Kolbecast

122 Bridge Year

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 and docility second graders have, the importance of memory work, and the process of preparing for First Reconciliation and First Communion while balancing homeschool and parish expectations.
Related Kolbecast episodes:
81 The When and the How of Online Elementary and 82 Move and Groove
113 At the Kolbe Table
Here is a playlist of the virtue videos that are sent to the entire Kolbe community on a monthly basis.
Kolbecast episodes cover a range of topics relating to school at home, the life of faith, and Catholic education. Using the new filters on our website, you can sort the episodes to find just what you're looking for. You can also find the Kolbecast in most podcast players, so subscribe in your favorite app to never miss an episode! If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

121 Roots & Wings

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 about catering to students’ strengths and weaknesses, describes some of her tried-and-true methods for finding extra oomph to be patient on hard days, and tells of edifying moments with adult children.  Those in the thick of it, take heart—this episode is a pep talk and motherly advice rolled into one.
Michele references the Militia of the Immaculata, the association founded by our patron St. Maximilian Kolbe. 
Kolbecast episodes mentioned in this conversation:
84 The Essence of Catholic Education with Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society
103 Above & Beyond with Nancy Nelson of the Kolbe bookstore
Some of our other episodes with Kolbe parents (use the filters on our website to find more):
23 Family Is the Center
42 Let Them Tinker
55 Humor and Humility
56 Home but Not Alone
57 Seeking the Kingdom
63 The Saints Speak for Themselves
74 Special Teams – Kolbe Dads
92 Protect, Guide, Prepare, Empower
99 Gifted, Graced, and Formed
Kolbecast episodes cover a range of topics relating to school at home, the life of faith, and Catholic education. Using the new filters on our website, you can sort the episodes to find just what you're looking for. You can also find the Kolbecast in most podcast players, so subscribe in your favorite app to never miss an episode! If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

120 Substance Matters with CLT’s Jeremy Tate (replay)

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 excludes great thinkers like C.S. Lewis and John Paul the Great from the literature that test takers must examine. The group also discusses the immense time spent in test prep and what messages are sent by the materials studied in that time. Jeremy describes how the goal of classical education isn’t to make people better employees—it's to make them better humans—but how the best humans often end up being the best employees, too. He reminds listeners that tests give a snapshot into key academic areas at a given point in time but say nothing about the kind of person that a student is. And he distills his goals into a succinct call to action: read good books, read them a lot, and enjoy them.
Kolbe families always receive 50% off CLT exams by using the code KOLBE50. Additionally, CLT partners with colleges to sponsor CLT10 tests. For more information, check out this page on the Kolbe website.
 
Relevant links:
Classic Learning Test (CLT) website
CLT test dates and deadlines for the full suite of exams: https://info.cltexam.com/test-dates-deadlines
CLT’s Journey through the Author Bank seminar series, a free webinar with a scholar from a partner college discussing an author from CLT’s author bank
Anchored podcast
Interview with CLT rep Brittany Higdon on Kolbe blog
Student Spotlight: Interview with Kolbe Academy Student Meghan Rohatgi
Kolbecast ep 83 This Is Only a Test regarding standardized testing for K-12 students
Kolbecast episodes cover a range of topics relating to school at home, the life of faith, and Catholic education. Using the new filters on our website, you can sort the episodes to find just what you're looking for. You can also find the Kolbecast in most podcast players, so subscribe in your favorite app to never miss an episode! If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

119 The Hope Throughout with Tom & Noëlle Crowe

AMDG. While the universality of the Church is beautiful, its immediacy is just as profound. Today Tom and Noëlle Crowe of the American Catholic History podcast join us to share how we don’t need to cross an ocean to find people who did amazing things for Christ. They describe the breadth and depth of amazing Catholic individuals in this country, highlight contributions of Catholics to American history in every aspect of society from milking cows to landing on the moon, and emphasize the importance of “getting to know your own saints” as a key part of developing a strong foundation and identity.
Links to check out:
Pilgrimages led by Tom & Noëlle Crowe
their Conversations series
The American Catholic Almanac by Brian Burch and Emily Stimpson with research assistance by Tom Crowe
Kolbecast episodes mentioned and relevant
94 A Boy, A Book, and a Library Mouse about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
36 Embrace the Fifth Day
A sampling of the American Catholic History episodes and offerings referenced in this episode
Ark and Dove
Blandina episode 1 and 2
The Catholic Saviors of Thanksgiving
Founding Fathers category of episodes
Julia Greeley
Margaret Haughery
Gene Kranz
Joyce Kilmer
Ponce de Leon and the First Mass
Miriam Stimson
Kolbecast episodes cover a range of topics relating to school at home, the life of faith, and Catholic education. Using the new filters on our website, you can sort the episodes to find just what you're looking for. You can also find the Kolbecast in most podcast players, so subscribe in your favorite app to never miss an episode! If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

118 Odysseys in Catholicism

AMDG.  Everett Buyarski and Chrissy Almanzar are familiar voices to anyone who’s called Kolbe or listened to the podcast.  Today they share a more personal side of themselves, though: their stories of conversion and being led toward grace and the Catholic Church.  With candidness and wisdom, Everett, Chrissy, Steven, and Bonnie discuss how their experiences of faith have led them to progress from confusion to peace, to seek understanding through surrender, and ultimately to love because we are loved first.
Kolbecast episodes cover a range of topics relating to school at home, the life of faith, and Catholic education. Using the new filters on our website, you can sort the episodes to find just what you're looking for. You can also find the Kolbecast in most podcast players, so subscribe in your favorite app to never miss an episode! If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

117 Figureoutable with Dr. Andrew Mullally

AMDG. Science facilitates wholeness and the abundant life God wants for us, but it also prompts a lot of questions—everything from how to teach complex concepts in homeschooling to how to approach ongoing national discussions on the beginning and end of life.  We delve into these dynamics today with Dr. Andrew Mullally, a second-generation physician, first-generation homeschool alumnus, current homeschool father, and host of the award-winning Catholic Medical Association podcast Doctor, Doctor.  The conversation touches on how to teach science on micro and macro levels, how homeschooled students defy stereotypes with their confident communication skills, and how nothing is insurmountable if it’s what God calls you to pursue.
Relevant Kolbecast episodes and those mentioned in this conversation:
88 Built for Battle with The Catholic Woodworker Jonathan Conrad
95 Conversation Starters with the Sock Religious/All Set for Sunday podcast guys
84 The Essence of Catholic Education with Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society
59 The Secret Whiteboard with Everett Buyarski and Erica Treat
Check out the Doctor, Doctor podcast here or in your favorite podcast app.
Kolbecast episodes cover a range of topics relating to school at home, the life of faith, and Catholic education. Using the new filters on our website, you can sort the episodes to find just what you're looking for. You can also find the Kolbecast in most podcast players, so subscribe in your favorite app to never miss an episode! If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

116 Things I Would Tell My Students

AMDG.  Jordan Almanzar is familiar to podcast listeners as a voice of experience related to podcast hosting, teaching, and public relations, but today we get to hear a different side of him: Jordan as scholar.  He discusses some of his recent and not-so-recent writings with Bonnie and Steven, including reflections inspired by marginalia in his Latin books and the contrast between classical brutality and Christian compassion. The team also discusses what it means to be neighbors, enemies, artists, or infants.
Kolbecast episodes mentioned or relevant:
111 What Treasures Remain, day 3 of the 2022 Kolbecast Convention
79 Doors to Your Memories
7 Et Tu, Iordane?
102 A Great Commission featuring Ellen Finnigan and other speakers at Kolbe’s 2022 graduation
The Kolbecast has covered a lot of ground in its 100+ episodes. Our website's new filters make it easy to find episodes organized by topic. Head to Kolbe.org/podcast and scroll down to choose episodes on a particular subject or to see the entire catalog of episodes.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment, please leave a rating and review, which will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.

115 The Kolbe Chimera

AMDG.  Kolbe offers an array of options for types of learning: fully homeschool, fully online, and two in-the-middle offerings called self-paced and self-paced plus.  We focus on those middle options today with Chrissy Almanzar and Everett Buyarski.  What is a self-paced online course?  What’s the “plus” in self-paced plus?  How do both options help take a load off parents, increase engagement for students, and maintain flexibility while providing a lot of access to content?  Listen and find out.
Relevant Kolbecast episodes & other links:
Recordings from Kolbe’s recent open house
113 At the Kolbe Table
58 Mystery Machines (describes Kolbe’s tech tools including Schoology, the learning management system)
87 Home Base
38 Pro Omnibus Contendit
The Kolbecast has covered a lot of ground in its 100+ episodes. Our website's new filters make it easy to find episodes organized by topic. Head to Kolbe.org/podcast and scroll down to choose episodes on a particular subject or to see the entire catalog of episodes.
What questions do you have about homeschooling, the life of faith, or the intersection of the two? Send your questions to podcast@kolbe.org and stay tuned for answers. You may hear them answered in an upcoming Kolbecast episode!
Subscribe to the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode. If you have a moment to leave a ratings and review, that will help the Kolbecast reach more listeners.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.