Homeschooling

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I am thinking about my wife and I homeschooling my 4 year old onward. How can I learn how to do this in the Christian faith?
 
We used Seton our first few years. I know a few people who used Catholic Heritage Curricula. I would look them up and start asking questions to see what curriculum would best fit your child. Another good source of information would be attending a homeschool conference. Seton would have info on that as well.

God Bless:)
 
There is a catalog called “The Leaflet Missal.” If you can get their main catalog, it has some stuff in it. This includes stuff like the “Baltimore” Catechism. At least, I remember seeing it in there. I think they also offer a different one as well. These are offered at grade level 1-8. There might be other stuff in there as well. I haven’t gotten one of their annual catalogs for awhile. While Catholic stuff is important, don’t forget that secular stuff can be added. Like, check out Barnes and Noble in their kids section. I remember seeing some educational stuff. Workbooks and the like. And start taking the child to daily mass. Make this a big part of his (or is it a girl?) education. And contact your diocese office to see if what they recommend. They may offer some stuff as well. Or at least have some ideas as far as your location goes. It is my understanding that to homeschool a child, the local board of education needs to know this so that you don’t get into trouble for not sending your kid to school. This may cause a struggle, but I know many people still manage to homeschool. Good luck. :crossrc:
 
We home school through Kolbe Academy, a Catholic home school academy with a day school and a home school component. They offer more flexibility than Seton, but they still have onsite home school advisers available to help and advise. We started from preschool and our son is now in 10th grade.

We are lucky in that Napa, their location is about 1-2/3 hours away so when my son is ready to graduate, he can wear a cap and gown and attend the graduation Mass with the day academy graduates.

Our son has special needs, and they are super-accommodating. They have their own curricula with various levels, but they allow us to choose all our own, as well. The support teachers are wonderful.

They have some preschool and Kindergarten religious materials and suggestions available on their website and online bookstore.
 
Home schooling is legal in all 50 states. However, some states make it easier than others. Once your child is of legal school age (varies from state to state), you can information from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website, which has links to the various states and the regulations.
 
You can spend as much or as little as you want. Programs like Sonlight, which is Christian, but not Catholic, can cost up to $600 but they give you a lot of materials and a complete lesson plan. If you have time to do all the read-alouds it is a spectacular program. $300-400 is a more general estimate, but you can really get by with a math book and the library if finances are an issue and this is in no way an inferior way to go, it just requires a little more effort on your part.
You will have to research Sonlight, Seton, Kolbe, Catholic Heritage Curricula, and individual books for each subject to get an idea of what is out there. Cathy Duffy has a top 100 homeschool resource book which is excellent, and there are several online review sites, hers, homeschool reviews, etc. if you go the individual book route christianbook.com is the cheapest source. Phonics Pathways and The Little Angel Readers and workbooks are the best things I have found to teach reading.
Start reading! I have been homeschooling for 25 years with four graduates. Still working with my 14 year old. Good luck!
 
We started with Kolbe but then have just designed our own with what we have found at B&N using Kolbe’s suggestions as a guideline (for example I HATED MCP Math, way too easy and unchallenging, found math books that were more challenging at B&N, same with the other studies, and the religion books we get from the parish which are the same as what Kolbe suggests, and our daughter likes to read the children edited versions of the classics, Great Expectations being her favorite). But we used Kolbe until we were comfortable forming our own program.

When we get to the junior high level we will go back to Kolbe most likely because I like their program the best, it’s, imo, the most challenging. We’re lucky to live next to a college town with the community college just another few miles from the university in the area so for high school our children can hopefully “double up” on credits for their central subjects of math, science, english, etc. At first it seems to be overwhelming and then you get to a point where you wish you had more time to cover even more subjects than what the programs offer. So much to learn, so little time 😃
 
kolbe.org/
chcweb.com/catalog/index.html
setonhome.org/
motherofdivinegrace.org/
angelicum.net/
reginacoeli.org/

I register with Kolbe, and like them for their flexibility. Kolbe, Mother of Divine Grace, and Angelicum are considered “Classical” in homeschooling style. CHC and Seton publish a lot of their own (very good) materials, and are probably considered more “Scholastic” in style. Regina Coeli offers online classes. There are other styles/philosophies as well - “Charlotte Mason” being one of the big ones - and you will find some of her ideas in some of these programs as well. If you look these up, you will get an idea of them, and start to formulate your own ideas about how you want to approach your child’s formal learning.

Here is a good website that will provide you hours of reading about various aspects of homeschooling: love2learn.net/

My favorite places to buy Catholic materials are:
sacredheartbooksandgifts.com/
adoremusbooks.com/

My favorite non-Catholic resources are:
memoriapress.com/
rainbowresource.com/index.php

If you can go to a Catholic Homeschooling Conference, it is a good way to look at materials (especially if it is a big one with a lot of vendors) and hear some inspiring and instructive talks: ihmconference.org/

I definitely recommend the HSLDA. I don’t think homeschooling is too bad in FL (at least not compared to my state of NY, which is a pain), but you can get info about your state’s homeschooling regulations there. I actually pay for the membership, and have used their advice a few times over the years.

These are the books I read when I was just getting started that helped me a lot:
Designing your own classical education - Laura Berquist
A Catholic Homeschool Companion - Whittmann & Mackson
The Well Trained Mind - Bauer & Wise (not Catholic but very informative if you are interested in the classical method)
If you are interested in the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling, these don’t cover it - I think there are a number of good ones out there.

Happy research!
 
👍
ThyKingdomCome said:
kolbe.org/
chcweb.com/catalog/index.html
setonhome.org/
motherofdivinegrace.org/
angelicum.net/
reginacoeli.org/

I register with Kolbe, and like them for their flexibility. Kolbe, Mother of Divine Grace, and Angelicum are considered “Classical” in homeschooling style. CHC and Seton publish a lot of their own (very good) materials, and are probably considered more “Scholastic” in style. Regina Coeli offers online classes. There are other styles/philosophies as well - “Charlotte Mason” being one of the big ones - and you will find some of her ideas in some of these programs as well. If you look these up, you will get an idea of them, and start to formulate your own ideas about how you want to approach your child’s formal learning.

Here is a good website that will provide you hours of reading about various aspects of homeschooling: love2learn.net/

My favorite places to buy Catholic materials are:
sacredheartbooksandgifts.com/
adoremusbooks.com/

My favorite non-Catholic resources are:
memoriapress.com/
rainbowresource.com/index.php

If you can go to a Catholic Homeschooling Conference, it is a good way to look at materials (especially if it is a big one with a lot of vendors) and hear some inspiring and instructive talks: ihmconference.org/

I definitely recommend the HSLDA. I don’t think homeschooling is too bad in FL (at least not compared to my state of NY, which is a pain), but you can get info about your state’s homeschooling regulations there. I actually pay for the membership, and have used their advice a few times over the years.

These are the books I read when I was just getting started that helped me a lot:
Designing your own classical education - Laura Berquist
A Catholic Homeschool Companion - Whittmann & Mackson
The Well Trained Mind - Bauer & Wise (not Catholic but very informative if you are interested in the classical method)
If you are interested in the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling, these don’t cover it - I think there are a number of good ones out there.

Happy research!
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In addition to the outstanding resources and info that “ThyKingdomCome” listed, along with great posts from other members here, I will add that Elizabeth Foss (Catholic homeschooling mom and author) has some great resources for bringing the Faith into your child’s daily life in gentle way that encourages a love of learning.

I would take a look at her book “Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home”, which combines several child-focused, gentle learning philosophies such as Montessori, Charlotte Mason, etc, from a Catholic perspective.

bywayofthefamily.com/Real…ctinfo/889511/

Elizabeth herself has a website that has a basic curriculum called “Serendipity”
ebeth.typepad.com/serendipity/

These would be my recommendations, as I’m from the “better late than early” group when it comes to childhood education and the experience with my own children who are not “workbook” or “scholastic-approach” learners.

If you want something a little more structured, but still gentle and Catholic, CHC has a preschool program.
chcweb.com/catalog/ByGra…duct_info.html
 
Wow, you have all provided more than I could ask for. Bless you all.

Now how about a parents fear that he will be lonely and nit have friends
 
God_Seeker said:
Wow, you have all provided more than I could ask for. Bless you all.

Now how about a parents fear that he will be lonely and nit have friends
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My husband homeschools our children and yes, homeschooling dads are not easy to find since it is usually the mom. There are times he does feel lonely but his weekend work is what helps ease that as well as his daily conversations with his business partner/best male friend who works from home for his full-time-job. My husband sees it as a wonderful opportunity to watch his kids grow. And if/when he has to advise couples and/or dads when he is ordained he has a perspective to kick “absent dads” or “work-aholic dads” in the butt in regards to priorities (something a lot of moms probably wished the fathers of their children would get into their thick skulls)
 
Homeschooling has gotten to be more mainstream in the last several years. If you’re anxious about being lonely, I suggest that you try to find any homeschool groups in your area. If there isn’t than maybe you and your wife can start one. Also, you can sign him up for different library activities, sports, plays, or scouts.
 
God_Seeker said:
Wow, you have all provided more than I could ask for. Bless you all.

Now how about a parents fear that he will be lonely and nit have friends
Click to expand...
There are many places for your son to meet friends and interact with others. What are his interests? Does he like sports? Specific hobbies? Does he play with other kids around his age from your parish? Although preschool is a little young for certain things like 4H and Scouts, you might try your local public library or museum for age-appropriate offerings and most definitely see about other homeschooling families in your area. Co-ops are great for homeschoolers- if you don’t have one in your location, start networking with other homeschool families about getting one started.
 
catholicmamajoy said:
There are many places for your son to meet friends and interact with others. What are his interests? Does he like sports? Specific hobbies? Does he play with other kids around his age from your parish? Although preschool is a little young for certain things like 4H and Scouts, you might try your local public library or museum for age-appropriate offerings and most definitely see about other homeschooling families in your area. Co-ops are great for homeschoolers- if you don’t have one in your location, start networking with other homeschool families about getting one started.
Click to expand...
He doesn’t like sports too much. He likes drawing, video games lol, wrestling, art, playdough, building, and hide and go seek
 
God_Seeker said:
He doesn’t like sports too much. He likes drawing, video games lol, wrestling, art, playdough, building, and hide and go seek
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Do you have a park district? they usually have classes for his age in 3 of those things listed.
 
Check at your parish to see if there are a group of homeschooling families that would be interested in forming a group for various activities. Field trips, shared speakers or tutors, sharing and swapping books and materials, etc.

Then the child has other children who are also being homeschooled to grow up with and have that in common.

If there isn’t such a group, consider starting one!! Even if all you do to get it going is set up a coffee meet and greet after Mass one Sunday, at least it’s a start!!

~Liza
 
Yeah,

I am grateful for all the wisdom I have received here, bless you all. Are there any books that you can recommend (I beg you to forgive me, for I should be doing the searching myself, but I fear being misled) that educate parents on homeschooling, its advantages and disadvantages, good versus bad methods, theory and practice, etc etc. I currently have him geared to attend a classical school in Orlando, FL. its called the Geneva school. But it is thoroughly reformed in doctrine. But I have heard that classical education is great, but mostly in the environment where there can be debate.
 
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