Raising a large, Catholic, homeschooling family is a great work (Magnum Opus) and a great deal of work! Hopefully this email discussion group will be a place for parents of four or more to help each other with the nitty-gritty details of raising and educating a large, Catholic family.
4Real Home Education seeks to provide encouragement and support for Catholic home educators who design their own curriculum and course of home studies. Posts here emphasize the Church's Liturgical Year, living books, nature, beauty in art, music, and natural methods of learning.
The Lord of History card game is a simple, inexpensive, low-effort, fun way to introduce children to key people and events in world history, while highlighting their Catholic significance. Using clear succinct stories about famous men and women from the arts, politics, exploration, literature and religious life, spanning the 3rd to the 20th centuries, players compete in a challenging and educational game for the whole family.
The Seton Families list is for those families enrolled in Seton, families using Seton materials, and/or families contemplating using Seton. It was set up because there are so issues unique to Seton families.
Ignatius Press is a Catholic publisher with a large selection of children's books. They carry Bethlehem Books, Visions books, Magnificat children's books, and coloring books.
Illuminated Ink© (formerly known as Art Angels©) is dedicated to developing, designing, and producing high-quality Catholic educational materials for children all over the world. The majority of products are "hands-on" and meant to keep little hands and curious minds busy for long periods of time.
A free resource guide, research tool, and sampler for Catholic parents and others who "love to learn." Offers information about available educational resources, detailed reviews about a book's contents in order to help others make more informed purchasing decisions, and information about issues of importance to Catholics as they come up in educational materials. The editor and review board are experienced Catholic homeschoolers.
Mercy Academy is a K-12 independent study program for home educators, committed to home education as a way of preserving childhood innocence and nurturing Catholic scholars known for their deep spirituality and keen intellect. Services include: learning profile assessments, individualized curricula development, instruction in teaching to each child’s style of learning, student accountability program, counseling in multi-level teaching, subject integration allowing siblings to learn together, problem solving, record keeping, report cards, transcripts, diploma, and student clubs. Each year students study Religion, Language Arts, Math, Science, History, and one or two electives.
Heart of Seton is a support group for families using Seton Home Study Curriculum. If you are using Seton, or are thinking about using Seton, come share ideas, problems, joys, activities, prayers, and much more.
The Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards are 50 cards with common questions people have about the Catholic faith as well as short, easy-to-understand answers.
Bible Tails are weekly activity pages written for Catholic youngsters ages 3 to 6 and 7 to 10. Charmingly illustrated and filled with sound, inspirational Catholic material, Bible Tails coordinates with the Lectionary readings each week of the year. Each Bible Tails issue contains a story that illustrates the Gospel lesson, as well as age appropriate puzzles and games based on the readings, Holy Days, and holidays for that week. Bible Tails also features saints stories.
Mater Amabilis is a free online homeschool curriculum, which takes the methods of Charlotte Mason and applies them for the 21st century Catholic family. Offering a detailed and flexible syllabus for each age level, Mater Amabilis can be used as a complete curriculum or simply as a springboard for learning. This online teacher training forum provides support in implementing the methods of Charlotte Mason and tips for adapting these methods to today's family.
From Pre-1st to grade 12, the St. Thomas Aquinas Academy classical home school curriculum is designed as one graceful whole, with a unit study flavor, that easily adapts to many grade levels learning at the same kitchen table. They encourage a relaxed teaching style, tuned to the natural developmental phases of the child's intellect. They help you teach your child to learn, resulting in a competent, confident child with a life-long enthusiasm for learning, ready for college, work, or family life – whatever his or her calling may be.
Guardian Angel Books offers a special selection of beautiful, hard-to-find Catholic children's books, textbooks and classics.
Hillside Education publishes quality literature study guides with a distinctly Catholic perspective. The guides include discussion topics, writing prompts and art activities that draw out literary themes and help students connect with the stories. Products range from full-length study guides that can be used for a year's literature study, like the Novel Inquiries series, to discussion guides that can be used in conjunction with any reading program.
Catholic Home Study Service (CHSS), sponsored by the Vincentian community and the Missouri Knights of Columbus, offers free courses on the Catholic Faith. Six free courses, faithful to the teachings of the Church, are available. When you request a course, you will receive a textbook and a workbook with study questions. After reading a section of the book, you can send your workbook answers to us either over the internet or by postal mail. We will make whatever corrections are necessary and answer any questions you want to ask. All who complete the course receive a graduation certificate.
It takes a bit of creative thinking to homeschool lots of kids of different ages, but it can be done. First pray! Then read through these tips to make the days smoother when homeschooling a large family.
Catholic Heritage Curricula offers complete curriculum for Catholic homeschoolers. Also features free curriculum ideas.
This group's focus is towards Catholics using Montessori in their homeschooling.