At the last moment - literally 6 days before the first class - we decided to join a Classical Conversations community that some friends were joining. I knew nothing about CC so I spent those 6 days ordering new curriculum and surfing blogs, websites and Pinterest for any and all things CC! Several hours, stacks of printed paper, and lists of bookmarked websites and blogs later I felt somewhat ready for the first day. I really wished I would have just relaxed! The day was amazing and really did not require all that stress!
We stated off the morning in a group 'morning meeting' typed thing. There were some announcements, prayers and pledges. It was a little chaotic but I am certain that was just because it was the first day. We were then dismissed to our Foundations classroom. Foundations is a class that teaches memory work in different areas: History (timeline and a sentence), geography, science, Latin, English and geography. The history part is a 6 or 7 different events from a timeline. They also do art and a science experiment The tutor was amazing! The kids traced different geography places using a laminated world map and tracing paper. They reviewed the history timeline memory work with a song and hand movements. Then they worked on the science and Latin memory work, again with song and movements. There was a snack and each student (there are 6 in my sons class) gave a short presentation with the theme "All About Me". They do this each week and there is a different theme or they can just talk about whatever they want. I really like this part. CJ can definitely benefit from a little public speaking. And it's very laid back and casual but just enough to get them up and talking. After the memory work and presentations there was some art then it was outside for a science experiment.
After Foundations it was everyone's favorite part of the day....lunch!
Next was Essentials. This is for the older kids and it the writing and grammar part of the program. And they throw in a awesome math game too! I really liked this class. Parents sit right with the students and participate in the class as much as the kids do. They use their own Essentials book for grammar and sentence diagramming and IEW for writing. I enjoyed being in the class with CJ. Because I work, I'm not home when he does the majority of his school work so it was nice to just sit and hang out with him. We (parents) stay in the Foundations class also, but in more of a 'just sit and watch" capacity. Which is great too! In the Essentials class we started with grammar, played a math game, then went on to writing. This class was also a little hectic, but again, just because it was the first day. So after this week's class, I'll have some more details about how this class works.
We are still trying to figure it all out. We don't even have all of our books yet! But I really think that we are going to enjoy this community and the curriculum. I'll try to post often so you can follow along with us on this journey!
Have you ever used the CC curriculum or been part of a group that did? What advice would give someone like me who is just starting?
