My CC Blog

The last three days I have been hanging out with some fairly fantastic women at Classical Conversations (CC) Practicum.

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.

Here's a 2 minute clip of the kids reciting one week of their memory work.  You might notice that all ages recite the same work.  This, my friends, is the beauty of CC.  All the kids are learning the same material.  The older ones can just go a little deeper with it.  This makes things so much easier  on the teacher of this one room schoolhouse.

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.

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.

Where the Milk and Words Finally Flow

I have sat down here probably six times in the last two months.  I have tried to type words.  I have.  But nothing.  I got nothing.  I feel like I'm in Senior Comp class again with Mrs. Emerson and I have a paper due. So like I did my senior year, I'm just going to throw out something and hope for the best.

Soooo.....where to start?

 Last we left, I was getting a part time, temporary job to pay for LASIK.

Done.

 I worked.  It was.....chaotic.  The lessons I learned from being a working woman are for another blog post.

But I got the LASIK.   The LASIK,  people!  Get THE LASIK!  Because I am for sight.  It's all Glory and Hallelujahs and Amens.

Honestly, it was a wonderful experience (minus the 6 hours I had the Valium in my system which might have involved lots of incoherent speech and drooling and paralysis and lip smacking).

One week later I walked into a metal pole and broke my nose, suffering a minor concussion.  Apparently the LASIK hadn't had it's full effect.

During this time we continued to plug away at school.  And finish up our first year of Classical Conversations.  My thoughts about CC and what we learned there are for another post as well.

OK.  I think that catches us up.

And since school is out and we apparently have nothing to do, our latest endeavor?

The Family Cow.

I was sold a bill of goods this sweet thing and two babies a few weeks back.

 As you might remember, we got our first calf a year ago.  We learned a lot that year about the care and raising of cattle then, but a dairy cow is a whole new ball of wax.  Now I could take the easy, smart, rational approach and just let these calves feed off the mother.  It would be simple.  It would be beautiful.  But no.  I chose the road less traveled.  And I am certainly losing sleep over it.  I am trying my hand at milking.

Dramatic pause as you contemplate my idiot plan amazing talent at homesteading.

And I have to say, so far no one has died from parasites or a kick to the head.  We have taken many more showers than usual.  Because the poop situation going on here is off the hook.  I've also learned more than I ever wanted to know about mastitis, fly control, and pasteurization.  Plus, the vocabulary in our home has been effected by it.  Sweet Yahoo keeps saying the word 'teats' over and over again.  And amazingly the boys are fixated on the feel and look of her udder.

But I wouldn't change it for anything.  I love every day I go to the barn and get to take my Granny's milk strainer with me.  Her milk strainer.  The one she used for years milking her own cows.  The one that cleaned the milk that she offered me when we would stay at her house.  The milk that tasted sweet and creamy and good.  Full of her goodness.

The Yahoos are loving helping.  At least for now.  And we know how slow and tedious wonderfully efficient it can be when 4 kids want to help.  But it is fun and I am blessed and this is what I want my kids growing up to know.  Work and appreciation for the land and the Giver of it.

So there goes.  Words on virtual paper.  I hope you are easier on me than Mrs. Emerson was.