Attention Catholic Homeschoolers Looking for Curricula: Check Here First!
Introducing The Mega Catholic Homeschool Curriculum List! I’m super excited about having this project completed and available to all of you!
Last year, I shared a printable list and some tips and reviews, but I dreamed up something bigger and better this year. I am appreciative of the amazing variety of Catholic resources that exist for homeschoolers, but being small businesses, they don't often get enough publicity. This list is my small attempt to help put all their materials in one place for easy access by all Catholic homeschoolers.
The list is divided into type of company, although there is definitely some overlap (so I did the best I could!). The Full Enrollment Programs usually include lesson plans, grading, and consultants. The Online Programs have content that is almost exclusively online with live or self-paced classes. The Full Curricula include lesson plans but not enrollment and, therefore, are self-paced. Keep in mind that if you’re comfortable picking and choosing, those full programs/curricula have some amazing Catholic resources that you can purchase separately!
Further down, I’ve included Memory Work Programs and Preschool Programs. And there’s a large section of Subject Area Resources that includes programs for history, language arts, Latin, music, phonics, religion, and Spanish which are marketed separately from the other programs. Finally, there are those Online Resources and Catholic Publishers who produce materials incredibly helpful to Catholic homeschoolers but aren’t curriculum companies, so those are listed at the end.
(Note: As far as I understand, all of the companies and programs on the list are faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. If you know of a company or program faithful to the Magisterium that is not listed, please contact me with a link to be considered.)
Why Check Here First?
I’m not a proponent of using something just because it’s Catholic, as one of the benefits of homeschooling is making sure the curriculum is a good fit for our family. But I do believe we should check these companies first when looking for curriculum. Here are three reasons why:
- Steeping our lives in Catholicism is a beautiful gift we can give to our children. Research shows that immersion is the best way to learn most things, so including our faith in our daily routines can and will make a difference. Besides, many of us feel our religious education is lacking. What better way to learn more than right alongside our children!
- If it is just as good as non-Catholic materials, let’s support those Catholic businesses. Most curriculum companies are small businesses who can’t stay afloat without support from fellow Catholics. Marketing is expensive, and I do not know of any Catholic companies who have a large advertising budget. They are too busy trying to make the best materials they can for us at affordable prices.
- Non-Catholic materials require additional attentiveness and caution, as they often include overt or subtle anti-Catholicism and teachings contrary to our faith. This one is the most important! Using these resources takes more time and more brain power to pre-read and be on guard for such things. From Protestant versions of Bible verses (“This is my body”) and Church history (the Reformation) to secular understandings of science (evolution) and social studies (gender ideology), it’s just simpler for me to trust the Catholic companies, since I sometimes don’t even notice the bias.
So, check out The Mega Catholic Homeschool Curriculum List and then come back and let me know what you think!
Which resources might fill a need in your homeschooling that you hadn’t heard of previously? In what ways can you bring more of the Catholic faith to your children this school year?
And, I’d be grateful if you would share this post with your Catholic homeschooling friends and groups, so they can find the list and help support Catholic companies, too!
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