| Author | |
BrendaPeter
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 28 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 981
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 11:23am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Hi Leane,
We continue to be extremely pleased. For our family, we are finally "home".
The last year was very challenging mostly in terms of the discipline of study habits for the kids. There is a big improvement this year. Personally, I have alot more free time because I'm not checking out curriculum, buying books, lesson plans, teaching, etc. I'm more of an administrator, i.e. I oversee the children to make sure they're keeping on top of their lessons. I "test" them on their memory work and sometimes read the lessons to the younger ones. I assure you that a "country bumpkin" can do that 
The core courses are Grammar I, Catechism I, and Arithmetic I. After that you decide if your kids have time for any of the enrichment courses. We have been so pleased with World Chronology I.
Check out all the samples online, discuss it with your husband and PRAY!
__________________
Blessings,
Brenda (mom to 6)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Leane
Forum Newbie
Joined: Oct 17 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 5:29pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thank you Brenda and Denise!
I really appreciate your replies and, yes, I will be praying about this decision.
We are a big, happy, "fly by the seat of your pants" family and it would take some adjustment. But I am open and wanting more discipline...and more Catholicism incorporated into our everyday life.
One can just try to cover the bases and by the end of a busy day realize that the very heart of our existence, our Catholic Faith, was not in the limelight, if you know what I mean.
We say our daily rosary and try to pray the mercy chaplet. But our children are sponges at this age and we can do a whole lot more that just the 3 R's. It's hard when you are scrambling around trying to get everything in. I can see where CLAA may cover that for you by incorporating our faith into all the subjects?
Blessings, Leane
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
BrendaPeter
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 28 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 981
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 7:06pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Leane wrote:
I can see where CLAA may cover that for you by incorporating our faith into all the subjects?
|
|
|
Yes & no. It's incorporated but not like we're used to, i.e. a Catholic "veneer". There is absolutely no twaddle in this curriculum, nothing that you throw out & say "oh, that's a waste of time". It's pure wisdom. The Catechism course comes from the Baltimore Catechism #4. The memory work is the questions & answers along with the prayers. The tests are based entirely on what is taught in the lesson and must be passed 100% to move on. Grammar I is equivalent to college Latin 101. Classical Arithmetic starts off with definitions and comes straight from the Greek mathematicians - Pythagoras, Euclid, etc. You almost have to experience that course to understand the beauty of arithmetic and how much is missing from modern mathematics. Review is essential to the whole program because many of the subjects build on themselves and retention is a big factor.
__________________
Blessings,
Brenda (mom to 6)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Leane
Forum Newbie
Joined: Oct 17 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 8:27pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
BrendaPeter wrote:
Grammar I is equivalent to college Latin 101. |
|
|
Sounds a little intimidating!
Have you taken the Praeceptor Training Course? Would that be a good thing to do if I was serious about pursuing this?
I really appreciate your input! Thanks!
Blessings, Leane
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Leane
Forum Newbie
Joined: Oct 17 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 8:29pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
BrendaPeter wrote:
Yes & no. It's incorporated but not like we're used to, i.e. a Catholic "veneer". There is absolutely no twaddle in this curriculum, nothing that you throw out & say "oh, that's a waste of time". It's pure wisdom. The Catechism course comes from the Baltimore Catechism #4. The memory work is the questions & answers along with the prayers. The tests are based entirely on what is taught in the lesson and must be passed 100% to move on. Classical Arithmetic starts off with definitions and comes straight from the Greek mathematicians - Pythagoras, Euclid, etc. You almost have to experience that course to understand the beauty of arithmetic and how much is missing from modern mathematics. Review is essential to the whole program because many of the subjects build on themselves and retention is a big factor. |
|
|
Sounds great!!
Blessings, Leane
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
BrendaPeter
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 28 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 981
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 8:34pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Leane wrote:
BrendaPeter wrote:
Grammar I is equivalent to college Latin 101. |
|
|
Sounds a little intimidating!
|
|
|
My 11-year-old is on Lesson 22 and there are plenty of other students ahead of her. It can be done  . The idea is that the students are not spread over 6-8 subjects so they are able to concentrate on a handful of challenging subjects.
I have found the praeceptor course to be very helpful in understanding the history of the classical liberal arts.
__________________
Blessings,
Brenda (mom to 6)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: Oct 19 2010 at 10:24pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Leane wrote:
Thank you Brenda and Denise!
I really appreciate your replies and, yes, I will be praying about this decision.
We are a big, happy, "fly by the seat of your pants" family and it would take some adjustment. But I am open and wanting more discipline...and more Catholicism incorporated into our everyday life.
One can just try to cover the bases and by the end of a busy day realize that the very heart of our existence, our Catholic Faith, was not in the limelight, if you know what I mean.
We say our daily rosary and try to pray the mercy chaplet. But our children are sponges at this age and we can do a whole lot more that just the 3 R's. It's hard when you are scrambling around trying to get everything in. I can see where CLAA may cover that for you by incorporating our faith into all the subjects?
Blessi ngs, Leane
|
|
|
Hi Leane!
I wanted to say hello and WELCOME! I'm so glad you jumped right in on the board! I wanted to encourage you to ask your "nuts and bolts" questions about this prepackaged curriculum directly on the CLAA forums or from the curriculum directly. As a ministry, our focus is on designing and adapting curriculum which emphasizes living books, and I know CLAA offers support and feedback on their site that pertains directly to their unique curriculum. I think that might give you the most help if you're looking into CLAA for your family.
Leane wrote:
| We are a big, happy, "fly by the seat of your pants" family and it would take some adjustment. But I am open and wanting more discipline...and more Catholicism incorporated into our everyday life. |
|
|
Consider yourself in good company here, Leane!  Let us know if we can brainstorm with you on this!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Leane
Forum Newbie
Joined: Oct 17 2010
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5
|
| Posted: Oct 20 2010 at 8:06am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thank you, Jen! You have much on this forum I am interested in and I am excited to do more perusing as time permits!
Blessings, Leane
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
amiefriedl
Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 15 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 323
|
| Posted: Dec 27 2010 at 7:40pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
First, let me say that I have enjoyed all the threads of conversation about the CLAA that I have found on the 4 Real boards - even those that have gotten more 'heated' than usual. I'm impressed by the conversations and the thoughtfully shared opinions and experiences. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and thoughts!!
Second, I have 2 follow up questions for those with experience with the CLAA:
1. Does anyone know if a family can join the CLAA and maintain their membership with the HSLDA? I know some online schools are considered 'brick and mortar' by HSLDA and they can't get the legal representation through membership any longer.
2. Does anyone here have experience with CLAA and are also a "traditional Latin Mass" family - associated with the pre-1962 Mass? We are a TLM family and I was wondering about the coordination of the Novus Ordo calendar with the TLM calendar with the CLAA schedule. I was wondering how it worked out - how big the differences 'feel' - if there is any differences to be felt.
For the record, I have posted both of these questions to Mr. Michael himself and am eagerly awaiting his reply. But if anyone here can help and give me some additional perspective on these questions I'd be happy to have your reply as well.
Thank you all so much and Merry Christmas.
In Christ through Mary,
Amie
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
VeronicaB
Forum Newbie
Joined: Feb 03 2008
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 34
|
| Posted: Dec 28 2010 at 4:14am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I can help a little with the second point - my husband is exclusively TLM, we do Latin Mass on Sundays and feastdays and a local weekday novus ordo Mass once a month or so. CLAA recommends the Liturgy of the Hours and that doesn't really gel with the pre-1962 culture (?if you can call it that?) so I've been doing Prime and Compline with the old books. The Liber Usualis is Fantastic. We say Compline in Latin with all the family (leaving out psalms if we're running out of time) and Prime mostly English with me and children swapping Lives of the Saints book for children instead of the Martyrology.
We're only a few months into the core courses, but the emphasis on Latin has been great - seeing how memorising Latin is very doable. They're recognising bits out of Mass and prayers.
There are some other Latin Mass families on the CLAA Family Forum - not an extrovert sort of presence, but there was a poll somewhere that showed the proportion - from memory it was pretty big.
CLAA doesn't give much of a calendar to follow - you work at your own pace through the courses. They don't even stipulate terms or anything, though there is sort of a break over Christmas at the moment. I'm in Australia so the terms are different so this freedom is great.
The catechism course is based on Fr Kinkead's commentary on the Baltimore Catechism - available on Project Gutenberg - which is well and truly pre 1962.
The general philosophy he's got going really values keeping old traditional stuff - maybe if he'd come across a good tlm community he'd be hooked - he's doing Latin hymns each day with his family, and you can see the cool Latin Prayers slideshows on the CLAA webpagehttp://www.classicalliberalarts.com/prayers/
Thanks for the question - I'm eager to hear from anyone else.
Veronica
__________________
married 2000, four boys, one girl 2001,03,04,07,13
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
hopalenik
Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 17 2006
Location: Connecticut
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 230
|
| Posted: Dec 31 2010 at 2:07pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Hi,
Based on past conversations, Mr. Michael is clearly not TLM. He and I agreed on this on a forum discussion. As for TLM affecting the schedule it won't if you do CLAA. The courses are independent and go at your own pace. The Catechism is awesome but clearly follows no liturgical calendar. Now, he is mentioning some plans for a new Common School in the fall (I wouldn't hold my breath, though because he has alot on his plate), and that appears to be more set and linked to the Liturgical Calendar. I grew up TLM but now we are Byzantine. I just find it is easier to stick to the current Roman calendar and occasionally add in something that I or our family find important from the Byzantine calendar. I did one year attempt to reconcile the 2 calendars and I ended up doing nothing because I was too confused and in a constant state of guilt that I was doing it wrong. Just a thought.
Mr. Michael appreciates Latin Mass and personally I think this is the ONLY way that your children will ever be able to READ the canon of the Latin Mass. I grew up going to a TLM in the 70's and 80's in practically one of the only approved by the Vatican Latin Masses. I spent many years in school studying Latin. By the end, I could painstakingly translate with help the Aeneid, or some Ovid or Cicero. However, I could not read it. Big difference. I am currently, of my own accord taking the Grammar class. My 3 children are on lesson 3, 8, and 13. I am out in lesson 29. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind, that the children who DO the work for this course and complete it, will be able to READ Latin. Reading means that with a dictionary, they can pick up ANYTHING in Latin and understand it. They will not need a student's copy ofthe Aeneid, that cheats and puts certain forms in the back of the book, to help the student. They will know ALL, ALL, ALL the forms for Latin. Neither Henle, nor Wheelock can make that claim. However, the work required for this means that you MUST be involved in their education and they MUST do it constantly every single day. You can NEVER do CLAA on the side, or as a supplement to something else and realistically you will barely have the time to supplement CLAA with any other material if you actually want to see real student progress.
We have been in for a year. I am very happy. But this takes a total change in mindset for many families.
Holly
__________________
Holly
Mom to dd 10, twins dd and ds (transplant as baby that failed 05/09, permanent dialysis patient) 8 , dd 5 and dd 3 1/2 and dd in Feb 2009. 2 I hope to meet in heaven.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
hopalenik
Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 17 2006
Location: Connecticut
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 230
|
| Posted: Dec 31 2010 at 2:11pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
One other thing,
I have children enrolled in Grammar, Catechism, ARithmetic, Geography, Chronology, Music Theory, Music History, Petty School reading-writing-arithmetic. I am registered in Biblical STudies, Praeceptor, and Grammar. I was in Dialectic but I caught up to where he was writing and I switched to Grammar instead. I can give you a feel for most of his courses.
Holly
__________________
Holly
Mom to dd 10, twins dd and ds (transplant as baby that failed 05/09, permanent dialysis patient) 8 , dd 5 and dd 3 1/2 and dd in Feb 2009. 2 I hope to meet in heaven.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
VeronicaB
Forum Newbie
Joined: Feb 03 2008
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 34
|
| Posted: Jan 07 2011 at 6:20am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks Holly, I am in awe of you. All the best for the new baby.
and thanks Jen for your forebearance - just read the post about keeping to "designing and adapting curriculum which emphasizes living books"
and hope Amie's other query on HSLDA finds an answer. I can't see anything on the CLAA forum and searching hslda.org for claa doesn't turn up anything either. I'd guess its too new.
Veronica
__________________
married 2000, four boys, one girl 2001,03,04,07,13
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Rosesinsummer
Forum Pro
Joined: July 18 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 127
|
| Posted: Jan 17 2011 at 8:50pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm a HSLDA member and currently enrolled in CLAA. I know that other CLAA families are also HSLDA members. I don't think it would disqualify you as a member, since HSLDA can use all the income they can get.
I do believe the Michaels view HSLDA as an unnecessary "insurance program". Whether or not to be a member of HSLDA would be entirely up to you.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: Jan 17 2011 at 10:18pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
HSLDA membership is an individual decision, for sure. The one time I used HSLDA's services (at least so far), it was in relation to a county reporting issue (our then-county put all home educated children's personal information on its Department of Education website), not to anything related to our choice of programs.
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: Classical Liberal Arts Academy
