Catholic homeschooling

[Chris in VA]

My co-teacher is thinking of homeschooling her ds. I think she'd be great at it, and her son would benefit from the enthusiasm and hard work she brings to life! I gave her my copy of WTM, but was wondering what specifically Catholic curricula she might want to know about.

[Andie]

Well, the "biggies" ... Kolbe, Seton, Mother of Divine Grace

 

Mother of Divine Grace (Berquist, author of Designing Your Own Catholic Curriculum)

 

Kolbe Academy (kolbe.org)

 

Seton Home Study (Mary Kay Clark, author of Catholic Homeschooling http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Home-Schooling-Handbook-Parents/dp/0895554941/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236915732&sr=8-1 )

 

Catholic Heritage Curricula http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/index.html

 

http://www.emmanuelbooks.com/

 

http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Education-Homeward-Useful-Schooling/dp/0898705665/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236911370&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Homeschool-Companion-Maureen-Wittmann/dp/1933184167

Edited March 13, 2009 by Andie

[Janet in Toronto]

Laura Berquist's Book Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education is a great resource. I used it to supplement TWTM as it provides Catholic curriculum ideas in the classical context.

[Melissa B]

Classical Liberal Arts Academy - http://www.classicalliberalarts.com/ (classical)

 

Mater Amabilis - http://www.materamabilis.org/ (Charlotte Mason)

 

Angelicum Academy - http://www.angelicum.net/html/angelicum_academy.html (neoclassical)

[Kathy in Richmond]

Not a curriculum, but if she's in Northern Virginia, she might want to check out this conference. It will be held in Ellicott City, MD on June 12-13:

 

Catholic Family Expo 2009

 

Though not limited to homeschooling families, it is a wonderful opportunity to meet many area Catholic homeschoolers. Speaker sessions include a homeschool track and the vendor hall usually has a pretty good selection of Catholic curricula. Speakers this year include Andrew Pudewa and Peter Kreeft, among others. We've been attending as a family many years now and it's always a treat!

 

Kathy

[christielee7278]

Laura Berquist's Book Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education is a great resource. I used it to supplement TWTM as it provides Catholic curriculum ideas in the classical context. Yesterday 09:31 PM

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book!!!

[Parrothead]

We are Catholic, and I don't use Catholic curricula any more. Our first year I got a box from Kolbe. I was not impressed with the science. Of course it was for K, but I still wasn't impressed. It totally lacked any meat.

 

The next year I got a bit braver and started putting things together from what was available. At the time I could only find things from Kolbe and Seton. When the books came I still thought something wasn't right. None of it seemed rigorous enough. And that says something because I am a very relaxed homeschooling mom. I don't push very hard.

 

In the middle of that year my mom sent me TWTM. At last, something that spoke to me about the direction I wanted homeschool to go. I totally ditched the box and only got stuff from the Catholic companies for religious ed.

 

Last year I was pointed to Angelicum Academy. I was very impressed with what they have to offer, but they don't follow TWTM cycle for history and science. We were already on year 3 of our cycle and I decided that I did not want to start over again.

 

There is stuff out there. As with anything else, some is better than others. Tell your friend to research options carefully. I did learn the hard way how to tailor dd's curriculum to dd.

[erica471]

Thank you so much for posting those links. They are some amazing sites.

[Andie]

Regina Coeli & Agnus Dei (will be updated to reflect next year's offerings/dates closer to April 1st) http://www.reginacoeli.org/

[Andie]

Classical Liberal Arts Academy - http://www.classicalliberalarts.com/ (classical)

 

Mater Amabilis - http://www.materamabilis.org/ (Charlotte Mason)

 

Angelicum Academy - http://www.angelicum.net/html/angelicum_academy.html (neoclassical)

 

 

Melissa, have you used Classical Liberal Arts Academy?

[Melissa B]

Melissa, have you used Classical Liberal Arts Academy?

 

Andie,

 

CLAA is quite new. Many of the classes will not even be available until this fall. But, I do have one child taking two classes through CLAA and two other children working through the free Petty school reading classes.

[christielee7278]

 

We are Catholic, and I don't use Catholic curricula any more. 

 

 

We started our year with Seton, and while I like their religious education workbooks (but not for my oldest who is not a workbook person), we are not buying anything else from them this next year. Really the only subjects I liked that were purchased from Seton (besides religion) were Wordly Wise vocab and the Maps workbook. Everything else was a little dry and too workbooky (is that a word?? lol) for my oldest son.

 

Basically, I was overwhelmed when we started so I picked the easiest route which for me was the whole 5th grade curriculum from Seton. Not even half way though, we ditched the spelling and just used the WW words each week. We have struggled though the reading workbooks. Ds is just bored with them. Didn't like the phonics. Did the first lesson in the art and didn't touch it again. My oldest ds has adhd/odd and I just don't think Seton is a good fit for that. He's more of a hands-on kind of guy.

 

With that said, I am looking at some things from Seton for my soon to be K'er wo is totally in love with workbook type material.

 

DYOCC is nice to have for the book list, if nothing else. It's a good way for us to relate everything to CC history.

[Audrey]

My co-teacher is thinking of homeschooling her ds. I think she'd be great at it, and her son would benefit from the enthusiasm and hard work she brings to life! I gave her my copy of WTM, but was wondering what specifically Catholic curricula she might want to know about.

 

 

My FIL's wife gives me the Seton catalogue on occasion. It looks pretty thorough as far as choices of subject goes, but they do seem to have a pretty narrow selection within subjects (that may be their intention, though). There is also a lot of additional info in the catalogue that you might find helpful.

[Andie]

Andie,

 

CLAA is quite new. Many of the classes will not even be available until this fall. But, I do have one child taking two classes through CLAA and two other children working through the free Petty school reading classes.

 

 

Well that would explain why I only just discovered them! :001_smile: How are you finding it so far?

[Melissa B]

Well that would explain why I only just discovered them! :001_smile: How are you finding it so far?

 

It is a very traditional, classical curriculum. Both classes my dd is in are strictly memory work. I like it. The program is designed to be written to the student. The parents can choose to only hear memory work and nothing more (unless they start a child at a young age and need to help with the computer use.) Mr. Michael is very prompt and I believe very committed to the program. I have had a few conversations with him through email and feel confident in the program. If you have any questions at all, I would contact him. He responds quickly and gives thorough and thoughtful answers. He is very clear though, that the program is not meant to be "tailored" and he discourages anyone that wants to use parts of the program to suit his or her own curriculum plans or students. Many would consider it dry or monotonous. My dd really likes the classes and my younger children are learning with her and asking to sign up as well. I think you can join at five or six, but I have no intention of registering a child before the age of eight. It does require daily work and there aren't any fun bells or whistles. :)

 

If you watch the sample lesson for Latin (grammar) that is basically what the lessons are like. The student must pass every test with 100% before moving to the next lesson. The tests are on the computer and graded immediately. The free Latin lessons in the petty school also give a good example of what the classes will be like.

 

HTH!

[Andie]

Thank you, Melissa. I look forward to taking a closer look at the website when I have a few quiet moments. :001_unsure:

 

It's good to know that they are responsive and receptive to ?s!

[pixeldog]

My family is converting to Catholicism and I've been doing *lots* of research on the material presented in the previous posts. Have nearly decided on Angelicum Academy, but am a bit concerned about the fact that most of their material on the web is outdated/old. Are there any Angelicum Academy users out there?

 

Thanks, Nancy in NC

[Peggy in Va]

I think this is hosted by Seton. However, if I remember correctly, there are many other Catholic curriculum providers that attend. The last time I attended Mother of Divine Grace, Kolbe Academy, and several others were there. Laura Berquist (DYOCC) was one of the speakers.

 

The conference this year is being held 6/12 & 6/13 at the Dulles Expo Cntr. Info on the conference is in the link.

 

HTH

 

Peggy

 

http://www.ihmconference.org/national/

[Philothea]

MODG is my favorite boxed Catholic curriculum. I don't use it but I like a lot of the books used in the program. I think the pace is a little slow for us but I know that it is just right for some people.

[Zoraida]

I'm a big fan of Seton. Especially for the high school years. I think Seton has one of the best high school English programs around.

 

Blessings

 

Zoraida

[Ellie]

We are Catholic, and I don't use Catholic curricula any more. 

 

 

We started our year with Seton, and while I like their religious education workbooks (but not for my oldest who is not a workbook person), we are not buying anything else from them this next year. Really the only subjects I liked that were purchased from Seton (besides religion) were Wordly Wise vocab and the Maps workbook. Everything else was a little dry and too workbooky (is that a word?? lol) for my oldest son.

 

Basically, I was overwhelmed when we started so I picked the easiest route which for me was the whole 5th grade curriculum from Seton. Not even half way though, we ditched the spelling and just used the WW words each week. We have struggled though the reading workbooks. Ds is just bored with them. Didn't like the phonics. Did the first lesson in the art and didn't touch it again. My oldest ds has adhd/odd and I just don't think Seton is a good fit for that. He's more of a hands-on kind of guy.

 

With that said, I am looking at some things from Seton for my soon to be K'er wo is totally in love with workbook type material.

 

DYOCC is nice to have for the book list, if nothing else. It's a good way for us to relate everything to CC history.

Did you actually enroll your dc in Seton Home Study, or did you just buy the materials?

[dymphna57]

Not exactly sure as we heard about it and started changing our curriculum ideas to be ready the next year. We had been using DYOCC and following the local Classical high School literature and history selections as our elder children went there in ninth grade.

I admit their website isn't their best side! I wish there was an updated catalog. It isn't indicative of their responses though. I have had lots of support from tutors and in depth grading of papers for enrolled students.

I also think the Great Books Discussion is a great asset. My boys really read, understood and were able to discourse on some of those ancient texts I can barely read without falling asleep. They have pushed me!

They have a strong emphasis on literature whch is important to me. I have changed some of the book selections and have added some historical fiction but my crew have to get through two books a month and it does mean we all have a lot more to draw from when we get into discussions.

We do use the National Geographic supports and although I have to read while they look at the pictures , it is alive and the use of magazines adds another dimension.

I like their grammar and vocabulary programs. You can switch anything you like until ninth grade when you are in the great books program. I still switched math and science then!

The Art , Music and Philosophy programs have been great although I did add some TTC to that .

I found WTM after this and I just use it as a guide to anything we might want to add. I am still learning how to do this and we are doing more notebooks etc.

[pixeldog]

Thanks so much! I've had the hardest time finding Angelicum users. I might pm you sometime with specific questions if that's OK.

 

Nancy in NC

[dymphna57]

I can't figure out why they arent more popular.

[iwka]

Well that would explain why I only just discovered them! :001_smile: How are you finding it so far?

 

If you have more questions, I will answer :-)

[Crimson Wife]

I don't recall seeing Our Lady of Victory or Neumann Press mentioned in this thread. We've gotten some catechetical materials from them.

 

History Links offers good "unit studies" from a Catholic perspective.

 

Our Lady of the Rosary is another Catholic homeschool program I don't recall anybody mentioning on this thread. I'm not sure if they sell their curriculum to those who are not enrolled in their ISP.

[Linda (Australia)]

We started with Our Lady of Victory - good programme, easy to use. As we moved along, we began changing bits and pieces, choosing resources that suited our family more, etc.

 

My favourite book of all is DYOCC - I seem to always come back to it, actually, I think if I was starting again, I'd pretty much stick to DYOCC.

 

Actually, knowing me, I'd still chop and change to suit our family! There are some resources I'd not be without, such as the IEW writing programme, Memoria Press Latin, and Story of the World. These are not actually 'Catholic' programmes, but are so well done, they are our 'must-haves'.

 

Good luck!

[littlebug42]

There is also one called Connecting with History that will be a 4 year cycle when finished but I believe only the first two years are finished now. It is a history/literature based Catholic program. I have never used it but drool over it from time to time.

http://www.rchistory.com/cwh_intro.htm

[Chris in VA]

Here we are a year later--She decided not to homeschool, but these resources are really good to have handy. Thanks.

[Lady Dove]

We are enrolled with OLVS, and I can't see myself using anything else. They are rigorous, but it's nothing that my kids aren't ready for. I plan on using Little Saints Preschool for my little one when she becomes older. I do test through Seton (they use CAT/E) though since OLVS has preference with ITBS, which I am unqualified to administer. I would love to meet others that use OLVS, but it seems that we are few and far between (at least on forums). If only OLVS had its own forum like some of the other schools *sigh*. Of course, I do enjoy it here at the hive more-so than any other home-school forum!!!!!

[Teachin'Mine]

We used some Seton materials in 7th grade and fully enrolled for 8th and 9th. As has been said, it's a good rigorous high school program and 8th is great preparation for that.

 

Another resource which hasn't been mentioned provides Catholic history textbooks:

 

http://www.catholictextbookproject.com/

[Parrothead]

Isn't there some kind of penalty for reviving threads more than a year old? I think the reviver is supposed to buy donuts for the members present for the revival.

 

I'd like a honey dipped from Timmy's, please.

 

Yes, this will actually be my second for the day. :lol:

[Teachin'Mine]

Oh definitely!!! Bavarian cream from Dunkin' Donuts please. :D

[Chris in VA]

Isn't there some kind of penalty for reviving threads more than a year old? I think the reviver is supposed to buy donuts for the members present for the revival.

 

I'd like a honey dipped from Timmy's, please.

 

Yes, this will actually be my second for the day. :lol:

 

:lol:

What's funny is that it was revived twice.

[Jennifer]

Well, I was about to revive it...I found this thread through a search for Seton. Now I can't remember my question...

Jennifer

[VA6336]

Laura Berquist's Book Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education is a great resource. I used it to supplement TWTM as it provides Catholic curriculum ideas in the classical context.

:iagree:

 

DANG IT!! I responded, then realized it was an old thread...and just can't let it go, now. Off to find some donuts now....

[Soror]

ah... dead thread!