The following is adapted from Meaning of Catholic

More from our series on Catholic Homeschooling

The following was first put together by Meaning of Catholic. Aside from some formatting and grammatical modifications, or other changes I decided to make for the sake of organization, I left it mostly like the original, while adding other good suggestions, because I thought it was such a great list that I wanted to ensure you all checked it out and learned from the wonderful resources below.

For more resources, I invite you to check out my homeschooling site at Our Bilingual Homeschool.

Why Homeschooling is a Catholic Education

In what might be regarded as the domestic Church, the parents, by word and example, are the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They must foster the vocation which is proper to each child, and this with special care if it be to religion (Lumen Gentium, 11).

“Declaration on Christian Education” (Gravissimum Educationis)

This Vatican II document describes what a Catholic school should look like (and Catholic Home Schools fit this description much better than State or Private Catholic Schools).

Parents are “The Authors of Education. Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators” (3).

Furthermore, the document mentions the duty to support local Catholic Schools. Here we want to remember that enabling “Catholic Schools” to continue to operate in unproductive ways by sending our children there does not actually support the school. You may in fact be doing a better job of supporting the school by keeping your child at home. Consider other ways to support the schools, such as by voting in school board elections, and so one, where applicable. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_gravissimum-educationis_en.html 

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1653)

The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children. In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life.

Fr. John Hardon, S.J.’s The Heart of Home Education

Surely one of the great developments of our day has been the rise and growth of what is popularly called home schooling, and what I prefer to describe as home education.

“On Marriage and Family” (St. John Chrysostom’s homily on Ephesians 6:1-4)

This homily emphasizes the importance of parents educating their children, particularly with respect to faith and morals. Sending the child out of the home for the majority of the hours of the day makes overseeing this formation difficult!

John Paul II’s “Letter to Families” (Gratissimam Sane)

Section 16 deals with education, and how being a parent is intrinsically linked with being the primary educator of the child. Section 17 on family and society may be helpful too.

Other documents and books with more information re:homeschooling in the Catholic Church

Pontificia Universitas Sanctæ Crucis Facultas Iuris Canonici (by Julio Alberto Lagos) Parental Education Rights In The United States And Canada: Homeschooling And Its Legal Protection http://bibliotecanonica.net/docsag/btcagz.pdf 

“Declaration on Religious Liberty” (Dignitatis Humanae): In number 5 of this Vatican II, the right of parents to determine where and how their children are educated is affirmed.

Catholic Education: Homeward Bound – A Useful Guide to Catholic Home Schooling by Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson. This book is recommended in the “Books for Homeschooling Parents” section below. There is a chapter in this book which described how Homeschooling not only follows the precepts of the Catholic faith, but is arguably the best way to fulfill our duty as parents towards our children.

And if you can find it, Edward N. Peters, Homeschooling and the New Code of Canon Law (Front Royal, VA: Christendom Press, 1988) discusses how homeschooling fulfills Canon Law.

[ For even more resources, incl. Church and Biblical teachings on homeschooling, check out my series/guide for Catholic Homeschooling families and all my blog posts on homeschooling! ]

Homeschool Methods 101

• Homeschool Styles: This article details 13 different homeschool styles. Which one(s) suit your family best? https://thebyzantinelife.com/homeschool-style-guide/
• For a quick quiz about what homeschool style may suit your family, check out this link: https://homeschool.today/wp_quiz/learning-preference-quiz/ 

What Homeschooling Looks Like

Classical Day in the Life (four kids): http://www.northfloridahomeschool.com/day-in-the-life-classical-homeschooler/ 

Charlotte Mason (three kids): https://homeschoolersofwhatcom.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-charlotte-mason-homeschooler-lauren/ 

Classical Preschool (three children under four): https://www.lifeabundantlyblog.com/lifeabundantlyblog/2019/11/15/a-day-in-our-gentle-classical-homeschool  

Homeschool Legal Defense Association (on homeschooling during the shutdowns): https://hslda.org/post/a-homeschool-day-in-the-life-you-can-do-this 

De-schooling: Bringing the Child Home After Being in School

• Some tips and suggestions about bringing kids home after being in a traditional school setting: https://homeschooling.mom/blog/deschooling-important-part-of-homeschooling 
• And a second opinion – https://www.reallifeathome.com/what-is-deschooling-and-is-it-important/ 

Homeschooling Multiple Children

Podcast Episode from Your Morning Basket (A Catholic Mom who has a “morning basket” system for her homeschool): https://pambarnhill.com/31-2/ 

Large Family Homeschooling Tips: https://classicallyhomeschooling.com/homeschooling-a-large-family/ 

Another perspective from a Catholic Mom: https://catholicallyear.com/blog/homeschooling-multiple-grades-modg/ 

Managers of Their Homes: A Practical Guide to Daily Scheduling for Christian Homeschool Families by Steven Maxwell

This book includes home management/routine suggestions + some especially helpful ideas on how to handle homeschooling older children while you have preschoolers!

Morning Baskets – Putting Multiple Subjects Together

• What is a Morning Basket: https://pambarnhill.com/homeschool-morning-basket/ 
• Catholic Morning Baskets: https://plus.pambarnhill.com/?s=catholic 

Classical Catholic Memorization: Offers multiple subjects together (history, science, poetry, Latin, catechism, etc) in books organized for a year of memorization work.

• There are four years for this program. – https://www.classicallycatholicmemory.com/store/Memory-Work-c82762006 

Books for Homeschooling Parents

Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie – A Homeschooling book that is helpful for any parent working on living a Catholic family life. This is a short, inexpensive book that you will want to read over and over again.

Catholic Education: Homeward Bound: A Useful Guide to Catholic Home Schooling by Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson – This book covers all concerns any parent might have about homeschooling with a faithfully Catholic perspective. Although the Suggested Resources at the back are dated to what was available 20 years ago, it is still a great read today. And besides, you have this webpage for up to date Suggested Resources! 

Educating a Child: The Art of Arts – Volume I – The Goal of Education, the Family and Authority by Father Joseph Duhr, S.J.

[Find more (even for monolingual families!) on my homeschooling website, Our Bilingual Homeschool!]

Homeschool Community

• Online Network of Catholic Homeschoolers – https://community.homeschoolconnections.com/ 
• Mary, Queen of the Home lay fellowship at the Meaning of Catholic Guild JOIN or contact them if you can’t afford it

Legal Considerations

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) provides information about how to fulfil state laws and requirements. Joining their organization offers access to a legal team in case of any problems arising in your homeschool with the state or school boards. The Canadian branch offers curriculum and special needs consultations to aid in adapting homeschool programs to suit individual children.

Membership is free for families where the oldest child is under 5, and it’s ~$125/year for all others.

• HSLDA USA: https://hslda.org/ 
• HSLDA Canada: https://hslda.ca/ 
• HSLDA International: https://hslda.org/legal/international/ 

Heritage Defense “is a non-profit legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the Kingdom of Christ by protecting and empowering the biblical family.” “Heritage Defense protects and empowers the biblical family by providing legal assistance, distributing helpful information, offering sound scholarship, and promoting strong public policy initiatives on behalf of families.” https://heritagedefense.org

Preschool

Most veteran homeschoolers recommend taking it easy during the early years. However, if you want to work on early education skills, there are some good resources:

The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading (ages 4+, though can be started with a three year old)

https://thebyzantinelife.com/homeschooling-writing-preschool/: How to teach basic writing/formation of letters

Bobs Books Series: Early Readers that a child can begin reading as soon as they know four letter sounds (s, t, m, and a).

Preschool Math at Home: Simple Activities to Build the Best Possible Foundation for Your Child by Kate Snow (3.5-6). There is also a Kindergarten math book by the same author. [This book teaches good concepts via sweet lessons and I like how she explains her rationale behind each activity.]

The Curious Kid’s Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8 by Asia Citro. Includes some fun science experiments/projects that you can do with your child, as well as tips about taking about science.

Rod and Staff (a Mennoite homeschool provider) has some low price preschool/kindergarten-friendly workbooks that are useful if you have multiple children and the young ones want to be able to “do school.” You could try About Three, or Do It Carefully, and Everywhere We Go. 

Prepackaged or Online Catholic Curriculum

• TAN Academy: New program where parents receive support directly from Tan Academy Academic coaches to help parents customize a homeschool approach and curriculum to their individual children’s needs. Tan Academy provides lesson plans to parents, provides report cards for submitted grades, discounts to Tan Books and more. K+ https://tanbooks.com/tan-academy/enrollment/ 
• Catholic Heritage Curricula: Catholic Heritage Curricula is very Catholic and very user-friendly. Veteran homeschool moms claim this program is especially good for homeschooling in the early years.
• Seton Homeschool: Packaged curriculum with the classical method for homeschooling. Enrollment includes textbooks, daily lesson plants, tests and grading, transcripts, record keeping, and more. PreK+ https://www.setonhome.org/cost/ 
• Classical Liberal Arts Academy: Online or Correspondence courses, with online classes available for free without testing/assignment submission features. K+ https://classicalliberalarts.com/ 
• Our Lady of Victory School: TLM homeschooling. It has the whole curriculum with optional enrollment for access to the tutors who help the parent organize their homeschooling and teaching. K+ https://www.olvs.org/ 
• Homeschool Connections: Online classes, live or prerecorded, grades 3+ https://homeschoolconnections.com/ 
• Mater Amabilis offers Charlotte Mason curriculum online, for free, for Catholics. Offers book recommendations that you may either buy or see if you can find at a local library. PreK+ http://materamabilis.org/ma/ 

FREE Resources!

Homeschool Giveaways has a website full of FREE printables and resources for just about any subject you can think of, and for all ages. If you have the time and a printer, you could put together just about a complete curriculum without investing any money in textbooks. https://homeschoolgiveaways.com/ 

Classical Liberal Arts Academy : Online courses are available for free, but if you are doing the free option you will have to grade student work yourself. K+ https://classicalliberalarts.com/ 

Curriculum Suppliers

USA Shipping Only

• Catholic Heritage Curricula (CHC) https://www.chcweb.com/catalog/

In Canada:

• Sunrise Marian Distribution (carries products from Seton, Saxon, Tan Books, and Memoria Press, etc). https://www.sunrisemarian.com/ 
• Heritage Resources (in Manitoba) (offers an additional variety of resources) – https://www.heritageresources.ca/ 
• Blue Mantle (offers CHC resources for Canada) https://www.bluemantle.ca/ 
• Rainbow Resources – low prices homeschool curriculum and books, and will ship internationally – https://www.rainbowresource.com/ 

Adapting Programs For Your Unique Child – Some Quick Tips

Difficulty reading? Instead of giving your child reading assignments, read aloud to your child for other subjects while he works to build his reading skills in Language Arts. Also consider reading aloud to a child who is an auditory learner.

Difficulty writing? Let your child dictate answers to you for other subjects while he builds writing skills, or if there is a handicap consider allowing him to type for assignments.

To make a reading-intensive program more accessible to visual learners, find videos online that illustrate concepts from the text.

To make a writing-intensive program more accessible to kinesthetic learners, consider replacing some writing assignments with hands-on projects.

If a child needs more review than provided in a text, look for extra worksheets online, or even supplement with a workbook from another program. As a bonus, learning to do work from another program may enhance understanding of material. 

For any program, adjust the number of topics covered, how long is spent on one topic, and what work is done to show learning. 

Don’t worry about what it says in the book! The book is secondary to you teaching your child. If something isn’t suited to your child, you don’t have time to do everything, or it isn’t the right time for your child to grasp a certain concept, that is okay! Take a break, use a separate resource, or just move on to a new chapter or topic. You are the master of directing your child’s learning, not the curriculum in the book.

Suggested books and tools for building your own homeschool curriculum

(Click on the + to expand each section.)