Classical Conversations

This has totally changed my life. I am so thankful for what it brings to my homeschool and life. Some basic information....

It’s a Mission
The purpose of education is to know God and to make Him known.

Our purpose is to lead the home-centered education movement by equipping parents and students with the classical tools of learning needed to discover the order and beauty of God’s creation and to inspire others to do the same.

We believe parents are their children’s primary teachers not because parents know everything but because each child is uniquely (and wonderfully!) made and because the people who know and love a child best are the ones most motivated to help that child succeed.

We empower and support parents not only through our Classical Conversations Communities across the country but also through our specially designed C3 online community, Parent Practicums, academic retreats, and our Certified Instructor Program. All of these services ultimately equip parents to educate their children with the classical tools of learning and a biblical worldview so that they might impact the world for God’s glory.

Allison's art

Spelling Plus

I love this spelling program for several reasons. One is that you can use this every year. I love the dictation book that goes along with it and gives sentences that can be used after each list has been mastered. It is nothing fancy and very easy to use. I just take a list and see what he knows. If he can spell those words I move on. The trouble words are practiced until mastered. Then each day I use the dictation sentences that line up with that list. Very simple and takes about 15 minutes a day.

Classical Conversations

The time has come.....to start blogging again. I have no excuse for such neglect!
So much has changed on our homeschool and I have to say for the better. We are now part of Classical Conversations and it has made such a difference for us. The missing link to our education has been found. I have always felt we were educating classically but always felt like something was missing. After attending an info meeting and visiting a local group, I knew instantly that this was it. The funny thing was the communities were full. So I thought to myself, I will start a new group, how hard could it be? Lucky for me God was in agreement and has helped me every step of the way! Who knew we would have a full community the first year? It has been an amazing journey that has brought such wonderful people into my life, and has improved our homeschool experience so much. My children love it and and I love watching them grow like never before. We have never looked back. Allison will move to Challenge A next year and Jonathan will continue with Foundations and begin Essentials.
We have 6 weeks left and I am already getting excited about cycle 3 for next year. Once again our community is already full and plans are in the works for the next school year. Being a director has brought a few challenges but most of all joy in knowing that this really does make a difference.

Our freshly painted classroom

Another great find

I found this while I was at the NCHE conference and knew it would be perfect for Allison. Anytime she can draw what she is learning she greatly improves her memory of that subject. They have 4 volumes to span all of time beginning with Creation. I can't wait to post some of her finished pieces of work. These books can be seen here.

Curriculum for 2009-10

I am so excited that I have just about finalized all of our plans for our next school year. It is difficult having to answer to others but it is just my reality. It does matter what texts you choose and how you lay out their high school years. For Bryan I must answer to the NCAA and for Aaron I must document everything for the schools and scholarships he hopes to pursue. So that being said.....

Jonathan 2nd grade

• Continue with early readers
• Abeka Math 2
• BJUP English 2
• Writing with Ease (love this!)
• Spelling Workout B
• Wordly Wise
• Letters and Sounds
• Noeo Science Biology 1
• Mystery of History Ancients
• Lots of memorization
• Bible Stories

Allison 5th grade

• Easy Grammar 6
• Abeka Math 5
• Spelling Workout F
• Wordly Wise 5
• Apologia Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day and Land Animals of the 6th Day
• Mystery of History Ancients (literature, timeline and projects included)
• Ancient History Based Writing, The Institute for Excellence in Writing
• Kay Arthur's Inductive Bible Study For Children
• Latin for Children A
• Lots of memorization

Aaron 9th grade

• Honors English 9 with Ancient Literature (outside class)
• Honors Biology Exploring Creation with Biology (outside class with lab HARC)
• Latin Wheelock's Latin Text (online class through Lukeion Project)
• Cultural Geography BJUP text with projects
• The Art of Problem Solving Geometry
• The Art of Problem Solving Discrete Math Counting and Probability and Number Theory
• Logic Traditional Logic I Memoria Press
• ACT/SAT Prep

Bryan 11th grade

• English 11/ Lightning Literature British Literature (1st sem) Shakespeare tragedies (2nd sem) Vocabulary Wordly Wise 11, Grammar Easy Grammar Series 11
• Cultural Geography BJUP
• Spanish 1 (outside class HARC)
• Marine Biology (online class through Apologia Academy)
• Geometry Teaching Textbooks
• Writing for high school Write at Home Online
• P/E Golf lessons and practice
• ACT prep

I think that is it! It is going to be a great year but lots of running around. I am excited about the online classes especially since they don't require travel.