In 2019 if you had asked me if we would ever homeschool I would have given you a firm no. But then covid hit in 2020 and there we were learning at home.
It was frustrating.
It was confusing.
Ok let's be honest it was a complete disaster.
At least for us. And there was no one to blame. Our public school teachers were doing the best they could in this new uncharted territory.
It just didn't work for us. {Click here if you want to learn more about how we choose Classical Conversations}
Fast forward and Maddie and I about to finish our second year of Classical Conversations (also known as CC) and I feel like I can now honestly review it.
People either seem to love it or hate it [ as with most things ]. So I'll just go ahead and say I have drank the Kool-Aid and love Classical Conversations and all that it offers.
What I love:
- That Maddie is actually learning that may sound simple but with the Foundations program Classical Conversations does just that - they lay a strong foundation of knowledge for kids to draw upon. I love the fact that I can ask Maddie about a topic from earlier in the year and she can recall it. Or even a topic from the last cycle (last school year).
- The interaction - We enjoy community days. It is great for Maddie to get to play with friends but it is also nice for me to be able to interact with other moms. It is nice to have a community that you can call upon if you need help or guidance. Plus the neat science experiments, art projects and other fun activities done on community days make this a great homeschool program.
- The tunes - Maddie absolutely loves learning the memory work to music. Together we have listened to YouTube to find one's she likes or we have had fun creating our own. Either way learning to music is a big plus to Maddie.
- Essentials - This was Maddie's first year in Essentials and it amazed me the stuff taught in this area. I feel like it truly puts kids on a good path to middle school and future grammar requirements. And then there is IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) this provides great additional reading along with history insight. It prepares students for critical thinking and paper writing. Our co-op does a Faces of History paper in the later weeks. This is definitely a favorite with the kiddos! On awards day all the kiddos in Essentials participate in a Wax Museum where they dress as their chosen historical figure and tell guests about themselves.
What I don't love:
- The first few months.... as with anything the first few months were hard. And all of that was on a personal level. Was I doing this right? Is this really all I need to homeschool? Is there a roadmap somewhere?
- Essentials - starting Essentials this year was the same as I said above. For the first few months I was lost. What was all this diagraming? I never remembered doing that in school..... but with a little brushing up, and late night studying on my part, I was able to become confident enough to teach Maddie. But I will admit I bought some additional material on Teacher's Pay Teacher to help me out with this as I was afraid to stray to far from the examples. ---> Now lets move to IEW - again the first few weeks were a little iffy. Was my 4th grader ready for this? There was some frustration but she powered thru and ended up loving this class.
{I almost forgot ---- Something else I didn't like about Essentials was putting all the material together! When ordering it from Classical Conversations it came in several different packets which was very confusing! I feel like I didn't get it all put together for how it worked for us until about 12 weeks in. This is something I wish they would simply a little. }
A Pro and Con
- Simple yet Confusing - It can be a little confusing starting out. How can it be this simple? Do I just need this one foundations manual? Or what supplement materials do I need? Some use the manual but then others use outside curriculum. To me what is the point of paying for Classical Conversations if I am going to buy additional curriculum? With that said I stuck to the weekly CC curriculum and just add onto what we were studying that week.
For example: Cycle 1 Week 18
For history we are learning about the mound builders. Maddie memorizes the history sentence and then I pull additional information to go along with this subject. We also took a field trip to some local mounds.
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| Maddie & I on a fieldtrip |
Science: Leaning about the ocean floor - I pull information from our Usborne books as well as online.
Geography: Maddie learns to locate each location and each day we look up some interesting facts about one of the places.
Have I purchased additional materials?
Yes, at a local consignment sale I purchased a history and geography book that I use to supplement and add additional information to our weekly CC material. I stick to the CC curriculum and just use these outside sources to add to what she is learning for the week.
I also purchase the Brain Quest workbook each year for her grade level. Again this is just used as a supplement for repetition and some days busy work if she needs a little additional practice in an area (example Math or Grammar).
Math - CC does not have a math curriculum just math facts. For Math we have used Teaching Textbooks with good results.
If we continue CC is there something else I would add?
In Essentials they start teaching spelling but I feel that Maddie needs to strengthen her phonics skills as this was not something she was really taught in public school. For this I admit I need additional help. I am looking to purchase Phonetic Zoo for spelling. Several other homeschool moms have recommended it and it sounds like something that would help Maddie out.
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Overall Maddie and I really like Classical Conversations. Is it something we will participate in forever? Honestly I'm not sure. At some point Maddie will probably go back to public school. Our small town has an excellent school system so that was never our case for homeschooling. But as long as we choose to homeschool we will definitely stick with CC.
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