I really love this walk through of your decision to go with CC. It’s something I am praying about right now for my youngest who I feel could really use the community and is possibly still at the point to jump in and not feel lost or behind. My older 2 would have probably benefited but are in a good place. Thank you for sharing your experiences!! It is such a blessing to have choices! ❤
Yes!! Choices are nice!!! I’m glad I can help and pray that the Lord will make his way clear for you so that you can have perfect peace on that decision!!! 😘
I just want to say I love your videos. You’re real and transparent. You don’t sugar coat the struggle of homeschooling. And I deeply appreciate that as someone who often feels like no one understands how hard this is for me.
🩷💕🩷💕yep! We are in a club that only we can understand! I felt like amongst my own friends…they just didn’t get it! So I’m very thankful to be that person for you to help you not feel so alone. And thank you so much for telling me how much you appreciate my honesty bc sometimes even when I’m sharing with you all….i feel like an anomaly. But you all remind even me….WE ARE NORMAL!! Parenting and homeschooling is NOT easy. It’s a challenge. It’s a beautiful challenge that is refining us into fine pieces of gold!!! 😄
It’s 5:45am, my families asleep, and I literally squealed out loud when you said CC. God leads each of us on journeys we may not have planned. I wish your family all the best this upcoming year ❤.
❤❤❤❤❤ I love your transparency, i’m an SR for 4 (3 at capacity)and direct my own full community (F/E ) . I was offered to take more communities, our state manager is all about metrics. If you can show your good handling it, it’s fine ! CC is a huge blessing to me and my kids, the rich conversations, the discussion it puts forth. I have a 3,11,and 15! Love to see some Essentials videos! 🤓🤓🤓😘
Excited for you and your family! We are currently in CC starting this year with my first Challenge A student, an Essential student, and two in Foundations and am also tutoring Foundations. A little scared with the work load we are going to have but jumping in full force.
I think taking on the workload is very different when you have a community behind you vs doing it all on your own! I hope you have a great year as well!!! We start Tuesday with Challenge and I’m very excited to see how it goes!
It’s so hard to push your kids in a direction they aren’t comfortable in going. You clearly are following the Lord’s leading which never leads us astray. Note to self: boba and shopping for challenging news with teenage girls. 😂
We’ll be starting our 5th CC year this next year and I LOVE it. It’ll also be my 5th year tutoring (first two years was Foundations and then I’ve been tutoring Essentials and I LOVE it so much). I love CC so much and I found you because of your video about why you left CC. Watching that video really made me so thankful for my community. I have an AWESOME community and I know that makes such a huge difference. I also have been very realistic and honest with myself about what I can do in this season of life. Being an SR or something like that would NOT be good for me in this season of my life, but maybe one day it would be! So glad to hear you’re coming back to CC! I know my children’s education is so much better with it!
Thank you!!! We’re really excited! And I just found out today that I do, INDEED, get to tutor Essentials!! Yah! Now I guess I need to buy the newer Essentials manual! 😜
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan YAYY!!!! I absolutely love tutoring Essentials. One day I would love to move up to Challenge, but right now I'm still enjoying Essentials and I'm learning more myself each year. Plus I just have super cool students! I just "graduated" my very first class I have been tutoring in some capacity for 3 years and I am going to miss them so much. But I know they'll do great in Challenge A.
It’s our hope that we can pivot and change things up when we feel the need to. Otherwise why do we even homeschool. We joined CC 2 years ago for the same reasons you are joining now, friends, community and CC has really filled a need that is true in the homeschool community. I love my community and I can’t imagine educating without them. Now I have Ch2, ChA, Ess and Found. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed listening to your process. Your decision makes total sense and as someone that is several years behind you in my homeschool journey it is refreshing to hear about your change!
We are joining a CC community this year. This will be our first year as a homeschooling family. I will have both kiddos in foundations and 1 of them also in essentials. I look forward to your Q&A video! Glad you made your way back to CC!
I’m a first time Essentials tutor next year (my oldest is a 2nd tour) and I’m excited to see you’re going back…. I’ll be following along in your journey 😁
It's wonderful you have peace within you now!! We are heavily considered CC. Foundations to start. I would love your opinion on if you believe that CC can be combined with Sonlight or if that's too heavy? So happy for your new re-vamped homeschool plan and I'm excited to hear your experiences with them as well!
I’m definitely doing a Q&A video so I’ll add this to the list. Sonlight & CC together…..hmm… short answer I’d say it depends on your kids. I’ve never done Sonlight. But for foundations, you would be adding in your own math and language arts and reading anyway. I think it probably depends on how much you want to take on.
I love this! I thought I would NEVER do CC again. I did get rid of most of our stuff. We moved back to the states last year, and I ended up pulling one of our kids out of another homeschool program mid year and putting her back in CC and she loves it and is thriving. Never say never I guess. 😂 So excited to watch your journey!
❤️❤️❤️that’s so awesome!! There’s more of us out there than we realized. There have been several in the comments who said similar things. They left. And then they came back. It’s definitely a unique experience and education is unlike any other. 💕
I'm glad to see you excited again! We love CC and I was thinking last year during some of your videos that being in a CC community might take some burdens off your shoulders. Praying you have the best year with your kids!
I just *knew* you were going to say that you were going back to CC! We joined CC for my youngest last year, and it’s been the best fit for him. I’m directing ChA (his class) this year. I’m excited and nervous!! Praying for you and your kiddos. Also hoping for great CC content to come! PS - Teenage girls are tough for a couple of years. But I promise that if you put in the effort towards the relationship with your daughter, you WILL see the fruit. She will see that you haven’t given up on her, and her heart will soften. ❤
How did you know?!?!?! 😜💕 CH A is so fun!!!! I’m not sure if I could handle the Latin as a director! Thank you….I’m putting in SO MUCH effort with my daughter and counting on the Biblical promise that says “you will reap if you do not grow weary!” 🩷
I’m glad I’m not the only one that had anxiety with cc in the past. lol. We went for a visit and I was also surprised that our oldest wanted to do challenge after adamantly declaring in the past that she never wants to be in challenge. Love your videos as always.
Sometimes you just gotta step away for a bit and that’s ok. Thats so interesting that your child was missing it too!! There’s so many good things about CC that can’t be re-created on our own.
I was so it intrigued by CC and went to visit one. I wish I would’ve started sooner but my child is in a different level of math and science that it wouldn’t work. He’s never had the foundation and Latin would have also been challenging. I was looking forward to mock trial, logic, and all the public speaking is think is excellent. Wishing you and yours a great year!
Thank you!! 😊 I didn’t think math levels mattered in CC. That was always my understanding. Whatever level they’re in, they just participate in the math activities in class. Did they change how they do it? They can’t expect all kids to be in the same level.
I’m a fellow CC HS family in Denver! Really exited that your jumping back in. Question, are you still using Learn Math Fast for your daughter? We are really struggling with Math and feel so far behind from CC kids. My daughter very similar of your 14 yr old. We have only used TT & I’m Annoyed by its spiral approach I feel like she’s learned different concepts but cannot retain, it all comes then goes away then comes…sigh! Let me know if LearnM Fast could be better!?
LMF definitely helped fill in some gaps I saw with my daughter. We’ve still moved slower than I anticipated, but because it’s mastery….i think that what is best anyway. It does have periodic tests that will go back and review. But for retention issues, for us, I think mastery has been helpful bc they really have to practice it over and over and over until they know it. So I feel like it less likely to forget. Having said that, it seems odd to say that bc spiral is also supposed to be excellent for retention issues. The one thing I will say about LMF, it’s inexpensive to try. You could just buy a couple books and see how it goes. It’s an excellent supplement if you want to pair it with another curriculum. I think for academic challenges that you and I are experiencing with our children, we have just keep reminding ourselves that it’s ok to just go the pace these kids need. If we have to review over and over and over again….so be it. As long as they’re making progress, that’s what counts. I’ve had to completely rewire my own thinking on this. I’m considering finding another math curriculum for my daughter this year to pair WITH LMF. Because I like LMF, but I also need help with teaching. I would really love to hire a tutor, but I can’t afford one. So I’m thinking about trying another online curriculum as well. We’ll see. I haven’t decided yet. (And it won’t be TT if I do go that route) I hope that helps! And it’s so fun to know how many fellow CC families watch my videos!!! 💕
I am sooooooo happy for you!!! When you said you felt like you were home when you went to the CC community the first time, my heart soared for you. ❤ Loved every minute of this story and hearing how you made your plan but God directed your steps. That’s basically what happened to me two years ago and I can say with confidence putting my oldest in CC two years ago was the best decision for her! I’m excited for my younger daughter to start in the fall! Super excited for any CC content you bring to this channel, especially anything about Ch B Logic. 😮 I would love to know the tricks you spoke briefly about in this video. So happy for you Rachel! It’s going to be the best year yet for you and your kids!
Thank you!! I hope it’s a good year!! Regarding Logic, you’re assuming I’ll learn into! 😂🤣😂 we’ll see what happens! I’m a little nervous about the CH work bc Natalie will have to learn so much of it on her own with community day as her guide. It will be interesting what happens. My parents are thrilled we’re going back. They loved getting invited to the Faces of History and End of year ceremonies!!
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan this is true 🤪 Ch B logic was….interesting?! I’ve heard CbB is like drinking from a firehose and you just get what you get and move on. Ch 1 is way better and not the firehose B was. We shall see this year! I had these same concerns when we started A but my daughter soared. She needed that peer pressure from a “teacher” other than me and her peers and she has been incredibly independent with her challenge assignments. It’s been amazing. I still check in to hold her accountable but she hasn’t needed me to hold her hand for much of anything in A and B besides some logic 😂 We don’t do Latin beyond vocab.
@@faithfullyinfertile I heard that too! Logic in CH 1 is much easier. I do have DVds for the CH B Logic. So we’ll see what all I can do. If I’m being honest, I really want to soak in the last 2 years of Giuliana in Foundations and enjoy her before she becomes a TEEN!!! 😂😂😂 but we’ll see how it goes. It definitely helps to have accountability and a plan already put together. And I am SOOOOO excited about the social events! 😂 we’ve already been traveling all over for volleyball bc they signed up for a last minute league. So she’s been playing with a Christian school. But I found out 90% of the girls are homeschooled! 😂 I can already feel the commeaderie and the team spirit. I’m really excited about volleyball too! (It’s my favorite sport to play. I secretly wish I was in there with her!)
I wish my area had all these options. Being a Chicago suburb you would think we would. I finally found a STEM co-op that meets up once a month. I was all ready and guess what? My 3 year old washer started making odd noises. I have a warranty but now instead of driving to the co-op I am doing laundry at my father-in-law’s home because the part isn’t even shipped out yet. This co-op is an hour away so I don’t know. I thought maybe after we finally get this thing fixed. Well, my husband’s job is closing and he found a new job. We have to make all of these doctor appointments before we lose the current job’s insurance before he hops to the new company. I guess sometimes our plans just don’t go the way we want and God has something better.
That’s very true….and sometimes disappointing. But I have to remind myself that Gods providence allowed it, so he must have something else I need. You could always start a co-op. If there’s nothing in the area, there might be others who are also hungry for something. It would take coordination, but determined mamas can make it happen! The core idea of a co-op is that everybody helps in some way so that it doesn’t just fall on a few. Thats the key.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanI am not even on social media so I wouldn’t know where to begin. I found one that is a half hour away from me but it filled up within the first hour of registration. I get it. They offer horse riding after math classes after all! They are also by the country club and I have a feeling it is expensive and those kids taking those spots.
@@sarahe7515 that sounds awesome!! We’ve also found on our area, more and more kids are becoming homeschoolers -so they’re new. Our homeschool numbers are increasing, but there aren’t new co-ops springing up. It takes work to start. But once it’s created, they will come. Our area also has a Facebook group just for area homeschoolers so that we can find out these local things. If there’s not anything like that semi close to you, you could always try to start a group. It’s very helpful and then the locals can also sell curriculum to each other.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanI am not on Facebook and my homeschool neighbor moved 2 years ago. I asked what she did here and she said she never could find anything. I think I will post on the local patch.
So, for your 5th grader, CC, Fix-it Grammar, what are the other curricula are you doing, or have to fill in for, or does Essentials do it all except math again (like in Foundations)? We did CC when my girls were 4 and 5, then left for mostly paying way to much for me doing 99% of the teaching (because let's face it, the mamas are more involved during class at this age, trying to motivate the kiddos). I'm considering putting my kids back in for Essentials (because I still teach CC on my own at home because they're not old enough yet for Essentials, they're still getting that foundation). I live in WA and they have some rules on hitting every subject for a certain number of days and hours, and was wondering if Essentials meets more than just the language arts part. Thank you, and God bless you - I'm glad to know I'm not alone in the struggle :)
Essentials is only grammar and writing. In class, they do math fact games. But it’s not really a formal part of the curriculum. So for students in essentials, they usually also sign up for foundations. But they are two separate programs, paid for separately, mutually exclusive. 😊 I hear you about the cost!!! It’s getting crazy when you add up all the fees alongside the tuition…..it’s like the same as some private schools!!!! CC better be careful about “taxing” its people too much. Somebody else could come along and develop a competing program. They don’t own the classical model. And most people join for the community aspect anyway.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan We are new-ish to homeschooling and new to CC. I have been having doubts and second guessing myself and our curriculum decisions. I needed to hear that the early years lay the foundation and it will eventually foster strong logical/critical thinking and debate skills…things that I now highly value for my young daughters. So thank you for your video. I’m looking forward to next school year!
@@tonib.7187 absolutely!!! The way CC is designed is that those early years of memory work will absolutely be used in the Ch years. I had the same doubts when I first started CC and I heard so many older moms even say “the memory work is enough!” It really is a lot and what it makes it different than other curriculums where maybe they delve deeper…..this memory work is actually retained! My daughters STILL remember pieces of memory work and they haven’t done it for 4 years. And even though it’s higher level now….it may spark more intrigue later. It did for me! And the timeline song is amazing!
🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 I’m sooooooo excited for you all! I really hope you get to tutor essentials. I’m so looking forward to when we get there (though loving these very simple early years). Just throwing this out there: Have you looked into the new CC college stuff? They have a cohort. And study abroad. And paid internship. And a leadership program. It’s pretty awesome! This is not just college credit while in high school. This is post-highschool. A full degree costs less than 1 year of college elsewhere. And CC grads don’t need SAT or ACT. ;)
I have not!! They were just starting to dabble in all that when we left. The moms I talked to when we were there were talking about the dual credits they offer. But nothing like what you just mentioned.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanI know down here that they will be talking about it at our practicum. Our college rep ( not sure the exact title, it’s like an area rep but for the college level) is planning to come and discuss. Let me see if I can find my notes from the meeting and I can share them if you like.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanLast year was my first one so I don’t know any different. I do know that this year there are a lot more locations where we are. I like that part because we just have to go to our location rather than making a drive to another one. 😂
Yes! It’s pricey! Thats why I’ve always done a job like tutoring. For a couple years, tutoring covered all our tuition. And then I did other jobs that made more money. You just gotta be careful about taking on too much. 😊
We have never tried CC but I’ve always been intrigued. My last is going into the 8th grade and I really want to put him in Challenge B, but I can’t get him on board with it! 😕
where can I find what the CC curriculum actually looks like in a day for a multi age family? I have an 11, 9, 7, 3, and 9m old. We've done abeka, good and beautiful, veritas, teaching textbooks.... after homeschooling for six years, I really want to find something classically oriented that doesn't drive me insane to administrate daily and doesn't require being glued to a chair for 6+ hours daily in a boring "class".
Good question! Is there no RUclips video that has a flip through of the manual? When I was looking into it, I had a friend who did it. So she explained it all and showed me her resources. And then I visited a community and saw it in action. If there’s not video that explains it, I guess I should make one!
I’m very interested in CC but have mom friends tell me that it took the joy of learning out of their kids lives. Have you found this to be true? Do you think this is related to the tutor or the curriculum? Second question 🫣: would you put a 10th grader that’s headed into 10th grade into CC for the first time?
These are great questions!!! I’m going to have save these for a Q A video. But short answer, CC definitely didn’t take the joy of learning from my kids. Maybe it depends on the kid? 10th grader…. It really depends on the kid. My niece did it and she did very well. She struggled with Latin. But she did fine with everything else. It’s a lot of reading, so that helped her bc she loves reading.
Thank you!! It’s not cheap and there’s so many different costs to explain and it depends on which program and how many kids. I’ll definitely have to explain this one in a Q&A!
I'm at the 23 minute mark. I haven't seen the your decision yet. I am a grandparent raising and homeschooling my grandchild. We also did CC when we first starting homeschooling. We only lasted 3 weeks because it just wasn't a good fit for us. Personally, I would do what your daughter wants. It seems she needs friendships and you need a break. You said that she was excited about the new co-op. Your high school boy decided against CC too. It would be easy for me to make the decision. I am going to continue the video...
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan it did come off as me being mean. Sorry, I just see that you are already overwhelmed by your videos. I'm an older person looking from a different perspective. I ADMIRE all that you do. I don't know how you homeschool 3 children and make videos. I homeschool 1 and it takes a lot of time. I can't imagine teaching a CC class on top of it. Just remember, you can always leave if it gets to be too much. Don't feel obligated to stay if it strains you or your family more. So, the "good luck" was sincere.
@@ourmecool thank you for clarifying. I do appreciate it! 💕 tutoring CC essentials would not be a burden for me bc I’ve done it before. And I’d much rather tutor than sit in class. That’s me. But yes, keeping up on videos may be more challenging. We’ll see what happens. The reason why I chose CC over the other co-op is for the friendships and social activities that will take place outside of the school day. when I asked the other co-op, they didn’t seem to focus on relationships like that. And also…..like my husband said, I can’t do them all. Both co-ops would be a drive. But we’ll see how the year goes. I’m convinced that there are no easy homeschool years. This meant easy. But it’s worth it.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan ok, I’m interested to hear how the compensation works because I get super pushy vibes when someone wants me to come visit. I don’t know why but I always felt like they must get something if I sign up!
If you have struggling readers (dyslexia) is CC even an option for them? I would have a 4th and 6th grader next year and CC has always been on my radar but we have never been. Are we too late? Especially since my kids struggle with reading? (6th grader is at a 3/4th grade reading level and therefore hasnt focused on grammar and writing) Is CC a stand along program? we do Sonlight now, is that something we would put down and only do CC?
These are great questions and I’d love to elaborate more on this. But i definitely feel like i should ask some of the moms on my community. Because I can say this for sure…. Of the CC communities I’ve visited, there have been all kinds of learning challenges. I don’t know much about dyslexia, but for 4th and 6th grade, reading isn’t a formal part of the CC curriculum. That part is what YOU add according to your child’s level. But when you get into the challenge levels, that’s when the reading is incorporated. Of the kids I know who’ve had learning challenges, their moms definitely tailored what they did in those levels. They didn’t do it all. I’ll add this to my list of questions for the Q&A I’ll definitely do. And see what I can find out. As for joining this year, you’re not too late. You can find a Cc community near you and talk to somebody (a director) about your questions. 😉
CC sounds great! My twins will be in 9th grade in the Fall …and we come from a public school background (we are finishing up our 3rd year of homeschooling). I feel like CC would be a major shock 😂 but I would love for them to do it through high school.
I had a niece and nephew jump into CC as a 9th and 10th grader and they thrived. So you never know! One of them even loved Latin, jumping in with ZERO Latin experience!! You definitely have to be willing to tailor the work down and allow for crossing assignments off the list. The nice thing about CC….especially in the middle school and high school years….its already planned out. You just have to decide how you’ll get it done each week or if you want to eliminate anything.
Love the idea about SIMPLICITY. God take reveal individual needs, but also teens can cause a curriculum to take a hard right hand turn. Leaving breathing room in your program allows teens to fill in the gaps.
And I bet he didn’t used to be like that!!! When my daughter was younger, she literally made friends with EVERYONE! And she made her rounds…not shy at all. They need to learn how to meet new people bc that’s life, right?!?!
COMMUNITY is what all of us are craving!! So many mamas post how lonely life is especially for their kiddos. I would advise finding a group( perhaps on FB) where mamas get together like a field trip homeschool group…we NEED community….so glad Natalie was met with friendship…I know the road is hard…you’re doing GREAT mama.
@@sarahe7515 😂😂😂 me too! I’m never the one to introduce myself to new people at church. We have small church so it’s obvious when we have newcomers. I usually wait and see if they come back! 😂
I just want to say I love your videos. You’re real and transparent. You don’t sugar coat the struggle of homeschooling. And I deeply appreciate that as someone who often feels like no one understands how hard this is for me.
I agree. She is a favorite to watch that tells the real stuff with homeschooling! Good, the bad, the ugly! I love the comedy relief edited parts too. lol. :)
I really love this walk through of your decision to go with CC. It’s something I am praying about right now for my youngest who I feel could really use the community and is possibly still at the point to jump in and not feel lost or behind. My older 2 would have probably benefited but are in a good place. Thank you for sharing your experiences!! It is such a blessing to have choices! ❤
Yes!! Choices are nice!!! I’m glad I can help and pray that the Lord will make his way clear for you so that you can have perfect peace on that decision!!! 😘
I just want to say I love your videos. You’re real and transparent. You don’t sugar coat the struggle of homeschooling. And I deeply appreciate that as someone who often feels like no one understands how hard this is for me.
🩷💕🩷💕yep! We are in a club that only we can understand! I felt like amongst my own friends…they just didn’t get it! So I’m very thankful to be that person for you to help you not feel so alone.
And thank you so much for telling me how much you appreciate my honesty bc sometimes even when I’m sharing with you all….i feel like an anomaly. But you all remind even me….WE ARE NORMAL!! Parenting and homeschooling is NOT easy. It’s a challenge. It’s a beautiful challenge that is refining us into fine pieces of gold!!! 😄
It’s 5:45am, my families asleep, and I literally squealed out loud when you said CC. God leads each of us on journeys we may not have planned. I wish your family all the best this upcoming year ❤.
😁😜😉🥰thank you so much!!! I’m so humbled by everybody’s excitement for us! You all are so encouraging to me! 💕
❤❤❤❤❤ I love your transparency, i’m an SR for 4 (3 at capacity)and direct my own full community (F/E ) . I was offered to take more communities, our state manager is all about metrics. If you can show your good handling it, it’s fine ! CC is a huge blessing to me and my kids, the rich conversations, the discussion it puts forth. I have a 3,11,and 15!
Love to see some Essentials videos! 🤓🤓🤓😘
Excited for you and your family!
We are currently in CC starting this year with my first Challenge A student, an Essential student, and two in Foundations and am also tutoring Foundations. A little scared with the work load we are going to have but jumping in full force.
I think taking on the workload is very different when you have a community behind you vs doing it all on your own! I hope you have a great year as well!!! We start Tuesday with Challenge and I’m very excited to see how it goes!
Your excitement is contagious! Your family is going to do great things this year. I’m so happy for you!
😜😜😜 I sure hope so!! Thank you so much!
Praying for an awesome homeschool year ahead for you and your kiddos!!!
Awe!! Thanks so much!!
God turned my plan upside down too. Thank God we can trust him!❤
Amen!!! He knows better than we do!
My plans too!
I am so excited for you as you do what is right for your family in this season. ❤
Thank you!!! 🙏 😊💕
I am glad you feel at peace about next year. It is not always easy to make decisions about what is best.
Thank you!!! Yes! I’ve had to make other decisions that aren’t popular to my kids, but hopefully one day, they’ll look back and thank us!! 💕
It’s so hard to push your kids in a direction they aren’t comfortable in going. You clearly are following the Lord’s leading which never leads us astray. Note to self: boba and shopping for challenging news with teenage girls. 😂
@@kellireadsalot haha!!!! Yes!!! Boba always loosens them up a bit!! 😀
We’ll be starting our 5th CC year this next year and I LOVE it. It’ll also be my 5th year tutoring (first two years was Foundations and then I’ve been tutoring Essentials and I LOVE it so much). I love CC so much and I found you because of your video about why you left CC. Watching that video really made me so thankful for my community. I have an AWESOME community and I know that makes such a huge difference. I also have been very realistic and honest with myself about what I can do in this season of life. Being an SR or something like that would NOT be good for me in this season of my life, but maybe one day it would be! So glad to hear you’re coming back to CC! I know my children’s education is so much better with it!
Thank you!!! We’re really excited! And I just found out today that I do, INDEED, get to tutor Essentials!! Yah! Now I guess I need to buy the newer Essentials manual! 😜
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan YAYY!!!! I absolutely love tutoring Essentials. One day I would love to move up to Challenge, but right now I'm still enjoying Essentials and I'm learning more myself each year. Plus I just have super cool students! I just "graduated" my very first class I have been tutoring in some capacity for 3 years and I am going to miss them so much. But I know they'll do great in Challenge A.
It’s our hope that we can pivot and change things up when we feel the need to. Otherwise why do we even homeschool. We joined CC 2 years ago for the same reasons you are joining now, friends, community and CC has really filled a need that is true in the homeschool community. I love my community and I can’t imagine educating without them. Now I have Ch2, ChA, Ess and Found. 🙂
🩷❤️🩷 no homeschool year is alike!! It’s so great that we have this option! I hope you have a fantastic and blessed year!!
Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed listening to your process. Your decision makes total sense and as someone that is several years behind you in my homeschool journey it is refreshing to hear about your change!
I’m glad you found it helpful!! 😉
We are joining a CC community this year. This will be our first year as a homeschooling family. I will have both kiddos in foundations and 1 of them also in essentials. I look forward to your Q&A video! Glad you made your way back to CC!
❤️❤️❤️so happy for you!! I hope your community experience is amazing!
I love your encouragements
Awe! Thanks! And I love to encourage!! 💕
Nothing wrong with outsourcing!!! Our company co op did that for everyone this January and it was awesome!!!
Yeah!!!! 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 Now I just to figure out how to outsource cooking and cleaning and I’ll be set!!! 😂
You are such a wonderful mother to your children. so not easy coming up with a plan, but it is so awesome how it unfolds. God is great❤
Yes He is!!!! Thank you so much! 🥰
I’m a first time Essentials tutor next year (my oldest is a 2nd tour) and I’m excited to see you’re going back…. I’ll be following along in your journey 😁
Yah!!! Essentials is so wonderful!!!!
It's wonderful you have peace within you now!! We are heavily considered CC. Foundations to start. I would love your opinion on if you believe that CC can be combined with Sonlight or if that's too heavy? So happy for your new re-vamped homeschool plan and I'm excited to hear your experiences with them as well!
I’m definitely doing a Q&A video so I’ll add this to the list.
Sonlight & CC together…..hmm… short answer I’d say it depends on your kids. I’ve never done Sonlight. But for foundations, you would be adding in your own math and language arts and reading anyway. I think it probably depends on how much you want to take on.
Yes! What a great story. God's plans are awesome.
We're going back to CC too next year. So excited!
Yah!!!!!!! How fun!!!! How long have you been gone??
We've been gone for 3 years. Too long...
It really does feel like home.
@@jaclynbannister1877 🩷🩷🩷I’m so happy for you!!
I love this! I thought I would NEVER do CC again. I did get rid of most of our stuff. We moved back to the states last year, and I ended up pulling one of our kids out of another homeschool program mid year and putting her back in CC and she loves it and is thriving. Never say never I guess. 😂 So excited to watch your journey!
❤️❤️❤️that’s so awesome!! There’s more of us out there than we realized. There have been several in the comments who said similar things. They left. And then they came back. It’s definitely a unique experience and education is unlike any other. 💕
I'm glad to see you excited again! We love CC and I was thinking last year during some of your videos that being in a CC community might take some burdens off your shoulders. Praying you have the best year with your kids!
Thank you so much!! 😊
Gosh every single thing you’re putting out is just SPEAKING TO ME ha! Keep posting mama! Excited for you!
Oh I’m so glad!!!!! 🩷
I just *knew* you were going to say that you were going back to CC! We joined CC for my youngest last year, and it’s been the best fit for him. I’m directing ChA (his class) this year. I’m excited and nervous!! Praying for you and your kiddos. Also hoping for great CC content to come!
PS - Teenage girls are tough for a couple of years. But I promise that if you put in the effort towards the relationship with your daughter, you WILL see the fruit. She will see that you haven’t given up on her, and her heart will soften. ❤
How did you know?!?!?! 😜💕
CH A is so fun!!!! I’m not sure if I could handle the Latin as a director!
Thank you….I’m putting in SO MUCH effort with my daughter and counting on the Biblical promise that says “you will reap if you do not grow weary!” 🩷
It makes me so happy to see you excited!
Thank you so much!!! 😊
I’m glad I’m not the only one that had anxiety with cc in the past. lol. We went for a visit and I was also surprised that our oldest wanted to do challenge after adamantly declaring in the past that she never wants to be in challenge. Love your videos as always.
Sometimes you just gotta step away for a bit and that’s ok. Thats so interesting that your child was missing it too!! There’s so many good things about CC that can’t be re-created on our own.
I was so it intrigued by CC and went to visit one. I wish I would’ve started sooner but my child is in a different level of math and science that it wouldn’t work. He’s never had the foundation and Latin would have also been challenging. I was looking forward to mock trial, logic, and all the public speaking is think is excellent. Wishing you and yours a great year!
Thank you!! 😊
I didn’t think math levels mattered in CC. That was always my understanding. Whatever level they’re in, they just participate in the math activities in class. Did they change how they do it? They can’t expect all kids to be in the same level.
Praise God!
So happy for you :)
It sounds like you have a good thing going!
Yes! Thank you!😊
So glad you have found peace!
Thank you!!! Hopefully it will be as great of a year as I feel like it should be! 😀
Would love a Q& A!!
Is there anything specific about CC you’re curious about or don’t know?
I’m a fellow CC HS family in Denver! Really exited that your jumping back in. Question, are you still using Learn Math Fast for your daughter? We are really struggling with Math and feel so far behind from CC kids. My daughter very similar of your 14 yr old. We have only used TT & I’m
Annoyed by its spiral approach I feel like she’s learned different concepts but cannot retain, it all comes then goes away then comes…sigh! Let me know if LearnM Fast could be better!?
LMF definitely helped fill in some gaps I saw with my daughter. We’ve still moved slower than I anticipated, but because it’s mastery….i think that what is best anyway. It does have periodic tests that will go back and review. But for retention issues, for us, I think mastery has been helpful bc they really have to practice it over and over and over until they know it. So I feel like it less likely to forget. Having said that, it seems odd to say that bc spiral is also supposed to be excellent for retention issues.
The one thing I will say about LMF, it’s inexpensive to try. You could just buy a couple books and see how it goes. It’s an excellent supplement if you want to pair it with another curriculum. I think for academic challenges that you and I are experiencing with our children, we have just keep reminding ourselves that it’s ok to just go the pace these kids need. If we have to review over and over and over again….so be it. As long as they’re making progress, that’s what counts. I’ve had to completely rewire my own thinking on this.
I’m considering finding another math curriculum for my daughter this year to pair WITH LMF. Because I like LMF, but I also need help with teaching. I would really love to hire a tutor, but I can’t afford one. So I’m thinking about trying another online curriculum as well. We’ll see. I haven’t decided yet. (And it won’t be TT if I do go that route)
I hope that helps! And it’s so fun to know how many fellow CC families watch my videos!!! 💕
I am sooooooo happy for you!!! When you said you felt like you were home when you went to the CC community the first time, my heart soared for you. ❤
Loved every minute of this story and hearing how you made your plan but God directed your steps. That’s basically what happened to me two years ago and I can say with confidence putting my oldest in CC two years ago was the best decision for her! I’m excited for my younger daughter to start in the fall!
Super excited for any CC content you bring to this channel, especially anything about Ch B Logic. 😮 I would love to know the tricks you spoke briefly about in this video.
So happy for you Rachel! It’s going to be the best year yet for you and your kids!
Thank you!! I hope it’s a good year!!
Regarding Logic, you’re assuming I’ll learn into! 😂🤣😂 we’ll see what happens! I’m a little nervous about the CH work bc Natalie will have to learn so much of it on her own with community day as her guide. It will be interesting what happens. My parents are thrilled we’re going back. They loved getting invited to the Faces of History and End of year ceremonies!!
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan this is true 🤪 Ch B logic was….interesting?! I’ve heard CbB is like drinking from a firehose and you just get what you get and move on. Ch 1 is way better and not the firehose B was. We shall see this year!
I had these same concerns when we started A but my daughter soared. She needed that peer pressure from a “teacher” other than me and her peers and she has been incredibly independent with her challenge assignments. It’s been amazing. I still check in to hold her accountable but she hasn’t needed me to hold her hand for much of anything in A and B besides some logic 😂 We don’t do Latin beyond vocab.
@@faithfullyinfertile I heard that too! Logic in CH 1 is much easier. I do have DVds for the CH B Logic. So we’ll see what all I can do. If I’m being honest, I really want to soak in the last 2 years of Giuliana in Foundations and enjoy her before she becomes a TEEN!!! 😂😂😂 but we’ll see how it goes. It definitely helps to have accountability and a plan already put together. And I am SOOOOO excited about the social events! 😂 we’ve already been traveling all over for volleyball bc they signed up for a last minute league. So she’s been playing with a Christian school. But I found out 90% of the girls are homeschooled! 😂 I can already feel the commeaderie and the team spirit. I’m really excited about volleyball too! (It’s my favorite sport to play. I secretly wish I was in there with her!)
I wish my area had all these options. Being a Chicago suburb you would think we would. I finally found a STEM co-op that meets up once a month. I was all ready and guess what? My 3 year old washer started making odd noises. I have a warranty but now instead of driving to the co-op I am doing laundry at my father-in-law’s home because the part isn’t even shipped out yet. This co-op is an hour away so I don’t know. I thought maybe after we finally get this thing fixed. Well, my husband’s job is closing and he found a new job. We have to make all of these doctor appointments before we lose the current job’s insurance before he hops to the new company. I guess sometimes our plans just don’t go the way we want and God has something better.
That’s very true….and sometimes disappointing. But I have to remind myself that Gods providence allowed it, so he must have something else I need.
You could always start a co-op. If there’s nothing in the area, there might be others who are also hungry for something. It would take coordination, but determined mamas can make it happen! The core idea of a co-op is that everybody helps in some way so that it doesn’t just fall on a few. Thats the key.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanI am not even on social media so I wouldn’t know where to begin. I found one that is a half hour away from me but it filled up within the first hour of registration. I get it. They offer horse riding after math classes after all! They are also by the country club and I have a feeling it is expensive and those kids taking those spots.
@@sarahe7515 that sounds awesome!!
We’ve also found on our area, more and more kids are becoming homeschoolers -so they’re new. Our homeschool numbers are increasing, but there aren’t new co-ops springing up. It takes work to start. But once it’s created, they will come.
Our area also has a Facebook group just for area homeschoolers so that we can find out these local things. If there’s not anything like that semi close to you, you could always try to start a group. It’s very helpful and then the locals can also sell curriculum to each other.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanI am not on Facebook and my homeschool neighbor moved 2 years ago. I asked what she did here and she said she never could find anything. I think I will post on the local patch.
So, for your 5th grader, CC, Fix-it Grammar, what are the other curricula are you doing, or have to fill in for, or does Essentials do it all except math again (like in Foundations)? We did CC when my girls were 4 and 5, then left for mostly paying way to much for me doing 99% of the teaching (because let's face it, the mamas are more involved during class at this age, trying to motivate the kiddos). I'm considering putting my kids back in for Essentials (because I still teach CC on my own at home because they're not old enough yet for Essentials, they're still getting that foundation). I live in WA and they have some rules on hitting every subject for a certain number of days and hours, and was wondering if Essentials meets more than just the language arts part. Thank you, and God bless you - I'm glad to know I'm not alone in the struggle :)
Essentials is only grammar and writing. In class, they do math fact games. But it’s not really a formal part of the curriculum. So for students in essentials, they usually also sign up for foundations. But they are two separate programs, paid for separately, mutually exclusive. 😊
I hear you about the cost!!! It’s getting crazy when you add up all the fees alongside the tuition…..it’s like the same as some private schools!!!! CC better be careful about “taxing” its people too much. Somebody else could come along and develop a competing program. They don’t own the classical model. And most people join for the community aspect anyway.
Thank you for this video. It came at the perfect time.
You’re welcome!!!
How did it come at the perfect time? Were you debating something??
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan We are new-ish to homeschooling and new to CC. I have been having doubts and second guessing myself and our curriculum decisions. I needed to hear that the early years lay the foundation and it will eventually foster strong logical/critical thinking and debate skills…things that I now highly value for my young daughters. So thank you for your video. I’m looking forward to next school year!
@@tonib.7187 absolutely!!! The way CC is designed is that those early years of memory work will absolutely be used in the Ch years. I had the same doubts when I first started CC and I heard so many older moms even say “the memory work is enough!” It really is a lot and what it makes it different than other curriculums where maybe they delve deeper…..this memory work is actually retained! My daughters STILL remember pieces of memory work and they haven’t done it for 4 years. And even though it’s higher level now….it may spark more intrigue later. It did for me! And the timeline song is amazing!
🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I’m sooooooo excited for you all! I really hope you get to tutor essentials. I’m so looking forward to when we get there (though loving these very simple early years).
Just throwing this out there: Have you looked into the new CC college stuff? They have a cohort. And study abroad. And paid internship. And a leadership program. It’s pretty awesome!
This is not just college credit while in high school. This is post-highschool. A full degree costs less than 1 year of college elsewhere. And CC grads don’t need SAT or ACT. ;)
What?!?!
CC family here! I did not know this!! I am going to have to look in to this for sure. Wow!
I have not!! They were just starting to dabble in all that when we left. The moms I talked to when we were there were talking about the dual credits they offer. But nothing like what you just mentioned.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanI know down here that they will be talking about it at our practicum. Our college rep ( not sure the exact title, it’s like an area rep but for the college level) is planning to come and discuss. Let me see if I can find my notes from the meeting and I can share them if you like.
@@Homeschooling_with_the_Riveras sure. I haven’t looked into the practicum at all. That’s changed since I left to and that part is a real bummer.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlanLast year was my first one so I don’t know any different. I do know that this year there are a lot more locations where we are. I like that part because we just have to go to our location rather than making a drive to another one. 😂
We're looking at CC for next year. With 3 kids it can be a financial hit so we have to wait on a property to sell. If it's God's will it'll be done.
Yes! It’s pricey! Thats why I’ve always done a job like tutoring. For a couple years, tutoring covered all our tuition. And then I did other jobs that made more money. You just gotta be careful about taking on too much. 😊
We have never tried CC but I’ve always been intrigued. My last is going into the 8th grade and I really want to put him in Challenge B, but I can’t get him on board with it! 😕
If you’ve never done CC before, I can see how it could feel intimidating. Have you ever visited a community?
where can I find what the CC curriculum actually looks like in a day for a multi age family? I have an 11, 9, 7, 3, and 9m old. We've done abeka, good and beautiful, veritas, teaching textbooks.... after homeschooling for six years, I really want to find something classically oriented that doesn't drive me insane to administrate daily and doesn't require being glued to a chair for 6+ hours daily in a boring "class".
Good question! Is there no RUclips video that has a flip through of the manual? When I was looking into it, I had a friend who did it. So she explained it all and showed me her resources. And then I visited a community and saw it in action.
If there’s not video that explains it, I guess I should make one!
I’m very interested in CC but have mom friends tell me that it took the joy of learning out of their kids lives. Have you found this to be true? Do you think this is related to the tutor or the curriculum?
Second question 🫣: would you put a 10th grader that’s headed into 10th grade into CC for the first time?
These are great questions!!! I’m going to have save these for a Q A video. But short answer, CC definitely didn’t take the joy of learning from my kids. Maybe it depends on the kid?
10th grader….
It really depends on the kid. My niece did it and she did very well. She struggled with Latin. But she did fine with everything else. It’s a lot of reading, so that helped her bc she loves reading.
God with you. One question:How much does it cost?
Thank you!!
It’s not cheap and there’s so many different costs to explain and it depends on which program and how many kids. I’ll definitely have to explain this one in a Q&A!
I'm at the 23 minute mark. I haven't seen the your decision yet. I am a grandparent raising and homeschooling my grandchild. We also did CC when we first starting homeschooling. We only lasted 3 weeks because it just wasn't a good fit for us. Personally, I would do what your daughter wants. It seems she needs friendships and you need a break. You said that she was excited about the new co-op. Your high school boy decided against CC too. It would be easy for me to make the decision. I am going to continue the video...
Finished video...good luck. :) sounds like you are adding more to your plate.
Thank you for the words of encouragement.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan it did come off as me being mean. Sorry, I just see that you are already overwhelmed by your videos. I'm an older person looking from a different perspective. I ADMIRE all that you do. I don't know how you homeschool 3 children and make videos. I homeschool 1 and it takes a lot of time. I can't imagine teaching a CC class on top of it. Just remember, you can always leave if it gets to be too much. Don't feel obligated to stay if it strains you or your family more. So, the "good luck" was sincere.
@@ourmecool thank you for clarifying. I do appreciate it! 💕 tutoring CC essentials would not be a burden for me bc I’ve done it before. And I’d much rather tutor than sit in class. That’s me. But yes, keeping up on videos may be more challenging. We’ll see what happens. The reason why I chose CC over the other co-op is for the friendships and social activities that will take place outside of the school day. when I asked the other co-op, they didn’t seem to focus on relationships like that. And also…..like my husband said, I can’t do them all. Both co-ops would be a drive.
But we’ll see how the year goes. I’m convinced that there are no easy homeschool years. This meant easy. But it’s worth it.
Yes, I have a question! In CC- Does the person who recruits you make money if you sign up? And then does the person who recruited her make money?
Saving this for a possible Q&A!! 😉
No
It's not like an MLM.
Short answer is no….thats not how it works at all.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan ok, I’m interested to hear how the compensation works because I get super pushy vibes when someone wants me to come visit. I don’t know why but I always felt like they must get something if I sign up!
If you have struggling readers (dyslexia) is CC even an option for them? I would have a 4th and 6th grader next year and CC has always been on my radar but we have never been. Are we too late? Especially since my kids struggle with reading? (6th grader is at a 3/4th grade reading level and therefore hasnt focused on grammar and writing) Is CC a stand along program? we do Sonlight now, is that something we would put down and only do CC?
These are great questions and I’d love to elaborate more on this. But i definitely feel like i should ask some of the moms on my community. Because I can say this for sure…. Of the CC communities I’ve visited, there have been all kinds of learning challenges. I don’t know much about dyslexia, but for 4th and 6th grade, reading isn’t a formal part of the CC curriculum. That part is what YOU add according to your child’s level. But when you get into the challenge levels, that’s when the reading is incorporated.
Of the kids I know who’ve had learning challenges, their moms definitely tailored what they did in those levels. They didn’t do it all.
I’ll add this to my list of questions for the Q&A I’ll definitely do. And see what I can find out.
As for joining this year, you’re not too late. You can find a Cc community near you and talk to somebody (a director) about your questions. 😉
The community really makes or breaks CC
Agreed!
CC sounds great! My twins will be in 9th grade in the Fall …and we come from a public school background (we are finishing up our 3rd year of homeschooling). I feel like CC would be a major shock 😂 but I would love for them to do it through high school.
I had a niece and nephew jump into CC as a 9th and 10th grader and they thrived. So you never know! One of them even loved Latin, jumping in with ZERO Latin experience!! You definitely have to be willing to tailor the work down and allow for crossing assignments off the list.
The nice thing about CC….especially in the middle school and high school years….its already planned out. You just have to decide how you’ll get it done each week or if you want to eliminate anything.
Love the idea about SIMPLICITY. God take reveal individual needs, but also teens can cause a curriculum to take a hard right hand turn. Leaving breathing room in your program allows teens to fill in the gaps.
Just gotta be careful about WHAT they fill in the gaps with. Idle hands…. 😬
Your daughter sounds like my son. I wanted us to join a new co-op next year and he said he really didn’t want to meet new people.
And I bet he didn’t used to be like that!!! When my daughter was younger, she literally made friends with EVERYONE! And she made her rounds…not shy at all.
They need to learn how to meet new people bc that’s life, right?!?!
I am not sure why but that made me laugh. It is sometimes how I feel about people but then I snap out of it.
COMMUNITY is what all of us are craving!! So many mamas post how lonely life is especially for their kiddos. I would advise finding a group( perhaps on FB) where mamas get together like a field trip homeschool group…we NEED community….so glad Natalie was met with friendship…I know the road is hard…you’re doing GREAT mama.
@@sarahe7515 😂😂😂 me too! I’m never the one to introduce myself to new people at church. We have small church so it’s obvious when we have newcomers. I usually wait and see if they come back! 😂
@@ourfamilyvideos7283 I agree!!! Even the introverts need and want friends!! 💕
I just want to say I love your videos. You’re real and transparent. You don’t sugar coat the struggle of homeschooling. And I deeply appreciate that as someone who often feels like no one understands how hard this is for me.
I agree. She is a favorite to watch that tells the real stuff with homeschooling! Good, the bad, the ugly! I love the comedy relief edited parts too. lol. :)