Mission
Mission statement
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The Mission of Cedars Classical Co-op is to support families in their homeschooling journey in a Christ-centered environment.
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Purpose
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The purpose of Cedars Classical Co-op is to:
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Provide a prayerful, Christ-centered environment, where homeschooling parents can nurture a love of God and learning in their children through the classical approach.
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Offer resources, guidance, and encouragement to homeschooling parents, helping them confidently fulfill their God-given role as primary educators of their children
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Facilitate opportunities for fellowship, mentorship, and mutual support among homeschooling families, fostering deep, meaningful relationships and a sense of belonging.
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Develop Future Generations who desire to serve the Lord and are prepared to live out their faith and learning with excellence in all areas of life.
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Fostering Enduring Wisdom and Virtue
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At Cedars Classical Co-Op, we are dedicated to forming young souls in wisdom and virtue through Jesus Christ, the Logos, in whom “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Education, in our vision, is not merely the accumulation of knowledge, but the formation of the whole person—mind, body, and soul—so that students may live as faithful disciples of Christ.
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Our classical approach embraces the timeless trivium—grammar, logic, and rhetoric—while grounding each in the truth of the Catholic faith. As St. Thomas Aquinas taught, “Wisdom is the knowledge of divine things” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q.66, a.5), ordering all things to their ultimate end in God. Just as the cedars of Lebanon stand tall and rooted — “I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon” (Sirach 24:13) — so too do we seek to form children whose faith and reason are deeply rooted in Christ, the firm foundation.
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St. John Paul II affirmed: “The human being is by nature a seeker after truth” (Fides et Ratio, §28). In this light, our scholars are trained not only to recognize truth but to delight in it, for true freedom is found in living according to God’s plan.
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We ask not only “What does the child know?” but “Does he love what is good? Does she pursue what is holy? Does he delight in what is beautiful?” For, as St. Augustine reminds us: “He who is filled with love is filled with God himself” (De Trinitate, VIII, 8).
Cultivating Beauty and Wonder
We affirm that beauty lifts the soul to God. At Cedars, we cultivate awe and wonder through the grandeur of creation, sacred music and chant, the timeless masterpieces of Catholic art and literature, and the epic narrative of salvation history. Pope Benedict XVI taught:
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“An essential function of genuine beauty… is that it gives man a healthy ‘shock’… it draws him out of himself… and opens his eyes to the Infinite.”
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Our program reflects the Catholic principle that each child is made imago Dei—in the image and likeness of God—and carries a unique vocation. We nurture their gifts through prayer, study, and joyful participation in the sacramental life of the Church, ensuring that wonder does not fade into sentiment but blossoms into worship and holiness.
Exceptional Classical Program
Our curriculum draws from the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition. For younger children, we adopt the simplicity and gentleness of methods akin to Charlotte Mason, enriched and fulfilled through Catholic spirituality: attention, habit, wonder, and narration ordered toward God. For older children, we embrace the rigor of the trivium and the Socratic method, always guided by the Church’s wisdom.
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We emphasize heritage studies rooted in the story of Christendom—how Catholic culture, saints, and the Magisterium shaped Western civilization and advanced the dignity of the human person. St. John Henry Newman stated plainly:
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“Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another; good sense is not conscience, refinement is not humility, nor is largeness and justness of view faith. Philosophy, however enlightened… gives no command over the passions… Liberal Education makes not the Christian, not the Catholic, but the gentleman.”
(The Idea of a University, Discourse V)
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​Thus, the whole child is formed:
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Mind: critical thinking, clarity, and a love of truth guided by Catholic philosophy.
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Body: discipline, health, and stewardship of life as a gift from God.
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Soul: prayer, liturgy, sacramental life, and the call to holiness.
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Our students are not only educated but evangelized—prepared to live their vocations faithfully in a world in desperate need of Catholic witness.
Character Formation and Moral Excellence
The formation of virtue is at the heart of Catholic education. At Cedars, we explicitly cultivate the cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance—and elevate them with the theological virtues—faith, hope, and charity. This Thomistic foundation equips students to live as faithful Catholics who can, in the words of St. Paul, “stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth” (Ephesians 6:14).
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St. Ignatius of Loyola exhorted his students to “Go, set the world on fire” (Ite, inflammate omnia — Jesuit motto, traditional attribution). We embrace this mission through daily prayer, the Holy Rosary, Adoration, liturgical life, and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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Guided by saints and mentors, students grow in self-mastery and discernment, learning to navigate the complexities of modern life with fidelity and courage. True success is measured not in earthly accolades but in eternal reward. A prayer traditionally attributed to St. Teresa of Avila reminds us:
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“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world, yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.”
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Our students leave Cedars prepared to be Christ’s hands and heart in the world.
