To say that I have researched homeschooling would be a severe understatement. For almost a year and a half before starting this adventure I read books, articles, blog posts and scoured Pinterest for the best ideas. That’s just my personality and who I am. We also did some trial and error homeschool during the summer breaks from the kids preschool and I would often incorporate hands on learning throughout the school year as well. When we finally got serious about homeschooling our oldest through kindergarten, there was one request that my husband had. Get in a co-op or something similar.
I looked at all the different options in our area and made multiple pro/con lists for all the different options but I was eventually leaning towards Classical Conversations (CC). This was a little surprising to me because when researching all of the different learning styles I found that I leaned more towards the methods of Charlotte Mason and Steiner (Waldorf) where childhood and play were to be the central theme to introduce a love of learning. Classical Converstaions follows a classical education model and focuses on rote memorization in the first years of education. The theory behind the model is that in early education children memorize basic facts so that when they become of age to explore further and apply their knowledge it is easier to understand the more complicated concepts.
It is worth noting that this is our first year in Classical Conversations, so I’m writing this as someone who is coming into the program with limited knoweledge. I’m sure there will be plenty of highlights and drawbacks to CC that I am not privy to yet but I wanted to document our journey and what drew us to this particular program.
Why Classical Conversations?
The timeline is perhaps the most well known aspect of CC where children learn a catchy song that highlights important events and facts from creation to modern day. While no kindergartener is going to comprehend what the Assyrian empire or globalization is and its significance through history, they learn a generalization of where it falls on the “timeline” and when they get older they can delve deeper into the who, why, what and where and finally as challenge students (high school) they introduce deeper topics like logic and reasoning into the mix.
While I still remained skeptical that this was the right fit for our family, it wasn’t until we did a campus visit with our then (4) year old and he absolutely raved about the experience that we decided to jump in feet first. We are already a few weeks in to this new school year and our boy is loving learning the various songs that go along with CC. One of the biggest draws of going to CC was the idea that my child would be guided in learning history, science, Latin and other subjects through this idea that all learning fits together like a giant puzzle.
It is not your typical co-op where you just meet for socialization and the mom’s each teach a subject nor is it a hybrid model where you drop your kids off a few days a week and have to follow their cirriculum the following days. In CC, classrooms are led by “tutors” or a mom that has volunteered to teach an age group for one day a week. Each week the class meets and goes over the memory work and introduces a science experiment and art/music lesson for the week then your job as the parent is to help review the memory work for the week at home. Unlike the hybrid model, you do not drop off your kids and leave. As a parent, it is your job to be present and help guide your child as the “tutor” leads the class.
We we able to start CC on the first cycle which covers ancient history and earth sciences. There are 3 cycles (or three years) and then it starts over again, so a kindergartener starting on cycle 1 will go through each cycle twice before moving into the higher levels. I love the idea that you can follow each cycle and have 3 years of guidance that spans creation and ancient civilizations, the Medieval to modern periods, and US history. The focus on history, science, geography and Latin provides a well rounded educational experience that promotes a love for learning (in my opinion of course). I have heard from different homeschoolers that love CC and some that are animatedly against the memorization model, but again I believe that this fits our family’s need best. At the end of the day, that is what matters the most: what works for your family and gives you the best chance for success.
What do you need to join?
This was one of the pros to Classical Conversations as it didn’t require expensive cirriculum to join. The main requirement is that you have to purchase the Foundations book that covers all three cycles (or 3 years) and you can use it over again for other children, repeat years etc. The book was around $110 with shipping new but there are plenty of used options available on Facebook groups etc. The bookstore offers a lot of other supplemental items like flash cards for the memory work but none of this is necessary to complete your year.
Our registration fees and campus fees were the bulk of the cost, however, for all of the science experiment supplies and extra items that we get on community days the cost comes out to about $30 per class (24 Community days). Each community day is around 3 hours for the younger ages and more for older kids. So for us it was totally worth it. You will also need a separate language arts and math cirriculum, so make sure to add those costs in. Also, childcare for younger kids (babies etc.) is extra as well to cover the cost of hired help.
The overall cost of the program was definitely an area that I felt like was not discussed well upfront, so when we did finally decide to register it was an unplanned large expense. Hopefully if you are reading this and considering CC it can help you break it down, although from my understanding each location will have varying costs due to number of members and cost of building rent.
When you pay your registration fee on the main CC website, you get access to their “members only” site called CC Connected. It has a parent forum where talented parents from all across the globe share their resources. The good news here is that all you need is a printer to find and download loads of supplemental material for each week! I have found lots of science, history and geography coloring pages that I have used to review the week. That has been a huge blessing this year!
Another resource is YouTube! There are so many talented parents that provide free CC videos and resources on YouTube! From catchy songs to remember the geography memory work to art lessons that compliment the weeks lesson, there is a plethora of great stuff out there. Just search “CC Cycle 1 Week XYZ” to find the resources that you are looking for! The Homeschool Helper has really fun songs that help memorize each weeks science. It really does feel like a large community of people dedicated to sharing their gifts through free resources!
What does it look like?
Our community day happens to be on a Tuesday, which works out perfectly for us because we can get introduced to the memory work for the week and then work on reviewing it Wednesday-Friday. While I believe every campus is slightly different, it does seem to follow the same guidelines for community day. We meet as a large group first for various things then break into our smaller age groups. Within our classroom of kids the same age, the tutor guides the kids through fun songs to introduce the memory work for science, history, the timeline, geography, Latin, English and math. The kids do a science project together and an art/music project. The parents of kids sit in the class with them and helps the tutor to make sure that all kids are paying attention and getting the help that they need. We all meet back up as a large group and enjoy lunch together while the kids play, then we head home
At home, we work on memorizing the songs and I like to go a little more in depth with some of the topics. Our first week we got to explore seed germination and sprouting and did the famous bean in a bag experiment. We were sent home with all of the supplies to replicate the experiment at throughout the week. One of our favorite things is geography and we love learning where all of the importantant geographical points are that connect to the history lessons.
I have a dry erase sleeve that I use to keep the maps in each week and we use different colors to locate the points on the map. For science, we keep it pretty simple. We just review the songs and use coloring sheets or read picture books that correlate to the memory work. History the first two weeks works on memorizing the 10 commandments so we practice a fun song to review. And that’s it. The beauty of this is that you can go as easy or in depth as you’d like.
Our Journey
I am thankful to have found Classical Conversations and I’m super grateful that there are so many amazing parents out there that blog about their experience (the good and bad) so that I could get some first hand accounts. It is because of those blogs, videos, and in person visits that I finally made the decision to jump in so I hope this helps anyone that is considering CC!
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