Alicia Van Hecke

A Landscape with Dragons

Book cover: A Landscape with Dragons
Author(s): 
Michael D. O'Brien

This book has helped me to understand the importance of stories in a child's spiritual and intellectual formation. Mr. O'Brien explains how mythology, fiction, fantasy and fairy tales help children understand the real world - both what we can see and what we can't see. Stories help teach children the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Unfortunately, many fiction stories give the wrong messages about good and bad. Mr. O'Brien gives parents the tools to tell good from bad and includes his own analysis of some popular stories and several Disney movies.

Designing your Own Classical Curriculum

Author(s): 
Laura M. Berquist

DYOCC is quite a bit different from the other books on Catholic Homeschooling. Instead of simply discussing homeschooling, as the other books do, Mrs. Berquist outlines an entire homeschool curriculum you can use with your children or adjust to your liking. She includes suggestions for putting together your own curriculum and a grade by grade outline which includes recommended texts, sample weekly schedules, a number of study guides, lists of important dates and people, poetry suggestions and extensive lists of appropriate literature and history stories.

Implementation of an Ignatian Education in the Home

Author(s): 
Francis Crotty

The focus of this booklet is on the method of teaching. Mr. Crotty goes through the timeless and time-tested Jesuit philosophy of education and applies it to homeschooling. He has put together an outline that could be successfully applied to any curriculum. The ideas will be especialy helpful for parents who are homeschooling their teens, but it is useful to consider such important goals even when our children are very young.. Although it's a short booklet, the reading is rather heavy. I think you'll find it well worth the effort. Mr.

Learning Latin with Grandpa Carmellus

Author(s): 
Karmenu Attard

Program consists of an audio tape, a reader and an activity book (approximately 30 pages each) This home produced conversational Latin program is designed for young children. Your pre-Latin students from Kindergarten up may enjoy getting a taste of the language, especially if their older siblings are studying Latin. The program consists of two softcover books (the binding leaves something to be desired) and an audio tape.

American Cardinal Readers: Book 2

Book cover: American Cardinal Readers: Book 2
Author(s): 
Edith M. McLaughlin
Adrian T. Curtis

Book two begins to offer stories and poems that are enjoyable and worthwhile reading in their own right such as The Christ Child by G.K. Chesterton, The Honest Woodman, several Saint stories (Blessed Imelda, St. Teresa the Little Flower, St. Francis and the Wolf) and other short stories, folk tales and fairy stories.

American Cardinal Readers: Book 3

Book cover: American Cardinal Readers: Book 3
Author(s): 
Edith M. McLaughlin
Adrian T. Curtis

The Third Grade reader includes a total of fifty-two selections which are somewhat coordinated with the seasons of the year. The selections include poetry (about God, country, nature, etc.) and a variety of stories that are both appealing and inspiring - saint stories, fairy tales (with very obvious morals), biographies, stories that teach something about the world around us and others relating examples of devotion and heroism, such as the well-known tale of the little Dutch boy ("The Hero of Haarlem").

Bob Books

Author(s): 
Bobby Lynn Maslen
Illustrator(s): 
John R Maslen

The Bob Books and subsequent titles (five sets of small reading booklets in all) are sets of very small, stapled booklets with black and white line drawings and colorful covers, which contain very simple stories. They are approximately $15 per set (although I've seen them at Sam's Club and Half-Price books for less). Each set comes in a colorful box with two little cardboard finger puppets and a cardboard puppet theatre.

Bob Books First!

Book cover: 'Bob Books First!'
Author(s): 
Bobby Lynn Maslen
John R. Maslen

In this first set (originally titled simply "Bob Books"), the stories start out very easy (words like Bob, Sam, sat, etc.) and very gradually increase in difficulty. All letters are introduced except "Q" and the stories are made up almost entirely of three-letter-words. We found the pace and order in which new words were introduced to be very helpful. We have used the Bob Books to teach two of our children to read. They were both interested in learning to read when they were four years old.

Bob Books Fun!

Book cover: 'Bob Books Fun!'
Author(s): 
Bobby Lynn Maslen
Bobby Maslen
Illustrator(s): 
John R Maslen
John Maslen

This second set was just released and wasn't around when I taught my oldest to read. Although she did fine without it, I thought that the additional practice on this basic level was very helpful for my son (who has just finished this second set). Like the first set, the stories are designed entirely for the purpose of practicing beginning reading skills by introducing sounds in an intelligent order. The stories are very simple and usually quite silly. This set does introduce several two-letter phonograms - "ar" (book 3), "aw" (book 3) "ow" (book 4), "ou" (book 7), "oo" (book 12).

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