Rooted Families

Rooted Families Equipping parents and caregivers with tools for Christian formation, cultivating faith and character in every stage of life.

Rooted Families offers adults and the children they love opportunities to nurture faith and grow together in relationship with Jesus. Through simple, intentional practices, we help you embrace everyday moments as opportunities for spiritual growth—planting seeds that will bear lasting fruit.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” — Luke 2:52

Follow along for encouragement, resources, and practical tools designed to help your family remain rooted in Christ at every stage of life.

Children’s mental and physical development and their formation in faith aren’t on separate journeys. College of the Ozar...
08/12/2026

Children’s mental and physical development and their formation in faith aren’t on separate journeys.

College of the Ozarks' Rooted Families initiative offers guidance through the lens of five stages of child development. Healthy growth and a deepening faith in Jesus can be nurtured together through ordinary daily life during each stage.

Download our free PDF to begin to explore each of the five stages of child development—and learn how to foster faith formation at each stage!

🌱 Comment ROOTED to get the started!

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The Rooted Families Guide was authored by Dr. Jennifer Freeman, who served over 25 years as Director of Christian Formation at College of the Ozarks before becoming an author and speaker on Christian formation in partnership with the college.

What a gift it was to get to spend time with the families, teachers, and leaders of Gloria Deo Academy this week. I love...
08/08/2026

What a gift it was to get to spend time with the families, teachers, and leaders of Gloria Deo Academy this week. I loved sharing practical, Christ-centered tools for helping children grow in faith through every stage of development.

Thank you to everyone who welcomed Rooted Families so warmly—we’re all grateful to be partnering with communities like yours who care so deeply about forming the next generation. 💚

I hope to spend more time with your amazing community in the future, and if you haven't ordered one yet, don't forget to order your free Rooted Families Guide! It's a gift to all caregivers, shipping included—thanks to College of the Ozarks and a generous grant—through 2026. Link below!

Dr. Jennifer Freeman

08/07/2026

Houston, do you copy? 🛰️ Patching in Jami Glenn from DISNEY—where the rain is pouring, the reception is sketchy, but the message is too important to wait! ✨ If you haven’t registered for next week’s seminar with Jami Glenn 👋🏻 Emotional Wellness Coach and Rooted Families author Jennifer Freeman —you are missing out! Sing up for a FREE delectable lunch at the Keeter Center and a whole morning of parenting tools and tips for helping your kids grow roots of faith and identity! 🌺

Date: August 15
Time: 8:30 AM - NOON.

Link in bio/below!

08/05/2026

College of the Ozarks, through its Rooted Families initiative, invites parents and caregivers to Tending the Roots, a morning seminar exploring the connection between child development, Christian formation, and the growth of the whole child.

Parenting often meets us at the surface: big emotions, challenging behaviors, anxiety, defiance, disconnection, or weariness. But children are not formed at the surface. Their minds, bodies, relationships, identities—and their faith—develop together.

Dr. Jennifer Freeman of Rooted Families and Jami Glenn of will invite parents to look beneath behavior and better understand the roots of a child’s development. Through their individual sessions, they will explore how child development and Christian formation are deeply connected—and how everyday moments of care can become places where health, faith, and Christlike maturity begin to take root.

Parents will leave with a clearer understanding of what may be happening in a child’s brain and body during difficult moments, along with practical tools for guiding their development through a life of faith in Christ.

🌱 Tending the Roots: Child Development, Faith, & the Formation of a Whole Child | A Parent Seminar presented by College of the Ozarks’ Rooted Families initiative, in partnership with Sacred Ground Coaching

🌱 Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

🌱 College of the Ozarks | The Keeter Center | Silver Dollar City Parlor

🍽️ Join us for a morning of thoughtful conversation followed by a complimentary lunch at The Keeter Center.

The registration link is available in the comments. Can't wait to see you there!

07/29/2026

Waiting for college students to reach out can feel harder than anyone told you it would be—and sometimes it takes a “bump in the road” for them to pick up the phone and ask for advice.

Here’s one mom’s story of what happened when her daughter faced an unexpected struggle as a new college student and called home.

Remember: college does not end your influence. It changes the way you use it—from directing each step to reminding your child that they are equipped for the journey ahead and that God will remain faithful through every part of it.

For a downloadable step-by-step conversation and parenting practice guide to prepare you and your teen for the college transition, comment COLLEGE.

Supporting the families of the Ozarks is an important part of the mission of College of the Ozarks, and the Rooted Famil...
07/27/2026

Supporting the families of the Ozarks is an important part of the mission of College of the Ozarks, and the Rooted Families initiative is a special expression of that commitment to our community.

This Rooted Families seminar with Sacred Ground Coaching is one exciting way College of the Ozarks is partnering with parents in our region—equipping them to guide their children toward Christ-centered adulthood while nurturing their physical, emotional, and spiritual development.

Registration is free, made possible by College of the Ozarks and a generous grant. Details are below; the registration link is available in the comments.

🌱 Tending the Roots: Child Development, Faith, & the Formation of a Whole Child | A Parent Seminar with Rooted Families and Sacred Ground Coaching

🌱 Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

🌱 College of the Ozarks | The Keeter Center | Silver Dollar City Parlor

🌱 Speakers: Dr. Jennifer Freeman, author of the Rooted Families Guide | Jami Glenn, Sacred Ground Coaching

In 2026, all Rooted Families print products are free—thanks to College of the Ozarks and a generous grant! Download your...
07/23/2026

In 2026, all Rooted Families print products are free—thanks to College of the Ozarks and a generous grant! Download your PDF with the Five Stages of Child Development and QR codes to order your free book and activities printouts.

Comment ROOTED to get started!

We’re reflecting back on a wonderful week at the School of the Ozarks Summer Teacher Training last week!At its heart, cl...
07/22/2026

We’re reflecting back on a wonderful week at the School of the Ozarks Summer Teacher Training last week!

At its heart, classical Christian education asks teachers to form more than students’ minds. But the teachers entrusted with that work need opportunities to reflect on their own formation and explore how they can pass on their heart knowledge to students.

Jennifer Freeman opened the week with a devotional and guided educators through practices that created space to attend to their own faith. Afterward, many shared that they had not realized how hungry they were for that time of personal reflection.

It’s impossible to give to others what you don’t have in sufficient measure yourself—and all of us are likely hungry in some measure as we try our best to also feed those in our care.

It was a joy to explore together what it looks like to partner with parents, nurture faith in everyday moments, and guide students toward mature, Christ-centered adulthood.

Throughout the week, School of the Ozarks faculty brought together the rich principles of classical Christian education and the practical wisdom teachers need to live them out. The training ended with participants walking through the halls to applause, pom-poms, and high-fives—the same joyful tradition used to honor School of the Ozarks graduates. See the last slide!

It was a fitting reminder that formation is not merely something we teach. It is something we experience together.

We are deeply grateful to the Center for Classical Christian Education, School of the Ozarks, and every educator who made this exceptional week possible.

Meet the speakers for this special event, held on the College of the Ozarks Campus! The event is brought to our communit...
07/22/2026

Meet the speakers for this special event, held on the College of the Ozarks Campus! The event is brought to our community through college's Rooted Families initiative!

Dr. Jennifer Freeman, educator and author of the Rooted Families Guide, brings decades of experience in Christian formation and intergenerational discipleship. Jami Glenn, founder of Sacred Ground Coaching, brings more than sixteen years of experience equipping children, parents, and families with practical tools for emotional wellness, connection, and calm.

Together, they will guide parents in understanding how children’s physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual development work together in the formation of a whole child.

🌱 Tending the Roots: Child Development, Faith, & the Formation of a Whole Child | A Parent Seminar with Rooted Families and Sacred Ground Coaching

🌱 Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

🌱 College of the Ozarks | The Keeter Center | Silver Dollar City Parlor

🍽️ Your meal is free—please register and let us know whether you plan to stay for lunch!

Registration is free, made possible by College of the Ozarks and a generous grant. The registration link is available in the comments!

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Grapevine, TX
76051-1945

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