Answered Prayer!

Calvary Lutheran Church has graciously agreed to allow us to meet at their facility. We are very thankful! Since we are in the infant stage of our community, but steadily growing, it makes us more excited to begin this new adventure. As of today, the count is 14 students for Foundations & 4 students for Essentials.

Will This Program Work If I Am Teaching Multiple Children?

YES! This is the area where classical education shines! If Laura Ingalls Wilder could do classical education in a one –room school house with students ranging in age from 6-16, you can too. Mothers homeschooling seven children have admitted that their first Classical Conversations year was the first peaceful year in their homeschool!

The Foundations curriculum is divided into three cycles. Your children will all be on the same cycle and can therefore gather together each day to memorize the timelines and answers. Believe it or not, the little ones easily keep pace with older children when it comes to memorization work (further evidence that the classical method utilizes the Created order). Parents may then assign individual projects and readings based on the knowledge they are memorizing together.

THE FOUNDATIONS “CYCLES” (24 WEEKS EACH)
Cycle One (2009) – biology, earth science, math and language practice, fine art & history of the ancients, Asia, Africa
Cycle Two – astronomy, physical science, math & language practice, fine art & history of the Reformation to Moderns
Cycle Three – anatomy, chemistry, origins, math practice, intro. to grammar diagramming, fine art & history of America, translating John 1 into Latin

Is Classical Conversations a Private School?

Classical Conversations is not a private school. The mission of Classical Conversations is to assist parents in their endeavor to give their children the knowledge of God, the understanding of who He is, and the wisdom to obey Him. We are strictly a service to parents who want the heart-focused advantages and joys of homeschooling with the added advantages of serious classical tutoring and mentoring.

Can I Join CC While Still Using Sonlight, Abeka, Bob Jones, etc. at Home?

YES! During the Foundations/Essentials years, your time commitment to the Classical Conversations curriculum can be as little as 30 minutes per day or as much as 2 hours per day. It takes no more than 30 minutes per day to simply review the memorization work and history timeline but, if you so choose, you may use the curriculum guide and suggested supplementary books as a springboard to an entirely classical curriculum.

During the Challenge years, the program warrants a greater commitment of time and resources. Students need adequate time allowed each day for their reading and writing assignments. They also need to keep up with their math and science labs for each week. This is the point where juggling two curriculums is too tricky.

How is Classical Conversations Different From a Co-op?

Classical Conversations is a national tuition-based program with the goal to partner with homeschooling parents who want a specifically classical approach to Christian education for their children. According to scripture, the job of teaching God’s Word and about God’s world to children is primarily the responsibility of the family (Deuteronomy 6). We are not trying to give parents an “easy out” from subjects they don’t wish to teach. Instead we are offering to come alongside parents who desire accountability and encouragement in the rigorous job of training children, for their jobs as royal laborers in the Kingdom of God.

Moreover, while a co-op typically teaches “subjects” as ends in themselves, Classical Conversations seeks to relate each subject to the Creator-and then pushes each student to see the relationships between subjects. For instance, in the Challenge program, we do not study subjects such as economics and government for their own sakes. We study economics and government using the format of policy debate. We study philosophy using the format of Shakespeare’s comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The curriculum is challenging, but well within the abilities of all students who can apply proper attitude and diligence. Our children will amaze us if we continue to present them with greater challenges for the glory of God’s kingdom.