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We had a very successful CC Community Day, kicking off the kids’ sophomore year! I’m so pleased to be able to record what their learning in this 10th Grade: Week 1 Wrap Up, here on the blog, so that we can look back on all that’s been accomplished. I also hope that some of what we’re sharing will help future Classical Conversations Challenge 2 students, too. 

Here’s our 10th Grade: Week 1 Wrap Up

Classical Conversations school work actually begins the week before we meet for our community day, at the end of the week. The Dayngrous Duo attend a weekly community day for thirty weeks where a director facilitates the six seminars. The Dayngrous Duo and I work from a guide/syllabus with assignments for each area of study. Then when we all meet on community day the Dayngrous Duo recap and review what they did that week in lively discussions broken down by topic.

This week we discussed “What makes a miserable person?”.  This should help them see that the small choices they make – whether in the actions they take or their reaction to external circumstances will help determine whether they are miserable as an adult. The theme for this year is CHOICES and we’ll move back to that theme frequently throughout the year. 

With that being said, let’s dive in to the different seminars.

Exposition / British Literature

They’ve finished their first book Beowulf (we started early) and updated their timelines. In Community (during community day) they began defining the word hero, what qualities a hero has and examples of people who are heroes in their opinion. They created a character chart which is a skill they’ll need to learn because they’ll do now for each book they read this year. They also began writing out the literary terms as they applied to this epic poem and are keeping track of them in their rhetorical devices notebook. You can see on the board they were discussing some of this. 

Beowulf Essay Prep and Discussion

In addition to completing Beowulf, they began reading Cantebury Tales in preparation for their upcoming Hero Essay.  

Speaking of essays, their director really went all out this year. She gave each student a set of bookmarks that correspond with the book(s) and essays they’ll be writing. Each bookmark has a picture of the book and the writing prompt that their essay will be based on. They also contain the semester and week in which they’re due. What s wonderful resource. Exceptional, yet, simple. 

What a wonderful resource

Supplements to build on Beowulf 

These are the supplements we use or have used that have been helpful for us.

• Words Aptly Spoken – Brit Lit
• Wakeful Words
• Beowulf Podcast 
• Beowulf Summary Video by Animated Books
• Video on Anglo-Saxon England in the time of Beowulf 
• Beowulf Animation Video ( Beowulf vs. Grendel)
• Spark Notes: Beowulf

Grammar/Latin 

This year, Latin focuses mostly on translation. The children are familiarizing themselves with the layout of the book. As their director stated previously, “...for the most part your student is figuring out why Caesar is killing all those pesky Gauls and his top ten ways to conquer the world. This is where the integration is most beautiful!  Because they have learned HOW to learn a language, Spanish or French will be an easy addition to their knowledge base later.”

We discussed Napoleon and Christ and looked at an overview of the year. We also reviewed the parts of speech in English and connected them to Latin. They updated their timelines to include Christ and Napoleon.

Supplements to build on Latin 2nd Year

These are the supplements we use or have used that have been helpful for us.

• I Heart Latin Videos
• Latin / English Dictionary
• Visual Latin 1 and Visual Latin 2
• Latin with Andy
• Memorizing Latin Videos
• Dwane Thomas

Debate / Western Cultural History (WCH)

We watched Episode I of Francis Schaeffer’s How Should We Then Live – The Roman Age. We also reviewed the book How Should We Then Live. We discussed Cornell Notetaking and went over what is expected for the upcoming artist essays due week 3. We also discussed our upcoming debate a bit and learned that teams will be randomly assigned.

We discussed that the majority of the WCH research will come from our State of the Arts, Marvelous to Behold, The Gift of Music, and Classical Music for Dummies and that the kids’ only need to read the parts of the books or chapters that deal with the artistic period, artist, or the composer they are studying.  They also received an awesome 3-ring binder from their director with writing prompts to help them take notes on the videos, and fill in the information on the artists and composers, along with a notebook. Isn’t that thoughtful and incredibly helpful? 

Supplements to build on Western Cultural History

These are the supplements we use or have used that have been helpful for us.

• How Should We Then Live (Video)
• How Should We Then Live (Amazon Prime) You may be able to find this for free on another streaming service
• Cornell Notes Taking System
• Cornell Method for Taking Notes (short video)

Conversations We Had at Home 

• What is a hero? 
• What was surprising to you about early British history? Were there any potential heroes mentioned in the podcast?  
• Do you agree with Napoleon’s characteristics of human leaders? Are there any you would add? If so, what? 
• In the Berlinghiero painting of Madonna and Child, is Berlinghiero’s vision of Mary and Jesus how you would imagine them? Why or why not? 
• What are you worried most about with Biology? Why? 
• In Logic, what are truth, soundness, and validity? 

What do you think? Is this anything like what your 10th graders are studying? Is this anything like what you studied in 10th grade? I can tell you it wasn’t much like what I learned in 10th grade.

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Sophomore year begins today for the Dayngrous Duo. Tenth grade. That means Challenge II begins today. I can’t believe it. It feels like time is flying by. I am so pleased with how much the kids have grown in wisdom over the last school year using Classical Conversations (CC). 

Sophomores, 1st day of 10th grade!

School is going to be interesting this year with COVID-19 affecting everything. We have a small class of just 10 students (mine included) but we’ll see how that all plays out.  I have to admit, I was hesitant to participate in an in-person community day but I’m keeping an open mind and taking it one day at a time. 

To mark this momentous occasion I thought I’d share a little bit of what they’ll be learning as sophomores along with some of the books they’ll be using, as well as the novels they’ll be reading. This will be a very exciting and rigorous year.

Classical Conversations Challenge II Begins Today!

The overarching theme this year is Freedom allows opportunities for noble choices. As you may recall, Challenge I’s theme was Discipline is the cornerstone of Freedom. Each year builds toward the next. For example, Challenge III’s theme will be All choices bring consequences. 

Sign on the door where we meet for community day

I love that the CC curriculum encourages my children to think deeply and critically while improving their reading, writing, and research skills – all while having open discussions and collaborating with each other in a community-style learning environment.

What will this year cover? 

British Literature, Latin 2, traditional Logic, Algebra and Geometry, Western Cultural History, and Biology provide the academic core for Challenge II. They’ll be moving into a more rhetorical format than their previous Challenge I class as they advance in their language skills, research, writing, dialogue, and debate. Elocution or “style” in written and oral presentations will gain more importance as they learn and practice new types of rhetorical skills, including persuasive, impromptu, and debate presentations.  

The purpose of education is to know God and to make Him known

Here’s what the guide says:

Flowing from the examination of freedom in Challenge I, the theme of Challenge II leads students to weigh the value and impact of choices executed by literary figures and heroes, historical leaders, artistic greats, and other persons of influence. Students contemplate the choices made by leaders in history: Where these choices wise or unwise? Students study the flow and development of ideas that have shaped Western thought and culture and how they’ve influences twenty-first-century thinking. Using the common topics as a model (definition, comparison, relationship, circumstance, and testimony) students practice the art of questioning in order to gain clarity and insight. This insight leads to deep and profound conversations that consider consequences.

They did so well last year in Challenge I that I am confident this year will build upon everything they learned last year and just take it to the next level. I was so impressed with how easily they fell into a groove as we switched to this new curriculum. 

10th Grade – The Books

Here’s a quick peek at some of the books we’re diving into this year. I love, love, love reading, so I will be reading along with the kids again this year. We thoroughly enjoyed it last year because we could all discuss what we read and it was so much easier for me to help them when the time came to discuss and prep for their essays.

The kids each have their own copies of the Biology book, Logic and Logic Workbook, Words Aptly Spoken: British Literature, and Words Aptly Spoken: Socratic Dialogs (the latter two aren’t pictured because I forgot to grab them out of the drawer).

Stack one of this year’s Challenge 2 books

Second Year Latin

Latin 2 is going to focus primarily on translations rather than exercises, though there are still going to be some exercises and vocabulary words. 

From their director:

For the most part your student is figuring out why Caesar is killing all those pesky Gauls and his top ten ways to conquer the world. This is where the integration is most beautiful!  Because they have learned HOW to learn a language, Spanish or French will be an easy addition to their knowledge base later.

The Second Year Henle Latin book was very thick and the kids mentioned that last year they didn’t like how hard it was to work in the book since it didn’t lay flat. To fix this problem, I had their books split into two sections and spiral bound for their convenience. You can see first-year Latin in between, too. This is a must to hold on to because your children will refer back to it often. 

Barnes and Noble Editions

Their director this year tipped me off to the Barnes and Noble (BN) educator discount, I was able to get a few of their books through BN. As you’ll see, some are the BN Classics which include a note from the author, an introduction, footnotes, endnotes, and more. You can learn more about BN Classics by clicking here. I highly recommend them for your students.

Others are part of the BN Collectible Editions which are gorgeous. I chose these over the CC Bookstore versions for a few reasons. They’re classics we’ll want to hold on to and the typeface is bigger than the Thrift Dover Editions. You might want to check them out for your Classical Conversations students, too. It’s really all about what you and your children prefer.

If you’re curious about what books I recommend your tenth grader read, check out my list “Books Every Tenth Grader Needs.”

Barnes and Noble’s Collectible Editions and Barnes and Noble Classics

Challenge II Community Day

The kids meet one day a week, at a local church, to have conversations about the work they’ve completed and to prepare with their director for the week ahead. This year’s Challenge 2 class on our campus is 10 teens, including both Bella and Rex. Three girls and the rest are boys. Out of the entire class, only 3 of the boys were kids they didn’t know. 

We’ve got a big room this year, perfect for social distancing, couches, tables, chairs, and we have a big screen TV for any of the media we may watch.  There’s plenty of hand sanitizer for everyone. Plus, my kids have their masks and their own hand sanitizer. I also love that our director diffuses Thieves each time we meet.

I’ll be updating how things are going and including what the kids have accomplished as we progress through the year. I hope you’ll follow along. Wish us luck! It’s going to be a great year. 

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It’s official. High school begins today. The Dayngrous Duo are now high schoolers. That whole sentence is too much for me! 

High School Begins Today

I can’t believe my babies aren’t babies anymore. They’ve transitioned from middle school to high school and we are continuing to homeschool. This year, however, we’re switching from My Father’s World, which we’ve used since we began homeschooling in fourth grade (and loved) to Classical Conversations (aka CC).

To mark this momentous occasion I thought I’d share a little bit of what they’ll be learning as freshmen along with some of the books they’ll be using and the novels they’ll be reading. It’s a big step for all of us. 

Classical Conversations – Challenge I

This year they’re going into Challenge I. The overarching theme is Discipline is the cornerstone of Freedom. Each year builds toward the next. For example, Challenge II’s theme will be Freedom allows opportunities for noble choices.

Shortest list of school supplies ever!

I love that through the CC curriculum students are encouraged to think deeply and critically while improving their reading, writing, and research skills – all while having open discussions and collaborating with each other in a community setting.

Challenge I includes thorough studies in American literature, American government, formal logic, Latin, physical science, algebra, free-market economics, and Shakespeare, students hone their dialectical skills and prepare for the rhetorical focus of later Challenges. Yes, they’re going to learn Latin. 

The purpose of education is to know God and to make Him known

Here’s what the guide says: 

In his famous speech “Liberty or Death,” Patrick Henry states that freedom is for “the vigilant, the active, and the brave.” The same is true of a learner and his lesson. By devoting time, energy, and attention to the lessons of personal investment, ownership, and discipline, the learner has developed a form for successful learning. Freedom is a prevalent theme in the literature that Challenge I students read; they consider how Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson manage their freedom. As the students wrestle with assignments and challenges, they travel the path of personal investment, ownership, and discipline. They can now experience greater freedom in their own rhetorical expression. Greater freedom brings expanded choices.

Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it? Honestly, this is either going to be a hit or a huge miss. They’re either going to rise to the challenge (no pun intended) or go into meltdown mode. I believe they’re going to rise to the challenge for a couple of reasons – 

• They finished their work pretty quickly this last year of middle school
• More challenging material was needed
• They were interested in a well-rounded and diverse study group of their peers
• Previous co-ops were lacking what interested us

9th Grade – The Books

Here’s a quick peek at some of the books we’re diving into this year. I’m excited. I was able to get many of them used so I didn’t have to pay full price. We’ll see how that works out as we go.  As you can see, it’s a big stack and there are doubles of some items like workbooks.

Now, these aren’t all of the books they’ll be using, just the ones I had stacked when I decided to take the picture. A few that come to mind but aren’t in the photo are The Scarlet Letter, which I read in high school, Walden, Up From Slavery, Frederick Douglass, and Billy Budd the Sailor. You can check out the full list of Challenge I books on the CC Bookstore Website. 

If you’d like to grab copies of the books and educational resources I recommend every ninth grader have, check out my list “Books Every 9th Grader Needs.”

Community Day

The kids meet one day a week, at a local church, to have conversations around the work they’ve completed and to prepare with their director for the week ahead. The class is 6 teens, including both Bella and Rex. Three boys, and three girls. Best of all, they know everyone. Absolutely perfect! 

Wish us luck! It’s going to be a great year.

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