Tell me about Classical Conversations....

[Pster]

.....I am looking at their website....but in simple terms - tell me about it.

 

What grade level? Is foundations for grammar stage? And then they have other levels? Why does their starter kit have history facts on those timeline cards?

 

Is it just a grammar program?

 

:confused:

[Tess in the Burbs]

I seriously considered this in the fall for my two children. here's what I do know:

 

they have an elementary program and middle school. but the one here only had the elementary started and needed more volunteers to teach before starting the higher grades.

 

the kids have material to learn at home. they recite it each week in classes.

 

here they were on the second stage of history and we were only going to be starting ancients at home, so it did not make sense to me to have them learning one phase of history there and another at home. AND the cost. it wasn't cheap for one kid, much less two. We were sad this wasn't a viable option for our family.

 

And if you weren't involved in teaching then you had to rotate to watch the younger kids play. however teachers get paid and I seem to remember there was a small discount for the tuition if you did teach, so a double benefit.

 

HOWEVER, I do know someone who ordered some of their materials for memorization at home. It was wonderful and we may buy it in the future.

 

I personally think if they are on the same phase of history you are doing at home it would be fantastic. The cost might be a deterrent to some though. It's not a full curriculum....just a program that has high level of memorization of grammar stage information.

[Linda...inOwasso]

We use CC at home for much of our memory work. I can't speak to doing it in a group setting (which is the intent), however I love the foundation for memory work it gives us on our own. In CC, the children memorize all 5 decks of Veritas Press history cards (rearranged into chronological order) every year. In addition, the program provides memorization work for the *grammar* of the following subjects: history timeline (VP cards), history sentence (24 per year), Latin chants, Math, English, Science & Geography. CC utilizes a 3 year cycle --- studying different historical periods, sciences, and such each year. Ideally, a kindergarten student will repeat the memory cycle twice before entering the logic stage.

 

There are many additional advantages to joining a local CC group. They offer tutors for IEW writing classes, public speaking opportunities for students and so forth. I think it's an excellent program which my children might participate in when they are older. The main reason we do not participate in the group now is that the memory work is INTENSE for 24 weeks out of the year (12 in the fall; 12 in the spring). We school year-round so I don't want to cram all of our memorization into those 24 weeks. We tried it, and it was painful! :) My girls could recite the work each Friday BUT they were not retaining it a week or two later. For us, it was simply too much information in too little time for dd's to learn it by heart. I'm a firm believer in memorization, but I think anything worth memorizing should be remembered long-term or you're just wasting valuable time.

 

HTH!

[Kathie in VA]

This is my second year with kids in the program, first year as a tutor:

 

Classes they offer:

1-Foundations (mainly for grades 1-6) Covers memory work for 7 subjects per week plus one science lab and one fine arts lesson per week. {oops almost forgot... one 3 min presentation for each kid per week} The memory subjects are Math, English grammar, Latin, Science question, History sentence, Bible verse and Timeline. The math and timeline are the same each year. The math is basically the multiplication facts thru 12 plus some basic definitions. For timeline they use the Veritas Press timeline cards re-aligned so they are more chronological then VP has them. CC does 8 cards per week; memorizing the titles of each card (further understanding is up to the parent). For fine arts they break the year into 4 parts (drawing, tin whistle, art history(or getting familiar w/famous artists), and music appreciation (getting familiar with Music history and famous composers). The rest alternate on a 3 year cycle. Each year has 24 classes, one per week. Basically the history sentences breaks down with cycle 1 is first half of world history, cycle 2 is second half world history and cycle 3 is American history. The other subjects also alternate with the cycles but I don't remember their breakdown off hand... I'm sure that's on their website somewhere. Basic class day:

9:15amAll kids together, one parent does 3Ps (prayer, pledge, family presentation)

9:30 kids separate into age groups for smaller classes for memory work {~3min/sub}, lab{~30min}, and art/music{~30min}.

12:00pm lunch

12:30pm recess

1:00pm dismiss

 

2-Essentials (~grades 3 or 4 thru 6) Focuses on English grammar... lots of work on grammar and IEW writing assignments... some work on math. I'm not part of this one so I don't know as much. {usually same day as Foundations; going from 1:00-3:00 I think}

 

3-Challenge A & B (grades 7-8) Covers all subjects so no additional subjects needed. No specific history cycle here. {All day class}

 

4-Challenge I-IV (grades 9-12) Covers all subjects so no additional subjects needed. No specific history cycle here. {All day class}

 

 

hth

{like this ability to go back and edit after posting!}

[G5052]

I've linked to my CC blog which explains why we like it, and how we implement it at home. It's definitely not for everyone, and frankly I'm not sure that either of my children will ever make "Memory Master," but as imperfectly as we do it, they enjoy it and have learned so much. I've never tried to match what we do at home with their program.

 

We plan to use it for grades 7-12 when it becomes really a one-day-a-week school.

 

http://www.airlieacademy.blogspot.com/

[Pster]

Interesting....I don't know how I missed reading that you could be involved with an outside class to do it. I have read about a lot of people using the memorization cd's for their memory work and have considered that.

 

Maybe it's something I'll look into again when the kids are older.

[Another Lynn]

We have participated (and tutored) this year. We will probably not participate next year because I will have a newborn. With that disclosure, LOL, there are things we have loved about it and things we have not. I do think there is a benefit to participating in it while your dc are younger.... A K-er, 1st and 2nd grader can probably accomplish their academic work at home in four days - so going to a co-op one day a week is not a huge sacrafice. My oldest is 3rd grade and I REALLY miss having 5 academic days at home with him.

 

Just another side of the coin ;)

[Staci in FL]

The four day school week is just a killer. I'm not getting to any of the "extras" that make homeschooling fun for my third grader. And if someone gets sick on another day of the week and we spend a morning at the pediatrician's office, the week is so shot.

 

The memory work is simply awesome, but CC is not a full curriculum...it is truly memory work. And when you are trying to get a full homeschool plan in ala WTM, it is very difficult to do CC all day once a week. The memory work can easily be completed at home if you are consistent about practicing it. Get both CDs and the Power Point and you'll be good to go.

 

Staci