I’m an unschooler at heart, though the SuperHusband prefers more structured schooling. For the first six years of homeschooling, I wrote my own curricula. We used a combination of unschooling, relaxed schooling, and text books. I found my kids did well using a checklist for their homework. Meanwhile, as our eldest made his way into middle school, Jon and I both wanted to add more discipline to his education in preparation for high school. I also needed to lighten my own workload so I could focus on other projects.
For the 2011-2012 school year, we enrolled our 4th and 6th graders with Kolbe Academy. The littles continue to use the same relaxed approach we used for their older siblings during the early years. So far we’ve been happy with the program; note that I am very comfortable adapting it to fit our family. We’ve stuck with it since for the older kids; the littles are still firmly in the the “eclectic” category, but increasingly Kolbe-inspired.
Here’s an index of my posts to date reviewing our experiences:
Kolbe Update – Week Five. Notes at the start of the school year.
Mid-Year Reviews: How we picked Kolbe, and how it’s working.
Latin: New Missal Latin and The Oxford Latin Course
Science: What about the Littles?
Final thoughts for Spring 2012: How to choose a curriculum that you love.
2013 – 2014 Update: What we’re doing, and why we like it, in one massive post.
My answer to the question of How Much Will This Cost?
I’ve gotten some great feedback from readers, thank you everyone who has shared your experiences!
Have more questions?
I am happy to host conversations in the combox here or at any of the review posts, so feel welcome to ask away. (I don’t always see the comment right away, but I will get to it, approve it, and answer it.) I also encourage you to visit the small, friendly Catholic Homeschooling Forum at Delphi. You will need to create a Delphi account, but this is free if you choose the “basic” option (I do), and in my decade-and-some at Delphi, I’ve never ever received spam as a result.
I recommend this particular group because there are a handful of moms who have used each of the major Catholic curriculum providers, so you can search old posts and ask questions, in a group that doesn’t have any one favorite agenda to push. You also will never be criticized for determining that public or private school is the better choice for your family. If you’ve found a different forum or review site helpful, please feel free to share the link in this combox, so others can benefit as well.
Just want to read about homeschooling topics in general? Check out my monthly columns at CatholicMom.com.
Nice to find your blog via CatholicMom. I will be sharing this post on my FB page for Catholic Homeschoolers.
Thanks! I’ve got a couple more reviews to finish out the series for this year, but if anyone has questions I can answer, I’m happy to do so.
If you’re close with the post about choosing a curriculum you love (or if I just haven’t found it), I’d love to read it!
Okay I’ll get on it! Thanks for the nudge!
Hey! Just came across your blog form Catholicmom.com tonight! so excited. I am totally new to homeschooling. I have a will be fourth grader in the fall that has been attending public school thus far and want to make the transition. I have looked at programs such as Seton (as having a strong catholic education along with the academic part is important to me) however I am just so lost and confused. I am also in my 2nd trimester with my third, so my brain isn’t working properly and I have no patience. lol..can you point me in the right direction to exact posts you have written on this or other good links..I will be most indebted to you!
Brooke, Welcome! Are you planning to start homeschooling next fall, or this spring?
A tiny bit of advice to start: Stay calm, and start small. 4th grade is still very much early-years in many respects. As long as you don’t break the bank, you can try a few things and get a feel for what works and what doesn’t, and still come out with an educated child.
I’m going to post a link on this page, but let me recommend the small group of Catholic homeschoolers on the (free) delphi forum discussion group:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/modg
You can get a wide variety of perspectives without getting overwhelmed by too many voices.
Good luck!
Jen.
Hi Jennifer,
I am homeschooling my son for the first time this year. We are in Australia. I am currently looking at both Seton and Kolbe. Both I like but I am leaning towards Kolbe more with their curriculum and course plans. Any thoughts on Seton and Kolbe in comparison?
Thanks
Theresa, I haven’t used Seton, so my comments are based on what I’ve heard from friends, and I encourage you to check behind me:
-Seton is more Catholic-y, though this may not be true in all grades. Seton publishes a number of it’s own Catholic-genre workbooks for early years, I believe. Kolbe’s in-house books tend more to answer keys, study guides, and so forth. There are of course exceptions to that.
-Seton tends to be more rigid, though I am not under the impression that it is impossibly so, by any stretch. But there’s fundamentally a difference in approach. Seton is a Catholic school that your child attends at home, with you as the instructor. Kolbe is a set of resources and services that you, the manager of your school, pick and choose from to build the program your child needs. The end result in either case might be following the program to the letter, or it might involve many substitutions. But expect greater oversight and assistance with Seton as the default, whereas with Kolbe, you decide how much or how little you want to involve the Kolbe folks.
-My impression is that Seton is more rigorous. Kolbe isn’t exactly slack. But Seton is famous for its high standards, which some parents love, and others find overwhelming.
My advice would be this:
-If you know you want to prioritize flexibility and autonomy, go with Kolbe *in general*.
-If you know you want prioritize serious oversight and support, go with Seton *in general*.
-If you like one program’s book choices overall more than the other, go with that program.
-If your budget is a concern, add up the costs in each program for the actual services and products you *need*, and see which one comes out less in your particular situation. You’ll have to use a separate spreadsheet page for each program, because the cost structures are different.
As I do with everyone, I encourage you to pop in at the delphi Catholic Homeschooling forum (you’ll have to register with delphi, but that’s free and does not send you a pile of e-mails or anything), where there are a handful of sensible moms who’ve used each program, and you can ask lots of questions in a supportive environment: http://forums.delphiforums.com/modg . You can also search older posts. It’s a very low-key, no flames, environment.
I wish I’d had this kind of support and feedback when I was homeschooling. This is a great collection of resources and I’m bookmarking them to pass them along. Thanks for sharing!
It really is a different world for homeschoolers today. In a very good way.