“There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place, and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord. There are sweet expressions on each face, and I know they feel the presence of the Lord,” is a familiar Gospel song by Doris Akers, 1962. The unique experience of entering into a place where peace permeates…
“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,” is a familiar refrain to many. For some of us today, it seems that peace is somewhat fleeting as many concerns push in from every side, especially for parents. Increasingly, we read that children are susceptible to some of the same stressors. Atmosphere…
By Jennifer Drummond – That Got Me Thinking At the end of last school year when I finished first grade with my daughter (which was mostly done in New Hampshire when we lived in a family cabin in the woods), I realized something: my daughter needed friends her own age. Not that she didn’t like hanging…
“Who do people say I am?” “Who do you say I am?” (Luke 9:18,20) – the unspoken questions in every child’s mind and heart. “You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) – the hoped for response in the mind and heart of every child. But a battle rages within…
By Jennifer Drummond – That Got Me Thinking This is part two of my five-part series on my daughter’s school. (Read Part One). After homeschooling last year, it was clear that my daughter was ready for a peer group that did not include me! We discovered that Plumfield Academy was partnering with homeschoolers (there is currently…
By Jennifer Drummond “AS SUMMER DRAWS TO A CLOSE, we prepare for some obvious changes: shorter days, cooler temperatures, a significant drop in ice cream consumption. But another change takes place as well, something whose consequences most of us don’t ordinarily think about. Grown-ups return to work, where they’ll toil alongside other working-age people. Children…
By Jennifer Drummond That got me thinking This is part three of a five-part series about my daughter’s school (read Part One and Part Two). It was after we finished homeschooling first grade that I realized my daughter needed a peer group and we investigated ways to provide that for her. Upon returning to the North Shore area (from rural New…
The eager cry of a child’s “Pick me!” has the power to stir anxiety as well as anticipation in the hearts of young and old alike. The scene that unfolded on the green hills at Plumfield a few weeks ago was no exception. The boy wiggled, his little body in constant motion. “Pick me! Pick…
By Jennifer Drummond, That Got Me Thinking This is part four of my five part series (read Part One, Part Two and Part Three), and after having my daughter there for the better part of a year, I am thrilled to tell you why our whole family thinks Plumfield Academy is an amazing place. 4. Plumfield helps many families under stress detox and begin…
This text from Livy was the basis of a recent discussion by 5th & 6th graders at Plumfield: Now the sons of Ancus, since they had been grown to manhood, had taken it ill that Tarquin had been preferred before them to the throne of their father, and now they were the more angry, seeing…
By Jennifer Drummond published originally on “That Got Me Thinking” Here is my final post on my daughter’s amazing school. (Read part one, part two, part three, and part four). Homeschooling for first grade was a pretty sweet experience (helped by the fact that we were living in a cabin in the woods in New Hampshire) and I would not trade…
We had a grandmother visit last year, and ask “Why do they let the kids have a full hour for lunch? Isn’t that a waste of time when they could be doing more work? The parents are paying good money for them to be here, and they spend an hour of that time justplaying?” It’s…
Plumfield always takes a full two weeks off at Christmas and New Year’s. It’s a lovely practice that allows for families to travel or to snuggle up at home, doing whatever they want to celebrate the holidays, without the pressure of having to rush back to “normal life.” My family traveled to Virginia for most…
We’ll be featuring various stories, testimonies and accounts from current and former families and students periodically on our blog, and are pleased to bring you this account of one mother’s first day at Plumfield. by Kristen Kansiewicz The Gentle Art of Parenting. As a mom of two toddlers, that sounded like the kind of class…
It was a full morning for the younger students (who range from age six to nice years old). Math and language arts, when each child worked at their skill level, was followed by half an hour of history when the students heard a whole chapter about Rome in 500 BC. In a very exciting bit…
We sat around the teacher’s lounge today at lunch and chatted. We call it the teacher’s lounge fondly, because one woman has a horrible memory of accidentally opening the door to the teacher’s lounge when she was young, and being vehemently scolded and forcibly escorted. At Plumfield, the “teacher’s lounge” is four folding chairs set…