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mommy4ever
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| Posted: April 11 2011 at 7:53am | IP Logged
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As I shared, I have newly reverted to Catholicism. I'm looking at my list for next year. I don't know what style homeschool we are, eclectic, I guess. In someways Classical in other ways CM, depending on the subject. I'd like to add some items that are distinctly Catholic, but as previous discussions have indicated, not all are created equal in terms a a logical presentation of Catholicism or the subject. So if you have something you love and that is well done, please share!
Here is where we are using in the fall so are:
Grade 3:
Math - Math mammoth 3
Spelling - AAS 3
Writing - Writing with Ease
LA - CLE LA and CLE Reading(Christian Curricula) finishing level 2, then not sure.
History - Finish Story of the World 1, move into Story of the World 2*
Science - McRuffy science 3(Maybe, haven't purchased yet) and....
Music - Pianimals and music appreciation(plays, ballets, operas)
Religion - the girls will be attending RCIC, Telling God's Story - Meeting Jesus
Latin - Prima Latina
French - mix of items
Art - Various art classes through the year.
I would love to include more Catholic curricular items.
I'd like to explore options for LA, add more *Catholic history for History, McRuffy science won't last a full year, it is a secular program, and if there was a good Catholic program out there I'd love to know. And I don't what to add to religion, they will be in RCIC, so they will be learning a lot every week. But I'm not sure how much to add.
Grade 7:
Math Mammoth 6
History - Pandia Press, Ancient History level 2 possibly move into Middle ages(need Catholic history suggestions)
Science, - Apologia General Science, won't last full year, science nut if it's hands on.
Music - piano lessons - music appreciation(as above), will see about her possibly learning some hymns on the piano that she likes from Mass.
LA - CLE LA
Writing - Writing strands, Writers Jungle, beginner diagramming, Penmanship worksheets.
French - Mix of items
Art - drawing, water color, and sculpting, various art classes through the year.
Religion - RCIC
Grade 9:
Social: Around the World in 180 days. Considering adding "Catholicism" dvd's that Fr. Barron is hosting.
LA - Writing strands, Grammar(not sure which), spelling(not sure which ), Vocabulary from Classical Roots, One Year Adventure Novel,
learning to write essays(in 8 years of school, she has NEVER written an essay).
Math ?
Science - Apologia Earth Science ??
Art - various classes
Music appreciation
Religion - RCIC and ?
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SeaStar
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| Posted: April 11 2011 at 11:51am | IP Logged
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Well, it's no secret here that I love many of CHC's items 
I like their writing books- so solidly Catholic in content, plus the reading program- such great stories! I use many of their ideas for religious activities/celebrations throughout the year as well.
I find that their program is overall very compatible with Charlotte Mason style learning.
I'm not too keen on their science, though. I wish they would come up with a program that included science kits to make it easier for busy moms. But, as I have only done the elementary level program, I can't comment on their science for older kids.
All their materials, though, are solidly, wonderfully Catholic, plus they have very speedy shipping. They are always adding new resources, too- so it bears signing up for their e-mail updates.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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AmandaV
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Sea Star, what writing programs in particular do you mean? Language of God, Creative Communications, or all? Just curious for future reference. :)
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 11 2011 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
| I'm not too keen on their science, though. |
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Have you seen the newer Behold and See science books? I've been trying to decide if this would work for us next year for 5th grade. I think they are fairly new though. I can see a couple of sample pages on line, but not enough to tell if they are that much different from a lot of other science text books.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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Dove
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| Posted: April 11 2011 at 2:45pm | IP Logged
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I have always found the Seton home school workbooks to be very useful. I used their English and Science books mostly and likely will again.
I love the use of stories of Saints worked into the English exercises and I always loved the sidebars of Catholic scientists in the science books. The history books were fun too.
Unit studies are great too. Our favorite one was when the Vatican had an exhibit going around and we did history of calligraphy and went to the Vatican exhibit with a friend who could point out in the framed documents how the calligraphy changed over time.
Saints are great addition to history units--ALL time periods have one or more Saints who lived in that time--and we also used to challenge the kids to find Saints who would have been known as Saints by people in various times and places.
Unit studies for history are also fun when you choose a time and place to study, ask about clothing, food, where did the fabric and foods come from, what were the heresies common at that time, what books would a Catholic who read have and in what languages, Could a person from that time and place have met someone who was later declared a Saint, what were the devotions for that time period in that region?
The depth of the unit depends on the age of the child but there is so MUCH that is fun and distinctly Catholic.
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JodieLyn
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I would encourage you to not so much do more "religion" (as in teaching) as more "celebrating". But not even that is quite right.. living the faith is probably more right.. but I mean.. the things that fill it out.. make it more than just what you read in a book.
Look ahead and plan for a feast day to be a special day.. it doesn't have to be huge.. it could be having strawberry shortcake on Pentecost (red for flames). It could be planning on attending Holy Thursday and Good Friday services because it's so neat to see the fullness of the liturgy around Easter. How on Good Friday you leave the Church in silence and on Holy Saturday you enter in silence. Things like that.
Putting up a crusifix (if you don't have one) where it can be seen but not necessarily in place of your other decor.
It could be talking about what to do for Easter and reading about the symbolism.. it could be less reading and more enthusiastic.. guess what I found out sharing. Not teaching it.. but sharing some excitment and getting everyone to help in planning things that would be significant for the feast day. But these don't have to be big things.. It could be putting a chocolate cross instead of a chocolate bunny into Easter baskets.
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G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 11 2011 at 3:57pm | IP Logged
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Just adding to what Jodie said, we love Catholic Mosaic!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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Heliodora
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Hi mommy4ever!
In your shoes, I would try to avoid Protestant curricula, not because it is always wrong to do so, but only because you are trying to get your family back on track with the Faith. Our choices today are thankfully much better than they used to be; there are so many Catholic resources now. I would especially stress the importance of avoiding Protestant and secular historical resources.
My all-time favorite curriculum is Mother of Divine Grace, especially for the upper grades. I find myself coming back to the lesson plans over and over again for guidelines and ideas. The history is excellent, drawing on many resources.
I also love the CHC program, though I haven't ever really used it- it is so attractive. I mainly use their extra curricular type of things for enrichment.
Seton remains a solid go to for traditional schooling materials. It is thoroughly Catholic and the books are gorgeous. They make it easy to integrate the Faith into daily life, because the Faith is just taken in stride, not compartmentalized into a separate subject. I don't really favor them for the upper grades though, and I wouldn't ever use them exclusively.
One history curriculum I have enjoyed is The ABC's of Christian Culture. It's a bit of work to put together, but you can easily combine grades.
I have tried forever to like Prima Latina and Latina Christiana, but it just never quite works for us. This year we have been using Our Roman Roots and have been loving it! This is culture, Latin, history, the Faith, and grammar all rolled up into one.
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Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. -1 Thessalonians 5:21
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SeaStar
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AmandaV wrote:
| Sea Star, what writing programs in particular do you mean? Language of God, Creative Communications, or all? Just curious for future reference. :) |
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Amanda-
I use both the handwriting books and Language of God. My dc really like the handwriting books with their flip top pages, and I like the way the Catholic faith is intertwined into all the copy work (religious poems, saint quotes, words like tabernacle, monstrance, etc).
I started the year using SImply Grammar alongside LOG, but I later dropped SG- the language seemed very old-fashioned to me, and the two books were covering the same material. I liked LOG better - it centers on the Catholic faith, using saints stories and religious settings to illustrate grammar points.  Also- it has some very gentle writing exercises in the back that my ds really grew with.
Lastly- we are using the CHC spelling books. I know that in a true CM curriculum spelling is done with dictation starting later, around 4th grade, but last fall my ds went through a crisis of feeling very frustrated that he knew how to spell so few words.
The spelling books are very gentle and have really given him confidence. I like how the spelling words are grouped into related families. also.
We are by no means a "workbook loving" family, but the CHC materials are very gentle and the lessons very short. We do not use each workbook every day. My ds does 2 pages in LOG per week and two pages in the speller. On the other days he writes out the list words to practice them. Writing we do every day because the kids like the books so much.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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SeaStar
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| Posted: April 11 2011 at 8:09pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
SeaStar wrote:
| I'm not too keen on their science, though. |
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Have you seen the newer Behold and See science books? I've been trying to decide if this would work for us next year for 5th grade. I think they are fairly new though. I can see a couple of sample pages on line, but not enough to tell if they are that much different from a lot of other science text books. |
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Becky-
I have also looked at the samples on line. CHC also has a new one out that fits in before Behold and See 3- I can't remember if it is called Behold and See 2 or not- but it it has a subtitle of Josh and Hannah on the Farm and looks very interesting. I probably would have given it a go this year if it had been available last fall.
I have Behold and See 3, but I am not going to use it next year because it repeats so much of what we have done this year. Even though it repeats on a deeper level, we need a break from matter and organ systems and the solar system.
B&S 5 looks much different than 3- lots of full color pictures instead of line illustrations. I wish I could get my hands on 4 and 5 to check them out more. I really like how CHC keeps everything so Catholic. I don't have to worry at all and love all the religious reinforcement they use.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Dove
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SeaStar wrote:
AmandaV wrote:
| Sea Star, what writing programs in particular do you mean? Language of God, Creative Communications, or all? Just curious for future reference. :) |
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Amanda-
I use both the handwriting books and Language of God.
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I would like to learn more about Language of God. I don't remember it from my years past home school and your description sounds like something I might like to include.
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SeaStar
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Here is a link to the first LOG book. The books start in grade 2. You can click on the samples box to see the table of contents ans a few sample pages.
I am sorry that all the sample pages are "circle the correct word" pages.
The whole book is not like that, and many of the exercises can be done orally if you have dc that don't like extra writing. Most of the pages take my ds five minutes or less to complete once he understands the concept.
ETA: If you scroll down the page there is a video link that gives and overview of the entire series.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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time4tea
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| Posted: April 15 2011 at 2:47pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
| Have you seen the newer Behold and See science books? I've been trying to decide if this would work for us next year for 5th grade. I think they are fairly new though. I can see a couple of sample pages on line, but not enough to tell if they are that much different from a lot of other science text books. |
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I e-mailed CHC because I was hoping to use their Behold and See 6 for dd next year. Theresa Johnson responded that the book has unfortunately been delayed, and that the new 6th Grade Lesson Plans will include a break-down for Universe in My Hands instead of Behold and See 6. They do expect the book to come out eventually, just not as soon as they had been hoping, unfortunately. I really dislike Universe in My Hands, so I will use something else instead, not sure what.
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AmandaV
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Can I ask why you dislike Universe in my Hands? I read on Mary Daly's site that she wrote it for 1st grade and up, and I've debated using it over the years, starting in 2nd, along with other science studies. MA uses in 4th, I think..? But now that we are using BFSU for science I'm not sure. Its hard to find reviews or samples.
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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mommy4ever
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SeaStar wrote:
I'm not too keen on their science, though. I wish they would come up with a program that included science kits to make it easier for busy moms. But, as I have only done the elementary level program, I can't comment on their science for older kids.
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Is the problem with the science simply due to no kits? Or are there other issues with it? If it is that there is no kits, does it contain a supply list within?
Thanks for the feedback :)
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mommy4ever
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Dove wrote:
I have always found the Seton home school workbooks to be very useful. I used their English and Science books mostly and likely will again.
I love the use of stories of Saints worked into the English exercises and I always loved the sidebars of Catholic scientists in the science books. The history books were fun too.
Unit studies are great too. Our favorite one was when the Vatican had an exhibit going around and we did history of calligraphy and went to the Vatican exhibit with a friend who could point out in the framed documents how the calligraphy changed over time.
Saints are great addition to history units--ALL time periods have one or more Saints who lived in that time--and we also used to challenge the kids to find Saints who would have been known as Saints by people in various times and places.
Unit studies for history are also fun when you choose a time and place to study, ask about clothing, food, where did the fabric and foods come from, what were the heresies common at that time, what books would a Catholic who read have and in what languages, Could a person from that time and place have met someone who was later declared a Saint, what were the devotions for that time period in that region?
The depth of the unit depends on the age of the child but there is so MUCH that is fun and distinctly Catholic.
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I totally fail at unit studies.  I just can't do it. I can follow a curricula from beginning to end but not a unit study or lapbook 
About Seton curricula:
How is there English laid out? Is it an all inclusive? Or are there various separate books to use?
Science - is there lots of hands on opportunity? At a grade 3 level, is it each to find items? (I'm having trouble finding samples).
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JennGM
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I can't follow unit studies verbatim, either. I find we like to make our connections, so I use the suggestions of books, maybe one or two activities and we do our own little "rabbit trail" instead of a full blown unit study. I was particularly pleased this fall when we really read extensively about the seashore before our beach trip (which was later when school started). Reading first, then the hands on was the BEST experience ever! The boys were constantly making the connections, and thrilled to see what they read come alive! Sorry...I digress.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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time4tea
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AmandaV wrote:
Can I ask why you dislike Universe in my Hands?
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Personally, I found it very confusing and difficult to implement. I asked my dh, who has a Master's in Optical Physics, to look over the book and while he said he understood what Mary Daly was trying to present, he also found her presentation to be not the clearest. I know that some families love the book, but it isn't a favorite at out house!
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mommy4ever
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JodieLyn wrote:
I would encourage you to not so much do more "religion" (as in teaching) as more "celebrating". But not even that is quite right.. living the faith is probably more right.. but I mean.. the things that fill it out.. make it more than just what you read in a book.
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HI Jodie,
We're struggling a little, as I myself am exploring Catholicism anew. My mother was a cultural Catholic, only participating in mass a few times a year. While I went to a "Catholic" school, it was more cultural than anything. So I can't just 'wing' it. I wasn't taught, I'm learning now. Hence the desire for something child friendly so we can learn together. Will I sit down and 'teach' it, not likely, more review and incorporate it.
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SeaStar
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mommy4ever wrote:
SeaStar wrote:
I'm not too keen on their science, though. I wish they would come up with a program that included science kits to make it easier for busy moms. But, as I have only done the elementary level program, I can't comment on their science for older kids.
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Is the problem with the science simply due to no kits? Or are there other issues with it? If it is that there is no kits, does it contain a supply list within?
Thanks for the feedback :) |
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I was using the Easy As 1-2-3, and I found it difficult to sort through overall. The basic idea is to repeat the same information three years in a row, on a deeper level each year. Or. alternatively, you could use the book with children of different ages at the same time by tailoring the content level for each child.
Either way, each time I opened the book I had to sit down, concentrate and read through the suggestions, decide what might work for us, decide what books to supplement with from the library, decide what type of an experiment to do (sometimes there were several that looked promising, sometimes not), round up materials, try to coordinate it all with the faith questions....
I don't know, it didn't seem very easy for me to do this every week-- and that was with having looked it all over during the summer and having outlined a basic plan for each week.
Honestly, I found it a pain  . We had some good days with it, but also some days that were so-so. I would not want to repeat it all again next year on a deeper level when there are so many interesting things to learn about. But we did truly enjoy the Stories From Science, which had a few nice experiments.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: What Catholic Curriculums do you love?
