Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
Summary
Seton’s entire curriculum is infused with the Catholic Faith but Mary Ellen Barrett says it is most effectively and solidly presented in its religion books.At each stage of their education, your children receive a solid foundation in the pillars of the Catholic faith.
The catechism forms them and Holy Scripture and the Seton lesson plans give parents more information, suggestions, and activities to share with the children, and as always, counselors are available to answer questions and provide other support you may need.
Primary Grades
In the primary grades (kindergarten through third) Seton religion focuses on teaching the child the very basics of the faith. Acquainting them with the life of Our Lord and exposing them to the Ten Commandments, The Seven Sacraments, the story of creation, and preparing them for First Holy Communion.
The Seton religion books present the material in a story-telling way which is very appealing to children and helpful to mothers who may have read it several times with several children.
When coupled with the supplemental materials St. Joseph’s Catechism, various saint stories, Holy Trader Cards, and the Heroes of Grace program, a parent can delve more deeply into the truths of our faith at an appropriate age level.
These resources will continue to bless your family, even as the children grow older. In the younger grades, the Religion program familiarizes them with the tenets of the faith while inspiring a love for Holy Mother Church.
Elementary Grades
In the elementary grades (fourth through sixth), Seton’s religion program brings greater depth to the subject matter previously covered.
The questions at the end of each chapter require more critical thinking and challenge children to not only memorize the facts but see them as a way of following Our Lord and living God’s will for their lives. Also included in the curriculum are Bible history books that take the children step by step through salvation history.
Quarterly tests help parents know how well the children are learning the material.
Middle School Grades
Young people in the middle school years (seventh and eighth grades) are helped in preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation by rounding out their knowledge of the catechism and taking on the full 2000-year history of our church.
In seventh grade the workbook, Confirmation Preparation for Young Catholics, is provided, written according to the the Roman Catechism, and the Baltimore Catechism which provides chapter review questions and the prayers that should be memorized to prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation.
Witness to the Faith, Seton’s eighth-grade text, is a comprehensive but highly readable book detailing the beginning with the struggles of the Hebrews and ending in the modern era. From this text, the young men and women will learn that God provides wondrously to the faithful.
High School
Seton’s high school religion program makes sure your students not only fully know their faith, but also can defend it. We are well aware that children graduating and going forth in the world to colleges and jobs will necessarily be called upon to explain or defend their beliefs.
Over the course of the four years’, students will commit to memory the Baltimore Catechism #3. They will delve deeply into the sacraments, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Bible (both doctrinally and spiritually).
Supplemental information in the lesson plans covers, apologetics, the Incarnation, Suffering Servant, types of Christ and the Catholic philosophy about war, marriage, and family, pro-life issues, and social justice.
At the end of four years of Seton’s high school religion program, your graduate will be well versed in all aspects of Catholic teaching and can defend his or her faith should it become necessary.
In creating the religion program, Seton’s authors and counselors paid particular attention to developing the child and, in doing so, sought to foster a great love of not only our faith, but also the accompanying traditions and devotions that are part of our heritage as Catholics.
We encourage all Seton families to enjoy the religious studies and pay particular attention to the supplemental material available in the lesson plans.
The Seton counselors very much enjoy receiving emails containing pictures of All Saints’ Day parties, First Holy Communicants, Confirmandi and, Advent and Lenten observances, Christmas and Easter celebrations and, of course, all manner of devotion to Our Blessed Mother.
Older students will leave their homeschool experience armed with a solid pro-life, theologically sound, magisterium-based education we believe will properly prepare them for life in this world and that which is to come.
