St. Bruno the Great, 2024-25 Curriculum

The last time I homeschooled Fulton and Teddy, I went into the year feeling stressed and unprepared. This year,  I was determined to have everything well planned and not left to the last minute. I’m happy to say that when we started back on August 28, no one cried and there was almost no yelling! We’ve had some technical issues relating to their art choices, but i’m still filled with the joyful optimism and hope that I usually feel at the beginning of the year. Affiliate links ahead; click on the titles in the headings to view the materials.

Earlier in August, as I started jotting down notes and scanning my bookshelves, I realized how many materials I already had on hand and how much easier it is to plan for a given grade level by children four and five than when you’re planning for the first couple. Even selecting materials for morning meeting (or this year’s afternoon tea) requires minimal thought. It think I’ve also reached a point where, even more than before, I just don’t want new and shiny. Chances are whatever I already have will work just fine. There’s very little time spent on shopping anymore.

Realistic Goals

No matter the subject, there really is no magic bullet curriculum choice that will make a difficult subject enjoyable for all parties involved, and that’s fine. Your kids don’t have to love math or writing, or every literature selection. I think so many homeschool influencers show pictures of their kids studying meteorology outside, or sharing how their kids learn calculus through like, cooking, or talk about how this one curriculum works so well for all their kids, that other homeschoolers think homeschooling should be easy and fun all the time and surprise!- it’s not.

Homeschooling is not all watercolor nature scenes, Minecraft, and unit studies about Colonial America. It can certainly include all those things, but homeschooling is hard work for all parties involved, and that’s not necessarily a terrible thing. It can be a worthwhile sacrifice. When you understand that, you can mentally prepare for the tough moments and you can choose curriculum that while not “fun” or pretty to look at, will give them a good education and steadfast faith. Stop trying to make homeschooling ***magical***; you’re not Gandalf.

You’re going to witness some great lightbulb moments, but not everyday. Some days are agonizing first drafts, math flashcards, Latin conjugations, and a dense piece of British literature; none of which should be avoided. Don’t be scared of hard and challenging things. Fulton and Teddy, with their public school experience, know that neither public or homeschool is perfect, but they’re fine with homeschooling and even prefer it not because it’s more fun, or easy, but because they can learn what’s important, and some of what they want, in a preferable environment-our home. 

Switching Gears

I did struggle a bit with the decision to homeschool this year. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing it just because I wanted to retain the identity of “homeschooling family”. Even with kids in public school, I never felt like a “public school family” and I know both Fulton and Teddy still “felt” like homeschoolers. I knew our family culture was more than just our decision to homeschool, but the two are so intertwined, I needed to remind myself that we can public school even if we don’t fit into a certain mold. Ultimately, even though I knew it would mean giving up most of my day, and setting aside many of the projects I work on, I decided that I wanted to pursue homeschooling. Teddy never really stopped asking to homeschool, and while Fulton’s teachers and aides are wonderful, there was more I wanted him to learn that simply couldn’t fit into the type of self-contained class he was assigned. Honestly, Teddy will be graduating himself in the blink of an eye and I guess I want to enjoy homeschooling him for as many of the next five years as he and I agree to. I know why I became so burnt-out last time they were both home, and that knowledge will inform all my decisions going forward (ie fostering is off the table for a bit).

Eternal Souls

Just to be clear; I don’t believe that homeschooling is essential to ensure my children remain practicing Catholics. We are not better Catholics, or morally superior in any way, because we homeschool. My children will receive a good education, and many more benefits from homeschooling, but it is not the right way for many children or families. The older I get, the more I recommend public school to struggling moms who see that homeschooling isn’t working for one reason or another but view sending their children to school as a moral failure on their part. Raising kind, well-educated children is hard work no matter who their day to day teacher is. I want to support and encourage those who are choosing the hard work of homeschooling, and support those parents who chose a different way but love their children, and care about their eternal souls, no less.

How your family lives out its faith on a day to day basis will shape your children’s beliefs more than how they are educated. Not that you’d can’t have valid concerns about the problems in public schools, but homeschooling isn’t the cure all some would make it out to be. My children’s spiritual formation is not limited to what is “taught” but includes all the ways our family lives out our faith. Therefore, choosing to homeschool Fulton and Teddy was not motivated by a fear that public school would morally corrupt them.

The Picks….finally!

These curriculum choices, and this post, are a snapshot in time; of how I’m feeling about home education at this moment. I don’t usually feel the need to share my views so much but I feel there’s so little nuance in many homeschooling conversations out there, and people get so defensive; I often feel like an outlier. Maybe I can add a little variety to the discourse and encourage those who feel like they’re doing something wrong. Eighteen years in and I don’t have all the answers, but I feel at peace with my decision this year and ready to tackle whatever comes of it. 

Teddy, 8th Grade

I asked Teddy quite bit about what types of classes and materials he’d prefer (live online, recorded, textbook, workbook, Google Classroom assignments, etc) and settled upon a nice mix of materials. He can work independently on a laptop, so I got a new Mac Air and he’s using my old laptop for many of his classes. He also is working primarily at the desk in Byron’s room. This means I don’t disturb him if I’m helping Fulton. I get him set up with his materials, and he works mostly independently. 

Math, Algebra 1, Teaching Textbooks

So far, the explanations given during the lessons are enough for him to complete the (self-grading) assignments. He didn’t want a live or recorded math class, and this worked pretty well for Edie, so it seemed a good option. 

Writing, Writing With Ease Level 2

I actually already had this on hand. I purchased it years ago along with Level 1 and ultimately went with the Level 1 book at the time for Byron. The shorter assignments  he does right in the workbook, while he types out longer essays in a Google Doc which he shares with me. The whole book has since been revised so I don’t know how the new version compares to the edition I’m using.

Literature, Tied into History

We’re covering world history from the end of the Middle Ages to the founding of the United States, so I selected a half dozen historical fiction books he can choose from. I might also have him read some of the same books that Fulton’s reading so we can discuss them. 

Latin, Lingua Latina

When given the option to study a foreign language Teddy actually chose Latin. Tony is in charge of this part of the curriculum, but I’m hoping Teddy can follow in Addie’s footsteps and even if he doesn’t take AP Latin, I’d like him to take the National Latin Exam most years. 

Logic, The Art of Argument

Since I’m running a debate club, I thought we would do this course through Classical Academic Press. It covers logical fallacies and is something he can do mostly independently with the workbook. CAP recently revised this book, but since I still have the teacher’s manual from the original edition, I had to find a secondhand version of the workbook online (which thankfully wasn’t too hard). That’s the only thing with large families reusing curriculum; sometimes by the time you get to younger kids, the materials you used with the older ones are outdated or impossible to find in the edition you need. 

Art, Digital Cinema

The one class Teddy said he would miss from school was digital cinema, so I’ve built time into his day to learn Adobe Premiere Pro and then make some short films. There’s certainly the option to give him movie assignments tied to history or literature, but we’ll see. 

Fulton, 11th Grade

Fulton will be a junior, and I’m encouraging him to think about his future, how he’d like to use the next couple of years and his post graduation options. I have some strong feelings, but I’m trying not to push too hard, and listen to his suggestions. I do think homeschooling over the next couple of years will definitely help him create a plan for adulthood that suits his unique needs and talents more than public school. 

Math, Abeka and Consumer Math workbooks

Last year, Fulton got limited math instruction (long story). This year we’ll be reviewing concepts and applying them to real life situations and business scenarios. 

Writing, Animation Writing and Development

Fulton has an interest in 2D and 3D animation and I happened to find this book which talks about the animation industry, as well as how to write a good story and turn it into an animation script. Fulton has always been a natural storyteller and I think this book will help him put those ideas down in a format that he can then animate and share using the skills he’ll learn during art. 

Literature, 1984, Frankenstein, Portrait of Doran Grey, Jane Eyre

These books are usually enjoyed by my kids and Fulton will be reading them via audio book. Over the summer, he enjoyed Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Dracula which heavily skewed my choices. 

French, Discovering Languages; French

Fulton wanted to continue studying French. I’m following a simple program (rather than learning random vocab and phrases as part of morning meeting which we’d done previously.) There’s lots of options now for conversing either with AI or a native speaker so I’m hoping to incorporate those apps into his instruction this year too. 

Art, Animation

As Fulton works best with his iPad we’re trying the animation app Animation Desk (since Adobe Animate is not available as an app for iPad). Once he does a bit of 2D animation, we’ll move onto 3D. 

Life Skills

This class will contain skills useful for Fulton. Most self-contained classes teach life skills, but they often don’t apply to someone like Fulton who is not intellectually disabled, but has severe physical disables. For example, Fulton does not need to learn about the importance of personal hygiene (more than your average 16 year old teen boy). Those tasks will always fall to a caregiver. And while he loves being in the kitchen, units on baking and selling baked goods aren’t really going to help him secure employment. Instead of going on a field trip to the grocery store, Fulton will learn how to create a meal plan and a budget, and order his groceries online and have them delivered. (A lot of his “life skills” will cross over with his math assignments.) He also needs to learn about taking over his medical care; making sure he knows how to access patient portals, order medical supplies on a schedule, find all his doctors names and contact info, and how to contact his insurance caseworker with questions or appeals. I will obviously always help him when he asks, but he needs to start transitioning to managing these things on his own and by making it a class, I know that by the time he hits 18, we’ll hopefully have covered these things. 

Afternoon Tea

Fulton and Teddy decided they wanted to do our usual “morning meeting” subjects in the afternoon, with snacks. We still start our day with prayer, but do the rest while stuffing our faces. 

• Geography Facts – Using the ‘High School Card Set’ from The Good and the Beautiful. 
• Religion – Read a saint of the day entry and a question and answer from the YouCat. 
• Read Shakespeare
• Monday – History, Story of the World and The Story of Civilization
• Tuesday – Art appreciation, we follow Ambleside Online’s recommendations
• Wednesday – Science, starting with Wonders of Energy from The Good and the Beautiful
• Thursday – Music appreciation, we follow Ambleside Online’s recommendations

On Friday’s we have co-op. I was gong to write about that here, but this post is long enough so more details on that later. I’m teaching a class on Shakespeare (so that will dictate what plays we read at home) and running a Debate club (which will tie into Teddy’s logic). I tried to pick things I was going to do anyway, and now rather than discussing things with their older siblings, they’ll talk about them and argue with other kids. Taking two teens to co-op seems more doable than taking five young kids but we’ll see. 

There you have it! Prayers for a successful 2024-25 school year all around! St. Bruno the Great, ora pro nobis!!