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private school satellite program serving Catholic and
Catholic-friendly home-educating families since 1994
Curricula, Resources, & Support
to help our quest in raising Saints for Heaven!
Here you will find the most comprehensive list of good Catholic and Catholic-friendly curricula, resources, colleges, and much more. I specialize in listing family-owned, religious-created, traditional, and perhaps lesser-known outfits, preferring to give preference to those who, like me, do not have large staff or budget to advertise.
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Consider this your "one-stop-shop" for all things Catholic homeschooling!
How and why do I choose what I list?
​I make every effort to recommend only the best in Catholic and Catholic-friendly curricula and resources. While not an exhaustive list, I feel confident in recommending the resources listed on the following pages since I have either used them myself, researched each, personally know the provider, or received trusted friends' recommendations.
Catholic homeschooling resources have really come into their own over the past several years, with providers specializing in a subject or offering complete curriculum packages. In my view, Catholic curriculum must uphold the basic tenets of Our Church and hold true to the Magisterium. Protestant resources must be Catholic-friendly; and secular resources must be free from the current social ills and anti-Catholic bent.
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Accreditation
I do not believe accreditation is necessary for K-12 curricula nor is it necessarily needed for acceptance to colleges - and at least not necessary for admission to a Newman Guide recommended college. As I review the 32-year history of Mantellum Matris Academy, we have always worked with colleges if there was any question as to the "validity" of a student's transcript. I also look at "accredited" curriculum and question which agency has accredited and what exactly have they accredited. These are questions you should ask of your own curriculum provider - and be detailed in your questioning...Is it their entire curriculum that's accredited? Only their online coursework?
Catholic Home Education
Mantellum Matris Academy subscribes to our common-sensical Catholic standards and principles which have distinguished our education for centuries. As parents who answer Our Lord's call to educate our children, we strive to keep Him and His Greatness at the center of our daily lives. We raise our children according to the teachings of our Church and ensure they are properly formed in our Faith and receive the Sacraments. We are trying to raise new saints for Heaven!
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It stands to reason, therefore, that all we do - the subjects we study, the curriculum we use, the resources we employ, the social interactions we expose our children to, the daily habits we practice - should all keep Our Lord at the forefront.
It should also stand to reason that we take time to educate ourselves on all things of this world, good and bad, so that we can best guide and support our children as they discern their path in life. We must encourage discernment of religious vocations, married life, sound careers, military service, or attendance at good, faithful Catholic and Catholic-friendly colleges. We must raise knowledgeable, responsible citizen voters and participants in our communities.
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​​​We must also never forget to encourage our children (and ourselves!) to experience and fully partake of the many, many blessings and opportunities that Our Lord gives to us!
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We know that as Catholics we should strive to keep daily prayer at the center of our lives. It should be something we put first rather than "trying to remember" to do. Prayer should mark the beginning and ending to each day and should be the center from which we plan our days, decide our curriculum, setup our school area, and guide how we handle the inevitable daily challenges that come our way. Prayer guides us in how we accept all that life brings to us and to our children.
​Catholic parents/home educators are called to educate the full person - body, mind, and soul. Taking on this great and joyful responsibility means that:
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WE are in charge of our children's complete education.
WE set the standards for their education.
WE decide the structure and pace for our learning.
WE decide which curricula and resources work best for our children.
WE raise our own children!
My favorite saying is that "life can get in the way of life". We experience births and illnesses and deaths, special occasions, vacations, celebrations, family crises and more. Learning can happen anywhere - in the car, at the store, in the morning, in the evening, on weekends. If you have weeks or months or a year during which it's impossible for you to meet your goals, that's okay: you will make up the work at a later time.
​Pray to Our Blessed Mother. Pick a patron saint for your own homeschool and start every day by praying to and learning about that saint. Pick a different saint each year or, have each of your children pick their own personal saint for each school year. We need the intercession of all our saints and angels to prop us up, push us through, and keep our eye on our one, true goal: raising our children and caring for our families, to His Glory.
The Discernment Process
Helping our children discern their calling and vocation in life must begin with this basic premise, first and foremost:
We, parents, have been called by Our Lord to raise new saints for Heaven.
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Whether our children ultimately decide they have a call to religious life, pursuing a college education, immediately entering the workforce, marrying and raising a family, or taking some time to continue figuring their path in life, we must be there for them - praying, guiding, exposing them to new things.
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I completely agree with what Patrick Reily, founder and president of The Newman Society and Recommended Guide to Catholic Colleges says: An eighteen-year-old may technically be an adult, but to sum-up what a well-known expert in this area has said, these are "new adults" and shouldn't be expected to navigate the overwhelming barrage of anti-Catholic, anti-Christian sentiment and activity they would likely endure at a secular college.
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​Why wouldn't we want them to continue our children's formation in a good, faithful, Catholic college atmosphere, reading original texts, steeping themselves in all the splendor that our Faith and religious traditions offer, while further discerning their path in life and coming into their own as full-fledged adults?
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As Catholic home educators, discerning college must begin with first educating ourselves as to the best, truly Catholic colleges available, and then educating and guiding our children to prayerfully choose one of those colleges for themselves -- and this begins with The Newman Guide to Recommended Catholic Colleges. Equally as important as seeing which colleges are on the list, is seeing which are not and that should lead you to asking, "why not?"​
Planning Tools
​CHC-High School of Your Dreams
High School Guide and Planning program from Catholic Heritage Curricula. Includes information on courses, testing, and parent support. You work with your student to identify his/her ultimate goals after High School to plan their Course of Study.
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The premier Catholic organization promoting and defending faithful Catholic education in our schools and colleges. Resources include:​
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The Newman Guide to Recommended Catholic Colleges is the only source you need when researching the best, true, faithful Catholic colleges for your student.
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Take RC's Student Interest Survey and download their List of Catholic Scholarships to help you discern your student's best path forward and how to pay for it!
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Classic Learning Test (CLT) exists to reconnect knowledge and virtue by providing meaningful assessments and connections to seekers of truth, goodness, and beauty.
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CLT offers the only standardized tests that are 100% online, emphasize intellectual aptitude and achievement, and are grounded in the liberal arts tradition. Our exams are open to every student, regardless of educational background. The ‘classic’ in Classic Learning Test refers to our use of the greatest and most enduring texts that have informed and shaped society.