Homeschooling a gifted 2yo - need a good religion text

dakotamidnight · #1 Jul 14, '08, 7:44 pm

We are using Angelicum Academy to homeschool with some supplementation, but I just got the book they use today "I learn about Jesus" and I'm not very impressed with it. DD wasn't either. She told me it was boring

She will be 2 this fall when we start the nursery level work with Angelicum

Is there anything a little more meaty and orthodox faith-wise geared toward this age level?

leonie · #2 Jul 15, '08, 12:24 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakotamidnight

We are using Angelicum Academy to homeschool with some supplementation, but I just got the book they use today "I learn about Jesus" and I'm not very impressed with it. DD wasn't either. She told me it was boring

She will be 2 this fall when we start the nursery level work with Angelicum

Is there anything a little more meaty and orthodox faith-wise geared toward this age level?

I like Image of God for preschool though 1st grade. In 2nd grade we switch to Faith and Life because I like the format better.

http://www.ignatius.com/Textbooks/Ca...od.aspx?SID=1&

mlchance · #3 Jul 17, '08, 6:16 am

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Joseph-B.../dp/0899422411

-- Mark L. Chance.

mizznicole · #4 Jul 17, '08, 6:57 am

Hi,

I'm going to repost some of what I put on the other thread along this line:

I'm lucky that my MIL is a trained catechist for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This is the religious education program that grew out of Maria Montessori's pedagogy. It has been in use for over 50 years, and has spread world-wide.

I recommend Sophia Cavaletti's book, The Religious Potential of the Child, for any parent who wants to be more involved in their children's education.

You can look here to see if there is an Atrium in your area. We're hoping to get one started in our parish. The Atrium is the name for the classroom environment where the catechism takes place.

The CoGS usually starts at age 3. However, we have seen children as young as 18 months able to complete certain lessons. I plan on doing things in the home in the style of CoGS until DS is old enough to attend.

I recommend getting their intro DVDs. As a homeschooler I think you'll be very jazzed about what you see.

kristacecilia · #5 Jul 17, '08, 9:50 am

I used Angelicum Academy kindergarten program with my gifted 3 year old last year. It was so much sitting work it drove us crazy... especially saxon math. I like the classical curriculum and the good books/great books, but we are switching this year because we found Anglicum to be too labor-intensive for younger ages, even though DS could understand all the material and the lessons.

We are switching to CHC in the fall (www.chcweb.com). I am in LOVE with them. Their material is fully Catholic with a very gentle approach. I am actually having to keep my son back in kindergarten again because we were fighting so much about doing the work that we missed a lot of the lessons. It was a very frustrating year. I wish I had found CHC last year! It really seems to cut out all the "fluff", get right to the meat of the lesson, weave the Faith through everything, and it seems like it will blend in more with our daily life than Anglicum did. With AA it was like "now it's time to sit at the table and do lessons and workbooks for 3 hours". CHC's lessons are short and to the point, and at the younger ages things like science, religion, reading, etc are family activities so it is fun and easy to do.

Anyway, on to your question...

CHC's preschool and kindergarten religion program is Who Am I? IT is excellent! It has a teacher's manual and 3 student workbooks (Pre-K books A & B, Kindergarten book) I will be using pre-k book A for my 2 1/2 year old in the fall. It really emphasizes things on their level: the trinty, creation, how our actions affect other people, the Eucharist, Bible stories, and pracitcal things like what the Our Father means and how to make te sign of the cross.

CHC pairs this up with a great reference book called "A Year with God" which is FULL of patterns, ideas, recipes, etc for the entire liturgical year for all ages. When you purchase it you get a family copyright on it so you can make copies and use forever.

Feedmysheep · #6 Jul 21, '08, 7:44 pm

I second the CHC curriculum. We used "Who Am I?" and although I hated it (waaaaaaaay too much prep needed for the amount of children I have), my daughter LOVED it. I had a 4 year old who could intelligently discuss the concept of the Trinity with her grandmother. Plus crafts!

For older (1st grade and up) we use Faith and Life books, but not the activity books, as I find them mind-numbing.

Check into getting some of those blank lapbooks from Emmanuel Books. Then, find a good Catholic children's bible, read one story at a time, and have your child color a picture about the story, then dictate to you what the story was about- you write down the retelling word for word in the book. You're covering Scripture, listening skills, fine motor skills, art, story comprehension and recall. AND you get a super cute book at the end of it all to put on your bookshelves!

leonie · #7 Jul 23, '08, 6:55 am

[quote=Feedmysheep;3955923]. We used "Who Am I?" and although I hated it (waaaaaaaay too much prep needed for the amount of children I have), my daughter LOVED it. QUOTE]

I've never actually bought the teacher's edition. Boy, am I cheap! We just do the workbook page and talk about it. Maybe I should get a teacher's edition........

Feedmysheep · #8 Jul 23, '08, 9:35 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by leonie

I've never actually bought the teacher's edition. Boy, am I cheap! We just do the workbook page and talk about it. Maybe I should get a teacher's edition........

The teacher's edition is full of scripture readings, story ideas, and ways to extend the lesson. Out of the two books (student vs. teacher) I found the teacher's manual to be more useful! Check out Cathswap for a teacher's edition (or whatever Cathswap changed its name to.....)