Classical Conversations

[Ohio12]

I am doing The Well Trained Mind recs for K and 1st grade for my dd. went to visit a Classical Conversations recently and thought I would really want to join. Now I am not so sure. Anyone have any thoughts? experiences?

[Kathie in VA]

Sure what would you like to know?

This is our 2nd year doing Foundations and my first year Tutoring a class.

I think I'm the most reluctant person who has joined CC! I didn't want to leave the 4 year rotation and found it difficult to appreciate the speed of the history and timeline work. However we have found our groove. I am really seeing my kids learn, even at this pace! [Proof: when they watch a history program with Dad and hear something we've covered, they usually know it... repeat the memory work and sometimes make other connections.] At this point I just have my kids read more on each history sentence that they are memorizing and they usually do their oral presentation on that subject. Sometimes they read more on a timeline card and do their presentation on that instead.

I do enjoy learning all the different methods of teaching/learning how to memorize!

hth

[Linda]

Hijack:

Kathie, do you have to give up the 4-year rotation? This is my concern, too.

A CC is starting in my area in the fall and I understand they will be focusing on a different timeframe of history than we will be at home.

Is it possible to use CC supplementarily (?) or is it meant to be the history curriculum?

[Kathie in VA]

Yes you can use CC any way you want. Many folks do a separate history at home, sometimes close to what CC is doing, sometimes not. Many use SOTW, infact I think CC sells the SOTW books. If you want you can just do the memory work on a weekly basis and not worry about remembering it all. Memory Masters is optional, totally optional to try at the end of the year. Each class is supposed to do review for a 1/2hr, but that's using games. No pressure for any of the kids.

hth

[littlefamily]

I went to a meeting for Classical Conversations in our area as well and was intrigued. I just can't get past the thought of spending a full day out of our week and the only benefit being structured memory work. We would do foundations and essentials...

Besides for the structured memory work, what are you finding the benefits of the program to be?

[SBP]

Besides for the structured memory work, what are you finding the benefits of the program to be?

1. Friends - for me and for my kids.
2. Support from like-minded homeschoolers.
3. CC does some of the stuff I hate to do at home - messy art projects, science projects, etc. I still have to do some, but I'm grateful for every project they do at CC!
4. Public speaking practice for the kids.
5. Our group does things like field trips and class parties/programs - "real school" activities that my kids enjoy and would miss out on otherwise.
6. Accountability with the memory work. The kids are motivated because they want to know as much as their classmates. And we've had great tutors who knock themselves out to make the material as interesting and fun as possible. We've never tied our history and science to what they're doing at CC, though I do plan to do that next year. But it's absolutely not required, and I've never felt that we were out of the loop because we were doing something different at home than they were doing at CC.

CC does require that you adjust whatever your schedule has been to four days per week, at least for the 24 weeks they meet. But it is definitely not a wasted school day for us, and I feel so blessed to have had this marvelous group of women and children influence my children's lives over the past few years. I'm also glad that the kids have all three cycles of memory work under their belt as we go into the logic stage. That doesn't mean that CC is a perfect fit for everyone, of course, but it's been a wonderful thing for us :).

SBP

[Kathie in VA]

One thing to note:
Foundations goes from 9:00am to 12:00pm plus 1/2 hour lunch and 1/2 hour recess if you want. So typically you can be out by 1:00pm. If you also do the Essentials program, then you are there till 3:00pm ( I think).

So Foundations take 1/2 a day to a day. But don't forget to work on it during the week (if you want to). About 20 min day for weekly memory work. As the year goes on, some more time if you want to work towards Memory Master.