COLM CILLE CLUB
ABOUT COLM CILLE CLUB
INTELLECTUM DA MIHI DOMINE
(Give me understanding, Lord)
The Colm Cille Club is a classical, Catholic homeschooling cooperative.
CCC is not a full homeschooling curriculum. It is a small body of material we commit to learning together. We choose material we think is well-suited to the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by nourishing the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty.
On co-op day, we aim to provide experiences which are difficult to create at home. Children enjoy a fun and motivating environment for memorization, sing in a choir, and engage in hands-on art and science projects. Beginning in fourth grade, students are given writing assignments which can be returned to a teacher for feedback. They also participate in theatrical performances and book discussions.
Central to our co-op philosophy is nourishing our member families’ Catholic faith. Co-op day begins with mass every week. Beginning at age three, children begin their formal catechesis and enter the Joyful Child Atrium, a beautiful space designed specially to meet the spiritual needs of the child. Older students participate in the CatLab, where they learn from visiting priests and religious and engage in lively discussions about their faith.
We meet every Monday for a full day at St. Catharine’s Parish School building located at 19 Second Avenue, Pelham, NY. Parents and children stay for a full day of group learning.
Colm Cille Club first began in the fall of 2010 as “Thursday Club,” when seven families interested in homeschooling joined together to hire a teacher to educate their (very!) young children once a week in an apartment in Riverdale. The following year, we met in two of the members’ homes, and began the first year of our memory work cycle (beginning with Year 2 as some members had already completed Year 1 on their own). By spring 2012, our membership had grown, and it became clear that meeting in homes was no longer sustainable. We found the space at St. Catharine’s in Pelham, NY to be a perfect fit for our group. With the increased space, we were able to add in more classes to our memory work, art, music, and science classes.
In the fall of 2013, we began our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and middle school programs, and in the fall of 2014, we started our theater program. Word has continued to spread throughout the area, and our membership has grown to include over 20 families and over 60 children ages 0 to 13. Over the past 5 years, we have continued to perfect our 3 year cycle of memory work and other programs as the marvelous mothers (and fathers!) in our group have contributed their talents and gifts. God has richly blessed our community as we’ve grown, and we pray He keeps us close to Him as we continue on this journey. St. Colm Cille, pray for us!
ABOUT ST. COLM CILLE
St. Colm Cille (call ‘em kill), sometimes known as St. Columba, was an Irish monk who lived in the 6th century. He helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland and Scotland after the fall of the Roman Empire, and he and his fellow monks helped preserve the classics of antiquity.
St. Colm Cille, pray for us, that with the education we gain together, we may be able to do the same!