Kolbecast

78 The Kolbe Man Show

AMDG.  Four of Kolbe’s wisest guys—Jordan, Steven, Everett, and Don—gather for a virtual men’s night on this week’s episode.  Their discussion is one for the ages, spanning stories of childhood role models and adult cross-country moves before settling into a reflection on what strength is and isn’t.  With sacrificial love and the golden mean as their foundation, the gentlemen talk about virtues to encourage in young men, how the idea that “boys will be boys” works against healthy masculinity, the commonalities between Marcus Aurelius and Marvel, the revolution of Christian leadership, Augustine’s idea that those who give orders are the servants of those whom they appear to command, and so much more.
The impetus for the Buyarskis’ move to Tulsa: Ep 50 Backstage (Cast Party)
Articles mentioned:
How to Be on the Right Side of History by James Hankins in First Things
John Hardon, SJ, on the importance and necessity of homeschooling
Dr. Don Prudlo can be heard on these other Kolbecast episodes:
Ep 39 Reclaiming the Territory
Ep 40 Windshield Time
Ep 50 Backstage (Cast Party)
Kolbe Academy’s Academic Services Director Everett Buyarski is featured on these other Kolbecast episodes:
Ep 11 Truth, Wisdom, Virtue
Ep 30 Guiding the Ship and Ep 69 Temperature Check with Megan Lengyel and Nicole O’Connor
Ep 43 The Grade Examen and Ep 59 The Secret Whiteboard with Erica Treat
Ep 50 Backstage (Cast Party)
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

77 The Road Less Traveled

AMDG.  Today Celeste Cuellar rejoins the Kolbecast to discuss non-college paths—trades, military service, religious life discernment, and more.  Celeste, Bonnie, and Steven muse on how God doesn’t require saints to have college degrees, how many of the activities and interests we’re drawn to indicate our paths, and how the preparation for life is indirect.  Along with these profound and accessible topics, they touch on personality and skill assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, what gap years are and aren’t, and reckoning parents’ experience within themselves as their children grow to the age of adventuring beyond the nest.
 
Celeste can be heard on these other Kolbecast episodes
Ep 12 Phone a Friend
Ep 68 Grace for the Nitty Gritty also with Ashley Massey
Also referenced:
Ep 59 The Secret Whiteboard with Everett Buyarski & Erica Treat
Highlands Ability Battery
The Myers & Briggs Foundation
Labor Day Statement by Bishop John Barres of Rockville Center, NY
Harmel School of the Trades in Grand Rapids, MI
Kateri College of the Liberal and Practical Arts in Gallup, NM
Vocations week Ep 32 Reflections of His Light with Sr. Margaret Mary & Sr. Anne
Discerning a Path after High School section in Program Support Guide (in Welcome Packet)
 
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

76 Study Buddies

AMDG. With the arrival of a new liturgical year and the culmination of the first semester comes finals week. That prospect might provoke some trepidation, so we call upon four ladies who address that uneasiness with sage, pragmatic advice on all things finals. In this episode we meet the student officers and lead advisor of Kolbe’s newly-formed chapter of National Honor Society and hear how the organization is already serving the Kolbe community through the peer tutoring program while actively seeking other ways to be of use. These wise ones cover all sorts of ground in signature Kolbe style. Thanks to Martina, Josephine, Claire, and Mrs. Mammola for offering their experience and advice on everything from study tips to self-care to maintaining perspective on these exams and what we can learn from them beyond letter grades.
Recommended in this episode: Quizlet
Kolbecast episodes referenced and that might be helpful:
Ep 43 The Grade Examen with advisors Everett Buyarski and Erica Treat
Ep 46 Language Lab with Jenni Mammola
Ep 22 Imagine Being Homeschooled
Ep 44 Student Spotlight: Newsletter Team
Ep 60 Mission: Possible
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

75 Minor Victories

AMDG.  Today is all about minor victories--those day brightening graces and breaks in the clouds that give us reassurance and motivation on the homeschooling journey. And to celebrate our 75th episode since the Kolbecast relaunch, we wanted to celebrate you, our listeners! Bonnie, Steven, Brigid, and Lauren share their own minor victories as well as those sent in by parents, students, and teachers through our social media channels. Cheers to figuring out nap schedules, transitioning between brick-and-mortar school and homeschool, finding a rhythm, seeing independence and collaboration develop, growing in confidence and trust, and so much more. As a bonus, continuing the tradition of our 25th and 50th episodes, listen past the closing of the episode for a blooper reel.
 
Kolbecast episodes referenced and others that might be helpful:
Ep 12 Phone a Friend with Celeste Cuellar
Ep 68 Grace for the Nitty Gritty with Celeste Cuellar & Ashley Massey
Ep 54 Pro Omnibus Contendit with Deana Muth
Ep 61 Middle Ground with Amanda Hayes and Alex Pischke
Ep 25 Kolbecast Backstage
Ep 50 Kolbecast (Cast Party)
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery.
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    

74 Special Teams–Kolbe Dads

AMDG. Experienced dads Mike Drapeau and Greg Simia – each the father of eight children – join Jordan and Steven to talk about a father's contribution to the homeschooling dynamic. The group discusses roles as both support parent and primary homeschooling parent, the help dads can provide with things like cooking dinner and driving kids to activities, and ways for fathers to deepen their involvement with homeschooling while working or traveling a lot. They also touch on words of advice and encouragement for reluctant dads, the influence fathers have on their children’s faith lives, and the way coaching sports teams can bring an additional level of influence and involvement. 
Greg’s recommended links: 
Secret Garden Educational Pathways 
Home School Astronomy 
Quizlet.com 
Other links that might be helpful: 
Kolbecast Ep 12 Phone a Friend with Celeste Cuellar 
Kolbecast Ep 66 Bonhomie à la Kolbe with Ashley Massey & Kim Crawford discussing (among other things) the domestic church
Facebook Live presentation by Margaret Walsh of Secret Garden Educational Pathways 
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery. 
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org. 
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.     
 

73 Through Beauty and Technology

AMDG.  Early in the podcast comeback, we talked with Kolbe drama teacher Dolores Mihaliak about the timeless significance of dramatic arts and timely capabilities of technology.  Dolores rejoins Bonnie today to have a conversation about a new way to experience the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route in Spain which dates back to the days of the apostles.  Homeschool graduate and current Ave Maria University student Leila Castillo tells Bonnie and Dolores more about this cinematic pilgrimage, as well as how she honed her communication and media skills while homeschooling and how she chose to rise to opportunities in her path. 
Learn more about the movie and Ahava Productions via these links:  
"Santiago: THE CAMINO WITHIN" -- watch the trailer and rent the film (English & Spanish)! 
ECHO series (2016) on the US Catholic Catechism for Adults that Leila assisted with (English & Spanish) 
Music that Moves the Soul 
Consider hosting a Pilgrim Party to enjoy the film with friends, relatives, and parishioners! 
 
Follow Ahava Productions on Instagram @ahava_productions  
Follow Ahava Productions on Facebook @AhavaProductions 
 
Videos Leila produced with her siblings in 2020: 
"The Five First Saturdays Devotion" and "Visiting Jesus!" Documentary (Scroll to the bottom, under "Castillo Kids CK101 Channel) 
"Visiting Jesus!" Documentary also found here (first video on this page) 
 
Other relevant links: 
Kolbecast Episode 3 with Dolores Mihaliak  
Camino pilgrimage page on Google Arts & Culture 
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery. 
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org. 

72 Participatory Citizens

AMDG. Kolbe history teachers Anne Angstenberger and Erin Anderson join Bonnie and Steven today on a discussion of civilization from the annals of ancient Greece to the halls of modern sorority houses. As the group takes a deep dive into Kolbe’s high school history curriculum, they explore our emphasis on developing the skills of looking at context, engaging with primary sources, and being able to both ask and answer open-ended questions. They examine high schoolers’ awareness of the overlaps between history and daily life regarding challenges to authority or the status quo, protection of human rights, globalism, and politically charged societies. And they reflect on ways to develop civic responsibility and generosity in the home from field trips to relationships. 
 
Links mentioned and helpful resources: 
National Archives 
National Constitution Center 
Catholic Textbook Project's This Week in History  
The Smithsonian 
National Geographic Education 
Kolbecast episode 15 Asparagus Moments with Therese Prudlo  
 
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery. 
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org. 

71 A Sight for Sore Eyes

AMDG. Plato once observed that true beauty is a healthy shock, and Kolbe's recently-debuted “Mary and Max” logo is a striking example of evocative illustration. Today Bonnie and Steven visit with the logo’s creator: Chris Lewis of Baritus Catholic Illustration. Chris describes the symbolic connection of proclaiming and defending the truth through artistry; the idea of graphic design as both problem solving and storytelling; and the way art is a conduit for hope and conversion. He shares the road he’s traveled to develop a masculine, reverent, modern, realistic style in his artwork, as well as the challenges and rewards of transitioning from secular graphic design to full-time sacred subjects. Ultimately, the group reflects on the idea of creativity as a search for God and the idea that a new renaissance is developing as the world longs for beauty. 
Links referenced and that might be helpful: 
Kolbe Academy on Instagram and Facebook  
art contest winners 
Duncan Stroik  
Related Kolbecast episodes and appearances 
Ep. 20 Head, Heart, and Hands with Rebecca DeVendra (art and drawing) 
Ep. 2 Patron Saints 
Kolbecast Convention Finale FB Live with Chris Lewis & Jordan Almanzar 
Get your own Mary & Max sticker in the Kolbe bookstore. 
Check out the Baritus Catholic website and shop. 
Christopher Columbus (Lives of Catholic Heroes and Heroines Volume 1) by John O’Kane Murray and Phillip Campbell, cover art by Chris Lewis 
Interested in Kolbe Academy’s offerings? Visit kolbe.org.    
Look for the Kolbecast in your favorite podcast app and subscribe for effortless episode delivery. 
Have a suggestion or question for the Kolbecast team? Write to us at podcast@kolbe.org.