FINDING BALANCE:

Why Legacy Classical Christian Academy, a University-model microschool, is your child's best educational option... and how it works!

When new families begin to research their school choices, they often stumble onto our website. Most are overjoyed that we exist! All they hear about is public school, private school, and homeschool. None of these provide balance to a family’s home life. The first two options have children on site with 300 - 2000 other children 35 hours a week. Most come home to complete extra school work (called “homework). Many have evening activities like dance, baseball practice, AWANAS, or youth group. Everyone is rushed everywhere and there is no peace (or, what my husband likes to call, “margin”).

The third option, homeschooling, has you at home 24/7 with your precious children that you love and adore. But this option lacks balance and peace as well. When you have a quiet moment, you are reading blogs about homeschooling or writing lesson plans, or scheduling play dates. Some homeschoolers participate in multiple co-ops (the outdoor learning classes, the library story time, the fine arts classes or music lessons plus baseball practice, AWANAS, or youth group!) Either there is no break from your calling or everyone is STILL rushed everywhere and there is no peace.

With a University-model School, you have time to attend Bible study, grocery shop (alone), or go to lunch with friends on the days your children are on campus. On the days at home, you use the curriculum and the school provided checklist of activities and assignments to teach your children. We also provide the art, the foreign language, the music, the scripture study, and the social engagement children long for. To currently homeschooling moms, this sounds like a dream!

To 5-day a week public and private school families, this probably still doesn’t make a lot of sence. Let’s look at some developmental stages, and how a UMS is your best educational option.

For mom’s looking at Kindergarten, the idea of leaving them 35 hours a week with someone else to influence, well, it’s heartbreaking. But, if you are like me, I LOVED Mother’s Day Out. It was the right balance of time to regroup and be a better mom to my kids. Legacy Classical is like Mother’s Day Out for elementary students!

Let’s say your child is in 1st or 2nd grade - these years they are learning to read! Is their nightly homework just to read a list of sight words? Wouldn’t you rather they learn to read by learning the patterns of the English language with phonemes and sounds? Aren’t they more excited to read and “do homework” if they can pick up a book “like what mommy’s has” and decode what is on the page? Doesn’t your child have a greater sense of accomplishment? Aren’t they motivated to “do it again”?

The next grades - oh, my - standardized testing. Beginning in third grade and until they graduate high school, your child is learning how to pass a test (because that is exactly the life skill needed in the workplace! - sarcasm, here). Legacy Classical does assess the children to compare them to educational norms. However, we realize that excellent instruction translates into high norm referenced scores. We use these score to verify that our teaching methods and chosen curriculum is resulting in yearly progress for each child. In fact, we don’t even share the results with the children or families unless we see a serious issue that needs addressing.

No matter what grade your child is in, it is never too late to bring balance back into your home life.

What does it look like on school days at Legacy Classical?

As a microschool, our students are intentionally integrated into combined grade levels. We call these combined grade levels Forms. For more information on this, please refer to the blog, “Do Not Be Conformed To This World.”

Students in Forms 1 - 4 attend classes Tuesday and Thurday. Students in Forms 5 - 7 also attend all day Friday. During this time, qualified teachers provide a quick review of previous learning and then they teach new concepts using direct instruction and guided practice. For teaching fine motor skills such as handwriting or when needing to complete math worksheets, children will be seen sitting at desks. For Bible study, literature or history, they are often in a corner following along or listening and narrating. Science and nature studies is highly hands-on with labs and journaling/drawing their observations like real scientists do! 

During a school day, you may hear the children in choral response of catechisms, reciting memorized scripture, poetry, or content-specific songs (i.e. the Nifty Fifty United States) Children learn to share, to use self-control for their turn, to keep their hands to themselves in a line, and all the typical societal norms you want your child to learn!

What does it look like on home days?

Students in Forms 1 - 4 have a Tuesday to Tuesday turn-in schedule. This means Wednesday’s Home Day assignments are not due until the following Tuesday. Beginning in 7th grade, students begin to turn in their Wednesday Home Day assignments into the instructor on Thursday to eliminate the temptation of procrastination!

Home days should not look like a traditional school day. Families do not need to convert their garage or spare bedroom into a classroom. All you need is for a book case to hold teacher manuals and the curriculum we check out to you and a kitchen table!

The younger the student, the less “paperwork” required. This makes it incredibly important for the Home-Day teacher to be consistent with oral excercises and kinestheic learning. For instance, your teacher probably won’t ask you to write their spelling words 5 x each on a piece of paper and turn it in. Most likely, you will practice writing them in chalk on the driveway, or in sand with their forefinger. 

You will be asked to read certain stories and literature books out loud to your child. This can be something dad can do when he gets home from work or right before bedtime.

Jump on the trampoline while skip counting. Build a fort in the living room for independent readers to have a fun and quiet place so mom can help a younger sibling with phonics.

Do you have a long commute to school? Use the time to practice memorizing the history timeline, counting to 1000, or practice reading road signs. Keep a clipboard and pencil handy and children can get a head start on math worksheets sitting in the back seat on the way home!

Charlotte Mason’s famous quote is “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” Both school and home should make learning feel life-giving and joyful. Learning should be like our relationship with Christ - it is integrated into the  lifestyle of one’s family, and not a separate category.

If you want to learn how your family can become a part of the Legacy family, please text/call 817-363-3652 or email admissions@legacyclassical.org or visit our website at www.legacyclassical.org.

As caring parents, we all want the best for our children's education. We want them to thrive in their academic journey, develop a love for learning, and build the necessary skills for a successful future. When it comes to grading, however, there seems to be a debate between narrative grading and traditional grading methods. So, which one fosters better learning? Let's explore!

Traditional grading, which assigns numerical or letter grades to students' work, has been the norm for years. It provides a clear snapshot of a student's performance, allowing parents and educators to easily assess their progress. However, this rigid approach can sometimes hinder student motivation and discourage a growth mindset. Students may focus solely on achieving high grades rather than truly grasping concepts and deepening their understanding.

On the other hand, narrative grading takes a more holistic approach. Instead of relying solely on a letter or number, it provides personalized feedback on a student's strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. This approach encourages self-reflection and helps students develop a growth mindset. It also helps teachers better understand their students, tailor instruction to their individual needs, and build a strong rapport with them.

In a Christian school environment, where nurturing the whole child is of utmost importance, narrative grading can be particularly beneficial. It promotes a student's character development, as it focuses on qualities such as perseverance, cooperation, and critical thinking. It encourages students to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and understand that mistakes are an essential part of the learning process.

Of course, every child is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Some students may thrive under traditional grading methods, finding motivation in striving for high grades. However, narrative grading offers a more comprehensive picture of a student's progress and promotes deeper learning.

In conclusion, both narrative grading and traditional grading have their merits. However, for fostering better learning in a private Christian school, narrative grading seems to align more closely with the values and goals of holistic education. By focusing on feedback, growth, and character development, it nurtures students' love for learning and prepares them for a bright future.

INTRODUCTION

“Do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Legacy Classical has taken three bold moves away from the appearance of the world’s government schools. While our school started with the intent of mimicking what we thought were “best practices”, after 13 years of studying the bible, studying classical education, and learning the history of our current American school system, the leaders concluded that the world’s “best practices” fall short in comparison to God’s design for education. 

God’s design for education begins and ends with the home. He wants us to teach and admonish our children throughout the day as we complete family chores, play with siblings, or serve our neighborhood. 

We truly believe that the last 170 years of education has done more harm than good for the Kingdom of God. Children raised in Christian homes are leaving the faith at an alarming rate and we have to ask why. We believe there is a direct correlation between government-funded public schools and the decline in how Americans “religiously identify.” 

Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

We want God to transform our children, so we should not copy the behavior of the world - even in how we educate our children. We want school days to closely reflect how we learn and grow naturally. For this reason, we have decided to use the following three bold moves:  multi-age classes, narrative grading, and family-centric content. 

WHAT WE ARE DOING

What are multi-age classes? Multi-age classrooms are classrooms where students learn and grow together across more than one grade level. Currently, the grade level system adopted by the government is a k-12 system adopted from Prussia in the early 19th century. Before this, America had smaller schools where multi-age classrooms were common. During this multi-age classroom era, America had excellent literacy rates, some as high as 98%! That is outstanding when compared to today which says 54% of Americans have a literacy rate below the age of 11.

What are the benefits of multi-age classes? The following benefits are summarized from various research studies and have been documented in the journal “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Multiage Classrooms in the Era of NCLB Accountability” 2008.

• Student disobedience is lower

• Higher language development

• Significant gains in reading and language skills

• Higher cognitive developmental level

• Creates a caring environment

• Sense of continuity and connection

• Students learn at an individual pace to reach their full potential

• Improved student attitudes

• Decreased discipline referrals

• Increased attendance

• Improve peer relations among students.

What are the disadvantages of multi-age classes?  According to the article above, the following disadvantages are also summarized.

• Rejection by parents (fear of quality instruction) (however the article states “Often the parents involved more in school life are the ones who promote and prefer to have their children in multiage classrooms.” As a University-model school parent, we are plenty involved!

• Solution: Provide quality instruction!

• Teacher buy-in (fear of preparedness and differentiation, concern for greater workload)

• Solution: Let’s get prepared! Provide instructors with professional development focused on differentiated learning and narrative grading!

• Not compatible with grade-level content state testing

• Solution: Not a problem. We don’t take state tests anyway!

How are Legacy Classical’s multi-age classes structured? We have always enrolled students into grade levels based on their ability more than their age. Having six to seven “forms” supports a philosophy we have held since 2010. Notice there is an overlap in the ages.

• Form 1 (age 4 - 6) typically Prek and Kindergarten

• Form 2 (ages 6 - 8) typically first and second grade

• Form 3 (ages 8 - 10) typically third and fourth grade

• Form 4 (ages 10 - 12) typically fifth and sixth grade

• Form 5 (ages 12 - 14) typically seventh and eighth grade

• Form 6 (ages 14 - 16) typically ninth and tenth grade

• Form 7 (ages 16 - 18) typically eleventh and twelfth grade

How can a teacher teach both first and second-grade curriculum? Simply put, they don’t. Multi-age classrooms are not a “curriculum-centered approach”. Curriculum-centered instruction only came about in the mid-nineteenth century because of immigration and compulsory attendance laws. (Song et al.) Curriculum-centered instruction is only needed if you are teaching to a test. We don’t want our students studying to get a good grade. We want them curious and wondering and seeking out information because it is exciting and enjoyable.

Multi-age classrooms are mastery-based learning. A set of learning targets are determined and the instructor verifies the student is making progress. A first-year Form 2 student would learn what the second-year Form 2 student learns, but the teacher (and parent) would not expect mastery from the first-year Form 2 student. 

What are “learning targets”? Depending on who you ask, these can be called “standards”, “objectives”, or “benchmarks”. We chose the term “learning targets” because they feel very friendly and easy to understand: Here is the target I am going after! Learning targets and assessing with narrative grading (a 1 - 4 scale instead of A-F scale) has anecdotal evidence of reducing teacher workload and grading. By using specific targeted expectations, a teacher can decide on assignments and assessments that literally target it. With the A-F grading scale, if the child received a C nobody would have known what the child needed to improve on. However, with narrative grading, the feedback would be anecdotal such as a rubric or checklist that indicates strengths and weaknesses. 

So narrative grading is our second bold move. While ours will not look exactly like the attached article, it is a great synopsis of what this classical school has been doing for years. “In Defense of Mastery Pt 2”

How about all those levels of curriculum books like Shurley English 3 and 4 or All About Reading 1 and 2 Well, a curriculum-centered approach to education makes a strong, financial case for curriculum companies. Once you pull out the learning targets from Shurley English 3 and 4, there are very few deviations. It’s almost like level 3 is to introduce the skills and level 4 is a review with an expectation of mastery while introducing a shockingly small additional skillset. Honestly, by focusing on the higher “curriculum” book, we are allowing the younger students an opportunity to go further than they would have had otherwise. And if the student does not understand it the first year, they have an additional year to master it.

How about math? Math will always be the outlier. We will still have math as the first period of the day to allow for students who far excel and would need to be in a higher form than the one they spend the rest of the day in. However, it is still possible to provide vertical alignment and curriculum mapping for students to learn math in a multi-age classroom. 

What is vertical alignment and curriculum mapping? This is when an educator breaks down a textbook and lines up all the learning targets (as closely as possible) like a ladder. Let’s say chapter 1 in first grade is calendar and time but calendar and time for 2nd grade is in chapter 3. The educator determines where the learning targets are taught in the book and then creates a chart for the teacher to refer to when teaching. Your child’s assignments may seem “out of order” at times, but they will be scheduled this way deliberately. 

How would a teacher teach first and second-grade math at the same time using vertical alignment? Here is an example: The Learning Target is “I can develop place values of thousands (ages 7 or 8); hundreds, tens, and ones (age 6)”. The teacher begins by teaching all the students about place values for hundreds, tens, and ones. This is new information for the 6-year-old but a review for the 7 or 8-year-old. Once the teacher determines that the 6-year-old has a solid grasp, the first years can move to a math center while the teacher keeps the older students with her for the second part of the lesson: developing place value to the thousands. 

What if my child is a first year student in the Form and can do the higher learning target of place value to the thousands? Hopefully, the teacher is aware of this and includes that first year student with the second-year students. This is where differentiation is so great! 

Our final bold move is called Family-Centric Learning. What is that? This is such a “no-brainer” that we want to apologize for not doing it sooner. As we discussed before, America’s government schools are curriculum-centered for students to score well on mandated tests. When we modeled Legacy Classical after government schools, we did not ask ‘why’ every grade had to learn a completely different science, history, math, and grammar topic. We were sheeple and just followed the template. Now we know better. We know that the BEST learning at home (and at school) happens when we are all on the same page. If we can cycle through content and focus on SKILLS (learning targets), then we can develop great conversations and dig deeper into discussions. We can learn from one another, mentor each other, and grow together!