Our course catalogue
You can access our course catalogue from our home page. Please let us know if you have any questions about it. Email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com.
You can access our course catalogue at http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/wp-content/themes/church_20/Document/Homeschool_Connections_Catalog_Final.pdf
Link to this page
What is it like to take an online class with Homeschool Connections?
Please visit My Homeschool 101 for a wonderful perspective on the experience our classes provide. Here is a sample of her noted experience…
- It’s Catholic. Genuinely Catholic, not pretending so they can get an agenda across, just lovingly, happily, Catholic.
- The teacher, Alecia Rolling, seems to genuinely enjoy working with the kids. She made the class fun and Dd#1 really appreciated her encouraging feedback.
- The way the kids can interact with each other using the rolling text chat helps them tease, have fun and get to know each other. Within the first few classes, we were tossing around names of kids whom I’d never met, but with whom Dd#1 seemed to have made a connection. (a “homeschool connection”)
- She learned a TON and I DIDN’T have to disrupt anyone else’s school and I DIDN’T have to get everyone out of the house (it can be like herding cats) and I DIDN’T have to drive around town and I DIDN’T have to waste time in the car and I DIDN’T have to pay for gas….so many things about this work for me.
Click here to read more about the experience — http://myhomeschool101.blogspot.com/2010/07/one-of-best-resources-for-catholic.html
And don’t forget that our early registration discount ends August 1st.
Early Fall registration discounts ends soon!
For all of you homeschoolers planning out your Fall and Spring semesters, please note that the early registration discount for Fall 2010 ends August 1st and our Spring 2011 early registration discount ends Nov. 1st.
We look forward to a great year with you and your students!
Announcing SAT/ACT Prep seminars
We are so very excited to announce that Homeschool Connections will be offering SAT/ACT preparatory classes this summer.
We are offering a two-part series. You can take Prep I for an introduction or take both Prep I and Prep II for an in-depth study that will fully prepare you for both the SAT and ACT. The maximum number of students for Prep I is 30 and the maximum for Prep II is 20 so seating is limited and you should register as soon as possible.
Please see below for full descriptions of both courses as well as links to register:
Equipment requirements:
Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.
Misc:
Mr. Rolling 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.
SAT & ACT Prep I: The Test and the Strategies
Class dates: Monday & Thursday—July 19, 22, 26, 29
Total classes: 4
Starting time: 7:00 pm Eastern Time (6:00 pm Central)
Duration: 2 hours
Fee: $80 for entire 2-week course.
Instructor: Kenneth Rolling
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 10th, 11th, and 12th grade
Course description: This course aims to provide the student with a thorough introduction to the format and content of the SAT and ACT as well as to introduce him to the key strategies to use when approaching the various types of problem that he will encounter. The course will be intensive, requiring a significant amount of work outside of class (1–2 hours per day). Class time will involve the systematic presentation of test sections and the strategies necessary for them followed by limited practice problems as time allows. Methods will include everything from solving the problems using traditional means to the various ways of “gaming” the questions, answering using strategies that are more cognizant of the special format of the tests. Homework will include practice problems and vocabulary acquisition. Once completed, the course will provide the student with a thorough knowledge of exactly what is on the test and the various theories to use in approaching the test.
Course outline: (Tentative)
Session 1: Overview, Essay Writing, Science Section
Session 2: Math Section
Session 3: Reading Section
Session 4: Writing Section
Homework: Practice Problems and Vocabulary
Course materials:
ACT: The Real ACT Prep Guide, 2nd edition, 2007
and
SAT: The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition, 2009
Available new and used through many providers, or your library.
SAT & ACT Prep II–Practicum
Class dates: Monday & Thursday—August 2, 5, 9, 12
Total classes: 4
Starting time: 7:00 pm Eastern Time (6:00 pm Central)
Duration: 2 hour
Fee: $90 for entire 2-week course.
Instructor: Kenneth Rolling
Prerequisite: SAT & ACT Prep I
Suggested grade level: 10th, 11th, and 12th
Course description: This course aims to provide the student with extensive practice in the use of strategies introduced in part one. The course will be intensive, requiring a significant amount of work outside of class (1–2 hours per day). Class time will be spent working through problems as a group, especially those that have proven troublesome in the homework prepared for the session. Methods will include everything from solving the problems using traditional means to the various ways of “gaming” the questions, answering using strategies that are more cognizant of the special format of the tests. Homework will include practice problems and vocabulary acquisition. Test sections will be graded by the students; those problems that the students miss will be communicated to the instructor prior to class to aid him in preparing. Two practice essays will be graded by the instructor. Once completed, the course will provide the student with a real, hands-on familiarity with all of the content and strategies involved.
Course outline: (Tentative)
Session 1: Science and Math Sections
Session 2: Math Section
Session 3: Reading Section
Session 4: Writing Section
Homework: Practice Problems and Vocabulary
Course materials:
ACT: The Real ACT Prep Guide, 2nd edition, 2007
and
SAT: The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition, 2009
Available new and used through many providers, or your library.
Instructors biography:
Kenneth Rolling has taught SAT, ACT, and GRE test preparation courses for several tutoring agencies specializing in test prep. He is a graduate student at the Catholic University of America pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy. Mr. Rolling earned an M.A. in Classics, specializing in Greek, from the University of Nebraska in 2008 and a B.A. in philosophy from Benedictine College in 1999. At times working in the university system, tutoring centers, and the homes of families, he has taught courses and tutorials on subjects as diverse as musical performance, Classical mythology, philosophy, literature, and standardized test preparation. Currently, he is the managing editor of the Review of Metaphysics, and he does research on the ideas of education and beauty.
Announcing Aquinas Connections
We are pleased to announce classes for adults! These will be continuing education courses by the best Catholic instructors around. Please stay tuned for more information for this new offering. We will continue to update our site as these courses become available. We will also be sending updates in our newsletter so please sign up for it.
Here is the page with more information. We will eventually have a new site committed to the exciting new offerings!
Listen to Walter Crawford, Founder, in a radio interview
Interview with Walter Crawford, Founder, on Catholic Radio Station
Please listen to this interview with Walter Crawford, Founder of Homeschool Connections, with Tony Labarbara with Guadalupe Radio Network.
The interview begins about 14 minutes into the recording.
NEW! Online, recorded courses now available!
We are very excited to offer homeschool families a low cost yet effective service towards improving your student’s homeschool experience. With a simple click of a button your student or even you as an instructor can have access to all of our previously live courses including the material the instructor provided during the live experinces. The benefits to you are…
- Time saver–Saves you time since these classes are available according to your schedule
- Expertise–Provides your student insights from the experts
- Affordable–This is a perfect solution for families schooling on a budget
Click here to learn more about this exciting and valuable service!
NEW! Class for junior high age: Huckelberry Finn
In his lecture notes concerning his most profound work, “Huckleberry Finn,” Mark Twain notes that “a sound heart is a surer guide than an ill-trained conscience.” One of the most beloved American novels written, this story of a young Odyssean wanderer discovers friendship and loyalty through the the runaway slave, Jim, and discovers a profound lesson in trusting in the worth of a another human being over and against the societal prejudice of the time. Though the work can often be taught as a study on American racism, this course will mostly focus on themes of friendship, loyalty, and the value of the human heart. Students at this age enjoy the masterful plot of this story and will be thoroughly challenged through it’s reading and lectures. Vocabulary and grammar will be reading based and the paper written will cover a particular theme of the work. The first three lectures will cover the work and the final three lectures will concern the writing.
Cost: This course is $70 if you sign up before June 1, 2010; $80 thereafter
Six-Class Schedule
Session One – Introduction to Huckleberry Finn and the American Novel (please have read Ch. 1-5 for the first session)
Session Two – (Ch. 6-20); Vocabulary due
Session Three – (Ch. 21-35)
Session Four – (Ch. 36-End); Character map due; Writing about a theme
Session Five – Lecture; Editing the rough draft
Session Six- Lecture; Final paper
Miss Brock will provide vocabulary, reading quizzes, essay assignment and instructions, and a Final Exam. Answer keys will be provided for parents to grade.
She will use the Penguin Classic of Huckleberry Finn
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143105949/ref=rdr_ext_sb_pi_hist_1
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics; Deluxe edition (October 27, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0143105949
ISBN-13: 978-0143105947
You are free to use any edition you like, but for better ease of reading along with the teacher, the student would be best served if the page numbers correspond with the teacher’s edition.
