Gushing

I just hope they don't do this to their classroom teachers!

School at home is good. -- New England Primer

I am thankful, every day, that we are able to send our kids to Veritas Academy! Seriously. It is a wonderful school and I feel so blessed by them! I was originally planning to exclusively homeschool my kids. It's something I've always wanted to do because I love learning and teaching. I did lots of research and did a little at-home preschool for Lila and a few of her friends.

When I finally decided it was time to pick a Kindergarten curriculum, I freaked out! There are approximately 735 different Kindergarten curricula to choose from. Not to mention all the different pieces you can pick up from here and there, and all the ways that you can homeschool for free. Then there's the matter of what needs to be taught in Kinder and what doesn't, which everyone has a different opinion on. I was on the verge of a total brain meltdown!

Then I saw Veritas mentioned in an email on a homeschooling Yahoo group I was part of. I was intrigued enough to take a closer look. Lo and behold! The school was five minutes from my house, and provided a Classical Christian education in a University Model format. There are entire books written on what each element of that description means, but here's a brief description. What I will tell you is that it was exactly what I was looking for (without even knowing it)!

The kids get to experience a classroom environment on Monday and Wednesday and I get to homeschool them on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday is a Flex Day, which has grand aspirations, but really turns out to be the day that we catch up, run errands, and have doctor's appointments. The curricula are chosen for me and the homework laid out by the classroom teachers. My job is the FUN part - teaching the material! It is the best of both worlds!

What might be the very best part of all, for me, is how very supportive the staff and faculty are. They do everything they can to communicate frequently and clearly. They are happy to answer questions and sit down to discuss concerns. They provide training in how to teach the curricula as well as opportunities to learn how to be a better parent and person. I don't know what the kids would say is the best part of Veritas for them, but I do know that they both love it!

One of my Top 10 Veritas moments: Lila was being a butt one morning (last school year) and took so long to get ready that Doug had to leave for work without taking her to school. That meant that I had to take her to school. Not her favorite choice. She decided that she was not going to put her shoes on and she was not going to school. I calmly explained that going to school was her responsibility and I would be taking here there - shoes or no shoes.

I loaded her up into the car and delivered her to the office. They called the Head of the Grammar School down and I privately explained the situation to her. She said, "Okay, no problem." Then she spoke privately with Lila. I left, knowing she was in good hands. I later found out that Lila was told basically the same thing I had told her - that being in the classroom was her responsibility and that's where she needed to be.

She went through most of the morning with no shoes on, contentedly put them on when the teacher finally asked her to, and all was well. The whole situation could NOT have been handled more gracefully or lovingly and it never happened again.