About Us

Assembling School Kits for Humanitarian Dept., Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

LDS EDUCATION & US: Following the Words of Prophets

1. President Henry B. Eyring counseled:
   
   
   "It is clear that our first priority should go to spiritual learning. ... It is clear that putting spiritual learning first does not relieve us from learning secular things. On the contrary, it gives our secular learning purpose and motivates us to work harder at it." (CES Satellite Broadcast Fireside address delivered in Moscow, Idaho, May 6, 2001.)
   
   
2. President Boyd K. Packer warned:
   
   
   "In many places it is literally not safe physically for youngsters to go to school. And in many schools and its becoming almost generally true it is spiritually unsafe to attend public schools. Look back over the history of education to the turn of the century and the beginning of the educational philosophies pragmatism and humanism were the early ones, and they branched out into a number of other philosophies which have led us now into a circumstance where our schools are producing the problems that we face.” (Boyd K. Packer, Charge to the David O. McKay School of Education, December 1996.)
   
   
   
3. TEACHING CORRECT PRINCIPLES.
   
   
   A CORRECT PRINCIPLE is an unwavering truism that is constant. It is a belief upon which we can build our characters and conduct our lives. It is the way of life in the Celestial worlds. The more we learn and adopt correct principles, the closer we are to being a celestial society, a Zion. As a people our purpose is to prepare the earth for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ by furthering His Kingdom on earth, by furthering the cause of Zion.

   Unfortunately, as a people, we have not always followed correct principles. Just as ancient Israel soon after their exodus from Egypt chose not to follow Moses, so, too, the Saints in the late 1800's chose not to follow their prophets. As for the ancient Israelites, the Lord gave them His laws and offered them the opportunity to become a Zion society - to have the Lord himself dwell among them and to see His face, etc. But, what do we learn through the inspired version of Exodus 34: 1-2?

   "And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them."
   "But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. ..."

   OUCH! They lost out on the blessings of a Zion society, and so have we, to some extent, because of choices made by our predessors. Back in the 1880's and 1890's when the church was endeavoring to establish a system of church sponsored academies, the majority of Saints chose to send their students to the state schools, instead of the church sponsored academies. They did not follow their prophets - Brigham Young, John Taylor and Willford Woodruff. These men had a vision of church education that included deep and serious study of spiritual matters, especially the Standard Works, unimpeded by the intrusions of the state. They expected parents to help fund the schools, paying for their students' tuitions and supplies. They expected teachers who were adept in their subjects and who taught by the Spirit, - who were men and women of God. They expected, with the products of these schools, to build Zion.

   In Jack Monnett's book, Revealed Educational Principles & the Public School, he quotes George Q. Cannon. President Cannon tells the latter-day saints then that their ills were plainly due to "the reluctance of the people to comprehend and to obey the counsel which God has given through his servants ever since we came to these valleys." Further, Apostle Abraham H. Cannon spoke on this issue in a Weber Stake Conference on June 16, 1893. One of the problems was that the Saints were not willing to pay tuitions to the Church School System to educate their children the Celestial way. Apostle Cannon stated:

   "We seem to be so mixed up in the affairs of Babylon that when she goes down, Zion will be seriously affected thereby...No call was made upon the people to gather up to Zion that they might accumulate wealth, that they might extend the limits of their fields, that they might build up mansions, while under the shadows of their mansions the poor and the hungry cried for food, for shelter and for raiment. Instead of learning the ways of God and walking in His paths, we have sought to learn the ways of men and to walk in the paths of men. We have looked after the golden calf." (Emphasis added.)

   Hugh Nibley, concerning Brigham Young's teachings about education wrote, "Whether we like it or not, we are going to have to return to Brigham Young's ideals of education; we may fight it all the way, but in the end God will keep us after school until we learn our lesson."

   SO, at Beehive we have sought to seek out those PROPHETIC/CORRECT PRINCIPLES of EDUCATION. We have searched the scriptures - as we encourage you to do - under the key words of 'education', 'instruction', 'knowledge', 'teaching' and so forth. We have also read the Words of the Prophets as given in Jack Monnet's book and more recently.

   We believe in teaching by these principles.

4. THE CORRECT PRINCIPLES...
   1. Parents are responsible before God for their children's education.
   2. There is often a necessary separation of the righteous for a period of preparation in order to help them become strong. We believe that it is important to keep the children at home until they are well-schooled enough in the doctrines of the kingdom not to be overcome by the philosophies of the world.
   3. The main texts are the Standard Works. These are read, studied, and pondered -daily for an extended period - in order to learn the laws and expections of God in regard to us - those CORRECT PRINCIPLES.
   4. All things are spiritual to the Lord. Therefore, we study all subjects by study and by faith, teaching our students how to access divine knowledge and help.
   5. Keeping of accurate learning histories and journals, documenting and recording what has been learned is encouraged.
   6. Parents and the children are to pay for the education of the children. We encourage parents to have the children work to pay for a portion of their educational expenses, understanding that the principle of working for what one has is a true principle and thus the education will be of more value to the child.
   7. Teaching faith, wisdom, and humility.
   8. Having a practical curriculum that can be readily applied to life and will improve the mind.
   9. Textbooks and all curriculum used are in harmony with revealed truth. "Seek ye out of the BEST books."
   10. As for teachers: being persons of God is more important than knowledge. Teachers must also be outstanding examples and possess the Spirit of God. The Lord's criteria for teachers is: "the Spirit will be given you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach;" D&C 42:12 and "Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you." D&C 88:78
   11. President John Taylor commented: And above all other things, teach our children the fear of God. Let our teachers be men of God, imbued with the Spirit of God, that they may...teach (their students) how to approach God, that they may call upon Him and He will hear them, and by their means, we will build up and establish Zion."
   12. True education is not restricted to the intellect but includes character, morals, habits, development of Christlike character, and a true and personal knowledge of God. David O. McKay taught:
       True education does not exist merely in the acquiring of a few facts of science, history, literature or art, but in the development of character. True education awakens a desire to conserve health by keeping the body clean and undefiled. True education trains in self-denial and self-mastery. True education regulates the temper, subdues passion, amd makes obedience to social laws and moral order a guiding principle of life. It develops reason and inculcates faith in the living God as the eternal, loving Father of all."
   13. Sacrifice is often required to acquire this kind of education, REAL education, but as stated by Parley P. Pratt:
       There is no sacrifice required at the hands of the people of God but shall be rewarded to them an hundred fold, in time or in eternity."
   14. Teaching and application of accountability (stewardship) and service.
   15. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,...
   16. Learning line upon line, precept by precept according to the capacity of the student.

   These are a few of the CELESTIAL Principles of Education.

Often we are inclined to make excuses for not educating our own, or not educating them fully in the ways of the Lord, just as former Latter-day Saints made excuses for not supporting the church education system, or the ancient Israelites chose to go after the golden calf. Today, we also have a choice.

In our time, our prophets have told us that it is our choice how our children are educated. It is up to us to "Counsel with the Lord" and determine what is right for each of our children. We have also been told that if there are to be LDS schools, it is now up to the Saints to produce them. That is what BEEHIVE LDS SCHOOLING, LLC, BEEHIVE SCHOOLS and BEEHIVE ONLINE CURRICULUM is all about - to provide parents - worldwide - with an LDS educational opportunity.

I CHOOSE to teach in the Lord's way. I CHOOSE to teach our youth in such a way that they may know God, carry-off His kingdom triumphantly, be worthy citizens of Zion and have the practical knowledge and skills to succeed in this life - as well as eternity.

If this is what YOU CHOOSE, join with me and let us go on this adventure together.

Mary C. Kessler, Founder of Beehive LDS SChooling, LLC and Creator of the Beehive Curriculum.

WHO WE ARE - BEEHIVE SCHOOLS

BEGINNINGS

In St. George, Utah, in 1997, we, Craig and Mary Kessler, began what was then called Sunrise High Academy. Our main purpose was to provide an alternative education for a son, who wanted a more uplifting environment and better academics.

GROWTH

The school grew from a 320 square feet office into a 2,700 square feet facility which included classrooms, an office, a theater, a computer lab, a kitchen/lunchroom, and a gym area. Enrollment grew from the initial one to over 30.

CONTINUING

Our son graduated in 2000. But, feeling that there were others who could benefit from a Beehive style education, we kept the school open. There were ups and downs, laughter and tears, accomplishments and disappointments.

TEST RESULTS VALIDATE the CURRICULUM

Over the 14 years of its existence as a dayschool, (1997-2011), Beehive helped 100's of students hone their academic skills and improve their educational status. In 2009, as students had never taken any nationally rated tests, we decided to test the effectiveness of the Beehive Curriculum by having the elementary class take the Iowa Basic Skills Test. The class averaged 98th percentile in reading and 92nd percentile in math!

ONLINE CURRICULUM

Such outstanding test results prompted us to begin making plans to put the BEEHIVE CURRICULUM online, so that it could be available to all. Progress in this endeavor has been slow. It took six months for the professional site developers to finalize the site format. Then there were the time-consuming conflicting demands of the day school. In addition, there were multiple difficulties establishing course formatting parameters. Courses which had worked well in the live classroom had to be 'tweeked' to be easily deliverable and just as effective in the online format. In most cases, this required a nearly total rewriting of each course. Consequently, it took over two years time, from June, 2009, to June, 2011, to reformat just 14 of the 140 courses for online delivery. Something had to change. Serving the two masters of the day shool and the online curriculum wasn't working.

DECISION: CLOSE THE DAY SCHOOL and CONCENTRATE on ONLINE CURRICULUM

As a dozen years earlier, we had made the decision to close our school supply and concentrate on the day school, similarly, in the Spring of 2011, we made the decision to close the dayschool and concentrate on getting the remainder of the curriculum online. To be blunt: it was extremely embarrassing to us to not have available what we said we were going to have available for those who signed-up for the online program. Breaking free of the day school gave us the time and focus capability necessary to complete the reformatting tasks and provide the level of service required for their online subscribers.

CONSIDERATIONS

Since we had not had a realvacation in over 19 years, we took the summer off. Now, late August, we are back at it and will have some of the courses up and running September 6, 2011, the day after Labor Day, 2011. Divisions, Courses and Levels are as given below.

1. Primary Division - 14 Courses, Levels One - Two; Ages 4-6. However, we ask that ALL students begin here.
2. Elementary Division - 14 Courses, Levels Three and Four; Ages 7-9.
3. Intermediate Division - 14 Courses, Levels Fix and Six; Ages 10-12.
4. High School Division - 21 Courses, Levels Seven through Nine; Ages 13-15.
5. Apprenticeship Division - 7 Courses, Level Ten; Ages 16-17.

Detailed REVISED Course Descriptions will soon be available on the School info page.

COST and SERVICES

The FULL ACCESS Annual Subscription Fee is $125.00. This allows full access to the curriculum at the rate of 200 downloads a week. Since there are only 840 downloads for the entire fourteen levels, when fully published online, the full curriculumum can be accessed in the matter of a few week. Put another way, each week a family may download thousands of lessons - ample, we think, for the largest of families. We have made it as user friendly and inexpensive as possible. We are in business to serve you and help you provide the very best online LDS education for your children.

Full curriculum support is available over the internet by email: beehivelds1@gmail.com. Some courses - especially Communications - are interactive in most areas and the math courses are interactive in the area of periodic testing and the "HELP HUDDLE". This means that you email work to us, we review it, offer suggestions and return it. Also, there is an opportunity for your student to get personal tutoring in writing and math. If you are a beginner, we will tutor YOU in how to teach reading! Other interactive elements are being planned throughout the courses. At the conclusion of each course, the final exam or final assessment is emailed to Beehive for scoring. Upon successful completion of the exam, Beehive will issue a CERTIFICATE of COMPLETION, along with the grade achieved, and keep a record in our archives of your student's work.

WHO WE ARE - THE PEOPLE

Mr. Craig Kessler began teaching in 1967, in Howell, Michigan, in the high school Industrial Arts Department. He has also worked with educable mentally retarded students, and as an insurance salesman, a bridgebuilder, a video store owner, and at Hurst Stores - Ace Hardware in the hardware department. His hobbies and interests led him into Scouting and politics. He took the Constitution course from W. Cleon Skousen and twice was a candidate for the US House of Representatives. He enjoys family history, old movies, WWII lore, gardening, and putsying around in his home workshop. He also loves teaching, - especially the Constitutiion, US History and government - and enjoys seeing kids 'get it'.

Mrs. Mary Kessler began teaching as a home school parent in 1982. Her interest in education grew as she saw the decline in the quality of education being offered her own children. She earned an online ED.D. degree in 2003. Mrs. Kessler has also been active in politics, serving as Young Republican National Committeewoman, running for Congress in 1980, and serving in an advisory capacity on political campaigns. Her hobbies and interests include health and nutrition, especially raw foods, gardening, family history, and government. Her passion is helping her students learn how to learn, especially from the Scriptures. She is the architect of the Online Curriculum.

Together, in 1984, they founded Sunrise Family Video of American Fork, Utah, the then ONLY non-R-Rated video store in the US. In 1995-98, they ran a home school supply, where they learned the good and the bad being offered in curriculums. In 1997, they founded Beehive Schools. They are the parents of four and the grandparents of nine, all of whom bring them much happiness.

MANY OTHERS have come and gone throughout the years and each has contributed mightily to the character and philosophy of Beehive. We thank them for their contributions and wish them well in their current and future endeavors. For the moment, as Beehive LDS Schooling, LLC. is run out of the Kessler's home, the business code of St. George allows only the Kesslers to work in their educational business. As the online schoool grows, other worthy mentors will be added to the staff through the miracle of the internet.

BECOMING BETTER ACQUAINTED - A Personal Note from "Mrs. K."

Trusting your childrens' education to someone you only meet or know from the internet is, at best, a scary propositiion. Even if references were supplied or testimonials given - of which we have supplied three - how can you be sure they are authentic? What about validation of the worth of the curriculum, - even though we say there were high test scores on the 3rd grade Iowa Basic Skills Test? What about the commitment and qualifications of the staff? Hopefully, we have answered some of your questions, BUT - we know that we would want to know more about the persons we're thinking of dealing with and so we think you do, too. So, a little bit more, - a more meaningful bio.

First, this is an LDS curriculum - crafted and intended for the home and private school education of young members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. Here we must state the Disclaimer: The Beehive Online Curriculum is in no way connected with the Church, but has been privately developed. We bear the sole responsibility for it. Now, on with the story...

In the interest of full disclosure, the curriculum came into being prompted by more than just test scores. It really began in 1970, when we were flushed out by a pair of missionary Elders, listened intently to the discussions they presented, prayed and knew what they were teaching was true and were baptized into the church. We know, full well, that those missionaries came as the result of the first prayer we uttered as a couple just four days previous to their coming to our door, a prayer asking God to help us raise our soon to be born child in a way pleasing to Him.

As time progressed and our little girl was joined by a little brother and sister, and then, eventually another little brother. We struggled with the knowledge that the education the older three were receiving was not necessarily the best. We also knew that as parents, we were responsible to God for our childrens' education - and we struggled as to what to do. We began homeschooling, but the materials suggested were tedious and presented a religious view other than our own. Then, we tried an LDS-run private school, where the correlation to the Gospel was very apparent and appreciated, but the discipline and depth of subject matter needed for true scholarship was missing. Back to the public schools we went, and again we were disappointed. By this point, however, our older three had graduated, married, and were even having children of their own.

Consequently, you and we owe the existence of Beehive LDS Schooling, LLC. and the Beehive Online Curriculum to our younger son. His sensitivity to what was right caused him to ask to be homeschooled after only three years in the public system - near the end of third grade! Years later, he asked to go back into the public system and attend a local high school. His experience during his tenth and eleventh grade years resulted in the development and establishment of Beehive Schools and the curriculum. In English class, many social and pyschological tests were given. They told him his best career was as a Forest Ranger! Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be forest ranger - except he was a died-in-the-wool committed writer - and still is! The school's trying to steer him in the direction of looking out for fires in some lonely tower turned him OFF. He asked us to teach him English and writing at home! We did. He now writes for a local newspaper.

Additionally, he loved History - and still does, thankfully, but NO THANKS to the teacher who expected the kids to read their assignments while he stayed in his office and did whatever. No lectures, no interesting tidbits. So, you guessed it, again he asked us to teach him history and we did. He now does an excellent job in his political commentary because he knows a lot of history and a lot about the US Constitution.

The final blow, however, came when he happened to miss the second and third week of school in the eleventh grade because of illness. When we went into the school office afterward, we found they had erased him from the records! He was no longer registered and could NOT get his former classes back. So, frankly, he stated, "Mom, if I'm going to get an education, it is going to have to be at home." Realizing that here was a Junior in high school willing to give-up association with many of his peers for a better education, as parents we counselled together and establish a school where he could be educated among his true peers - kids who were after the same things he was - a good, gospel-enriched education in a decent environment.

Now you know what really happened. But, there is more.

As the years with the Beehive School progressed, we learned a few lessons. One, there was no all around good curriculum. Two, often the courses we created turned-out to be the best. Three, including prayer and scripture study in the day's routine resulted - no kidding - in better academic performance. As Mr. Kessler is fond of remarking, "When the public schools invited God to leave, whom were they inviting to take over?" His comment seems quite insightful as we look at the mass of confusion that public education has become over the last five decades. But, enough of public ed. We are here to discuss private ed and home schooling. The fourth and last thing we learned is that: "Students don't care how much you know - or can teach them - until they know how much you truly care about them." - Another great quote from "Mr. K".

So, putting it all together - we developed our own curriculum, including two religion classes a day, (following President Benson's counsel to study the Book of Mormon and one other of the Standard Works every day), as well as the strong suggestion of a daily devotional at the beginning, and interactive portions in Communications, Math, and other courses and the inclusion of personal insights to continually show how much we really do care about your student.

We hope you will peruse the remainder of this site and join with us in the adventure of LDS Education. Craig and Mary Kessler