Carthage Area Classical Conversations

It’s hard to believe it’s already time to begin planning for next school year! 📚

Carthage Area Classical Conversations would like to invite you to our last Open House of the school year. On Monday, March 23rd, join us for a community day where you and your children can participate in classes, meet other homeschooling families, and learn why we love CC and the classical model of education.

Current programs at our community:
- Foundations (9am-12pm/ages 4-11)
- Essentials (1pm-3pm/ages 9-11)
- Challenge A (8:15am-3pm/age 12+)
- Challenge B (8:15am-3pm/age 13+).
- Next school year we hope to add Challenge I (age 14+)

For more info or to register, click the attached link.

Attend a Classical Conversations Outreach Event! Find an upcoming Classical Conversations Information Meeting, Open House, Parent Practicum, or Convention in your area.

Quick Introduction to Challenge and the Seminars (or Strands)

Over all the programs, Classical Conversations is divided into six seminars (or strands). For sake of consistency and clarity I will refer to them as seminars, though you may hear both terms used interchangeably in community. A scope and sequence chart of them can be found on page 40 of the catalog (see link at end). In Foundations and Essentials, you will not often hear references to the seminars though the connection is there. You can see how the subjects in the lower levels fit into the seminars by referencing that scope and sequence.

Here is a quick breakdown of the six seminars (also found in the catalog on page 52):
Logic: Math
Research: Science
Reasoning: Formal Logic and Philosophy
Debate: History
Grammar: Latin
Exposition: Literature and Composition

During each seminar in Challenge, students and tutors will discuss and review the material studied throughout the past week and tutors will introduce content for the upcoming week. The tutor will often employ the 15 Skills (page 7 of the catalog) to help guide students in discussion.

“How Does the Challenge Program Stand Out from Other Programs?
• Parents retain authority over their student’s coursework and assessments.
• Tutors, parents, and students connect knowledge across disciplines rather than the knowledge existing in isolated subjects.
• By discussing and presenting assignments, connections are made between science, math, philosophy, theology, history, literature, and economics.
• CC members model a lifelong love of learning and God through His Word and His World.
• Tutors encourage families to explore how knowledge glorifies God, inspiring a deeper desire to worship and serve Him.” (Excerpt from the catalog, page 52)

2026 Shoppable Catalog Classical Conversations enrolled members receive 15% off ClassicalConversations MultiMedia products and free shipping on orders $50 or more. CCMember Discount: My Discounts

I am still working on my articles for each Challenge strand, but meanwhile here is a great article about preparing your child for Challenge. Near the end of the article, she answers several questions regarding the program. It is an excellent place to start if you are curious about Challenge, whether a current CC family or looking into CC for the first time.

Top 3 Tips for Starting Challenge with Classical Conversations Starting Challenge? Learn what to expect, essential resources, and practical tips to thrive in Classical Conversations' rigorous high school program.

RESCHEDULED DUE TO WEATHER: February 2
Register Here: https://classicalconversations.com/events?id=kpMOG

Carthage Area Classical Conversations would like to invite you to our next Open House! On Monday, January 26th, join us for a community day where you and your children can participate in classes, meet other homeschooling families, and learn why we love CC and the classical model of education.

Current programs at our community: Foundations (9am-12pm/ages 4-11), Essentials (1pm-3pm/ages 9-11), Challenge A (8:15am-3pm/age 12+), and Challenge B (8:15am-3pm/age 13+). Next school year we will add Challenge I (age 14+).

For more info or to register: https://classicalconversations.com/events/?id=RDb1G

Information Meetings:
January 20, Lamar, MO **CANCELED**
February 6, 2026 - Carthage, MO https://classicalconversations.com/events?id=9qLkE
(more will be scheduled in the future)

Open Houses:
January 26, 2026 - https://classicalconversations.com/events?id=RDb1G
March 23, 2026 - https://classicalconversations.com/events?id=bjOrL

Send a message to learn more

How do you feel about your 7th-12th grader's educational journey? Do you feel like your young person could be challenged to do more? Do you want more for your student than just learning information for a test only to forget it as soon as it is past? Do you want your young person to be able to think for themselves and wrestle with difficult things in a Godly, gracious way?

If you mentally said yes to any of those questions, then Classical Conversation's Challenge programs could be a benefit to you and your student.

Throughout the course of a week, students will spend four days at home reading, studying, working through their six strands and one day at community reviewing and discussing what they have learned throughout the week. Challenge Directors/Tutors are there to facilitate good conversation and to help introduce the material students will study through the week.

In future posts, we'll break down what the six strands are, how they differ at each level, and perhaps include personal testimonies of how our children have grown through this program.

In the meantime, feel free to visit one of our information meetings or open houses to ask questions, learn more, and watch a Challenge day in action. (See post for more info.)

For the 2026-2027 school year, we currently plan to offer Foundations, Essentials, and Challenge A (age 12+), B (age 13+), and 1 (age 14+)!

Send a message to learn more

Can I Homeschool My Child? Yes, and You Already Are! Discover how everyday parenting naturally builds the foundation for homeschool success, and how to confidently take the next step.

15 Classical Education Skills Homeschool Families Need to Know Discover the 15 Skills of classical education and how they equip students to master grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. Practical tips for homeschool parents!

It's been awhile since we posted! We have been very busy wrapping up our CC year, and soon we will be working on the 2025-2026 year.

To help me as I create postings, message us with any questions you have. We may use your question in a future post.

Until then, come visit our table at the Homeschool/Curriculum Fair! https://facebook.com/events/s/education-fair-and-curriculum-/1803493076839681/

What can I expect if I visit your community?

FOUNDATIONS
When visiting a community day, be prepared to be a little tired! We keep a quick pace, but you and your children will learn a lot.
We start with an opening meeting. This is a time of prayer committing our day to the Lord. We also use this time to cover any announcements and memorize verses.
All classes then begin their rotation of the five 30-minute components.
1. New Grammar: The tutor introduces the information that families will review and expound upon during the week. Topics include History, Science, Math, English, Latin, Geography, and Timeline. These topics are intentionally kept brief as the emphasis is memory and mastery of smaller chunks of information. At home, parents can read books, watch videos, and choose how much extra to explore regarding history and science. Math, English, Latin, and Geography are easily reviewed/integrated at home.
2. Presentations: Students come prepared to share a brief presentation in front of the class. This can be as simple as reciting a piece of memory work or as complex as presenting a book or video review. Our students also have snacks during this time to help keep it informal and less intimidating. This time is used to strengthen students’ confidence in presenting in front of an audience.
3. Hands-on Science: Students will observe and experiment with items in the world around them. The experiments and observations help feed curiosity and teach students to ask good questions, think, and process information.
4. Fine Arts: Each quarter has a different emphasis to cover many aspects of art: Quarter 1, drawing basics; Quarter 2, music theory and tin whistle; Quarter 3, great artists (learning about the artist themselves and experimenting with their techniques); and Quarter 4, Orchestra and Composers (learning about orchestra and the lives and works of selected composers).
5. Review: Classes play a fun game to review the current and last 6 weeks of memory work that had been introduced during New Grammar.
After all that learning, you are invited to stay for lunch and visit with our current families, ask them questions, and see if Classical Conversations could be a fit for your family.

Send a message to learn more

It’s hard to believe it’s already almost time to start thinking about next school year! Are you considering homeschooling?

Carthage Area Classical Conversations would like to invite you to our next Open House! On Tuesday, March 25th, join us for a community day where you and your children can participate in classes, meet other homeschooling families, and learn why we love CC and the classical model of education.

Current programs at our community: Foundations (9am-12pm/ages 4-11), Essentials (1pm-3pm/ages 9-11), Challenge A (9am-3pm/age 12+).

For more info or to register: https://classicalconversations.com/events/?id=LaDB

Struggling with how to homeschool your teens?
Classical Conversations offers great programs for seeing your teens through to graduation while preparing them for life.
Join us for an information meeting about the Challenge programs and how they can help! Stay for a little bit or a while. :)

Saturday, February 22, from 9am-11am at a local coffeehouse

Register here:

Attend a Classical Conversations Outreach Event! Find an upcoming Classical Conversations Information Meeting, Open House, Parent Practicum, or Convention in your area.