Journal

The best bit of advice I was given as a new mom was to read to my children every single day, no matter their ages. 

I am a rule follower who loves a plan and believes in reviewing all of the instructions before assembly, so I took this bit of advice earnestly – especially for my youngest, who is the type of child that really should have come with an instruction manual. 

Reading to children builds a bond like nothing else can. It is good even for babies who don’t yet understand words. It gives both mother and child an opportunity to sit still, as close to one another as physically possible, and to go on adventures together, laugh together, and learn each other’s voices, sounds, and reactions. As kids get older, the adventures get bigger. And though we all can experience the same story, we all feel it in different ways, a lot like life. 

We happened to read Anne of Green Gables and cry together over Matthew’s dying at the same time in life that our very good, Matthew-like friend died of cancer. In a way, my children (especially my daughter) found comfort beyond what I could offer them through relating with Anne over losing someone so special. Stories help us all to cope, process, and empathize. 

Reading allows a story to become one’s own, and it is a joy like no other to get to watch that happen for your child. 

As a parent, I have the great honor and unique responsibility of helping to fill my children’s hearts and minds. Then I get to witness the almost magical cause and effect of the adage, “What goes in is what comes out.” Giving children stories that are full of the good, the true, and the beautiful is, in my opinion, the best tool for helping them to shape their own life stories full of goodness, truth, and beauty. 

One of my favorite books to experience with my kids was The Wind and the Willows. We started reading it together one summer under a tree in our backyard while sipping mint lemonade. I never dreamed of falling so in love with a little mole, or of respecting a river rat, or of using a toad as a way of helping my kids to better understand and empathize with their oh-so-lovable yet unruly grandpa. We liked the book so much that reading it consumed our days until it was finished. We took it with us to the mountains for our weekend camping trip, reading by lantern light until we fell asleep. The next morning, the kids built a fort in the trees, and there, sitting on a rough bed of sticks and pine needles and leaning against the scratchy trunk of a blue spruce, we lost any awareness of discomfort, we lost track of time, and we lost ourselves in a beautiful world – together. We’re better for it, and I’m so grateful I got to experience that with my favorite people. 

Where we read and what we read are important, but above all, reading together matters most. 

A part of the mission of SCA is to partner with parents in the education of their children. Much thought and research has gone into the selection of the curriculum. Is it good, true, and beautiful? How can parents enter into it? The greatest example of this for me is the history curriculum Story of the World. It tells history in story form, and my children have loved it since Kindergarten, learning so much more than facts and dates. Just like they enter into the stories we read together, they enter into the stories of history, and that history becomes a part of them. 

Case in point: currently, they are learning the history of England. Not only did my daughter get to play the part of William the Conqueror in class (a frighteningly appropriate role – I bet William’s mother wished that her son had come with an instruction manual, too), they also learned all about castles, and they got to use the creative sides of their brains to build their own castles. Over the weekend, my house was a mess of cardboard, popsicle sticks, and hot glue wounds. I found out that if you give a child a castle-building project, you’re probably going to get a whole feudal system to go with it. Castles completed, the kids spent the entire weekend playing serfs in a fort that they built. They had a field they could plow with their rocking horse, a fireplace made of construction paper (properly located in the center of their serf home), and a lunch of peasant bread. 

And it was all because of a story their teacher had read to them. 

There are heart-changing benefits of reading together. Not only was this the best advice I’ve received for parenting, but it was also the best first step in engaging in my children’s education. The stories we share together are their education. Whether the Miller kids are acting the part of poor English serfs or the March little women are acting out Pilgrim’s Progress, our children take ownership of their education by imaginatively engaging stories. 

Written by: Danette Miller – Vice Chairman of the Board | Summit Classical Academy

I am so excited to be back inside the walls of Summit Classical Academy! As a Teacher Assistant, I will be able to work with students in small groups and provide additional support where needed. The teachers at Summit have done a phenomenal job of teaching two grades at once and learning how to teach in a classical Christian school. They love their students and put a lot of time and energy into their lessons. The students, teachers, administration, and families are the most friendly and positive community of people to be around.

I took the fall semester off to travel and spend time with my family. Previously, I taught kindergarten for four years and taught one semester of the SCA homeschool co-op, which was first and second graders. I have taught some of the students every year of their schooling so far, which is so fun! Now that I get to spend my mornings at Summit, I will be able to assist in all of the classrooms. This could be taking small groups to review the concept of the day, playing a game to supplement what the students are learning, or providing guidance on their assignment. Students will receive even more opportunities for direct instruction and small group lessons. I will also be able to provide the teachers with more breaks while I take students out for recess. I was lucky enough to have an assistant teacher for two years while I taught kindergarten, so now it is my turn to give back and bless the teachers with extra help.

I am looking forward to the spring semester at Summit Classical Academy and am so thankful everyone has welcomed me back with open arms. In the few days that I have been at school this semester so far, I can see how well the students respect authority, treat others with kindness, and love God with all of their hearts. It will be an amazing spring semester witnessing God’s beauty in this school.

– Stephanie Fiechtner

In the midst of this crazy year, many parts of “real” life have had to shift online. It is incredible that technology has advanced so much that not even a global pandemic can stop the world in its tracks! While this year has highlighted the many wonderful things technology brings to the table, it has also revealed negative aspects of spending increasing amounts of time using technology. We’ve seen that most adults have trouble staying off of social media, video games, etc. If adults cannot help becoming addicted to technology, how much harder is it for children who might not yet know how to control their actions!

While technology is a very useful tool, it can be dangerous for the development of children academically, socially, and spiritually. There are only two main industries that call their customers “users”: the illegal drug industry and the technology industry. This label (“users”) is definitely not an accident. The internet and technology as a whole are very easy to become addicted to. When anything completely takes over a person’s life, like technology often does, the results can be very detrimental to their well-being, especially if that person is a child. Hundreds, if not thousands, of peer reviewed research articles comment on the negative effects of children using technology in their formative years to adulthood (0-18). Children are the most easily susceptible to becoming addicted to technology and can be sucked in by its luster and charms. With its constant bombardment of notifications and achievements, the use of technology actually encourages and enables attention deficits and hyperactivity in these children. It has been proven that if children consistently use technology in their formative years, their attention span will decrease, their creative abilities will be limited, and their social awareness will be inhibited.

Those who have impairments such as ADHD are at a much higher risk of becoming addicted to technology. The heavy use of technology, which is “only” a few hours a day, has been strongly correlated with heightened levels of depression (75% of people studied), anxiety (57%), symptoms of ADHD (100%), obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (60%), and increased hostility and aggression (66%). Additionally, when a child suffers from any one of these ailments, the heavy use of technology can dramatically increase its severity. If a child has ADHD, the vibration of a phone or watch can become an additional distraction from their work. Children who use technology are having their brains trained to get notifications regularly, change what they are doing rapidly, and not be able to focus for nearly as long. Heavy use of technology has already had dramatic effects on people’s ability to focus: the average human attention span has actually gone below the attention span of a goldfish in the past ten years.

However, there is good news! The brain is malleable, so it can be reprogrammed and adjusted. One of the very best things that a child can do for their verbal skills, manipulative skills, judgment and reasoning, and their creative, social, and problem-solving intelligences is play. True free play, where children are creating their own rules and story lines, expands their brain in a much more positive way than technology does. Creating something, painting, drawing, building, doing puzzles, reading a book, playing a board or card game, and other fun activities can help children learn how to properly behave, increase their attention span, and benefit their mental health.

While technology does not (and frankly cannot) be completely removed from children’s lives, there should be limitations to its use. The simple act of reducing a child’s screen time to one hour a day is likely to drastically change his or her behavior and mindset. At first, this change might have side effects like a real drug withdrawal: millions of people just in the United States are addicted to technology. Stay strong, though, as children should be given every possible tool to become successful. Success is not only defined by what they can do but by the process they utilize to get to their end goal. Working together to limit technology will help our children’s minds become sharper, equipping them to improvise, adapt, and overcome anything life throws their way. 

Train up a child in the way they should go,
[a]And when they are old they will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Written by: Addison Fraser

We are excited. We are humbled. Above all, we are GRATEFUL. 

Thank you for your support!

See what our parents are saying about Summit Classical Academy. We are helping children reach their summits and partnering with parents in the education of their children.

Our mission is: We will build community and serve our community by partnering with parents in the education of their children, striving to develop all aspects of the student’s potential. We will provide a classical Christian education, a peaceful and inspiring environment, and a high standard of expectations for our students, teachers, and leaders, all for the glory of God.

Here at Summit Classical Academy we know that each child has different strengths and unique characteristics that make them special! The Classical methodology teaches children how to think, and not what to think. They gain the tools to reach their own Summit, in Christ, based on their personal gifts!

Please enjoy our students telling you about their summits!

No one says it better or cuter than our students! Please consider contributing to our mission of community in Christ while providing a top notch classical education. We hope you enjoy watching this video as much as we enjoyed making it!

What does a Warrior Ambassador do?

Warrior Ambassadors help us get the word out about Summit! We want to make this as fun and easy as possible for you and your network. From November 6th – 20th we will be hosting special chapel celebrations, featuring amazing videos of our children and parents, and releasing wonderful stories and informational pieces about what makes Summit special. Here is what we ask you to do:

Scroll to the bottom of our website and join our community!

Follow this LINK to find out more!

If you have any other ideas about ways that you and the rest of our community can act as Warrior Ambassadors, please email our Board at [email protected]. Thank you for coming alongside us in this endeavor!

The goal of Christian and classical education is to equip students to evaluate knowledge in the light of Scripture, achieve academic excellence, to be thoughtful, and glorify God. Classical Christian education develops in the student a desire to know God more and to share the love of God with others, not only in word but also in action. Students develop a passion for seeking wisdom and knowledge, and have an intellectual foundation built on the tools of learning and utilize them in all walks of life. Skills are developed that promote students to courageously engage the culture to proclaim and express the love, grace and mercy of Jesus to a world that is broken. Discernment guides students as they look at the worldview of the surrounding culture and assess what lines up with Scripture, and are able to clearly see the deceptions that do not. They are able to carefully consider an idea without blindly accepting it. Using knowledge, reason, and discernment, they are careful to ponder ideas in light of God’s Word before accepting it as true. In this classical model, Christ is central in all aspects and the purpose of acquiring knowledge is to grow in wisdom and virtue.