A long time ago I ran a marathon. In Alaska. At the base of Mt. McKinley. Seriously, in my current fitness state that idea feels ridiculous now. It sounded like a good idea at the time. My husband to be and I were newly engaged and it felt like the...
Read the Full Article
Audio File One of the best things our parents ever did for me and my sister, Sarah, was let us get bored. “Good,” Mom would say when I whined to her that I was bored. “If you’re never bored, then you’ll never learn how to make fun for yourself.”...
Read the Full Article
It happens almost every day. Our two-year-old sits at the top of the stairs, motions for me to sit next to him, and gestures to the family portrait as he points out, “Mama? Daddy? Baby?” Together, we scoot down the stairs one at a time, studying that portrait, repeating...
Read the Full Article
Are you considering joining a Challenge community—even though your child has not been through a Foundations program? You probably have loads of questions, a great deal of excitement, and maybe a few concerns. The lure of integrated subjects, the offer of organized, weekly wrestling with big ideas, and the...
Read the Full Article
When families begin homeschooling, they often ask veteran homeschool parents how to find the best homeschool curriculum. This raises the question: Is there such a thing as THE best homeschool curriculum? Is there one curriculum that meets the needs of all students or all families?
Read the Full Article
Audio File Recently I did something brave. I took my own advice. I have said that if you want your children to be vulnerable with you, you have to be vulnerable with them. So, when I sensed that my daughter who turned twelve this summer was beginning to hold...
Read the Full Article
Public school teachers usually juggle a classroom of students who vary in learning abilities and styles. It’s difficult for them to give every student the individual attention they need. In homeschooling, parents have the opportunity to develop their child’s strengths and improve on their weaknesses.
Read the Full Article
On May 28, 585 BC, the shadow of the moon fell upon Greece and Asia Minor, the sky went dark in the middle of the day, and a new era dawned upon Western civilization. Although total solar eclipses are not uncommon on the earth, the unique thing about this...
Read the Full Article
Audio File Are you a Trekkie or Warsie? As a kid, I was a pure Star Trek fan. Don’t get me wrong, Star Wars is definitely great, but Star Trek will always hold a special place in my heart, I think because it reminds me of my entire family...
Read the Full Article
Saint Benedict (480-547) lived in an era of decline in the Roman Empire. He realized that it was growing difficult to practice true Christianity given the cultural temperature of his day. Instead of falling prey to the weaknesses his society suffered from, Benedict “retreated” to establish a series of...
Read the Full Article
By John Carpenter & April Foster COMMUNICATIONS TEAM Early August is either an exciting time or a terrifying time as a homeschool parent, depending on your perspective and your level of preparedness. For most Classical Conversations’ parents and their children, this is a very exciting time of year! The...
Read the Full Article
The first part of this article offered some examples of questions that I believe need to be asked and answered about keeping home education records. In contemplating those questions, homeschooling families can come to understand the purposes and principles behind the record keeping and this will help them devise the...
Read the Full Article