Erin is a joy-chasing homeschool mama to 4 babies, ages 16 down to 4. She married her grade-school sweetheart 19 years ago, and lives to love him well.
Erin writes about homeschooling, taking hard moments captive for Christ, and loving her family well at Life, Abundantly. She is the author of multiple early-years Charlotte Mason and Classically-inspired programs at The Gentle + Classical Press and is the Editor in Chief of On Mission, a quarterly culture-focused geography magazine. You can find her on Instagram @lifeabundantly_blog and @gentle_classical_press.
2023 Conference
Teaching the Knowledge of God to Our Youngest Learners
Have you believed that the Knowledge of God is too lofty a topic to teach your preschooler or kindergartener? Have you felt intimidated about when to begging sharing a Biblical Worldview or the basics of theology with little ones? Let’s talk about the when and how and why!
2022 Conference
Enculturation of a Generation
“Education is an Atmosphere” is a fundamental tenet of a Charlotte Mason education… but we must ask ourselves WHY? Often, we ask “how” we can accomplish this lofty goal, but in this talk, we will do a quick deep dive into WHY it matters. The “why” is often the fundamental motivation we have for persisting in the “how,” even on hard days. Our current culture is a sinking ship and an important key to redeeming the culture for Christ is the enculturation of Christian virtues and values into the habits, hearts, minds, and souls of our children.
2021 Conference
Charlotte Mason’s Formidable List of Attainments For a Child of 6: What do they really look like?
In Ms. Mason’s Original Homeschool Series, she outlined a list of 18 lofty ambitions for a child of 6. At first glance this list of “formidable attainments” looks almost unattainable, especially when compared to a public school’s kindergarten or first grade curriculum. Some of them include:
– The complete recitation of 6 poems and 6 hymns.
– To know the points of the compass with relation to their own home, where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows.
– To tell quite accurately (however shortly) 3 stories from Bible history, 3 from early English, and 3 from early Roman history.
– To be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
– To mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
– To do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees.
– To know 6 birds by song, color, and shape.
And that’s just a few! In this talk, we will learn Charlotte’s detailed plans for implementation (as she did not leave us hanging), and discuss how we might actually accomplish these in “real life.”
Vendor Hall
The Gentle + Classical Press provides high quality, yet 100% FREE teacher’s guides that meld the Charlotte Mason and traditional classical philosophies in an “I can do this!” way. The goal of all Gentle + Classical programs is to equip and empower homeschool mamas to trust God with their home education paths, to engage their children in whole-body learning, to cultivate virtue in their child’s heart, and to inspire passion and wonder in their minds.
