"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
-Oscar Wilde

In the English Department at Ignite Christian Academy, you will find some star gazers, including Mrs. Brauning, who includes the above quote from Oscar Wilde in all of her email communications. As is the case with many disciplines, I suppose, birds of a feather flock together, and we are no exception. One of the reasons we chose to be teachers is because we love books. We love words. We love reading.

Here are some of our teachers' favorite books and recommendations to enjoy during your summer. Many are classics that are worth looking into. Let your imagination grow with these summer time reading favorites!

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Do you love your experience with Ignite Christian Academy? Want to share ideas on how we can improve? Soon you can. Look for ICA's Annual Survey invitation that's coming soon to your email inbox. You'll have the option to take a survey made specifically for an ICA parent or an ICA student, or you can share feedback from both perspectives!

Your opinions are valuable to us and will be evaluated closely for future improvements! Plus, you can effect changes that could help future enrolled ICA students and families too. When the opportunity comes, be sure to share your thoughts! No matter if you're new to ICA or been enrolled for many years, you're welcome to participate.

Stay tuned for further details, and keep an eye on your email inbox for ICA Annual Survey coming soon!

What's the point? Sometimes after I've opened a science project to grade it, I find that the student didn't seem to have a clue regarding what the experiment was about.

One of the most important parts of doing an experiment is to identify its purpose. The hypothesis should include the purpose of the experiment in an "If-Then" statement. Basically, the hypothesis is telling us that if we do this, then here's what will happen.

From there follow the directions given in the project. Sometimes tasks are simpler than they first seem. [Read more…]

Describing herself as energized, loving, and adventurous, Kara Fifield officially works as an assistant to Ignite Christian Academy’s dean. Her daily job responsibilities are diversified and range from faculty advising and teaching history, to taking care of academic integrity issues with ICA’s distance learning students. She especially enjoys grading a student’s well-done paper and the conversations she has when advising ICA parents on how to help their child succeed. Using her degree in psychology to provide parents with helpful tips, Kara said, “My job is all about people and making the most of every conversation.” [Read more…]

For the most accurate comparisons, your students should be tested when they are about one month away from completing all courses. For ICA students, that means when they have finished at least through the 8th unit in each subject, which typically occurs in April or May. To ensure that your distance learning student will be able to take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) achievement test on your preferred date, estimate when your student will be through eight units in all subjects and call your Academy Service Representative (ASR) to schedule either a morning or afternoon session. There's no need to worry about the cost, since you have already paid for your student's achievement testing when you registered with Ignite Christian Academy^®. As your testing date approaches, you will receive clear, easy-to-follow directions.
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"I hate history!" How many times have parents and teachers heard that? Sometimes the reason for this attitude may be the way history is taught in secular schools – an emphasis on learning about personalities, dates, civilizations, and wars that seem to have little connection with anything happening today.

History can be taught differently in a Christian school like Ignite Christian Academy^® because Christians have a very different view of history. Christians understand from the Bible that human history had a definite starting point when God created the first couple and told them, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28). The rise of the Hebrew race, their deliverance from slavery, their segregation from the surrounding nations, and their periods of chastisement and restoration were purposefully orchestrated by God over a period of several thousand years. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that, as Daniel told the mightiest monarch of his day, "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will" (Daniel 4:25). This view of history is perpetuated in the New Testament, as demonstrated when Peter proclaimed that the crucifixion of Christ was part of God's plan (Acts 2:23), and Paul told the intellectuals of Athens that the "God that made the world and all things therein" was in control of the times and boundaries for all nations (Acts 17:26) It is not just being cute to say that "history is His story." [Read more…]

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:10).

One of our family's favorite springtime activities was visiting the local feed and seed store to see the new baby chickens and ducks. Every year the store converted several small aluminum water tanks into warm, cozy homes for these little creatures. My children never tired of watching their antics and especially enjoyed their baby peeping noises. As my young daughter leaned over the tank to pet their soft, downy feathers, she looked at me with questioning eyes and said, "Mom, can I have one?"

Normally, I would have said no, but this year I sensed the Lord leading in a different direction. Smiling, I said, "Yes, honey, you and your brother can pick one of the baby chicks to take home." My daughter was delighted, and she and her brother set about choosing the perfect new little friend. Before we left the store that day, Hen and Peck were aptly named and adopted into our family. [Read more…]

If you attended public schools as I did, then you probably remember St. Patrick's Day, March 17, as a day when the classroom was decorated with green shamrocks, and mean kids went around looking for someone they could pinch because he wasn't wearing green. Little was said about the occasion's namesake, "Saint Patrick," artistically depicted in the robe and miter of a Catholic bishop, unless it was a legend about him using the shamrock to teach the Trinity, or driving the snakes out of Ireland.
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A popular baked good, scones are often served for tea time in Ireland and elsewhere on the British Isles. A plain scone is often served with one or more of the following: butter, clotted cream, jam, lemon curd. Cinnamon pecan scones have the flavor of cinnamon rolls, and they have the texture of a traditional scone-buttery and flaky, yet somewhat dense.
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Nothing breaks a parent's heart more than living with a disobedient child. After investing so much time parenting with godly values as well as teaching academics within a loving home environment, parents of distance learning students are especially discouraged when their children refuse to live according to God's Word.
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