A Year with God- Book Review

Title: A Year with God, Celebrating the Liturgical Year
Publisher: Catholic Heritage Curricula (Little Way Press) 2005

I own this book and am reviewing it because I am using it as an enrichment material for our religion lessons and for the ideas and crafts in relation to the Church year. We try to incorporate the feasts of the Church into our home life as much as possible.

Positive:

• This book is spiral bound, so it lays flat and it is easy to keep your place. I really like spiral bound books for their convenience.
• Permissions for reproduction among family members, plus they will give group permissions, so the book is a good investment
• Can be used for multiple ages, depending on creativity and skill I would say that anyone from young children to adults would enjoy the activities in this book
• Nice Catholic graphics for projects, like the Sacred Heart, angels etc. Wholesome illustrations
• Clear instructions and a wide variety of ideas for celebrations and parties to incorporate the liturgical year into home life
• Best part, to me at least, is the All Saint's Day section

Negative:

• Uses the Novus Ordo calendar, so adaptations have to be made for the parents. One example: No Time after Pentecost, instead "Ordinary Time."
• Quotes from liberal Novus Ordo personalities and sources
• Includes Novus Ordo saints
• References to Novus Ordo service that traditional Catholic families probably cannot relate to
• Uses a bit of fluffy language and themes that are common to the NO
• Does not incorporate the traditional abstinence and fasting laws or Ember days
• Reference to abortion, a topic that parents may not want to introduce to young children

Overall, this book can be great for following the Church year with some adaptations. It definitely is helpful in bringing the wonderful feasts of the Church into daily life and is an asset to any homeschool book collection. I think that this book is over-priced, I would either recommend sharing the cost with a friend or trying to find it used.

My Home Education Plan and State Law

Today, I am going to explore how the program I created fits into the law and requirements for this state.

First of all, I do not have to give any notification this year. The reason why is that kindergarten is not mandatory; the compulsory attendance age is 6. I often laugh when I think about filing for first grade in 2009- what is it going to look like when my 6 year old is using mostly second grade materials?!

So from the data given at www.hslda.org...

I not even required to teach anything to my children before the age of 6. That would be lazy and irresponsible, wouldn't it?

My home education plan, in relation to state law:
900 hours at the elementary level
---so if I begin in May and we can easily cover that with all of our daily lessons and activities, especially considering that we school on Saturday and sometimes do extra lessons on Sundays

Reading
---I'm teaching a phonics program and we are studying literature, Boo should be reading at a first grade level by fall and maybe even more independently

Writing
---Boo is learning to write his letters and how to spell, so that he can write meaningful things one day

English language and grammar
---We're using First Language Lessons which is great because many of the lessons are oral. I am also trying to remember to get both children to answer in complete sentences.

Geography
---We're going to learn the names and locations of all 50 states. We are also working on learning the names of the continents and oceans. In addition, when geography over laps history we will be locating regions and areas that are pertinent on the map.

Arithmetic
---We've got that covered with Saxon 1.

Drawing
---We will be learning about drawing, I actually possess a little talent for drawing, so this should be a pleasure. I plan on picking up some how-to-draw books.

Music
---We will continue to listen to all kinds of music from around the world. We're keeping formal piano or violin lessons in our minds at some point as well.

History
---We'll be studying ancient history, I can't wait!

I'm not sure that the state requires science but we will be studying the human body which will cover health. We'll also be learning about plants and animals.

I wasn't certain that the requirement for CPR, US Constitution, and duties of citizenship--being taught formally was meant for elementary levels, so I am not going to worry about those.

PE
---if we find a bowling league we're going to go with that. Otherwise, I think we'll just go bowling, for nature walks and do bicycle riding.

Good behavior
---I'm not really sure how the state can require this because it is so subjective. But I think that falls under religion. This is just one of those things that you learn through life's daily tasks anyways.

First Grade or K-5 plans

Beginning in May: Grade K-5/First Grade (call it what you like )

Math: Saxon 1
---I want to use Singapore, but my son loves to use Saxon, I figure why bother with something good! Singapore also has a bit of a culture barrier for me, some of the sample problems on the placement test-- I could not figure out what they meant until I saw the answer.

Handwriting: Seton Handwriting 1 for Young Catholics, plus extra paper for practice

Reading: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, Bob Books (all sets), Now I'm Reading series (all levels), various easy readers. ---I want to order the hardbound National Catholic Readers and the McGuffey Readers, but they are a bit expensive so I will have to wait and see. I want to buy the whole sets at once, not just one book at at time! I also have considered ordering the Little Angel Readers. I am also looking into what level that the American Cardinal Readers begin.

English: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind ---If I can get a sneak peek at the Catholic version of Voyages in English, I may order that later too, but I do want the whole set. First Language Lessons may not last us the whole year, but it is for use in first and second grade so we will use it for 2 years.

Spelling: Spelling Workout Level A ---I am going to probably begin this subject about half-way through the year. I have considering also just making my own spelling lists and doing activities based on them.

Memory work: I plan on keeping a notebook with all of the poems,sayings, etc. that we memorize.

Science: We'll be following the classical sequence described in the WTM, so this year we will be studying Animals, Plants and the Human Body. I plan on doing it by unit studies and doing lots of experiments, museum visits and hands-on stuff. We'll probably be borrowing most of our books from the library. This will probably include getting a pet fish and growing some kind of plant. We'll also probably keep a nature journal, if I can get Boo to do so. (He doesn't really like to draw or color)

History: We'll be also following the WTM sequence here so we will be studying Ancient History. I have the Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World for a reference. We will be using some of the Story of the World and its Activity Book. ---I won't be following the suggestion of studying gods and mythology, especially at this age. I am going to use some of the stories from this time period, but at an innocent level that will be suitable. We will be incorporating the history of our salvation and the creation of the world into everything. I'm going to be looking for a book to fill in my gaps of knowledge of Old Testament history--so I can teach this better. DH said Roman Catholic Books republishes something to that effect. ---I'd like to use a Catholic curricula but I do not think any of the ones currently being published fit my expectations, they tend to be too brief or not even on the same topic as us at the same level.

Geography: Maps charts and Graphs, Level A, memorizing the 50 states and their location using a simple US map and a sticker chart published by Dover, plus the seven continents and the four oceans using puzzles, maps, globe etc. I also plan on using Uncle Josh's Blackline maps for this and History, it's a CD rom so you print it out yourself. ---I believe I also bought a 50 states coloring book which I might copy and turn into part of a geography notebook. The Maps,Charts, Graphs book looks so easy that you could do it in one sitting, I may order the next level. I initially ordered it because graphs were our biggest stumbling block (really the only one) in mathematics.

P.E./Art/ Music: For P.E. we'll be taking nature walks and hikes, bowling--possibly in a league, maybe roller-skating. I've e-mailed a local roller rink to ask if they play classical music or at least oldies instead of Top 40 all the time. For music, I am considering getting a keyboard in order to teach my son piano, I don't know if that will work out. I may spend the next year trying to find a teacher for piano too. I also want the kids to learn violin, we'll see where that goes. We also listen to various music from around the world and different periods, except modern (hehe). For Art we will be doing picture study of great Catholic works as well as using Child-Sized Masterpieces and the book How to use Child-Sized Masterpieces (this book might be out of print). We are also using Art 1 for Young Catholics from Seton. Additionally, A Year with God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year we are using from Catholic Heritage, but omitting the Novus Ordo-y stuff. I also plan on borrowing some how-to-draw books form the library.

Religion: We'll be using and memorizing parts of the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism (the First Communion one), as well as investing in some more good children's books on the Faith. We also read the New Testament out loud as a family. I have quite a few other resources, we'll use them as need. We also will be following and incorporating the Church year into our daily lives as usual, and reading the lives of the saints for children too! In addition to that, I take every opportunity to instruct the children in good morals, manners and behavior (which I consider to fall under religion because of the virtue of Charity).

Other etc.: I just plan on continuing to use the Kumon workbooks for fun and enrichment. Reading is really our biggest thing because I plan on adding Latin and a modern foreign language, probably Spanish, in the future (I'm thinking third grade).

Our schedule is probably going to look like this:
everyday:
Math 20-45 minutes
Language Arts 1-2 hours
Handwriting 15 minutes
Spelling 15 minutes
memory work 5-10 minutes
geography 10-15 minutes

I almost always do the most disliked subject right away after breakfast, it makes the rest of the day seem easy two days each week for: history ex: Mon, Tues 1 hour science ex: Wed, Thurs 30 minutes-hours art: Friday 30 minutes PE: 1-2 days a week 10-30 minutes

My Educational Outlook and Philosophy

After I decided that I wanted to homeschool, I never really gave much thought to curriculum. I just had the idea that I would order it, follow detailed instructions in a teacher's manual and then send it back in to be graded. (I did not know there were so many options prior to actually beginning our homeschooling journey)

I had pretty much thought that all curricula were the same. I knew that we would be teaching our children from a Catholic point of view, so their education would also contribute to their growth in Faith and hopefully holiness. The other thing I wanted to give our children in addition to a love and zeal for the Faith, was a solid, strong education that would enable them to do whatever work God has in store for them.

When my son was about 3, I figured out that a pre-packaged curriculum was just not for us. I want my children to be able to move ahead as needed. In other words, I did not want to hold them back from challenging and exciting work in lieu of keeping them doing something "age appropriate." So I began to order books for kindergarten two years ago. I had a whole plan of every material I was going to use. Upon receiving the materials, I thought that they looked great. I was so excited to begin.

This is where experience is so valuable. I was really displeased with the kindergarten science books that I ordered (I'm going to review them later) and also sorely disappointed with my choice for a phonics book. I threw the science books in the trash, I think the phonics books may still be in a closet somewhere. The valuable lesson that I learned is that sometimes, you just cannot tell if something will work based on reading it, you actually have to attempt it with your child to tell if it is the right fit for your family.

Soon after, I was encouraged to read "The Well-Trained Mind" by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. I knew a little about most of the homeschooling styles, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, correspondence schools and so on. But this book really helped me understand that I was a classical homeschooler. This book spoke directly to me, it is my absolute favorite book on homeschooling. Though I do vary, in that I provide a Catholic education, this book was great tool to show me that a classical education best fits our lives and beliefs and Catholic parents.

So here I am, a very serious traditional Catholic educator of the classical method of education, trying to wade my way through each grade level for the first time. I am having more fun, fulfillment and pleasure than I ever imagined.

I have returned, with more First Impressions

If anyone was thinking my blog was dead, they were wrong! I took a break from most of my usual Internet activities during Lent.

In the near future, I have plans to write about my own home education plans and ideas, the reactions of those around me, and of course introduce my children and their works!

First Impressions Part III

When I was in high school I was very active at church, I got to know almost everyone who went to daily services and some of their families. I was also involved in the youth group. Which is where my next encounter with homeschooling began.

These two families are actually related and were fairly conservative for people attending the Vatican II church. They were actually the first families I met who gave me a favorable impression of homeschooling. I'd like to say that in both families, all of the children were nice and relatively innocent. I would not say that "Family A" put homeschooled out of any love for education but rather because of religious reasons. However, "Family B" was probably homeschooling for religious and academic reasons. So anyways, I continued to have social dealings with both families over the years and was able to gain a more realistic impression of homeschooling.

Both families changed my mind about the socialization issue. I would like to say that the children in Family B, had better manners and were able to communicate better with all sorts of people than their relations in Family A. At times, the children in Family A did things that were socially inappropriate and acted like they were in their own world. However, knowing the parents made me understand this all together: If you have a parent that is weird, usually the children are weird.

I began to understand that homeschooling and homeschoolers could take on so many different qualities and they were dependent often on the parents and their style or approach to home education.

In the case of Family B, I saw that homeschooling produced smart and funny people-- the kind of people everyone loves to have around. The children of both families were also very prayerful and took their faith seriously. At this point my view of homeschooling began to change.

It was also during this time that I spent half of my waking hours on the Internet chatting with other Catholics. During this time I met what most people know as "traditional Catholics." I didn't know I was on the road to becoming one, but that it another story for another day. Most of these people homeschooled. They showed me that their children loved God and the Catholic Faith, they showed me that homeschooling could produce exactly the kind of child that I would want for myself. These people also introduced me to many of the traditional Catholic homeschooling websites, which I read, looked over their curriculum and was very pleased with. I even pleaded with my own mother to take my little sister out of school and homeschool.

Before I knew it, I was totally in support of homeschooling and knew from the age of 18 that I was going to homeschool my children.

So at 19, when I met my future husband, we were already in agreement about homeschooling, and there was nothing more to do than dream of the day when we would have children of our own to teach.