Endings are almost always bittersweet. As you wave goodbye to each precious life that sat in your classroom this year, you may feel a mix of elation and sadness. Before they go, give each child something that shows your care and appreciation. It doesn’t need to be dramatic, expensive, or even super-creative. A tiny, simple […]
Christian school
Greenhouse Experiment Results
When Ginger Ericson needed an example of a controlled experiment for her upcoming seventh-grade Life Science Distance Learning course, my coworker Stephen and I decided to test internet claims that microwaved water causes death or deformation in plants. Now the plant experiment is complete, and it was a lot of fun. In retrospect, I would […]
A Tale of Microwaves and Greenhouses
Did you ever have one of those moments when you just wanted to test something for yourself? Many good ideas never progress beyond the thinking stage because of a lack of resources, but every once in a while, the opportunity to make that idea a reality presents itself. My coworker Stephen Garrison and I experienced this […]
Something to Celebrate
My teacher friend Mary Beth invited me to come visit her kindergarten classroom. She had been reading aloud one the children’s books I wrote, and her students were ready for the last two chapters. “We thought it would be neat if you could come and finish the book for us,” she said. “My students would […]
Apples for My Teachers
Autumn is the season for apples. Nearly every teacher has been the recipient of an apple before—at least the glass, gold, or plastic variety if not a real one. Giving a teacher an apple is a student’s way of saying thank you for helping him or her understand something. An apple is both tart and […]
External Compliance vs. Heart-Engaged Obedience?
Christian education is facing a crucial and unsettling time. It has sought for years to lay a thoroughly biblical foundation for students and to impart truth on every hand. But many Christian school students are cold, and even resentful, toward that teaching. As Christian educators, we should try to bring students back to Christianity’s foundation—the truth of […]
P Is for Party!
Preschool and K4 students work their way through the alphabet letter by letter. They need to learn to recognize letters by their shapes, and they need to know what sounds the letter makes. These are important pre-reading skills that will help them when they get to K5 and beyond. Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to […]