Schole' in Practice Weeks 14-16

It's been a very blessed time at SGCA despite my blogging shortcomings.  We've had some wonderful guests for Schole' lunches.  SFC James Medina, one of our SGCA Dads, spoke with our students about his military career.  Claire Ramsey with Stories by Claire, a local professional story teller, entertained the kids with her engaging stories.  Jacey Edwards, who recently tried out for The Voice, shared her beautiful voice with the students.  I can't fail to mention the student presentations for geography that were super as well!  We continued to spend scheduled lunches with the retirement home residents, as well as our weekly visits from our 4-6 year old class. So join us as you walk visually through our last several weeks following the Holiday. 

Holiness or Happiness?

As a young believer struggling with forming right thinking from 21 years of life apart from Christ, I had an encounter with my mentor at the time, where she said to me "God is more concerned with your holiness than your happiness.  If you are living a holy life, you will be happy." It was a shocking revelation to me, turning my thoughts and world upside-down.  I had been raised to believe that problems were things to quickly dispose of or run away from in order to get to that elusive goal of "happiness".  It never lasted long before the next problem came along and the cycle continued, until that day my mentor spoke those words of wisdom into my spirit.  It forever changed how I viewed problems in life; they were no longer things to run away from so I could reach some subjective idea of happiness.

Difficulties were now opportunities to confront my own heart and submit myself to God for examination, so I could grow more into the likeness of my Savior.

SGCA Christmas Party 2016

Given the Nor'easter that is heading up the east coast to dump some serious March time snow, I thought I'd finally get around to posting about the Christmas party we had back in December!  

We had a wonderful Christmas party, which included a glockenspiel music recital by our students, yummy food, and a service project for the retirement home residents to brighten their doors for the Season.  Join us as we recount our Schole' Christmas party!

Weeks 9-13 Schole' In Practice

It's been quiet on Solagratiamom for the past few months.  I apologize for not keeping up with blog posts since Thanksgiving.  We have been dealing with some very difficult things in the Leonard home since then.  My Mother-in-Law unexpectedly passed away just after Thanksgiving, and we have been consumed with all that goes along with the death of a close family member.  I'm just beginning to dig out.  So here is my digest from the weeks prior to our Christmas break.

We were very blessed with some wonderful Schole' guests before our long break.  We had Author Seth Davey from The Fiction Forest, tuba player extraordinaire Rick Guptill, Author Kirstie Marx, and stroke survivor Dr. Wright from Woodland Terrace, who spoke on his passion for bees. We've also had student led Schole' lunches with geography presentations that the kids worked hard on at home.  So much to see!  Join us as I recount the highlights from weeks 9-13 at SGCA, as we put Schole' into practice...

Week 8 Schole' in Practice

This week we were blessed to have miniature horses visits SGCA!  These horses are used as therapy animals for hospitals, nursing homes, and the like.  This non-profit Horse Hugs ministry is a blessing to so many in our area.  If you are looking for a great place to make a donation, this would be one.  The kids were thrilled to see the miniature horse, and we were able to fund raise to bless them with a donation to their ministry.  We also had a chance to spend time with our four to six year olds over at the assisted living area of the retirement community we work with.  They were so excited to have the opportunity to interact with our kids.  It definitely blessed them and us.  The week was filled with beauty, truth and goodness.  Join us as we put Schole' into practice for week 8...

1st Learning Celebration! Latin Poetry Cafe' with a Beatnik Twist!

Our first Learning Celebration of the year was a great success!  We decided to focus on what our students have learned their first six weeks in the subjects of Latin and Great Books.  Students studied Roman life and culture as they worked through their Latin for Child Primer A curriculum.  They also studied literary devices in their Great Books class, writing their own poetry for each of those devices.  They chose their favorite poem from Great Books and they were each assigned an aspect of Roman life to write a poem for using their Latin vocabulary.   Join us as we celebrate our first six weeks.  Oh and you won't want to miss our surprise intermission show put on by a couple of our talented Dads...

Week 7 - Schole' in Practice - Wednesday

Week 7 started on an accelerated schedule to allow for our evening Learning Celebration!  We had students attend all five of their normal classes, however, they were condensed into 45 minute blocks.  This allowed us to do an early release at 12:45pm.  This gave students time to go home and take a little break, before returning in costume for the big night!