I am looking into Classical Conversations for next year. Can I hear your review of it. Did you like it? Was it worth if, for the price?
This was our first year and my daughter has loved it. It has helped us cut down on fights and bad attitudes. In my opinion it is definitely worth the cost and has helped her learn and grow so much.
I am looking into it for next year as well and am interested to hear what others have to say. I am hoping to observe a community in the next couple of weeks.
I am curious as to what you see as the strengths and weaknesses of it? How old is your daughter?
We just completed our first year in CC and my first year as a tutor to the Abcedarains (4-6 year olds). My kids are both in foundations, my son is 5 and my daughter is 7 and I was the tutor of my son’s class.
My experience has been positive. Both my kids LOVED this year and have pretty much begged us to go again next year.
One thing I liked was that when my week at home didn’t go as planned I know that history, math facts, english grammar, geography, science, Art project and Latin were covered, even if I didn’t have time to expand on them at home. Each week we do an art project and a science project/ experiment and I personally really loved being exposed to those things and so did my kids. As the tutor, it really opened my eyes to how much I like science and how fun it is. It’s been a LONG time since I was in school and I think I forgot about science 
I really appreciated how the curriculum is laid out for the year. You can look today and start planning for the next month, year or the year after which allows you get get very creative at home. My 5 year old son can tell you 4 types of tissue that make up the body, the parts of the axial skeleton, parts of the circulatory system etc. He can tell you the Irregular Verb tenses for “To Shake” (Infinitive, present, past, present participle, past participle)- To shake, shake(s), shook, shaking, shaken. As well as a ton of other verbs. It covers so much and so many things I hadn’t thought about.
I will say, at 5 I don’t think he really needs to know some of these things yet, however he is loving it and all those things that are stored in his brain will come in handy later. I can see how much easier it will be to learn things because he has the grammar stored in his brain.
Each week one family does a family presentation and then each community day each child does a class presentation…which is much like show and tell with the younger kids. One of the biggest fears adults have is public speaking and this format helps get the kids ready for public speaking and debating.
It really is nice to belong to a community. Honestly I felt a little like an outsider in my community because it is very small and I was coming in kind of last minute and the new one, but it has been a good thing. They have been grace filled when I made mistakes as a tutor and grateful for my hard work as well. It is nice to be in a community of like-minded families and to know that you can talk about God in your class and it is welcomed/ encouraged. In other communities I have seen them rally around families that have lost children or spouses and be there for support during tough times. You should see all the prayer requests that go out for families in CC communities! Prayer requests from one CC member on behalf on another CC member. There is even a FB page for CC families to house swap for vacations…lol! I have not partaken in this and it is pretty new, but could be a good thing.
I do not have a full understanding of the Challenge levels. I know they offer info sessions called Window into Challenge that you can go to and find out more. I plan on attending one next month so I better understand what the upper years look like. I know that proper communication and writing are VERY important to me and that is a big focus as they get older.
If you haven’t gone to a CC community day yet, I highly suggest going ASAP because many are finishing up their year. Today was our last community day! If you miss out on attending a community day look for their FREE parent practicums!! They are really helpful in getting a better picture of classical education and CC in general. There are lots of practicums that will be scheduled in the near future all around the country. They have day camps for kids, but you have to pay for those. Anyhow, the practicum is for anyone, you do NOT need to be a CC member!
To find one near you go to Classicalconversations(.com) and then “Communities” and then "Training Events"
I went last year and I really got a better grip on it and I don’t regret going.
I don’t have a lot of negative stuff to say. I guess at first I was a little disappointed that I had to enroll my then 4 year old into the program vs. putting him in the childcare and honestly it was because of the cost. In between the first year I had considered going and the second year when I signed up that policy had changed. However, now that we have completed our first year, he was ready for it and loved it and it was worth the time and money. Like I stated above, he can recall all sorts of info he learned this year and enjoyed it.
Hope that helps
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My daughter is 8 yrs old. One of the strengths of the program was it allowed us to dig in on the things that she enjoyed and also allowed us time to focus on areas where she struggles.
This past August my 14 yr old passed away from heat stroke while at football camp 3 hours away, and I appreciated the fact that by working on our memory work and our math we were doing enough when life gets insane or too emotional. The memory work cd and app for our ipad helped cement her memory work so I know that she knows and is retaining.
We also love the fact that she participates weekly in class solo presentations which is helping her learn to plan a small presentation and to comfortably present. Hope this helps.
Several of my dearest friends just love CC–and I support them in this. Well, I don’t hate CC but there are a few reasons I dislike it.
The two most striking to me:
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It is not truly a classical education. For more info on this, check out this book Trivium Mastery. The author also has a blog. It is more rigid than traditional classical models. It leaves less room, imo, for developing a child’s learning style, gifts and interests.
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There is a lot of aggressive proselytizing.
Enough said. Blessings on your choices!
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I, too, am looking into CC. I am interested in hearing more about anyone’s experience with the Challenge A (6th grade) and Challenge I (9th grade) levels. Thanks!
I just read this and am so very sorry.
My prayers are with you and your family.
Thank you very much. We appreciate it
I will remember you in my prayers!