These Are the 10 Things Your Child Really Needs to Know Before Preschool
As featured on the Wichita Mom Blog, written by Mrs. Laura Bair, Preschool Teacher.——— Dear Prospective Preschool Parents, I remember the feelings you are probably having right now. You see, I am not just a preschool teacher, I, too, am a parent. My children were my most precious gifts who I was entrusting to another person for a large chunk of the day. Like you, I wanted to do all the right things to make sure my children would absolutely thrive in preschool and beyond. As a preschool teacher...
Forget the Flashcards: Math Games to Get Your Preschooler Ready for Kindergarten
As featured on the Wichita Mom Blog, written by Katherine Earles, Head of School.--------- When Katherine Earles was preparing her children for kindergarten, getting them ready to read was important, but developing their math mind was equally important. As a former Wichita State University instructor who taught elementary education majors how to instruct young children in math, Earles has thought a lot about developing children’s math minds. Now she gets to put many of those principles into...
Giving Thanks by Vas Oldziey
A couple of decades ago, I attended a workshop on parenting led by Sr. Magdalen, of St. John the Baptist Monastery in Essex, England and the author of “Conversations with Children”. During the Q&A session, a mom and dad expressed their disappointment that their children seemed ungrateful despite all they had done for their children. They asked how they might teach their children to be thankful. Sr. Magdalen’s response was simple and straightforward. She asked the parents if they were...
Latin Per Se By Jeremy Wagner
Students in grades five and six at CSA are now using a different curriculum than in past years. It’s called Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, which means “the Latin language illuminated in itself”. There isn’t space in a short article to tell all the things I love about this curriculum, but the main thing is that it provides direct experience of the Latin language in a way that brings delight. I don’t want my students to receive only the secondary benefits of studying Latin, you see. I want...
Remember the Oak Tree
Remember the Oak Tree. Undoubtedly one of the mightiest, most resilient trees on Earth, it’s roots grow so deep and wide that if it can find its own water source, even in dry weather. Oak Trees live up to a thousand years, providing shade for ten generations! And yet, the mighty oak tree grows so very slowly. Originating from an acorn, its sapling growth is as slow as 30-40 cm per year. And so it is with our children. They grow and learn ever so slowly, and sometimes we just want them to hurry...
Action & Contemplation: Friends of Wisdom in a Time of Crisis
I. These are challenging times. Perhaps, amidst the shifting sands of our social landscape, the news headlines, the real need and suffering of those around us, and the incessant activity of mind and body all these can precipitate, we may have been able to find at least some moments for rest and reflection. It is precisely at times like these that the importance of both action and contemplation becomes evident. One sustains and supports the other. They are sibling orientations of the soul. ...
Stories in April
I. What I would like to offer in today's Paideia post is twofold: 1) a reflection on storytelling (part I); and 2) an announcement in light of that reflection about a new way for CSA students to remain actively creative during this period of remote learning (part II below). As with so many things, we will look to the past for inspiration in this. History is full of pandemics that required prolonged quarantining. Because of this, the act of trying to find some respite, relief, and even...
Quarantine and Lent: The Time that is Given to Us
I want to offer a brief reflection today that draws some connections between Lent and the relative quarantine in which we find ourselves. I say ‘relative’ because the State of Kansas/Sedgwick county stay-at-home orders currently in place do allow us quite a bit of freedom, albeit with strict suggestions on socializing, the size of gatherings, and what the essential functions and institutions are in commerce, infrastructure, and society. While the novel coronavirus may be a novel experience...