2027 Presenters

Sonya Shafer

Sonya Shafer is a popular homeschool speaker and writer, specializing in the Charlotte Mason Method. She has been on an adventure for more than 30 years studying, researching, practicing, and teaching Charlotte’s gentle and effective methods of education. Her passion for homeschooling her own children grew into helping others and then into Simply Charlotte Mason, which publishes her many books and provides a place of practical encouragement to homeschoolers at simplycharlottemason.com.

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.

Four of her five children have now graduated. School-days with her youngest 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 several non-profit boards.

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 shone beauty: relationship, art, music, poetry, Colorado, narration, literature, nature, roadkill, horses, mountain biking, Georgia, a high school graduate, marriage counseling, laughter, respect, a school board, a college graduate, a daughter-in-law, Ohio, personal counseling, back to school. 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.

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 plus 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 teaches at Rose Cottage School , a CM hybrid program, and offers support services for CM homeschooling families. She shares about these endeavors at A Sacred Education . As a vowed member of a contemplative religious order and Minister of Children and Youth Formation, Jennifer enjoys the privilege of integrating Charlotte Mason’s methods with the spiritual nurturing of children in her local Episcopal parish.

Jennifer lives with her family in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountain foothills.

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, various quail, and whatever bug pets her kids have adopted. She also writes at her website, a humble place.

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.

Christine Jauchler

Christine has a degree in Physical Education & Accounting. She taught P.E. for 3 years in public school, then ran a kids gym for 5 years. She knew if she had kids she wanted to homeschool! She started learning about Charlotte Mason 12 years ago after looking into lots of other curriculum and philosophies. Charlotte Mason captured her heart with God in every subject, short lessons, nature study and presenting a feast to her kids. She currently runs a homeschool group with fellow CMer, Kim, where she teaches nature study, folk dancing and P.E. She has attended the last 7 years of CMER and loved getting to know the other Charlotte Mason moms and has made life-long friends.

She is wife to Jason (20 years!) and mom to 3 girls and 1 boy. They live by the Wasatch Mountains in Northern Utah.

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 two co-ops from 2016 to 2020 and 2022 – 2025. 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 with the Supreme Educator, the Holy Spirit.

Don Rhymer

Don is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cedarville University in Ohio. He is a 24-year Air Force veteran, having taught engineering mechanics for 12 years at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Afterwards, he and his family spent seven years in Georgia, exploring ministry in a pastoral internship. He then served as an Instructor of Bible, Physics, and Literature as well as Athletic Director at Konos Academy in Tyrone, Georgia. He is in his 3rd Idyll Challenge and loves finding Charlotte Mason’s principles prove true, in homeschooling and many areas of life.

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 9 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.