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Title: Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education by Laura M. Berquist ISBN: 1883937043 Publisher: Ignatius Press Pub. Date: April, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.24
Rating: 4
Summary: Handy resource for do-it-yourselfers
Comment: Laura Berquist strikes gold again in her new edition of "Designing..." Having bought, read and used the '95 edition, I wondered if the cost of the new one would be worth it. It is more than worth it. Mrs. Berquist's many, many years of homeschooling experience give the reader a wealth of information and resources unequalled in the Catholic hs community when pulling together a solid, classical curriculum from scratch. Most impressive in the new edition is the expanded high school section. I trust Mrs. Berquist's recommendations given she "has been there."
The only challenge one finds is the lack of material on helping a child to write. In many places, the author suggests having the students write papers without offering sources to help parents teach their children writing. When speaking to homeschoolers, it seems to be a subject which intimidates parents. A couple of suggested resources would have been good.
This book, along with Catholic Home Schooling by Mary Kay Clark, should be on every Catholic homeschooler's bookshelf.
Rating: 4
Summary: Invaluable resource
Comment: I can only imagine that the reviewer who didn't find "detailed advice" in this book was expecting day-by-day lesson plans instead of a general resource book. (And Ms. Berquist does sell those syllabi separately, btw....) To the contrary, I found the book quite detailed in its explanation of materials for each grade level and felt it to be a fabulous resource for starting to plan a homeschool curriculum. (This book, combined with "Catholic Education: Homeward Bound," (Hahn, Hasson) provides a broad jumping point in finding and "feeling out" suitable materials.)
This book could have been improved in three ways. One would be if the author included more materials to choose from -- rather than just including her personal selections, she could have listed materials which she hasn't used herself, but still would be appropriate for building a classical education curriculum. (Particularly when the ones she recommends are out of print!)
The second way it could have been improved would have been to include at least a small taste of a sample day in detail for each grade. The author includes only general sample schedules for each grade level, consisting of which subjects would be studied on each particular day -- without even a timeframe for each! While I wasn't expecting to have the year laid out for me on a daily basis, I felt somewhat like I'd been throw an armful of books and a general schedule -- and had a huge hole still to fill. Showing even a day's sample lesson plans for each grade would go a long way towards showing the reader how to put theory into practice.
And third, I found one significant flaw in the book was its weakness in the area of science, particularly in the early grades. My own planning includes a heavier emphasis on science than the author allows.
Finally, my own philosphy is a that a Catholic education is one which is rigorous in content and in harmony with our faith -- but *not* one in which anything the child ever sees must have been written or created by a Catholic. The fact that the author includes books by those of other faiths offends me not in the least -- and in fact, I believe makes for a more well-rounded and openminded, questioning education.
Like any book of this nature, this volume should be read with a "will this work for my child?" mindset rather than slavish acceptance. Given that, though, this book, all in all, belongs on any "classical" homeschooler's bookshelf.
Rating: 5
Summary: Truly outstanding advice
Comment: Although the bulk of the text is devoted to curriculum suggestions, which can be easily found elsewhere, the resource lists will be very helpful to any homeschool family, Catholic or not. Yet it is the introduction that I found most helpful in solidifying my concept of the philosophy of Classical Education in general, and homeschooling in particular. One caution however. The book includes an article on what NOT to do in an appendix at the end. This really should have followed immediately after the introduction since the advice is very important. I am sure that some readers will inadvertently miss this treasure, and that is a shame.
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Title: The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum by Laura M. Berquist, Christopher J. Pelicano ISBN: 0898707161 Publisher: Ignatius Press Pub. Date: March, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise, Susan Wise Bauer ISBN: 0393047520 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 01 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Catholic Education: Homeward Bound: A Useful Guide to Catholic Home Schooling by Kimberly Hahn, Mary Hasson ISBN: 0898705665 Publisher: Ignatius Press Pub. Date: May, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys M. Hunt, 4Th ISBN: 0310242460 Publisher: Zondervan Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: A Catholic Homeschool Treasury: Nurturing Children's Love for Learning by Rachel Mackson, Maureen Wittmann ISBN: 0898707250 Publisher: Ignatius Press Pub. Date: March, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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