- Gather a like-minded friend or two. This part will either make or break your new venture. Be sure to work with others who you know well, trust, are organized and high-capacity, and agree with your classical education philosophy.
- Choose a body of memory work for the grammar kids. We found two that didn’t come with the same strings CC came with–Claritas Press or the Catholic Schoolhouse. We went with Claritas Press. We liked the 4-year history cycle that matched with Story of the World, the extended year (28 weeks), and the addition of Hymn and Scripture memory subjects. In my opinion the Math and Science is stronger than CC’s memory as well.
Aside: Don’t let the lack of information or formal ordering system deter you from Claritas. They were kind of thrown into curriculum selling and are working on improving their process
- Arrange your day. We decided to break up the kids into skill level groups instead of age groups. We have a very small community this year so we do everything except Language Arts as a large group. We only have 3 total adults and 1 does nursery so in order to have enough tutors, we have to divide and conquer. Our day still includes time to learn new Grammar and presentations. The notable changes are that all skill levels receive some sort of Language Arts instruction (including spelling), Music is every week, and there is a FULL HOUR for Art or Science (Art on the odd weeks; Science on the evens). The schedule does require all families to stay all day, but the extra instruction and exploration time has totally been worth it.
- Find a location. Not sure what comes first–chicken or egg. This may need to be your first step depending on your geographic are (or the size of your house ;). We were able to find a church willing to work with us in a very gracious way. Basically, we’re only paying a small fee for incurred overhead and our insurance.
- Spread the word. Word of mouth. Facebook. Flyers (do people still use these?). Local online forums. If you need to cap your numbers based on space, know that ahead of time. You may also decided if you want to be “first come, first serve” or if you want to have an application and selection process. When advertising, make sure you communicate the expectations of families as clearly as possible. Does everyone have to tutor? What is the involvement level?
And, VOILA! You have yourself a community. We’ve completed 2 weeks and we’re all LOVING IT!
If you are schooling classically in community, what has worked for you?
