Challenge A at Charlotte - Mallard Creek: 2014

The Five Common Topics

The 5 Common Topics are used in the Challenge programs in every seminar (subject). They are a list of questions that tutors, parents, and students all use to learn and discover new things. Or new ways of looking at old things. You might think you know a Bible verse or story that you've read a thousand times.

The Virginia Creeper Trail

Almost every year, we take a family trip to Damascus, VA and ride the Virginia Creeper Trail. No, this is not a creepy, scary ride :)

Revolution Lapbook

The boys and I worked on an American Revolution lapbook in August and September to help us learn the events leading up to and including the Revolutionary War. We worked on it a little bit during every school day and took turns researching different topics and events and adding them to the finished product.

Guest Blog: 5 Things 9th Graders Need to Know

I read this blog today and loved it!! From 7sistershomeschool.com. Check them out!

I was working with a group of homeschool 9th graders recently. They were sitting bright-eyed and nervous on their first day of group classes. Their first day in high school. Big stuff!

9th Graders Need to Know

I asked them why they were here.

“To learn”

“To take some classes my mom didn’t want to teach”

“Because it’s fun to be in this group”

I asked why they were here on earth.

*nervous silence*

I rephrased: What is God’s purpose for you?

*worried silence*

Many 9th graders haven’t given life after high school much thought- maybe just enough thought to be stressed about it. Some worry that they are pointless beings, not-good-enough, or don’t matter.

So I went ahead and told them the answer:

“God never makes a mistake. He has you here on earth for a purpose. He has a story He is writing in your life. He will use you to write His story in the lives of others. Homeschool high school is the perfect time to prepare yourself to be in that story:

-Learn how He made you (the things you’re good at, the things that make your feel like you’ve done well or been a blessing)

-Learn how to use words so that you can explain things (like life, the Gospel, friendship, etc.) to others

-Learn how to balance hard work (like studying boring or difficult subjects), fun, and self-care

-Learn to treat yourselves and others well

-Learn how to accept that you matter, you have a purpose.”

There were some sighs of relief and smiles.

We’ve already settled 5 necessary things that 9th graders need to know.

- See more at: http://7sistershomeschool.com/9th-graders-need-to-know/#sthash.kbLYnAwq.dpuf

Beefing Up Sixth Grade

Here is a great article I read recently which was written by Courtney Sanford of Classical Conversations. It details some ways to "beef up" the Foundations work for 6th graders who have already completed several years of Foundations and Essentials. Get ready, Brady!

In more and more Classical Conversations communities, sixth graders start their final year in Foundations already knowing a lot of the memory work. Many of these students began Foundations sitting on mom’s lap and soaking up the timeline cards as early as age three. How do we keep them engaged through Foundations and prepare them for Challenge A?

Lab Reports

Here is an outline for your students on how to write up a lab report from a science experiment. We attempt about 3-4 science experiments every week at my house. We write up an informal and brief outline for each. But I only require a formal lab report as outlined below on one experiment each month. This frequency may change as the kids grow older.

Heading:
Title
Experiment #
Date
Your Name
Name of group members
Instructor’s name

Purpose: State the purpose of the experiment in one or two sentences. What is the goal of the exploratory process stated as specifically as possible.

King Protista

Here is a fun skit that a fellow tutor put together to introduce the lesser known of the five kingdoms -- Protista.
Enjoy!!

Protozoa & Algae Skit:

King Protista: Hi! I am King Protista!
All: Hi! What do you mean by King Protista?
King Protista: Well I’m in charge of the kingdom called Protista and I have 2 groups I supervise that I just love!
All: What are they?
King Protista: They are Protozoa and Algae. Let me introduce you to protozoa.

Stylish Schemes

So you've probably heard of alliteration and parallelism. But what about chiasmus (chiasmi?) and epistrophes?

In the Challenge writing program, the Lost Tools of Writing, there are three steps to writing an essay:
1. Invention
2. Arrangement
3. Elocution

There are two more steps to make up the full 5 Canons of Rhetoric (Memory and Delivery) but we are focusing here on the writing part, the first three steps only.

So the 3rd step is elocution and that is when we get to add our personal style to the essay. Some of the styles we can add to an essay are called schemes and tropes.
Schemes are an appeal to the senses.

National Honor Society: Greek style!

There is a way for homeschooled students to join the National Honor Society. It's called Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society. The Greek letters look like this:

HΣA

The Charlotte chapter was established in 2004 and they meet monthly near the campus of UNCC.

20 Tips for Students

So now that your student is entering the Challenge years...how are they going to finish all the work required of them? Here are 20 helpful tips and reminders for everybody to review before the year begins :)

1. Always eat breakfast.
2. Keep your books, pencils, flashcards, supplies all together so you don't waste time looking for things you need once you get started.
3. Avoid the black holes! facebook, pinterest, instagram, twitter, email, video games, internet surfing need to wait until your work for the day is finished.

2014-2015 Geo Bee

Years ago, National Geographic created the National Geo Bee to try to ameliorate the pitiful condition of geography knowledge in the United States. Students were graduating from college without a basic understanding of where countries are located on planet Earth. In 1994, one female graduate, and I'm sure there were others, didn't know the difference between the Midwest and the Middle East.

Challenge Paradigm

Classical Education
Teachers: No more than two tutors model teaching/learning for all six subjects.

Training: Tutors are trained in the classical model of teaching on a yearly basis.

The Challenge Difference

The Challenge program is for students 12 and older. For thirty weeks they study six challenging subjects (or content areas) at home while practicing dialectic and rhetoric skills in the context of universal themes and ideas within a community setting.

What is Challenge A?

Our Challenge program, designed for students twelve years and older, provides the perfect setting for students to expand their command of the classical tools of learning—dialectic and rhetorical skills in particular.

Challenge A tuition for 2015-2016

Registration is closed for 2014-2015.

Registration fee for 2015 is $125 and is due as early as possible to save your spot.

A one-time supply fee is due by the first day of class and it is $50 for the year.

First semester tuition is $637.50 and is due by July 20, 2015. Please mail to Pam Burton, 4736 Kirkgard Trail, Charlotte, 28269.

Second semester tuition is also $637.50 and is due by January 5, 2016.

All checks can be made out to Pam Burton.

Registration forms can be found at a link at the top of the page.

We meet at Crossway Community Church on Prosperity Church Road in Charlotte, NC.
8:30-3:15 on Tuesdays.

Challenge A Location and Contact Info

CC Charlotte - Mallard Creek

Summer Preparations

Starting with the challenge levels, students do have work to finish in the summer to prepare for their fall schedule. Thankfully, the Challenge A summer workload is fairly simple!

time doesn't stand still

One of the most important things I've had to do as a Challenge parent is give my teenage daughter TIME. And it's not only time WITH her, but time FOR her to complete her work.

Why Classical Conversations? Part One

When we first thought about joining a CC community, I had a friend who was already in it for a few years and she had a interesting take on one of the benefits: "It provides just enough structure for our family to make homeschooling work!" I was intrigued at that point and over the years have found her comment to be true.

Moo!

Our class had a lot of fun (some more than others) with the cow eyeball dissection last week. All semester we have been drawing and memorizing the body systems. With only a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, students can draw the digestive system, the ear, the heart, the nervous system, etc. Thank God we didn't have to cover the reproductive system :) they can do that at home with their parents.

skills are more important than subjects

This year I attended a seminar about classical education and I saw again how different it is from contemporary education today. One of the differences is that we focus on teaching skills rather than teaching subjects. We USE subjects like math, writing, English grammar, Latin, science to teach skills that our students will need for life. Here is a breakdown:

my new favorite website

Now that my daughter is so very close to beginning her freshman year of high school, we have been looking at what we need to do as homeschoolers in regards to...the SAT. Yep, you heard that right. So my new favorite website is the collegeboard and we have already registered her account (free to do) and begun working on practice test questions.