A La Center sixth grader will embark in less than two weeks on a voyage to become a national memory champion and earn a $10,000 grand prize.
Kylee Estoos, 12, of La Center, is one of 16 finalists in the National Memory Master competition. On May 2 Estoos will compete in three rounds of academic memory testing during a five-day cruise to the Bahamas aboard the Carnival cruise ship Victory. Each of the finalists received two free tickets to the cruise and $800 in traveling money.
“I was very excited to be chosen as a NMM finalist,” Estoos said. “I have worked extremely hard, but I know I still have some big challenges to face in preparation; I hope I am able to rise to the challenge. My family and friends, especially my brother Landon, have been very encouraging and supportive.”
The 16 finalists have already been through a rigorous series of local and regional competitions to reach the finals. Estoos’ presentation to reach this point in the competition included 12 history sentences that had to be creatively designed into a story less than three minutes long.
The National Memory Master competition is hosted by Classical Conversations, a classical education resource used by homeschoolers in all 50 states and 14 foreign countries.
Classical Conversations now has more than 93,000 students enrolled in its tutoring programs. Estoos attends East Vancouver Classical Conversations community in Vancouver. She is the daughter of Michael and Makayla Estoos and the youngest of five children. She is finishing her sixth year as a Classical Conversations, or CC, student and has been a Memory Master all six years.
Although Estoos said her favorite school subjects are history and geography, she really enjoys visiting with her friends and playing with the babies at CC. She was adopted from China at 18 months and is one of five siblings. She enjoys playing the violin, loves to bake and take care of young children. Living in the country on a small Christmas tree farm, Estoos stays busy outdoors. She enjoys helping in the garden, raising chickens with her brother and taking care of her cats, rabbit and a Guinea pig.
In addition to the National Memory Masters competition, the first CC Capstone Cruise will also feature the third annual National Number Knockout finals and CC’s first high school commencement.
CC provides resources, guidance and a community for a home school curriculum using classical education in three developmental stages: grammar, dialectic and rhetoric, and taught from a Christian worldview, according to its founder, Leigh Bortins. She said CC supports homeschooling parents by cultivating the love of learning through a Christian worldview in fellowship with other families. She believes there are three keys to a great education: classical, Christian and community.
Started in 1997 and headquartered in West End, North Carolina, CC is a family-owned company that provides services to almost 1,900 CC communities around the world. For more information visit www.classicalconversations.com.
