Homeschool Seton & Kolbe

I am currently in a situation that seems unique (or even unbelievable) to some people. I am homeschooling three children while caring for an infant. I don’t consider myself to be unique or a supermom or anything like that. I’m just a Catholic mom that wanted her children to get a good Catholic education. My children were enrolled in a very good traditional Catholic school but unfortunately it was a bit of a haul to get there. I knew that the last thing I would want to do on a cold winter day was take my infant out of a warm cozy house to make the drive to school. I learned quite a bit and since the baby is happily playing I was hoping to take some time to share some of what I've learned.

Curriculum

I knew that I did not have the time to dedicate to writing and researching my own curriculum. I also wasn’t sure how I would juggle developing curricula and caring for a newborn so I opted to use a pre-packaged curriculum. I wanted a Catholic education so that narrowed my search to a few companies. I have used with success two Catholic curricula : Seton one of the most popular homeschool programs and Kolbe Academy which utilizes a Classical approach.

Seton and Kolbe give you daily teaching guidelines, tests and syllabi for each course. In both programs, you are given the option of advancing your child to the next level in a given subject or holding them back if they need more time and instruction. Seton and Kolbe also have the option of enrolling your child or purchasing class materials for individual courses. They also provide counselors to answer any questions you might have.

We also supplement using materials from CHC (Catholic Heritage Curriculum.) My kids enjoy their spelling and handwriting series. They have a beautiful third grade Behold and See Science book that my daughter is enjoying this year.

Which curriculum is for you? That really depends on your family. I suggest looking at the offerings for the grade levels your family needs. Seton has been developing their own books for a while. Their books are really nice to look at with clear directions and topic headings. To see sample pages you can go their website. Kolbe Academy uses some older Catholic education books for some of their subjects. My kids just read me a story from their Catholic National Reader book that had me on the edge of my seat. I even learned a new word. The CNR books are a far cry from the reading text books that are being churned out today. The following is a chart comparison for the fourth grade (I can't figure out how to make my chart lines appear. Drop me a message if you can help me figure it out.)

Grade 4	Seton	Kolbe	Notes
Religion	1. Religion 4 for Young Catholics 2. Child’s Bible History 3. St. Joseph Catechism #1	1. Jesus Our Guide 2. St. Joseph Catechism #1	Both have books that include wonderful art work.
English	English 4 for Young Catholics	Voyages in English 4	VIE is a reprint of the 1962 editions. Challenging but great quality.
Reading	1. Reading 4 for Young Catholics-Comprehension/Thinking Skills 2. Faith & Freedom Readers	Catholic National Reader 4	CNR originally published in 1895. Challenging but great quality. Faith & Freedom Readers include fun stories but are not as challenging as CNR.
Literature	2 Historical Novels for Book Reports	Literature program includes lesson plans for 41 novels and saint books
Math	Math 4 for Young Catholics or Saxon 5/4	Saxon 5/4
History	Catholic Faith Comes to the New World	Famous Men of Greece or Founders of Freedom
Science	Science 4 for Young Catholics	Harcourt Science 3/4

Homeschool Cool

It's week 4 of or new homeschool life. We took a week off for bible camp (you can do that when you make the schedule) and now we are back to our old routine.

It's kind of early but it seems that the pace of our life has really slowed down and everyone seems to be enjoying their subjects. It's helped that Michael (my dh) has been home. Today, he took them outside for their Geography lesson and the kids were excited. Michael gets way more excited about maps than I do.

A short list of our pros (so far.)

Pros:
-You really can do school in your p.j.s.
-Lunch is no big deal: leftovers, cereal, sandwiches. No packing lunch, waiting for everyone to be ready to eat at the same time, no junk food influences.
-Everyone is working on level so there really is no "busy work."
-Less driving.

I'll try and post more specifics about our homeschool materials. I know I read every review I could get my hands on before I committed to Kolbe Academy for the year.

What does a baby really need?

Well I find myself blessed with my fourth babe. He's due to make his first appearance in September.

My third is now five years old and I have spent the last couple years of getting rid of everything baby related. I gave bags and bags of items away. Now I have a baby on the way and I have to ask myself the question: "What does a baby really need?"

With my first child I had way too much. I didn't use most of what I got. The crib became a very expensive diaper changing station. The expensive stroller was used less than the $40 baby sling. The high end high chair was cute but it really cluttered up the kitchen. The $20 bouncy seat was a life saver.

I got so many hand me downs when I had my daughter that she had an outfit for everyday. I didn't really buy anything except a double stroller. The $40 sling got some more use, so did the bouncy seat.

By the time the third came around I had learned my lesson. There is just too much plastic already in existence that buying something new seems wrong. I had given away the bouncy seat but it found it's way back to me. The sling was looking a little faded but it was still put to good use. I only kept the clothes that I really liked. Liam wore these cute Robeez monkey shoes for the first two years of his life.

Now I need to make a list for my fourth. I'll have have to think about it. I have to go into the basement and see if I can patch up that old sling enough to at least use it around the house. That sling is now 10 years old-what a great investment.

The world has gone crazy...

I was laid out with a nasty cold for a few days and when not asleep on the couch I was flipping channels. I came across the show

Sex...with Mom and Dad

This is what MTV has to say: "Dr. Drew's groundbreaking series on MTV, Sex...with Mom and Dad, is back for a second season to help 20 more teens, and their parents, get to the root of their problems when it comes to the taboo topic of sex."

The title itself is bad enough. (Nothing better for getting the public's attention than to infer that your show is about incest.) The episode I stumbled upon featured a sixteen year old girl who did not feel comfortable discussing sex with her parents. The mother wanted to share with her daughter the intimate details of her own sex life- but guess what? The daughter just didn't want to hear it.

I couldn't stomach the whole thing but apparently the parents were worried that their daughter was too uptight. I flicked back at the end and the girl had been "healed." She learned to loosen up her views and be open to being sexual and to talking about it with her parents.

The world world has gone crazy when a girl clearly conveys to her parents that she is not interested in talking about sex and her parents take her to a therapist so that millions of people can pity the poor girl.

Did the parents consider that perhaps she doesn't want to talk to them because she doesn't share their views? Perhaps she's not even considering entering the realm of sex? Have they realized that most people really don't want to hear about what's going on in their parents bedroom?

What if she's really "crazy" and has decided to wait for marriage? What are her parents going to do then -stage an intervention or perhaps institutionalize her.

Welcome to my Cranky Catholic Lady Blog

I was in the car with my husband and I was complaining about something and I finally blurted out, "I'm going to start a blog called the Cranky Catholic Lady." The idea stuck, so here I am typing when I should be making dinner or cleaning something.

Why call it the "Cranky Catholic Lady?"

Cranky- I am cranky, not all the time but I do have my moments. It's the part of myself that I'm always trying to improve or get a handle on. Putting it in the title will remind me daily of what I'm trying to improve.

Catholic- I'm what they call a revert. I was away from the church for a long time. It's become a big part of who I am in the last couple of years and it's the part of me that I do not want to change.

Lady- I don't like the word girl anymore, it doesn't seem to apply. The word "chic" is lame. "Woman" makes me think of "womyn" which makes me think of the 70's. I'll eventually become one of this little old ladies that can be found in the pews of every Catholic church. I might as well claim my title now.