Grammar School Highlight | TK and Kindergarten With Mrs. Moraza
One of my favorite things about classical education is that as teachers we not only care about what our students are learning, but who they are becoming. Even our littlest learners get time to focus on character formation by learning virtues like patience, self-control, attentiveness, kindness, gentleness, and obedience throughout the year.
In our classroom we create a loving and safe environment for our students to have fun and freedom to be who God has created them to be. We give them space to share how they feel and what they think. At the same time we focus on honoring God and loving others through our actions and words. Our virtues memory work and lessons are a tool we use to help with that. The goal of instilling a heart of self-control in our students is to help them grow up to have an inherent ability to obey God and do what's right, rather than their own impulses. What this looks like in a kindergarten class is putting away the legos or lining up when asked. Now, obviously we don't get this perfect, nor do we expect them to — we take time, and slow down to practice and remind them of who God says they are and to help our little ones do the right and good things.
Each of these kids are so special and are a gift. It is a privilege for teachers to partner with parents as they raise up their children and help form hearts that lean towards good character.
Upper School Highlight | Pre-Algebra With Mrs. Phillips
This session in pre-algebra, we dug into concepts surrounding ratios, rates, and percentages. During our time together we incorporated real life as much as possible. For instance, have you ever considered what the best ratio of chocolate chips to cookie dough is? We have! In case anyone is curious, it's 1:2! Students used their knowledge of ratios to scale up a picture which created some amazing art pieces, all starting from their calculations! Students also had opportunities to calculate their individual speed using the measurement of the basketball court (distance), and a stopwatch (time). Currently, we are looking at some items students have created, considering cost of materials, time it took to make, and of course taking into account their hourly rate! Based on this information, they are calculating what percentage of the cost they would charge in order to make a profit if they sold their hand made item, and what that profit would be.
Bringing different elements into our math learning makes it easier to understand that math really is everywhere! When they deal with complex problems outside of the classroom, they can use the
tools they learn in the classroom to solve them. We discussed why complex math problems are so complex. They concluded it is because there are more steps involved, more operations, and of course deciphering through word problems. Through the discussion they determined that they have the tools it takes to solve these problems, and they truly are capable! We partner with each other in order to build them academically, but in a way that builds wisdom, and virtue.