Over the past couple weeks, several of our CC moms have asked me what I recommend for the summer months. Should you be doing school year round? Do you continue reviewing all the memory work from Cycle 3? Do you start working ahead on Cycle 1? The answer to this question is actually simple: it's completely up to you!
Summer School
Some families continue to do school through the summer months. They just keep on plowing forward with reading and math and move at the student's pace. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that method, please know that it's okay to take a break. You've worked hard by the end of those long 180 days of school, not to mention 24 rigorous weeks of Classical Conversations. Give yourself permission to take a deep breath and send the kids outside to play. Each family handles the summer months differently and that's the beauty of homeschooling… it's totally up to you! My family does a lot of reading over the summer, but we don't have a structured school time each day like we do during the school year.
Review, Review, Review
The summer months are a perfect time to keep reviewing the memory work you just finished. Maybe you could even expand on some of the memory work a bit by doing some science experiments, art projects, or field trips that you didn't have time to conquer during the school year. Even if you spend one day a week doing some review, it will pay off big time. If nothing else, keep the memory work CD in the car and continue letting the kids listen to it. Play the Timeline once in awhile (yes, I know - you sing it in your sleep already!).
Plan for Cycle 1
Summer gives you time to start making some plans for Cycle 1. Go ahead and look through your Foundations guide and get familiar with the material for Cycle 1. There is no need to make the kids work on it before we start classes in August, but if you already have a good working knowledge of the material, you will be better equipped to teach them this fall.
Get to Know Essentials
If you have a student that will be enrolling in Essentials this fall, take some time to read through the EEL handbook. It's going to be overwhelming at first, but hang in there, mama! I promise that by the end of the first year, you will have a better grasp of what's going on. We just finished our first year with Essentials and it wasn't until we were near the end when I finally had a good lightbulb moment and it clicked. I wish I had spent some time last summer reading through the materials in more detail because it would have given me a head start.
Remember Stick in the Sand
Most importantly, remember that the beauty of the Foundations stage is that it is all about repetition. It's not a short race, but a marathon. Keep it simple! Your kids don't need to understand every detail about the events in the timeline right now. Just knowing the timeline will work to their advantage when they move into the Challenge program.
Think of this time as the stage where you are giving your child pieces of a puzzle. In the grammar stage, they are collecting pieces, holding them, and just getting to know the shape and feel of them. When they reach the dialectic phase, they will start to figure out how to connect those pieces into small sections. The whole picture won't come together until they reach the Rhetoric Stage and then they will have a masterpiece to show for their years of hard work.
Finally, please know that your director is here rooting for you, praying for your family, and cheering you on as we embark on this adventure together. If you ever need anything at all, I'm only a phone call or email away. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need help. After all, that is what the CC community is there for!
Have a blessed week!
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