A World Changed

In spring of 2020, just about every parent with school aged children in the Covid-19 Universe, got a taste of home schooling. Granted, my home schooling friends have said that distance learning during a pandemic is not the same (and is harder than) “normal” homeschooling. Either way, our worlds have been turned upside down.

Now that the school year is closing, many parents are considering their options for next year. With Covid-19, many public and private schools are changing the format of traditional schooling and distance learning will most likely be incorporated into the new school year. Due to this fact, some families are considering homeschooling their children next year. For others, like myself, some schools are closing for good. Our beloved 75-year old school, that has been our family for thirteen years, is another victim of Covid-19.

A Catholic education is very importance to us and we’re doing all we can to ensure our kids have a solid Catholic foundation from PK-8th grade. We’ve applied to another local Catholic school, however, there are far more applicants than available spaces, so we need a backup plan. For us, that is homeschooling.

Homeschooling Is an Old Friend

I’m not a stranger to homeschooling. When I was a sophomore in high school my mom started to homeschool, and four of my eight brothers and sisters were entirely homeschooled. In my early 20’s my mom hired me to help her homeschool my younger siblings. Years later when I got married, Brian and I assumed we’d also homeschool, but after praying about it, we felt called to a traditional Catholic education. However, I’ve always been surrounded by family and friends who’ve homeschooled their children.

As I research the different Catholic homeschooling options, I thought I’d share the information with you in case you are in a similar situation.

Homeschool Options

When my mom started homeschooling decades ago, it was relatively new and there weren’t many options. Today it’s much more common (even more so post Covid-19) and there are numerous choices. The most common forms of homeschooling are as follows:

An Accredited Homeschool Program/ PSP – These homeschool programs, also known as a PSP (private school satellite program) have prepared books, curriculum, and online support. This is a great option for newcomers. It can also be reassuring that you are part of an accredited school, which makes things like state legal issues, transcripts and high school credits easier.

A Non-Accredited Homeschool Program/ PSP – These have the same features as above, minus the accreditation. However, the schools will work with the parents to navigate any issues they may have with transcripts and course credits. Many of the schools have successful graduates move on to top colleges.

Self-Designed Curriculum – This is a popular choice for parents who want the freedom to tailor their child’s education. There are many programs that offer guidance to setting up a curriculum and getting the online support they need. A parent that goes this route usually sets up their homeschool as a private school. This can be done relatively easily with the help of the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association.) More on that below.

Charter Schools/Private Tutors/ISP – Families that don’t join a PSP or set up their own private school, have the option to join a public school independent study program (ISP), hire a tutor, or join a public charter school program that caters to homeschoolers. This can vary state by state so it’s best to check out your state requirements with the HSLDA. For those in California, I found this site informative on the subject.  One mom explained to me, “We are enrolled in a charter school here in California, which means we get funding that covers most/all our non-religious materials as well as many classes. We also can purchase technology through them. I know charter schools aren’t for everyone, but we have had a wonderful experience with them.”

Co-op – A co-op is a group of like-minded homeschoolers who get together, usually once or twice a week, for homeschooling support. This can be through classes (ie. math, writing, history, art, music, etc.) taught together – by another qualified parent or hired teacher. There can also be social activities such as park days, field trips, and religious celebrations. The social aspects and support are especially important to the students, as well as the parents. Many Catholic co-ops do a combination of both.

Legal Help – The majority of the homeschoolers I talked to recommended becoming a member of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA.) The HSLDA helps parents navigate their state’s homeschool laws, complete homeschool paperwork, legal issues, as well as providing personalized advice from their team of educational consultants. (The link for California homeschooling laws is here.)

Resources

These are the most popular accredited Catholic Homeschool Programs:

Mother of Divine Grace School

“Mother of Divine Grace School was founded in 1995 to provide parents with the information, resources, and support necessary to educate their children according to the classical tradition. Laura Berquist’s book, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum, had aroused the interest of thousands and she responded to their requests by developing a distance education program and offering home schooling consulting services. As with her book, the emphasis of the study program and the consulting services is to help parents to teach their children the tools of learning. Located in Ojai, CA, Mother of Divine Grace School serves over 4,500 students.

Mother of Divine Grace School offers a Catholic, classical approach to home schooling. It is a program that has been developed by “trial and error”. We understand the challenges that home-schoolers face and thus we offer different levels of service. We want to meet the needs of each individual family, and we realize that these needs will vary from family to family. Our consultants, teachers, lesson plans, materials, standardized testing, and assessments can provide families with clear educational goals, the appropriate level of support, as well as the needed structure and flexibility. These will lead to academic success.”

Comments:

• “MODG has developed a specific group of counselors for people considering homeschooling due to COVID. I just chatted with our consultant about it. They can work out what would need to happen to finish out a year and keep track of credits for middle-high school kids who want an accredited transcript for applying to colleges or transferring back into brick and mortar school when that’s possible. (This is the form.) – Kirby, MN
• “I love MODG. It works well with my family!” – Mary, CA
• “I’ve used Mother of Divine Grace as a guide. They have inexpensive syllabi and you can purchase the books to go along with it. I loved that they told you what to do every day, especially in the beginning. I really needed that.” – Amy, CA

 

Seton Home Study Program

“Seton is an accredited school assisting homeschooling parents by providing an academically excellent and authentically Catholic curriculum. Our entire staff here at Seton will assist you in customizing our curriculum to be the perfect fit for your child. The students and families enrolled with Seton have the unique opportunity to partake of the fullness of Catholic truth as they experience the beauty, freedom, and peace that comes from Catholic moral and academic formation in a family setting.

Your enrollment provides you with much more than just a box of books. It provides an accredited education, a strong support system, and a community of staff and homeschoolers who are in your corner. It provides access to academic and support counseling, grading and record keeping, and a solid Catholic curriculum that promotes strong Catholic values in each and every subject.”

Comments:

• “This is the program my mom used decades ago when homeschooling wasn’t as common as it is now. There was a lot of work and it was challenging, but the education you receive is excellent. The school was also exceptional at helping out the parents with any needs that arose.” – Bobbi (me 😊)
• “We have used Seton for the past 8 years because I love having everything, including lesson plans, sent straight to me. Another thing I love is that Seton has academic counselors available by phone or email all the time. So, any question, big or small, there is always someone to help you out!” – Nicole, CA
• “Personally, I wasn’t homeschooled and I’m not familiar with books or anything. I didn’t want to have to figure things out. I wanted to follow a curriculum that was already made and done and that’s good. That’s why we chose Seton. It’s exactly what we needed. I’m planning to add (or take out) things as needed when we become more experienced with homeschooling, but for a starting place I love that it’s very complete, it’s serious, it’s well known, and it’s especially a good Catholic foundation.” – Julieta.

 

Kolbe Academy Home School

“Kolbe Academy, like our namesake, is rooted in tradition and relevant to the world today. We seek to harness the power of technology to offer a truly Catholic, classical, and flexible education. With salvation as the ultimate goal, Kolbe’s educational programs allow parents to tailor the formation of their children in the Catholic tradition, with a classical approach. In particular, Kolbe is the leader in online Catholic, classical education.

In our online program, students learn in a virtual classroom among peers with a live instructor who facilitates discussion, lectures, and grades the coursework. Our goal is achieved only through the partnering of parents and a faculty and staff that is dedicated to teaching and modeling for students the good, the true, and the beautiful.”

 

Our Lady of the Rosary

“Our Lady of the Rosary School Inc is an international Catholic homeschool organization which offers complete curriculums for students from grades pre-kindergarten through twelve. Our Lady of the Rosary School Inc is more than simply a school, however. We are an apostolate dedicated to saving the souls of children by giving them the opportunity to receive a superior, truly Catholic education in the best possible environment – the home.

Our mission is to help parents teach their children the Catholic Faith in its entirety using sound Catholic educational materials, covering all subjects. We have been helping parents educate their children since 1983, providing them with the materials they need to give their children a sound, well-rounded, exceptional Catholic education. This Catholic education helps prepare children for further academic growth and development in the safe, wholesome environment of their own home.”

 

Other Catholic Homeschooling Programs

Catholic Heritage Curricula (This was the favorite of the homeschoolers I questioned.)

“Catholic Heritage Curricula (CHC) was founded in 1993 with one simple goal: to aid and support Catholic families in educating their children for eternity. Years ago, the two families from which CHC sprang lived in isolated, rural communities in Oregon and California. Without access to parochial schools, but desiring a Catholic education for their children, they turned to homeschooling. Like you, they sought materials that would provide sound academics while also tenderly nurturing in little souls a love for their Heavenly Father.

Gathering from the wisdom and experience of homeschoolers living in all parts of the world, CHC developed a gentle, flexible approach to academics that avoids ‘burnout,’ and instead lays a joyful foundation, resulting in children who achieve at and above grade level. CHC’s lesson plans and materials are constructed to allow maximum choice and flexibility to fit your student, while at the same time providing a complete education. CHC’s educational program is absolutely faithful to the Magisterium, low in cost, solidly academic, but easily taught at home. There are no tuition or enrollment fees, simply the cost of the materials.”

Comments:

• “We use Catholic Heritage Curricula. It is more affordable, and we love it! They have lessons done for you, which is time saving.” – Krystle
• “We have been very happy with Catholic Heritage Curricula (CHC) from kinder-3rd grade so far. We use the complete program and feel it is a good, gentle but effective, program (for our family).” – Allison
• “I love CHC! We don’t use it exclusively, but it is very sweet and neither too hard nor too easy.” – Micaela

 

Mater Amabilis

“Mater Amabilis is a structured, Charlotte Mason style curriculum for Catholics. The authors are British mother of three, Dr. Kathryn Faulkner and American mother of ten, Michele Quigley. The seeds of Mater Amabilis were sown in October 2003 when Michele Quigley visited England to carry out research in the Charlotte Mason archive at Ambleside and to spend time with Dr. Kathryn Faulkner and her family. In discussing the ideas of Charlotte Mason they discovered that each had followed a similar course in their home education. After becoming interested in Charlotte Mason, they each had each begun to introduce a number of her ideas into their homeschooling. As they read more of her own writings they came to understand that the style of education offered by Charlotte Mason (and her educational organization, the PNEU) was both highly structured and highly efficient. Thus they found themselves adopting what they believed was a more complete application of her principles and method. With a desire to share what they had learned and encourage other Catholic home educating parents in this method of education, Mater Amabilis was born and went online in June 2004 as a FREE Charlotte Mason style curriculum for Catholics.”

 

Schola Rosa Online

“Our mission is docere ut salventur ~ “education for salvation.” We seek to aid each student and family to come closer to Christ so as to be saved by His grace. In order to achieve this we provide: an orthodox, Christo-centric, classical curriculum that teaches truth and grows the sacramental Christian identity of the child and family; a means for communities to practice Christian solidarity and foster local Catholic culture in co-ops; a joyful, community of scholars to aid in teaching middle school and highschool students in the online academy; a useful, affordable, high quality catalogue of educational products and services.”

 

St. Thomas Aquinas Academy

“St. Thomas Aquinas Academy is an independent home school program, established in 1995. We are dedicated to the Catholic formation and education of children by the persons granted the grace and commission to do so by Our Heavenly Father – the child’s own parents. To that end we offer a twelve-year Catholic liberal arts curriculum for the homeschooling 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. We encourage a relaxed teaching style, tuned to the natural developmental phases of the child’s intellect. We 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.”

 

Angelicum Academy

The Angelicum Academy is a Catholic homeschool and liberal education program based on the liberal arts and the classical great books of Western civilization (as well as online Socratic discussions).”

 

Catholic Schoolhouse

“Catholic Schoolhouse publishes a three-year cycle of memory work for your family. Catholic Schoolhouse goes beyond memory work–it is a comprehensive scope and sequence; a foundation to build a true one-room schoolhouse for your family. But we are so much more than our books…we are a family! Joining or forming a Catholic Schoolhouse chapter brings you right into the middle of a loving, prayerful community of families, both locally and nationwide.

Using Catholic Schoolhouse as a comprehensive scope and sequence you can build a program of study for your family. Everyone studies the same topics, just at different levels. Catholic Schoolhouse materials are now available for all, whether part of a chapter or to use with just your family at home! **During the COVID-19 crisis, our Catholic Schoolhouse App is free until August 31.” (The material can be used with a Catholic co-op.)

 

Sources for Curriculum, Books, Online Classes and Individual Subjects

Homeschool Connections Online (Catholic // Middle and High School Online Lessons)

Classical Academic Press (Christian Curriculum)

Memoria Press (Christian curriculum)

The Good and Beautiful (Christian curriculum)

Rainbow Resource (Many recommended this one-stop-shop for homeschooling material.)

All About Reading/ Spelling Programs

Institute for Excellence in  Writing

Read Aloud Revival

Easy Grammar

Math Mammoth

Math U See

Math Aids  (Great for making math charts or drill sheets.)

Teaching Textbooks (Math)

Story of Civilization Books (History)

 

Recommended Reading

Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education by Laura Berquist – Highly recommended by many homeschoolers, especially for those looking to build their own curriculum.

Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie – This was recommended by numerous homeschoolers.

Project-Based Homeschooling: Mentoring Self-Directed Learners by Lori McWilliam Pickert – “This is in the ‘unschooling’ camp but a good read anyway. It could be a nice way to supplement your current curriculum, to do during ‘summer school,’ and to encourage children to explore an interest.” – Gina, VA

 

Tips from Catholic Homeschooling Parents

“My best advice is that if you have the desire to homeschool, you are completely capable and qualified. Also, homeschooling does not take up a full school day. Kindergartners require about an hour of instruction a day. About 2-3 hours a day for children up to 3/4 grade. Middle schoolers and high schoolers can usually be done their work in 4 hours or so!

Also, find or start a co-op! It’s a place for children to meet, usually once a week for a few hours, to partake in parent led extracurricular. Think Art, Lego Club, book clubs, science experiments etc. Our co-op always starts with Mass. It’s a wonderful way for kids AND mamas to catch up with each other!” – Nicole, CA

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“When I was deciding on a homeschooling program, I talked to many people. I found that depending who you are talking with, they are going to tell you according to what they like and their experience. That might help a little, but at the end of the day choosing your homeschool curriculum is SO PERSONAL. You must find what you like and what works for your own family.” – Julieta, TX

* * * * *

“Trust yourself. Don’t over plan (you will). PRAY even if you do nothing else. You’re shaping minds and souls; the subject matter is just some of the tools by which we achieve that end.” – Bethany, WA

* * * * *

“The most important little nugget of info I can give is to do what works best for you and your kids and not to worry if it doesn’t look like everybody else’s. It’s great to get ideas from others, but you don’t have to look like their homeschool. I have two kids with severe learning disabilities, and it is so hard to not compare them to others, but it’s not even a true comparison. On the rough days, I realize those are the days when I lose sight of that. It can be so overwhelming. We pulled our two oldest out of school, so I can relate to the mindfulness of it all. It’s a challenge to grasp how it can be done so differently than a brick and mortar school. It’s freeing and terrifying at the same time. Prayers for all the new homeschooling families coming this fall. It truly has been the biggest blessing to our family over the years.” Julie, TX

* * * * *

“When we decided to homeschool, it was an overwhelming decision and I was so afraid. I’ve realized, working at a school that I absolutely loved for 12 years, that schooling is a vocation. There is no “one size fits all.” It’s really what works best for your family that is important.” – Amy, CA

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Other Helpful Links

A Beginner’s Guide to Catholic Home Education

Catholic All Year Blog – Homeschooling Posts

Cathy Duffy Homeschool Reviews

This list is just touching the homeschooling surface, but I hope it gives you a starting point. I don’t know yet what educational path we’ll be taking in Fall, but my heart is open to wherever God leads us.

If you are a homeschooler and have a helpful resource or tip for a newcomer, please share them in the comments. Thank you!

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