Honest thoughts on Classical Conversations?

[Halie]

Good morning, ladies!

 

I am having the HARDEST TIME making the decision whether or not to enroll my daughter in CC. I have read tons of blogs, and watched a lot of YouTube videos, but I feel like people either love it, or hate it. Does anyone have any experience they would be willing to share? The money isn't a huge factor for our family, BUT, would that money be better well spent splurging on another curriculum? Any advice you ladies would be willing to spare would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[Mrs Twain]

What do you want to get out of it?

[Halie]

This will be my first experience homeschooling, so I'm just trying to sift through all of the classical curriculums, and make a decision. CC sounds great, but then I've read mixed reviews online.

[JennSnow]

First, how old is your daughter?  Second, what are you looking to gain from the program? :)

[OneStepAtATime]

Agreed.  How old is your child?  What are you needing from this program?  What is your child needing?  Write down what you think your child would be getting from the program.  Then do some research regarding the one in your area.  They are not all alike.  Some are better run than others.  Figure out if the local one will actually meet your needs and that of your child.

 

What other options have you looked at for fulfilling the needs of your family for starting homeschooling?  

[Halie]

She's not quite 3, so I know I have another year or so before she can even be enrolled in Foundations. I am just someone who likes to have a plan, and since I'm brand-new to homeschooling, it would just make me feel better to have an exact plan for atleast her first year.

 

The question as to what I want out of the program? I guess I'm just looking for the "best" classical curriculum?

[Slache]

I love the idea of CC but I don't drive so it's not an option. If I were to do it I would buy the Foundations guide and Timeline Song, which I've actually done and highly recommend, do the memory work at home and join for Essentials. The Foundations level goes through a ton of memory work 2-5 times. It seems overwhelming and a waste of time. The guide is worth it's weight in gold though. And the Timeline Song is my second favorite homeschool resource, after geopuzzles.

[BrittanyM]

I did Foundations with my daughter at 4 and she turned 5 half way through the year. I thought it was not worth it at all for that age. Possibly for older kids, but for the price it isn't worth it for me.

 

The reason it didn't work for us was that it was difficult for my daughter to sit through the whole thing even though her tutor was excellent and kept them moving around. Other kids in the class drove me nuts because they were misbehaved and their moms didn't do anything about it. (I didn't mind the ones who's moms dealt with them at all and I don't expect perfection.) I felt like a lot of the material was so "set" and that age was much younger than the target. My daughter did not get much at all out of the science experiments and I thought most of them were really lame. The art wasn't really at her level either, I felt like. She did benefit from the presentation times and she loved the interaction every week, but she just spent the classes begging to go out and play with her friends.

 

I can see how it would be helpful and beneficial for older kids but I wasn't impressed enough to continue or start again later. I have other friends who have loved it and stuck with it and think it's the best thing ever and I'm very happy for them. Every person is different!

 

 

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[momacacia]

I wouldn't even look at Foundations until child is 7.

[Mrs Twain]

I agree about not starting CC that young. My kids have gone to CC Foundations for the last three years, and my advice is to start when your child is about 3rd grade (if you are planning to enroll). My CC is very well run, but not all are. You should certainly visit first to make sure the quality of the program is high.

 

This is what I get out of CC Foundations:

 

--Much more memory work than I could do by myself at home.

--Weekly 2-3 minute oral presentations

--a little extra science, art, and music

--more friends, including weekly lunch and playground time together

-- learning the pledge of Allegiance

 

My kids only do Foundations and not Essentials or Challenge.

[fourisenough]

Totally NOT age-appropriate for a child under 7 IMHO. My youngest did it at 4 as a tag-along younger sibling; it was torture for her. We are serious, rigorous homeschoolers, so it's not that I don't do early academics. I may actually do Foundations with her from about 9-11 years of age (as I did with my third DD). I could only stomach once through the cycles, per child anyway. My kids are fast memorizers- they don't need multiple 'tours' to learn the material. I would strongly suggest waiting at least 3 years. Find a good coop with a well-run early childhood program.

[OneStepAtATime]

With that age of child, CC may not be a good fit.  Are you looking for community and other homeschoolers to hang with?  There are ways to do Classical homeschooling without doing CC that young, ways that are much cheaper and a lot more flexible.  If you are needing support/community you might seek out other homeschooling groups in your area.  

[Another Lynn]

You might also want to think about what your definition of "classical" is.  Have you read "Consider This" by Karen Glass?  I think she does a great job explaining both Charlotte Mason and classical at the same time!  

[Momto4inSoCal]

I wouldn't do CC at that age. My girls are in CC. This was our first year and I did sign up for next year but I think that will be it for us. I signed up because a lot of my  friends are in the group we are a part of and my girls like it but I disagree with their interpretation of Classical. They believe in just doing memory work for science and history and then you add a math and language arts program. The memory work is random facts and none of them are explained. In fact a tutor is not even allowed to explain the facts. All of the CC people will say that this is classical but I feel like all they understand about classical education is what Leigh Borton has said. All grades cover the exact same material. 4year olds on up to 6th graders. They cover memory work (the random facts) from latin, english, math, history, science and geography and repeat the fact 5 times each. It's a long time for a little kid to sit. There are no games, no toys, they aren't even allowed to bring in any visuals. Everything has to be hand written on a white board. It's the "stick in the sand"  approach that Leigh Borton has devised. I covered the context at home so it wasn't just random facts and they do remember most of the songs. The songs are very catchy and a lot of the facts at this age (4th and 5th grade) have been useful. I liked the art projects, drawing and composers although I don't know that it was enough for them to remember any of it. I disliked the tin whistle and I feel if they want kids to learn music it's going to take more than a 30min class 6x a year by an inexperienced tutor. I do think the presentations were helpful. I would give them the topic they had to choose from for the presentation and they would research and write a short speech. It was great because they took charge of it and it was stuff they wanted to learn about. Ultimately for us it come down to, it's not worth the 3k it cost to have all 4 kids in CC. There is so much more we could do with that time (since it takes 24 days away from the year) and we could use that money to pay for an online class with a teacher who knows the subject they are teaching. 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Momto4inSoCal

[Esse Quam Videri]

I thought CC was valuable when we did it... But I would never don't again. We've come to find that QUALITY over QUANTITY is absolutely what my children want, what I want, what matters, and what really lasts. CC was like a fun party trick; it was really more facade than anything... It looked like learning but wasn't actually LEARNING- if that makes sense? So no, please don't do it with your 4 year old. Read that child quality literature and poetry, play at math, sing, listen to good music, look at beautiful things, and give her hours out of doors.

[laughing lioness]

In my opinion classical is the way to go as pedagogy- it saves time, effort, money. That being said, I would use soemthing like the Homegrown Preschooler   for your littles. We are part of CC and absolutely love it. My youngest was in a foundations class at age 4. Definitely not for everyone and some communities won't even let kids that young start (I was the director and she was there). My "problem" with this child has always been having enough for her to do and we had a phenomenal k4-K Tutor, so it worked. 

But don't rush- time goes so fast anyway- kwim? 

I love so much about CC - it's just a program in some ways, but the classical, Christian community make it so much more. And the training they are providing these days to everyone is terrific.

Edited July 1, 2016 by laughing lioness

[ScoutTN]

Go easy, enjoy your little ones at home and think about a tutorial when they are solid on reading and making good progress on the physical act of writing. Read lots, find some irl homeschoolers to hang out with and don't stress over academics yet. 

 

When the time comes, I would not join any tutorial without visiting a couple of times first. 

The CC communities near me (3 within a couple of miles!) vary significantly in their "personalities". 

[Sahamamama]

Ultimately for us it come down to, it's not worth the 3k it cost to have all 4 kids in CC. There is so much more we could do with that time (since it takes 24 days away from the year) and we could use that money to pay for an online class with a teacher who knows the subject they are teaching. 

 

:scared: Wow, is it this much? I knew CC was expensive, but I had no idea it was this much! I wonder how much three kids would cost? Algebraically, all other factors being equal, it comes out to $2,666 for three kids, for 24 class half-days.

 

If I was the OP, even if I could afford that (which I can't), I'd rather do our own version of in-context memory work at home, and pay for actual music lessons. Or join a co-op (if I was a co-op type of gal, which I'm not) that has age-appropriate expectations for preschoolers. Or buy books to build up our home library. Now I am imagining how many books a person could add each year to a home library for that amount. :sad:

[Momto4inSoCal]

:scared: Wow, is it this much? I knew CC was expensive, but I had no idea it was this much! I wonder how much three kids would cost? Algebraically, all other factors being equal, it comes out to $2,666 for three kids, for 24 class half-days.

 

If I was the OP, even if I could afford that (which I can't), I'd rather do our own version of in-context memory work at home, and pay for actual music lessons. Or join a co-op (if I was a co-op type of gal, which I'm not) that has age-appropriate expectations for preschoolers. Or buy books to build up our home library. Now I am imagining how many books a person could add each year to a home library for that amount. :sad:

 

It's $500 per kid per program (price may be a little less or a little more depending on the facility fee). 4-6th graders are part of the essentials program and foundations so it's 1k per 4th-6th grader. Once they hit 7th grade it's even more expensive since they move to challenge. That's why this will be our last year. It's to much as it is and I don't like the challenge program. Some people like having a program dictate all of their curriculum but personally I like being able to tailor a program to fit my specific child. The hardest part for us it leaving all of our friends but I feel it's financially irresponsible to spend that much on a program just for the community. 

 

Oh and with essentials it's an all day program from 9am-3pm but that means your little's who aren't in essentials have to be in child care which consequently means more money. At our community last year they played outside then watched movies. I don't even allow media time for my twins at home but I get to pay at a co op for them to watch it :/ Some communities do classes for the little's in the afternoon but it's not a CC things so that's up to a mom to put it together. 

 

ETA: I feel like my post come across as really bashing CC and I wanted to add I really do love the community. If the price were less I could deal with the problems I have because as I said the facts they've learned have stuck with them and our group is awesome. We have a prayer group together, my daughters best friend goes there, my best friend goes there. I just wanted to lay out the other side of things which are definitively points to consider. 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Momto4inSoCal

[Mrs Twain]

We just do Foundations so it is not quite as much as others are paying.

[EmseB]

When I added it up with materials and everything, it would have been over $1k for two kids, and they were 2nd and K at the time.

[cbollin]

She's not quite 3, so I know I have another year or so before she can even be enrolled in Foundations. I am just someone who likes to have a plan, and since I'm brand-new to homeschooling, it would just make me feel better to have an exact plan for atleast her first year.

 

The question as to what I want out of the program? I guess I'm just looking for the "best" classical curriculum?

 

I'd encourage you to watch a 5 minute video from Susan Wise Bauer about the "should I join a homeschool co -op".  I'm not sure where the original video is. But take a look at post number 1 on this thread

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/615115-swbs-new-video-on-co-ops/

 

for a view of it.  The video will have some food for thought about "best" and "missing stuff".   worth the 5 minutes. Hope it helps as part of your decision process.

[Staceyshoe]

Every child is different, and some are very ready for CC before age 7 (including my older child).  Others (including my younger child) will never be "ready" for it--just not a good match at any age for some.  We did 3 years of Foundations with the only purchased material being audio CDs, and it was all we needed.  

I agree that CC is something that works extremely well for some families and not for others.  I have noticed that those who love it view CC as a tool that they can use in whichever way fits their family best.  I have seen many families try make their family fit the CC mold, and they get frustrated.  Even so, it is a very structured program with a specific educational approach that will not fit every family--or every child within a given family (my own family is a prime example of this).  If you can observe this year, that might really help with decision-making.  The "feel" can vary quite a bit from one campus to another.  HTH!  

[Wolf Pack]

We did two open house days in two different groups when my kids were 5 and 6, and I just couldn't see how it would be beneficial for Them. It was very hard to sit through. None of the random bits of memory work had any meaning to the kids aside from being a piece of information to master. Most kids in the class looked like they were just getting through it. I get that having the community is a major draw, but the benefit of that was far outweighed by the price and methodology for my family. Cc would have ruined learning for my younger daughter because it goes against everything in her. She was physically freaking out by the end of the class. My oldest probably would have done fine with it, but fine is not enough to justify the price for me. I think I'm just way too Charlotte mason to do CC. Haha.

 

I really wanted to love it too, because I wanted a community and to feel like I was doing "the best" for my kids. It just wasn't us though.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

When I looked at CC, it seemed that there was a higher opportunity cost than I was willing to entertain.

 

We had so much fun in elementary grades, reading about different civilizations, making sarcophaguses for GI Joe dolls, creating Playdoh canopic jars with pretend organs hidden inside, playing store with a play cash register as part of math, and taking field trips when it suited us.

 

Not only the cost and time commitment, but the scheduling restrictions and need to volunteer would make me shy away from intense groups in early grades.  I found that while history and science reading was a lot of the fun flavoring of early grades, the most important foundation was in reading and math as well as learning how to do school.  I don't think we would have laid a firm foundation if we'd had a demanding outside commitment.  Even in later grades, I found that deadlines from outside classes seemed to trump what we were doing at home, even if the home based subject was a more important core subject.

 

I don't regret not doing enough Latin in elementary.  I do regret that we didn't do more family read alouds, more field trips, more messy science experiments.  I would hesitate to trade the freedoms and possibilities of homeschooling for a coop with a rigid structure.

 

 

 

[cintinative]

She's not quite 3, so I know I have another year or so before she can even be enrolled in Foundations. I am just someone who likes to have a plan, and since I'm brand-new to homeschooling, it would just make me feel better to have an exact plan for atleast her first year.

 

The question as to what I want out of the program? I guess I'm just looking for the "best" classical curriculum?

 

We were in CC for one year. My youngest was 5 and my oldest was 7.  I would not ever put a child into Foundations at age 4.  Ever.  It is a long school day for even a five year old, and our tutor really did her best to keep them engaged and moving. 

 

Do you like the idea of the songs? Then you can buy the CD and listen to them at home.  =)

 

I personally found CC to be a lonely place for both me and the kids.  Sure, there were a lot of similarly minded moms, but they were all very busy, and many were tutors. This was our experience. Given another year or two, maybe we would have connected. Campuses can vary a lot on this.  Visit the year you think of enrolling, not just now.  In two years the campus can completely turn over.  

 

We ended up not repeating CC because of the loneliness issue and also because I felt that I needed the extracurriculars more than I needed help with academics.  Also while I liked the timeline and history sentences (we still do those at home), I didn't like the way science jumped around.  My kids benefited more from learning the CC Latin songs while doing Song School Latin.  It placed it in context, which was important.  So now we do a co-op and my kids get fun things like gym and music and we all get to be with friends. 

 

Overall you need to know your goal and the goals for your children.   If it is social, then I would not pay this amount for that. Find a nice co-op and sign your child up for gym and art. 

 

If you want a "real classical education" you can do that without CC.  CC is not the only way to do classical. If you want to know what classical is, take some time now and read a few books like The Well Trained Mind and The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Philosophy of Christian Classical Education. You shouldn't need to start formal schooling for two years.  Take some time to figure out what classical means to you. Read about Charlotte Mason. Check out Ambleside online. In summary, make sure you know that CC is your idea of Classical before you spend the money. =)  Good luck!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Let me also say that one of the attractions of a coop or CC or other form of cottage school is that it feels more authoritative than picking the books and reading to your kids yourself.  There is a perceived safety in that authority.  I think it is a lot of the reason why very specifically detailed homeschool curricula are popular (and why some people struggle with adjusting them to their own situation).  I'm not sure that the perceived safety is really there though.  I also think it makes homeschoolers underestimate their ability to discern what their kids need and what can be adapted.  When you hit later grades, you may want to have a couple years of experience working directly with your kid and your materials to fall back on.

 

I think you can have an amazing homeschool experience for K-6 without needing someone else to do teaching for you.  Maybe when you get to higher grades you will want to outsource (we have for Latin in particular), but it doesn't have to happen at the beginning.  Think about why you want to homeschool and consider if Classical Conversations (or any coop) will add to your time with your kids or be a drain on your resources (time, money, energy).

 

FWIW, I will add that there are some amazing books and materials out there that won't land on a current homeschool curriculum guide, because they are out of print and cannot just be ordered new from Amazon.  But they may well be on your local library shelves or at a used bookstore (or available used online).  When we started homeschooling, we lived overseas, where most of the English language resources for history and science were from the UK.  They were great books, but they had never been published in the US and didn't show up on American homeschool booklists.  This experience (and a general love of books) helped me learn how to work with what I have at hand, to bend it to my needs, rather than buying very specific booklists for a particular curriculum.  Spending a lot of time working with my kids helped me hone this skill.

[barnwife]

I shouldn't be in this thread. I, for a variety of reasons, am one of the "would never ever use CC" people. (The fact that I am Catholic is one.)

Anyway, as someone who is officially starting the HS journey this year (that is, it will be the first year we need to register), I have one thought I haven't seen yet.

Your child is young. Very young. At least for me/my kids, things I'd thought I'd use a year ago (and even just a few months ago) are not going to work out now/in the fall. 

So make yours plans, but also be prepared for them to change!

[Seasider]

I wouldn't spend money on it at less than about 8! I do think Essentials is a thorough grammar program. There are 3 cycles of memory work in foundations, and three years of essentials (grades 4-6) overlap the last 3 of foundations. If you seriously remain interested in CC, you might want to consider doing three years that will be of best benefit for your child, and also position you for the option of going into challenge if you believe that will be a good fit for your family. The only way I'd pay that much for foundations for a younger than third grade child would be because I needed an activity for a younger sibling while and older sibling was in essentials.

[learningmama]

My kids started CC in late elementary, but I wish we would have enrolled earlier. That being said, I think it would get a little "old hat" if you repeat cycles. Each child will differ in their ability to be in a class for a few hours during the early years. I think 4 is a bit young for the program, but it is doable by 2nd/3rd grade for sure. Each community may vary (even year to year), so be educated in what is available in your area. Since it will be your first homeschooling experience, you may want to put the money elsewhere. School can be easy,fun, and affordable in the early years. Save your energy and dollars for the later years when participation in outside classes/activities is more common. Just my two cents!

[Terabith]

All right, here goes.

 

We did CC for three years. It is flat out the ONLY co-op program in our area, and my oldest is an over the top extrovert. I don't know how I could have gotten even a smidgen of buy in from her otherwise. She desperately wanted to go to school, and we needed to meet other homeschoolers.

 

I found it rather appalling for little ones. Three hours of sitting and adult directed activities. I mean, the songs were fun and they did hand motions and such, but it was very developmentally inappropriate. The teachers had no understanding of the science they were doing, which again, might have been okay for fifth or sixth graders, but 4 and 5 year olds have different needs. But they were incapable of answering questions beyond reading from the teacher's guide. All the Foundations classes doing the same was not a strong point.

 

The emphasis is on rote memorization over understanding. And I'm a fan of rote memorization! But the break neck speed makes it impossible to offer any context. And when my 5 year old raised her hand and asked what decapitation in the French Revolution meant (the lyrics to a song), she was told she didn't need to know and would learn when she was older. Drove me nuts.

 

I really wasn't impressed. The CDs had some benefit. And it worked from a social standpoint. But I would not send a four year old if I had another option. And it would not be my first choice for a co-op. Essentials is better, and that might be more worthwhile.

[Wolf Pack]

Let me also say that one of the attractions of a coop or CC or other form of cottage school is that it feels more authoritative than picking the books and reading to your kids yourself.  There is a perceived safety in that authority.  I think it is a lot of the reason why very specifically detailed homeschool curricula are popular (and why some people struggle with adjusting them to their own situation).  I'm not sure that the perceived safety is really there though.  I also think it makes homeschoolers underestimate their ability to discern what their kids need and what can be adapted.  When you hit later grades, you may want to have a couple years of experience working directly with your kid and your materials to fall back on.

 

I think you can have an amazing homeschool experience for K-6 without needing someone else to do teaching for you.  Maybe when you get to higher grades you will want to outsource (we have for Latin in particular), but it doesn't have to happen at the beginning.  Think about why you want to homeschool and consider if Classical Conversations (or any coop) will add to your time with your kids or be a drain on your resources (time, money, energy).

 

FWIW, I will add that there are some amazing books and materials out there that won't land on a current homeschool curriculum guide, because they are out of print and cannot just be ordered new from Amazon.  But they may well be on your local library shelves or at a used bookstore (or available used online).  When we started homeschooling, we lived overseas, where most of the English language resources for history and science were from the UK.  They were great books, but they had never been published in the US and didn't show up on American homeschool booklists.  This experience (and a general love of books) helped me learn how to work with what I have at hand, to bend it to my needs, rather than buying very specific booklists for a particular curriculum.  Spending a lot of time working with my kids helped me hone this skill.

 

This is so true. It feels more safe to have someone else dictate your school year to you. I find myself fighting against two homeschool moms in me: the one who was public schooled and wants the familiarity of rigid, predetermined curriculum, and the rebellious anti-most normal things in society mom who wants to make her own decisions about what's good for each of her kids.

 

When I was trying really hard to want to be a CC family a couple of times over the past 3 years, that was most of my motivation. I was trying to tell myself that it might be a good fit for us (which it completely isn't), and that the major expense it would be was worth it (which it wasn't), because I just wanted to feel like I was doing the right thing by doing what the other people were doing.

 

My oldest two are going into 1st and 2nd grade this coming year, and we still haven't really found a homeschool tribe to call our own here. All in good time I guess.

[G5052]

We were involved in CC for seven years even into Challenge.

 

It was well worth it for us, even when it was a significant financial sacrifice. We didn't go on vacation some of those years in order to afford it.

 

That said, my youngest was in 1st when we started, and that was the right time for us. Mine wouldn't have done well with it earlier, and we had some issues with afternoon childcare during Essentials at one campus. In the end, Challenge wasn't a good fit for us either.

 

Still good though. I'm glad we did it when we did.

[Sahamamama]

When I looked at CC, it seemed that there was a higher opportunity cost than I was willing to entertain.

 

We had so much fun in elementary grades, reading about different civilizations, making sarcophaguses for GI Joe dolls, creating Playdoh canopic jars with pretend organs hidden inside, playing store with a play cash register as part of math, and taking field trips when it suited us.

 

Not only the cost and time commitment, but the scheduling restrictions and need to volunteer would make me shy away from intense groups in early grades.  I found that while history and science reading was a lot of the fun flavoring of early grades, the most important foundation was in reading and math as well as learning how to do school.  I don't think we would have laid a firm foundation if we'd had a demanding outside commitment.  Even in later grades, I found that deadlines from outside classes seemed to trump what we were doing at home, even if the home based subject was a more important core subject.

 

I don't regret not doing enough Latin in elementary.  I do regret that we didn't do more family read alouds, more field trips, more messy science experiments.  I would hesitate to trade the freedoms and possibilities of homeschooling for a coop with a rigid structure.

 

Sebastian, I love the part of your signature line that says, "Wow, you sure have a lot of books." LOL, if we moved today, that would be us. I only wish we had more! ;) Ah, books!

 

Thanks for the laugh. :)

 

[...................]

I actually am the opposite, the only age that made sense to me to join was during Essentials or even high school.  But, unfortunately, due to the pyramid type marketing structure, the women involved are not only tempted and enticed but actually encouraged to leave current groups to start new ones, so that they will be the director, and therefore make their own money.  The result?  Very unstable at the high school level especially.  Not only do you have the problem of finding tutors willing to tutor high level math and Latin (who really wants to do that for an entire year for a measly few thousand dollars?)  BUT you also have the problem of whatever current people you have leaving.  So in our situation, you never know if you'll be able to stay with the same community and they told me my kids would be at different campuses, on different days.  AND, i was even willing to consider that idea, but then on top of that, those campuses planned a split for 2018 that would mean we would need to change campuses again for one or both kids.

 

The only mom I know who has kept her kid in it for the long haul, has had to become a tutor, and teach his level for the past 3 years.  This means that she is learning all the material ahead of time so that she can tutor the class, so I am not sure what the purpose is at this point.

 

Unfortunately the way CC is set up, this is the way the people at the top make the most money, so I doubt they'll ever change.  Which is unfortunate because the curriculum is great.

 

I think for Foundations if you are kinda lonely, you should join.  You'll make friends, and learn some and your son will get classroom management skills.  :o)

 

But if your days are busy with friends and activities and your homeschool group is healthy and strong, and you're doing field trips and park days and such,  I don't think I'd bother.  

 

[Sahamamama]

more family read alouds, more field trips, more messy science experiments

 

I am putting this up on the wall as I plan. ;) Exactly what I need to hear.

 

[Caclcoca]

I do not know anything about CC, and I apologize if this response is not appropriate.  I love the blog article 6 Ways to Early Years You Won't Regret by Sarah McKenzie at amongstlovelythings.  http://amongstlovelythings.com/early-years/