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.

Apologia Elementary Science

I absolutely love these books. I was worried that we might get bored with one subject so I bought all of the zoology books. This way we can change it up if we need to. We are working through Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day and so far boredom has not been an issue. Allison loves ocean animals. We are doing the ocean box and the lapbook that is sold by Knowledge Box Central. Way too much fun!

Hockey nut

Well, I am going to admit it, I am insane about hockey. My boys are proud and embarrassed at the same time. I am a screaming red neck when it comes to the Carolina Hurricanes. I can't stand to think that their season may be coming to an end. But I must not give up hope. I will be the forever optimist for these next few days. I know that it can be done and I will be freaking out the whole time! I am going to try to control myself. Not really possible.
LET'S GO CANES!!!!

Morgan

I have been away from my blog for almost a year. Since the addition of Facebook in my life I have used it for communication but I want to get back to work here. I have to say it was my friend Michele that has inspired me to start putting my thoughts down again. Thanks Michele! ( I did steal one of your songs, couldn't help it)
This has been an incredible year for us. It is so amazing to graduate a young adult from your homeschool. Morgan has become everything I have dreamed for her. She is beautiful, smart, fun, loves her mommy, and has a huge heart for Jesus. What more could a mom ask for? I am so proud of her. As we prepare to send her off to college I have such mixed feelings. I am so excited for her but my heart will have such an empty spot when I get up each morning and she is not in her home. She is busy most of the time now but it will be different. At least she is here at night and I get to see her first thing each morning. It will be hard, but also an incredible blessing. I thank God everyday for her.

Teenagers

Are awesome!!! I love being a mom to teenagers. Yes, it is challenging some days but it keeps you young. I love watching them develop their own likes and dislikes (well mostly). I also learn from them and enjoy many of the things they enjoy. Here is an artist my daughter introduced me to and I just love his music.
Thanks Morgan!

Jeremy Camp - Beautiful One

End of school in sight

As we come to the end of another school year I always ponder things; how can we improve, what worked and what didn't. I am pretty happy overall with the way the year has gone. I always wish that I had accomplished more. I guess this is a good attitude and always keeps me striving for higher goals. The older kids are all finished with the outside classes and I have to say that it went very well. I am blessed to have such resources available to me.
Morgan took her ACT for the first time and scored high enough to get into the colleges she is looking at. We were so proud of her. She will take it again and try to improve her score a bit more. She is only one point away from being eligible for the presidential scholarship at a private Christian college she is interested in. She is only a junior so she has time.
We also just finished out ITBS for the next 3 and we are glad to put it in the mail. Jonathan does not have to be tested yet. But he is doing so well with his reading and math skills. He is reading new books everyday. He still has the wiggles most of the time but I see him starting to settle down some.
We are preparing our home for an exchange student from Korea. We are so excited for him to come. The program is called English n America. He will be with us all summer.
So now we start to pack up all of the work we have completed and pull out the new stuff. I love new books and new topics. This is such a fun time of year!

Two point perspective cityscape

This was done by Morgan in her visual arts class.

The widow's mite; A gift from Sonlight

Special Gift for Core Curriculum Purchasers

From John and Sarita Holzman:
Two years ago, Sarita and I visited Israel with a group from our church. We were startled to discover that Israel, virtually alone among the Mediterranean nations, permits the sale of ancient coins recovered from archaeological sites. As one shopkeeper explained, "There are so many sites in this country, you can dig almost anywhere and you will fi nd antiquities."
This past summer, with memories of our trip to Israel in mind, we asked the Palestinian Christians we met in Bethlehem if they could find enough ancient Roman mites to create pendants that we could give our Core customers.
You may recall the story of Jesus watching people put gifts into the temple treasury. Then a poor widow comes along and puts in two small coins. — Those small coins were mites.
"I tell you the truth," [Jesus] said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)
It took our friends a while to get back to us. We worried whether there would be enough of these coins to meet our needs. And we wondered if an order as large as ours might so overwhelm the world market that the price for these coins would rise beyond our ability to pay. Happily, our friends were able to find the coins we needed and they promised to insert them in sterling silver bezels to make the pendants we wanted at a price we could afford.
And so now you can get your own 2,000-year-old "Widow’s Mite" in a silver pendant for FREE...with the purchase of any Sonlight Core, CorePlus or CoreUltra program.
Please Note: Each 2,000-year-old coin is unique, so yours will look slightly different from what you see in the photo below.

How amazing is this? I am a long time SL user and have always loved this curriculum. It is challenging and is really providing my children with an excellent education. I recently ordered Core 530, The Survey of British Literature for Morgan. She wants to be able to take the AP Literature exam and this is by far the best curriculum I have seen. When I received my "box", as if it is not exciting enough, I found an envelope tucked neatly to the side. On the outside of the envelope it said: A gift for you, Mom. Please open in a quiet moment. I was brought to tears as I read the story behind the pendant. This was given to me to commemorate the loving sacrifices I make daily to teach my children. Sonlight is truly a blessing to our lives. Though we have never met, we consider John and Sarita a part of our family. A big thanks to them for all of the time and effort they continue to put into this excellent curriculum.

Sonlight

Raleigh Bantam Storm-′08 Congressional Cup Champions
by Todd Phinney posted 02/21/2008
The Raleigh Bantam Storm went undefeated at the Washington Congressional Cup in Washington DC over Presidents weekend winning the Championship game 2-1!p

.Congratulations Bantam Storm Team!

Prep time is here

This is the time of year I stress out. The kids handle it fine, but not me:) It is time to begin prepping for all of the exams coming up. The National Latin Exam is the first one we will be getting ready to take. Morgan, Bryan and Aaron will all be taking this exam with Morgan taking a higher level test. Then she has to get ready for TeenPact. There is a lot of homewrk that goes along with this 4 day government program. She has to read a book, send letters to her state representitve and senator, write a one page bill on an issue that is important in her life to be presented to the TeenPact Legislature, complete a political fact sheet, Scripture memorization, and analyze three bills of interest. This is an awesome opportunity for her but it will require much work on her part.
Next is the ACT in April. Morgan practices everyday for this and the SAT. She does the on-line course offered by The College Board. Her SAT and SAT II's will be taken in June.
Bryan, Aaron, and Allison will take the ITBS in May. That is not as much pressure but still something we take very seriously around here.
It will be a busy few months coming up, but so worth all of the effort.

One Touch

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake a large crowd gathered around him while He was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers named Jarius came there. Seeing Jesus he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with Him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there that had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was free from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
"You see the people crowding against you," his disciple answered, " and yet you can ask 'Who touched me?'"
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the women, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffereing."

Nicole C. Mullen- One Touch (TBN)