Welcome to Branches & Vine Cottage School
I'm Jennifer Courlas, the Founder and Director of Branches & Vine Cottage School. Thank you for taking time to read about what God is doing in and through us here.
A wise Titus 2 mother and trusted homeschooling mentor placed a pivotal book in my hands in the late 1990s. For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay resonated deeply with me and I marked and highlighted paragraphs and pages until new copies were required. Mrs. Macaulay's summaries and Charlotte Mason's ideas about home, life, and education articulated everything I desired for my own children ... and intuitively knew to be true.
Despite many college education credits, I had to unlearn and then reconsider a different educational way forward. I devoured resources like A Charlotte Mason Education, by Catherine Levison, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Art of Compulsory Schooling, by John Taylor Gatto, and Miss Mason's own six volumes entitled Home Education Series.
My husband and I embarked on a homeschooling journey with two preschool girls, a newborn son ... and Miss Mason's life-giving principles and methods serving as our constant light and guide along the path. AmblesideOnline also provided the trustworthy CM resource framework through the years.
In 2012, the Lord birthed a calling in our hearts ... one centered around launching a CM Cottage School someday. We began to read, pray, network, and take notes with a view to future possibilities. My eldest daughter, Julia, attended college in preparation for serving in a specifically CM-focused educational setting.
Twenty-two years of a truly beautiful and fruitful CM life and education behind us with our own children ... and three adult children now flourishing in college learning and professional settings, we decided it was time to move forward with the CM cottage school vision the Lord had planted within us many years before.
We prayed, God provided, and with the help of a faithful support team, my daughter, Julia, and I launched this incredible educational "venture of faith." Branches & Vine Cottage School opened its doors in the fall of 2020, meeting many needs in our community during COVID closures. It exists as a 501(c)(3) ministry initiative of Calvary South Dayton.
A wise Titus 2 mother and trusted homeschooling mentor placed a pivotal book in my hands in the late 1990s. For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay resonated deeply with me and I marked and highlighted paragraphs and pages until new copies were required. Mrs. Macaulay's summaries and Charlotte Mason's ideas about home, life, and education articulated everything I desired for my own children ... and intuitively knew to be true.
Despite many college education credits, I had to unlearn and then reconsider a different educational way forward. I devoured resources like A Charlotte Mason Education, by Catherine Levison, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Art of Compulsory Schooling, by John Taylor Gatto, and Miss Mason's own six volumes entitled Home Education Series.
My husband and I embarked on a homeschooling journey with two preschool girls, a newborn son ... and Miss Mason's life-giving principles and methods serving as our constant light and guide along the path. AmblesideOnline also provided the trustworthy CM resource framework through the years.
In 2012, the Lord birthed a calling in our hearts ... one centered around launching a CM Cottage School someday. We began to read, pray, network, and take notes with a view to future possibilities. My eldest daughter, Julia, attended college in preparation for serving in a specifically CM-focused educational setting.
Twenty-two years of a truly beautiful and fruitful CM life and education behind us with our own children ... and three adult children now flourishing in college learning and professional settings, we decided it was time to move forward with the CM cottage school vision the Lord had planted within us many years before.
We prayed, God provided, and with the help of a faithful support team, my daughter, Julia, and I launched this incredible educational "venture of faith." Branches & Vine Cottage School opened its doors in the fall of 2020, meeting many needs in our community during COVID closures. It exists as a 501(c)(3) ministry initiative of Calvary South Dayton.
The Lord impressed John 15 on our hearts and minds for the launch of this educational endeavor:
"I am the TRUE VINE, and My Father is the Vinedresser ... I am the VINE, you are the BRANCHES. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love."
Thus, our cottage school was named with a nod to the lovely CM nature emphasis (referenced by branches, vines, and fruit), and an inherent reminder that HE is the lifegiving Vine, we are the humble Branches ... and true academic, spiritual, and personal fruit is produced when we abide in Him, His Word, and His love, all for the Father's glory (never ours).
It is our calling to come alongside families and educators who are desirous of spreading "the feast" for children and students from our surrounding Dayton communities. We affirm that home-education alongside vibrant community-based learning opportunities with like-minded people provide richness and depth to "the feast."
Shakespeare plays, Nature Talks, recitations, age-old cottage school traditions, generous outdoor play and enjoyment with chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, "House" Competitions, delight-directed clubs, Poetry Tea Time, living books lending library, Latin classes and games, handicrafts, singing, and folk dancing, group gardening projects, class discussions and presentations, speeches and talent shows, nurturing deepening relationships with living books, living ideas, and living things alongside memorable relationships with teachers and friends ... are among the many ways we experience the wonder and delight of a wide feast within community at Branches & Vine.
Aside from Miss Mason's own volumes and Parents' Review articles, Branches & Vine primarily adheres to the Charlotte Mason philosophies and methods as expressed in the following guiding resources:
1) For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
2) In Vital Harmony, by Karen Glass
3) Know & Tell: The Art of Narration, by Karen Glass
4) Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, by Karen Glass
5) Mind to Mind: An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education, by Karen Glass
6) CM-related articles and discussions (various), by AmblesideOnline Contributors
In addition to the cottage school, I am currently rolling out the True Vine CM Network - a life-giving and multi-faceted Charlotte Mason community in South Dayton, OH. My prayer is to see a flourishing CM-influenced culture and community in South Dayton comprised of families and educators being encouraged, trained, equipped, and released, for His gospel and His glory.
I'd love to speak with you in order to answer any questions you may have!
Mrs. Jennifer Courlas
We proclaim HIM (Christ), admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. ~ Colossians 1:28
"I am the TRUE VINE, and My Father is the Vinedresser ... I am the VINE, you are the BRANCHES. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love."
Thus, our cottage school was named with a nod to the lovely CM nature emphasis (referenced by branches, vines, and fruit), and an inherent reminder that HE is the lifegiving Vine, we are the humble Branches ... and true academic, spiritual, and personal fruit is produced when we abide in Him, His Word, and His love, all for the Father's glory (never ours).
It is our calling to come alongside families and educators who are desirous of spreading "the feast" for children and students from our surrounding Dayton communities. We affirm that home-education alongside vibrant community-based learning opportunities with like-minded people provide richness and depth to "the feast."
Shakespeare plays, Nature Talks, recitations, age-old cottage school traditions, generous outdoor play and enjoyment with chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, "House" Competitions, delight-directed clubs, Poetry Tea Time, living books lending library, Latin classes and games, handicrafts, singing, and folk dancing, group gardening projects, class discussions and presentations, speeches and talent shows, nurturing deepening relationships with living books, living ideas, and living things alongside memorable relationships with teachers and friends ... are among the many ways we experience the wonder and delight of a wide feast within community at Branches & Vine.
Aside from Miss Mason's own volumes and Parents' Review articles, Branches & Vine primarily adheres to the Charlotte Mason philosophies and methods as expressed in the following guiding resources:
1) For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
2) In Vital Harmony, by Karen Glass
3) Know & Tell: The Art of Narration, by Karen Glass
4) Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, by Karen Glass
5) Mind to Mind: An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education, by Karen Glass
6) CM-related articles and discussions (various), by AmblesideOnline Contributors
In addition to the cottage school, I am currently rolling out the True Vine CM Network - a life-giving and multi-faceted Charlotte Mason community in South Dayton, OH. My prayer is to see a flourishing CM-influenced culture and community in South Dayton comprised of families and educators being encouraged, trained, equipped, and released, for His gospel and His glory.
I'd love to speak with you in order to answer any questions you may have!
Mrs. Jennifer Courlas
We proclaim HIM (Christ), admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. ~ Colossians 1:28
Jennifer was born not far from Toronto. Canada (in the lovely city of Stratford, to be precise ... known for its world class Stratford Festival - North America's largest classical repertory theatre company with a special emphasis on the plays of Shakespeare). She left for college in the United States (Georgia), graduated, and married her husband, Peter, in 1993. Peter and Jennifer have spent the majority of their married life in vocational ministry in Ohio, New York, and Ontario, now doing church renewal work affiliated with the Calvary Global Network (calvarychapel.com) in South Dayton.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor's degree: Piano Performance (magna cum laude), with minors in both English and Theology. She is also certified with the Royal Conservatory of Music (Honors Piano) and has been active as a homeschooling mother (24 years), staff worship director, staff children's ministry director, English tutor to students living in China, and freelance musician. Additionally, Jennifer has 32 years of hands-on music education experience, teaching in her private piano/violin studio, leading choral and instrumental ensembles, building a multi-faceted worship/community arts program, and investing in the lives of her students.
Email Jennifer: headmistress@bvcottageschool.com
Jennifer holds a Bachelor's degree: Piano Performance (magna cum laude), with minors in both English and Theology. She is also certified with the Royal Conservatory of Music (Honors Piano) and has been active as a homeschooling mother (24 years), staff worship director, staff children's ministry director, English tutor to students living in China, and freelance musician. Additionally, Jennifer has 32 years of hands-on music education experience, teaching in her private piano/violin studio, leading choral and instrumental ensembles, building a multi-faceted worship/community arts program, and investing in the lives of her students.
Email Jennifer: headmistress@bvcottageschool.com
