
Donna-Jean Breckenridge
Donna-Jean Breckenridge lives with her family in northern New Jersey. She considers herself blessed to be a founding member of the AmblesideOnline Advisory, the creators and sustainers of the AmblesideOnline curriculum. Donna-Jean was involved for many years in church ministry with her pastor-dad, she homeschooled her four children, and she now homeschools two of her five grandchildren. She is a frequent public speaker, writer (“This Country of Ours – Annotated, Edited, and Updated” and “Six Voices, One Story – The Heart of AmblesideOnline”), and audiobook narrator – yet she considers her most important roles that of Mom, Mom-Mom, and friend. Her heart’s desire is to encourage others that God is safe to trust, no matter what.

Karen Canon
Karen began her homeschool journey with Charlotte Mason over twenty years ago, little anticipating the bountiful harvest of that one decision. The impact on family life and the bonhomie of the CM community are some of those unexpected dividends and she counts them among her greatest blessings.
Three of her five children, the boys, have now graduated. School-days with the girls are just as delightful but have a decidedly different flavor!
In between frequent cups of jasmine green tea, she enjoys reading, hiking, watercolor painting, and serving on a non-profit board.

Lisa Hajda
Lisa Hajda has been enthusiastically adhering to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education for almost thirty-five years as she educates her ten children—three of whom are now home educating their own children. She enjoys all aspects of Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy and continues to grow in her appreciation of Charlotte Mason’s principles! She lives in central Nebraska with her husband, Joey, and one child still at home.

Niko Lewis
Niko first heard references to Charlotte Mason and her philosophy when her eldest daughter was in a preschool that incorporated her principles into their curriculum. She loved everything she heard but didn’t know how to form it into an education for her children until she began attending a local book study in 2015 that was reading through Mason’s volumes. It was then that she found the support to change their homeschooling course and embark on the journey of growing into a Charlotte Mason education for all of them. She is grateful, as well, for the encouragement, growth, and joy of learning with other families that she and her children enjoyed as part of a co-op from 2016 to 2020. Niko is inspired in her family’s educational journey by Charlotte Mason’s vision and invitation to walk about in a larger room and live a fuller life.

Dawn Rhymer
I often wonder what life would have looked like if Charlotte Mason had not found me. I suppose I have a small taste, as she did not knock at the door until I already had six horrendous years of plain, ordinary homeschooling behind me with nothing but dread for the future and a daily prayer that at some point I could actually like what I was doing. From this slough she pulled me, and in her arms she bore the gift of the profound and impossible task of knowing my children as persons. The task was indeed impossible for me alone, but a greater Helper was already there. Like a gentle breeze that blew in resonance with the natural frequency of my hard exterior was the Holy Spirit, and I began to crack. Through the ever-widening cracks shined beauty: relationship, art, music, poetry, narration, literature, nature, roadkill, horses, mountain biking, running, Georgia, two high school graduates, laughter, respect. One does not need to look too closely to see the crumbled remains of what once was, but perhaps their presence causes the beauty to look that much more glorious.

Don Rhymer
Don Rhymer teaches Bible, Literature, and Physics at Konos Academy, a 1-day a week Christian School in Tyrone, GA, where he has students start class in discussion groups telling back what they’ve read. He holds an MDiv from Reformed Baptist Seminary and is a retired Air Force officer and former Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Air Force Academy. Don is the husband of Dawn and father of 5 kids (ages 14 to 21). His family is in its tenth year of implementing a CM-based education, with Don more recently assisting. Don has spoken at CMER and the LER and has read through Miss Mason’s 6 Volumes. He continually sees CM’s principles resonate with Truth in so many facets of humanity, leadership, homelife, and any form of education.

Amelia Rodgers
Amelia Rodgers is a second-generation homeschooler who has loved using Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy while homeschooling her own children for the past 8 years. She is impacted daily by the rich, welcoming, and enlivening atmosphere that this lifestyle provides, both for her children and herself. She believes that Mason’s principles can extend to all ages of learners and is excited to discover how these ideas will continue to inspire and foster community in the years to come. Amelia lives with her husband, Steve, and five kids (plus a Goldendoodle!) on a small acreage in central Nebraska. She loves to read, travel, crochet, and discuss living ideas.

Jennifer Taylor
After earning a B.S. in Biology and Masters in Education, Jennifer enjoyed a rewarding career as a public school teacher. Homeschooling never entered her mind. Upon discovering Charlotte Mason’s deep knowledge of educating the whole child, she was inspired to home educate her three children. Since then, she has spent 15 years awakening to the richness of a Charlotte Mason education and gifting this to her children, now in high school and college.
In addition to homeschooling, Jennifer currently enjoys teaching at Rose Cottage School, a CM enrichment program for elementary ages. As a novice in an Episcopalian religious order and Children’s Minister, Jennifer is discovering creative ways to integrate Charlotte Mason’s methods in Christian spiritual formation within her local church. She shares about these endeavors and other offerings at A Sacred Education.
Jennifer lives with her family in the beautiful Rocky Mountain foothills in Monument, Colorado.

Rebecca Zipp
Rebecca was first introduced to Charlotte Mason in 2013 when her oldest child was 3. After exploring other educational methods, she felt she had finally found a philosophy that made sense. Every aspect of Ms. Mason’s ideas, from reading living books to the importance of being immersed in the natural world, appealed to her on many levels. With a degree in art history, she especially appreciated Ms. Mason’s emphasis on exposing children to fine art. Rebecca enjoys the freedom found in a Charlotte Mason education and the fact that it not only nourishes the minds, hearts, and souls of her children but hers as well. She lives in Colorado with her husband, their two children, three cats, two salamanders, four quail, and whatever bug pets her kids have adopted. She also writes at her website, a humble place.