If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes with Jody, you’ve likely heard her two distinguishing sounds: her whisper and her laugh. (The camera flash is a close third!). During my recent two-day visit to her newest school, Grace Academy, I had the privilege of hearing both…multiple times! Her laughter can be heard often in [...]

If you ever visit Grace Academy during lunchtime, you will find the students sitting at round tables with linen table cloths and flowers, listening to classical music, using good manners, and being relatively quiet. Of course they’re allowed to talk, but I want them to be able to hear the music, and so we use our soft ‘inside’ [...]

Hello again! This is Jody’s son, Chris, writing to let you know that we need your help! By “you” I mean anyone. Whether you are a blog reader of Jody’s, a parent/teacher/student at her school, a former parent/teacher/student, a close friend, a colleague, or family member, we need your input and opinions to help Jody write [...]

In all my years as a parent, an educator, and children’s minister, I’ve never experienced, witnessed, or heard of a child who, after scraping a knee, being bullied by their older sibling, or being scared at night, cried out, “I want my Legos!!!” Nope. Hasn’t happened and probably never will. Unless, of course, Legos are [...]