1. On a totally joking yet completely serious note, I think it appeals to my inner self... you know, the part of me that feels more like Laura Ingalls Wilder or Dr. Quinn Medicine Women than my obviously misplaced Millennial self. I truly think I belong on a prairie, wearing bonnets and pioneer dresses, driving covered wagons, and teaching in a one room school house more than I do existing in the here and now. Not that this program is outdated by any means, because it most definitely is not.... but there is something about the model, values, curriculum, parent-led instruction, and small classroom feel that just appeals to the New Worlder in me. I seriously wish I lived in the 1800's. I mean, doesn't this just look so charming and wonderful?!
2. It's Classical. Let's be honest: the term "Classical Education" was super ambiguous to me until just a
few months ago. Kind of like how "Spiritual Leadership" feels in Christian circles, where everyone knows it's important, but no one knows what it's supposed to practically look like (amiright?!). That was
me and Classical Education until just recently. For the longest time it
felt like a cool club that I wanted to be a part of without even
knowing what the club was. Since, though, I have learned that in terms
of education, the word "classical" in it's broadest sense just means that the method is timeless and
proven. It has been effectively used for over 2500 years and is the model that great minds like Aristotle, C.S. Lewis, Plato, Thomas Jefferson, and Helen Keller were schooled by. It's history, repertoire, and alumni alone are super impressive to me.
3. The Trivium. Classical Conversations
also implements another important facet of classical education: the
Three Stages of Learning, also known as the Trivium. These three phases
are Grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric and they appeal to the developmental
stages of learning that children naturally go through. For the sake of space, I will only focus on Moses' phase in this blog, but you can learn more about the entire Trivium here. As for us, we are currently in the Grammar phase which is basically just memorization, memorization, memorization. In this phase of development, children learn the vocabulary, rules, and facts associated with any given
subject. Kids are not yet understanding how or why this information matters, they are simply
memorizing the terminology through repetition, songs, chanting, and
rhymes. If you have spent any time with a young child, you know that
they are brilliant. Their minds are sponges which is beautiful and
fascinating, but also terrifying for me because Moses doesn't forget all
of the crazy momma moments I wish that he would. I'm just waiting for
the day when he says, "Momma, remember the day you acted like a fool and stomped your foot at me?!" or, "Momma, remember that time
you were so frustrated that you screamed bloody murder at the top of your lungs like a crazy mad woman?" Yes, these things happened because I am awesome at momming. And yes, they are
things that I desperately want to pretend never happened all the while
knowing that they are seared in his brain forever. Lucky me. On a more
positive note, he has easily and quickly memorized 4 weeks of New Grammar
like it was his job so this program knows what's up. He can tell you what happened in American History from 1492-1776, has memorized his multiplication tables up to 8's, and can define what an infinitive, present participle, and past participle are. He may not have any context for those things, but that thought hasn't even occurred to him; his development stage of learning is primed for memorization and he is perfectly content to just soak up the terminology for now. One day he will need to apply this material, and when that day comes he will already have the terms and facts memorized and will easily be able to plow ahead into understanding and application. Also, it is fascinating how much he is seeing his curriculum play out in real life. If we are reading a book and it randomly mentions Delaware, he proudly exclaims that the capital of Delaware is Dover, something he has learned in Geography (who knew?!). This morning he hit Jones on the head and when I gave him a look of warning, he happily told me that he had hit his brother's cranium. I mean, it's just hard to get mad when he is adequately identifying the axial skeleton. The other day we were reading a book on church history and without it even being mentioned, Moses was able to pull from context that Anne Bradstreet was a Pilgrim who came over for the same reasons as those on board the Mayflower. A quick google search confirmed that he was right, and I was amazed. His face lights up with glee at any mention of Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson, which who even realized these things were talked about in real life anymore but he sees and hears things that remind him of school all the the time and can't wait to tell you what he has learned about those people and subjects... it is so fun to watch him connect the dots and to enjoy learning.
4. It's cyclical. Classical Conversations has three cycles in their
grammar stage and they fascinate me. If we stick with CC, Moses will go
through each cycle 3 times before he graduates to the dialectic stage.
Not only does the repetition appeal to his developmental stage of
learning, but it will also help ensure that the information sticks. Here's a brief look at each cycle. I get giddy just looking at it.
5. I am redeeming my own education. As a student, I made good grades but I wouldn't say that I was well educated. I was taught to memorize something long enough to pass a test and as soon as I did, the information was forgotten. It was never truly memorized, repeated, or brought up again. I see this play out in my daily life even now, in that as soon as I complete a job it is out of my mind and I forget about it altogether. Even worse, I see how this has made it difficult to study, learn, and memorize scripture because I don't know how to truly study, meditate on, or memorize anything. So forget Moses, I have learned SO MUCH these past four weeks and I am loving it. Classical Conversations doesn't teach you what to think, it teaches you how to think and there is a big difference. As for me, I feel like I am understanding the world with great clarity for the first time, particularly when it comes to history. I am learning about how our nation was formed and from Christopher Columbus to the Pilgrims to the Boston Tea Party and the Declaration of Independence, I see how these events are all connected and a part of what made our nation form. We are learning about the world's timeline from creation to current day and I am fascinated to see how biblical & world history intertwine. I also love how Classical Conversations doesn't shy away from secular ideas and information. We have been introduced to different philosophers and world religions and get to have small conversations about what other people believe all the while pointing back to the one true God. (Side note: Moses may or may not refer to Confucius as Confu-shits, and I am pretty sure I will never correct him.) I love to write and for the first time I feel like I am getting a grasp of true grammar rules and how to properly structure sentences (no judging my post, please. I'm still learning and only on a four year old level). The other day I was really sick and felt like I was able to identify and pinpoint exactly what system in my body was not functioning properly, all thanks to CC teaching me all about tissue, muscle, the axial skeletal system, the nervous system and more. It is amazing. I feel like I am enjoying education for the first time ever.
6. It's an international program. I love that CC is literally everywhere, but my favorite part is that my best friend is doing it in D.C. and no matter where you are in the world, the information being taught is the same. My friend and I talk all throughout the week about the lessons and share ideas and activities with one another and it is just one more way that our lives are intersecting even from states away. In a few weeks me and the boys are going to visit her family and because we are doing the same program, our Fall Breaks align and we get to vacay together without anyone's kids missing school. Our kids will have been learning the same things and will be able to relate to one another on that level, which will be fun to see. And, if we ever were to move, we could pick up and find a local CC group near us without missing or skipping a beat because the information taught is universal no matter where you are geographically located. Score.
7. It's Christian. Everything about this curriculum points to God. It seeks to find truth, goodness, and beauty in all that is taught and it points to God as the Creator of all that can be studied, discovered, and known. For a momma who tries to live out Deuteronomy 6:6-9, this curriculum only better helps me to do that and that is a huge win.
8. It's done in community. I'm a little too black and white to be thrown to the wolves and trust myself to home school ALL BY MYSELF WITHOUT ANY HELP. That sounds terrible and like a recipe for failure. I need something to follow, and people to do it with. Mondays are our Community Day where Moses sits in a classroom with a tutor and 8 other students. He is getting the traditional, modern classroom experience while I learn from the tutor and become better equipped on how to continue teaching the material the rest of the week at home. This program allows for mommas to not only share ideas and activities with one another, but to get together and tag team on schoolwork throughout the week. Bonus. Plus, almost all of the curriculum is provided for me and all I am having to supplement this year is Reading, Writing, and Math. I feel like that is totally doable for an amateur momma like me.
And though the curriculum may seem rigorous, don't think we aren't having fun over here. School takes us two hours at the very most and includes a lot of fun & games. Moses is learning his states and capitals by placing chocolate chips on a map, and for every correct answer he and Jones get rewarded with chocolate. What's not to love?! We learn about fine arts by drawing 17th century merchant ships, painting abstract art, step-by-step drawing, and blob mapping. Today we made a spinal cord out of candy and there is a lot of running, jumping, throwing, and hop scotch involved as he learns his numbers, vowels and syllables. And we read a lot! There are a ton of fun children's books on all the history, science, and art lessons we have done. But let's be honest, I think I'm having more fun than he is.
Here are a few pictures of school so far this year. Jones participates with us too but because he is usually in his undies, I'll save him the shame.
Spinal Cord Candy Craft
Today's Nervous System activity. Confession: I may have yelled at my kids in the making of this project. I mean, they were traipsing over and ripping the paper BEFORE WE EVEN STARTED. My controlling nature just cannot deal. We had to stop to pray, confess, and repent of momma's sinful heart before the fun even began. Nothing but real life over here. This activity was actually really fun and helped Moses to learn how the nervous system works. And, because we like to keep things saucy over here, we added undies to our guy. Modesty first, ya'll.
Science Copywork on three kinds of muscle
Moses' first free hand drawing of the United States
Using bean bags to count syllables
Some of our favorite books so far this year are below. Click the pictures to be taken to the Amazon link.
Not that you can tell by the length of this, but I really am trying to weed out my words and shorten my posts so that people can actually hang in there and get through them without falling asleep. So even though I could go on and on and on about why I am loving CC, I think I will stop there. If you ever want to know more, please ask me and I will gladly talk your ear off about it.
Love,
Courtney
