The micro school alternative looks promising for children of varying needs and abilities. Dr. Katie Bonawitz has vast experience as a special ed teacher herself and as a teacher of teachers. As Associate Dean of Education at Bethel University, St. Paul, MN, she has oversight for all their teacher education programs including the BUILD program. She has worked in Lithuania, Finland, Ukraine and the United States.

Her key verse is MT25:40 in The Message: "Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’"

Dr. Bonawitz is a 2023 Fulbright Scholarship Grant recipient to Klaipeda, Lithuania at LCC University. She completed a Fulbright Specialist Project in Vilnius, Lithuania in May and September 2024 to collaborate with the Lithuanian Center for Inclusion in Education as the country moved to an inclusion model on September 1, 2024. Dr. Bonawitz also has a heart for Ukraine and spent her 2021 sabbatical leading teachers across Ukraine in evidence-based strategies for students with disabilities. She continues to take part in virtual conferences in Lithuania and Ukraine. Dr. Bonawitz researched disabilities amidst world religions for her doctoral work. Other research areas of interest include serving individuals with disabilities across the world, principles of Finnish Education, collaboration with general and special education, and transformational teacher preparation.

Her special education teaching specialties include history, legal issues, mild-moderate disabilities, and cultural and linguistic impact in special education.

Go deeper:

https://www.bethel.edu/academics/faculty/bonawitz-katie

https://www.bethel.edu/academics/build/

Have you considered the new wave in education? It is the Christian micro school. The Eden Schoolhouse Network (ESN) launches and operates "The Schoolhouse in God's House" in friendly local churches.

EdenSchoolhouse.com is the website for the Time4Littles Podcast and the Eden Schoolhouse Network. Both are ministries of the Tru316 Foundation (Tru316.com) which is the home of The Eden Podcast.

For more info, to start an Eden Family Schoolhouse or to appear on the Time4Littles Podcast contact Mimi@Tru316.com.

Jessica Sturgeon is the Executive Director of Wooddale Academy which serves more than 150 preschool Littles in two lovely locations - in Eden Prairie and in Edina, Minnesota. Jessica previously served in Ethiopia at Bingham Academy and later at a multi-location childcare organization in the Upper Midwest of the United States.

Have you considered the new wave in education? It is the Christian micro school. The Eden Schoolhouse Network (ESN) launches and operates "The Schoolhouse in God's House" in friendly local churches.

EdenSchoolhouse.com is the website for the Time4Littles Podcast and the Eden Schoolhouse Network. Both are ministries of the Tru316 Foundation (Tru316.com) which is the home of The Eden Podcast.

For more info, to start an Eden Family Schoolhouse or to appear on the Time4Littles Podcast contact Mimi@Tru316.com.

Heidi Buschbach has been homeschooling her 4 children with Charlotte Mason’s methods since 2009. She loves gardening, music, nature walks, and mentoring disadvantaged teens and single moms. After being inspired by a Charlotte Mason mentor, Heidi started Spread the Feast - a CM community co-op for families in the Twin Cities, MN. The co-op has been flourishing for 15 years! It has been her joy to learn and grow with the children as they teach Solfa, Shakespeare, Plutarch, science, geography, and much more!

Heidi has a particular interest in researching Charlotte Mason’s methods for implementing music education. She has led rec center camps with her church, written lessons for the Alveary Homeschool Curriculum, and in 2017 launched a CM music website entitled “Miss Mason’s Music.” (missmasonsmusic.com)

In 2021, she helped start a new microschool in St. Paul, MN, as curriculum developer, based on many of Mason’s Principles. She also was privileged to substitute teach for a semester at an inner-city sourced farm school in Wisconsin to bring the beauty of a living education to teen boys!

Most recently, Heidi and some friends launched Charlotte Mason in the City, which provides events, training, and support for parents and educators in the Twin Cities area, as well as a podcast to discuss how to implement Charlotte Mason's life-giving principles in the city and to benefit the people of the city, both young and old!

https://linktr.ee/missmasonsmusic

Have you considered the new wave in education? It is the Christian micro school. The Eden Schoolhouse Network (ESN) launches and operates "The Schoolhouse in God's House" in friendly local churches.

EdenSchoolhouse.com is the website for the Time4Littles Podcast and the Eden Schoolhouse Network. Both are ministries of the Tru316 Foundation (Tru316.com) which is the home of The Eden Podcast.

For more info, to start an Eden Family Schoolhouse or to appear on the Time4Littles Podcast contact Mimi@Tru316.com.