The first field trip of the school year is always an exciting time, and Foundations Christian School is no different. Tomorrow, September 26, 2014, our kids will be embarking on a day-long field trip to Animal Adventure Park. If they've never been there, they will enjoy every minute of the fun. 

Animal Adventure Park is in Harpursville, NY, and it's an interactive animal park where kids can learn all about the animals they see. They'll get the opportunity to feed some of them too, which is an awesome experience. Animal Adventure Park has zebras, turtles, llamas, a mountain lion, and so many more beautiful animals. What a great way to appreciate how different and complex all of God's creatures are! 

If your child is a student planning on going on the field trip, we want to remind you to please make sure he or she is dressed for the cooler weather in the morning. Layers are perfect because it is supposed to be a really nice day tomorrow. You can feel free to keep their backpacks at home, too, but please send their lunches, complete with napkins and plastic forks, spoons, etc. 

This might be our first field trip, but it won't be our last. We're having a great time enjoying the 2014-2015 school year, and we're just getting started!

If you would like more information about Foundations Christian School for your kids, we would love to talk to you! You're welcome to take a tour of our new location, right here at Big Flats Wesleyan Church in Big Flats, NY, and our administrators are more than willing to answer any of your questions. If you're tired of the public school scene, and you think a Christian education would be right for your kids, please contact us today! 

**Photo courtesy of www.animaladventurepark.com**

No matter how much you prepare for Back to School season, once the school year really starts rolling, it can be hard to leave your summer routine behind. Even so, there is a way to ensure you keep your sanity as a Mom or Dad while providing your kids with everything they need to make this school year a great one. Here at Foundations Christian School, our goal is to help you train up your children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6), so we'd like to offer you a few tips that can help take the "crazy" out of your mornings.

Healthy Breakfast
We get it - mornings are tough. Some families are lucky to get any breakfast at all before flying out the door in the mornings. However, the foods your kids eat will have a direct impact on how well they do in school during the day. That's why it's important to make healthy choices for them. Try making quick breakfast foods ahead of time that they can grab and eat in the car if you're always running short on time. Granola, apples, bananas and hard-boiled eggs are easy to fix ahead of time, and simple to grab when you're on the go.

Prepare the Night Before
You can make your mornings a little easier when you make preparations for everything the night before. Have your kids pack their backpacks as soon as their homework is done, and if they're taking their lunch to school, it's good to make their lunches at night too. Are clothing choices a pain in the morning? You can simplify that process by having them pick out their clothes and get everything ready at night. Or, if you're really ambitious, take some extra time on the weekends and get their outfits ready for the entire week.

Make Homework a Priority
The fact is that sometimes your kids are going to have homework. However, if you don't make it a priority, they won't either. Of course, they will need some training to ensure that homework becomes a priority for them too. To get them in the habit of getting all of their work done, some parents will make any screen time - television, electronics, etc. - contingent on whether or not it's done. Once you use those things as rewards (limited, of course), you'll usually see an eager child who is willing to comply.

Foundations Christian School is growing even more since we made the move to Big Flats, NY this year. We'd love for you to be a part of that growth. For more information on the school, or to talk with our Administrators about enrolling your children, please contact us!

Here at Foundations Christian School in Big Flats, we frequently get asked what people can do to help us. We love the caring hearts of the people at Big Flats Wesleyan Church, Grace Church of the Nazarene, and in the surrounding churches. There is plenty you can do to lend a hand as we continue on throughout the school year. 

Prayer
Prayer is the first thing on our list because it really is the most important thing you can do to help us. This year has already been a blessing to us because of our new location, as well as for many other reasons. However, we know that whenever God does something awesome, the enemy is right there, ready to attack. We need some prayer warriors who are willing to stand up to the enemy on our behalf, and who will call on God for our school on a daily basis. 

School Supplies
Each year our students get a nice long list of things they will need to bring in to start the new year. However, it isn't long before those items need to be replenished, or we find that we need additional things for them to use. We're also usually very appreciative of things like napkins, paper towels, tissues and plastic spoons. If you want to help us with some of these items, that would be wonderful!

Volunteering
We have been blessed to be a blessing for anyone who has volunteered with us here at the school. You never know what we might need help with. Sometimes we need substitute teachers, or teacher's aids. Maybe you have a gift you'd like to share with our students, or a special talent that one of our teachers could use during a lesson. Contact us and tell us how you would like to help.

Spread the Word
Now that school is in session, it won't be long before you'll start to see posts on Facebook from exasperated parents. They'll be complaining about their children's schools, and you're bound to hear some anger expressed toward Common Core requirements. Don't be afraid to spread the word about us! Many people don't realize that their kids have an alternative option for school that's not as expensive as other private or Christian schools in the area. They will be happy you told them about us, and our enrollment will grow!

If you're reading this, and you would like more information about Foundations Christian School, we would love to talk with you about what God is doing for our students here in Big Flats. Please contact us today! 

Tomorrow is the big day! We're getting ready to welcome new and old students back to Foundations Christian School! Are you ready? 

We're having an informational orientation meeting tonight for every parent at Big Flats Wesleyan Church (the new home of Foundations Christian School) in Big Flats, NY. The meeting takes place at 6:30, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to get some information about the school, as well as get any of your questions answered. You can also take a peek inside of your children's classrooms and talk with their teachers. 

Last year was our first year at FCS, and we're excited to jump right into number two! We've had many changes during the past year, and we're excited to share them with you. 

If you'd like more information about a Christian education at Foundations Christian School for your children, please contact us today!

If you're looking for a SWEET way to tell your Dad how much you love him this Father's Day, here at Foundations Christian School, we have an awesome suggestion for you!

We're having an amazing night of frozen yogurt and raising money for our school this Father's Day, June 15th. Come on out to Sweet Frog and support the area's newest Christian school. 

If you've never been to Sweet Frog, this is the perfect opportunity for you to give it a try. We promise, you've never tasted anything like it. You'll not only have your choice of a variety of frozen yogurt flavors, but you'll also be able to pick and choose your toppings...and you've never seen so many!

If you're busy with Dad on Father's Day and you don't think you can make it, no problem! Sweet Frog is also hosting this fundraiser for us on Friday, June20th too. Stop in and enjoy a sweet treat on a hot summer day.

We're so excited to be wrapping up the school year, here at Foundations Christian School. If you'd like some information on enrolling your child for next year, we'd love to hear from you! Please contact us today! 

It's really unbelievable that the school year has gone by so fast. For many of us parents (me included!), it seems like only yesterday when we dropped our little ones off for their very first day of school. They've grown so much, and they've learned so much new information during the past school year. It's hard to believe it's really time for preschool graduation. 

Why Do We Have Preschool Graduation? 

Preschool graduation is a really fun event for kids, and it's exciting for parents as well. Back when many of us were in school, we didn't have a little graduation ceremony to celebrate our movement from preschool into  kindergarten. We had to wait until the big "to-do" happened our senior year of high school. So, why do we do it?

I think one of the reasons we have preschool graduation is to give the kids a sense of accomplishment. It really is a sense of accomplishment for them to enter school in September with a severe paste-eating problem, only to emerge in the spring with the ability to count to 100. Preschool graduations also give our teachers the chance to stand in the spotlight for a few minutes because they're the reason those little tykes are where they are now, and they really should be commended for a job well done. 

Join Us!

If a preschooler you love is involved in our preschool graduation this spring, we'd like to invite you to join us for some great food, and a graduation ceremony this Friday, May 30th, at 5:00 at the Grace Church of the Nazarene in Horseheads, NY. We're excited to celebrate our preschoolers, and we hope you'll come!

If you would like more information about Foundations Christian School, we would love to talk with you! Please contact us today!

*Image courtesy of t0zz, www.freedigitalphotos.net* 

It's amazing to think that it's already May, and the school year is going to be ending before we know it. Doesn't it seem like the year just started? 

During these last few weeks, it's never been more important to ensure that your kids do well on their exams. Whether they're starting to prepare for those all-important final exams, or they want to be sure their regular unit test scores are excellent, you want to do what you can to help them get good grades. Here are a few tips you can use to help your kids reach their full potential and do well on those upcoming exams. 

Tip #1: Healthy Meals and Snacks

If your child had his or her way, junk food would be pretty high up on the list of priorities when it came to deciding what to eat. However, over-processed foods don't give your kids the brainpower they need to be able to focus well and retain information in school. Instead, choose well-balanced meals that will provide them with all the vitamins and minerals they need. Fruits and veggies are great for snacks, and it won't be long before your kids realize that their new pattern of healthy food makes them feel better and think better. (Pssst...healthy food tastes better too!)

Tip #2: Encourage Good Study Habits

Good study habits are the key to retaining the information your children need to do well on their exams. If your kids are used to doing their homework in front of the television, or even when music is playing, they're not giving their brains the chance to learn as much. Help your child set up a quiet area, perhaps in their bedroom or other quiet area of your home, where they can focus on what they're doing. It's probably also helpful to set aside a certain amount of time each day for studying, particularly on those school subjects your kids struggle with the most. 

Tip #3: Teach Them how to Use Pneumonic Devices

If memory problems plague your child, it can be very discouraging to try and memorize facts and figures for exams. Pneumonic devices are a great way to help them understand how fun learning can be, and they help them remember these important principles in a way that make them easy to recall later on. For example, help your child make a game out of learning certain dates for their social studies exams. If your child has to learn word definitions, use colors and silly words to help them recall their definitions. Make it as fun as possible, and before long, your kids will be laughing and remembering the information. 

Here at Foundations Christian School, it's our goal to help your child succeed! If you would like more information about enrolling your kids in a solid, Biblically-based Christian school right here in Horseheads, NY for the upcoming school year, we would love to talk with you. Please contact us today! 

*Image courtesy of artur84, www.freedigitalphotos.net*

Legislators were surprised last month when they received some negative feedback about the Common Core from prominent governmental officials. Even Governor Cuomo spoke out against the Common Core, saying that the state's execution of the new Common Core standards was "flawed," according to an article in the New York Times. 

The article goes on to quote Carol Burris, who is the principal of a high school on Long Island. She called the state's implementation of the Common Core a "disaster" and said that, "kids don't want to go to school anymore."

Perhaps your kids are in public school, and they're experiencing the same feelings. Many kids in public schools have come home from school feeling discouraged and even defeated because of their inability to understand many of the new Common Core standards. Teachers have become frustrated as well, and many of them don't like teaching the new material they've been given. As a parent, it's likely that you've looked at your kids' homework in an effort to offer them some help, but you can't make sense of it either. 

Those complaints are common among parents this year, and although Governor Cuomo has put a panel in place to recommend changes, that hasn't stopped some parents from seeking out alternative forms of education for their kids. Some parents have decided to homeschool, while others have started looking into private schools. 

If your child is struggling this year, perhaps Foundations Christian School in Horseheads, NY would be a good fit for your family. We would love to talk with you about how we can help your child learn to love school again, while getting a solid, Christian education. 

For more information on Foundations Christian School, please contact us today. 

*Image courtesy of koratmember, www.freedigitalphotos.net*

We're really excited to be opening our doors on this wintery February evening for an Open House, here at Foundations Christian School. 

If you're an FCS parent, you probably noticed that your kids all came home recently sporting these awesome, bright yellow scarves in celebration of National School Choice Week. We felt that it was important to open the doors of our school for our existing group of parents, but also for any parents who are considering sending their kids to school at Foundations Christian School in the coming school year. 

If you're like many parents in New York State, you've probably thought long and hard about whether or not a public school education is right for your child. Every month there are more and more reports being made about how a public school education just doesn't seem to be the right fit for many kids. The Common Core has gotten an incredibly negative response from everyone, including parents, students and teachers. Many families are looking at education alternatives for their kids, and we're proud to be one of your options. 

Even if you're not happy with your child's public school education, you probably have a lot of questions about what we have to offer at Foundations Christian School. That's why we're having this Open House. This is a great time for you to come and meet with the Administrator, Jordan Winderl, as well as to talk with the other teachers and volunteers we have on staff. You'll also get the opportunity to talk with other parents whose kids attend FCS currently, which will provide you with valuable information that will help you make a good decision for your child. 

Of course, if you would like to speak with us over the phone, we're always willing to connect with you and answer any questions. Please feel free to contact us. We're growing here at Foundations Christian School, and we'd love for your child to be a part of that growth! 



*Image courtesy of photostock, www.freedigtalphotos.net*