Catholic Homeschool Support

I posted this message on the MODGFamilies yahoo list, but thought I’d share it with you. I have a fairly large family and trying to get time with each child is difficult. You can take what you think is useful and disregard the rest.

I have a schedule that my consultant helped me to create so that I have time to get to each child – it’s only 30 minutes per child (I have 7 I’m schooling – 2 10th, 1 8th, 1 6th, 1 4th, 1 1st and 1 k along w/ 2 more little ones). She suggested that I have each older child take a turn at taking care of the little ones. I know that there will be more time in the day, but this gives me a meeting time – face to face time – with each child. Of course I will be there answering questions as the day progresses.

I plan for each older child to do some of the drill work, 30 minutes with a younger sibling, and then the older child will later have another 30 minute period where they play with the little ones. I am making a list of what activities they need to drill the younger student on, but it includes Latin vocabulary, Baltimore Catechism questions, Writing Road to Reading phonograms, poetry, and math drills. My thoughts behind it are that some of my older ones were not exposed to this memory work, so they get a chance to soak a bit of it up.

The activities for the little ones include taking them outside to play, playing a game, doing a craft, doing a ziplock bag activity, painting, play dough, puzzles, peg board, mosaic board, coloring, and reading books. Please feel free to post in the comments additional activities to keep the little ones busy and happy.

On Sundays, I’m going to gather the activities that the older child can pick from to do with the little ones. My consultant said that it is critical that I get everyone to help because I have 3 kids with dyslexic tendencies – one of which I need to teach to read, as well as two who have speech impediment issues. I have great programs to address these issues, I just need time to work with them.

Additionally, on their schedules I assigned someone to make lunch and someone else to clean up. And, I have a period after lunch for “zone cleaning”. I made up a zone cleaning sheet that has 5 things to do in each room each day, and then 10 things to do in the room once a week. When I print out their weekly assignments, I will include the daily zone and bedroom clean up. A child will have the zone to take are of for a week, and then he rotates to the next zone.

I also just finished all the copying that we will need for the year so that things will go smoother (no bottlenecks like a printer that’s down! – ask me how many times that happened last year). I also made copies for myself of all the poems and memory work so I have it in one place. Copies included quizzes, maps, Latin drill forms, and poetry.

I created a folder for each child that contains most of what we’ll do for our 30 minutes of family school – daily Bible readings, religious song (we are going to use Alan Jemison’s 36 Traditional Roman Catholic Hymns), Pledge of Allegiance, patriotic song, art study, music, Baltimore Catechism questions and answers from Gutenburg.org, Latin prayers, states and capitals (we all need to learn them), Friendly Defender cards and Memorize the Faith! . We can’t do all the activities every day, I’ll need to use a timer, but I hope the rotation will help us get some memory work completed. I also included an IEW check sheet and their zone cleaning sheets (I used that site to help create my own personalized charts). I will probably add a punctuation / capitalization cheat sheet and a few other cheat sheets.

I know I’m going to fail many times – but, my hope is that each day is a new start, so if the schedule goes out the window, I can start fresh the next day. We’ll see how much tweaking I have to do, but it took me nearly the entire summer trying to figure this out. I finally just had to sit down and do it since it had worried me so much.

Here is a copy of my schedule in a .doc format so you can edit it: 2010 Schedule

http://www.saintmichaelthearchangelorganization.org/ is organizing two prayer events. There is less than 10 weeks away from the start of the Sept. 29th – Oct. 7th PRO-LIFE NOVENA FOR UNBORN BABIES.  This Novena consists of the 10,000 Masses for Unborn Babies Novena and the 10,000 Rosary Novenas for Unborn Babies.

Please visit the site and register your masses and novenas.

Attention Homeschooling Parents and Students

Music-Based Evangelization Opportunities For Young, Catholic Musicians

Proclaiming the faith through beautiful music

Do you like to sing or can you play an instrument well?

Do you enjoy sharing your Catholic faith with others?

Can you be a good role model for today’s young people?

As faithful Catholics, we are all called to take up the challenge of Pope John Paul II’s call for a “New Evangelization”.  Saint Cecilia Classical Productions was founded in response to that call. We are a music-based, Catholic, evangelization apostolate whose principle focus is the advancement of the Culture of Life by the promotion of authentic Catholic family values to today’s young people. As an orthodox, lay organization, we profess complete fidelity to the Magisterium.

We are searching for traditional Catholic young women who wish to use their musical talents and knowledge of the faith in the service of Our Lord and Our Lady, so as to make a difference in the lives of young people. We are looking for young ladies with above average music ability in the areas of classical voice, string or wind instruments. While not a requirement, acting, music theater, choir or public speaking experience would be an additional plus. Some knowledge of Latin would also be helpful.

We are especially interested in individuals who were homeschooled or were raised in the Tridentine Mass tradition. High school seniors, college age women or recent graduates, especially those with degrees in music, are encouraged to apply. This is a great opportunity to learn more about one’s own faith, while evangelizing our young people, and bringing them the pro-life message. At the same time, you will also be working with other young Catholic musicians who share the same traditional values.

For more information about our work and requirements, please visit our websites at:

www.theladiesofcecilia.com

www.saintceciliaclassicalproductions.org

Interested young ladies may mail or e-mail (preferred) their résumé with repertoire to:

Mrs. Julie Baltrinic: Assistant Director

St. Cecilia Classical Productions Inc.

P.O. Box 129, Green, Ohio 44232

info@saintceciliaclassicalproductions.org

Saint Cecilia Classical Productions is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) public charity.  We were organized exclusively for religious, educational and charitable purposes.

http://www.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com/Home.aspx

I have not had time to go through the sample lessons, but they are offering Faith and Life and Didache via an online interface. This text is from the  Leon Suprenant:

For over a decade I worked for Catholics United for the Faith (CUF), which authored the Faith and Life series published by Ignatius Press.

During my time with CUF I was so edified by all the amazing endorsements we received. I also saw that Faith and Life was a particular favorite of many homeschooling families. Our family has used it all along.

This brings me to why I’m writing. I now work for an online Catholic learning center called My Catholic Faith Delivered (www.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com). We strive to combine the finest catechetical courses/programs with state-of-the-art, interactive technology, as Pope Benedict has encouraged us to do in his recent World Communications Days addresses.

We now offer for this fall the Faith and Life series in an online format. It has everything that the book version has, but so much more to engage the children! We also have three years of the Didache high school series ready as well.

Here’s something I posted on our blog last week about Faith and Life:

http://blog.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com/post/Faith-and-Life-Is-Now-Online!.aspx

Sincerely in Christ,

Leon Suprenant

My Catholic Faith Delivered

I am all about saving money and usually buy used syllabi and books for school. I was unable to find a used syllabus for 10th grade religion this year for Mother of Divine Grace. So, I picked up a copy at the Atlanta homeschool conference.

I was in for quite a pleasant surprise – the new syllabus has an Assignment Overviews section. I just received a new copy of the 10th grade Ancient History, and I”m so pleased with this new section. For each paper assignment, there is nearly a half a page describing the method and content for the assignment.  The first assignment is a Summary of the Life of Daniel. There is an explanation of what a summary is – that there should be a theme to the summary and that what is included should bear out the theme (of course this is a very brief explanation). In the Content section, there is a explanation of what Daniel shows us so it’s like a very mini set of Cliff notes.

These notes are so helpful for parents who are trying to help their students and well worth the additional cost of buy new syllabi. You can always call Emmanuel Books. Their helpful staff is very familiar with Mother of Divine Grace and will be happy to see if the new syllabi have this section (not all have been updated and I’m not sure if all the grade levels have these kind of notes).

One further note is the the Henle 1A and 1B were extensively revised last year to include great fill in the blank charts to help students cement verb conjugation and noun  declension. I was happy to have updated these  syllabi last year.

And, since I mentioned Emmanuel Books, I thought I would publicly praise them for their awesome customer support. I placed an order just before Easter this year for a gift that I was going to give my priest. Somehow, I ended up sending it to the wrong address. They tracked my package down and had it redirected to the correct address so that I received it in time for Easter. Thank you for helping to correct my blunder.

Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., Launches New Catholic College-Credit Online Program | May 10, 2010 | Ignatius Insight http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2010/05/fr-joseph-fessio-sj-launches-new-catholic-collegecredit-online-program.html

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2010—Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio¸ founder and editor of Ignatius Press, a former student of Pope Benedict XVI, and longtime leader in Catholic higher education, is launching a  groundbreaking, international college-credit program for Catholic high school students, homeschoolers, and others.

The program, called the Ignatius-Angelicum Liberal Studies Program (www.liberalstudiesprogram.com), is a joint project of Ignatius Press and Angelicum Great Books Program, a longstanding provider of homeschooling and other liberal arts resources. Father Fessio serves as Chancellor of the new online LSP program, which begins this fall.

The Need for a Solidly Catholic Online College-Credit Program

“The Liberal Studies Program comes at the perfect time to address a rapidly growing need and desire of serious Catholic parents and students,” according to Father Fessio, whose previous academic positions include founding and serving as the first Director of the St. Ignatius Institute, University of San Francisco, and Provost of Ave Maria University in Florida.

“Many of these students attend community colleges for one or two years, and then transfer to a four-year institution. But how many truly excellent Catholic colleges are there to transfer into? And at what cost? Furthermore, it’s the first years of a good Catholic college education that are the most important: the liberal arts foundation.”

The Liberal Studies Program (LSP) curriculum combines distance education, online classes— including a theology course nearing completion for full online access—and Ignatius Critical Editions Great Books and Study Guides, to provide Catholic high school students with the ability to earn college credit, while acquiring the foundations for a Catholic liberal education and lifelong learning. Participating students are homeschoolers, students in Catholic high schools, and other serious students ages fourteen and older.??”Great Books education is central to the LSP,” notes Angelicum Academy President Patrick Carmack. “It takes its  inspiration from the philosopher and renowned educator Dr. Mortimer J. Adler, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Great Books of the Western World. Adler called for a reform of American education, which included providing many high school students college-level education in the liberal arts.”

Fidelity to the teaching of the Catholic Church is fundamental to the LSP program. Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution on Catholic higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, guides the program’s understanding of the LSP’s Catholic mission.

LSP is accepted for college-credit at Benedictine College (Atchinson, Kansas, USA); Campion College, Australia; St. Bede’s Hall, Oxford, UK; Catholic Distance University; and many other colleges and universities.

An Affordable Program

“Many good Catholic families are blessed with talented children, but the costs of four years of private college are simply beyond their means,” notes Father Fessio. “Or they don’t want their children to be burdened with tens of thousands of dollars of debt when they graduate.”

The costs of the LSP are a small fraction of the expense of traditional college education. A private, four-year college tuition and fees average $26,273 per year—over $100,000 for a four-year degree. With a coordinated course of study through LSP and its affiliates in the Universities of Western Civilization network of cooperating colleges, students can obtain a bachelor’s degree with an accredited college for as little as $26,600—about a fourth of the cost of four years on campus.

“The LSP solves many of the problems of higher education at once,” insists Father Fessio. “It’s inexpensive. It provides up to two years of college credit. It challenges talented students, introducing them to the great books of Western civilization and the Catholic intellectual tradition.  It provides the foundation necessary for any professional career. Young people have another year or two before having to decide on a major. And, not to be taken for granted: the LSP faculty is composed of talented, experienced Catholic professors, with at least one PhD in each class.”

“And this is just the beginning,” Father Fessio continues. “As the LSP grows, we intend to provide opportunities for students to complement their on-line studies with week-long, even month-long meetings with professors and other students. There are already plans for gathering at the centrally located campus of Benedictine College near Kansas City, and even at Benedictine’s campus in Florence, Italy. Because the cost of the LSP is so modest, and because students will have much more control over their schedules, many, if not all, of the students enrolled in the LSP will be able to take part.”

Getting Started

Classes for the Ignatius-Angelicum LSP begin the first week of September, 2010. To register, students should call 1-360-496-0098, text 719-930-7549, or email lspmail@aol.com. they may also learn more at www.liberalstudiesprogram.com. Students must have access to a PC and a phone line. High-speed internet is helpful but not necessary. Most students participate from home.

The Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal – you will want to visit a revamped site, Friar Suppliers. What a wonderful way to be involved in their ministry by helping to feed them. They take a vow of poverty and depend on God’s providence to supply them with their daily bread.

My two oldest are still too young to attend any of these summer programs, but they are motivated at the idea of getting to spend a week or two away from home. I like the idea that they have time to be immersed in a college life setting to give them a taste and hopefully desire to choose one. So here is my list of summer programs including Wyoming Catholic College, Christendom, Ave Maria University, St. Thomas Aquinas and Thomas More. If you know of others, please post the information. I’ll be happy to update this list.

Also, I wanted to mention that I found out about several of these programs from a great Catholic yahoo list for Catholic homeschoolers looking into information for colleges. A number of faithful Catholic colleges and universities actually have  representatives that participate on the list so it’s a treasure trove of information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/College4CathHS.

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Young college-bound Catholics who will be entering their junior or senior year of high school and are at least 16 years of age are invited to P.E.A.K. 2010 at Wyoming Catholic College July 17-30.

The name says it all: Powerful Experience of Adventure and Knowledge. It’s an introduction to traditional liberal education and what life is like at Wyoming Catholic College. Students will pursue wisdom in the three distinct ways that WCC offers: in study, in nature and in prayer. Taught by WCC professors, students will study philosophy, theology, Latin and humanities.

Plenty of time will be spent outdoors in the splendor of the Wind River Mountain Range. They will enjoy hiking, fishing, horseback riding, swimming in hot springs, star gazing and a two night camping trip. Attendees will be invited to immerse themselves in a rich spiritual life with daily Mass, adoration and Liturgy of the Hours. The full schedule will also include plenty of recreation time: intramural sports, dancing, coffee house evenings and much more. Students will stay in newly built dorms on the WCC interim
campus.

Wyoming Catholic College is also offering two adult summer conferences, a retreat for married couples and a “Leading the Restoration of Christian Culture” Rendezvous for CEO’s, business leaders and owners, senior managers, directors of organizations and Christian leaders.

For more info. on any of these, go to www.wyomingcatholiccollege.com

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Dear Friends,
Greetings from Christendom College where Catholicism is the air that we breathe!

I wanted to let you know about a great discount that we are offering to prospective students. Rising high school seniors (current juniors) can now
register for one of our one-week Experience Christendom Summer Programs for just $300. That’s a 40% savings.

Just register online and then click the “request financial aid” box and that’s it. The registration comes to us and you can then call us up and give us your
credit card info or simply mail in a check.

http://www.christendom.edu/admissions/hssummer.shtml

Spaces are filling up, particularly in the first and third sessions and the financial assistance is limited. This offer is only good for students who have not previously registered…sorry.

The registration deadline is one month prior to the beginning of each session.
Session dates are as follows:

Session I: June 19 (Sat) – June 26 (Sat) (ALMOST FULL)
Session II: June 27 (Sun) – July 4 (Sun)
Session III: July 10 (Sat) – July 17 (Sat) (NEARLY FULL)
Session IV: July 18 (Sun) – July 25 (Sun)

Tom McFadden
Director of Admissions

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Ave Maria University is excited to host its 5th annual  High School Summer Program this July 2010. The summer program is  designed for students entering their junior and senior years of high  school and high school graduates who wish to experience the dynamic  balance of life and academics at the college level.

Week 1 Course Options -  July 11-17, 2010

• Codes and Cubes

• C.S. Lewis and J.R.R.  Tolkien: Myth, Magic and Miracles

• The Art of Writing

• Rome: Open City

Week 2 Course Options: July  18-24, 2010

• Biology: Bacterial  Friends and Enemies

• Choral Music

• The Art of Writing

• The Latin Experience

• Theology of John Paul II  and Theology of the Body

Week 3 Course Options: July  25-31, 2010

• Biology: Bacterial  Friends and Enemies

• The Latin Experience

• Theology of John Paul II  and Theology of the Body

• Experiencing Drama

Click here to  Register Now!

General Information

What is offered? A week long opportunity to  experience the dynamic social and spiritual life of Ave Maria  University, combined with an array of academic programs to appeal to a  variety of academic interests (see course titles and descriptions  below).

Who is invited?  High School students entering their  junior or senior year and high school graduates.

When are the sessions?  There are three separate  week long sessions.
Week 1: July 11-17, 2010
Week 2: July 18-24,  2010
Week 3: July 25-31, 2010

Where is it held? Ave Maria University’s beautiful,  state-of-the-art campus in Ave Maria, FL. Ave Maria is located in  Southwest Florida, 20 miles east of Naples.

What does it cost? $500 for any (1) week long session  (includes tuition, room, board, and all activities). If students wish  to attend more than 1 week, the cost is $400 for the second week and  $300 for the third week.

Any questions? Please contact Rich Dittus at (239) 280-2551 or richard.dittus@avemaria.edu.
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Students of exceptional ability from around the country gather on  the campus of Thomas Aquinas College with members of the College  faculty as a community of teachers and learners for two weeks to read and discuss works selected from Plato, Euclid, Sophocles, Pascal,  Boethius, St. Thomas Aquinas and others.  Together with organized recreation and off-campus outings, these two weeks are an opportunity for forging new friendships, for enjoying the give and take of  rational argument, and for engaging at first-hand the ideas which civilize,  ennoble, and liberate.
Attending the Summer Program…

Who: Students who will have completed at least three years of  high school by the summer of 2010. Applications from students who will have graduated high school but are planning to enter College in the fall of 2011 will also be considered.

When: July 25th through August 7th, 2010

Cost: $975. Cost includes tuition, housing, meals, books, and  organized activities off campus. Students may wish to bring spending money for bookstore and gift shop items. Some need-based aid is available to students who would otherwise be unable to attend.

To apply:  Complete the application for admission; or, request additional information about the college. Send a transcript of high school studies completed thus far and a letter of reference from a teacher to:

Director of  Admissions
Thomas Aquinas College
10,000 North Ojai Road
Santa Paula, CA  93060

Applications to the 2010 Summer Program will be considered through mid-July of 2010. Applicants are typically informed of the Committee’s decision within 3 weeks of the date of receipt of the full application. Please do not hesitate to contact the Admission Office with any questions.

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“Thomas More College is building upon its widely popular Collegiate Summer Program by introducing an array of new and exciting summer schools for students and adults alike. Much has changed in our lineup this year, but we have worked diligently to maintain the high level of academic quality and rigor you have come to expect from Thomas More College.
Explore our flagship program, the Collegiate Program for High School Students, which for 30 years has provided young people a challenging introduction to the liberal arts and the Catholic tradition. Or read about our new, unique Way of Beauty Atelier, with courses that examine the relationship between Beauty and Truth as well as hands-on instruction in iconography and Western naturalistic art. Finally, take advantage of an exciting opportunity to study the social and political teachings of the Church as well as inspirational Catholic leaders throughout history and today with our Catholic Leadership Institute.”

I just wanted to put a plug in for mater et magistra magazine. I finished putting up a free unit study for Flannery O’Connor that I’m considering using with a group of moms.

The magazine is in need of financial support – perhaps you could consider ordering a gift subscription for a friend. Or, if you have a blog that has a large following, perhaps you could offer a drawing for a free subscription.

mater et magistra is the only Catholic homeschooling magazine in print. It is filled with well written articles, great unit studies and helpful reviews of resources. Please consider how you can help to sustain this valuable resource for our homeschooling community.

God bless you.

I am considering the Latin II intensive to prepare my rising 10th graders for another year of Latin. And, I think we’ll go through the Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid from the subscription service to give them a heads up for the 10th grade.

And, for further clarification, the $30 monthly subscription fee includes the pdf’s and homework assignments and answer keys.

Course Schedule (pdf)

Homeschool Connections website

Homeschool Connections Moodle (lists all the courses by subject and indicates if they are recorded thus being included in the $30 monthly subscription).