Are you thinking of joining Classical Conversations and have a large family? Are you unsure if it will be a great fit and will meet the needs of your whole family?
We are currently in our third year of Classical Conversations and it has immensely blessed our six children and my husband and I. Previously we had participated in different homeschool co-ops. Even though most of these were great groups of homeschoolers, it always felt disjointed to me. I would go through all the struggles involved with getting seven people out of the door, lunches, backpacks, strollers, shoes. (To people who don’t have a lot of kids, shoes may seem unnecessary to mention, but all the big family mamas will understand.) We would make it through the day and I would literally have no idea what my kids learned in class and there was no connection during the week to what they learned. Not to mention, I usually had to teach quite a few of these classes to afford the classes my children were in. I also have two sweet special needs girls who were very stressed out by the transitions involved in co-op day. They would navigate from classroom to classroom, new teacher, new kids. We would get home and they would absolutely break down, it was too much stimulation for their little bodies. I knew something had to change! I, and a couple of my children, are extremely extroverted, but we still decided to take the next year off of co-ops to figure out a better option.
I do homeschool evaluations and was all of a sudden completing a lot of evaluations for Classical Conversations families. These families didn’t usually bring tons of curriculum or even have a ton of written work, but they seemed to have a peace that I was so desperately craving for my own family. I began to research and pray during our year off and Classical Conversations seemed like it might be the answer for us.
Advantages for Classical Conversations for a big family
1.) This benefit doesn’t just apply to big families, but God is integrated throughout all the parts of the curriculum. The motto of CC is to know God, and to make him known. He is beautifully woven through all of strands the children are learning.
2.) The children are learning the same material 4yo-6th grade. Finally, I knew exactly what my kids were learning each week and was able to implement it during the week. Even better, I was able to redeem my own education as I learned with them. This is also a huge time saver because I was teaching everyone the same material.
3.)The community has been huge for our family. My kids have many of the same friends, they all sit together at lunch. We never feel as if we are always having to split everyone up. The kids also have the same tutor all morning and the same classmates. This was huge for my twin girls. They are so comfortable in their class because they have been able to establish intimate friendships. In the afternoon they are in a writing, grammar and math class and again have the same classmates and tutors. I have the same teacher guide as the tutor so I could implement at home.
Possible Disadvantages for a large family
1.) The cost can put off a lot of large families. I will not lie, the tuition is a significant amount of our budget. Also it seems like a huge amount because it is all due before the school year starts, but it actually wasn’t anymore than the other co-ops we were part of. I was just used to paying monthly. I can honestly tell you, it is worth it though. I have been able to tutor every year to help with the cost. This also has been a benefit to me over traditional co-ops. I was having to develop my own curriculum and come up with what to teach for each of my classes. CC has taken all of the guesswork out of tutoring. They give training and teaching tools to tutor. While I am listing this as a disadvantage, I can honestly say I am thankful I have been able to tutor. It has made me be more vested in my children’s education.
Overall, God has a different path for each of our families and our homeschool journey. For us, Classical Conversations has been so very beneficial for our family and I am so very thankful we have had the option of participating.
