megandunham

That has proven to be exactly the case. The kids actually requested to come back to school the very next day after their dad died and they've been at school all this week. We had our monthly grammar school recitation this morning and their entire extended family came for it. Later in the day, almost our whole school joined them for their dad's memorial service. We are not the church, nor do we try to be, but we are a tight community and a close family and those kids needed that from us this week. And will continue to need it in the coming weeks after all of the craziness of every family member being in town and living with them and once the quiet settles and they are alone with their grief. But, gosh, it's hard.

Do your schools do any type of entrance exam for incoming first graders and would you be willing to either share a copy with me, or give me a good idea of what you put on it? We're in the process of revamping what we want ours to look like and I'd love to see what other schools are doing. Thank you! You can email me if you'd rather send it that way: megan@petraacademy.com

Last Thursday, one of the dads at our school was killed by a train when he couldn't stop his truck in time due to ice on the road. The family has three kids at our school: 7th, 6th, 2nd. The youngest was in my class last year. I think our community is handling things well, but, gosh, how do you ever REALLY handle something like this well? We pray. We cry. We hug the kids. We repeat that over and over. Have any of you experienced something like this in your communities? How did you navigate things? Come, Lord Jesus, Come Megan

Well, whew! Sometimes it's hard to get going again after an extended break and this one was even harder. My oldest daughter got married just before Thanksgiving. We plowed through to finish school before Christmas, then traveled over Christmas, then came back to start school only to have my youngest daughter need shoulder surgery on the second day back. I'm here to say - nothing questions my current role as a first grade teacher like one of my kids really needing me at home and I struggled last week. I am grateful to have two college-age daughters who pretty much cleared their schedules to help care for my youngest (who is 15) on the days I couldn't be with her during the day. But these are the times I really do miss homeschooling (but don't get me wrong - I'm grateful for the teachers they have for high school speaking into their lives alongside my husband and me). I just miss the single purpose of life it seemed I had then. Ahem. Guess this would be more appropriate for a random musings forum. All that to say that I've been a little MIA around here for a few weeks. Life is starting to return to a little more normalcy than it had before. Hope to see more of you around a little bit more now that we're back in the thick of things! Megan

Thanks for your gracious replies, both. It seemed worth posting at the beginning, but after I did I SERIOUSLY second guessed it and, well, there you have it. I'm glad that episode is over and I'll see how I do at talking my kids into some of the fairy roles next time... *grin*

As a staff, we read The Liberal Arts Tradition together in the fall. The book is, of course, excellent, but I will need to reread it about six times before I really understand it. My introduction to classical education came around 2005 when I picked up a copy of The Well Trained Mind. I'm looking for more books along this line that give method along with practice, particularly as I work alongside a teacher this year who is very new to classical education. What books do you all recommend for those just starting to step into this world for the very first time?

Do any of your K teachers do a food groups unit? The K teachers at my school are looking to revamp what they are doing and would love to find out what other schools are doing for it.

Just curious! I'd love to start some more conversations here, but wondered if there are any other teachers who are teaching at this level who check in here?

This post is so disturbing to even me. The pictures loaded SO big. I'm trying to delete it, but apparently there isn't any way to do that. Sorry! Hopefully it will get buried by more worthy offerings soon!

I'd love to hear what some of your schools have done for fundraising needs. What have been the most effective things you've done and have been able to repeat with consistent results?

We do spend a lot of time at school already. Some background: my husband is the headmaster. We have four daughters, two of whom have already graduated, and the other two are in 10th and 9th grades. Between drama and sports we manage to be there until 5:30 most days (2 hours after school ends). I usually have at least 30 minutes of planning each day, but that time is all taken by current in-class admin needs (quick homework checks, sorting papers, etc.). I try to do as much as I can in that window, but inevitably end up bringing some things home. I'm seriously hopeful that year three will see more of a settling into things. One can always hope!

What do your schools use for phonics/reading/spelling? Have you been happy with it?

Here's a video our Academic Dean did to answer this question for our families:

American Girl Bitty Baby will never be the same. My 9th grader is dressing up as the cauldron from MacBeth tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'm more proud of her education, or more disturbed by it right now. These are two of the items inside the cauldron. At least she promises the baby will go back to normal after tomorrow... *grin*

Oops - I left a comment about a family I thought went to your school, but I think it's the other guy on here. I need to fact check myself before posting.