‘Tis the season to start thinking about next year–co-ops, curriculums, field trips, OH MY! Lately, it seems that every other conversation I have is about Classical Conversations. There seem to be some re-occurring questions. I’m hoping to address some of them here but feel free to comment and ask your own. Because my experience is only with Foundations, I’ll stick with those.
What cycle is coming up for 2012-2013?
Cycle 1. You don’t have to start at Cycle 1 but it seems like a convenient year to start. The entire country is on Cycle 1. Neat, huh?
When should my child start CC?
Technically, a child can start at age 4. If your oldest or only child is 4, I would play for another year and consider starting CC at 5 or 6. I have a Kindergarten plan that wouldn’t necessarily include CC especially if my Kindergartner was my only or oldest. However, if you have other Foundation-age students, your 4-year-old will have to go unless you have outside childcare. A 4-year-old will retain an amazing amount of info. We don’t hold our little guy accountable for CC material but we’re amazed at how much he retains naturally. Just this morning he was singing about the colonial period in the shower at the top of his lungs.
What other curricula will I need?
That depends. Helpful, huh? Let’s start with Math and Language Arts. You’ll need those at an appropriate level for each of your kiddos. Language Arts can be phonics, spelling, writing and/or grammar. We don’t push writing/grammar very hard before Essentials since that program does such a great job at covering them.
On to History and Science. If you’ve been following me, you know that I chose to expand on the CC Foundations memory work and not use a separate curriculum. If you do opt to do something formal outside of CC in these areas, I would definitely choose a curriculum that complements CC. The families I know that are adding CC to another complete curriculum see CC as a stressor instead of the backbone of their curriculum.
The other requirements for our state are PE, Health, Art, and Music. You’ll definitely need PE and Health curriculum/activities. The CC Art and Music might slide by on their own. It really depends on your oversight organization or reviewer.
What do I need to buy (after paying tuition and fees)?
I honestly you can just get by with the CC Connected (private forum & file sharing) and a tin whistle. It turns out we’re not a flashcard family (and we’d probably create our own as a review exercise if we were). All the info you need that’s found in the other resources (CDs, curriculum guide, etc.) seems to be downloadable on CC Connected.
How will my child with special needs do?
I haven’t personally participated in other formal homeschool communities or co-ops, but I think CC is a great fit for kids with special needs. Because CC is mostly verbal and does not have formal accountability (no one is grading or evaluating the students), kids with dys-anything will do fine. Our community has about a 3 year age range per class so there is already a mix of abilities in each class so that a child with a learning disability would not stand out. Additionally, the classes are pretty interactive so kids with ADD/ADDHD should do fine especially if they are given tools adaptive tools such as weighted lap friends, chewelry, or fidgets.
Tell me about Memory Masters.
Memory Masters is completely optional and geared toward the older kids (8ish and up). Around this time of year, students have the option to proof (or test) with a parent, then tutor, then director to see if they know every blessed piece of information from the 24 weeks. Special recognition will be given to Memory Masters.
Any other questions? Feel free to ask more by commenting below.