers group at her church. It is her lifelong passion for the insects that led her to J.H. Fabre through whom she was inspired and imagined a l'HaRMaS for herself and others.
Kingsville, Ontario
It as been twenty years since Charlotte Mason's philosophies first spoke to her heart and the ever expanding journey of teaching and living in a new way began. Jennifer's nest is empty but she has borrowed children in her Science Clubs, high school science classes and a once a week gathering of elementary students for Charlotte Mason Morning Enrichment. Jennifer helps mentor the CM study group in Essex County and leads a young mothers group at her church. It is her lifelong passion for the insects that led her to J.H. Fabre through whom she was inspired and imagined a l'HaRMaS for herself and others.