Tag: logic

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Domestic Church Erika D Homeschool Mass Motherhood Raising Saints The Latin Mass

10 Steps to Selecting a {Catholic} Homeschool Curriculum

Selecting a curriculum can be a truly overwhelming task each year for homeschooling mothers.  So many times I have said to myself, “if I could see that book, I’d know if I want it!”  Right?  Then you hop online look through blogs of perfect homes, with perfect mom teachers, that have the perfect school rooms, and then there is Pinterest…then you are headed to Confession, jealousy is a lousy sin.  No seriously, is it not just frustrating?  😀  How do these women just *KNOW* that’s the right Math book?  Why did it not work for *MY* child?  🙂  Well, here’s why:  There IS NOT one set curriculum that is perfect for everyone.  There I said it.  So here’s another secret that lady that introduced you to homeschool forgot to mention, the beauty of homeschooling is that you are able to create a custom curriculum that is beneficial to *YOUR* family.  What works for another family may not be the best fit for another, or *gasp* what works for one of your children may not work for another.    Okay, so now lets take a deep breath and investigate how these ladies on their blogs look so with it.  I confess many times I have said, “when I grow up I want to be just like Jessica from Shower of Roses.”  Don’t laugh, I have said it..even to her. 😀

Over the years our family has tried a variety of things – ranging from being an eclectic homeschooler, to using a complete curriculum package to creating things to use, and it has morphed into a combination of pieces that we now use together as a family and components that we use individually to round out the various subject areas.  So how do you decide what is the right fit for your family/homeschool?

10 Steps to Selecting a {Catholic} Homeschool Curriculum:

  1. Think about your educational philosophy or teaching style. There are several methods of teaching, depending on the method that both you and your children are comfortable will also determine which books you will select for your homeschool.  There are several homeschooling methods to pick from, if you haven’t you might want to look back at our previous articles in this series.

  2. Consider your children’s learning styles. Every child is different in their learning approach and may process information differently. Some pieces of curriculum are tailored to meet the needs of various learners, so this is very helpful to know.  Some children will need a particular style of curriculum to help them succeed.  Again, weighing in what homeschooling method you have selected would be helpful.

  3. Write down and decide on the educational goals have you set for your children and family. This is another area that is important to look at because you want to have a long range plan in each subject so that you feel confident that you are meeting these goals.

  4. Do you have a spending budget? This is really important and I strongly advise setting a budget and knowing your spending limits.  Start off by making a list of the books you select and then finding out what their retail rate is.  It is important to think long term within your budget.  If the book fits your needs and you can reuse it with subsequent children, it’s a long term savings!

  5. What subjects can your children work together in? Some families focus on specific grade levels and books while other families work on certain subject areas together as a family. Subjects like Science and History are great examples of working as a family on a particular topic with varying expectations depending on the child’s abilities. This will help you save money as well.

  6. What works for your current life situation? There are some programs that are more labor-intensive than others, searching for living books when you are about to give birth to baby number six and all your children are eight and under might not be a realistic goal.  Do not set yourself up to fail by doing this.  Also, if you cannot afford certain programs do not put so much pressure on yourself.  I have seen families with financial burdens homeschool for almost nothing.
  7. Do you have access to a good library system?  Before you start spending money, check your local library.  A lot of times they carry those wonderful books and you can reserve them ahead of time and even have them delivered to your local library.  Sometimes you can go to the children’s section and make suggestions on certain books.  Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of times they are willing to purchase these recommendations.
  8. Have you asked others for their opinions?  Warning.  This is a great thing with this day and age of technology BUT the warning comes in not becoming overwhelmed with so many suggestions.  There are groups on Yahoo and Facebook that can be gem or a burden, if you ask a curriculum question in a group, take the good from what others suggest.  Do not be afraid to ask questions you will find other homeschooling mothers who have become experts at certain curriculums and can be very helpful.  You can also visit a homeschooling conference near you to listen to speakers and also get to see the books first hand.
  9. Did you check your own bookshelf?  Starting with what you already have saves you time and money.  Sometimes we homeshcooling moms might pick up a book that was on sale, or someone gave us and forgot about.  {I know it never happens to you, but it does me.}  You should also make a list of the books you own and keep this list handy so that you do not purchase duplicates of books you already own.
  10. Have you checked out SWAP groups or thought of borrowing?  Once you have selected a product you like, it is much easier to buy things used or online.  Yahoo Groups has a group and so does Facebook Groups where you can post WTB (Want to Buy) and ISO (In Search Of) threads looking for a used book to avoid paying retail.  You help another homeschooling mom and she helps you save money.  Oh, also, if you have books you don’t use anymore, SELL THEM!  They don’t need to be collecting dust on your shelves.  Sometimes, you can even borrow books from other families.  There is a family at my church that has a son in 11th and 9th, I have a son in 10th, I give her my books for her 9th grader, she gives me her books from her 11th grader.  We both win!  🙂

With all that said, there are times that you find out part way through the year that something you thought would be perfect just isn’t. Sometimes you discover that curriculum is just not working. The tweaking involved in the process, and while it’s frustrating – it’s ok, and good. The first bit of homeschooling involves a learning curve where you are discovering your areas of comfort in teaching and your children’s learning grooves.

So with all that said, I have spent the last six weeks in the arduous task of getting my children’s curriculum together.  As we enter our fifth year of home education, I am finally feeling pretty good about all of our curriculum selections for our children.  We will have a kindergartner, second grader, third grader, and a tenth grader, oh yes, and of course our little tag along three year old toddler.  I don’t promise this won’t change one more time, because it might, and it’s okay.  But as of now, this is our 2013-2014 curriculum selection:

Frequency: Daily

 


Grammar {Daily}

Spelling {Bi-Weekly}

Writing {Daily}

Reading ~ {Daily}

Kindergarten Core

For the bulk of our year we will be using 26 Letters to Heaven by Sarah Park as our core. Technically Noah is kindergarten this year, although he is academically ahead in a few areas, so we are adjusting things accordingly.

Phonics ~ {Daily}

Handwriting {Daily}

Frequency: Daily

Frequency: Twice a Week


Frequency: Twice a Week

Art {Once a Week}

Music {Bi-Weekly}:

All Children:

Latin {Bi-Weekly}:

Spanish {Bi-Weekly}

Electives for our High Schooler (in addition to Latin, Art & Music):

 

 

Other articles in this Raising Saints Homeschooling series.

Categories
Apologetics Brantly Millegan Faith Formation Guest Posts Perspective from the Head

6 Bad Arguments You’ve Of Course Never Used Before

Laugh at the stupidity, cry at the fact that these arguments are used regularly by millions of people, feel vindicated that you’ve tried to explain these logical fallacies to others – but then repent of your own intellectual sins. Most likely, everyone reading this has used several of these before.

Having spent a few years in Catholic apologetic circles and otherwise engaged in the culture wars, here are my top six favoriate bad arguments:

#6 – “I do (or someone I know does) the action you are saying is immoral, therefore it is not immoral”

You’re discussing something with a friend, and you mention that you think a particular action is immoral. Your friend responds: “Well…but I do that.” The unspoken premise is that the person (or person’s friends) are not capable of immoral acts, which is obviously false. This is also a form of intimidation, trying to make a person back down due to social pressure rather than due to the force of argument.

#5 – “Since you think what that person does is immoral, you therefore must hate that person”

Very related to #6, this seems to be based on a childish notion of love/hate. For those who propose this argument, “love” seems to mean you have good feelings about the person or think the person is a good person, and “hate” means you have bad feelings about the person and must think the person is a bad person. If you think what the person is doing is immoral, so the reasoning goes, that probably means you have bad feelings about the person and think them to be a bad person, and therefore hate them. In reality, to love is to will the good of the other (not merely that the other would have good feelings, but their actual good).

#4 – “A lot of people agree with this proposition, therefore it is true”

This is just a sophisticated version of the middle school argument “but everyone is doing it”. The number of people who agree with a proposition is irrelevant to truth or falsity of the proposition. This argument is also often used as a form of intimidation since it emphasizes that you may be in a socially weak position.

#3 – “You are wrong because you are [insert characteristic]”/”You can’t say that because you are [insert characteristic]”

Insert “white”, “black”, “male”, “female”, whatever, it doesn’t matter, this is just an old fashioned ad hominem attack – attacking the person rather than the argument. Any given argument can be articulated by any kind of person. The truth/falsity or logic of a given argument is irrelevant to who happens to be proposing it at a given time.

#2 – “You are a fundamentalist”

The term “fundamentalist” was coined by evangelical Protestants in the 20th century and meant that they wanted to return to what they believed were the fundamentals of the faith. Today, the term appears to be a derogatory term that means simply “I believe you are wrong, and you are more conservative than me”. Sometimes, it can mean “you are insisting on using logic and are showing my view to be illogical, please stop”.

#1 – “That’s just your interpretation”

This is a way for the person to try to avoid engaging what you’ve proposed. The act by which a person extracts any meaning whatsoever from a text is called interpretation. The “just” is supposed to imply that the act of interpreting somehow makes whatever you have to say irrelevant. Of course, simply pointing out that a person is interpreting is like pointing out that a person is speaking (“That’s just what you say” is actually a common variant), and obviously has no bearing on the truth or falsity of what they’ve claimed. Neither does it follow that your interlocutor can dismiss what you’ve said without argument.