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So, since Classical Conversations only meets once per week, what do we do the rest of the time? What does Classical Conversations look like at home?
I offer this as just one way to do CC at home, but it depends on each family’s particular circumstances and dynamic. Even our “Classical Conversations at Home” approach has shifted over the past decade. At one time we correlated several crafts and activities to our memory work (check out our list of links for Cycle 1, Cycle 2, and Cycle 3). Other times we’ve opted for Homeschool in the Woods unit studies (which are some of our most favorite learning experiences as a family!). Over time, we’ve come to focus more on reading great stories aloud together. In other words, no matter your family’s particular bent, you can use CC as a framework for your homeschool year.
So… let’s start with what I consider a “bare bones” schedule…
This year, our family’s schedule often (or sometimes?) looks more like this (okay, okay, at least it’s what we’re aiming for!):
You can read more details about the above schedule here. And if you’re puzzling over the “loop schedule” reference, be sure to check out our explanation of a loop schedule. Loop scheduling has been a wonderful way to incorporate the beautiful things into our homeschool days!
Below I’ve included an overview of what CC at home looked like for us in 2011 when our oldest was in 2nd grade. (He is now graduating. Really, time has passed all too quickly!) I’ve included curricular updates to hopefully prevent others from using the trial-and-error methods we used in selecting and settling on particular curriculum. To see how our schedule has changed since then, see Homeschool Scheduling Simplified.
We split up our days into 1-hour increments. We do this simply for organization. As soon as the boys finish their work for that time period, they take a break for the remainder of that time period. Even though it says, “8AM-9AM,” we take at least a 10-minute break before going to the next hour. Anything they don’t finish during that time period is assigned as “homework” at the end of the day. Over the course of our day, our two-year-old plays, colors, and does other activities out of his special “school’s in session” box.
To be honest, this is not usually how our homeschool days look.
8AM-9AM: Morning Routine
9AM-10AM: Memory Work: This is the only subject where we might not take a break afterwards because we are up and running around playing the majority of the time.
10AM-11AM: Math
Though Classical Conversations contains math memory work that includes times tables through the 15s, squares, cubes, geometry, unit conversions and algebraic laws, a separate math curriculum is needed. We’ve used several different programs, but Saxon Math seems to be a good fit for some of our children for grades K-6. For a glimpse of some of the things we’ve used, see our previous posts on Math Curriculum.
11AM-12PM: Language Arts: Reading & Penmanship
Because Language Arts includes oral reading, spelling, grammar, and writing, we usually split it up into two hours. Until students can join the Essentials program (Grade 3 or 4), a separate Language Arts program is needed to supplement Classical Conversations. We’ve split language arts up into two hours because it includes so much.
12PM-1PM: LUNCH & OUTSIDE BREAK
1PM-2PM: Language Arts (English Grammar & Writing)
We’ve enjoyed using Bible Heroes Writing Lessons for 2nd or 3rd grade and Fix-It Grammar. We like doing unit studies and lapbooks, so literature studies have also been a good fit for us in the past. We have used a couple of different programs for spelling and phonics/reading program as well. Our favorite has been All About Spelling and All About Reading. For Grades 4-6, you can also include a Latin program. For learning to write, we use Roller Coaster Writer & Letter Connector. As a side note, reading is not something we do only during Language Arts. We read A LOT.
2-3PM: Other Subjects
Here’s where you can include activities or readings that complement the memory work. For example, for Cycle 3 we used a homemade “My USA Notebook” that consisted of Crayola Coloring Pages and notebooking/penmanship/activity pages and completed 1-2 state coloring pages per day. Check out our resources here: Cycle 1 | Cycle 2 | Cycle 3. Here are some things we’ve done during this timeframe:
Each day of the week is assigned a subject focus. For example, after completing their daily work for the “My USA Notebook,” on Wednesdays they will also have a special activity for Art or Music. While the boys often practice music or art almost every day of the week, I’ve set aside Wednesdays as our days to really focus on Art & Music. We may create a lapbook or craft that goes with the topics we’re studying for that subject in Classical Conversations. If we don’t have anything special for that subject for that week, we have many additional Bible crafts and games that we can complete.
After 3:00 PM: Finish anything we didn’t complete.
We listen to audio cds of our memory work in the car, and we also listen to stories quite a bit using audiobooks or old time radio programs. It not only gives us more information surrounding that which we are memorizing, it also trains them to listen. Not many people can do that very well (including me!).
Tuesdays are our Classical Conversations meeting days, so on Mondays we spend some time putting together presentations. For our pre-schooler (in the Abecedarian class), this usually consists of me trying to figure out which toy he wants to “show-and-tell.” Most of the time he takes a book that he knows and reads it to his class, or he takes his Legos to explain how to count to 10, or he talks about a field trip we took using a toy as a prop. Our 2nd grader’s presentations are more formal – we put together note cards or other helps for him. I give both of them quite a bit of freedom in this area, as it is simply a skill that we want to practice and gradually refine as they get older.
This schedule is general, as sometimes we start earlier or later, but we still allocate about an hour’s time for each subject. Because the boys usually finish each of our scheduled “hours” of tasks before the end of the hour, they have a break for the remainder of the time. (This means that our two-year-old’s breaks are longer than our 5-year-old’s breaks, which in turn are longer than our 7-year-old’s breaks.) And we also incorporate nature study into our school days. Everything tends to go much better if we go outside every day to enjoy God’s creation!
How do we “build” upon the Classical Conversations curriculum?
Our 7-year-old loves lapbooking, building things, and making crafts. I usually find a way to incorporate these to learn more details regarding our memory work. For example, this year we studied six weeks of astronomy facts. So, in addition to this, we completed a rather large Astronomy Lapbook (see our previous post). We did the same thing for the Medieval and Renaissance Periods. Because much of the material we studied during the spring has been about world wars, history was not a focal point in our extra work this semester (it’s an emotional topic for young children). However, we watched and discussed The Sound of Music, listened to the corresponding Story of the World audiobooks, and completed some unit studies on South Korea and Norway. Our favorite sites to find additional free activities are: homeschoolshare, Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool, and crayola.com. To be honest, there are so many free resources out there. Select something your child likes to do and go for it! (Our favorite studies have been from Homeschool in the Woods.)
There are many things I’d like to do, and I plan as if we will be able to do them, but I also let reality come into play as I’m provided many opportunities to “Let go and let God.” The goal is to instill a love of God and a love of learning in my children. I can’t do that if I’m a tyrant trying to stay on schedule. We have tons of games in our home that allow us to review topics from math to Bible. When my actual plans go south, it really is great to have a fun back-up plan. 🙂
For more information on classical education, I highly recommend Karen Glass’s Consider This. For additional information regarding Classical Conversations, visit the Classical Conversations website. Resources on our website can be found at the following links:
If this is your first time visiting our website, please visit our Welcome Page to orient yourself to what you can find here! And… as always, feel free to contact me with your thoughts or questions by leaving a comment or by sending me an email!
