I know what you're going to say.
"Mama, you keep mentioning this Classical Conversations thing. You keep promising you will tell us about it. Spill it, already!"
Fine. I'll give you one paragraph. But just one and that's it. Because there are lots of, well, basically brilliant women who have whole entire blogs devoted to CC stuff. Like my friend Melody here. I read these ladies often. Because I need more brilliant in my life. But this is not that kind of blog. This blog is more of a curl up on the couch with your bag of chocolate chips and jar of peanut butter while you occasionally snort a little from laughing too much. Very little brilliance going on here.
So here it is. CC is a community of homeschooling families who gather together as we teach our kids with a Classically Christian approach. Well, what does that mean? Basically we teach the main subjects (math, history, science, geography, Latin, grammar, fine arts) with an emphasis on having the kids memorize the crucial piece of information in the formative years, and then gradually building on that as the children develop mentally and logically. What that looks like is that in grades K-6 the kids memorize information from each of the 6 or 7 subject areas. They are learning the who, what, and wheres of things. By the middle school years the students are ready to take those pegs of knowledge they have gathered and begin to connect them together. The whys and hows. Then by high school they can go to the next level by using this understanding to impart truth and wisdom and beauty using rhetorical arguments and communication.
Did I make that sound more daunting than it actually is? I hope not. Because CC is not overwhelming. Challenging? Yes. But not overwhelming. In fact, CC provided the challenge and accountability our family was ready for. When the kids were young I tried several different co-ops because I was under the delusional idea that we needed to be socialized. I was wrong. Because between sports and church and cousins and grocery shopping and library story time.....I was over the socialization.
Secondly, I was still so insecure in my abilities as the kids' educator. Every time some other mom told me about some great curriculum or strategy they were using I would feel this pressure that I should try that too. So we bounced around alot, A complete disservice to my kids and complete chaos to me.
So the past few years we have been keeping things simple. We were sticking with the curriculum that was working for us. We were in our groove. It felt good. But then I felt this pulling toward CC. I can't explain it. It was the same pulling I felt when we were making our decision to home school. I can't put words to it. I just know how it feels. So I researched blogs and websites and asked my CC friends a bazillion questions and prayed and made pro/con lists and had lots of conversations with the voices in my head over if this was the right fit for our family.
They all said yes.
This past August we took that small step of faith. And it was....delightful. My kids loved making friends. I loved making friends. They flourished under the weight of the challenge and responsibility of the material like a flower flourishes under the heaviness of good soil and steady rain. They were encouraged by their teachers and classmates. It was such a breath of fresh air to our little family.
In April we had a little celebration to show the families of the students what they had learned during the year. We said goodbye to some friends that wouldn't be returning. We ate some cookies. It was nice.
Before you view.....It looks like I might have been a little nervous and/or alot drunk while filming. My apologies.
And before I leave you I will just have to plug and say that two of my children committed themselves to becoming Memory Masters this year. A Memory Master is a student or parent that memorizes 24 weeks of information for each of the 7 subjects. It is a daunting challenge and not for the faint of heart. But they did it and I am so proud of them. And humbled that God would choose me to be their mother. I don't feel qualified, folks, and that's the truth. But each day sweet Jesus equips The Honey and I to raise these children up in Him. I just can't put words to the joy that brings me.
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| I am proud of all of them, but mainly of Baby for being so stinking incredibly cute with that look on his face. Also, did you faint from seeing Ninja in a tie? |
So there it is. My CC paragraph that exploded into a full on post. Obviously I do not summarize well. But hopefully it was worth the read. If you are interested in home schooling or in CC, please let me know. I'd love to talk with you about it. You can find more information about CC here.
