Okay, talk to me about Classical Conversations. There is a group in my area and I am curious if it is worth the money. It is costly for me but it would be worth it if it were...well...worth it...lol. What do you like? What do you not like? Experiences? Is it just an overpriced homeschool co-op? Could I do it at home and join a cheaper group? I did join a co-op by the way...woohoo..first one ever can't wait for my first meeting.
There's one here, and I've also recently gotten interested. I just can't bring myself to join and work on someone else's schedule. It's very tempting, though, and I may change my mind at some point. I probably WILL end up buying some of the memory cards and songs next year, but I'm still undetermined on whether we'll do the classes. I have a friend here who swears by it, and her kid is doing great. Who knows...?
I share the same concerns as you. I think I will buy some products and then see what I think. They did say I could sit in on a class.
I just don't like being boxed into something, ya' know? If we joined, we'd have to do stuff like phonics all over again. DS is on a different level for every subject. True classical style doesn't allow for that. He'd be either bored or overwhelmed. I don't want to change our Latin curriculum, either. He eats Latin for breakfast and really understands the grammar part of it. They take a much lighter approach. If it were possible to show up just for science and history, have a little fun, and go home, yeah, I'd do it. I'm not willing to derail all we've started, though. I would supplement, yes, but I don't see how to do that in a class setting. *shrugs*
I get ya...and I feel the same way. Yeah...not sure. I think I'll put my kids in something a bit more fun or just a class or two somewhere else. I'll see.
I know a few people in our local group, most of them love it. I just do not like the fact that they will tell me what dd would be studying for history, writing and such. I really prefer doing our co-op where I can just pick and choose what will work for us each year and which curriculum I think would work well for dd. Dd also is all over the place in grade level so it would be hard to put her in a box. If I was going to do that I might as well put her into a formal school. Now that is just me, like I said I know some folks who love it.
I would recommend going over the materials before purchasing. I love their foundation books and their 3 cycles memory CDs that they have. I am not interested in their grammar and writing program. their grammar and writing program is all biblical base. Also, make sure to ask about their refund policy, it didn't work for me and I couldn't return my grammar, writing books and other books after spending over $200.
Ava, it's not something I've done, but a very good friend has her son (Phillips best friend) in it. Sean has some reading difficulty, and thinks he's "stupid". CC has done wonders for him and his attitude, because of those memory CD's Randa mentioned. If you want, I can give you her email and you can contact her. (She's also a good friend of MarylynTx!)
Well, I am beginning to rethink this...especially since it costs over $500 per semester. I may try some materials on my own or just go with the other co-op.
My best friend has been doing CC for three or four years now. She LOVES it. There isn't once close enough for me to try. For her, it has been freeing rather than restricting. For that $500, you get someone else telling your child what he/she must do. You then have to make sure that he/she does it during the week, plus I think you have to add in your own math. You should probably visit one to see if it would work for you. I've looked over her curriculum and have been impressed. They cover less than some curriculums, but they cover it very thoroughly. I would consider it if one were closer, and if I could afford it. (When I get down to two kids, then I might be able to!)
We are in our third year of CC and really like it. Listening to you ladies talk I'm getting the impression that you think it is a very rigid program and you MUST do their stuff/their schedule. CC is more of a skeleton to build your year around- you can add as much or as little as you like and from what ever material you like. For us, I chose to do science based on what we are learning in science at CC but go as in depth as the girls can handle. For history we do our own thing. The concept behind CC is to help parents become better Classical educators. They like to focus that the parent is the teacher and the tutor is there to model how to teach new memory work. It is divided into several sections that are 30 minutes each. The sections are new grammar (introducing the new memory work), Science experiments, presentation (child gets up and presents something), fine arts and review time (to review all the past memory work in game form). It is also a way to build friendships with other homeschooling families! It has been very helpful for us and I love our campus. It meets for 12 weeks in the fall and normally breaks around Thanksgiving. It starts back up in the New Year and meets for another 12 weeks- you are normally done in April sometime. I can see how each campus can have a different flavor- they will have different directors/tutors. We've been blessed with an amazing director and an amazing group of tutors. I think the money is well worth it. If you are on the fence, I encourage to go sit in on a day and see it in action. It changes your perspective of it.
I think yours must be different than the one here. Here, you meet ALL DAY for one day a week (includes lunch and recess), and you're expected to stay the whole time too, because all of the learning is weaved together. First, we can't give up a whole day, because we have something planned every day of the week. Second, we wouldn't have time to finish the rest of our work in the limited time available on the remaining 4 days. Third, like anything else, we'd have to choose a set grade level. We definitely can't do that. We're ranging from age-appropriate handwriting to 2-3 grade math to middle school english/latin to adult reading. Seriously... all over the place. I'd really love to try cc. I just don't see how it would work unless we found a group that's willing to let you do subjects separately. Here, they don't do that. *shrugs*
