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Archives for Blog

Blog

Count the Cost, Part IV: Failure

February 6, 2021 by Katherine Bradford

count the cost

Count the Cost is a blog series designed for prospective parents. In our fourth installment, we asked Miss Katherine Bradford about how a classical school’s high standards inevitably mean that students will deal with failure. (Spoiler Alert: We think that is a good thing.) Katie was a founding teacher at Oakdale Academy in Waterford Township […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Admissions, Character Education, Count the Cost, Culture, Curriculum, Grit, K-12 education, Parental Partnership, Rigor, Virtue, Worldview

Count the Cost, Part III: Tiny School

January 30, 2021 by Anne Poortenga

count the cost

Count the Cost is a blog series designed for prospective parents. In our third installment, we asked the Poortenga family about the steep costs of pioneering at such a small school community in which each family plays a major part in shaping the school culture. The Poortengas co-founded Trinitas Classical School, a Michigan K-8 classical […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Admissions, Count the Cost, Culture, Grammar School, K-12 education, Logic School, Parental Partnership

Count the Cost, Part II: A Singing Culture

January 16, 2021 by Christin Peng

count the cost

Count the Cost is a blog series designed for prospective parents. In our second installment, we asked our music teacher to explain why we spend so much – so much – time singing. If you a spend a day at Cedar Classical Academy, you will quickly notice that we constantly sing together throughout the school hours. The […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Admissions, Character Education, Count the Cost, Culture, Habits, K-12 education, Liturgy, Music, Parenting, Singing

Count the Cost, Part I: Money Etc.

January 4, 2021 by David and Ellen Liebing

count the cost

Count the Cost is a blog series designed for prospective parents. In our first installment, we asked the Liebing family about the financial sacrifices they have made over the past 21 years of their involvement with Mars Hill Academy.  Our core conviction is this: we have a responsibility as parents to do the best we […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Admissions, Character Education, Count the Cost, Culture, Faith, K-12 education, Parental Partnership, Parenting, Stewardship, Tuition

Christmas Gift Guide 2020: Books

December 2, 2020 by Sydney Ackerman

Our staff has compiled some family read-alouds and gifts for grandparents or friends interested in classical education. Keep scrolling for our top book picks from the year. Family Read-Alouds Mrs. Berggren: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Mr. Hummel: The Binding of the Blade by L.B. Graham Mrs. Hummel: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Mrs. Peng: Where […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Books, Christmas, Christmas Gift Guide, Culture, Read-Alouds, The Great Books

Christmas Gift Guide 2020: Staff Picks for Kids

December 2, 2020 by Sydney Ackerman

Welcome to Cedar Classical Academy’s Christmas Gift Guide! Our staff has compiled gift recommendations for the children in your life. Keep scrolling for our practical, tried-and-true, and sometimes unconventional picks for this Christmas season! This post is not sponsored. For even more gift ideas, check out our read-aloud and book list. Boys Kindergarten-2nd Grade Mr. […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas Gift Guide, Culture

Why the Badger? The Story Behind Our Mascot

November 20, 2020 by Caroline Hummel

We are excited to introduce our mascot: The Badgers. Why did we choose a badger to represent our vision for our students? Badgers hold on. In Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis introduces us to a talking badger named Trufflehunter who provides steadiness in an uncertain time of exile and disunity among the Narnians. He is the […]

Filed Under: Blog

Training to Serve: Our Physical Education Curriculum

October 7, 2020 by Sydney Ackerman

Human beings are composed of Mind, Soul, and Body. As a classical and Christian school, you are right to assume that we care about the mind and soul. But how many classical school graduates do you hear about in the NFL? Did we forget about the body? (The short answer is “no.”) The education of […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Character Education, Curriculum, Grammar School, Grit, K-12 education, Lifelong Learning, Logic School, Physical Education, Rigor, Virtue

“Beauty out of dust”: Our Art Curriculum

July 31, 2020 by Kyria Beals

God the Creator has formed us to be worshipers, creators in his image, and stewards of what he has made. He creates universes out of nothing but words! He forms living beings out of dust and calls them good! We create art with lowly paper and paints, clay and scissors. In studying and practicing art, […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Art, Curriculum, Grammar School, K-12 education, Logic School, The Liberal Arts

“Joy beyond the walls of the world”: Why & How We Teach Lit

July 9, 2020 by Stefan Hull

We teach literature at CCA because of its unique ability to make a profound impact on a reader. The best stories prepare students for the great, life-long battles they will face as they strive to live righteously. They also give memorable encouragement to persevere in the fight. The Development of the Moral Imagination Preparation for […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Curriculum, Grammar School, K-12 education, Literature

From Great to Okay: What we’ve learned about distance learning

May 19, 2020 by Caroline Hummel

We at Cedar Classical Academy are confident that, right now, mid-pandemic, we continue to offer the best K-6 educational option in Lansing. Now beginning our ninth week of distance learning, we have kept our mission alive. Cedar Classical Academy’s culture has been marked since our founding by parental partnership, high standards, character emphasis, and real […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Character Education, Culture, Curriculum, Grammar School, Grit, K-12 education, Literature, Mathematics, Online Learning, Quarantine Chronicles, Science

Quarantine Chronicles: One Thing We Miss

April 7, 2020 by Caroline Hummel

We asked our teachers one thing they miss about school during distance learning. Here’s what they said: “I miss the laughter and enthusiasm each student brings to my class” – Mrs. Meibeyer, Physical Education “I miss circling up to read poems with the kindergartners!” -Mrs. Setterington, Kindergarten “I miss hearing the students sing!” – Mrs. […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Culture, Grammar School, Quarantine Chronicles

“Beauty is not an elective”: Our Music Curriculum

February 8, 2020 by Caroline Hummel

Here is a glimpse of Wassail & Carols, our December 12 celebration of Christ’s incarnation through recitation and carols. This was also a night to revel in the musicianship that our music teacher, Mrs. Peng, has been teaching to our students. At Cedar, we like to say that beauty is not an elective. We think […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Culture, Curriculum, Extracurriculars, Grammar School, Music, Quadrivium

The Mission Series, Pt. VI | Learning to love: God as the source and goal of all knowledge

August 26, 2019 by Emma Setterington

“What is your favorite subject?” I, for one, default to that question far too often in my conversations with grade school students. It generally results in a profound dialogue something like this: “Math.” “Why?” “It’s fun.” “What are you learning in math?” “Times.” “So, do you like multiplying?” “Um. I don’t know.” Or imagine another […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Mission Series, Mission Statement

The Mission Series, Pt. V | “A springboard to understanding the created world”: The Western liberal arts tradition

August 7, 2019 by Anna Liebing

Those who become involved with classical Christian education quickly discover that, as with any specific discipline, there is a vocabulary that usually seems foreign and intimidating to newcomers. Classical educators liberally spice their conversation with words like “headmaster,” “dialectic,” “rhetoric,” “the Great Conversation,” and “trivium.” From context, most pick up some vague idea of what […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cultural Literacy, Culture, Mission Series, Mission Statement, The Great Books, The Great Conversation, The Liberal Arts

Feedback: “What we have in common is more significant than what divides us”

May 21, 2019 by David Shane

A primary purpose for our events here at Cedar Classical Academy is to welcome people with different views to the table to continue what Mortimer Adler calls The Great Conversation. Our friend Dr. Peter Vande Brake spoke on classical education in an urban context at our May 10 Academy Dinner. Here, our friend Dr. David […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Culture, Feedback, The Great Conversation

“A fountain of joy alive in you”: How Music Tunes the Soul

May 13, 2019 by Jon Anderson

What did Plato observe in music that prompted him to label it the most important of the liberal arts? He perceived that, of all seven, music best “tunes the soul.” Here Plato addressed the development of character, for music can inspire the unfolding of moral and mental qualities needed to be a virtuous person. Our […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Character Education, Mathematics, Moral Imagination, Music, Quadrivium, The Liberal Arts, Virtue, Wonder

The Mission Series, Pt. IV | “The joy of finding hidden treasure”: The Classical Curriculum

April 5, 2019 by Jack Hummel

Thinking is hard work. Being disciplined in your thinking is even harder. This is not always obvious because thinking requires little or no physical exertion, it has not been made into a sport, and you cannot post pictures of it on Instagram. It is often taken for granted that kids will learn to think clearly […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Mission Series, Mission Statement, Virtue

The Mission Series, Pt. III | “Give me a place to stand and I shall move the world”: A Well-Ordered Understanding of Reality

March 6, 2019 by Emma Setterington

This post is the third in a series aimed to unpack the kind of education Cedar Classical Academy will offer, through the exposition of our mission statement piece by piece. In our previous posts, we have covered parental responsibility and school partnership in bringing up children (Pt. 1), and the key concepts of moral and […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Curriculum, Mission Series, Mission Statement, Order, Worldview

The Mission Series, Pt. II | “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue”: On Moral and Intellectual Virtue

February 4, 2019 by Emma Setterington

This post is the second in a series aimed to continue educating you about the kind of education Cedar Classical Academy will offer to students and their families. We have begun expositing our mission statement, one line at a time. In the previous post in this series, Caroline Hummel explained the God-given role of parents […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Faith, Mission Series, Mission Statement, Virtue

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