This year I’ve been home educating seven of our eight children. We have two 11th graders, a 9th grader, 7th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader and a Kindergartner … plus a new baby!
Last year I started the school year thinking that it would most likely be our last year with a pre-schooler… Despite our plans (we had actually been charting to avoid pregnancy due to all my health issues and prior miscarriages) God had a surprise in store for us. After making it through the challenging pregnancy, thanks to all the extra prayers and graces, we started this school year with another beautiful little addition to our family. God is good!
This year has been all about survival and focusing on the necessities.
I just keep praying for grace and perseverance.
I’ve had quite a few requests to share our school plans for this year and I apologize for taking so long to finish writing this post which I started last fall. Some weeks it’s all I can do to get just get to math and reading with my little ones. It’s been nearly impossible to find “extra” time for blogging, but I’m starting to see a faint light at the end of the tunnel and I’m finally getting an opportunity to type up this year’s curriculum!
What homeschooling looks like for us has changed over the years, depending on the children’s interests, academic needs, and our family dynamics. What we are doing in our family now is not at all what it looked like years ago when all of our children were younger. I’m sure it will continue to change as some of the older children move on to college and the baby lets a little older and lets me get a little more sleep at night.
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| This year’s Back-to-School Schultütes were filled with one or two t-shirts for the new school year. |
Before listing out what each of my students has been studying, I want to share a number of things that I have been so very grateful to have for our homeschool this year:
#1 – Kolbe Academy
Our highschoolers are all working towards the Magna Cum Laude Diploma. I love the flexibility offered by Kolbe and that we can continue tailoring our curriculum to our family’s preferences and our children’s needs.
#2 – The Lukeion Project
Charlotte was the one to introduce us to Lukeion and the live classes my high schoolers have taken have all been excellent. After just completing Wheelock Latin, one of the boys will be going on to take Latin 3 Transition next year and our eldest daughter will begin Latin I after taking (and loving!) Barbarian Diagrammarian this year.
To quote Lukeion: “There are many programs now available for younger students. In our experience, however, these programs demand a lot of busy work but deliver very little in the way of learning the functional nuts-and-bolts of Classical languages. Students are not generally prepared to master these languages until they have reached the logic stage. You will accomplish much more in a fraction of the time if you wait until your student is 12 to 15 before you start formal instruction in Latin and Greek. Better still, waiting to start these logic based languages may mean your student will enjoy them more.”
I’m paying the $30 per month for access to all of their recorded classes which the kids can take at their own pace. Some favorites have been science classes with MacBeth Derham, history classes with Philip Campbell, theology and history classes with Christopher Zehnder (he’s the author of the history books we use), and some of Joseph Pearce’s literature classes. My high schoolers can’t get the “Kolbe designation” on the non-Kolbe courses, but they still qualify for high school credit (the high school level courses do anyway, with pre-approval from Kolbe) and they have worked well for us!
#4 – Taylor Science
We opted out of the (semi)local co-op this year for a number of reasons. We started the year using Prentice Hall Biology along with a recorded class from Homeschool Connections, but it wasn’t a good fit for us. We switched to Mrs. Taylor’s recorded online class and it has been awesome!
For this hard working student of ours we worked with a specialist to put together a 504 for accommodations including extra time on tests, audio books when available, and Vision Therapy sessions each week due to his auditory processing challenges. He has been working very hard with specialists and has made incredible progress this past year!
Theology:
Introduction to Catholicism
with Introduction to Catholicism – My Catholic Faith Delivered
The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (leather bound)
English:
Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course: Level C (Year 2 of 2)
Fix It! Grammar: Little Mermaid (Book 4) with Teacher’s Manual (we split this over two years, along with their writing course, so they are completing the second half of it this year)
Phonetic Zoo, Level C (spelling is a struggle with his auditory processing challenges)
Weekly Therapy Sessions to work on and correct Vision Tracking
- Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography (audio)
- Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (audio)
- James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (audio)
- Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (audio)
- Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer
- Nathaniel Hawthorn, The House of Seven Gables (audio)
- Herman, Melville, Moby Dick (audio)
- Earnest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea (audio)
Lands of Hope and Promise: A History of North America and Teacher’s Manual
with Kolbe Academy’s Course Plans & Tests
along with recorded class at Homeschool Connections
Mathematics:
Saxon Algebra 2 with Mastering Algebra John Saxon’s Way: Algebra 2 DVD Set
Saxon Algebra 2 Solutions Manual and Homeschool Testing Book
1/2 – 1 hour of tutoring each week as needed
Fine Arts:
Meet the Masters: Track F
Physical Education:
High School Soccer (Fall)
High School Golf (Spring)
**He has one year of high school latin, but still needs two more years of foreign language for the diploma he’s hoping to earn from Kolbe Academy. We’ve decided that ASL will be the best fit for him. He will either be taking two terms at the community college this upcoming school year or get started this summer on working his way through ASL Level 1 and 2 by the end of his senior year.
Theology:
Introduction to Catholicism
with Introduction to Catholicism Student Workbook
The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (leather bound)
English 11:
Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course: Level C
Fix It! Grammar: Little Mermaid (Book 4) with Teacher’s Manual (we split this over two years, along with their writing course, so they are completing the second half of it this year)
- C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength
- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
- J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit with Joseph Pearce
- J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings with Joseph Pearce
History – American History:
Lands of Hope and Promise: A History of North America and Teacher’s Manual
with Kolbe Academy’s Course Plans & Tests
along with recorded class at Homeschool Connections
Mathematics:
Algebra III with Geometry
Saxon Advanced Math with Mastering Algebra John Saxon’s Way: Advanced Math DVD Set
Saxon Advanced Math Solutions Manual and Homeschool Testing Book
1/2 – 1 hour of tutoring each week as needed
Foreign Language:
Lukeion Latin II (live online class for the second half of Wheelock Latin)
Fine Arts:
Meet the Masters: Track F
Physical Education:
High School Basketball (Winter)
High School Golf (Spring)
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| March 12th – He’s had a busy few days! Saturday he took the SAT for the first time, yesterday he had his Latin 2b Midterm, and today it’s the National Latin Exam! #teststeststests #nationallatinexam |
Theology:
Understanding the Scriptures: A Complete Course On Bible Study
Understanding the Scriptures Student Workbook
Compact Bible
Mathematics:
Saxon Algebra 1 with Mastering Algebra John Saxon’s Way: Algebra 1 DVDs
Solutions Manual and Saxon Algebra 1 Tests and Worksheets
1/2 hour of tutoring each week as needed
Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course: Level C
Fix It! Grammar: Frog Prince, or Just Deserts (Book 3) with Teacher’s Manual (continued from last year)
Phonetic Zoo, Level C
Additional Literature for Independent Reading
English (Additional 1/2 Credit):
Barbarian Diagrammarian: Visual Grammar for the Bold and Daring (online class – second semester)
**next year she will begin Lukeion’s Latin I
Literature – Austen/Shakespeare:
First Semester:
Second Semester: (using the recorded courses at Homeschool Connections taught by Joseph Pearce)
History:
A Light to the Nations, Part I: Development of Christian Civilization
Tests from A Light to the Nations Student Workbook and Teachers Manual
She struggled with this last year so she reviewed it this year and finished the course as a Freshman, before getting a jump start on Biology for her Sophomore year.
Foreign Language:
ASL I
recorded classes at Homeschool Connections taught by Dr. Kerrie Berends
Fine Arts:
Meet the Masters: Track F
Physical Education:
High School Soccer (Fall)
High School Golf (Spring)
Chiquita :: 7th Grade
Religion:
Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism No. 2 (with Dad)
Living For Triumph (Living My Religion Series) Book 7
Additional Reading Assignments/Saint Stories
Bible History:
(Units 1-4 this year and will continue on to units 5-8 next year)
Mathematics:
Solutions Manual and Saxon 8/7 Tests and Worksheets
Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle
Narnia for Young Adults with Joseph Pearce
recorded class at Homeschool Connections
Course Material: The Chronicles of Narnia
Even though it’s intended for high schoolers, she LOVED this course! I plan to buy her a copy of Further Up & Further In: Understanding Narnia for Christmas.
Continuing from last year:
Fix It! Grammar: Frog Prince, or Just Deserts (Book 3) with Teacher’s Manual
Phonetic Zoo, Level B
History & Geography:
The Story of Civilization: Volume 1 The Ancient World
with Text Book, Audio, Activity Book, Test Book, Teachers Manual and Video Lectures
Maps Charts and Graphs Level G: The World
Additional Literature for Independent Reading
The Planets with MacBeth Derham (fall)
Course Material: The Planets
Introduction to Ornithology with MacBeth Derham (spring)
Course Material: Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America
These recorded courses taught by MacBeth Derham and available through Homeschool Connections are excellent! There are up at the top of our 7th graders favorites for this school year and really ignited in her a love of science.
Meet the Masters: Track F
Snuggles :: 5th Grade
Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (with Dad on Sundays)
The Vine and the Branches (Highway to Heaven Series Book 5)
Supplemental Religion Books and Saint Stories from Our Monthly Book Baskets
Mathematics:
Saxon 6/5 with Saxon Teacher 6/5 CDs
Solutions Manual and Saxon 6/5 Tests and Worksheets
Language Arts:
Student Writing Intensive, Level A (continued)
Phonetic Zoo, completed Level A and started Level B
Fix It! Grammar: The Nose Tree (Book 1) and Teacher’s Manual (completing over two years)
Handwriting for Young Catholics
History:
The Story of Civilization: Volume 1 The Ancient World
Additional Literature for Independent Reading, various Audio Books, and Family Read-Alouds.
Physical Education:
*like the older boys, we had to take a break from Hockey due to the cost
Rose :: 2nd Grade
St. Joseph First Communion Catechism (with Dad on Sundays)
The Life of My Savior (Highway to Heaven Series Book 2)
Saint Stories from Our Monthly Book Baskets
Additional Supplemental Religion & First Sacraments Books
(see last year’s post for some of the catechism resources we use in our home)
Mathematics:
Math Mammoth- Little Blue Series 1-3
Language Arts:
Primary Arts of Language: Writing and Reading
All About Spelling
Handwriting 2 for Young Catholics
Supplemental Readers and Additional Literature
Bud :: Kindergarten
St. Joseph First Communion Catechism (with Dad on Sundays)
The Book of the Holy Child (Highway to Heaven Series Book 1)
Saint Stories from Our Monthly Book Baskets
Additional Supplemental Religion & First Sacraments Books
(the following pictures show some of the catechism resources we use in our home)
Mathematics:
Math Mammoth- Little Blue Series 1-3
Language Arts:
Primary Arts of Language: Writing and Reading
All About Spelling Level 1
Handwriting K for Young Catholics
Supplemental Readers and Additional Literature
plus additional Arts & Crafts projects throughout the year
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| May 26, 2018: Bribing myself with a mug of Slightly Sweet Chai Tea and slowly making progress on pulling together all the graded samples and end of year reports for my three high school students. #kolbeacademyhomeschool #endoftheschoolyear #soreadyforsummer #trustinGod #dothenextthing |
What you accomplish with your beautiful family is truly an inspiration to many I'm sure. I can not help but admire those who homeschool and do so for the very best of their children. What a blessing. I know it is all done by the grace of God. Every blessing and grace to you and yours and may this academic year be your best one yet for you and your children.
2018-06-01 22:31:33
Jessica, thank you so much for this wonderful resource! Our 8th grade daughter was so excited to learn about Kolbe, that she has been online planning for next year. I woud like to ask how it has been for you to continue with outside courses and family learning, and receiving credit with Kolbe? I'm just starting the process of understanding their requirements, but thought you might be able to give some insight. Again, thank you for being a light to all homeschool families!!
2018-06-01 23:28:47
That is so great! Kolbe has been perfect for us and I highly recommend them! It has been so easy to continue outside courses with Kolbe! At the beginning of each school year we fill out one of Kolbe's "Course of Study" forms for each of our high schoolers listing the school books we plan to use for each subject/class. They send us course plans (these are included at no charge along with our enrollment) for the Kolbe courses we plan to take (we've used Math course plans, some History, and some Science) and then review any substitutions that we are making. For example, I've had no problem substituting IEW for our Language Arts credits, etc. The advisors at Kolbe are all so helpful and willing to help you figure out how to make it all work! At the end of each semester you send in samples. Last year I ended up sending everything for the whole year all at once last summer, this year I actually did send in S1 samples and now just need to finish up S2. Thankfully there aren't any strict deadlines on when they need the samples. The samples "may include any written and graded work the student has done in that quarter, i.e. the quarterly test, daily work, or a special project. In order for the advisor to verify the grades, there must be at least one sample of graded work per grade assigned, per quarter." So, if you are using Kolbe course plans (and working on a Kolbe designation for a class), there are specific tests that need to be sent for samples. For example for my daughter's Algebra 1 class we needed to submit graded Saxon tests #7, #15, #23, and #30… but if you are using your own courses you just choose four samples to grade and send. Really simple! Kolbe is also fully accredited, which isn't necessary, but it is a little reassuring and accreditation WAS required by the NCAA when one of my younger brothers (who also earned a Kolbe high school diploma) was given a full scholarship to college for golf. I don't know if any of our kids will want to go on to play college sports, or if they would be good enough to qualify for scholarships, but it is nice to know that the accreditation is there if needed! Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
2018-06-02 00:36:50
Thank you, Joy! ❤
2018-06-02 00:37:22
It is amazing how you are giving all your children such a beautiful education! I love the Fr John Hardon quote – is that from a particular book? I would like to read more.
2018-06-02 04:08:59
Hi, Jessica. I really enjoy reading your posts about your homeschool journey. I have three children, a high-schooler, a middle-schooler, and a daughter in elementary school and, unfortunately, was not able to homeschool. I do give my children assignments during the summer – we have started the RC History Program a few years back, one of my sons is learning Latin, and we have tried using the Homeschooling Connections recorded classes in the past with great success. Although it is difficult sometimes with the public schools being as secular as they are, we practice our faith daily and don't know how we would get through the daily struggles without God in our lives. Your posts really do inspire my family with all of the recommendations you list (books, gifts, etc.) and the example of your dear family. You give us non-homeschoolers a wonderful window of opportunity to educate our families as well. God bless you and your family for all that you do.
2018-06-02 05:45:23
Jessica, thank you so much for making the effort to write this up and post it 🙂 I've been a reader for years and years and, as a fellow homeschooling mother, truly appreciate it when other families share their resources. I always find such good ideas here.
2018-06-02 11:48:18
Thank you, so much, for taking the time to respond so thoroughly. You have given us so much! I know you are so limited on time, but please know what you do here, on your blog, is a light for so many of us. You shine so brightly and your family is so blessed to have you leading them by grace of God. May God bless you and your family!
2018-06-02 14:17:02
Thanks so much for sharing! I am always excited to see your reviews on home school courses, and how they have worked while schooling so many at once. I just read most of this post aloud to my husband (a former principal of a hybrid catholic school who also used Kolbe), and he agreed about how easy they were to work with. Its time for us to take a closer look at what we will do, as far as enrollment, for the near future, so I am happy to see a positive review from a home schooling perspective!
2018-06-02 14:36:55
Fr. Hardon is such an inspiration! The full quote on "True Schooling and the Sacramental Life" is: "Next, Catholic home schooling must be schooling. There must be organization, administration, a pattern, a schedule, and a program. Somebody has to be in charge. Mother and father must cooperate in the home schooling. Home schooling must be sacramental. In other words, the Church that Christ founded is the Church of the Seven Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confession. You, yourselves, should receive the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confession. Train your children to live a sacramental life. Finally, to be authentically Catholic, home schooling must be prayerful. The single most fundamental thing you can teach your children, bar none, is to know the necessity and method of prayer. You must pray yourselves. Without prayer, all the schooling in the world will not produce the effect which God wants home schooling to give, because home schooling is a communication of divine grace, from Christ to the parents to the children. And the principle way parents communicate from Christ to their children, the grace upon which those children will be saved, is prayer." – Excerpted from a speech originally given by Fr. John Hardon, S. J. at a home school seminar in Oct. 1991 You can read the rest of it here: http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Education…
2018-06-02 16:28:09
Thank you so much taking the time to reply and quote Fr. Hardon's speech – I am going to print it out. I have read quite a bit on homeschooling, but nothing said specifically by a priest, so I love this perspective. May God continue to bless you and your beautiful family, Your humility shines through everything you write and post!
2018-06-02 20:06:58
Thank you so much for sharing your list, Jessica. Do your children take music lessons, or do you have any curriculum suggestions for music? This was the first year that we hoemschooled 3 of our 5 children and we really dropped the ball on music.
2018-06-03 19:27:09
Some of our children have had formal music lessons in the past, but not this year… I'd love to be able to add it back in next year. We'll see! 🙂
2018-06-07 00:04:37
Beautiful post and great choices!! I'm always inspired when I see what you are using. We abandoned Fix It when it got "lost" in our move, but I really need to get back to it!
2018-06-04 14:41:50
Thank You for the curriculum. Your children should have a good school year with all these books. I am trying to learn Latin with the Wheelock book. God Bless you and yours. Marilyn
2018-06-06 21:09:41
You sure have a nice list of books for your children's school work. Joan
2018-06-06 21:11:17
Thank You Jessica for this very informative post. A great variety of books and ideas. Marion
2018-06-06 21:13:15
Thank you so much for this post! We are expecting baby #8 on the Feast of Juan Diego and our oldest will be a Freshman in the fall. As you can understand the balance of home school is always changing based on the family. Your post is such an answer to prayer! I am having both my Freshman and 8th grader take Biology in the fall and really need to surrender this to an outside source but all of the options have been so expensive. I looked at Mrs. Taylor's Science and it looks like a perfect fit for our family. My husband is a high school Math teacher and we follow his calendar year for our school. Also, I looked at the Latin courses. It states that the student should spend 6-12 hours per week studying Latin. This seems extremely high. On average, how much time do you think your boys spent studying Latin? Thank you so much! Happy Birthday to your baby girl!
2018-06-08 10:56:58
Thank you so much for this feedback. Our oldest wants to play soccer in college and I hadn't thought of accreditation yet. I need to look into this. She is just beginning high school in the fall so I have some time. By any chance do you know how to look into this matter? Thank you!
2018-06-08 11:00:27
I always love seeing your curriculum picks year after year, thank you! Did you all enjoy Story of Civilization? After 4 years of RC History, I decided to add in SoC as our spine. The audiobook is so wonderful and I liked having extra activities and some tests here and there. Will you continue on with volume 2? Take care!
2018-06-09 21:34:23
Thank you for this helpful post! I stumbled across your blog today when doing a google search for "lukeion catholic." I was trying to figure out, as a Catholic homeschooler, whether there was anything objectionable in lukeion from a Catholic standpoint or any tweaks that Catholics might make to lukeion curriculum. I am very intrigued by their online classes for my high schoolers, and I'd love to know if you have any feedback regarding intertwining lukeion classes into a faithful Catholic curriculum. Are there any lukeion classes that should be avoid, supplemented, or modified to fit a Catholic approach? My oldest two are now in college, but apparently I'm still trying to reinvent the wheel for my remaining five at home. 🙂 God bless you and your family.
2018-06-14 21:37:14
It's me AGAIN… I would just love to know what you think of the lukeion Latin classes, as compared to, say, Henle Latin or the Memoria Press Latin programs. Any advice is much appreciated!
2018-06-14 22:14:00
Thank you! It sounds like you are doing an amazing job of educating your children, Laura. God bless you and your family too!
2018-06-15 16:37:17
Congratulations on your new baby! We have two December babies and Christmas time is such a fun time to have a new baby in the home. Yes, I would say that 6-12 hours is pretty accurate for my (one) high schooler that has taken the Lukeion Latin courses. (Our other 11th grade son completed First Form Latin and is studying ASL for the rest of his foreign language requirements. Our daughter will begin Latin 1 with Lukeion in the fall.) He completed the whole Wheelock Latin Book (which is a college textbook) over two years. It is a challenging course. I'm asking him now and he says: "Class is an hour each week, homework would take at least 5 hours each week, and then I would spend 3-4 hours studying for the weekly quiz."
2018-06-15 16:56:53
Yes, we've also loved Story of Civilization and plan to continue with volume 2!
2018-06-15 16:57:49
Thank you for visiting! We've only taken the Lukeion Latin and Grammar classes but we haven't run across anything objectionable from a Catholic standpoint. Also, here is link to a discussion in the Kolbe forum on Henle Latin vs. Wheelock Latin that I found helpful when I was trying to decide between the two: http://www.kolbeforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=15&…
2018-06-15 18:05:39
Here are a few links that might be helpful: So, You Want to Play College Ball? (HSLDA) https://hslda.org/content/docs/news/hslda/2001121… NCAA Eligibility for Homeschoolers https://homeschoolsuccess.com/ncaa-eligibility-fo… NCAA Home School Students http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/home-… You can also find the NCAA Eligibility Center High School Portal here: https://web3.ncaa.org/hsportal/exec/hsAction?hsAc…
2018-06-15 16:35:20
I've seen in a previous post that you've had your children keep their own binders. Do you still have them do this and if so, what do they keep in them and how are they organized?
2018-06-24 22:14:49
Hello Jessica. I don't know if you have time to respond, but we are down to scheduling our final course needed for this school year, and I am struggling. I have a daughter much like your Twinkle Toes. She needs to do 9th grade science and we are considering doing Kolbe Intro to Physics and Chemistry before going on to biology. Did your daughter do this course, or was there something else you used when she did this same science last year? I know you said she struggled with the physical science and I feel we are at the same place she was. We've enjoyed using the Apologia texts in the past and I noticed Mrs. Taylor uses them as well. I'm just trying to find a right fit without spending money that may be wasted. If you have time I'd appreciate your insight. Thank you so very much!
2018-08-07 21:08:45
Thank you for this post! I first found your blog last week with a list of picture books that you used for history. At that point, you had disccussed transitioning to RC-Connecting with History. Did you ever end up using it? I ask only because I am trying to find a way to connect our faith to History, especially as recent converts, we need a Catholic world view. But there are things about the program that, for me, don't align with Charlotte Mason, which I adore. I am not a fan of the Classical Model and want Family Studies! So the ONLY family studies that I have found that is bonifide Charlotte Mason is protestant. I can go with Mater Ambilis (did I spell that correctly?) but it is not family-studies friendly. I've thought about creating my own history program like you did years ago, but I'm Type A. I'll over do it. OR I'll second guess myself and slack. I just want to know if RC History is worth while for a family that does not enjoy, nor use, classical models. Thank you!
2018-10-29 15:26:08