Classical Conversations?

[sunshineslp]

Those that have been in it, can you give me opinions?  I have four children, grades preK, 1st, 3rd, and 4th. It would obviously be pretty costly.  I am however very impressed with the program and my friends experiences with their children in it.  do you feel it is worth the cost?  is it imperative to do Foundations or is it easy to come in at an older level?  Did you feel your children learning a lot?  Do people tend to not stick with it all the way through?  I seem to find a lot of people who have done it a few years but I haven't really met too many people who have done it longer.  

[cintinative]

There are a number of threads on this. 

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/tags/forums/classical%2Bconversations/

 

I have commented somewhere on this--I only did it one year and it was not a good fit for us. Every campus is different and therefore some things are YMMV.  It was overall not what we needed. What we needed most was a place for us all to connect socially and CC did not provide that for any of us. Like I said though, every campus is different. The particular campus I was at experienced a huge turnover the year after we were in the program. The director changed, a ton of people left, and a lot of people came in.  Hopefully some of the threads tagged above will be helpful though. 

[cintinative]

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/284017-classical-conversations-is-it-worth-it/

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/257405-classical-conversations-pros-and-cons/

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/544440-some-one-talk-me-out-of-joining-classical-conversations/

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/619536-classical-conversations-material-at-home-no-community-is-it-worth-it/

[sunshineslp]

thanks guys:) 

[TheAttachedMama]

We do parts of it at home.    This doesn't work for a lot of CC parents that I know in real life.   They say they need accountability to keep up with the memory work.    To me, I treat it like any other program I use to teach my kids.   I don't need accountability to finish my math textbook for the year...or my grammar book....you know?    

 

Doing CC at home works really well for us for a number of reasons.  

 

For one thing, I am NEVER behind.   I homeschool so that I have freedom and flexibility in our schedule.   I don't want to give that up by joining a co-op or agreeing to tutor.  I don't have to stress out if my kids are sick for a week and we miss something.  (And this becomes a bigger issue the more kids you have.  One sick kid can keep you out of co-op for the week unless you can afford a babysitter to stay at home with the sick kid which I can't.)   I can also take a vacation in the middle of the year if I want too.   If a cool tour or field trip comes available, I don't have to worry about missing our CC day.   If my kids need to take longer to learn things, I can hang out instead of plowing forward.

 

Another reason I like doing CC at home is that I can match up the memory work to what we are reading at home.   This makes a LOT more sense to me.   For example, we are studying SOTW 2 this year, so I can pull the history sentences that go with that book.  We are studying Chemistry this year too, so we focus more on the Chemistry memorization.  This gives the kids more context to what they are memorizing.    Most CC families I know do the opposite:   they try to match readings to the memory work.   I can also leave out CC memory work that I find strange or not worthwhile.  (there are a couple!)   And I can also add in memory work that I think is lacking.   (We memorize a lot more than most CC kids.)     In some cases, I completely ignore the CC memory work.   (For example, we use FLL for our grammar memory work, and Latin memory work comes from CAP Latin programs.)  

 

And finally, there is the cost.   I think CC is ridiculously expensive.    I free up a TON of money and time by not participating in a CC campus.   I can use this money for other experiences like piano lessons, gymnastics, snow boarding, travel, etc.   

 

[Mrs Twain]

My kids have done CC Foundations for four years. It has been well worth the cost for us because it has provided a way to do many aspects of school that I was not able to accomplish at home by ourselves.

 

My kids have memorized large volumes of information (history, English grammar, math, science, geography). They have prepared and given 2-3 minute oral presentations almost every week which has dramatically improved their public speaking skills. They have had extra art and music instruction. They have had the experience of being in a class where they are expected to be quiet, listen to a teacher, and raise their hands if they have something to say. They have a great social time at lunch and recess with many kids who are like them and with whom they have become good friends.

 

These are the benefits we have received from being the Foundations program which I consider worth the cost.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Mrs Twain

[Mrs Twain]

Dp

Edited January 15, 2017 by Mrs Twain

[GTJo1996]

We did CC for one year.  What I liked about it was the opportunity for group learning in small groups.  What I hated was the lack of flexibility in curriculum.  For example, I was the tutor for the 4-7 yr old group.  I had a VERY young group.  That year we were supposed to teach chemistry.  My time would have been better spent teaching a phonics segment in lieu of the science segment.  I know there are a lot of people passionately against CC and many who  think it's the perfect fit for their family.  It didn't work for my family, but i could see where it is a great opportunity for middle school and high school aged students to get a rigorous program that is different than any other standard curriculum out there.  My sister lives in NC and it has become quite popular there with the homeschool community.  As others have said, it definitely depends on where you live.  Some communities are vibrant while others are barely getting the job done.  

 

It was a good lesson for me to learn that year. If my normally laidback, obedient kids are giving me grief about everything, they aren't happy and then I'm miserable.  We went back to our eclectic, messy way of doing homeschool on our own schedule.