Classical Conversations--How do you know if it's going to be a good fit?

[Linda]

There's talk of a CC group starting in my area (the first in our state, actually) and I'm intrigued.

My concerns are mostly about the amount of work that will be expected from my dc (who will be 5 and 7).

If we're doing a full curriculum at home--one that I'm very happy with--will adding CC be overload?

Is CC supposed to be our curriculum for most subjects?

If we're doing Year 1 of SOTW at home, will it be confusing or otherwise counterproductive to focus on another stage of history at CC?

I will appreciate any and all insights. Thanks!

[GVA]

I'm a CC Foundations and Essentials tutor, and CC for PK-6th is an academic enhancement program, not a one-day-a-week school as some think it is when they hear about it. You can continue with your own stuff at home, and then add the memory work on top. Some try to match the topics with the CC cycle, but frankly many do not. I never have.

Last year I taught 7-8 y.o. children, and this year it's 8-9 y.o. children, and NONE of them mastered the memory work 100% as is required for the "Memory Master" award. That said, most of them have been able to get well over half of it, and the entire experience has benefitted them in other ways. There are some younger children in our group this year who may indeed achieve 100%, and we did have one 8 y.o. last year that did it. IMHO achieving Memory Master is not an absolute for benefitting from the program. In the end, the parent determines how much is memorized, not the program. You should not feel pressured if you choose not to "push" your children.

I've linked to my CC blog with details of why and how we do it (read all the way down):

http://airlieacademy.blogspot.com/

[SBP]

We're in our third year of CC, and it's been a huge blessing to us. We added it in as if it were its own "subject" and have never really tried to tie it in with our history, science, etc. I do know a lot of people who have, and I plan to next year for the first time, but it's by no means necessary. Next year, CC will be doing Cycle 3, which is American history - SOTW 3 & 4. If you're doing SOTW 1 at home, that's fine. They'll be memorizing things that they'll still remember when you get to them in SOTW 3. And the following year, they'll be doing Cycle 1 at CC, which will remind them of all the cool stuff they learned the year before in SOTW 1. One reinforces the other - it really does - and they memorize the whole timeline every year, which is wonderful.

If you plan to add CC to an existing curriculum, I usually tell people to figure an extra half hour per day on memory work. I voice record my kids' memory work each week (repeating each thing 3-4 times) and have them do daily review using the recording, and then I try to proof them at least once per week to make sure they're actually learning it. We also listen to the CC CD's in the car some. But honestly, it's not a huge amount of extra work for me or for them.

The hardest part, frankly, was switching to a four day per week schedule at home and still trying to get everything done. If you have a curriculum you're really happy with, you might not have to change anything, but you probably will have to tweak your schedule so that you can still fit it all in. In the beginning, especially, I found it tricky to teach a whole SWR spelling list in four days, for instance. Even though there's no law that says we MUST do one list per week and test on Fridays, that was the way I'd always done it, and for a while, CC threw us off that schedule.

In the end, though, CC has been well worth the minor tweaking we had to do at home. After three years, I see all that memory work starting to bear fruit, and as I begin to think about transitioning them to a more logic-stage approach next year, I'm so glad my kids will have all three cycles of Foundations in their memory banks. Plus, we've made wonderful friends and had a lot of fun :).

Hope something here helps.

SBP

[Linda...inOwasso]

I use some of the CC materials for memory work at home. But, we follow a year-round schedule and the groups meet for 12 weeks in the fall and another 12 weeks in the spring. I did not think it was worth it for us to try and cram an enormous amount of memorization into 24 weeks out of the year when we didn't have to.

My dd's are young and they need lots of repitition in order to *master* their memory work. To me, it's a waste of time if they learn to recite it for 1 week and then it's gone. I want them to learn it by heart. So, we follow the CC/VP history timeline, BUT... I spread it out and we don't memorize so many cards each week.

I think CC is a wonderful program and I'm thrilled that it's available. The only reason we don't participate in the group setting is that I am capable of spreading out the memory work over a longer period at home (which helps my child with retention) and I do not want to give up a day during the week to meet. My girls take dance class, drama, art lessons and such through our local co-op and it's hard enough to juggle that!

Best of luck to you on your decision!

[Linda]

Thanks for the responses, ladies.

I guess it comes down to whether I value a whole lot of memorization, yes?

More thinking and praying to be done . . .

[coopers4him]

[quote=Linda...inOwasso;57269]
"
To me, it's a waste of time if they learn to recite it for 1 week and then it's gone. I want them to learn it by heart"

This is an old thread, but I wanted to reply to this for clarification. I think this is totally opposite of what the intent of the program is. Week one memory work is not "gone" after week one. The idea is to continually review materials. As Leigh Bortins (CC founder) says in her book, A Home-Centered Education, "When I speak of memorization, I mean you know it like you know your telephone number."

HTH




All for His glory,

Terese Cooper
www.HomeForHisGlory.com
www.classicalconversations.com