We're taking a trip through Grammar School on the podcast right now. Two weeks ago we talked with Abby Mayall and got an overview of the entire School of Grammar. Last week we talked with the Kindergarten teachers and this week we sit down with Suzanne MacInnis and Dianne Tag of First Grade.
Suzanne and Dianne share the best parts of being a First Grade teacher and the hardest parts. The best part is seeing the students grow up and mature, and then watching as they get older and find success in their lives.
Dianne says one of the hardest part of their jobs is saying goodbye at the end of the school year. They have to send them off for the summer and into the next grade, and it can be difficult to let go.
They also talk about academic expectations for incoming First Graders, daily and weekly homework requirements, and how they prepare the First Graders for success in Second Grade.
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear from on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
Lindsey Martinez and Tamera Cupples join us as we take a trip around the Grammar side of the campus. Lindsey and Tamera are the lead teachers for the Kindergarten classes at Horizon Prep and they sat down with Will to talk about how great the Kindergarten students are.
Other topics covered include the best thing about being a Kindergarten teacher, how they are able to challenge the more advanced students in their class, and one simple thing parents can do to help set their students up for success. (It’s be on time and let them unpack their own backpack.)
Congratulations to the two parents who earned a free dress pass for their students! You can earn one also by leaving a review on iTunes of the Horizon Prep Lioncast.
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear from on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
Abby Mayall is the Director of the School of Grammar at Horizon Prep and she joins us this week to talk about what has happened so far this year in Kindergarten through 5th Grade.
The Grammar grades have been busy, and still have a lot to do before the end of the school year.
Abby also talks about the Classical Education model that is the basis of Horizon Prep’s educational philosophy, and what that really means. She talks about the three schools that make up the Classical model at Horizon Prep. The School of Grammar is from Kindergarten through 5th Grade, the School of Logic is 6th through 8th Grade, and the School of Rhetoric is from 9th through 12th Grade. You can remember the order of the schools by remembering they are in alphabetical order: Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric.
Although she hasn’t been on in a while, Abby is a fairly frequent guest on the podcast. You can hear more from her on Episodes 1, 10, and 23. She also pops in on random episodes once in a while, like on Episode 13. That’s what they call an “uncredited cameo”.
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear from on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
UPDATED: Mrs. Mayall has Podcast Review Free Dress Passes printed up and ready to go! Leave a written review (not just the stars) and let Mrs. Mayall know. She's rarin' to give those free dress passes away!
Lisa Jander joined us again at this months PTF meeting to talk about practical things you can do today to improve the relationship between your family and technology.
One of the tips Lisa shared is to think about buying a cell phone in the same way you think about buying their first car. “You’re going to make sure the car is equipped with safety features like anti-lock brakes and airbags” Lisa says we should treat the cell phone in the same way. “If you want this phone, we’re going to make sure it’s equipped with the appropriate safety features”.
Recently, having your teenager sign a “Cell Phone Contract” was a popular idea. Instead of writing a contract and making your kid sign it, Lisa says to have THEM write an agreement that you will agree to. That way any restrictions are their idea and they will have more buy-in with the rules.
Near the end of this episode Lisa mentions a C.O.A.S.T. worksheet, a tool for two people in the family to spend time together with zero technology. C.O.A.S.T. stands for:
Creative Cooking
Ordinary Occurrence
Awesome Activity
Selfless Service
Talk Time
To learn more from Lisa Jander, go to DatersEd.com.
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear from on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
This is Episode 50 of the Horizon Prep Lioncast! Celebrate with us by writing a review on iTunes and letting people know what you enjoy about the podcast!
For Episode 50 we're joined by Michelle Castiglione and Dr. Jorge Munoz to talk about the Logic and Rhetoric Science program.
For Michelle the best part of being a science teacher is when a student gets that "Aha!" moment and it all comes together for them. For Dr. Munoz the best part is being able to invest in the student and help to build the whole student through discipline, accountability, and responsibility.
Dr. Munoz says "The point is not to break them. The point is to stretch them to their potential"
Dr. Jeff Pratt joined us for the second half of the episode to discuss how HP handles the topic of evolution. Dr. Pratt says “We teach about Evolution because Evolution is actually not science. Evolution is a worldview".
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear from on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
Carly Cosentino and Andrea Needham join us to talk about the Math program in the Schools of Logic and Rhetoric.
Both Carly and Andrea have a love of math. Math was always Carly's favorite subject as a child. Andrea was inspired to love math by her high school math teacher who "made it come alive".
Andrea encouraged parents not to force their children through the math program faster than they can handle. She said that kids who rush through math "just to check a box" tend to have holes in their math knowledge that become obvious as they continue in higher math such as Physics or Chemistry.
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear from on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
Lisa Jander joined us at the most recent PTF meeting to talk about how our kid's brains work and what is going on with the chemicals inside them.
This PTF meeting is part one of a three part series. Part two is the one-night only screening of the movie Screenagers at the La Paloma movie theatre in Encinitas. The movie will be shown March 2nd at 7:00 pm. La Paloma is located at 471 S Coast Hwy 101, in Encinitas, CA.
Part three in the series will be at the next PTF meeting, on March 9th. It will be held in the Lion's Den gym on the Horizon Prep campus at 8:30 am. All three of these meetings are free and open to the public. You're more than welcome to bring a friend, even if they don't attend Horizon Prep.
What did you think of this episode? Who would you like to hear on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
Monday is President's Day and the rest of the week is off also, so Melissa and Will took the microphones out of the luxurious Lioncast Studio to see how much the faculty know about the U.S. Presidents. Did you know that Presidents Day was originally recognized as Washington's Birthday? At that time, Washington was the only individual recognized with his own holiday. President's Day is now intended to celebrate all Presidents, not just Washington and Lincoln. Now we have two other federal holidays dedicated to individuals. Can you name them?
While Will and Melissa were out they stopped in on Ms Reschke and Ms Downing and got to hear Fourth Grade flawlessly recite the 45 U.S. Presidents, in order. Did you know that although Donald Trump is our 45th President, he's only the 44th person to hold the job? Grover Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th President of these United States.
Can you name the future Presidents who signed the Declaration of Independence? The answer is at the end of this episode. This is the only place to get that information.
Who would you like to hear on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
Alicia Ferrera and Marcos Trejo join us to talk about the Horizon Prep Arts and Music programs. This is part 4 in our Logic and Rhetoric series.
If kids can practice their music just 5-10 minutes every single day, Marcos says parents won't have to worry about them wanting to practice more. They'll begin to enjoy it and naturally practice more. It might sound like a dying cat in your house when they begin, but they WILL improve.
Who would you like to hear from? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
This is the third installment in our "Logic and Rhetoric" series.
Greg Thornquest teaches 6th grade Ancient Civilizations and 8th grade American History in the School of Logic. Chris Maiocca teaches 9th grade World History and 11th grade Early American History in the School of Rhetoric.
Greg talks about how he originally wanted to be a teacher for third grade, and third grade specifically.
Chris and Greg talk about some of the most important qualities for an incoming student to have: Communication skills, curiosity, and a desire to learn the stories within the history.
If you'd like to hear more from Chris Maiocca, check out episode 014.
Who would you like to hear from? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
This is Week Two of our series on the Logic and Rhetoric schools here at Horizon Prep.
Week One (#043) was an overview of Logic and Rhetoric and what's on the horizon for both schools.
This week we talk with two of the English teachers to find out more about the English program at HP.
Ellen Bennett and Tony Groesbeck joined Will to talk about English and books, and what makes a good book "good". During the conversation one of the things Tony said was
"A classic book is one that teaches you into lean into life and learn more and think more about life, vs a candy book that pulls you out and distracts you from life".
This episode is a little longer than normal. What are your thoughts on the length of the podcast?
Is brevity the soul of wit? Or is it The More, The Merrier?
Let us know what you think at hplioncast@gmail.com or in a review on iTunes.
Matt Davis joined us to talk about what's going on in the Schools of Logic and Rhetoric. Matt is the director for all the HP students in 6th-8th grade and 9th-12th.
One of the things Matt talks about is establishing traditions for the high school age students. Each year the incoming 9th Grade class buys an Orange tree, fertilizer, and any needed supplies and plants the tree in a planter that sits outside the Hub area. As they go through the next four years of school they're responsible for the care and upkeep of that tree until they graduate. So as they progress through school the students see the tree grow along with them.
If you'd like to hear more from Matt Davis on the School of Logic you can listen to Episode 002. If you'd like to hear more from Matt about the School of Rhetoric, check out episode 007.
Who would you like to hear on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or leave us a review on iTunes.
This is part two of Heather Dalton's talk at our most recent PTF meeting. To hear part one check out Episode 041: Conflict is good for our kids.
In this episode we get the final five of Heather's parenting tips, including:
6. Eat family dinner together several times a week. No phones allowed.
7. Respect your child's authority figures. When we criticize them in front of our kids, we have ensured our kids will not respect that authority in the future.
8. Do not rescue your kids. We have to train our kids that there are consequences for their lack of responsibility.
9. Suck it up buttercup. Not everyone gets a trophy.
10. Be intentional. Our schedules get so full that we don't have time for what's important unless we are intentional about making that time.
Heather ended her talk with a list of five books she recommends for parents. Those books are:
The Well Behaved Child by John Rosemond
Parenting By The Book by John Rosemond
Loving Your Kids On Purpose by Danny Silk
Hands Free Momma by Rachel Macy Stafford
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala
Who would you like to hear on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or let us know in a review on iTunes.
Heather Dalton joined us as the speaker at the last PTF meeting. Heather was an administrator at Horizon Prep for years before leaving to start her own family. Now she's a mom at HP with a two, four, and six year old.
Heather shared 10 tips on parenting that she says she stole from the very best minds. Tips one through five are on this episode, with six through ten on next week's episode Monday morning. Here are her first five tips.
Who would you like to hear on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or let us know in a review on iTunes.
Melissa Smith talked with staff and teachers from all over the campus for our final holiday edition of the podcast.
Melissa talked with Susan Ferrari, Matt Berg, Heather Downing, Stacy Schaefer, Mary Mitchell, Matt Davis, Abby Mayall, Laiah Blue, Rebecca Gonzalez, Jeff Pratt, Lisa Schrift, Kelly Hendrickson, Jenn Preske, Erin Rose, and Kaitlyn Cook. 15 guests!
Who would you like to hear on the podcast? Send us an email at hplioncast@gmail.com or let us know in a review on iTunes.