The Classical Conversations Blog - Post Library

Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas traditions give homeschool families a way to pass faith, wonder, and the story of God’s faithfulness down to the next generation. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, God told Joshua to stack twelve stones by the riverbank so that “when your children ask in time...

Classical Conversations October 2026 | Parent Connections Newsletter Every October, we invite Classical Conversations parents to fall in love with classical education all over again. The leaves are turning. Community days have found their rhythm. And somewhere around Week 7, a lot of parents start asking a fair question:...

Homeschool Gift Ideas for Christmas: A Classical Gift Guide for the Whole Family The best homeschool gift ideas invite a family to keep learning together: beautiful books to read aloud, simple instruments and games that sharpen young minds, and small reminders of the faith and friendships that shape each...

The purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, remembering His birth and waiting in hope for His return. In this reflection, Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, shares what that waiting has taught his family about faith, presence, and the questions children carry home. The...

Homeschooling in Canada stretches from sea to sea, with families learning together at kitchen tables from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic shore, and it is legal in every province and territory. Dawna Ferguson has been one of those families since 1993. A mother of seven living in Alberta...

The Five Core Habits of Grammar are practices of the classical model of education, like the Five Common Topics of Dialectic and the Five Canons of Rhetoric, that can be applied to all areas of learning. With our Classical Conversations curriculum, we introduce these habits to students in our...

A homeschool graduation ceremony starts with the intention that began when your child took their first steps. It is a milestone that brings memories and hope together in a beautiful bouquet of learning and love, but families finishing the Challenge program often carry practical questions into this season: what...

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 geography gives your Foundations student a real, working map of the United States. A few hands-on activities alongside the memory work help that map take root even deeper. As your family spends the fall singing through fifty states and capitals and the spring naming mountain...

A Challenge-level homeschool schedule moves a family from hands-on instruction toward mentoring, one year at a time, as a parent works toward the goal of every homeschool parent: teaching a child how to learn anything. That shift is something Classical Conversations families can look forward to. The years spent...

The September 2026 Parent Connections newsletter covers five things CC families asked about most this month. Robert Bortins lays out the five convictions behind America’s 250th anniversary. Concurrent enrollment registration for spring and summer opens September 8. A homeschooling mother in northern India shares what four years of classical...

The following article is a guest contribution from our partner, Samaritan’s Purse. Please enjoy this article written by Lynda Casto, Manager of Children and Family Partnerships for Samaritan’s Purse through Operation Christmas Child. Community service for teens is often measured in hours logged for a resume, and their academic...

A homeschool routine that actually works can feel like a moving target, especially when curriculum, ages, and seasons keep shifting under your feet. After more than twenty years of homeschooling and testing nearly every method, template, and schedule along the way, Laura Kooistra has found five keys that hold...

Educational freedom is not a modern policy debate. It is the same inheritance that shaped the American mind long before the Declaration of Independence was ever signed, and as the nation marks 250 years since that document was written, homeschool families are living proof that the inheritance is still...

The purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, remembering His birth and waiting in hope for His return. In this reflection, Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, shares what that waiting has taught his family about faith, presence, and the questions children carry home. The...

Every homeschool dad shapes his children’s future, whether he intends to or not. Alex Newman is a journalist, author, and Classical Conversations father of six whose work has taken him across continents, but whose most consequential assignment has always been at home. In this article, Newman draws on Scripture,...

Raising mission-minded children begins with authentic family worship and parents who model a genuine heart for the nations. It’s funny how much being a parent changes your perspective on things. Everyone tells you it will, and you believe them. Then it happens, and you are still amazed at the...

For many homeschool dads—especially those stepping into the role of stay-at-home parent—the search for a meaningful alternative to public school can feel overwhelming. You want your kids grounded in truth, surrounded by godly families, and shaped by something more lasting than test scores and deadlines. Maybe you’ve felt the...

The Mission of a Good Dad What makes a good father in today’s busy world? Being a dad means more than providing financially—it’s about being present in the moments that truly matter. Many of us grew up with hardworking fathers who missed opportunities to fully engage in our daily...

If you are thinking about starting your homeschool journey, it can seem like a lonely endeavor. Making the switch from traditional public or private school to home education is a big transition, but reclaiming family-centered learning doesn’t have to be in isolation. Homeschooling is better with a friend. At...

Meet Nathan Williams. He serves as one of three pastors at Northshore Church of Christ in Mandeville, Louisiana—and he’s a long-time homeschool dad! Here’s this homeschool dad’s perspective on how homeschooling with Classical Conversations has helped his family navigate classical, Christian education. A Homeschool Dad’s Perspective on CC: A...

Moms and dads are different, and not just in terms of biology. As we ponder the dad’s role in the home school, keep the three “I’s” in mind: influence, impact, and involvement. Dads can exert a positive influence over the home school, impact their kids’ character, and find ways...

“There is the great lesson of “Beauty and the Beast”; that a thing must be loved before it is lovable.”  “Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.” G.K. Chesterton Orthodoxy I used to believe that homeschooling was not for everybody. I...

The Five Core Habits of Grammar are practices of the classical model of education, like the Five Common Topics of Dialectic and the Five Canons of Rhetoric, that can be applied to all areas of learning. With our Classical Conversations curriculum, we introduce these habits to students in our...

A homeschool graduation ceremony starts with the intention that began when your child took their first steps. It is a milestone that brings memories and hope together in a beautiful bouquet of learning and love, but families finishing the Challenge program often carry practical questions into this season: what...

A Challenge-level homeschool schedule moves a family from hands-on instruction toward mentoring, one year at a time, as a parent works toward the goal of every homeschool parent: teaching a child how to learn anything. That shift is something Classical Conversations families can look forward to. The years spent...

A homeschool routine that actually works can feel like a moving target, especially when curriculum, ages, and seasons keep shifting under your feet. After more than twenty years of homeschooling and testing nearly every method, template, and schedule along the way, Laura Kooistra has found five keys that hold...

“A classical education curriculum? Isn’t that just for elite private schools and snooty academicians obsessed with Latin?” If you’ve ever dismissed classical education as outdated, outmoded, or irrelevant, you might be surprised to discover its growing influence in diverse educational settings—including homeschooling—where the principles of classical education are being...

Classical Conversations Protocol is the etiquette and cultural capstone event for the Challenge II academic year, and it always includes two required parts: a formal meal and a cultural event, such as the symphony, ballet, or opera. For many Challenge II parents, the real question is not what Protocol...

A homeschool schedule works best when it is built from vision to details: start with the academic year, then narrow to the week, then to the day. Jennifer Courtney learned this firsthand as a state manager and Practicum speaker for Classical Conversations, fielding this exact question from parents again...

As a parent, do you ever ask the quiet question, “What is shaping my child’s heart?” In a world where screens and algorithms compete for a student’s every glance, cultivating wisdom can feel like swimming against the current. Timothy Knotts, Director of Challenge Development for Classical Conversations MultiMedia and...

A homeschool rhythm looks less like a printed schedule and more like the flow of turning evening to morning, work to rest, and celebration to charge. Many homeschool parents build their days around a strict timetable, only to watch that timetable crack under the weight of sick days, sibling...

At some point, you’ve probably heard the question asked (or maybe you’ve asked the question): why homeschool when your child can go to a public school funded by the government? But perhaps we should flip that question around. Homeschooling has grown in popularity with families throughout the United States. Several...

Every family that has ever wondered how to start homeschooling has faced the same moment: the desire is there, but the path forward is not yet clear. Classical Conversations has walked that path with thousands of families, and in this guide to homeschooling for beginners, we share what we...

Classical education is not the enemy of creativity in education. It is the very soil where it grows. Jennifer Courtney has spent decades studying classically alongside her children and serving as Chief Academic Officer for Classical Conversations MultiMedia. In this article, Jennifer addresses one of the most persistent myths...

The reasons not to homeschool are real, and most parents considering the decision can name several without much effort. Laura Kooistra, mother of six and a Classical Conversations home educator with more than twenty years of experience, has wrestled with those same doubts year after year. In this article,...

Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas traditions give homeschool families a way to pass faith, wonder, and the story of God’s faithfulness down to the next generation. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, God told Joshua to stack twelve stones by the riverbank so that “when your children ask in time...

Classical Conversations October 2026 | Parent Connections Newsletter Every October, we invite Classical Conversations parents to fall in love with classical education all over again. The leaves are turning. Community days have found their rhythm. And somewhere around Week 7, a lot of parents start asking a fair question:...

Homeschool Gift Ideas for Christmas: A Classical Gift Guide for the Whole Family The best homeschool gift ideas invite a family to keep learning together: beautiful books to read aloud, simple instruments and games that sharpen young minds, and small reminders of the faith and friendships that shape each...

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 geography gives your Foundations student a real, working map of the United States. A few hands-on activities alongside the memory work help that map take root even deeper. As your family spends the fall singing through fifty states and capitals and the spring naming mountain...

The September 2026 Parent Connections newsletter covers five things CC families asked about most this month. Robert Bortins lays out the five convictions behind America’s 250th anniversary. Concurrent enrollment registration for spring and summer opens September 8. A homeschooling mother in northern India shares what four years of classical...

A homeschool routine that actually works can feel like a moving target, especially when curriculum, ages, and seasons keep shifting under your feet. After more than twenty years of homeschooling and testing nearly every method, template, and schedule along the way, Laura Kooistra has found five keys that hold...

The following article is a guest contribution from our partner, the Classic Learning Test (CLT). Have you started panicking about college admissions tests and SAT prep? The prospect of high-stakes standardized testing can be overwhelming for students and parents alike. And the universal feeling of anxiety makes sense given...

Please enjoy this article written by our partner, Freed-Hardeman University. As a homeschooler, your student often experiences moments of profound learning, moments that you, as both parent and teacher, get to witness firsthand. As your student grows into high school-level courses, these moments may become more frequent. Perhaps dates...

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 walks Foundations students through American history, Latin translation, chemistry, geometry, and much more, all set to memory-work families recite together for 24 weeks. With blog posts, podcasts, videos, and printables scattered across so many corners of the community, finding the right one for this week’s...

Each month, Classical Conversations publishes a Parent Connections newsletter for CC families — a curated blend of encouragement, curriculum updates, member benefits, and community resources. The August 2026 issue lands right at the start of a new academic year, opening with a message of encouragement for returning and new...

A homeschool schedule works best when it is built from vision to details: start with the academic year, then narrow to the week, then to the day. Jennifer Courtney learned this firsthand as a state manager and Practicum speaker for Classical Conversations, fielding this exact question from parents again...

Classical Conversations Capstone Events: A Parent FAQ Every level of Classical Conversations, from Foundations through Challenge IV, ends its year with a capstone event. Here is what that means, why it matters, how the events connect to each other, and what each one actually looks like. What is a...

Every family that has ever wondered how to start homeschooling has faced the same moment: the desire is there, but the path forward is not yet clear. Classical Conversations has walked that path with thousands of families, and in this guide to homeschooling for beginners, we share what we...

Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas traditions give homeschool families a way to pass faith, wonder, and the story of God’s faithfulness down to the next generation. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, God told Joshua to stack twelve stones by the riverbank so that “when your children ask in time...

Homeschooling in Canada stretches from sea to sea, with families learning together at kitchen tables from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic shore, and it is legal in every province and territory. Dawna Ferguson has been one of those families since 1993. A mother of seven living in Alberta...

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 geography gives your Foundations student a real, working map of the United States. A few hands-on activities alongside the memory work help that map take root even deeper. As your family spends the fall singing through fifty states and capitals and the spring naming mountain...

Why homeschool? Margot McNutt has spent her whole life answering that question, first as a homeschooled daughter and now as a Classical Conversations Tutor, watching the next generation of families ask the same thing. Margot is a recent graduate of the Classical Conversations Challenge program, the second oldest of...

The Classical Conversations Essentials program is a bridge: it carries the memory work built in Foundations toward the Latin language study that begins in Challenge A. Longtime Classical Conversations mom and now as a curriculum developer for Classical Conversations MultiMedia, Kathy Donegia, has spent years mapping that bridge. In...

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 walks Foundations students through American history, Latin translation, chemistry, geometry, and much more, all set to memory-work families recite together for 24 weeks. With blog posts, podcasts, videos, and printables scattered across so many corners of the community, finding the right one for this week’s...

National Memory Master celebrates the memory work that a Foundations student has practiced for years, with a final tour before Challenge A. This year, that celebration set sail. Sixteen finalists gathered aboard the CC Family Cruise in the Caribbean, and after two rounds of heats, maps, and stories pulled...

America turns 250 this year, and as we celebrate, we carry forward the viewpoints and values the founders built. Modeling community service for kids is one of the most tangible ways a family can answer that call. Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations and homeschool dad, draws five convictions...

Classical education in India is growing, and the families who have found it are not going back. Namitha, a Classical Conversations mom homeschooling in the foothills of the Dhauladhar ranges, writes from the middle of that story. In this article, Namitha traces how four years of classical Christian education...

Every homeschool dad shapes his children’s future, whether he intends to or not. Alex Newman is a journalist, author, and Classical Conversations father of six whose work has taken him across continents, but whose most consequential assignment has always been at home. In this article, Newman draws on Scripture,...

Every parent wants their child to discover what they are made of. Jennifer Leeds has spent years watching that discovery unfold within Classical Conversations communities, not in moments of ease but in moments of effort. In this article, she introduces the National Number Knockout competition and makes the case...

Homeschool history curriculum for elementary students works best when it moves beyond the page and into real life through stories told aloud, timelines drawn by hand, and afternoons spent making things that bring the past forward. Lisa Bailey has spent more than twenty years as a homeschooling mother, a...

Homeschool art activities tied to American history build technique, and give children a language for the story their country is still telling. Writer and educator Kelli Wilt explores how four distinctly American artists featured in Classical Conversations Foundations Cycle 3 illuminate different facets of the American experience, each paired...

The purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, remembering His birth and waiting in hope for His return. In this reflection, Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, shares what that waiting has taught his family about faith, presence, and the questions children carry home. The...

Homeschooling in Canada stretches from sea to sea, with families learning together at kitchen tables from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic shore, and it is legal in every province and territory. Dawna Ferguson has been one of those families since 1993. A mother of seven living in Alberta...

The following article is a guest contribution from our partner, Samaritan’s Purse. Please enjoy this article written by Lynda Casto, Manager of Children and Family Partnerships for Samaritan’s Purse through Operation Christmas Child. Community service for teens is often measured in hours logged for a resume, and their academic...

Educational freedom is not a modern policy debate. It is the same inheritance that shaped the American mind long before the Declaration of Independence was ever signed, and as the nation marks 250 years since that document was written, homeschool families are living proof that the inheritance is still...

Classical education in India is growing, and the families who have found it are not going back. Namitha, a Classical Conversations mom homeschooling in the foothills of the Dhauladhar ranges, writes from the middle of that story. In this article, Namitha traces how four years of classical Christian education...

Every homeschool dad shapes his children’s future, whether he intends to or not. Alex Newman is a journalist, author, and Classical Conversations father of six whose work has taken him across continents, but whose most consequential assignment has always been at home. In this article, Newman draws on Scripture,...

America’s 250th anniversary arrives on July 4, 2026, and for homeschool families, it is an invitation to do more than watch fireworks. This milestone calls for something more deliberate: connecting what your children have been learning to the story of a nation still being written. Classical Conversations families are...

Raising mission-minded children begins with authentic family worship and parents who model a genuine heart for the nations. It’s funny how much being a parent changes your perspective on things. Everyone tells you it will, and you believe them. Then it happens, and you are still amazed at the...

Can you become a Classical Conversations Director, even if you’ve never taught beyond your own children? The answer is yes—and the benefits reach far beyond what you might imagine. When you become a CC Director, you step into a role that catalyzes your personal spiritual growth, transforms your family’s...

A small Classical Conversations community offers priceless benefits your family simply can’t find in larger programs: deeper relationships, more individualized attention from Tutors, and leadership opportunities that help every child flourish. I know what you’re thinking—won’t my children miss out with fewer students in their classes? Won’t they need...

What is Memory Master? Who should participate? What are some fun and diverse ideas for practicing? Read this post for answers to all of these questions - and more!

An Excellence in Education event allows the community to share the blessings of classical, Christian education with legislators, civic leaders, clergy, grandparents, and neighbors. To say Classical Conversations students accomplish a lot over the course of their education is an understatement. From memorizing the Timeline Song in the Foundations program to participating...

There are different types of partners for just about everything. I’m sure we can all think back to a time when we’ve partnered with a friend to start a bible study, pursue a new health goal, or maybe even launch a new business venture. Whatever the scenario, we found...