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Greetings from Leigh Bortins
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Valentine's Day is approaching and I'll spend some time on the fourteenth thinking about the one I love the most romantically, my husband, Rob, but today I'm thinking about another love...one that always energizes me, and inspires me, and keeps me going even when times are troubled...the love of learning.
Writers must write, singers must sing, and we teachers just love to learn. Modern thinking pigeonholes people into thinking they are only "math" people or only "English" people. I certainly was as an aerospace engineering student! When I discovered the tools of learning (the classical method), and began learning all the disciplines, I discovered that whatever I began to learn, I loved that subject, too. Latin? I loved breaking it down to see the patterns. English grammar? I loved organizing all the rules and patterns into simplified charts and diagrams. History? I loved the adventure. Logic? I loved being able to recognize and name faulty logic when I heard it.
I discovered that I don't love only one subject. I just love to learn. I also discovered that every subject, every direction on an educational map, leads me to Jesus...I get a glimpse of how wonderful, how marvelous is our creator in His complexity, wisdom, and power.
I love the children He entrusted to me, too. So what a pleasure it is for me to spend my day sharing my love of learning with them! If January found you bogged down in trying to complete lesson # 98 in some workbook, let February fill you with the love of learning beyond that workbook somehow. Real books and real discussions about the how and why will be much more inspiring than workbook pages. It's the conversations you have with your children about the grammar or the science or the history that will lead to wisdom...workbook pages cannot impart wisdom. Proverbs 3:13 tells us, "Happy is the man who finds wisdom," so let the conversations begin!
Leigh
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CC News: Leigh's New Book
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The Core is available for pre-order!
Leigh's new book, The Core, Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education, will be available in June. It is full of practical advice and clear explanations of the classical model and how to successfully use it at home.
Pre-order your copy now from Amazon.
This book will be especially useful to introduce new parents to the idea of classical home-education. Order an extra copy to give away so you can share the blessings of classical education with others!
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CC 101: Could I Ever Learn to Love Latin?
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One of the easiest subjects to love is history. Events happened in order. Literature that brings the events to life are easy to find. Discussions about the people and events are pretty easy to negotiate, but what about Latin? Could I ever learn to love Latin?
Yes, you can! Through Classical Conversations,  your family can learn and love Latin, too. We begin with memorizing some charts: noun endings in Cycle 1 and verb endings in Cycle 2. That's easy to do...we've put it to music, so you just sing along and occasionally review how to spell the thing you're singing.
At the same time, we teach the children English grammar rules, particularly the parts of speech. About ages 10 to 12 the students concentrate on how English grammar works: When is a noun a noun, and when is it something else? What is the subject and what is the object of the preposition? When is a word a direct object and when is it an indirect object? (Essentials tutors happily explain all that!)
When the student enters Challenge A (about age 12 or 13) they have firmly in their head the Latin lists and the English grammar rules and understanding. They are ready to interpret the endings using what they already know and they are developmentally ready for this dialectic thinking. You'll begin to have discussions about the possibilities of what a word could mean. "Suppose we made this word the subject, how would that change the meaning?" or "Suppose we used the object of the preposition, then what would the sentence mean?"
Another method for studying Latin is to take a written piece of Latin and compare it to the same written piece in English. We do this with a very familiar piece: the Gospel of John. The students memorize it in English and then in Latin. They are then able to recite long passages of Latin and they know what they are saying. We do this in Cycle 3. Nathaniel Bowditch taught himself Latin and several other languages this way. You can read about how he did that in the Newbery Award-winning biography, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. (It is available from the CC Bookstore. We recommend it to students and parents!)
If you want to add a little vocabulary and some conversational phrases there are many Latin student books available. We love Song School Latin because it uses catchy songs to teach common words and phrases. Having your six-year old ask you, "Quid agis, Mommy?" is just plain fun. (It means, "How are you, Mommy?") This has really made Latin lovable in our house.
We also use the old-fashioned (but very effective) method of copy work. After the children have memorized John in Latin, we have them copy it word for word in their best handwriting. The act of copying forces the student to pay concentrated attention to each letter. Copying the same piece over and over sets the letters and those endings firmly in their memory. Then, when we introduce the idea of different endings indicating different parts of speech, they have some examples in their brain of just that. It all clicks together.
You can also use literature to bring Latin to life. Any children's books about the Romans will help with that. My family particularly liked Modern Rhymes about Ancient Times: the Romans.
Knowing English grammar will give students a firm foundation for studying any language. Following the classical model (memorize first, then move to the dialectic understanding and translating) you can actually love learning Latin.
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Academic Services: Stanford Testing
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 Many Classical Conversations communities are preparing to host Stanford Testing for their students. Many locations are already accepting registration online.
Testing is just one of the many tools that educators use to evaluate student's needs and to prepare them for the demands of the adult world. CC believes that standardized testing is an important part of preparing our children for college entrance exams.
The actual test's content is not as important as the skill of test taking. We have chosen to offer the Stanford test because most private schools accept their scores for entry, and it is great preparation for the SAT I and the ACT tests. Stanford tests also provide parents with a great tool for evaluating language and math skills.
For more information about Stanford testing click the link below
Stanford Testing Information
To find a testing site near you, click the link below, select your state and hit "search". Once you select the location, you will be able to register on-line.
Stanford Test Sites, Dates, and Registration
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CC Bookstore News |
 FEBRUARY ONLINE SPECIAL
10% off Spectrum Test Prep and Test Practice Books!
It's time to schedule a test, and CC recommends the Stanford Test. The Spectrum Test Practice and Test Prep books help students do their best by explaining test-taking strategies and giving them the practice they need.
Follow us on Twitter!
CC community families can tweet us @cc_bookstore. 
Follow the online bookstore for special savings!
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| CC Online Book Club |
February Reading and Discussion: The Bronze Bow
Parents, this beautifully-written and inspiring classic will capture your imagination as it details life during Christ's ministry on earth. It will enable you to teach your own children with a deeper understanding of the people who lived during that time. CC loves this book, and we think you will, too!
Check it out from the library, or, if you want to purchase it, you can order it from the CC Bookstore.
Click here to purchase The Bronze Bow
Online discussion has begun. Join us online!
It's not necessary to be a member of C3 to participate. The discussion forum will be placed on the public (free) portion of C3.
Click here to visit C3. Book Club Discussion Forum
CC Parents: consider hosting a live book club for your CC Community! Encourage parents in your group to read The Bronze Bow and host a book club discussion at your home one evening in February. Moms (and dads, too!) can really use an evening out in February...a time to encourage one another and discuss great literature!
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| CC News: New Science Resource - Available Soon! |
Soon, getting a little more science information will be much easier!
CC is producing a set of beautiful science cards to put extra information at your fingertips. They will cover science topics from all three cycles of Foundations, Challenge A and B, plus extra facts that you'll find helpful, including biographies of famous scientists.
Cards will be packaged in four separate sets:
Set 1: Biology and Geology
Corresponds to Foundations Cycle 1, Challenge A, I, and II
Set 2: Ecology, Astronomy, Physics
Corresponds to Foundations Cycle 2, Challenge I, III, IV
Set 3: Anatomy, Chemistry, Origins
Corresponds to Foundations Cycle 3, Challenge A, B, II, III
Set 4: Famous Scientists and More
Corresponds to Challenge B and all Foundations cycles and all Challenge classes
Cards will be 5 x 8 inches, printed on high-quality cardstock, and will be laminated.
Each set will be sold for $18.99 each. You'll be able to pre-order all four sets at a discounted price. Watch for e-mails announcing this special offer, coming soon!
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| Leigh's BlogTalkRadio Program |
 Noon EST, Wednesday, February 3Leigh! at Lunch with Andrew Kern
Andrew Kern is president and founder of the CiRCE Institute. He graduated from Concordia University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was mentored by Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Jr. Dr. Veith and Andrew co-authored the best-selling Classical Education, The Movement Sweeping America, now in its second edition. Andrew has been directly involved in establishing three classical Christian schools, training instructors in over 50 schools, and consulting start-up classical schools on institutional development. Andrew has been directing the CiRCE Institute full time since the summer of 2000.
 Noon EST, Wednesday, February 10
Leigh! at Lunch with James B. Jordan
James B. Jordan is the founder and director of Biblical Horizons, a think tank in Niceville, Florida that publishes books, essays, and other media related to Bible commentary, Biblical theology, and liturgy. Dr. Jordan has authored hundreds of articles and monographs, as well as several books, including The Sociology of the Church, Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World; Creation in Six Days, and several books of Bible exposition.
Noon EST, Wednesday, February 17Leigh's Guest To Be Announced
 Noon EST, Wednesday, February 24Leigh! at Lunch with Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
Dr. Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is an Alliance Council member and Provost and Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, a Christian classical liberal arts college in Purcellville, VA. Dr. Veith previously served as the Culture Editor of World Magazine and Executive Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Dr. Veith is well-known in Christian conservative circles through his writing and speaking on various aspects of Christianity and culture. He has written more than 100 scholarly articles, reviews, papers, and books including Postmodern Times: a Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture; God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life; A Place to Stand: The Word of God in the Life of Martin Luther; and State of the Arts: From Bazalel to Mapplethorpe (used in Challenge II).
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Postcards from CC Communities
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My
7 year old son was thoughtfully watching rain drop streams on the car
window sheild. He then said, "Mom, look! The Tigris and Eurphrates
river!" Knowing I was not in the Middle East, I said "What are you
talking about? Where?" He replied, "There! These two raindrop
streams". Having studied Cycle 1 geography, the images of those two
rivers were imprinted in his mind. Yeah! Classical Conversations!
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Classical Conversations' new warehouse/office building in West End, NC opened its doors in December!
Leigh is proud to be contributing to the growth of the small town and the bookstore and administrative staff are much more comfortable in their beautiful new location.
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In the 5 years that we have been homeschooling, I struggled with feeling
inadequate in providing my children with all that they needed. Classical Conversation has made a big difference for us this year. We have been part of other groups before, but CC has given me a freedom that I hadn't felt in the
past.
CC helps me to focus on the most important
academics. Using a classical education model was quite a change for us from the
traditional educational model we had been using. As a matter of fact, I didn't even really
know what a "classical" education was until I
was introduced to CC. It is not about teaching the classics, which is what I always
thought.
CC has made this school year our best by far. I feel more confident in what my kids are learning and I have more confidence in
my ability to be able to continue homeschooling even as they grow older. CC helps me to focus on what is most important the other 4 days of our
school week. It is also a great community of homeschool families that I can
lean on for support and fellowship.
Lisa Cox, Cincinnati, Ohio ____________________________________________________________
This is the kind of teen drama we like: 
CC Challenge students enjoying reading Taming of the Shrew in Raleigh, NC.
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We love to hear from you! Please send us a note and/or photos of your Classical Conversations Community.
Click here to send us an "e-postcard" about your CC Community >>
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Equipping Events: Practicums
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Student Practicums
Our Student Practicums are designed to provide a helping hand along the classical education journey.
These one-day excursions are developed around academically-charged topics and lifelong learning skills. Students reap the rewards of these scholastic events throughout the school year, and parents appreciate the instructional inspiration provided by our classically-experienced Student Practicum guides. Topics vary and include: writing using structures and styles, SAT and persuasive essay tools, language essentials, and the lucrative learning skills of logic!
Dates, locations, and registration information>>
Parent Practicums and more...
CC's signature event, the free 3-Day Parent Practicums are being planned now. Dates and locations will be available soon.
Many CC communities are hosting open houses and one-day informational meetings. To find out what's happening in your area, visit the CC Event Calendar, enter your state, and click "search".
Click here to visit the CC Event Calendar. |
Parting Words
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Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;
for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold,
She is more precious than rubies,
All the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Proverbs 3:13-15
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Classical Conversations exists to know God and to make Him known by equipping parents through our programs and communities.
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