Introduction to Philosophy for Catholic Homeschoolers

Update:This live course has concluded and is currently as a recorded course through our Subscription Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows.To subscribe or learn more: Adult and High School Online Classes

Philosophy 101: Meet and Greet the Professor
(click to watch a free webinar with Dr. Rioux introducing you to this course)

Dr. Rioux originally taught this course for Homeschool Connections in the Fall of 2009. We received many complimentary emails from parents and students, as he is an excellent teacher and knows how to get his students to open up and contribute in class.

Dr. Rioux is the chair of the philosophy department at Benedictine College as well as a homeschool father. He has a deep enthusiasm for philosophy and a real dedication to his students.

I am so glad to be able to offer this course once again ...

Philosophy: What Do Philosophers Do and How Do They Do It? with Jean Rioux, Ph.D.

(click on title to register)

Class dates: Thursdays, March 17 to May 12, 2011 (no class on Holy Thursday)
Total classes: 8
Starting time: 3:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (2 pm, Central)
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Professor: Jean Rioux, Ph.D.
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th
High school credit: 2/3 semester
Fee: $160 for the entire 8-week course. Early Registration Discount of $20 off before November 1, 2010.

Course description: Aristotle famously said, "all men by nature desire to know". For over 2600 years philosophers have grappled with life's profound questions. Seeking answers, they left their conclusions behind, along with the arguments supporting them. In this course we will be studying some of the better-known philosophical arguments in light of the issues they have addressed. From the allegory of the cave to the 5 ways of St. Thomas Aquinas to Pascal's wager, these arguments can serve as a brief introduction to the life and work of philosophers to anyone who would like to discover more about the "examined life".

Course outline:
Class 1: Plato's "allegory of the cave"; The Republic
Class 2: Aristotle on happiness and moral virtue; Nicomachean Ethics
Class 3: St. Augustine on choosing evil; The Confessions
Class 4: St. Anselm of Canterbury's and René Descartes' "ontological" arguments; The Proslogion and the Meditations
Class 5: René Descartes on how I may know of my own existence; The Meditations
Class 6: Blaise Pascal on the "wager" argument; The Pensées
Class 7: St. Thomas Aquinas on the possibility of proving God's existence; The Summa Theologiae
Class 8: St. Thomas Aquinas' "five ways", from the Summa Theologiae

Course materials: Provided at no additional charge in the form of a pdf file. References to the readings made during the course will be to this version. Students are expected to read the short selections (2 pages avg.) carefully before each session.

Homework: Apart from the reading for an upcoming session, students are expected to respond to a few questions from the previous one. The questions will be made available following each session, and responses will be due before the start of the next session (or within the week following the final session). Homework will be graded by Dr. Rioux.

Professor's piography:
Dr. Rioux is a professor and chair of the philosophy department at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he has taught for twenty-five years. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, he completed his graduate work in philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies in Houston, earning the M.A. in 1984 and the Ph.D. in 1990. Specializing in the thought of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, Dr. Rioux has published textbooks in logic and natural philosophy, as well as articles on the philosophy of mathematics in the Thomist and the Aquinas Review. He came to Benedictine with a love for the study of primary texts, as well as a keen interest in what computers might bring to that study. His contributions to the philosophical life of Benedictine College range from Great Books Sequences in philosophy and theology to 3D software for students of logic. He and his wife, Maria, raise their nine children in a farmhouse in rural Kansas. They have been designing their own curricula and educating their children at home for over twenty years.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.

Misc:
Dr. Rioux will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

Philosophy: What Do Philosophers Do and How Do They Do It? with Jean Rioux, Ph.D.

(click on title to register)

Please join us as Dr. Rioux takes us on a philosophical journey. Our professor has a special gift of bringing understanding and excitement to what some would say is too lofty a topic. Dr. Rioux's course will make you laugh and smile as well as help you really appreciate Plato, Augustine, and so many others. Enjoy and learn!

The Space Trilogy for Homeschool High School

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling

On Archbishop Chaput's list of books that should be read by every Catholic, C. S. Lewis's Space Trilogy is an excellent read for older teens.

When Homeschool Connections first offered this course in 2009, the students loved it. Dr. Gotcher uses the Socratic Method so there was a lot of lively discussion in these classes. This is why we've put a limit on the number of students in this course. We like to keep it small to keep the discussion intimate.

There are an abundance of issues and ideas to ponder in the Space Trilogy. I'm glad to have a terrific professor like Dr. Gotcher to guide us through it all. I hope you'll join us ...


Literature: The Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
(click on title to register)

Class dates: Fridays, March 18 to May 13, 2011 (no class April 22 for Good Friday)
Total classes: 9
Starting time: 10:00 am, Eastern Daylight Time (9:00 am, Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Professor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Fee: Regularly $120 for all 8 classes. Early Registration Discount $15 before November 1, 2010.
Prerequisite: The ability to read, understand and enjoy The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis
Suggested grade level: 11th and 12th
High school credit: 2/3 semester

Course description: This is a seminar in which we will discuss the Space Trilogy of C.S. Lewis—Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.

Course outline:
Class 1: Overview
Class 2: Out of the Silent Planet
Class 3: Out of the Silent Planet
Class 4: Perelandra
Class 5: Perelandra
Class 6: That Hideous Strength
Class 7: That Hideous Strength
Class 8: Discussion of the entire trilogy.

Homework: One literature worksheet for each of the three novels, to be completed before the class period in which they are discussed.

Course materials: The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength)

Professor's biography:
Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the homeschooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.

Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.

Misc:
Dr. Gotcher will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

This course is limited to 15 students.

High School American Government Online Class

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling

Government: Government, Democracy, and Citizenship with Ed Rivet (Feb. 11 to Apr. 8)
(click on title to register)

Mr. Rivet's introductory government course has been one of our most popular. The students even started a Mr. Rivet Fan Club on Facebook. We get a lot of Seton and MODG students in this course as it helps meet their requirements for U.S. Government. We're really excited to be able to offer it again.

Course Description:
American government has been called the most radical experiment in self-governing in human history based on its unique system of democracy and citizen involvement. Learn how the fundamental elements of American government are supposed to work, how they actually work, and the role and responsibility each citizen has in our government and our future."

Instructor's Biography:
Ed Rivet has a B.S. in Pre-Law and Public Policy and a Master's in Public Administration both from Michigan State University. He served three years as a legislative aide in the Michigan House of Representatives. For 21 years Ed has served as the Right to Life of Michigan's Legislative Director. He has written and helped enact dozens of laws, including the nation's first complete ban on human cloning, and banning assisted suicide in the face of the assault on human life by Jack Kevorkian and Geoffrey Fieger. Ed was the director of the state of Michigan's largest all-volunteer citizen petition drive which also was the state's most accurate petition drive ever, 97.3% valid signatures. Ed has done countless media interviews, appearing in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, plus live interviews on CNN and Good Morning America.

Price: $140 for all 9 classes. There is a $20 Early Enrollment Discount if you enroll before November 1, 2010.

Dates and Time:
This is a nine-week course. Classes will begin Friday, February 11, 2011 and meet every Friday through April 8, 2011. The time will begin 12:00 PM Eastern Time and end at 1:15 PM.

Enrollment Period:
Enrollment is currently open.

Misc. Details:
All coursework will be provided by the instructor or available online for free. Homework and research projects will be given and graded. (Though Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.) Mr. Rivet will be available via email in between classes to answer questions and take comments.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone is highly recommended. If you do not own a headset, you can find them for a reasonable price at Amazon. A web cam is NOT required.

Comments from Mr. Rivet's Past Students:

"The class was fantastic! I really enjoyed it!"

"Thanks for teaching this class ... I really enjoyed it and I felt like it gave me a better understanding of my government."

"I loved this class!"

"NICE JOB!!!!! I really enjoyed the class and I am thankful I did it. The course gave me a basic yet essential understanding of how our government works that I never had before. Thanks a bunch!"

To register, go to: Government: Government, Democracy, and Citizenship with Ed Rivet. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Register button and then follow the instructions. We take Visa and Master Card. If you prefer to pay by check, please don't hesitate to email me.

Physiology Online Class: The Immune System

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Subscription Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more:Adult and High School Catholic Online Classes

If you're looking for a terrific high school science course for you child look no farther. This is an opportunity to learn from a physician's assistant who also teaches paramedics and all from the comfort of your own home.

My own teen daughter took this course last semester. She wants to be a nurse and loves everything anatomy & physiology so I'm pretty excited to have Kris teaching for Homeschool Connections.

To register, please click on the link below:

Science: Immunity in Sickness and in Health

Dates: Mondays, January 17 to February 21, 2011
Time: 1:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time (12:30 pm Central)
Class length: 1 hour
Instructor: Kris Correira, PA

Course description: The immune system is actually several systems working together to protect the body. In this course students will learn about the overall structure of the lymphatic system, the inflammatory response, and the immune response, including compliment, antibodies, and T cells. You won't get sick of this course!

Course fee: $90.00 for entire 6-week course. $15 Early Enrollment Discount if you enroll before November 1, 2010.

Homework: Homework will consist of answering a series of questions relating to what will be covered the following week. Lectures 2 through 6 will have a quiz at the start of class.

Instructor's biography: Kris Correira is a homeschooling mother of three boys. She works part time as a physician assistant in an busy emergency department and a paramedic instructor at a community college; she is also a volunteer science teacher for her homeschool co-op. She has inspired a love of science in her children through lots of hands-on learning and science books without textbooks or curricula.

Science: Immunity in Sickness and in Health

High School History: Middle Ages

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling

The best teachers are those who are most enthusiastic about their subject matter. Mr. Campbell has both great enthusiasm and deep knowledge for his subject matter. For this reason he is quite popular with his students. I am looking forward to having him teach for Homeschool Connections again in the spring. This is one class not to miss ...

History: Catholic Middle Ages with Phillip Campbell
(click on title to register)

Class dates: Wednesdays, January 26 to April 20, 2011 (No class March 8, 2011)
Total classes: 12
Starting time: 4:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time (3:30 pm, Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Instructor: Phillip Campbell
Grade level: 10th to 12th
High school credit: One full semester
Fee: Regularly $180 for entire 12-week course. $20 Early Registration Discount before November 1, 2010

Course description: An in depth study of the cultural, political, intellectual and artistic life of the Middle Ages with a focus on the contributions of the Catholic Church to medieval civilization.

Course outline:
Class 1: Fall of Rome: How the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire provided fertiel ground for the birth of the medieval Church.
Class 2: Monasticism: The story of St. Benedict of Nursia and the blossoming of monastic foundations in the west.Class 3: The Holy Isle: The conversion of Ireland and the Irish contribution to the Christianization of Europe.
Class 4: The Church's Eldest Daughter: The conversion of France and the union between the Frankish kings and the papacy.
Class 5: Charlemagne: The ascendancy of the Carolingian dynasty and the glorious reign of Charlemagne, the medieval Christian king par excellence.
Class 6: Investiture & Ideology: A look at the bitter Investiture Controversies that tore Europe asunder for two hundred years.
Class 7: Dawn of Scholasticism
Class 8: Cluniacs & Cistercians
Class 9: Deus Vult
Class 10: Mendicant Orders
Class 11: Medieval Heresy
Class 12: Church vs. State: The weakening of papal power during the Church/State controversies that raged throughout the later 13th and early 14th centuries. This weakening sets the stage for the outbreak of the Protestant Revolt a century later.

Course materials: Evolution of the Medieval World by David Nichols, ISBN: 0582092574, available used inexpensively. Mr. Campbell will also provide a supplemental Catholic Middle Ages reading list (optional) for students who want to go deeper into the study.

Homework: Homework will consist of reading and the completion of a series of mini-essay questions weekly. IMPORTANT: Please make sure to read Chapter 1, "The Roman Heritage of Medieval Civilization" in the textbook prior to the 1st class.

Instructor's biography: Phillip Campbell holds a BA in European History from Ave Maria University and is pursuing further studies in education at Madonna University. He teaches history for the St. Augustine Homeschool Enrichment Program. Mr. Campbell and his wife homeschool their four children.

Equipment requirements: Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.

Misc:
Mr. Campbell will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

Online High School Theology: New Testament

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling

Introduction to the Bible: New Testament is the second of a 2-part series that can be taken either separately or together. We are currently in the midst of the first part on the Old Testament. Dr. Gotcher brings great insight and new understanding of Scripture to his students. He gets his students into the conversation and makes great use of the Socratic method in his classes. This New Testament course is sure to be a terrific asset for any Catholic student.

Theology: Introduction to the Bible; New Testament with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
(click on title to register)

Class dates: Friday, January 14 to March 4, 2011
Total classes: 8
Starting time: 10:00 am, Eastern Standard Time (9:00 am, Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Professor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Prerequisite: none
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th
High school credit: 2/3 semester
Fee: Regularly $160 for all 8 classes. Early Registration Discount $20 before November 1, 2010.

Course description:
The New Testament is the record of God’s final and definitive saving intervention in the history of mankind through His Incarnate Son and the Holy Spirit in the Church. This course will focus on the meaning of the life of Jesus, the history and destiny of the Early Church as related in the Gospels, as recorded in Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. We will emphasize methods for reading passage so as to more fully grasp God’s intent for us.

Course outline:
Class 1: The New Testament overview
Class 2: Gospels I Matthew and Mark
Class 3: Gospels II: Luke-Acts
Class 4: John
Class 5: Paul
Class 6: Hebrews and the “Catholic” Letters
Class 7: Revelation/Apocalypse
Class 8: The meaning the New Testament

Homework: Online readings from Bible. There will be a short on-line quiz after each class period based on reading and class material. Final exam.

Course materials: A Catholic Bible.

Instructor's Biography:
Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the homeschooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.

Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.
Misc:
Dr. Gotcher will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

Middle School: Myths and Drama through History

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling

Middle School Literature: Myth in Drama
(click on title to register)

Class dates: Thursdays, January 13 to March 24, 2011 (no class March 10th)
Total classes: 10
Starting time: 9:30 am, Eastern Standard Time (8:30 am, Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Fee: Regularly $150 for entire 10-week course. $20 Early Enrollment Discount before November 1, 2010.
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 7th and 8th

Course description: Orally transmitted myths were intimately involved in the advent of Greek drama. Since then myths have played a constant part in the dramatic art of Western Civilization. This course examines what myth is and how it has been used in different times and places throughout history to create a common culture in the West.

Homework: Readings and study questions will be required to be prepared prior to each class. There will be some memorization of excerpts from plays required for home recitation.
Course materials: All available free online.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.
Misc:
The instructor will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

Middle School History Online: Ancient Rome

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling

Middle School History: The Romans; A Day in the Life
(click on title to register)

Class dates: Wednesdays, January 12 to March 23, 2011
Total classes: 10
Starting time: 9:30 am, Eastern Standard Time (8:30 am, Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 7th to 8th
Fee: Regularly $150 for entire 10-week course. $20 Early Enrollment Discount before November 1, 2010.

Course description: This course provides a narrative history of the Romans from their modest beginnings through their rise and, finally, to their fall. The focus will be on providing as multifaceted an understanding of Roman life at all levels of society as is possible; hence, the writings, foods, games, and ideas of the Romans will all find their places in the course. Some Latin memorization may be incorporated into the course, depending on the abilities of the students.

Homework: Readings, activities, maps, timelines, and study questions may be assigned. An independent research project will be required as an end of the semester assignment.

Course materials: All materials available free online.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.

Misc:
The instructor will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

High School Online Course: The Scarlet Letter

Update: This live course has concluded and is available now as a recorded course through our Unlimited Access! Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows. To subscribe or learn more: Catholic Homeschooling


My 16-year-old daughter absolutely loved this book. I myself couldn't help but be deeply moved by Hawthorne's character Hester Prynne and her story of sin & redemption.

As with his previous courses, we can all rest assured that Dr. Russell will bring new understanding and take the story to a new level for us. I am really looking forward to this class!

Literature: The Scarlet Letter (American Classics Series) with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
(click on title to register)

Class dates: Tuesdays , January 11 to March 1, 2011 )No class on February 22, 2011)
Total classes: 7
Starting time: 10:00 am, Eastern Standard Time (9:00 am, Central)
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Professor: Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Fee: This course is regularly $140 for all 7 classes. There is an Early Enrollment Discount of $20 if you register before November 1, 2010.
Suggested grade level: 10th, 11th , 12th or college
Prerequisite: Ability to enjoy reading the works.
High school credit: 1/2 semester credit.

Course description: Two main streams of thought shape the great American novels: one is the fervor of Christianity, the other is the skeptical Deism popularized in the 18th century. In English Romanticism that deism becomes transformed into a confused doctrine of the poet as priest and prophet. Ralph Waldo Emerson transported this doctrine in a form wildly popular for Americans. Although Nathaniel Hawthorne found the idea congenial at first, he became a devastating critic of it in his portrait of Hester Prynne (America’s first anti-heroine). This novel is not a condemnation of Puritan intolerance, but rather of the destructive and bigoted God-playing of Hester and her countless American imitators.

Our readings in Emerson will provide a brief but clear introduction to the ideas behind Deism and Romanticism. Then Hawthorne’s novel will provide a tightly constructed, claustrophobic response that operates like a Greek tragedy illumined mainly by the comic ending of Pearl’s destiny.

Course outline:
Class 1: Emerson and Romanticism: “Nature” and “The American Scholar”
Class 2: Emerson, Pantheism, and Transcendentalism: “The Harvard Divinity School Address”
Class 3: Nathaniel Hawthorne Responds: The Scarlet Letter “The Custom House”
Class 4: Nathaniel Hawthorne" The Scarlet Letter Chapters 1-6
Class 5: Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter Chapters 7-12
Class 6: Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter Chapters 13-18
Class 7: Nathaniel Hawthorne" The Scarlet Letter Chapters 19-24

Course materials: Dr. Russell will be using the Riverside Edition of The Scarlet Letter (isbn 0395051428). It is available used quite inexpensively.

Homework: Dr. Russell will provide quizzes, essay topics, and a midterm and final exam to be graded by the parent.

Instructor's biography:
Dr. Henry Russell is Headmaster of the St. Augustine’s Homeschool Enrichment Program founded with his wife Crystal. The program began in Fall 2005 with 20 students in two living rooms and now tutors more than 70 students. He is also the President of the SS Peter and Paul Educational Foundation, dedicated to founding an orthodox Catholic Liberal Arts college in southeast Michigan.

A graduate of Princeton and South Caroline (M.S.), Dr. Russell completed his graduate work at Louisiana State University. Formerly the Chairman of Ave Maria College’s Department of Literature, he has also been a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Wake Forest University. He is a founding faculty member of the St. Robert Southwell Creative Writing Workshop held in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Dr. Russell’s works include The Catholic Shakespeare Audio Series. He was the Associate Editor of The Formalist from 1990-2004 and his writings have been published in various journals. He was honored to edit Dr. Alice von Hildebrand’s groundbreaking volume, The Privilege of Being a Woman.

Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.

Misc:
Dr. Russell will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

Starting a Homeschool Tutorial

ADDENDUM: The live webinar went wonderfully. You can view the recorded event here: How to Organize a Homeschool Tutorial.

How to Organize a Homeschool Tutorial

(click on title to register)

Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Starting time: 8:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (7:00 pm Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Presenter: Ana Braga-Henebry
Fee: FREE

Webinar description:
When children arrive at the middle school age, the need for social interaction seems to increase. At the same time, the academic subjects that begin to tackle are better done in a group setting many times.

A tutoring center with classes available for homeschool students may fill this need without parents having to resort to enrolling their kids part time in a school setting or community college, which at times may not a viable option.

A tutoring center may be a very good option for classes for homeschooled children in middle and high school ages.

Ana will speak on how her support group's own tutoring center started and how it is simply run. Also, what academic areas are best done in a group setting? She will mention the classes they have held and what classes they are holding this year, plus easy ways to find available space and tutors.

The story of Ana's support group's successful tutoring center is inspirational and helpful to Catholic homeschoolers everywhere.

Presenter's biography:
Ana Braga-Henebry has seven children with her husband, Geoff Henebry, a research scientist and university professor who is found immersed in field work or international conferences in the four corners of the world at any given time. They live in an acreage north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ana has an art degree from the St. Teresa d'Avila College, Brazil, and a Masters in Humanities/Aesthetic Studies from The University of Texas at Dallas. In her thesis Ana discussed the poetry of a prolific Brazilian Benedictine monk, translated a hefty selection of his work, and elaborated on the translation process.

Ana and Geoff were married during graduate school and were blessed with two children before their dual graduation in 1989. The family has lived in Texas, Kansas, Brazil, New Jersey, and Nebraska as they followed Geoff's career in academia. They were blessed with more children in every state, adding to a chaotic and wonderful total of seven children. Today they are experimenting with acreage life, collecting fresh eggs daily, and attempting to care for vegetable gardens in South Dakota, which is a long way from Ana's childhood years in the very big city of Rio de Janeiro.

Ana reviewed children's and parenting materials for Parent Council, LTD. from 1994 until 2002. She has enjoyed reviewing for Love2Learn, the premier Catholic Resources reviews site, since March 2006. Ana writes a monthly feature for Faith & Family Live and has worked on a variety of writing projects. She has also been on the editorial board of Mater & Magistra, the only national Catholic homeschool periodical, writing both feature articles and book reviews, since its inception. She blogs vignettes of family and acreage life with pictures, recipes, and occasional favorite books or opinions on contemporary issues at http://anabragahenebrysjournal.blogspot.com.

How to Create Catholic Plays for Children

We love free webinars! So, we've been busy scheduling several between now and the end of February. I hope you'll be able to join us for a few.

In October, we have Ana Braga-Henbry scheduled. Ana is a regular writer for the Catholic homeschooling magazine mater et magistra as well as a blogger and homeschool mom. She will be sharing loads of practical information on how to pull together a play production. I know in our own homeschool group, student plays have been extremely beneficial to families.

Catholic Homeschool Plays
(click on title to register)

Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Starting time: 8:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (7:00 pm, Central Time)
Duration: 1 hour
Presenter: Ana Braga-Henebry

Description: Have you ever wanted to stage a play with your catholic homeschool kids and found nothing out there to work with? This has happened to me and I am sure with many others. After looking at the library and online for hours on end and finding only insipid, silly plays, I decided it may be easier to write my own than to continue in a seemingly fruitless search.

Now, I would have never contemplated that if it weren't for an inspiring aunt, one of the most important people of my childhood! She staged lovely shows every year for relatives with skits and plays she wrote, and my siblings and cousins and I so looked forward to it. Armed with memories of her writing process and her imaginative creative power, I looked into classical antiquity attending to the kids' request, and came up with my first little play about King Midas. Two more plays of classical themes followed the next two years, when I switched to stories of the Church's saints.

When an opportunity came for me to write a play for our homeschool one-act festival, I did not hesitate. In this webinar I will draw on the memories of those childhood shows and elaborate on the creative process of writing a play, as well as explaining how I can make them available to your home school group.

Presenter's biography:
Ana Braga-Henebry has seven children with her husband, Geoff Henebry, a research scientist and university professor who is found immersed in field work or international conferences in the four corners of the world at any given time. They live in an acreage north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ana has an art degree from the St. Teresa d'Avila College, Brazil, and a Masters in Humanities/Aesthetic Studies from The University of Texas at Dallas. In her thesis Ana discussed the poetry of a prolific Brazilian Benedictine monk, translated a hefty selection of his work, and elaborated on the translation process.

Ana and Geoff were married during graduate school and were blessed with two children before their dual graduation in 1989. The family has lived in Texas, Kansas, Brazil, New Jersey, and Nebraska as they followed Geoff's career in academia. They were blessed with more children in each state, adding to a chaotic and wonderful total of seven children. Today they are experimenting with acreage life, collecting fresh eggs daily, and attempting to care for vegetable gardens in South Dakota, which is a long way from Ana's childhood years in the very big city of Rio de Janeiro.

Ana reviewed children's and parenting materials for Parent Council, LTD. from 1994 until 2002. She has enjoyed reviewing for Love2Learn, the premier Catholic Resources reviews site, since March 2006. Ana writes a monthly feature for Faith & Family Live and has worked on a variety of writing projects. She has also been on the editorial board of mater et magistra, the only national Catholic homeschool periodical, writing both feature articles and book reviews, since its inception. She blogs vignettes of family and acreage life with pictures, recipes, and occasional favorite books or opinions on contemporary issues at http://anabragahenebrysjournal.blogspot.com.