Creating Joyful Rhythms in Our School
"You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy." — Psalm 16:11
Children are not born knowing what to love. Long before they become mathematicians, scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, or even adults, they are becoming worshipers. Every day, through thousands of ordinary moments, they are learning what deserves their attention, their affection, and ultimately, their lives.
Every school, whether it realizes it or not, is shaping those loves. Some schools teach children to love achievement. Others teach them to love efficiency, popularity, or performance. At Innovate Academy, we believe education is about something much deeper. We are seeking to cultivate rightly ordered loves—to help scholars delight in what is true, good, and beautiful and, ultimately, to delight in Christ Himself. That is why joy is not an extracurricular feature of our school. It is one of our primary educational strategies.
Several years ago, I read a book that gave language to something I had sensed for a long time. In You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, philosopher James K. A. Smith writes, "Before we are thinking beings, we are first of all desiring beings." In other words, to be human is first and foremost to be a lover.
That idea stands in sharp contrast to much of modern education. Since the Enlightenment, we've largely embraced René Descartes' famous declaration, "I think, therefore I am." We've built many of our schools around the assumption that if we simply fill children's minds with enough information, transformation will naturally follow.
But that isn't how the early Church formed disciples, nor is it how God instructed His people throughout Scripture. The ancient Israelites wrote God's Word on their doorposts and foreheads. They recited it as they walked along the road, worked in their fields, gathered around meals, and celebrated feasts together. Their faith was embodied. Truth wasn't merely explained; it was practiced. Those repeated rhythms shaped not only what they knew, but what they desired.
I often think of another story that illustrates this beautifully. Years ago, a mother wrote to C.S. Lewis about her nine-year-old son, who had fallen in love with The Chronicles of Narnia. She worried that he loved Aslan more than he loved God. Lewis gently replied, "All that your son loves about Aslan is God."
Lewis understood something profound: children often learn to love what is beautiful before they fully understand why it is true. The imagination frequently leads where the intellect eventually follows.
That simple insight has shaped so much of how we think about education at Innovate Academy.
So what does that actually look like?
It begins every morning with Matins, the first canonical hour of prayer practiced by Christians for centuries. Our scholars enter into a rhythm much larger than themselves. Their prayer book traces a four-year historical journey through Christian prayers, hymns, and liturgies, reminding them that they belong to the great communion of saints spanning generations.
Together we recite our annual school verse—this year's theme, "In Your presence there is fullness of joy" (Psalm 16:11)—along with Ephesians 2:10, the Apostles' Creed, and prayers spoken by believers throughout history. Words matter. Repeated words shape not only our thinking but also our loves. Over time, these truths become part of a scholar's imagination long before they become part of an essay.
Those rhythms continue throughout the day.
Morning meetings may begin with songs accompanied by movement. Bible class may include energetic games one moment and quiet Scripture journaling the next. Our mentors are constantly discerning which rhythm is needed when. Sometimes scholars need a joyful celebration. Other times, they need silence, reflection, or wonder.
The same philosophy extends into every academic subject.
Of course, there are grammar rules to memorize, historical timelines to master, and mathematical concepts to understand. But information alone has never been our goal. If chemistry sounds intimidating, perhaps we begin with slime and curiosity before formulas. If scholars are studying the ancient world, they might practice writing cuneiform, build a catapult, cook Roman recipes, or recreate an ancient Chinese game. We look for the spark that awakens delight because children are naturally curious, and joy often becomes the doorway to deeper learning.
As scholars mature, they begin shaping those rhythms themselves. Older scholars increasingly take ownership of their learning. They mentor younger students, help design classroom traditions, write their own class catechisms, or create joyful rituals that make learning memorable. Don't let the word catechism fool you—it might include a hip-hop dance, a chant, or another repeated experience that helps truth settle deeply into both mind and heart.
Our day concludes with Evensong, one of my favorite moments at Innovate Academy. If Matins quietly centers our hearts, Evensong sends us home rejoicing. Scholars choose songs, lead worship, and sometimes break into spontaneous dancing. There is laughter. There is celebration. There is genuine delight.
Before dismissal, our mentors pray over every scholar:
"May God strengthen you with power according to the riches of His glory through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16–19)
Notice Paul's words: not simply knowledge, but love that surpasses knowledge. Perhaps that is what education has always been about.
Thankfully, our joyful rhythms extend even beyond the school day. Fall Festival, House Competitions, Fine Arts Showcases, Spirit Week, dances, teas, Field Day, service projects, reading buddies, and monthly field trips are not simply calendar events. They are opportunities to create shared memories and lasting affections. They become part of the culture our scholars carry with them long after they leave Innovate Academy.
One of my favorite educational thinkers, Father Nathan Carr, captures this beautifully in The Festive School: "Do not defy the anti-culture around you with suspicious children. Defy it with children who are drunk on the Rule of Joy..."
Those words have stayed with me because I believe they capture something our culture desperately needs. In a world increasingly marked by anxiety, hurry, loneliness, and relentless performance, joyful schools become a quiet act of hope.
Long after our scholars forget a history date or a grammar rule, my prayer is that they remember what it felt like to delight in learning, to delight in one another, and ultimately, to delight in the God in whose presence there is fullness of joy.
Joy is not the reward for learning. Joy is part of how we learn. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson we hope our scholars carry with them into the world.
