If are a CC parent looking for encouraging articles, welcome! I truly am glad you found me. In the nature of full disclosure, I am no longer comfortable recommending Classical Conversations as a curriculum, a community, or a company. Feel free to contact me privately for more information.
Dear first-year CC Parent,
Hey, new CC parent! I'm excited for you! You have made a great decision, joining a CC community and jumping in to this program. Maybe you signed up to have a social outlet for your kids, maybe because you are completely on board with the Classical approach, or maybe you don't know anything about it and just didn't want to do the homeschool thing alone. Whatever your situation, and whether your child is four or eleven, or somewhere in between, here are some tips from a sixth-year mom (and fifth-year director) to make the most of this first year.
Hey, new CC parent! I'm excited for you! You have made a great decision, joining a CC community and jumping in to this program. Maybe you signed up to have a social outlet for your kids, maybe because you are completely on board with the Classical approach, or maybe you don't know anything about it and just didn't want to do the homeschool thing alone. Whatever your situation, and whether your child is four or eleven, or somewhere in between, here are some tips from a sixth-year mom (and fifth-year director) to make the most of this first year.
Get ready the night before.
Lunches planned and maybe even made, backpacks and diaper bags by the door, breakfast dishes on the table, a simple supper planned. Community Day is only once a week; you can do this.
Prepare for Presentations.
Presentations are the one thing NOT to get ready the night before or - horrors - in the car on the way to CC. (Ask me how I know.) Start on Day 2, the day after your community day, and use the next several days to PICK a topic, PLAN what to say, choose a PROP, and PRACTICE. (All right, you seasoned CC parents, quit chortling. You know I'm right.) At the same time, make Presentation your children's responsibility and help them own it. They will learn SO MUCH from weekly presentations, but not as much if it is always a rush job and grabbing a favorite toy on your way out the door.
Expect a learning curve.
The classical approach is completely different from the approach in most modern schools, whether public or private. You may feel like a fish out of water for the first semester, maybe even all year, and if so, that is okay. You are in the "grammar stage" of understanding CC and next year, you will "get it" so much better, trust me. It's okay to sit back and do lots of watching and listening this year.
Get the Fifth Edition.
Yes, the Foundations Curriculum, Fifth Edition. Don't fall prey to the idea that maybe you can get by without it, and don't settle for making do with the Fourth Edition from last year. Trust me on this - the Fifth Edition is AMAZING! It is more than just the memory work! It also contains TONS of information about the classical approach, how to memorize, suggestions for how to organize your homeschool day, information about the science and fine arts projects, all of the maps...so use it. Mark it up. READ IT. I didn't my first year, until April, and just about kicked myself, because all of that would have been SO helpful. (And I was tutoring, so you better believe I should have read it!)
Get to know your community.
Your director, your tutors, your fellow parents. That is YOUR community this year, your tribe. Let them into your life, have play dates and field trips. Stay for lunch. Let them get to know you. You need each other.
Be ready to fully engage.
On Community Day, put your cell phone on vibrate and leave it in your purse except to take pictures. Don't sit in the back and chat with other parents. Come ready to get on the floor with your child's class and learn alongside him or her. Model involvement for the sake of your child and other parents, and for your own sake, too. The tutor is there to model the classical approach for you as much as, or more than, for your kids.
Have realistic expectations.
This is all new for you, but also for your kids. They probably won't do Memory Master this year - and that's okay! You will actually be shocked at how much they learn and remember throughout the year, but it may take them a little while to find their groove, too. And your community? Remember that they are all homeschooling families just like yours, everyone trying to do their best for their children, and every one of them on the sanctification road. Someone may rub you the wrong way, and vice versa, and so we all need to give grace - to ourselves and to each other.
Know what CC will and won't give you.
It won't teach your kids math or reading, so make sure you've got that covered, although you sure can ask other parents what they do. (Once you're in Essentials, Language Arts is covered.) It will cover science and social studies, though. (See the next point "Trust the System".)
Trust the system.
The "CC System" is something like this - if you do the Foundations curriculum, plus math and reading, and then add Essentials when your child is 9, and let your child read read read, that is enough. Academically, you don't need to add anything more than that for them to be prepared for the academic rigors of middle school/junior high at age 12. Are there exceptions? Sure, and you need to be watchful for what YOUR child needs, but as a rule, the system works. It feels totally different than school as most of us know it, and so it can be tempting to add in extra stuff, and as a result we feel really overwhelmed, but you probably don't need it. Honest.
Limit your time on CC Connected, etc.
If you search for "CC Cycle 1", you will find hundreds, maybe thousands, of pins and blogs and worksheets. It's overwhelming. Don't spend too much time looking. Ask friends what one blogger or CC Connected contributor they trust and do that, but don't stress about what your kids could be missing out on by not doing a morning basket or this unit study. Just don't. Keep it "stick in the sand" simple, especially your first year. (But signing up for that CC Connected subscription also gives you access to the amazing collection of videos on RightNow Media, which has great content for adults as well as kids, so that is something to consider!)
Keep your eyes on your own lane.
Don't compare your life with the mom you eat lunch with on Community Day. Don't compare your child with the one he or she is in class with. And don't compare your Chapter 1 with someone else's Chapter 5. We are each on our own journey. The CC community is about encouraging and supporting, but not about comparing. You've got this!
Most of all, pray.
Pray for your director and tutors. They aren't supermoms or dads who have it all together, just parents like yourself. They are the lead learners, but not untouchable leaders. And they need your prayers. (Trust me, as a director, I am certain of this!) And pray for your community, for the other families on the same, yet different, homeschooling road. And for your kids, and for yourself. Because God will teach you more this year than He teaches them, and will guide you each step of the way if you let Him.
Have a wonderful year!!
Warmly,
Kristi
Warmly,
Kristi
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