First Day of Classical Conversations

I am going to be honest with you, I think I was even more excited about our first day at Classical Conversations than the kids were.  And they were SUPER excited.  I will share some of the special parts of our first day, and then I will share some information about CC itself.

B got to hold the American flag during the Pledge to the Flag and the Pledge to the Bible.  I was so excited that the got to have a special part of the day from the beginning.

Then B got to go to his class which is made up of Kindergarten students ages 5-6.  There are only six kids in the class, but since all but one of them are boys, they are a rambunctious bunch.  But they are also a very sweet group that enjoys learning.

I managed to snap of picture of B with his bookbag right before we left to go home.  He looks so grown with his bag and lunchbox.  He loves going to CC and is looking forward to next week already!

Now C is not old enough to be a part of a CC class, but the church where we meet has a Mother's Morning Out group that she goes to while I am with B in class.  She thinks she is going to CC, and I am letting her think that.  She loves her sweet teacher Miss G and cried the whole way home from school.  She can't wait to go back!

Here is some basic information about Classical Conversations for anyone interested in the program.

• CC is a classical, Christian community whose philosophy is "to know God and make Him known."
• CC has three programs:  Foundations, Essentials, and Challenge.
• Foundations is for kids aged pre-k to 6th grade.  It meets from 9:00 to noon one day a week and includes six basic components:  whole group opening session, memory work, fine arts, presentations, science experiment, and review of past memory work.  Memory work covers 6 'subjects' (for lack of a better work):  history, geography, math, science, Latin, and English grammar.  It does not include a reading program or a math program, so that has to be done by parents at home.  (Math memory work includes skip counting, measurement equivalents, geometric equations and rules, etc.  It does not teach math concepts or operations like addition which is why a math program such as Saxon must be done at home.)  Students work on Bible verse memorization during the whole group opening session.  Foundations students also study and memorize a historical timeline with over 200 events that range from creation to present day.
• Essentials is for kids ages 4th grade to 6th grade.  It meets from 1:00 to 3:00 after Foundations and focuses on English grammar, writing, and math facts.  Because B has not reached this age yet, I don't know much about it.  But I do know that it is a LOT of work for the kids--good work, but lots of work.
• Challenge is for kids 7th to 12th grade.  This is a very challenging (hence the name), advanced program.  They continue studying Latin, work on history, logic, geography, science, current events, literature, writing, and they use the Saxon math program.  Unlike Foundations, Challenge is all-inclusive and does not require any additional programs by parents at home.  They meet one day a week from about 9:00 to 3:00 with a lunch break.
• If this program interests you, you can check it out at www.classicalconversations.com or request a catalog that is packed with information about their curriculum.

To read more about what homeschooling will look like in my home this school year, you can read my post about it here.