The Fridh family joined CCA five years ago. Their daughters are enrolled in the Half Day program, but they are fully involved with our school community participating in the elementary sports program and giving back in many different ways. Find out what makes CCA special for them.
How did you first find CCA and what were you looking for in a school?
When my oldest was about 2 years old, I started to think about her future and the school years to come. I had always loved the idea of homeschooling. I knew I really, really wanted to try it…but with no idea where or how to begin…I felt lost. Shortly after that, we met a wonderful family who had children the same age as mine and she had the same aspirations as me! I told her of my hesitations and she told me she had heard of a school called CCA, a hybrid school, that might be exactly what I was looking for and it just so happened to be right up the road from where we live! I had never even heard of a hybrid school, but from that moment on I started to do my research. I thought this school sounded perfect for our family! The next year, my husband and I went on a tour of the school…even though we were still two years away from kindergarten…I wanted to see what this school was really all about and most importantly, I wanted to make sure we could secure our spot! A quick fun fact, those great friends of ours who opened our eyes to CCA have now joined us this year at CCA and we are so happy to have them here with us.
What were your first impressions? (Have they held true?)
The very first thing that I was impressed with, was the cleanliness of the school! This is something that is so important to my husband and I as we are naturally “germaphobes,” and this was way before Covid was ever even thought of. Also, the class sizes! We love, love, love the idea of small classes. We feel this really gives each student the chance to be seen and heard. That they’ll get their questions answered and they’ll be more than just a number. At that time, the school was smaller. But even now, with the recent influx of new students, they have kept a limit on the number of students per class, so no child ever gets lost…we absolutely love this. If they are not going to be at home with us, we want them to be somewhere that feels like a second home to them. A place that is safe, where they don’t feel overwhelmed. And that’s exactly how they feel in their classes at CCA. YES our first impressions have held true!
Your daughters are in the 1/2 day Hybrid program. Why did you choose that over the full-day Hybrid program?
Childhood is short and as we all know; it goes by so fast. Although we place a huge value on education, ultimately, family time and family life are most important to us after God. Even though Tuesdays and Thursdays are home days, they are still very busy days. We also have a very curious 1 year old. So, trying to wrangle him and get through two kids' lesson plans, usually takes us most of the day. We wanted to have more than just the weekend for our children to be home spending time with us, playing together, and just enjoying each other. Getting done at noon on M, W and F really allow for them to do what they do best and just PLAY. So much is learned through play and exploring, it’s just a matter of finding the time to actually let them do that.
What does the afternoon look like for your family?
Our after-school afternoons are spent so many different ways, from swimming to dancing to practicing soccer to just good old-fashioned “playing outside.” Also, we have some close friends that live right down the road from us and they have a mini-farm. My kids love going there and seeing, playing with, and learning all about the animals. They also attend a homeschool baking class one day a week as well as dance and karate lessons. Having the afternoons free really just allows us to have more time for ourselves and to budget our time a little better. We also really enjoy attending the homeschool science classes at the Imaginarium. Those classes are on Tuesdays so if we know we’re going there on a Tuesday, we’ll use our afternoon on a Monday to really buckle down on our Tuesday homeschool work and get most of it done. Otherwise, there would be no way we could fit it all in. We really love that it allows us the extra time to use it for what we need. I am a huge anti-stress Mom. I don’t like a lot of chaos and constant running around. Even though we are still plenty busy, I feel that I still have time to just sit back and enjoy each one of my children. Rather than a constant fast-paced day from the moment you wake up in the morning until you lay your head down at night. I like to know that I’ve really had time to just BE with them and that they’ve had an adequate amount of time to just PLAY. These young years are so fleeting, there’ll be plenty of time for them to attend full days of school when they’re older.
What is your favorite part of the on-campus aspect of your kids' educations?
So many things! love that my kids can still get a feel for “going to school.” When I was growing up, I really loved going to school! So, I’m happy that they get to experience it as well without having to be gone all day every day like at a typical school. I love that they get to be a part of the spirit days, the fun days, the theme days, History Day, field trips, etc.! It's these days that they really look forward to so I’m so glad they get to be a part of them. Most importantly, ACCOUNTABILITY. I love that somebody else gets to teach them their core subjects 3 days a week! I love homeschooling but I’ll be honest, my children learn so much better from their teachers at CCA. When we were full-time homeschooling, they would definitely test me on a daily basis. With this school, they know they have to get their work done because their teachers will be expecting it the next day. It holds them accountable! There is no complaining or procrastinating, we all just work together to get our work done.
What is your favorite part of the homeschool aspect of the Hybrid Program?
Spending more time with my kids, having them home more, being flexible, fulfilling my dream of homeschooling without having to create my own lesson plans, and eliminating prep work.
Do you see changes or growth in your children that you attribute to CCA?
Absolutely! My oldest really loves to go to school on school days and doesn’t complain at all on homeschool days. She’s happy to buckle down and get done the work at hand. This is a huge step up from our full-time homeschooling days! Also, my youngest is finally starting to show an interest in reading. For years I’ve tried to work with her on reading and she just never seemed to “care” or have the want for it. Now that she’s in a class of children her age where everyone is reading, it really inspired her to do better for herself.
What would you tell people considering CCA for their student(s)?
I would tell them to go for it! There is no better time than the present. Everyone is so helpful at CCA, the teachers are amazing, the class sizes are perfect, the facility is very clean and family involvement is encouraged. For all of these reasons and more, we love CCA!