Foundations Curriculum, Fifth Edition

The Foundations Curriculum, Fifth Edition, is at the printer for proofing as we speak. The 2018 catalog just arrived at the office and is being shipped out to all of our 2,500 communities in preparation for this year’s homeschool conventions and practicum season. We are finishing our 20^th anniversary and are starting the spring with over 117,000 seats filled in Classical Conversations communities, and we are preparing for additional international expansion. So we are a little busy right now!

I know that many of you are excited and also nervous about the new Foundations materials, and Leigh was literally combing through it and making final improvements the morning we sent it to the proofers.  We expect to ship pre-orders in April, so order today to ensure that you get the new curriculum early. We are very aware that you and your children have diligently memorized the memory pegs and we have done our best to keep them the same. The timeline has not changed. We are now memorizing multiplication tables up to 15. We’ve taken six years of your feedback, reviewed it and made thousands of improvements. We could have made more changes, we could have made fewer, but we believe that we have made the right changes to ensure your continued success as a homeschooler, as well as dramatically improved the layout of the weekly information.

Unlike some other homeschool companies, we are all homeschoolers—I grew up in a single-income family—and we do our best to keep prices reasonable and give options for every budget. For those in their final year of Foundations, we will have a list of relevant changes for you for Cycle 1. I’d expect that once you see the new Foundations Curriculum that you will want it, but we want to make sure that we do everything we reasonably can to accommodate you if you just need to focus your financial resources elsewhere this year.

We are very excited for the year ahead and welcome you to join us on this journey to “know God and to make Him known.”  I hope to see you at a practicum this summer!

Peace be with you,

Robert Bortins

Time flies when you are having fun or when you have two children under 2-and-half-years-old. I’m just starting my homeschool journey as a parent, after being homeschooled all my life. This month Classical Conversations is mentioned in Forbes magazine as an educational disruptor.  I think back to the basement of our home in Winston-Salem in 1997 when 11 of us started the first Challenge program.  I think CC will always be a disruptor in education, because we truly believe that God gives children to parents as a blessing and to raise them up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” We also believe that parents are primarily responsible for their children’s education, not professional educators, and that CC’s job is to empower parents to teach their children well.

This summer we have over 540 Parent Practicums scheduled across the United States and the globe.  Our signature summer event is for you the parents: To encourage you, help equip you with the tools of learning and to refresh you for the upcoming school year.  Each summer we receive testimonies from parents who attend these events and see education in a new light for the first time.

You can find your local book representative at these events and take advantage of free shipping and our other discount programs.  Growing up, we were a single-income homeschool family with four boys, so we understand the need for quality products at a reasonable price, and that is why all our products are made here in America. They are created by homeschooling moms and dads who have dedicated their lives to understanding Christian, classical education in order to serve you.

It is an honor for me that you have considered Classical Conversations as a partner in your homeschool journey.  Homeschooling isn’t easy, but it is infinitely worth it.  The things of lasting value in life are always hard-won. The amount of effort, prayer and persistence you bring to your home school are far more important than your educational or socio-economic background. The research continually shows that those who truly commit to homeschool their children do so successfully, regardless of education or finances. 

Classical Conversations is not the only educational disruptor here, because you are also educational and cultural disruptors, as long as you are committed to serving our Lord first and foremost. I urge you to remain committed to educating your children and raising them up as a new generation with a vision “to know God and to make Him known.”