When I began publishing The Catholic Family's Magnificat! Magazine over a decade ago, I expected phone calls from time to time - but I didn't expect so many requests! Catholic homeschooling parents often asked me for counseling and curriculum help, but the most frequent request went something like this: "Please write a Catholic book like Mary Pride's Big Book of Home Learning! But we need something really Catholic that helps us in making choices for our homeschool!"
As a Catholic homeschooling parent myself, I carefully listened as these parents told me what they needed. As I listened, the outline developed for the KIC (Keeping It Catholic) Home Education Guides. So many Catholic homeschooling parents told me that...
---They needed to learn more about the Church's doctrine on marriage and education to help them stand courageously and firmly against homeschooling opposition, either in their families,neighborhoods, or even their local parishes.
---They needed encouragement in knowing that the Church really does support the Catholic family and Catholic home education.
---They needed CATHOLIC curriculum reviews to help them choose a provider.
---They needed help in choosing books when they customized their own CATHOLIC curriculum.
---They needed 'safe and sound' reading lists for their children.
---They needed to know which books truthfully related the history of the Catholic Church throughout the ages - and how to teach history to make it meaningful.
---They needed a book upon which they could rely, from an author they knew was a loyal Catholic and told the truth. (And thank you, fellow Catholic homeschooling parents, for the compliment.)
---And they needed to know how to understand and motivate their children so that those children might become adult Catholics with well-formed Catholic consciences and a firm Catholic educational foundation.
My books, The Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guides, are the answer to all those needs - because they are the "first and only" books of their kind for CATHOLIC homeschooling parents!
KEEPING IT CATHOLIC HOME EDUCATION GUIDE, Volume I - The Foundations of Catholic Education covers the very important basics, including "Defining Catholic Home Schooling," "The Four Pillars of Catholic Education," "Understanding the Catholic Conscience," "Over a Dozen Church Teachings on Catholic Education," "The Four Temperaments: Foundations of Character," "Learning Styles: The Theories," "A Catholic Overview of Popular Methods," "Reviews of Parent Help Resources," and "The EXPANDED Red Flag List."
KEEPING IT CATHOLIC HOME EDUCATION GUIDE, Volume II: [Teaching] History covers how to teach history with a Catholic conscience (versus a Catholic "perspective") with chapters including "Living Books through Eyes of Faith," "Homeschool History Book Reviews, for Grades K-12," "Catholic History Reading Lists (also for Grades K-12), "Free History & Geography Resources on the Net," and "RED FLAGS: How to Recognize Them."
Featuring educational tips, details and reviews of products, programs, publishers and other homeschool suppliers, they both create a family resource guide that helps you:
+ Customize your own curriculum
+ Select a Catholic home study program
+ Learn over a dozen important points about parents as educators (all from the Catholic Church's doctrine on education)
+ Locate the best materials for your family
+ Get the scoop and find out more before you buy homeschool items!
+ Mix and match the main educational methods
+ Set goals and keep records
+ Reference handy Catholic reading lists
+ Know your family's character traits and temperaments
+ Discover how temperament affects teaching and learning styles
+ Find hundreds of items including books, catalogs, magazines, maps, games and more
+ Create your own Catholic unit studies
+ Use the Internet to supplement your homeschool
+ Provide a Catholic education in your home
+ Keep company addresses, toll-free numbers and websites at your fingertips
+ Recognize "Red Flags" in resources
To top it off, these books are not only very Catholic and very practical, but they are also sturdy, strong, and very beautiful to the eye. The thick soft-covers are laminated, the pages are hand-sewn (so they will never fall out), and they feature beautiful azure (blue) and gold spot color.
Now, c'mon, go ahead and take a peek for yourself at the KIC Home Education Guides - and order your own copies before the big "homeschooling season" rush this summer!
Keep It Catholic!
Marianna Bartold, Author & KIC Forum Moderator
The Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guides
We're "Keeping It Catholic" on the Net at http://www.keepingitcatholic.org/
