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cvbmom
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| Posted: May 12 2005 at 1:51pm | IP Logged
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Hello Everyone!
I am new forums, especially to starting topics, but I was curious what opinions are out there in regards to CHC materials. I find that I really enjoy their catalog and like their "homeschooling not schooling at home" philosophy as well as the fact that their materials are very Catholic ("educating for eternity," right?). I wondered what others have experienced with CHC. What are the pros/cons?
Myself, I tend toward CM, Real-Learning (obviously, as I am here on this board), maybe even unschooling. I am wondering if some of the CHC materials will be a good fit for our family. My children are 6, 4 1/2, 2 and 1.
Thanks for your input!
Christine
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guitarnan
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| Posted: May 12 2005 at 11:07pm | IP Logged
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I have used more CHC materials every year, mostly because they are so beautifully Catholic. The grammar and spelling texts are workbook-style. The "Stories of the Saints" reading comprehension books are beautifully written; the one I have (for older students) includes 4 long stories of saints, with vocab, comprehension questions, faith activities, essay questions and history/geography research activities that go with each story. The saints are modern (Katharine Drexel, for ex.) which means that they are hard to find in older books about saints. My son loves these stories. I know he will remember them.
My all time favorite CHC text is "Behold and See 3"; I do hope Suchi decides to write more science books! My dd used this in first grade (she LOVES science); we did every experiment in the book with her and ds (then grade 6) and they both loved them and learned from them. The book is so beautifully Catholic. This doesn't take away from personal experience of nature, or from living books...you could use a text like this for many ages or over a couple of years. I just have never seen a science book for young children that was so completely Catholic, so full of good science and great experiments (with available materials!), AND so beautifully written and illustrated...
I have not purchased CHC lesson plans (I do hear good things about them, but tend to stick with my own planning/unplanning methodology). I think that the materials I've used are top-notch in terms of promoting our faith. My daughter likes/liked using all of them. Whether you want a workbook approach (e. g. spelling, grammar) is up to you. In our home, each year we slide farther away from the textbook approach and spend more and more time with living books, read-aloud time and science/history exploration...workbooks don't replace these things. (Having said that, someone NEEDS to write some good social studies materials for early elementary grades, and to write more on U. S. history, 1900-present, from a Catholic perspective!!! End of rant...)
I'd put "Behold and See 3" in a class by itself, though. Last year at the NACHE conference in Virginia, CHC's Rita Munn explained to me how her teacher daughter told her all about using this special book for multiple ages, etc. etc. I suppose you could...but my dd could not put it down! It did last us a whole school year, which, for my science gal, is a world record, but we all liked it so much we just had to do everything in it without delay. The lovely illustrations, the Bible verses, the genuine science that would please even MacBeth's most critical critic...it's all there.
No, they don't pay me. I am just mommy to Science Girl.
Send me a PM if you would like to know which materials I've used or how I've used them...
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Kelly
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| Posted: May 13 2005 at 1:09am | IP Logged
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I really like their "Language of God" series, too. I feel like it covers the necessary grammar without belaboring the point. I personally feel like you learn grammar best by studying a foreign language, so these workbooks provide a solid basis. I let Latin grammar take care of the rest.
I also like their Catholic spellers. Altho I loved Wordly Wise as a kid, none of my children likes it. OTOH, the CHC Catholic spellers are nice and "approachable". Plus, they have those really nice apologetics plans at the back that are great, easy to implement and understandable even to the little ones!
I think the ONE thing I haven't ever looked at is the "Behold and See 3" book mentioned above. I guess I have to call CHC and add that one to my order, now, after that plug from Nancy 
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Molly Smith
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| Posted: May 13 2005 at 5:03am | IP Logged
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guitarnan wrote:
| My all time favorite CHC text is "Behold and See 3 |
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I will second this! We absolutely love this book. I am not a science person and I can do all of the experiments and they have all worked every time. The children all love it and do it together--my school aged kiddos are 9, 7 and 5. Only my 9yo writes anything out--the others participate and soak it in.
For us, it will take forever to get through everything. We don't "do science" on a regular basis (although I'd like to), so I'm planning on this book getting us through another year!
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Molly Smith in VA
Mom to seven beautiful children, ages 1-14
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Mary G
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I'll "third it" I did a review of Behold and See for Heart and Mind and just was so impressed by the whole presentation. I was saddened that it's a consumable, but then I realized you could use it as a nature/science journal for the year (if not longer) and keep it! What a wonderful memory of young science.
My dh, a PhD in Biology, looked through it and he too was very impressed by the content and the keeping it Catholic without being too didactic. Just a beautiful book.
Another CHC book that's great is Sewing With St. Anne . It seemed "pricey" to me (I think it's $24.95), but the value of the material is excellent. The sewing lessons, starting with threading a needle, are simple enough for my 5 & 6 yo children while the information is appropriate for any age. The projects (from hair scrunchies to veils for a Blessed Mother statue) are useful, simple basic sewing projects. If you want one of your kids to learn hand-sewing (or you never learned), you might want to check that one too.
 CHC really is doing a great job on publishing Catholic texts that are a few steps above regular textbooks.....
Blessings
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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ALmom
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| Posted: May 21 2005 at 6:29am | IP Logged
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I have yet to find CHC products that I don't like. We don't always see and do everything but I love the pace. It covers all the basics without making you feel like you are about to be run over by a freight train.
I do use their lesson plans - not exactly. I am just so easily de-railed that it helps me to have a sequence in front of me. We still go on plenty of tangents, I don't, for some reason, ever get trapped into using their plans like a slave like I have with other plans. I end up becoming a bore if I do not have the whole year planned out at the beginning - but then when the plans are there, I feel free to ignore them when other things are better for us and we do loads more real learning because I can relax about the basics. Because they are my plans and I write in them, and do not submit anything to anyone, I am freer to go where we need to go. I guess it's just my quirk.
I must say that the hands on religion activities are well worth the price to me, even if I did nothing else with the plans. Everything is now on seperate pages so I don't even have to copy stuff - its all right there. Right now my 2nd grader is making a prayer book and loves it. They also have history supplements that are really neat. In 2nd grade it is Tour a Continent. We didn't get to a lot of it, but what we did do, my son loved.
The Catholic Stories from Science was a delight. I will agree with everyone else about Behold and See. They have just published a middle school science (5-8) by the same author and I cannot wait to see it.
Janet
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Topic: CHC
