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Archives for K-12 education

K-12 education

Kodály Who?

October 13, 2022 by Christin Peng

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cultural Literacy, Culture, Curriculum, Extracurriculars, K-12 education, Music, The Liberal Arts

Why We Have High Expectations in Kindergarten

October 3, 2022 by Sydney Ackerman

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Character, Character Education, Culture, Discipline, Failure, Faith, Grammar School, Grit, Growth Mindset, Habit, K-12 education, Kindergarten, Parental Partnership, Rigor

Cedar Hallways

January 25, 2022 by Sydney Ackerman

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, […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Character Education, Culture, Grammar School, Habit, K-12 education, Logic School, Moral Imagination, Observation visits, Parental Partnership, Rhetoric School, Stewardship, Virtue

In Defense of Mastery: Our Approach to Assessment

October 28, 2021 by Amber Knapp

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Assessment, Character Education, Culture, Curriculum, Family, Grades, Grading, Grammar School, K-12 education, Lifelong Learning, Logic School, Mission Statement, Parental Partnership, Rhetoric School, Virtue

Harvesting Where We Did Not Plant: The Story of a Brick-and-Mortar School

October 12, 2021 by Caroline Hummel

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Culture, Faith, Grit, K-12 education, Mission Statement, Rigor, Stewardship

The Value of Reading Together

August 23, 2021 by Caroline Hummel

If you have a student in Cedar in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, or 2nd Grade, then you are familiar with this instruction on their take-home sheets: “Read at home with your student.” But what exactly does that mean? What should reading at home with your student look like? The Secret Sauce Let’s start with an encouraging […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cultural Literacy, Curriculum, Family, Grammar School, K-12 education, Lifelong Learning, Parental Partnership, Reading, Reading Instruction, Special Education, The Great Books, The Liberal Arts

Introduction to Latin

February 10, 2021 by Amelia Stieren

While reading Washington Irving’s book, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., the 3rd and 4th graders came across the phrase terra incognita. A student asked what it means, but already knew half its meaning since he knew that terra, a vocabulary word they learned in their first year of Latin at Cedar, means “earth” or “land.” Why do we teach […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Curriculum, Grammar School, Grit, Homework, K-12 education, Latin, Latin School, Lifelong Learning, Parental Partnership, Rigor, The Liberal Arts

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

Introduction to Singapore Math

February 3, 2021 by Jack Hummel

At Cedar Classical Academy, we teach mathematics in a way that is very different from the way you were likely taught. American math curricula tend to show a pre-solved example equation, explain the steps that were taken to solve it, and then assign a number of similar problems. The student solves these problems by copying […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Curriculum, Grammar School, K-12 education, Logic School, Mathematics, Parental Partnership, Quadrivium, Quarantine Chronicles, Rhetoric School, Rigor, Wonder

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

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

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