Rediscovering the simple things

with Guest Speaker Chris Hall

Saturday
October 18th, 2025
8:00a–3:30p
SLOCA High School

register now

The common arts got their name from the fact that they are ‘common’: skills by which everyone meets their basic, embodied needs in the world. We need to eat, have shelter, heal, trade, find our way around, and more in order to keep going. And yet, they are also UN-common today. We outsource many of these to others, trading money for goods and services. In so doing, we experience convenience, but we lose some baseline skills and proficiencies, as well as a deeply-rooted connection to the natural world and the orders of things. Join us to learn how to practice and integrate these (un)common arts into our everyday, common lives, and raise our children with them.

speaker bio

Chris Hall

Author, Common Arts Education​

Chris Hall has a BA in Philosophy from Gettysburg College and an MAT in Elementary Education from Towson University. He has been a classroom educator and administrator for 30 years, having served in public, independent, and classical schools. Along with his professional pedigree, he is a lifelong practitioner of several common arts, and the Founder of Always Learning Education, an organization dedicated to teaching, learning, and propagating the liberal, common, and fine arts in resonance. He lives on a small homestead farm in central Virginia with his wife and three homeschooled sons.

sessions + pricing

Session 1: Home + Hearth

We will cover some first-order common arts, including gardening and cooking, and discover how onboarding these skills not only strengthens our home and family, but also rekindles some of the best, historical notions of community.

Session 2: Simple Repairs

We will explore those second-order common arts at first in the classroom, but we will quickly move to the parking lot…to work on your car. Among other skills, we will learn how to check your fluids, change your oil and brake pads, and diagnose common problems.

VIP Fireside Chat + Lunch

In this session, we will have a chance to share food and fellowship together over your questions. We will also learn how to tell the time, tell direction, and keep a calendar using nothing but the sun, moon, and stars! In this VIP Fireside Lunch, we will dive deeply into the interests and ideas brought to light in the morning’s session. Come ready to explore anything from philosophy to implementation! As we discuss, we will also learn a lesson in navigation: by tracking the motion of the sun across the sky during our session, we will learn to reckon directions and to tell the time. To assist in the endeavor, we will build a small sundial with paper and a pencil. Knowing this one pattern of motion in the celestial sphere opens doors to all the other types of navigation and calendar-keeping…but you’ll have to attend to learn the details.

Schedule

8:00-8:30a: Doors open/refreshments served
8:30-9:15a: Introduction to Common Artswith Chris Hall
9:15-11:15a: Session 1: Home + Hearth
11:15-11:30a: Break
11:30a-12:45p: VIP Fireside Lunchwith Chris Hall: Celestial Navigation
12:45-1:00p: Break
1:00-3:00p: Session 2: Simple Repairs
3:05-3:30p: Closing reflections + Q&A

Morning Sessions: $30
(8:30-11:15am)

Afternoon Sessions: $30
(1-3:30pm)

Full Day: $50
(does not include Fireside Chat Session)

VIP Fireside Chat + Lunch: +$55

register now

location

SLO Classical Academy High School (SLOCAHS)
1111 Higuera St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Note on Parking:

There are a number of parking options near SLOCA High School, including metered, unmetered, and parking garages.

Click here to visit SLO City's Interactive Parking Map for more information.

childcare + pricing

We are delighted to offer childcare during the retreat for Kindergarten-8th graders, where they will have a chance to dabble in the common arts themselves (while you enjoy some time of your own)! Our fantastic, qualified teaching staff ensure kids are grouped by appropriate grade levels and have a blast. Pack a snack and a lunch if you plan on enrolling all day from 8-4pm (or snacks for the morning or afternoon sessions). This will be located at our 165 Grand Campus, which is only 5 minutes away from our High School (where you will you be!).

ALL DAY: $120 or $100 for Siblings
(8am-4pm)

HALF DAY: $60 or $50 for Siblings
(8am-12pm OR 12pm-4pm)

register now