Within the first week of school in my classroom, I begin teaching the first and second graders how to hold their pencils correctly and how to form their letters properly. Why do I begin so early? Because many of them enter my classroom putting their index and middle fingers on their pencils. The longer they […]
Culture
Christmas Gift Guide 2022: Staff Picks for Kids
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 2020 guide and our 2020 read-aloud and book […]
Kodály Who?
If you are a Cedar parent, you may have heard your student sing about a horse that caught a whooping cough, rain that will not go away, Queen Caroline, or John Kanaka. Learning these folk songs is part of the Kodály (pronounced code-EYE) approach that is focused on singing-centered music literacy. Folk songs (our musical mother […]
Why We Have High Expectations in Kindergarten
This is adapted from a talk that Mrs. Ackerman gave at a parent education event called Lightning Talks on September 28, 2022. Watch it here. On the front end I want to warn you that this talk may make kindergarten sound like a battlefield, but in this short time I don’t have time to go […]
The Adventure of Reading Alone
Congratulations! Your child can read. He has mastered the first stage of reading: decoding and recoding. Now that he can sound words out, he has even started reading chapter books on his own. Supporting your child in this next big step is a little bit like un-babyproofing the house. Once the baby gate is stowed […]
Cedar Hallways
You come into Cedar Classical Academy for the first time and many unique practices fill your first impressions. You notice our uniforms, the orderliness of the students’ boot mat, the friendly greetings of students when you enter a classroom. You say, “Wow! A school in a church!” (To see how the Lord orchestrates this weekly, […]
In Defense of Mastery: Our Approach to Assessment
One of the primary goals outlined in our mission statement is to “offer a rigorous course of study in the Western liberal arts tradition, teaching students to discover goodness, truth, and beauty in every discipline as a reflection of God.” A great deal of preparation goes into the fulfillment of this statement. The governing board supports the school by upholding the […]
Harvesting Where We Did Not Plant: The Story of a Brick-and-Mortar School
In the summer of 2017 on a sweltering weekday morning, I parked just south of the Capitol and walked to the Michigan Department of Education, holding the hands of my two toddlers, in order to get a letter of approval declaring us a school. I had tried and failed to register our school with the […]
The Magic of Reading Aloud
Think of the turning points in great stories that have shaped you. What are the moments you remember? These moments still feel as vividly real to me as my own childhood memories: Bilbo in the tunnel just before he meets Smaug, Aslan coming back to life, Mole apologizing to Rat after upsetting the boat, Puddleglum […]
Five Tips to Enjoy Nature with Your Family
Building family culture is simply about doing things together. Shared experiences, shared interests, and repeated activities (traditions) are what stick in kids’ memories and make your family a fun place to belong. Exploring nature is together is a relatively easy, free activity that is accessible to all. Even if the outdoors isn’t your thing, the […]
Three Ways to Reinforce Classical Education at Home
If what your children do at school matters, then how they live at home ought to matter even more. At Cedar, we want our students to celebrate the continuity in the Lord’s sovereignty and grace in all things, whether that be during a lesson on fractions or while taking out the trash at home. We […]
Family Worship
Jason Helopoulos is a Cedar dad since 2019 and pastor of University Reformed Church. He is author of A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home which calls parents and church leaders to reclaim the practice of family worship. To encourage Cedar families to build strong family cultures in their own homes, we asked […]
Count the Cost, Part IV: Failure
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 […]
Count the Cost, Part III: Tiny School
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 […]
Count the Cost, Part II: A Singing Culture
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 […]
Count the Cost, Part I: Money Etc.
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 […]
Christmas Gift Guide 2020: Books
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 […]
Christmas Gift Guide 2020: Staff Picks for Kids
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. […]
From Great to Okay: What we’ve learned about distance learning
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 […]
Quarantine Chronicles: One Thing We Miss
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. […]