2015-16 school year underway!

We're off to a great start this fall. We have nearly full classes for Foundations, but we can still accommodate one child in each of the Apprentice (grades 1-2) and Journeymen (grades 3-6) classes. We also have space in the Essentials program (grades 4-6, afternoon) for several students. If you are interested in visiting and/or joining, or just learning more about CC, please contact us at cclehighvalley@yahoo.com.

June information meeting

For many parents, an evening meeting isn't an ideal time. So Saturday, June 27, we're going to hold an information meeting, 8-10 AM, at Wegmans Supermarket (upstairs in the cafe area), 5000 Wegmans Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18017 (just north of the Rt. 512/Center St. exit from US-22).

We will discuss what it means to teach classically from a Christian worldview, how CC embodies that model and how it encourages students and supports parents in learning this way at home.  We will share about the Foundations (K4-6th), Essentials (3rd-6th), and Challenge (7th-12th) programs and take your questions.

Classical Conversations exists to help students to "know God and to make him known."  Come learn the details about what makes our homeschool community different.

To RSVP, please email cclehighvalley@yahoo.com or call (610) 807-9842.

Information meeting - what is CC about?

Classical Conversations of the Lehigh Valley is hosting an informational meeting on Thursday, March 5, 7:30-9:00 PM, to share what is happening on our campus. We will be discussing what it means to teach classically from a Christian worldview, how CC embodies that model and how it encourages students and supports parents in learning this way at home. We will hear from the directors of our programs about how our community day runs and one of our moms will share how she plans for and directs the program in her home. Resources will be available for you to view.

Classical Conversations exists to help students to "know God and to make him known". Come learn the details about what makes our homeschool community different.

If you are interested in coming to our meeting (at the home of one of our community members) in Bethlehem, please email cclehighvalley@yahoo.com or call (610) 807-9842 to RSVP and get location information. We look forward to seeing you.

New open houses announced

Want to know more about Classical Conversations? Want to see us in action? Come on any of the following dates (all Tuesdays):

January 20, 2015
February 10, 2015

Foundations, for ages 4-12, runs 9 am-noon. Essentials, for grades 3-6 (yes, the ages overlap), is 1-3 pm.

Please contact the director at cclehighvalley@yahoo.com to let us know you're coming. You are welcome to bring your child(ren) with you, and they can participate in the program as well. You'll have time both to see what the classes are doing, and to talk individually with members of the community about the program. We look forward to seeing you!

A day in the life

What happens in a typical day at Classical Conversations here in the Lehigh Valley? One part of every session is presentations: from K-4 on up, each student makes a 2-3 minute presentation. It might be "My favorite Christmas present," "A historical person I admire," "Something I did this summer," or a host of other topics.

We want our students to be comfortable formally speaking to people, conveying information, asking and answering questions.

Art is a part of each week: Sometimes we're studying artists, other times we're making art, either visual or musical. All students learn to play the tin whistle (similar to a recorder). At other times of the year, we may listen to classical music, discuss a painting, or experiment with various ways of creating art.

We review our memory work for the week: our timeline of the world, a history sentence giving a snapshot of a period or event, grammar rules, science facts, "skip counting" (math multiples), geography, and the like. Most memory work is on a three-year cycle, so a child who enters Foundations in kindergarten will eventually repeat all the memory work at least twice. There is time for hands-on learning and review about geography, such as marking rivers, states, and continents on a map. Science experiments teach the scientific method and bring concepts to life.