Catechetical Programs

Faith Quest: The Basics

Book cover: 'Faith Quest: The Basics'
Author(s): 
Michelle Willis, M.Ed.
Faith Quest, The Basics is an interactive computer program that covers the fundamentals of the Catholic faith. The package includes a CD-Rom and a Facilitator Resource Guide. It has both a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur.

The Facilitator Guide includes an overview of the materials, Lesson Worksheets, Quizzes, Crossword Puzzles, Unit Practice Test, Unit Test, and Answer Keys.

Pilgrims of the Holy Family

Book cover: 'Pilgrims of the Holy Family'
Author(s): 
Kerry and Nancy MacArthur

This program encourages children to learn about themselves and their world while imparting Catholic ideals. Pilgrims of the Holy Family is well suited to be used by individuals or in a group setting as an alternative to secular scouting programs. Written by a homeschooling family of five, "Pilgrims" presents 75 enrichment activities each of which allows the child to achieve a degree of mastery in a particular topic. Those familiar with scouting will recognize some of the topical activity sets as similar to scouting badges.

Our Holy Faith Series

Book cover: 'My Father and Mother on Earth and in Heaven'

My Father and Mother on Earth and in Heaven (Book One) is a small text, heavily illustrated with black-and-white drawings, designed to be a sort of "religion storybook" for first graders. The text is very brief, particularly in the beginning (when they expect first graders to have more limited reading abilities) and is well suited to discussion with a parent as well as drawing in supplemental resources, such as the full stories from the Bible. It covers beliefs and spirituality in a simple way, very appropriate for those just being introduced to their faith.

Faith and Life Religion Series

Book cover: 'Faith and Life Religion Series, Book 1'

This is a very popular religion series for Catholic homeschoolers. There are probably many reasons for this: they're reasonably priced, they're filled with beautiful selections of fine religious art, and they're unquestionably orthodox. The series incorporates questions from The Baltimore Catechism for memorization. Some homeschoolers don't like the brief content (the text contains approximately one lesson per week - although there is also a work book, teacher's manual and extensive resource guide available for each grade).