To know God and to make Him known

Challenge A

Age 12+

Attention Leads to Ownership

Students learn to own the joys and challenges of this discussion-based program.

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A homeschool mom teaching her son outside on a park bench

Cultivate Curiosity

Students twelve years and older are introduced to the work of the Challenge homeschool program as they learn to own the joys and challenges of this discussion-charged program. Challenge A is a mix of grammar and dialectic materials with an introduction to basic rhetorical skills, all rooted in a Christian worldview.

We purposely limit the amount of reading to give these students time to work on their writing skills. This fulfilling, community-based program prepares middle-school aged students for later Challenge programs by serving as a bridge between the parent-directed Foundations years and more self-directed homeschool learning.

All Great Thinkers Start Somewhere

The Six Strands of Challenge A.

Clearly evaluate the world around you. Build a solid mathematical foundation through The Math Map Complex, then raise questions and reason your way through complex equations during your weekly classroom conversations. Each week in their community group, students engage in conversations around numbers, operations, and laws, setting a firm foundation for higher math studies.

Inquisitive minds ask the right questions and methodically seek answers. During the first semester, students study natural science using a purely classical method. Each week, Directors introduce and discuss different realms of nature. Students research and read about the assigned topic at home, using varied materials of their choice. They record their research, illustrate or make a model of their findings, and present the results in seminar.

The final five weeks of the semester allow students to implement their research skills as they practice the scientific method through their science fair projects. The second semester involves drawing, labeling, and memorizing nine human body systems (anatomy).

Genuine understanding and sharp argumentation stem from critical reasoning skills. Two general topics are discussed during the year: connecting ideas by constructing analogies and thinking and speaking truthfully. Both courses set the function as the foundational premises upon which subsequent Challenges build. Students are assigned weekly readings and exercises, including recognizing analogies, writing with stylistic devices, and identifying fallacies in argumentation. In community seminar each week, Tutors lead discussions on the materials studied, and students share their insights and completed assignments.

Instill an early drive towards excellence. Over time, countries’ political lines are formed by the world’s ugliest form of debate: war. This seminar includes continent cartography and memorization of current political boundaries, countries, capitals, and 150 geography terms. When practiced daily, the content and skills learned establish a powerful framework in the mind of the student.

The goal of this seminar is for students to draw the world from memory. Each week, students practice drawing and labeling various continents of the world. Mastery of the contents of this seminar equips the students with senses of achievement and competency. This propels them to pursue excellence in subsequent middle- and high-school levels.

The classical model emphasizes language skills. In Challenge A, students study Latin with an emphasis on memorization of vocabulary, declensions, and conjugations. In community seminar, Tutors review previous coursework, introduce new concepts, and model parsing and translating from Latin to English and English to Latin.

Students practice the art of persuasive writing by studying Newbery Award-winning literature. They are encouraged to consider both sides of an issue through a “should question” related to the action of a character out of their assigned reading. With step-by-step instruction, they learn to craft a persuasive essay. Over the course of the homeschool year, the essay requirements grow in complexity, as students learn how to ask good questions and how to employ stylistic techniques to enhance their argument, all filtered through a Christian worldview. This is a truly rhetorical writing curriculum.

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We asked our student how she would rate NMM and she said 10/10. After the competition we asked her if she could travel back in time one year, knowing everything about NMM that she knows now, would she encourage or discourage herself to participate in NMM. She said she would still encourage herself to do it because she knows it is helping her grow and trust in the Lord.

Stacey
NMM Parent

I can’t think of a more significant experience to capstone F/E. This was probably the biggest, most memorable event of my student’s young life and it has highly impacted mine too! It seems silly but this was so much more than just memorizing and money, it was so God-filled!

Gina
NMM Parent

For me it was a final celebration of the memory work of Foundations and Essentials and a welcoming shift into the Challenge years and deeper learning. The competition was filled with laughter, celebration, and meaningful friendships. It wasn’t about winning, it was about glorifying God.

Evangeline
2025 NMM champion

Our family had a magical experience at NMM. The kids bonded in a very special way and the event gave us a deeper appreciation for the goodness and beauty of CC. It truly was special for us to see the large community of CC and realize what an incredible group of families we are a part of. It was a taste of the heavenliness! We are so grateful for this very special once in a lifetime moment our family got to experience.

2025
NMM parent

Having both graduated from the CLC, we have appreciated the transformative influence in our marriage, family, and local community relationships. We practice hospitable assessment when mentoring others or solving problems at work and home.

John and Rebecca

Completing the CLC was the best thing I have done in terms of taking my skills as a classical educator to the next level… it deepened my understanding of the classical skills of learning and more clearly revealed to me the connection between education and discipleship.

Lauren

When parents and tutors invest time, talent and treasure into the CLC as mentees, they find they come away refined as human beings in how they live and lead at home and in community, CC and otherwise.

Abby

By far, the single best thing that has helped me direct and talk with parents, has been the CLC. It has helped me be a better director, a better parent, and a better leader.

Jennifer

The CLC points us to the Lord and guides us to find truth, beauty and goodness in the subjects we study, but also the relationships within our group, with our families, and with our CC communities.

Kristin

As I have attended the CLC and CLC practicums, I have found fellowship with others…the Mentors in particular, who have poured into my life and understanding the balm of gentle and kind assessment, leading me to even more faith and good works.

Charity

CLC was the perfect amount of time: every other week for two hours, with six meetings. It was manageable and the cost was well worth it! The lessons my mentor presented each time were great, and it was a growing experience.

Kristen

CLC has been great in helping me follow a form in preparing my lessons at home . . . I think through the lessons . . . and how to relate them to the students and create a desire to learn the material. The questions have been very helpful in assessing that the students are following the lessons, too.

Angela

The CLC has had the single largest positive impact on my growth as a classical educator. It is the reason my class feels successful on community day, and it has changed how I give assessment.

Laura G

My Essentials classes are far more engaging, and I am able to clearly see the important pieces of the lesson . . . with the specific students I am walking with, and I’m better able to bring those two elements together in a meaningful way.

Cheree
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