We are finishing our second year with Classical Conversations and honestly I am just as excited about this program as when I sat in our director’s living room after that first information meeting. CC was and has been my homeschool life preserver. Our family has homeschooled for the last 8 years and although I do not regret the decision to bring my son home from public school kindergarten, it hasn’t been as easy a road as some may think. In fact when I first heard of CC, I was contemplating throwing in the homeschool towel and putting my boys into public school. My husband and I sat in that first meeting and listened to an explanation of Classical Conversations. I remember thinking that this just might be what I need to make homeschool work at our house. The level of accountability and support for me and the boys would definitely help, so we bit the bullet and jumped in whole heartedly. I dropped my entire curriculum, except math and enrolled our oldest 2 kids in the Foundations and Essentials programs, and then soon after I agreed to tutor one of the Abecedarian Groups.
Before the new school year could begin I had to have tutor training. I drove the 45 minutes each way to a small Baptist church that to my amazement was full to capacity. I honestly remember thinking, “I know how to teach a small group of kids after all I was a successful public school teacher before deciding to be a SAHM.” Boy was I in for a surprise, I sat in the morning session listening to a lady named Mary and silently prayed no one would notice my tears. With every word she spoke, the tears flowed and her words penetrated my heart. Before the first hour ended I knew this would forever change my view of homeschool, of education, of learning. I had one aha moment after the next that week and couldn’t wait to apply all I had learned from this parent practicum.
As it turned out Classical Conversations was everything I needed. My boys enjoyed their Tuesday classes, I enjoyed teaching the kindergarten age kids and all of us built relationships while learning. It seemed my boys learned more that year than all the previous years of homeschooling combined, and had fun at the same time. We practiced our memory work religiously, wrote our IEW papers weekly and analyzed dictated sentences daily. We would do science experiments, music and art activities, hear our new memory work, practice the old memory work and hone our public speaking skills on Tuesday mornings. In the afternoon we would tackle English grammar, Composition and play some fun math games. Through the week the boys got their lessons ready for CC day without nagging and best of all I didn’t stress (well maybe a little on Monday nights).
The second year, Christian participated in Foundations and Essentials Cycle 2 and Jeffrey moved on to the Challenge A program. I moved from tutoring the young class to tutoring the Challenge A program. I’ve been stretched and so have my junior high students. We have learned a tremendous amount of grammar; we have discussed and asked why in every seminar. We have emphasized and analyzed, researched and written papers. We have played games and ate pizza! It’s been an incredible year! With every week my excitement for learning has grown, every assignment has challenged my students and brought out the best in them.
For those of you not familiar with the Challenge program in Classical Conversations, it is a complete upper grade program that presents each seminar strand using the trivium of classical education. Unique to this program is six learning skills or strands. They are language, debate, logic, rhetoric, exposition/composition, and Research. For the Challenge A program our weekly seminars mix grammar and dialectic materials and introduce your student to rhetorical skills. This past year our weekly seminars included Latin 3 and 4, World Geography, Math, Clear Reasoning, Children’s Literature and Creative Writing, and Biology/Natural Science. Challenge programs meet once a week for thirty weeks of the school year. We are on week 27. On CC day my students meet from nine in the morning until three thirty in the afternoon with a half hour break for lunch. It’s a long day spent discussing and analyzing previous assignments, listening to new assignments be introduced and questions answered. Parents are always encouraged to attend but it isn’t mandatory. I’ve watched my middle school son grow so much this year. I’ve seen him achieve more than I thought imaginable. He has been stretched and he has risen to the challenge. I am proud of him and all he has accomplished this year!
Next fall I will have one in Challenge, one in Foundations and Essentials, and one beginning Foundations. I am already anticipating an amazing year for my three sons! I am gathering my materials, laying out my plans, and have already registered for my third year attending the free parent practicum. Before CC I was barely keeping my head above water. Classical Conversations threw me a life preserver. Their direction, instruction, and accountability helped to ignite a stronger passion for home centered education. Check out www.Classicalconversations.com if you want to learn more.
