Rhonda Franz, MA. Ed

At Sacred Hollow Flower Farm in Lowell, Arkansas, guests belong among the wildflowers.
A turn off the highway and a drive through the gate result in an unexpected meadow of whimsical color and tranquility. That’s just what owners Caleb Schoeppe and Sydney Sloan hope for guests who arrive.

Creative arts like drawing, painting, language studies, music and drama support the main lesson and give students a variety of avenues to learn the material. Students then continue an exploration of the lesson through movement and motor skills, with activities like physical education, building, dance and gardening.(Getty Images)
Parents looking for education options – especially for kindergarten – have likely come across the term Waldorf. But what exactly is a Waldorf school?
Waldorf educatio...

Peek into an early-grade classroom at a Montessori school and you are likely to see children of different ages moving around and talking, free to explore a variety of activities. Each activity will advance learning and development, but may not include instructions on exactly what to do and when.
A Montessori school is an environment with plenty of materials for hands-on learning, and children are encouraged to focus on – and often stick with – activities that pique their interest. This stands...

Change has come to standardized testing, and not just college admissions exams like the SAT and ACT. Private grade schools are also altering the way they view testing.

For a variety of reasons, many colleges have chosen to go test-optional, meaning they no longer require test scores with student applications, or test-blind, meaning will not take test scores into consideration even when they are submitted.

When Angie Albright spreads the message about a community need or seeks funding that serves the people and the history of the area where she lives, she's going to get results. She is the director of the Clinton House Museum in Fayetteville, Arkansas and knows how to creatively adapt the message to reach individuals in her target audience. For many people in civic and philanthropic positions throughout Arkansas, Albright is practically a household name.

Think of yourself as a salesperson selling a package of both product and experience to a customer. What are the neatest features of your home? How can you make sure those features are what prospective buyers have a chance to see?

In the first few minutes of speaking with Ryan Freeman-Burchfield and Kati Wells at their therapy practice, I knew it would be a challenge to adequately communicate in one article their enthusiasm for helping others. Both women love their work. As a result of intensive training and extensive travel, they have received and continue to pursue highly respected certifications in their field. And both are absolutely committed to helping eliminate the stigma that often comes with the idea of seekin...

Basketball star and entrepreneur Allyson Twiggs Dyer naturally exudes excitement about her idea-turned-movement, "Reject the Hustle" that is resonating with people, especially women, who have heard her speak and joined her Facebook group. She wants all of us to refuse the notion that the only way to live a good life is by hustling all day long.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has called it for Arkansas students: no more on-site school instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. But academics in Arkansas are still in session. The hope is that students statewide will work through alternative instruction prepared by schools and districts and, as much as possible, maintain communication and connection with their teachers.
In the current state of seemingly unending bad news, the good news is that learning isn’t bound to paper-and-pen...

Everyone should have a bike.
This is the philosophy behind Pedal It Forward in Northwest Arkansas, an organization with a mission of serving the community by providing bicycles to children and adults in need. This summer, in cooperation with First Security Bank, they are hosting a bike drive to make it especially easy for people to donate during the summer with drop-off locations. Since my family had a couple of extra bicycles residing in our backyard shed, my boys and I crammed them into our...

A story on the Petrays who raise grass-fed cattle for consumers wanting fresh, local farm-to-table food.

This Halloween, Arkansas folks are here to help you step up the costume game in your household or at your job. Ready or not, Oct. 31 creeps around the corner. With these smart dress-up ideas for the night and all the fanfare that comes before, you’re sure to be the envy of neighbors on your dark street or your co-workers at your spooky office. Take a little inspiration and a whole lot of fun with these family and group-themed Halloween costume ideas.
Royal: The Princess and the Horseman
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My two youngest children eagerly stepped off their Springdale, Arkansas school bus on a Friday last month with a little extra weight in their backpacks. Mixed in with the usual dirt, library books, folders and a few snack crumbs of unknown origin was a packet containing ten days of Arkansas’s Alternative Methods of Instruction assignments, pencils and notebook paper.
My unsuspecting boys had no idea how their lives would change in just a couple of days. None of us did.
The “AMI” acronym has q...

Mother’s Day is coming up, and though we can’t control many of the busy and bustling circumstances of our lives, we should try to do something for ourselves to celebrate. Perhaps we can remove any expectations of what others should give us and take care of what we’d really like by deciding our gifts and engaging in important self-care.
Fortunately, Arkansas has no shortage of ways we can do just that. In case you’re short on thoughts, I’ve rounded up ideas from several sources for all of us.
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Humorous essay on how an American mom thinks the minivan's alert systems could be improved.