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Build Your Teen’s College Skill Set

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Build Your Teen’s College Skill Set
Are you and your high school student(s) planning for college? If so, there are certain skill sets that are particularly important to acquire:

Study Skills: Students need to know how to manage their time and meet deadlines. The brightest student can still flounder if these skills are not learned. The successful college student also needs good note taking and basic study skills so that they can get the most out of their classes and homework. After completing HSC’s Study Skills and Note Taking course, students will put these skills into practice through their high school years and will therefore be better prepared for college.

Communication Skills: Strong communication skills will greatly benefit your student in any college major or career field. HSC offers a course to help students learn and practice good communications. In the Leadership and Communications Skills course, students learn speaking skills, listening skills, conflict management, and more.

Leadership Skills: The most successful students are often the ones who are also leaders. As Catholics, it is important that our students become people who are a positive influence at school and in the world. HSC’s Leadership and  Communications Skills course will encourage them to be people of service, show them how to be a faith-filled leader, and more.

Writing Skills: It’s not enough to learn lessons taught in school, students need to be able to communicate the lessons learned in writing. Strong writing skills are vital for college success. HSC offers a strong writing program (Aquinas Writing Advantage) that will take your student from the basics (grammar, punctuation, vocabulary) to the advanced (rhetoric, research, academic papers). Your student will be ready for college writing after successfully completing these writing courses.

Critical Thinking Skills: Education should not be about cramming facts into children’s heads. It should be about giving them a love for learning and the ability to think. We highly recommend formal logic and philosophy to help your student think critically and therefore succeed in all their school subjects. Logic and Philosophy are not electives — they are vital to a core curriculum. HSC offers a variety of courses that teach your student critical thinking skills, while at the same time raising their hearts to God and finding the beauty of their Catholic faith.

ACT/SAT Test Skills: To help your student get into the college of his choice, and get the best scholarship possible, we offer courses on preparing for the ACT and SAT tests. Your student will learn how to prepare for the test, what to expect, manage time, and more for success. Latin studies should also be considered, for a variety of reasons including the evidence that Latin studies increase ACT and SAT scores.

Most Importantly — How to Evaluate Ideas through a Catholic Lens:
In college your student will encounter many new ideas and assumptions. Some of them will be potentially damaging. We want to give your student the necessary tools to recognize and understand the worldviews they encounter and know how to articulate their own beliefs effectively and convincingly. All of HSC instructors are Catholic and teach their courses through a Catholic lens, thus demonstrating to your student how God is evident in everything. Our theology courses will specifically prepare your student to defend his faith when he goes out into the world, as well as help him build a solid foundation of faith for his life.

All of the mentioned courses are currently available through our Unlimited Access! program. These are recorded classes that can be taken on your schedule and at your pace … and very reasonably priced! To learn more, email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com or visit http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/online-catholic-course-catalog/recorded-courses/

Writing, Philosophy, Logic, Theology, and Study Skills will also be offered as live, interactive courses in the 2013/2014 school year. Courses are open for registration. Please visit http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/online-catholic-course-catalog/ or email for more information.

There is one more skill set I’d like to mention …

How to Use Technology in Education:
In HSC’s online courses students become familiar with the same, or similar, technology they’ll encounter in college. They learn how to be engaged participants in a live, interactive webinar and gain experience using online tools to collaborate with their instructor and fellow students from all across the country and the world. This is a skill set that will help them advance in higher education as well as the business place.

Recommended Homeschool Connections College Skill Set Courses
Note: We offer a wide variety of courses and this recommend scope and sequence can easily be adjusted to fit your student’s needs. Of course, you’ll also want to include history, science, and moth.

9th Grade
How to be an Excellent Student: Note Taking, Test Taking, and How to Get an A (4 weeks)

Elements of Writing: Essential Punctuation and Grammar (6 weeks)
Simplified Writing (8 weeks)
Excellent Paragraph and Essay/Test Writing (6 weeks)

Introduction to Formal Logic (12 weeks)
Latin I (24 weeks)
Catholic Apologetics (12 to 24 weeks)
 
10th Grade
Vocabulary and Writing 1 (14 weeks)
Vocabulary and Writing 2 (14 weeks)
Advance Formal Logic (12 weeks)
Latin II (24 weeks)
Philosophy 101: What Do Philosophers Do and How (8 weeks)
Advanced Catholic Apologetics (12 weeks)
 
11th Grade
Creative (Fiction) Writing (16 to 24 weeks)
Latin III/IV (24 weeks)
ACT/SAT Prep (4 weeks)
Thomistic Philosophy (12 to 24 weeks)
Understanding Our Faith series (8 to 16 weeks)
 
12th Grade
Leadership and Communications (6 weeks)
Advanced Writing and Rhetoric (10 weeks)
Advanced Research Writing  (10 weeks)
Theology of the Body series (24 weeks)
Early Modern Philosophy (12 weeks)
Philosophy of God: Natural Theology (12 weeks)
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Professor Carol teaching for Homeschool Connections

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment


ProfessorCarolWe are very happy to announce, thrilled in fact, that Professor Carol will be teaching music and art appreciation for Homeschool Connections in the fall semester. Yes, THE Professor Carol! We hope you’ll join us in the adventure of art and music through history …

Discovering Western Culture through Music and the Arts
(click on course title to register)

Class dates: Fridays, September 13 to December 13, 2013. No class October 11 and November 29
Total classes: 12 classes plus recorded lectures

Starting time: 2:30 PM Eastern (1:30 PM Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Prerequisite: None. No musical background is necessary.
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th grade
Suggested high school credit: 1 full semester Music/Art Appreciation
Fee: $175 if you register on or before August 1, 2013. $195 after Aug. 1st for all 12 classes
Instructor: Carol Reynolds, Ph.D. (Professor Carol)

Course description: Journey with Professor Carol through Western History, using music as the focal point but weaving in visual art (painting, sculpture), dance, theater, architecture, and literature. The study of music and the Fine Arts supports the understanding of history, geography, and culture. Elements of science, technology, and language are included in the course as well. Sessions will focus on the years between 1600 and World War One, but will present an overview of Medieval/Renaissance Sacred Music.

Course materials: 1. Discovering Music online curriculum by Professor Carol will be made available to students for half of the regular price ($30 for four months subscription). 2. Music selections assigned by the instructor. These can be accessed in one of four ways. Choose the one that best suits your family: a) Free by searching your public library or YouTube; b) Classical Archives ($8 per month); c) Naxos ($20 per year); OR d) purchase 3-CD set from the instructor (HSC discounted price $34.95).

Homework: This is not a course for the faint of heart. We’ll have a lot of fun as we discover music together, but students should expect a good amount of work outside of the classroom in that discovery. Homework will entail: 1. Viewing recorded classes in advance to the live classes. 2. Viewing assigned artwork and listening to music. 3. Interactive quizzes. 4. A midterm and a final exam (fill-in-blank, short essays, long essays, with answers/suggested answers). 5. Unit projects to be determined. Due to the nature of the medium, we encourage students more than ever to share their learning experience and the resources used in this course with the rest of their family.

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Top Ten List Using Unlimited Access for Summer Learning

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

There are a lot of different ways you can use Homeschool Connections’ recorded classes (aka Unlimited Access) to keep learning alive and fun over the summer. Here are ten ideas to get you started.

10. Take school with you.
All you need for recorded classes is a power source, internet, and a computer. You should add ear buds or a headset to the list if you need privacy. We’ve had students take classes from hotel rooms, Grandma’s house, the library, and even the beach. Though we don’t recommend taking your laptop anywhere near sand!

9. Plug the computer into the television.
This is a really fun way to learn together as a family. Pick a subject that everyone is interested in learning. It may be Catholic Apologetics or Civil War or Lord of the Rings or something completely different. Make some popcorn and watch together. You may need an HDMI cable and a newer TV (Mac users will need a converter). Do what I do and have a teen set it up for you.

8. Pick a time that works best for you.
Recorded classes are available 24/7. You could watch classes first thing in the morning, getting them done early so the rest of the day can be spent outdoors. Perhaps, you could would prefer to watch classes during lunch or just before bed in the evening. Pick the time that is going to help you keep up on your work throughout the whole of summer.

7. Audit a course.
Watch a lecture each day and forgo the homework. For example, instead of taking 12 weeks for World History: 12 Inventions that Changed the World, watch the lectures over 12 days. When auditing, pick a subject that is easy for you.

6. Buckle down on tough subjects.
Really need help with algebra? Struggled with science last year? If so, buckle down and get to work. Set aside time each and every day (Sundays off!) and stick to the schedule. Complete all of the homework before moving to the next recorded lecture. If you want extra help, sign up for the optional grading support (Instructor Access).

5. Catch up on subjects for September.
Planning on taking Latin II next year but not quite ready? Perhaps illness or something else kept you from finishing Latin I this year. Whether you simply need a refresher or need to make up for lost time, there are a number of “Bootcamps” available in recording (math, Latin, and more).

4. Ask yourself, “What do I love?”
Perhaps you love to read. If so, choose a literature course on a book you love. Reread The Hobbit as you watch Dr. Russell’sHobbit lectures over a couple of weeks. Or Screwtape Letters, or Space Trilogy, or The Man Who Was Thursday. You can choose from over 20 literature courses.

3. Summer is a great time to hone your writing skills
Writing is a key skill for success in all other school subjects. Focusing on writing skills over summer will help you do better in history, literature, and more when fall arrives. Other courses that help you succeed in core subjects include: Note Taking Skillsand How to Use Microsoft Word.

2. Keep a schedule and stick to it. 
How many times have we all laid out grand plans, only to forget about them as the excitement wore off? Write out a reasonable schedule on a white board or print it and post it. Program your computer or smart phone to remind you each day. Do something tangible to keep you on schedule.

1. Keep it simple.
You don’t need a complicated schedule to be effective. Pick just one or two subjects. For example, maybe you weren’t able to make time for philosophy in the fall and spring, but you know it would help you a lot to learn it and it sounds interesting. Focus just on philosophy courses for summer.

Bonus. Unlimited Access means just that!
You have unlimited access to over 100 courses for your entire family. Yes, it’s true! You can’t beat the price ($30 per month!!!) and you can’t beat the convenience. Middle school, high school, and adult students can easily learn year round with this independent learning program. It can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. It’s YOUR program.

To learn more about our recorded, online, independent learning classes, click here now:
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Summer courses are here!

April 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

summerschoolDo you want 
… to give your child a solid foundation to start the school year?
… to forgo lots of review in September?
… your child to have the skills needed for success?
… your child’s education to be steeped in Catholic teaching?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, Homeschool Connections wants to help you.

Summer classes are a great way to keep learning alive year round, build foundations for learning, give children self-confidence, and save time on review in September. Homeschool Connections’ online classes provide learning with a strong Catholic ethos.

We offer two options for summer classes.

First, we offer recorded, independent learning courses thought our Unlimited Access! service. This service give families unlimited access to over 100 courses that can be taken on your time and at your pace. Everything is provided for you: video lectures, homework, quizzes, support materials, and answer keys. All of this for only $30 per month. Plus, the first 7 days are only $1 so you can try it out without a big commitment. You can keep it as long or as short as you need it. Click here to learn more or sign up: Unlimited Access!

Second, we offer live, interactive courses. Students meet with their teacher in real time online on a scheduled day and time. Students interact live with the instructor and their fellow students. The three live courses offered for Summer 2013 are:

(click on course title to register)

Class dates: Monday through Thursday, July 8 to July 11, 2013
Total classes: 4
Starting time: 4:30 pm Eastern
Duration: 1 hour
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th grade, but all enthusiastic high school students are welcomed.
Fee: $50 for all four classes (course materials included)
Instructor: Mr. Phillip Campbell
Course description: Introduction to the Church’s social teaching on man, economy and the state, studying the benefits and pitfalls of the modern economy through the lens of Catholic Tradition.
Course outline:
Day 1: Catholic teaching on man and our duties to society and our neighbor
Day 2: Synopsis of the teachings in the Catholic Social Enyclicals
Day 3: Belloc and Chesteron
Day 4: Modern efforts at implementing the Church’s social teaching
Course materials: Provided free online by instructor
Homework: Light reading, plus a comprehensive exam at the conclusion of the week.

(click on course title for registration page)

Class dates: August 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13, 2013
Total classes: 6
Starting time: 10:30 AM Eastern (9:30 Central)
Duration: 45 minutes
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 6th to 8th grade
Fee: $75 for all 6 classes.
Instructor: Erin Brown Conroy
Course description: This is an essential writing course for all middle school students to make sure that your student has strong middle school writing foundations in place. Give your middle school student exactly what’s needed for writing well-crafted sentences and paragraphs—including the absolute “must-have” knowledge and practice for the use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phrases, and compound sentence structures, as well as capitalization, end punctuation, and the use of quoted material. Even if your student has learned the composition of a sentence and paragraph before (in elementary materials), the approach for this class is to use middle school vocabulary and structures that are more complex. Help your child finally master the details that are holding him or her back from writing well. Sentence constructions are designed to prepare your student for upper level middle school writing.
Course outline:
Class 1: Nouns, verbs, and capitalization in sentences
Class 2: Adjectives, adverbs, and end punctuation in sentences
Class 3: Prepositions, prepositional phrases, and compound sentence structures
Class 4: Using quotes in dialogue and academic writing
Class 5: Transitions and connectives in sentences
Class 6: Putting it all together: Transitions and linear sentences in paragraph writing
Course materials: Word 2007 or later version. eBook: Simplified Writing Foundations: Sentences and Paragraphs for Middle School Students by EB Conroy. Students may purchase the ebook on Amazon (plus download the Kindle app for free to use on any computer, iPad, iPod, or smart phone).
Homework: Approximately 45 minutes to one hour per day, reading and completing coursework.

(click on course title for registration page)

Class dates: August 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13, 2013
Total classes: 6
Starting time: 11:45 AM Eastern (10:45 Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 11th grade
Fee: $75 for all 6 classes.
Instructor: Erin Brown Conroy
Course description: This is an essential writing course for all high school students, to make sure that your student has critical high school writing foundations in place. Give your high school student exactly what’s needed for writing well-crafted sentences and paragraphs—including the absolute “must-have” knowledge, review, and practice for the use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phrases, and compound sentence structures, as well as transitions and connectives, the use of quoted material, summary, and paraphrase. Even if your student has learned foundational concepts before, the approach in his class is to use high school vocabulary and structures that are more complex and needed for upper-level writing. From mastering the details that are holding your student back from writing well to providing much-needed practice, help your student perfect the essential tools for high school writing.
Course outline:
Class 1: Using strong nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in well-constructed sentences
Class 2: Capitalization, punctuation, and using quotation marks in dialogue and academic writing; prepositions and prepositional phrases
Class 3: Linear writing, transitions, and connectives in sentences and paragraphs
Class 4: Writing with summary and paraphrase
Class 5: Answering essay questions: structure, form, and content I
Class 6: Answering essay questions: structure, form, and content 2
Course materials: Word 2007 or later version. eBook: Simplified Writing Essentials for High School Students by EB Conroy. Students may purchase the ebook on Amazon (plus download the Kindle app for free to use on any computer, iPad, iPod, or smart phone) after June 2013.
Homework: Approximately one hour per day, reading and completing coursework.

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Register NOW for school year 2013-14!

March 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Online Catholic Courses for home schoolers

 

To our Parents and Students,

Please see the following growing list of  the courses we plan to offer next school year.  Now open for registration!

Course catalog now available

Middle School Fall

High School Fall

Middle School Spring 

High School Spring 

 

 

 

 

 

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Help us help your home school group!

February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

If you know of a local home school group that would benefit from our brochures please let us know and we will send them.  Simply email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com and provide your mailing address.  Please place in the subject line “Request for your materials”.

May God bless your home schooling pursuits!

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Our DVD is now available for sale!

November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Catholic Video History DVDIf you’re looking for a DVD that you can watch together as a family – or to use in your homeschool, to give your child a strong foundation of Church history –then The Catholic History Project is what you’ve been looking for.  It’s…

- FUN
- INFORMATIVE
- INSIGHTFUL
- MEMORABLE

Click here to learn more.

 

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The Hobbit Course now available in Unlimited Access!

November 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Accessing Recorded Courses and The Hobbit

As our live courses are completed, they are converted to recorded courses through our Unlimited Access! service. Unlimited Access! gives you 24/7 access to more than 80 courses including The Hobbit: There and Back Again with J. R. R. Tolkien.

It is $1 for the first 7 days. Try it out and make sure it’s the perfect fit for you and your family! After that, it’s $30 per month. Keep as long as you like and cancel anytime.

Click on the Subscribe button in the right margin to have access to this course and many others.

The Small Details

Total classes: 6
Duration: Middle school – 45 minutes each. High school – 1 hour each.
Prerequisite: Ability to read the book with pleasure at about 3 chapters per week.
Suggested high school credit: ½ semester. Follow with the Lord of the Rings series for a full school year of credit in literature.
Instructor: Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Course description: Tolkien’s The Hobbit was written as a children’s story and retains much of the clarity and light-heartedness of its kind. But Bilbo Baggins’ world is slowly made richer and deeper both by the author’s use of the Catholic elements from the great medieval saga of Beowulf and the background world of Tolkien’s deepest Elvish imaginings. By the end of the novel, Tolkien’s life-long themes of 1) a long-fought history that shapes the needs of every modern day; 2) the need for heroism from simple people; 3) the necessity for constant moral vigilance by those who are destined to lead; 4) the conquest of charity over greed; and 5) the sorrow and beauty created by these first four themes, have penetrated to the heart of the reader. The success of this novel convinced Tolkien and his wise and humane publishers, Allen and Unwin, that the modern world was ready to hear more of the complex moral and supernatural world which Tolkien once thought was of interest mostly to scholars of the ancient like himself.
Course outline:
Class 1: An Unexpected Party – A Short Rest
Class 2: Over Hill and Under Hill – Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
Class 3: Queer Lodgings – Flies and Spiders
Class 4: Barrels out of Bond – On the Doorstep
Class 5: Inside Information – Fire and Water
Class 6: The Gathering of the Clouds – The Last Stage
Course materials: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Homework: One to one and one-half hours per week. Weekly quizzes and final exam. Answer keys provided for parental or self grading.
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A student writes, “Thank you so much for all that you do! I can’t tell you how great you guys are!

October 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A student writes, “Thank you so much for all that you do! I can’t tell you how great you guys are! I absolutely love the classes, the teachers, and the format. Everyone has been friendly and fun, and I have even met some great new friends from my classes. Keep up the amazing work!

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Current List of Unlimited Access! Courses + grading support courses

August 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We often hear from folks interested in learning more about our Unlimited Access! service what courses are available as part of the service.

We have pulled together a list of the courses that are part of this service as well as which courses offer optional grading support. Here is
a link to that list–http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012-Unlimited-Access-List-of-Courses.pd
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