"It is therefore as important to make no mistake in education, as it is to make no mistake in the pursuit of the last end, with which the whole work of education is intimately and necessarily connected. In fact, since education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created, it is clear that there can be no true education which is not wholly directed to man's last end, and that in the present order of Providence, since God has revealed Himself to us in the Person of His Only Begotten Son, who alone is 'the way, the truth and the life,' there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian education." (Pope Pius XI, On Christian Education)

Q. Who are you?

A. The editor and review board of Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers are experienced Catholic homeschoolers who wish to provide assistance to other parents and teachers by offering:

• free and well-organized information about available educational resources
• detailed information regarding a book's contents in order to help others make more informed purchasing decisions
• information about issues of importance to Catholics as they come up in educational materials

Please do not think of us as "experts" with whom you should agree on everything. We would prefer to be thought of as "informed amateurs" like other experienced parents you might know from your homeschool support group with whom you could discuss educational resources and problem-solving. We hope that you will find the site helpful and useful, regardless of whether or not you happen to agree with us on every particular of education and family life.

Q. Why are you here?

A. Because Truth matters! Our children's education can make all the difference in the world (and "out of this world") in determining which "paths" they will choose in the future. We want our children to be well-grounded in the Catholic faith; faithful, humble and obedient to Holy Mother Church, and well-trained in practical disciplines in order to be well-prepared to face all of those challenges which are sure to confront them in the future.

Our aim is to provide objective and thorough information about educational materials from a solid Catholic perspective. Rather than simply judging materials for you, we try to provide enough information to allow you to make those decisions for yourself - particularly in cases where materials provide no problems with regard to the Faith, but will bring up other questions involving learning styles, maturity level, and other issues that matter to parents like you. For this reason, when reviewing books, we try to include details about everything that Catholic parents would want to know - both good and bad.

Although our reviews are written with Catholic homeschooling families in mind, and we are quite enthusiastic about the idea of homeschooling, we recognize faithful and orthodox Catholic schools (particularly those founded by dedicated parents) as part of the same movement, led by the Holy Spirit, which is causing good Catholic parents to take charge of their children's education and help to turn the tide against many of the problems of society today. We don't believe that "homeschooling is for everyone" and respect those families who are supplementing their children's education at home during after-school hours and in the summer and who are working to provide a strong family environment and faith life to help their children through the difficulties they face in today's society. We wholeheartedly welcome these parents and teachers and all others who "love to learn" to this site and hope and pray that the information presented here will assist you in performing your God-given right and duty to educate your children.

We are encouraged by the positive feedback we've received on the helpfulness of our site. You can read some of the messages and endorsements here.

Q. What does AMDG stand for?

A. A.M.D.G. is the abbreviation for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam which is Latin for "For the Greater Glory of God". I understand that the Jesuits once promoted the pious practice of putting these letters at the top of school papers, etc. to remind us of what's it all really about.

Q. What do the icons at the bottom of some reviews mean?

A. These are some new and not-so-new features of our reviews that we hope will further enhance your learning. Look for these icons throughout our review pages. We would appreciate additional information on "reservations", "quibbles" and "connect-the-dots" for our existing reviews as well. Please e-mail the webmaster with suggestions in these areas.

A "reservation" is a notation indicating that the reviewer wants to call your attention to a problem with the book that they think is very significant and possibly "dangerous" (in an intellectual, theological, or moral sense) if it goes uncorrected. These do not necessarily indicate that the book is bad or unusable - in fact there are many very good books with a single, isolated, but significant error. In providing these reservations, we hope to help our readers be more aware of a book's contents in order to assist them in making decisions about education materials rather than trying to make decisions for them.

A quibble is an error or issue that the reviewer has with a book that is less significant than a "reservation" (i.e. probably not dangerous) but one which parents may want to be aware of before purchasing the book or using it with their children. Quibbles should not be taken as condemnations of a book, but our way of informing parents of issues that may matter to them. We actually hope that listing these "quibbles" will make more good books more usable to more people.

This notation indicates materials that in the opinion of our reviewers fail to live up to standards of Truth, Beauty, or Goodness.

 

 

Connect-the-dots is a feature that will help families inter-connect different materials and subjects to enrich their learning experience.    

 

Disclaimers:

You're not supposed to buy everything we review! The point of the reviews is to give you more information so you don't have to waste money on materials you really don't want. We subscribe to the "less is more" philosophy (particularly where God is involved!). We also are big believers in taking advantage of the public library as much as possible. Although you have to be very selective, you're bound to find SOME good things there - and getting involved at your library may lead to opportunities to suggest good books for them to purchase.

Note about links: We include links to many websites that we believe will be interesting and helpful to our readers. However, we have no control over the content of these websites (which often change regularly) and do not recommend that children surf these sites unattended. Please preview any websites recommended here before sharing them with your children.

Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers is a free informational website run by lay Catholic home educators for the simple purpose of sharing information and ideas about homeschooling. The opinions expressed on this web site are those of the individual writers, all of whom are Catholics who strive to conform to the teaching and laws of the Church. Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers and its contributing authors do not speak in the name of the Church.

If you find any mistakes or omissions on this website - particularly if there is an apparent discrepancy with Church teaching - please let us know. (It is an act of charity to correct in a Christian manner.) You may write to us at ... webmaster at love2learn dot net

No amount of pious training or pious culture will protect the faithful, or preserve them from the contamination of the age, if they are left inferior to non-Catholics in secular learning and intellectual development. The faithful must be guarded and protected by being trained and disciplined to grapple with the false systems of the age…. They must be better armed than their opponents - surpass them in the strength and vigor of their minds, and in the extent and variety of their knowledge. They must, on all occasions and against all adversaries, be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them. (Orestes Brownson, "Catholic Polemics")