Homeschooling - Seton vs. CHC

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Hi all,

I have read through various topics on this forum regarding the use of Seton vs. CHC, and have looked at both websites. I have 2 boys who will be “in” first grade (homeschool) next year, and I’m trying to decide on curriculum.

Currently - for kindergarten - the only “real” curriculum we use is All About Reading, and Seton Handwriting for K. Before we started this year, I took a lot of advice and decided not to purchase curriculum for Kindergarten because I was told it was a good age to just piece it all together - and have fun with it. I am SO not a person to do that, but I didn’t realize it then. I’ve been spending my entire Sunday after church preparing for the following week - making sure I can just grab and go during the week, and I feel like I need to change my approach for next year.

Until now, my boys have only received “catholic” teaching from going to mass & PSR (Parish School of Religion) once a week. (And of course any conversations around the house and our lifestyle.) This year, we are hoping to put the boys in a one week (5 days, 6-7 hours each day) PSR type camp, instead of doing the weekly PSR for the whole year, - so I’m hoping to include more of the catholic teaching within our daily schooling. SO I’ve started looking at Seton & CHC.

I like what I’ve read about CHC - and I REALLY like the lesson plan aspect - and how it’s all laid out for you. (This is the part that’s really attracting me right now.) But I’ve looked at the American History & Science from Seton - and really like their approach/materials better than CHC. I’m also unsure if I want to stop using All About Reading - since it does seem to be working with my boys, and I don’t know if starting with CHC’s Little Stories for Little Folks would be redundant and set us back.

I know it seems like I’m all over the place with this - and I feel like I am. But I’m really looking for:
  1. any (name removed by moderator)ut on either curriculum
  2. has anyone pieced together parts of both curriculum to use together?
  3. If you have used Seton books (not the online program, or accredited program) - is there a lesson plan that comes with them? (I’ve noticed that the History and Science books only have around 18 chapters - and that doesn’t seem like it would cover an entire year - so I’d love to know how it’s recommended to use those in a daily/weekly plan.)
Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut - I really am just trying to figure this all out. 🙂

Laura
 
Hello,

We use Seton, so I can’t speak about CHC. Really my wife would be the better person to talk to about it anyway. So from the Dad’s perspective -

I like Seton mostly because it’s orderly.

I know my family with a lot of kids and a lot of happenings. If we were the sole authority, we would let a lot slide.

Seton grades your kids stuff and now a lot of the tests are online.

One thing we did do this year is get a fancy copier/scanner/printer which is making turning in work a lot easier, scan and upload.

My wife keeps wanting to try K-12, a public version of organized home school, and supplement with Seton religion. But I say stay with the all in one, organized package. They get little Church-y things in all the subjects. My sister tried K-12 and is going to go back to Seton.

The kids took to it quite well and their grades are excellent, not because mom is grading them either.

Standardized testing is proving the system is working.

edit - my wife said CHC is more ‘cute’, gentle, not so structured. Seton is accredited, CHC is not.

I guess we look at CHC and use some things here and there.
 
ffg - is K-12 this online program?

We are changing our educational plan for our son and considering anything. Could you describe how it works and what deficiencies your sister and you perceive? Also, why does your wife want to try it?

Thanks.
 
I am very ecclectic and use materials from all over. I don’t like the workbook approach that Seton has, but I do like some of the readers. I find that CHC’s materials are wonderful for the early learner. I used the little readers and then just moved over to Book of Saints by Fr. Lovasik, and afterwards to the saints series by Ignatius Press, which can be found at CHC catalog or Emmanuel Books. I use Designing your own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist and so it gives me the spine to all my subjects. We go to daily mass, read our bible, use the nature and notebooking approach to writing and tie it all to History. I use Catholic unit studies which are prepared for you and all you have to cut-n-go. I got some of these for free or Emmanuel books or catholicicing.com. In my humble opinion it depends on what you want your child to experience. Some children are very hands on and enjoy more of a unit study/ecclectic approach and so it depends on you and the child. My learning experiences reminded me that I was a better learner when it was hands on rather than workbook.

Pray to the Holy Spirit and what he wants you to use that take into account your child’s gifts and talents and your way of managing their curriculum 🙂

Blessings,
 
Thanks for starting this thread, I think this could house some great information.

SonCatcher - Yes that is the program. I will get back here after a few discussions today to explain more about some why’s as I don’t know much about it. Some of why she liked it might have been cost, I think it’s free and they give you a computer and printer. My niece did run into one problem, she wanted to write a paper on abortion and it wasn’t allowed. No ‘touchy’ subjects.

For what Cath4life says is not good about Seton, is exactly why I love it. However, it is important to understand, it is not, nor does your life only have to be 1 thing, and the book work takes so little time…

The bookwork is typically no more than 3 hours per day, when doing it. By 11:30, sometimes by 10:30, I’ll get a call from the oldest saying she got all her subjects done.

I like to have them call me and let me know what they finish. They get the sense of accompishment and shared joy (of course then I re-focus them, I am ‘Dad’).

If I’m home for work, I’ll sit with the first grader and pump through 10 pages of math with her. Then she gets to be math free for a week, and loves it.

I love Seton because I know that with all the field trips, art classes, homeschool group outings, they are still getting some core reading, writing, math, phonics and are being graded on it. They test high, and will be able to enter college no problem.

What this does then, is allow for the other things to happen in the afternoon / evenings - they are all in sports, they go to the community center for art, clay class, they do plays through the city. Every Friday they go to a Catholic church and use the rooms to do community classes / religion stuff with other Catholic moms and kids.

Having that structure where they get the quarterly grades and can see the advancement is key for me.
 
The workbook issue is why we are presently not considering Seton. My son goes through them too quickly and is bored with the lack of challenge.

I saw that K12 has public options so I’m not surprised they supply computers for that.
 
I would reply with Holy Scripture that has been revealed to us. Jesus’ own words “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall NOT prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
 
SonCatcher said:
The workbook issue is why we are presently not considering Seton. My son goes through them too quickly and is bored with the lack of challenge.

I saw that K12 has public options so I’m not surprised they supply computers for that.
Click to expand...
Lack of challenge from the Seton books?
 
Don’t forget to check out Kolbe homeschool curriculum. We used it for two years, and when we likely resume homeschooling next year (after a year of parochial school) we will be using Kolbe materials and lesson plans again. It is a wonderful curriculum.

Edited to add:
Kolbe is an intense, rigorous homeschooling curriculum. I notice a mention of Seton being not quite challenging enough. We found that also, which is why we selected Kolbe. For some students, more intensity is good. For others, it can be demoralizing. CHC is definitely the least rigorous of the three (I am familiar with that curriculum, too). Choose the curriculum that is right for each child. Good luck.
 
I’ll have to look up that Kolbe.

This is a great discussion. I might even get my wife to write a bit on here.

That’d probably be a stretch.

I’ve found my oldest not really challenged in some aspects, but I guess I keep thinking they are going to “turn it on”.

Maybe not.
 
Here is what my sister said about k12…

All pros… In fact we just got a check from them for Internet fees for $120 so not only is it free they Actually pay Callahan to go to school. The one and only negative is Callahan doesn’t want to be in front of the computer so much. Oh and they send a free computer and printer and even a reAly expensive calculator when they advance in math. Really great. At some point we can talk about it if you want but it is a phenomenal option!!
 
jeepchick said:
I like what I’ve read about CHC - and** I REALLY like the lesson plan aspect - and how it’s all laid out for you**. (This is the part that’s really attracting me right now.) But I’ve looked at the American History & Science from Seton - and really like their approach/materials better than CHC. I’m also unsure if I want to stop using All About Reading - since it does seem to be working with my boys, and I don’t know if starting with CHC’s Little Stories for Little Folks would be redundant and set us back.

I know it seems like I’m all over the place with this - and I feel like I am. But I’m really looking for:
  1. any (name removed by moderator)ut on either curriculum
  2. has anyone pieced together parts of both curriculum to use together?
  3. If you have used Seton books (not the online program, or accredited program) - is there a lesson plan that comes with them? (I’ve noticed that the History and Science books only have around 18 chapters - and that doesn’t seem like it would cover an entire year - so I’d love to know how it’s recommended to use those in a daily/weekly plan.)
Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut - I really am just trying to figure this all out. 🙂

Laura
Click to expand...
I use CHC materials, pieced together with other materials that match our preferences and needs. The CHC lesson plans are nice and they include some wonderful supplemental materials. But the more you change in the lesson plans, the less benefit you get from having prepared lesson plans. If you wanted to go with mostly CHC materials but switch in Seton science and history and All About Reading, you could do that with CHC lesson plans.
 
Monte_RCMS said:
Have you taken a look at the Robinson Curriculum?

www.oism.org
Click to expand...
This Curriculum has a language arts program that has a lot of G.A. Henty books. It is NOT Catholic and has some red flags. According to: www.keepingitcatholic.org

“Titles by G.A. Henty - This author is known for his works of historical fiction, of which many are popular with homeschoolers who like the “living books” approach. Catholic parents will find especially offensive one of Henty’s works, St. Bartholomew’s Eve - A Tale of the Huguenot Wars. Henty’s version favors the Huguenots, who were the perpetrators of mass homicides of Catholic men, women and children. In truth, the subsequent retaliation against the Huguenots - another mass riot - was instigated by the Medici’s and unfortunately blamed on a truly Catholic king. The hero of the story is the young lad Philip Fletcher, born in England but with French blood in his veins. Young Phillip sides with the Protestants, and Catholics are made to look entirely in the wrong.”
 
Seton provides lesson plans, although they are formatted a little differently than CHC’s. But you have to register with them to get the plans. CHC has nicely laid out lesson plans, but does not have an option to register, so while you get lesson plans, you don’t get any services (like grading, or record keeping, or advisement).

I actually register with Kolbe Academy, but have used materials from both Seton and CHC. They are both good programs, and I like both of their materials. I have always used a variety of materials - I think that it is perfectly normal and common to use most of one program, and a little from other sources. CHC doesn’t provide you with services, so of course, your ability to make “substitutions” is unlimited. Seton will have some restrictions if you want to receive credit for certain course, so you would need to call them and get details on how to make substitutions. I imagine though, that in 1st grade, receiving reading credit is not nearly as important as actually knowing how to read - definitely keep using what is working no matter which program you ultimately choose.

I use Seton’s 1st grade history book with my kids. It is only 18 chapters but I just read and discuss each chapter with my child once every other week. History is very light in 1st grade - some Catholic curriculum providers don’t even cover history at all. You can see a sample of the history lesson plan on Seton’s website.

Seton’s grammar and spelling programs start a little sooner and move a little faster than CHC’s programs. There is a lot of time for spelling and grammar after the student is reading well, so I see that as a mark in CHC’s favor. I actually use CHC’s grammar program with my kids.
 
Do you ever see these materials in Catholic (or Christian) bookstores? I know you can order online. Just wondering.

We are new to homeschool as well and are currently using a core secular program (online curriculum) which is inexpensive and easy to use but I want to purchase at least a few religious items as there is no CCD offered in our parish and I want to incorporate religion in my son’s learning. I, too, have recently read threads mentioning both of these curricula along with others.
 
plaidshoes said:
Do you ever see these materials in Catholic (or Christian) bookstores? I know you can order online. Just wondering.

We are new to homeschool as well and are currently using a core secular program (online curriculum) which is inexpensive and easy to use but I want to purchase at least a few religious items as there is no CCD offered in our parish and I want to incorporate religion in my son’s learning. I, too, have recently read threads mentioning both of these curricula along with others.
Click to expand...
We use Seton for most of our religious materials (and our kids are enrolled in parish catechism).
 
plaidshoes said:
Do you ever see these materials in Catholic (or Christian) bookstores? I know you can order online. Just wondering.

We are new to homeschool as well and are currently using a core secular program (online curriculum) which is inexpensive and easy to use but I want to purchase at least a few religious items as there is no CCD offered in our parish and I want to incorporate religion in my son’s learning. I, too, have recently read threads mentioning both of these curricula along with others.
Click to expand...
I have not seen Catholic homeschooling materials anywhere but online or at a Catholic homeschooling conference, but then I don’t live in an area that has a large market for them. I do occasionally see secular materials at protestant Christian bookstores. But generally, if you want CHC or Seton materials, you need to go directly to Seton or CHC. My favorite online resources to buy materials (not counting the actual curriculum providers like Seton, CHC, and Kolbe) are amazon, Sacred Heart Books & Gifts sacredheartbooksandgifts.com/, and Adoremus Books adoremusbooks.com/. If you are looking for Faith and Life Materials, you can get them at any of those sources including the curriculum providers (except for Seton which publishes its own religion curriculum), and also at ignatius.com/, the publisher.
 
Thank you for all the feedback. I had considered ordering an “Image of God: Who Am I?” book (saw it on the Kolbe Academy book website as well as Amazon) but after reading reviews and comparing prices (I think you really need to buy it with the teacher manual) I opted for a book on the Seton website. Later I might reconsider the first book as it is a workbook. I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the books to choose from so I got “Pre-K Religion for Young Catholics” and the Kindergarten St. Joseph Picture Book Set. (3 picture books including The Angels: God’s Messengers and Our Helpers, The Seven Sacraments, and The Ten Commandments: I Obey God). I think that’s a good start.
SonCatcher said:
ffg - is K-12 this online program?

We are changing our educational plan for our son and considering anything. Could you describe how it works and what deficiencies your sister and you perceive? Also, why does your wife want to try it?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I know this wasn’t directed at me but since you are considering anything, I just thought I’d share what we are currently using. We are using time4learning.com. Granted, I am brand new to homeschooling, my son is only 4, and we have only used it since late December. I placed him in the preK section first, but we are now in the Kindergarten section. You have access to 3 grade levels at a time so you can move ahead in one subject, go back to review another, etc. They have a forum for parents to talk to one another or ask moderators for help with the website. A representative even called my cell phone when I posted a question once. There are some printables for certain lessons. There is a separate log-in for parents where they can view grades and more. You can have your child re-do any quiz, lesson you want. Because my son is so young I am able to supplement with inexpensive workbooks/flashcards/etc. from the dollar stores around here. Obviously I have to make him work on penmanship offline.

I looked into K12 but it is so much like traditional school that you lose the flexibility that some homeschool families value. For example, I think you are required to do school for X number of hours per day. It turns out they don’t offer k12 in my area, anyway. But this is just what I know from the little bit of research I did this past year so I’m no expert. Good luck!
 
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