Homeschool Connections

 

 

Online Classes
for Homeschoolers

Complete live online classes
for middle and high school students --
Educating the heart, mind, and soul
in the Catholic tradition.

My last post was about the Ron Paul Curriculum and I still have to say that I love the model and set up.  That particular program is not for this Catholic Homeschooling Family.  I love the model though.  I can't just use textbooks anymore.  My older kids were bored and lost interest. The model of a video class to keep them connected and engaged is so intriguing.  Due to the amount of learning issues we have worked with in the past and that we still have with rest of the bunch, I know that offering a book and expecting a report and test is not the way to gauge how much they learned. I saw this even with the on-line with audio version of Introduction to Catholicism that we did this year through My Catholic Faith Delivered (I should offer a review for them but in a later post).  We were hearing the material but not necessarily comprehending it.  So even offering the audio version is not completely engaging.  The truth is I do not have time to sit with each child and present each class with the enthusiasm they each deserve.

I have never liked just offering the books, even if they come with audio.  That has been a great option considering the kids long for some independence for high school.  I was so drawn to the Ron Paul set up because it really does offer the video and the independence.  I just need it to be a little more cost effective and a little more Catholic.  I attended the homeschool conference and once again got into a nice discussion with Walter Crawford.  He is one of the individuals behind Homeschool Connections. I really want to see if I can take the archived classes offered through Homeschool Connections.  I want to offer a Catholic alternative but loosely following the Ron Paul model.  I am not sure how this will all work but we will try to get started by June 1st and that will allow us to tweak it until we get it going.

I can't wait to see if we can make this work. 

Ron Paul Curriculum

Did you know that Ron Paul left his life of civil service and started creating a curriculum for homeschoolers?  His hope is to find a way to help save America.  I have not yet joined but look forward to.  I think the pricing is just right.  I need to wait until I have a little extra time to explore.

I don't know that we will actually use his curriculum in depth but I want to really examine the model.  He had organized a set of self directed classes that can eventually add up to a middle school and high school education.  The site claims that this is all self directed. You really must click here and  visit the web site to start investigating for yourself.

I toke one idea and ran with it, already.  I have had the kids each create a blog and the idea was taken directly from this curriculum.  Read about that idea here, written by Gary North called School Blog. For now ours are not public but eventually will be.  We also used Blogger and maybe I need to look into why he recommends WordPress.  I prefer Blogger just because I am familiar with it.

If any of this intrigues you, I suggest watching the full 26 minutes of the 6th-12th grades being explained in a video form.  I am so excited about the possibilities.  Now I have not forgotten that I have kiddos with learning issues and reading is a huge issue not to mention writing.  I think I might just adapt some of this and the ideas into a real successful curriculum for my own kids.  I do what to change some of the classes out to insure a more Catholic approach.  I agree with the reasons why we need this. 

I don't need to be convinced to homeschool.  I just need to refresh my methods and tweak here and there. If you have more experience with Ron Paul's Curriculum, please share!