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Preparing for Classical Conversations Challenge I: Student & Parent Edition

As a director and a parent, first semester of Challenge I kicked my butt.

I was NOT ready. Fully unprepared. I didn’t expect the changes that were facing us. We had struck up a good routine for Challenge A and B (which I had also directed with the same kids). But when Challenge I started, I realized it was no longer a routine, it was a rut. And it was NOT working for us in Challenge I. The first six or eight weeks were very bumpy as all of us, parents, students, and myself, tried to find a new normal in the workload, the expectations, and the class time.

The good news is, second semester has been the smoothest, easiest, absolute BEST semester I’ve ever had at CC. So here’s my advice for parents and students on what to do over the summer to be ready for each strand of Challenge I. If you don’t do school in the summer, I would still suggest getting back into schoolwork at least three weeks before CC starts back up. That’s reasonable–CC only covers 150 of your 180 days, so you’ve got to fit that other 30 days in somewhere. This is a way to get most of it.

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Neuropsych Testing for Home Schoolers

First, I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for so long. Truthfully, directing Challenge 1 has kicked my butt. I knew that it was a big step up from Challenge B, because traditionally it is the switch from middle school to high school. However, most of my students are older and were already in high school, so I forgot. I did not plan properly and was caught off guard. I promise to have a blog post on that soon enough!

For now, I’d like to share our experiences with my youngest son’s need for neuropsych testing. As a homeschooler, it was not the easiest path and if our journey through it can help anyone else, I will be thrilled.

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The Newport Cliffwalk–With Kids!

Rhode Island may be the smallest state but it’s filled to the brim with fun and unique things to do . On a recent trip, we decided to take the kids to one of the most fun places in the state–the Newport Cliffwalk. Now, I grew up in the area and I have done the cliffwalk many, MANY times. But I forgot a lot of things about it. That and I had never done the cliff walk as a MOTHER. The last time I did it, was a year before getting married. It had been a LONG TIME.

So we were a bit caught off guard and didn’t plan quite as well as we could have. It was still a fabulous day and I can’t recommend enough that you take a day to do this if you find yourself in New England. Plan well and your day will be smooth. Be like me, and you might hit a few bumps. Here are nine things to know before you go!

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The Easiest Way to Lesson Plan Your Entire Home School Year!

We are now beginning our tenth year of home schooling. I’ve got things running pretty smoothly at this point but it’s taken us quite awhile to get here. We have tried so many different ways of doing things and none of them have worked very well. But the way we do it now is pretty fool-proof and I’m loving it.

At first, I did try to plan the entire year out. I would go through an entire book and break it down into daily lessons and assign each lesson to a date in my lesson planner. Then I’d get the next book out and go back to the beginning of the planner and do the same thing. When I was done, I had every subject planned out to be broken into what to do each day. The trouble was, I had assigned those lessons to dates. And I had assigned how much had to be done in a given day. So even if we could keep up on math, we might fall behind three days in science and a week in history.

As you can imagine, this was a disaster. I had decided in August exactly what we were going to do on May 10 of the following year! What a mess. By the end of September we were, inevitably, “behind” and drowning because we had to “catch up”. But we were catching up to self-imposed deadlines that didn’t even matter! And I was making myself SICK over it.

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Teaching Textbooks & Classical Conversations: A Fabulous Fit

One of my favorite things about Classical Conversations is that it is NOT a one-size-fits-all boxed curriculum. There is so much room for making it work the way you want and need it to for your home. Two of the biggest areas for flexibility are choosing a phonics program that works for your child in preschool and elementary school and then choosing a math curriculum that works best for each of your children from kindergarten through high school. Of course, CC has recommendations for what they would suggest you use but it’s merely a suggestion because CC takes to heart the belief that YOU are the best teacher for your child and you know your child best. Every child has a different learning style and every child needs a math program that suits his or her needs. But I also believe that you need to choose a curriculum that suits YOUR needs as a teacher.

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What’s In Our Morning Basket 2019-2020?!?

Are you a fan of morning baskets? We are. As my kids are getting older and spending so much time on their separate curriculum, I was really feeling that our home school was missing something. It felt disjointed and incomplete. Last year, I caught on to the idea of a morning basket, and we really loved it. For one thing, it meant family time during our school day. In the midst of all the chaos, the extracurriculars, and the Henle Latin, we found time to sit together and learn as a family. Plus, the ONE thing that I don’t like about CC’s Challenge program is that it doesn’t leave much room for the extras, the fun stuff. And it left my oldest feeling a little disconnected from her brothers. But our morning basket time means coming together for about half an hour and learning as a family. It’s been really good for us. You can read more about last year’s morning basket here.

This year, I went a little overboard. But please keep in mind, we don’t do something from EVERY book on this list daily! We use a loop schedule and do one item from each book for however much time we have set aside for that day (generally 30-45 minutes). Wherever we leave off on Monday, we pick up on Tuesday and keep going. So it doesn’t matter if it’s just TOO MUCH for one day. We do what we can from one day to the next and we are never behind because nothing is assigned to a specific day.

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Three Tools You NEED for Your Home School!

I am gearing up to begin my tenth year of home schooling. TENTH YEAR. I find that hard to believe. I’ve learned a lot. Honestly, I’ve probably learned more than my kids. I’ve soaked up the chance to read books I didn’t have time for when I was in school. I’ve absolutely loved learning Latin and re-learning algebra, and so much more.

One of my school supply areas, in the corner of the living room. We do not have a school room in our 1200 square foot house! I love that these three machines do not take up much space and save me so much trouble!

But one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that there’s no substitute for the right tools. I’m cheap. I am one to always go the cheap route because I hate spending money more than anything else in the world. But over time I’ve learned that the right tools may cost more upfront but they save a lot of time and a lot of headaches along the way. And honestly, they save you money in the long term, too. Today I’m sharing with you the three tools that I could not live without in my home school day, why they are helpful, and the ways I tried to “save money” by avoiding them at first.

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We Survived Challenge B (and You Will, Too!)

What. A. Year.

Seriously, this was intense. There were points when I just wasn’t sure we’d all come out the other side. Having short stories due just before Mock Trial, while still keeping up with Logic, Latin, Research, and Math was a lot to take on.

First day of Challenge B!

It got so ugly, I picked up my phone a few times and started to call my Support Rep to cancel my contract for next year. I’m not kidding. I felt like the kids were drowning and they were pulling me down with them.

But, somehow, we all came through the other side. It really brings to mind the lyrics of an old Rascal Flatts song, Stand. “You feel like a candle in a hurricane. Just like a picture in a broken frame. Alone and helpless, like you’ve lost your fight. But you’ll be all right. Because when push comes to shove, you taste what you’re made of. You might bend ’til you break, cause it’s all you can take. On your knees, you look up, decide you’ve had enough. You get mad. You get strong. Wipe your hands, shake it off. Then you stand.”

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The Five Resources You NEED for Planning The Best Disney Vacation EVER!

Going on a Disney World vacation requires a lot of planning. It is a complex place with many factors to consider. Lack of planning will inevitably lead to waiting in long lines and paying too much money. Personally, I won’t pay thousands of dollars to stand in long lines. Call me crazy, but that doesn’t sound like a wise way to spend money–or to have fun.

In order to get the most bang for my buck, I’ve become something of a Disney expert. I’ve researched, read books, joined forums, asked questions, tried out planning tools, and experimented in the parks  to find what worked and what didn’t.  I spend much time each week talking Disney to friends and strangers, giving them advice and sharing my experiences. And one of the things I share the most is a list of my favorite resources. The best way to enjoy Disney World is to arm yourself with all the information so you can make well informed decisions on how to spend your days–and your money. Here are my top five resources for helping you make the most of your trip.

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