Back to School Conference 2024
Speakers
About Donna-Jean Breckenridge
Donna-Jean lives with her family in a four-generation house in northern New Jersey. She comes from a rich legacy of pastors, evangelists, and missionaries, and takes seriously the verse, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.” She herself is a Bible college graduate, with a degree in Biblical Literature.
It was her desire to recreate the best parts of that childhood with her own children. When their oldest child was an infant, early in 1986, Donna-Jean read Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s For the Children’s Sake and found that Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy was the one she and her husband wanted for their home. She currently serves on the AmblesideOnline Advisory, teaches her beloved grandchildren, narrates books on Audible, and enjoys public speaking. She is also involved in church ministry, and she is actively pursuing several writing projects.
About Cindy Rollins
Cindy homeschooled nine children for over 30 years years using Charlotte Mason’s timeless ideas. She is the author of Mere Motherhood: Morning Time, Nursery Rhymes, My Journey Toward Sanctification, The Mere Motherhood Newsletters, Hallelujah: Cultivating Advent Traditions with Handel’s Messiah and Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love along with its Anthology.
She co-hosts The New Mason Jar Podcast with Dawn Duran and encourages moms weekly on her Patreon “Morning Time for Moms Discipleship Group.”
Find her on patreon.com/cindyrollins or at morningtimeformoms.com. Her heart’s desire is to encourage moms and go to baseball games.
About Melissa Bair
Melissa is a homeschooling mom of four children (soon to be five!). She has loved math since her dad put a fractal program on the family desktop computer in 1995 and taught her how to use it. She received a B.S. in Mathematics from Otterbein University in Westerville, OH and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for graduate studies in Computer Science. She also worked as a research mathematician for the Department of Defense for a short stint. She is now a piano teacher with a thriving piano studio in central Ohio right down to road from Otterbein where she and her husband met. Listen to The New Mason Jar episode 68 to hear more about Melissa!
About Dawn Duran
Dawn is a physical therapist by training and a wife and mother by vocation. She has been home educating her sons, currently in 8th and 11th grades, using the Charlotte Mason philosophy “since the beginning.” She feels blessed to have encountered Charlotte Mason when her children were toddlers, and has immersed herself in Mason’s wisdom ever since.
For several years Dawn enjoyed leading local students in the study of Plutarch and Shakespeare as part of the Friday Feast group. She is the creator of Swedish Drill Revisited and author of the book A Reasoned Patriotism: Critical Thinking and Civic Duty in an Age of Polarization. She writes for The Discerning Home Educator and co-hosts The New Mason Jar podcast with Cindy Rollins.
About Jami Marstall
Jami has been homeschooling with Charlotte Mason’s principles, primarily following AmblesideOnline, for the past 18 years. She has graduated three of her four children from the family homeschool and her youngest is in high school. Her husband John has been an integral part of their family educational endeavors as a math, philosophy, and theology tutor. Jami particularly loves to read about and discuss educational history and philosophy. She always dreamed of being a professional student and homeschooling continues to be the perfect career to fulfill that ambition. Jami joined us on The New Mason Jar for episode 22 about Charlotte Mason through High School & episode 78 starting our Morning Time for Moms series. Listen in!!
About Heather Martin
Heather lives in the Pittsburgh area with her husband, Don, of 31 years. She home educated their four sons exclusively through 12th grade—unknowingly using many CM principles. Additionally, she has served as a year-end evaluator for a wide range of homeschooling families in Pennsylvania for the past 25 years. Although Heather’s 23 years of formal homeschooling are behind her, she willingly shares her experience with younger moms through hosting Recitation Gatherings and Evenings of Encouragement. Heather currently works with children in deep poverty applying Charlotte Mason philosophy at every turn. Enjoy more about her journey on The New Mason Jar Podcast episode 77!
**Cindy Rollins Patreons – don’t forget your coupon code!!**
Schedule
2024 Back to School Conference
Heart to Heart
July 29
Monday
3:00 pm ET
Donna-Jean Breckenridge
July 30
Tuesday
3:00 pm ET
Melissa Bair
July 31
Wednesday
3:00 pm ET
Dawn Duran
Aug. 1
Thursday
3:00 pm ET
Jami Marstall
Aug. 2
Friday
3:00 pm ET
Round Table Discussion on a variety of subjects (co-ops, what to do after homeschooling, what does it all mean…etc.). Heather Martin will join us.
Aug. 3
Saturday
12:00 pm ET
Cindy Rollins