Are you are parent that has heard of Classical Conversations as a great supplement and co-op option for your homeschooled children? If you have, you might be contemplating, researching, and deciding whether Classical Conversations fits (and fits well) into your homeschooling plans.
We have participated in Classical Conversations the past three years in both Foundations and in Essentials and hope that we can help answer some of your questions you have.
And please note, our review and opinion considering the costs are especially from the perspective that we were attempting to use CC for our family as a supplement to our homeschool – not a replacement for it (which some families do). This means that our opinion of these costs are especially reflected that they are over and above our full-time cost of materials for our normal homeschool.
But before we begin to break-down the costs, let me first give an extremely brief explanation about what it is.
Classical Conversations is an international program where homeschooling families in general come together once a week and memorize and learn information from several subjects and then provide the tools and resources for parents to follow the classical education model in their homeschool. The classes are taught by parents of enrolled children , called tutors, and trained to tutor in the Classical Conversations method. They meet in local churches or other buildings that will rent space just like any other co-op would. There are campuses all over the U.S. and many international ones as well.
The easiest explanation I have given to others is that it is basically a private homeschool co-op – a cross between private school and co-op. Although the tutors are not allowed to “teach” as this is the parents’ job, they are tutors who guide the children through the week’s information. Parents then take this information and use it how they wish throughout their homeschool week. Some use it as a supplement while others use it to base their core curriculum around. It’s very flexible.
Finally, it is typically one morning a week for Foundations (grammar stage), a couple of hours a week for Essentials (dialectic stage) all day one day a week for Challenge Programs (rhetoric stage).
Is there a fee associated with my local Classical Conversations Community?
Yes, it does cost money. In fact, it’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. This is where the private school concept comes into play. Children attend for a few hours (generally a 9:15-noon) a week, so for the cost, you are probably paying a nice private school tuition equivalent for the hours spent a week for the cost. In the past it came out to $14 per child, per day tuition (not counting all the other fees and book costs – see below for more). The cost is astounding and then there are continual fees, some of which are unique to the needs of each community, but it should be weighted heavily as a major factor in anyone deciding to participate. It’s a serious decision and commitment.
When we decided to join, we did have the money saved in our homeschooling budget, but there were additional costs throughout the whole year that added up very quickly. We did feel nickeled-and-dimed, and from speaking with others, our community’s costs were very low as our director made sure to keep costs as low as possible. So even our costs listed below are conservative.
So how much does it really cost?
We are going to write a follow-up to this post regarding our review of Classical Conversations. We actually began writing the review and the post was becoming a lengthy article – essentially a small book. One of the major parts of our review was discussing the costs associated with Classical Conversations. We decided this was an important enough aspect of deciding whether or not to participate that it deserves it’s own article. Thus, the reason for this specific article. In a few days, we will follow-up with the rest of our review of Classical Conversations (will be now noted as CC for the rest of the article).
So let me give you the breakdown of a conservative cost from a conservative community and all of the fees WE paid:
- Tuition = $335 each student for each program (last year, two of our kids were in both Foundations and Essentials = $670 each). These fees go to pay the tutor and director. I don’t know the exact breakdown, but I think the director of the CC community (think principal) receives 30% of everyone’s tuition and the tutors for each specific class receive 70% of the tuition of the kids specifically in their class.
- Registration Fee = $85 first kid and $55 each additional kid. This goes to CC Corporate.
- * Supply Fee = Our supply fee last year was $50 for the year for each student in Foundations and $20 for each student in Essentials.
- * Building Rent = $25 per family donation to the hosting church. This is going to be a BIG factor for many communities. Some have free rent, some have expensive rent that is split between all families. It is unique to each community.
- * Nursery = Since the parents are required to sit-in on the classes and be helpers, I needed to utilize the nursery all three years. I actually had two that needed nursery, but my toddler wanted to stay with me in the classes so thankfully I only paid for the baby. It was $4 per kid each week for the three hours. CC is a 24-week year = $96
- * Uniforms = This price will vary, but it is a cost to consider. Our community required khakis and navy blue polos. Both Children’s Place and Walmart sell these uniforms. I used all of my money-saving tricks to get the best deals, but with 4 kids and a couple of changes, it is still a cost of at least $100 for our family ($25 per kid).
- * Snacks = Our community tried to keep costs as low as possible, so our snack fee was $5 each kid for the year = $20.
- * CC T-shirts (can be used in lieu of polos for uniforms – we bought the cheapest option and ordered as a large group for the biggest discounts), $9 each for four kids = $36
- * CC Connected = Online forum and site to find ideas on how to teach and use the week’s lessons in your homeschooling at home. This is a fee of $6 a month = 9 months for $54.
- * Misc. Fees = from field trips, to fundraisers, to T-shirts, to you-name-it. This was estimated to be around $150 extra for the year for our family.
* A star (*) represents costs unique to each community and prices will vary based on needs and prices do seem to increase a little each year.
Note: All costs above are based on 2015-2016 actual costs.
Finally….The BOOKS! Honestly, I felt like I was enrolling my kids in college. This is the part that always catches me by surprise. Thankfully, for Foundations, once you purchase the basic materials, they can be used for all three-cycles. There are supplements that you can add (of course) but I think the materials are highly over-priced and CC is very protective about where you can buy these. They do try and stop all non-CC book sales in homeschool book exchange groups and other places online, and you can only order most materials if you are actually enrolled in CC. Meaning, that if you just wanted to follow the program at home (which you could), they make it very difficult to get ahold of materials and make it very difficult for anyone to resell their gently used books outside of CC. So your options are very limited and you really have no choice but to purchase it from them. If you are going to spend the $335 in tuition and the $85 registration fee, it would be useless to not buy the materials…and they know this.
Foundations Materials (prices have changed since I first purchased):
When you start, you need the basics. The first year, this is what I bought:
- Foundations guide = $60 (it is now $75)
- 4 Sets of Timeline Cards (you need a set from each of the four ages) = $88 (Now they are $92)
- 4 Tin Whistles at $10 each = $40 (they are now $11 each)
- Cycle CD’s (need a new set each year) for $35
Total = $223 plus free shipping (for the basics for Foundations, no additional supplements or resources)
Essentials Materials (the most basic order):
- Essentials of the English Language = $65 (can be reused)
- IEW TWSS Syllabus = $35 (can be reused)
- History Teacher’s Manual = $24 (can be reused)
- History-Based Writing Lessons Student Book = $29 x 2 (for two students, not reusable)
- I also purchased $39 in extra supplements
Total = $221 plus free shipping
As you can see, the materials are ridiculously over-priced in my opinion. But…what do you do?!? I have spent a minimum of $200+ every year in materials, despite having many of the basics that can be reused. This year was even higher due to having kids in both Foundations and Essentials. Buying the materials is optional, but again, when you are already spending that much on tuition, you want to make the most of the education and so you are most likely going to have to spend the money on books.
When it comes to homeschooling, we have been able to find, reuse and utilize quite affordable materials for the core of our homeschool studies. For CC being a supplement, I find this to one of the most expensive supplements known to homeschooling. It’s the part that I don’t like and the part that I would highly advise anyone to deeply consider the costs and thus the commitment.
In the end, for four kids enrolled in Foundations and two kids enrolled in Essentials, the materials, uniforms, etc. came to a grand total of $3,565.
If we had just one kid in Foundations, here’s how that would look as the most basic (because we know that not many will be enrolling that many kids at once):
- Tuition = $335
- Registration = $85
- Supply Fee = $50
- Facility Rent = $25
- Uniforms = $25
- Snack Fee = $5
- CC T-shirt = $9
- CC Connected = $54
- Misc., field trips, fundraisers, etc. = $38
- Basic Materials for Foundations ONLY (except for tin whistles – one set can be used by all students)= $213
- TOTAL: $839
One thing that you will notice is that we don’t have the costs associated with the Challenge Programs. I do not know these costs exactly because we haven’t participated in these programs, but they are more than the other programs because it is a full-day course and program. However, the above list will at least be a guide to ask the questions needed regarding costs to your local CC director and tutors.
We will share our review of CC in a few days, but again, we felt the associated fees were an important enough topic, they needed to be highlighted on their own.
When you are a family living within a tight budget, every expense needs to be heavily considered. Education is our top financial priority, but we still could not make a decision about educational fees without deep consideration and a close look at the education budget and a close look at where to allocate the monies for education, especially since CC is only a small portion of home education.
Your turn…..
Although some of the above fees are fixed, many are per campus basis. We’d love to hear from your personal experience about the costs associated with your CC community and any comments that you want to add, clarify or disclose as many are deciding on the right educational choices for their children. What can you share?
auschick
We were enrolled in a campus for this coming year, but it closed down just a couple of days ago! So now we’re getting our money back. Since my daughter is 4, maybe this is a good thing… One way that a lot of families make it work for them, especially those with multiple enrollments, is by tutoring. This certainly helps to offset the cost!
D
I was looking at CC also and I know the Essentials book is listed as not being able to purchase unless you are enrolled.
DeeDee Shaw
The program is designed as a stand alone curriculum (minus reading and choose your own math.) We don’t have uniforms and I found that CC connected was not worth the cost for us. Honestly I think the price is very reasonable and it had been a great blessing to our family. I was tired of homeschooling and burned out. CC was a Godsend for us. The Challenge programs are more expensive and the books can be costly. Most are reusable though and we borrow or buy used most of the time. Honestly you don’t see it start to “gel” until Challenge. Because of a particular situation we have one child doing Veritas (which is more closely aligned to marrying homeschool to private). The cost for that program is more than twice the cost of CC and you still have the books to purchase. There may be a few things that I would change but we are happy with the program and somehow we scrounge up the money every year to re-enroll.
Antoinette
We are doing our first year of CC . I too have felt it’s pull on my purse strings, but thankfully we do not have as many fees as we are in a rural area. Some things I did to cut costs;
1- Tutor, I wasn’t looking to tutor, but they needed one. I have 3 in foundations and 1 in essentials and after everything was said and done their tuition was covered and I made like $70. That’s tuition only, I still paid registration, books etc.
2- EBay, yes they are hard to find, but still possible. I bought my tinwhistles for almost half the cost on eBay, I paid $20 for an old outdated foundations book and printed, cut and pasted the updates into it, the only thing I couldn’t find use were timeline cards.
3- make new friends. Living in a small community I was able to track down people who had decided not to continue doing cc, yes to some that’s considered stalking, but regardless I offered them money for their used goods.i bought my eel for $15. Twss for &10 ect.
4- Share- a friend and I went in halves on the teachers guide and pass it back and forth, to be honest I barely use it and I don’t see it as a necessity.
5- and 1 more thing, I’m a tutor and I’ve never used cc connected, only use this if it’s required, there are so many great things on Pinterest and half hundred acre woods I don’t find it necessary.
Hope this helps!
Molly Davis
Can I ask what tutoring entails? Is there a lot of prep or is it laid out for you?
Ajax
IT’s a LOT Of work to tutor. It take some me another 5 hours a week, plus I have to purchase all my own supplies, books, etc that I would NOT have purchased otherwise. My director tries to make it easy, but the reality is that you are essentially working for free when it comes down to it. You should tutor as a service to the community – if you are looking at the payout, it’s very little considering the amount going in.
Afton
Tutoring is great. I found that I way overanalyzed it the first 4-5 weeks as I found my groove. It shouldn’t take one more than 1-2 hours a week to run over the fine arts and science projects and to choose what activity/song you’ll do for new grammar. Don’t overthink it. The unexpected blessing to me, as it was our third year in CC when I started tutoring, was the mom guilt that went away. Because I was familiarizing myself w/ the memory work each week, I was able to keep up w/ my kids (sort of, I mean, let’s face it… they are sponges and we are not lol) and have more fun w/ their memory work each week. It’s truly not a hard thing, and it’s nice to recoup some of the money you invested in your kids… which frankly is minimal comparatively speaking.
Nadine
Great review, you are correct, it is not cheap. But I don’t want the cheapest thing for my children’s education; I want an excellent education for them. In my opinion the cost is well worth the result. But even more crucial is the support of a wholesome community. The home-learning mom’s are dropping out with burn out as we hit middle school! Classical Conversations provides lots of support within the CC Connected site too, not just support for tutors.
Linda Mills
I have had my last of three homeschooled children in CC from Challenge B (8th grade) til now, Challenge III (11th grade). We started in 2013. I have nothing but amazing things to say about it. Since my older two were homeschooled their entire lives and we were part of a co-op for 11 years, this type of experience was better in the sense that since the group of kids sit down one day a week at the same table, with the same teacher, with discussion that ferrets out whether they have really done the work or not, it was the best for accountability and actual learning. It has stretched my child out of his comfort zone for things such as debate, and memorizing speeches, and being able to articulate his thoughts and beliefs. I have sat in on every class since the beginning. It probably helped that the “tutor” was a dear friend of mine from our previous homeschool co-op. She allowed me to sit in. I never tried to usurp her position or interfere in any way. I had wonderful discussions with my teen boy on the drive home from each week. I only wish I had used this type of group for my older two kids. The cost is well worth it. BUT, you cannot just let your child not do the work. It helps that I am there in class and that I love learning too, so we have great discussions about the books, or the debates, or the class discussion. Of course, the tutor personality and tutor skills is an important componant.
Lisa
Thank you for this information. It is so helpful. I have been homeschooling my daughters since 1st grade with ABEKA Academy and it has been a blessing, but we are screaming for a change!! I am feeling tired and so are they. We are tired of just sitting all day watching videos. They are 12 and 14 and I want them to grow in friendship with other teens and also to experience talking and debating in public. I enrolled my daughters in martial arts so they could do something different, but it has not helped as I desired. Plus, the cost has already started to touch our savings and unfortunately, we need to make a stop.
I find that one of the disadvantages of homeschooling is having a tight budget. We cannot afford extracurricular activities. It is just unreachable. I would like to learn more about CC. Thank you “Thrifty Couple” for this article.
Melanie
I am going into our 6th year and there are quite a few things that you don’t have to buy again every year (like the Foundations guide) so that is helpful… And our campus doesn’t require uniforms or snack fees so that is a bit different… It is a high cost but knowing what tutor training entails and the value our family gets out of it I feel it’s definitely been worth it:)
Aimee
Hi Everyone!
I have not decided if I will choose CC yet (My 1st grader and 3rd grader are at public school.). I’m a single mom who works nights as an RN. I work 3 shifts one week. 2 the next. I end up with 8 days off in a row every other week. God has stirred my heart to homeschool in a BIG way in the past 2 weeks. I think I am going to do it come September. My church is the co-op spot for CC and many of the moms in my church are amazing and love CC and said they would support me as I start this journey. I guess I don’t have any questions, but just wanted to throw this HELLO out there. I got REALLY excited looking at the 2017 CC catalog. Any encouragement for me as I take my boys out of traditional public school and start this new way of schooling??
Tammy
Hi, I think that is great to take them out and homeschool with your local church people support! Homeschooling is well worth it! Thank you for adding this on here of how you are going to creatively homeschool your children with the support of church people and CC!
I did Essentials last year and it was amazing! This year I am going to put two in Challenge A, one in Essentials and two in Foundations. I will make the child in Essentials memorize the same memory work as his younger siblings with us at home. I feel with a large family, even though it is expensive it will help everyone get what they need! That’s it in a nut shell…though I could go on for a page or two of all the real reasons I am doing CC this year with five children.
Rachel
Thank you Aimee! I was looking for any posts from single parents that home school. I am a single mom of 2 boys and I would love for us to be in Classical Conversation. All the best to you and your sons!
Julie Filter
Is this a one time fee total for the YEAR or is it a monthly cost? I think I may have my numbers mixed up in my head. I think I was thinking that much was MONTHLY, rather than yearly. Would you help me to clarify? I have 7 kids ages 13-2 by the academic year next year, and we are considering CC against Tapestry of Grace. I’m in the middle right now, but I do need to keep finances in consideration. I look forward to your response (and I hope I get an email automated so I know I get it….)
Anonymous
One-time cost for the whole year (24 weeks)
Caroline
Random question we are looking at starting CC but our oldest is only 4.5. At what age would you recommend starting? Thanks!!
Alex
Hi Caroline,
I regretted starting my 4 year old. I don’t think it was super helpful for her. It was an expensive playdate. However, when they can legitimately memorize and retain highly intelligible information, then this is a great time! I will be starting my almost 7 year old next year. He will be 7 years, 4 months and this seems perfect. But these are just my thoughts!
Sarah
I know this is a little bit different, but I sent my 4 year old to a classical Christian private school (the Geneva school). It was truly a terrible experience. Classical education (at least the way Geneva does it) is absolutely not appropriate for 4 year olds. There was a huge emphasis on hanfdwriting, not nearly enough experiential learning. We spent over 10,000 dollars just to pull him out as his teacher was rigid and had bizarre expectations for a four year old. My older two children ages 6, and 8 when they started , did wonderfully. Although, I am pulling them out due to concerns outside of the curriculum.
Ronda
I started my daughter at 4 and it was amazing! It was a cycle 1 year and she really was able to master the memory work. At that age they are little sponges! We sang songs or did silly cheers or movements while we did our memory work. I do wish I had held off on reading and math. But the cc work was amazing! She is in 3rd grade now and we still love cc and all it jas to offer! God bless!
MK
I always recommend waiting at least until age 5 to begin cc for the oldest child. This does not apply to younger siblings of older cc students. The siblings are usually seeing and hearing it at home from birth on and are ready sooner because it is just part of the family lifestyle by then. However, I don’t require my 4 yr olds to do the memory work at home unless it is their idea.
MK
We’ve been in CC for 8 years now. I agree that, if you are using it as a supplement, the cost is very high. However, we have always used it as our main curriculum and find it to be enough. My dialectic age son uses encyclopedias and the library to satisfy his desire to go deeper into the topics he’s most interested in.
I have never heard of a community having a dress code, and honestly, I think that would turn me off. Our community only asks that children and moms maintain modesty.
The only true CC requirements for materials for families:
-A Foundations Curriculum guide per family (it is updated, on average, every 6 years)
-1 tin whistle per enrolled Foundations child (they use it every year that they are in Foundations
Every other supplement listed, although useful, are completely voluntary.
For me, using CC as our main curriculum, I find the tuition to be very reasonable for what you get out of community day. (Note: we are a very modest, 1 income family with 4 kids, and, generally, live paycheck to paycheck). I have always chosen to tutor or direct to offset tuition and feel very fulfilled knowing that my hard work pays for my kids’ tuition. I recently discovered that whether you have a student in both Foundations and Essentials OR a student in Challenge, the cost of tuition + registration (other fees are varied) is $7.78 per hour. An average music lesson is $15 per half hour, and does not include books or instruments. I love that 100% of tuition stays in the community. It is divided between director and tutors, and in my opinion, ensures a quality program. It is a huge factor in the many differences between CC and a co-op. Only the registration fees go to CC corporate, which is a very small percentage of the total. That goes to pay local Support Representatives and Area Representatives which ensures support and accountability for directors. Tutors, directors, SRs and ARs do what they do because they love families, none of them are getting rich from CC.
In our community (F/E) other fees are:
-art and science supplies $50 per student
-facility fee $25 per student
-liability insurance $14 per student
I don’t find it true that it is virtually impossible to buy CC books anywhere but CC. I have purchased many of our books 2nd hand or checked them out from the library or even borrowed them from a friend. The ONLY item you have to be enrolled in order to purchase is the EEL guide. CC only asks that if you resell yours, please make sure the person has an enrolled student.
Susan Natrop
Please educate this grandmother– As grandparents we would like to financially contribute to our 8 yr old grandson cost of schooling. He is currently finishing 2nd grade grade if he was in private school. Would he be in Essential or Foundations. What would the total cost be for next year. Guess??? From this origina post I am thinking $840 which includes books?? plus $200 for supplements.
Betty
Please educate this grandmother– As grandparents we would like to financially contribute to our 8 yr old grandson cost of schooling. He is currently finishing 2nd grade grade if he was in private school. Would he be in Essential or Foundations. What would the total cost be for next year. Guess??? From this origina post I am thinking $840 which includes books?? plus $200 for supplements.
Lindsey
Hi-
I found this super interesting.
We have done C.C. for 3 years and we pay tuition and enrollment fee
$30 supply
No rent
No uniforms
No snack fee
No field trip fees
Only a foundations guide and tin whistle are required. Everything else is optional.
I have been to 7 other campuses and have never hear of uniforms or snack fees.
Lindsey
Also, 95% of my CC Material has been purchased 2 nd hand. I have found it super easy to come across.
Diana Bahr
What about if you live in a rural area.
Amber
I’m exploring the option of CC. Honestly, it’s not in my price range without deliberate saving, but I am trying to figure out how to make it work. A friend has two of her kids in CC and I’ll see videos of them doing songs / chants and think to myself I was an honors student all through school, including college, and I’d have trouble with some of what they’re doing. Also she has a 3 yr old who while not “taught” sees her siblings and she can do many of them (3 yrs old knowing what a preposition is, I didn’t know the word preposition until 6th grade!). So while it’s expensive and the cost may make it not an option at this time they do get an outstanding education for the tuition.
HeidiG
Thank you for the post. That’s the one thing I find frustrating with the CC website is the lack of information on cost. I’m currently HS my 3rd grader but would like to join CC and am debating whether to put my kindergartener (next year) in CC instead of public school. The cost is within my budget, but we’d likely use it as our main curriculum (with a math, reading and writing supplement).
Katie
HelloThrifty Couple! Did you ever write another post on your full review of CC? I tried searching for it, but I was unable to find it!
Thanks :).
Alex
We have not yet. I need to do that.
Jess
I am always baffled when I hear people talking about how expensive CC is. The total yearly cost for both of my children (one in Challenge and one in Foundations AND Essentials), is less than half the cost of what I would spend for one year for one child in a private school. Even our local homeschool hybrid (we have a few) are much more expensive for one child than for both of mine in CC. And ditto to those who said they always find secondhand books, and we don’t do uniforms and snacks are optional.
Steph
My husband is principal of a Christian school. CC is way more expensive than full time private school. It is 1550.$ for just tuition and fees for one Challenge student. Plus books which are more expensive in Canada. I would rather do a different mom led coop, but my daughter wants this one bcz she likes the kids. I am still not sure that her little sister got in (limited space). I was thinking it would be about this much for both of them together. We are a one income family and the huge price tag may be a deal breaker for me.
Jessica Inglis
CC has always seemed like a money-making scheme to me, and this post just confirmed my thoughts. Thank you.
Rosalind Clark
Homeschooling sounds like a brilliant thing to me. It is so comfortable, so cheap, and on top of that, so affordable. Three of my cousins are homeschoolers and their parents are fully satisfied with the level of knowledge they are acquiring. Even if they encounter some obstacles, there are now a lot of sources that are ready to provide great support and help. For example, https://essays.studymoose.com/write-essay-for-money is a reliable service that has hired academic professionals. They write essay for money so that pupils and students can get samples of papers that are perfect to analyze and then draw conclusions about what an ideal paper should look like. I am a supporter of everything that aims to make life and learning easier for all teens. The whole process must be easy and attractive for children. Of course, low school costs also matter, which is why homeschooling is profitable.
MLM Software
Really helpful post, thanks for sharing.
NixonWalker
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Marakasik
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Lisa
Would you recommend starting CC at the ages of 12 and 14? We have been using a different curriculum. We have never been into a co-op group since we started homeschooling outside the US. I am concerned about Latin since they had never had Latin before. Thank you.