For the past 7 years our family has been involved in the homeschool community called Classical Conversations.  It's a worldwide program actually that focuses on a classical approach to education, all while keeping God at the center and raising kids who think critically and are equipped to enter the world on a very firm foundation of not only who they are, but who God is and who they are in Christ.  And for this reason, we absolutely love this program.  On top of that, the program is actually a full curriculum in itself, at least once you get to the middle school year. I loved that it took the guesswork out of picking from the literally thousands of curriculums and always wondering if you had chosen the best one or wanting to switch year to year.

On top of that, beyond the education and curriculum it offers, we love the community it provides.  We are a part of a group of 12+ families who are all like-minded and working to raise our kids in the same way.  And beyond community, it also provided some accountability.  If you have homeschooled, the flexibility is amazing, but sometimes for myself, it was a little to freeing:) I found myself needed some accountability in my kids' education so that we didn't completely un-school.  Not only does CC provide accountability, it's also encouraging being able to go to all the other moms and ask questions or advice since everyone is using the same curriculum. 

So with all of the good that CC offers, Beckett, Ruby and I will still be a part of CC and maintain their schooling through their foundation and essentials programs.  I will be tutoring a foundations class this year, and Beckett is just old enough to start the essentials program that teaches the writing and grammar aspect of education. 

But, after completing Challenge 1, I have decided to pull Tate and Kynlee from the program, and since I have talked so highly of it and I still think it is an amazing program we want to continue to be a part of , I thought I would address why we are making a shift. 

First and foremost, I always wait for a peace when making a decision for another school year, and a peace only God can give.  Each year we assess and decide what the next year will look like, and honestly, at the beginning of last year I was already starting to question CC for Tate and Kynlee, but after praying about it I found such a perfect peace in knowing this is what they are supposed to be doing.  So we enrolled them last year, they had an amazing year with an amazing tutor, and their knowledge in so many areas took off, their hearts really transformed throughout the year, and I am so grateful for the relationships they also created within their group. 

But I still had so many hesitations.  I myself, being a former teacher, am a very performance-based girl:)  I not only have high expectations for myself, but those also get passed onto my kids.  Classical conversations is not a program for the faint of heart.  It is a 6-8 hour a day workload homeschool program that is amazing, but also intense.  And most kids who are in CC have a parent who is really helping walk alongside and doing a lot of the work with the kids as well.  And this is where my mom guilt came in.  Being a small business owner and self-employed, I found it very hard to pour that much time into my kids education and felt like I was failing them when I had no idea what they were talking about in latin or logic.  I would set up their schedule at the beginning of each week and I would check in often to make sure they were on track to get their work done. I would proofread papers and help in ways I could, but I couldn't devote my time to doing school alongside my kids.  My expectations for them were high, but I wasn't able to provide the help.  This is one big reason we moved away from the CC math program and switched mid year to Denison Algebra, where the kids got videos and help from an online source when I couldn't offer them that. 

On top of that, our kids talents and skills were really starting to show.  They were having interests outside of CC that they really didn't have time to entertain since their day was full.  Tate has become amazing with his hands and working on projects.  He is a quick learner and very much a leader in whatever he tackles.  He started working part=time for our friend this summer in a landscaping company and he loved every bit of it.  He is a lot like his dad with enjoying working with his hands, yet he also is so smart that I know he'll be able to run his own business one day and be successful.  Ryan has taught Tate so many life skills that will get him very far in this world, yet when it came to education I always felt super alone in it because Ryan always said it was over his head ( he really hated school) So I saw Ryan teach Tate so much, but technically none of it was working towards his education since it wasn't included in the CC program. 

And then there is Kynlee, who can create anything she sees a video of but ask her to write a paper and it will take her a week:) 

We started to see our kids' strengths and abilities, and we realized that CC isn't aligning with where we see them going in the future.  I struggled with the fact that we homeschooled for the freedom to cater to our kids' strengths and abilities, and yet we were limiting so much of that by not allowing them to pursue them.  On top of that, we as a family now have a lot of flexibility in our schedules since Ryan came home full time, and we found it very hard to travel, because if the kids missed one of their in-person days they felt super behind, and it was so much work to catch up. 

So for these many reasons, and actually quite a few more, we decided not to enroll Tate and Kynlee in CC this year.  Ryan and I prayed about this decision and made our minds up before we even entertained the thought with the kids. So when the time came to tell them, they were ecstatic!  We of course still gave them the option to continue if they wanted, but they both were so excited to take a little ownership over their education, pick some classes that THEY choose, and learn in a different way this year. 

So what's next?  Well, I already booked 2 weeks away this winter and I'm so excited knowing we don't need to stress out about "catching up" for 3 weeks when we get back, lol.  But for real, the kids will do their same math, and they actually are going to do the same biology CC does.  But other than that, Tate is going to start taking a couple of online business classes.  The classes he's taken with Ryan will now be considered credits, so that's awesome, like shop, welding, and so much more!  And Kynlee thinks she'd love to try a sign language class online.  I can only imagine how amazing shed be at that since she is such a visual learner and picks up on videos so quickly.  And next year both of them will take some PSEO classes at the tech college in town close by to get some great college credits for free.  Neither of the kids are sad about saying bye bye to latin:)

And the last thing that made Tate so excited, is that he will be able to graduate with his class.  I technically had held Tate back a year specifically for CC, so that him and Kynlee could be in the same class and help each other.  But Tate really is quite advanced in his education and has the credits he needs to be entering his Junior year this year.  Wow, so crazy to think that!  But he is becoming such a man who is craving more freedom and loves to work hard, so I am excited to see where God leads him in the next couple years. 

So that's the educations update from the Lundeens.  Probably more than you wanted to know:)  But since we've taken you on this homeschool journey with us I wanted to fill you in.  On top of that I wanted to still shine an amazing light on CC because I truly believe they have helped to create a strong foundation for my kids in so many areas of their life, not just faith, but also worldview, critical thinking, integrity, and so much more.  So I am forever grateful we went this far with them and also can't wait to do the same for Beckett and ruby:)