Heather Bunting
Children of the Open Air
Albany, New York
Heather is a minister's wife, a homeschooling mother of three, and a passionate music appreciator. The Bunting family lives in the mountains outside of Albany, NY. Heather has a degree in Music Education from DePauw University. Helping homeschool families gain access to music and especially singing is something she has cared about deeply since her years in college when she had the opportunity to teach music with homeschool kids in the local community. About 3 years ago, Heather began a YouTube channel called "Children of the Open Air" where she shares free video lessons on singing technique, solfege and folk songs. (Heather says that her children, Jack, Thomas, and Alice are the real "stars" and that their cooperation has helped make this project possible.) She shares about homeschooling on Instagram and contributes as a curator to the @CharlotteMasonIRL community. Heather is unspeakably grateful for the joy and the fullness of living that the Charlotte Mason philosophy has helped her family to cultivate.
Children of the Open Air
Albany, New York
Heather is a minister's wife, a homeschooling mother of three, and a passionate music appreciator. The Bunting family lives in the mountains outside of Albany, NY. Heather has a degree in Music Education from DePauw University. Helping homeschool families gain access to music and especially singing is something she has cared about deeply since her years in college when she had the opportunity to teach music with homeschool kids in the local community. About 3 years ago, Heather began a YouTube channel called "Children of the Open Air" where she shares free video lessons on singing technique, solfege and folk songs. (Heather says that her children, Jack, Thomas, and Alice are the real "stars" and that their cooperation has helped make this project possible.) She shares about homeschooling on Instagram and contributes as a curator to the @CharlotteMasonIRL community. Heather is unspeakably grateful for the joy and the fullness of living that the Charlotte Mason philosophy has helped her family to cultivate.
Amy Mazzuca
amy pat
Georgetown, Ontario
Amy has longed to be a published author since age eleven when, before the days of having a home copier, she gave away the only copy of her first poem.
She is very blessed to be married to her best friend, and to be the Mamma of their five amazing children (three of whom are already adults!).
Spending time surrounded by family, friends, and their menagerie of pets is where she is happiest. She is a lover of nature, and an art dabbler… and especially enjoys sketching in her nature notebook and photographing unique findings along the trails of life.
Her desire in life is to be a fearless follower of her Lord Jesus, and to use the gifts He has given her to bring God glory and others joy.
Creating lively and engaging stories with vivid word pictures that enrich the lives of readers of all ages is her greatest passion as a writer.
amy pat
Georgetown, Ontario
Amy has longed to be a published author since age eleven when, before the days of having a home copier, she gave away the only copy of her first poem.
She is very blessed to be married to her best friend, and to be the Mamma of their five amazing children (three of whom are already adults!).
Spending time surrounded by family, friends, and their menagerie of pets is where she is happiest. She is a lover of nature, and an art dabbler… and especially enjoys sketching in her nature notebook and photographing unique findings along the trails of life.
Her desire in life is to be a fearless follower of her Lord Jesus, and to use the gifts He has given her to bring God glory and others joy.
Creating lively and engaging stories with vivid word pictures that enrich the lives of readers of all ages is her greatest passion as a writer.
Megan Hoyt
reedycreekcommunityschool
magnum-opus
meganhoyt
Charlotte, North Carolina
As a child, Megan Hoyt spent many lazy days sloshing through puddles, climbing trees, and playing the piano. Her parents were symphony musicians and held large dinner parties with cellists, trombone players, violinists, and conductors -- all gathered to eat piles of lasagna and fill the house with boisterous conversations about Mahler or Puccini. Megan often wandered backstage at the Music Hall or listened, riveted, to the resounding voices of opera singers as they shook the rafters with the strength of a thousand men. Combining her love for both books and music, Megan has written a picture book, Hildegard's Gift, about composer St. Hildegard of Bingen, and a comprehensive guide to Music Study for Charlotte Mason teachers, A Touch of the Infinite. A certified teacher, Megan frequently speaks on educational topics at conferences for teachers in the US and Canada, primarily about Music. She has a BA in English and History (double major) from Southern Methodist University, and an MA in Theology from Regent University in Virginia. She lives in Charlotte, NC, where most days she is surrounded by three furry pups, piles of books, and a gaggle of grandchildren. Although she still sloshes through puddles and climbs trees, she also enjoys playing classical guitar and going on Waldensian nature walks with her husband.
reedycreekcommunityschool
magnum-opus
meganhoyt
Charlotte, North Carolina
As a child, Megan Hoyt spent many lazy days sloshing through puddles, climbing trees, and playing the piano. Her parents were symphony musicians and held large dinner parties with cellists, trombone players, violinists, and conductors -- all gathered to eat piles of lasagna and fill the house with boisterous conversations about Mahler or Puccini. Megan often wandered backstage at the Music Hall or listened, riveted, to the resounding voices of opera singers as they shook the rafters with the strength of a thousand men. Combining her love for both books and music, Megan has written a picture book, Hildegard's Gift, about composer St. Hildegard of Bingen, and a comprehensive guide to Music Study for Charlotte Mason teachers, A Touch of the Infinite. A certified teacher, Megan frequently speaks on educational topics at conferences for teachers in the US and Canada, primarily about Music. She has a BA in English and History (double major) from Southern Methodist University, and an MA in Theology from Regent University in Virginia. She lives in Charlotte, NC, where most days she is surrounded by three furry pups, piles of books, and a gaggle of grandchildren. Although she still sloshes through puddles and climbs trees, she also enjoys playing classical guitar and going on Waldensian nature walks with her husband.
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 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. The school has grown from 9 students in grades 1-3 to a K-12 school with over 80 students in Avondale, Alabama where it continues to seek to be small by design and life-giving to the city. Melanie is most content when her children and pets are nearby, surrounded by beloved books and the natural gifts from the 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 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. The school has grown from 9 students in grades 1-3 to a K-12 school with over 80 students in Avondale, Alabama where it continues to seek to be small by design and life-giving to the city. Melanie is most content when her children and pets are nearby, surrounded by beloved books and the natural gifts from the garden and neighborhood.
Sandra Livingston
Essex, Ontario
Sandra Livingston is a homeschool mama of 3 high schoolers who are thriving under the CM method. Since her homeschool journey began 6 years ago, she has been blessed with such a vibrant CM community around her, that her home naturally grew into an "atmosphere, a discipline, and a life" of all-the-time home learning. Currently, Sandra is attempting cross stitching, reading Pushkin and settling in to her new home. She lives in Essex, Ontario with her husband of 18 years, 2 daughters, a son and a multitude of fish!
Essex, Ontario
Sandra Livingston is a homeschool mama of 3 high schoolers who are thriving under the CM method. Since her homeschool journey began 6 years ago, she has been blessed with such a vibrant CM community around her, that her home naturally grew into an "atmosphere, a discipline, and a life" of all-the-time home learning. Currently, Sandra is attempting cross stitching, reading Pushkin and settling in to her new home. She lives in Essex, Ontario with her husband of 18 years, 2 daughters, a son and a multitude of fish!
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.
Anne White
Anne Writes
ArchipelagO
Kitchener, Ontario
One thing always seems to lead to another, especially in (and after) homeschooling. Anne is a retired home educator, and an Advisory member of AmblesideOnline. Her years of working with homeschooling parents led her into Adult Education, where she is now rediscovering what it feels like to be the student instead of the teacher. When she is not working on online courses (and squeezing in some Plutarch study), you can find her sorting books at the thrift store, or hanging out with her husband.
Anne Writes
ArchipelagO
Kitchener, Ontario
One thing always seems to lead to another, especially in (and after) homeschooling. Anne is a retired home educator, and an Advisory member of AmblesideOnline. Her years of working with homeschooling parents led her into Adult Education, where she is now rediscovering what it feels like to be the student instead of the teacher. When she is not working on online courses (and squeezing in some Plutarch study), you can find her sorting books at the thrift store, or hanging out with her husband.
Jennifer Larnder Gagnon
Kingsville, Ontario
Phil and Jen celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year. Their children are all moved out and have careers of their own. After homeschooling, Jennifer has been tutoring, offering Charlotte Mason Enrichment sessions, teaching high school science classes and mentoring the local CM group. This past school year she also taught full time at a little Charlotte Mason private school in her own home. It has been her joy to learn alongside younger persons and revisit old friends in history, literature, geography and poetry. She has spent delightful days listening to poetry being recited, reading narrations, discussing ideas, and witnessing a small one begin to read. She has also learned how to crochet along side her class which she never thought she would ever want to attempt but she was inspired by her students' success.
Kingsville, Ontario
Phil and Jen celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year. Their children are all moved out and have careers of their own. After homeschooling, Jennifer has been tutoring, offering Charlotte Mason Enrichment sessions, teaching high school science classes and mentoring the local CM group. This past school year she also taught full time at a little Charlotte Mason private school in her own home. It has been her joy to learn alongside younger persons and revisit old friends in history, literature, geography and poetry. She has spent delightful days listening to poetry being recited, reading narrations, discussing ideas, and witnessing a small one begin to read. She has also learned how to crochet along side her class which she never thought she would ever want to attempt but she was inspired by her students' success.