First Year as a Homeschool Parent - Classical Conversations Questions

[sarahsheart]

Hello, my name is Sarah. I was home educated myself all grades except 4th & half of 9th grade. I was an only child & while there are many aspects of being homeschooled that I love & value my biggest regret was not being around others very often. Fast forward to today & I am now the mother of 3 little boys (7, 4 & 2) & married to a wonderful man who was also home educated. My husband's Aunt lives very close to us and recently finished (very successfully) home educating her four boys & is the one who has pointed me in the direction of The Well Trained Mind. During the last 2 years we utilized the Christian School (ACI Accredited) at our church home. My oldest son attend Kindergarten & 1st grade there & my middle son attended 3 days a week last year in the PreK3 class. This year we are ready to bring their schooling home but I would also like to make sure we stay involved in a group outside of home 1 day a week. We have to "co-ops" in our area one of which is our local Classical Conversations group. I have started reading through the Well Trained Mind book and this group seems to line up similarly with their teaching model. Is this a good organization to get involved with? I would plan to use more a supplementation to what we are doing at home as well as a way to get in some group time.

 

Thanks,

 

Sarah 

[OneStepAtATime]

If you do a search you will find several threads regarding this.  Some love CC and some don't and some like it for certain grades/ages.

 

From what I have seen when I looked into it myself and from feedback I have read on these boards and elsewhere it is a LOT of money for littles and the program can be really a poor fit for the age range you have.  Quality varies by location, too.  You might have a really well run one and you might not.  I would definitely do your research regarding your specific CC.  

 

Honestly?  You might want to hold off on shelling out that kind of money until they are older.

 

What is the other group like?  And what are the possibilities of signing your kids up for classes through other organizations/businesses besides just homeschooling co-ops?  Are there any classes/activities through the local city/museum/library?  Are there any play groups that might offer field trips and play dates?

[HS Mom in NC]

Here's a link to a recent co-op discussion that includes a short video by SWB on the topic:

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

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

A friend of mine who is in it said she tried to use it as a supplement her first year and it was like drinking from a fire hose. She now uses it as her "spine" and supplements it at home. I decided it was not a good fit for my family, but I know others love it. I agree that you should research it carefully and visit your local group. With the ages of your boys, it might even be good to wait a year to get your feet wet with homeschooling first. Ymmv. Determine first what you hope to gain. If it is just social opportunities, it can be an expensive way to do that.

[cintinative]

Please do yourself a favor and look up the prior threads on Classical Conversations.  

[G5052]

We were very involved in Classical Conversations for seven years.

 

Honestly, with children the age of yours, I'd wait. It's a great program, but IMHO the benefit is really when they're in 3rd grade and up.

 

I'd give yourself a year to find your way and then think about community groups if you think you need them. When they're young, that sort of thing is not quite as important, and we found with my teens that community groups with a broad range of kids and church provided the best places for making friends. 

[CAMom]

Welcome Sarah! :)

 

I'm am beginning my 18th year of homeschooling. I have a 23 year old college graduate, a 20 year old rising college junior, and an up and coming 5th grader.

 

Three years ago we moved to a new state and I needed a way for my youngest to connect and make friends. I knew about CC from others but was well along another path with my older kids at the time. I decided to try it out for the youngest. 

 

He loves it! We are about to enter our 4th year. He loves learning with the other kids and having a little something different to do once a week. He has a memory like a steel trap so it comes easy to him. I expand on what we are doing in CC at home.

 

That said, it's not for everyone. If I were even considering it in your shoes, I would only enroll the 7 year old. There is a registration fee of about $85 and tuition is $335 for Foundations, I think. Then there will be a facility fee and a supply fee which goes to buying the art and science supplies for the campus. If you figure it out on a per week basis, it comes out to about $20 per week per kid. You do have to put the money up front, though.

 

For Foundations, all you need to buy for the CC program is the Foundations Guide. You can certainly add some of their other products, but you don't have to.

 

It's not a co-op. I think it's important to know that. Each class is led by a parent tutor and each students' parent is expected to stay in the class with the student all morning. The goal of the tutor is to model how to teach the material at home. 

 

For my family it is a good fit. It's not too expensive because I only have one kid enrolled. I also tutor Essentials in the afternoon so I make my tuition money back.

 

You could go on the CC website and see if there are any summer practicums still available in your area this summer. They are a three day workshop for parents presenting the classical model and CC. They are free to parents. It's a good way to check things out.

[paulasue]

I love the CC program, but every campus is different and has a different feel due to each one having a different director and each state has their own management structure.   It is a for profit company, and most of the independent communities are for profit companies.  Most coops and private schools in your area are probably non-profits with all the money staying in your local community. 

 

Also, CC starts at 4, so will need to consider tuition for 2 kids when looking at cost. 

[sarahsheart]

Thank you ladies very much for your thoughts and opinions. We got caught up with vacation and making decisions before deadlines came up. We ended up choosing to enroll our oldest (2nd grade/7yr old) in our local CC group and holding off with our 4 yr old middle son to see how the program fits with our family. I did try to look up this topic on the search engine prior to posting last week but didn't find much. If anyone has suggestions on how to better search this forum I would love some more guidance. 

 

We have chosen to stick with A Beka for our grammar/spelling since we are familiar with it and the course I want to switch to doesn't start until 3rd grade and we will be using Singapore Math Standards ED. 

Thanks,

 

Sarah

[cintinative]

here are some past threads:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/564662-leaving-cc-after-2-weeks/?hl=%26quot%3Bclassical+conversations%26quot%3B&do=findComment&comment=6594203

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/562128-input-about-classical-conversations/?hl=%26quot%3Bclassical+conversations%26quot%3B&do=findComment&comment=6562331

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/571797-classical-conversations-essentials/?hl=%26quot%3Bclassical+conversations%26quot%3B&do=findComment&comment=6642571

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/494523-does-anyone-else-think-classical-conversations-is-neither/

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/600297-classical-conversations-co-op/

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/614996-honest-thoughts-on-classical-conversations/