Questions We Are Asked
by Dr. Mary Kay Clark
Director, Seton Home Study School
If my son answers questions incorrectly on his daily assignments, should he redo the problems, or should I just discuss the errors and let the grade stand? If he redoes the assignment, what grade should he be given?
How to proceed should be based upon the child, the subject, and the nature of the errors. In general, I would suggest that you should do both things: discuss the errors, let him see what he did wrong, and then have him redo the problems. Give him a new grade based on the new assignment; we want to encourage him to do his best on the second try. You need to keep alert to make sure that he does not make the same errors in upcoming assignments. Otherwise, you may need to review the original lessons on that concept. If you see a pattern developing, where he does not really try the first time because you will explain it and give him a better grade, then you need to grade differently, giving him an average of the first grade and the second grade. Encourage him to pray to his patron saint and to his guardian angel for help in learning and in doing better on his tests.
If my son was supposed to answer in complete sentences and he answered only in phrases, should he redo the assignment in complete sentences or should I accept the short answers?
One of the most important lessons a student needs to learn is to follow directions. If your son seems to have forgotten the directions, you could let it go once or twice. However, if a pattern or a habit develops, whereby he does not follow the directions on a regular basis, then you need to tell him he needs to redo the assignment correctly following the directions. This can become a serious bad habit, and can affect him in college and/or in his future job or career. It could result in failing grades in college and in losing a job later.
Pray with your son to saints who had trouble learning but became great saints, such as St. Joseph of Cupertino and the Curé of Ars.
My daughter is only four years old, but she is picking up things pretty quickly. Should I start her in kindergarten or should I wait a year? Her attention span is short.
It is likely that your daughter is learning only some subjects or some things much better than others. Consider starting her in only one or two subjects and see how it goes. When you decide to enroll her full time in another year or so, you may want to redo the subject to be sure she has learned it well, or you may want to put her ahead in first grade in just that one subject.
My husband is currently unemployed, but we so much believe in Seton’s Catholic home schooling. Have you any scholarships or loan programs?
We have helped families in the past and will certainly continue to try to do so. However, we encourage you to pray about this and ask members of your family to help. Grandparents who have saved money or have investments might help; they may receive a tax deduction for an Education Trust Fund. Sometimes even a good friend in your local home school group may be happy to help. Check with your parish for help, as well as with your parish and state Knights of Columbus. This organization helps needy families pay for tuition at a Catholic school. We have just recently asked a foundation to donate to Seton to help pay for families who have suffered the loss of a job by the main wage earner. Pray that they will donate to Seton.
After doing these things, if you still need help, please contact us.
My daughter is an excellent reader. She was reading some of your saint books at six years old! Should I have her skip a grade level?
In general, we do not think it benefits a student to skip a grade level. There is a certain maturity as well as knowledge which is expected for each grade level. However, a student may move more quickly through a grade level, which is the beauty of home schooling. If a student finishes the work for a grade level by January or February, the parent may want to order the next grade level for the student to keep progressing.
Most students, however, do not proceed at the same rate for all subjects. Your daughter is obviously doing well in reading, and you may want to progress her more quickly in that area. She may not be progressing as quickly in other subjects; we recommend you advance her only in the subjects in which she is excelling.
During my years home schooling, my sons excelled in several subject areas, but instead of advancing them to the next grade level, I gave them enrichment lessons. For instance, in history, science, and reading, we would find books at the library which gave more explanation or expanded what was in the textbook. If the science book gave a passing remark about an inventor, we would look in the library for a biography. Picture books for children often expanded information and made the information more “alive” on places of historic importance. Visiting museums and battlefields, finding educational DVDs, and using Mr. Wizard science projects are just a few other ways of enriching grade-level assignments.
I have decided to home school next year, but since my children have been in a local public school, I am worried about their study skills. Should I start them this summer?
It might be a good idea to start your children this summer so that by September you will have a better picture of just what the problems might be, changes you might want to make, and how you intend to progress. You may need to exchange books by September. Working on improving their study habits early is likely to help them to finish up the school year in a timely manner. You may need to point that out to them!
Some older students may be resentful about starting the school year early, so be careful you don’t start the school year with a student antagonistic about home schooling in general. For older students, it may be better to wait. If a student is not doing well, you likely will be helping him in his schooling next summer, and the student may be a little more willing if he understands he needs more effort to succeed.
We have several children and my oldest will be starting high school. I am worried he does not have the “space,” both physically and mentally, that he needs to do his high school work. What do you think I should do?
The work required for high school students is definitely more demanding than the elementary grade level work. The work required at the high school level, plus the necessity to focus on new concepts, demands that high school students have no or few distractions. If there is no area in your home where your son may study without distractions, consider taking your son to the library, hopefully a near-by college library. Perhaps he could study there in the mornings, and then you can review his lessons and see how he is doing in the afternoons.
A college library is very helpful for home schooled high school students. Not only are the high school students surrounded by serious college students who serve as a sort of inspiration to study, but they have access to extensive resources. Your son would have fewer distractions and have the ability to follow-up or investigate more about what he is studying.
High school students are often allowed, usually at age 16, to enroll in one or two college courses, depending on the student’s academic grades. Many community colleges offer a “dual” enrollment for home schooled students, so the student receives a high school credit as well as a college credit. Seton allows students to take some science, math, and foreign language courses at a local community college on a dual enrollment basis. Please check with a high school admissions counselor for more information.
My mother-in-law knows that I am thinking about home schooling, but she believes it is too much for me to home school the children, which makes me uneasy. If I ask her to help, I am concerned about her criticizing me, yet I hope she would come to see the benefits.
It is impossible to know beforehand how your mother-in-law will react once you get started. You need to pray about this rather seriously. We have known some mothers-in-law who have completely changed their minds about home schooling once they became involved and saw how well the children were doing. However, if she comes over to your house and things seem very haphazard and disorganized, you are likely to have an unsympathetic mother-in-law. Take some time to pray about this, and approach it very, very slowly.
You might consider asking your mother-in-law if you can take one of your children to her house where she can help teach her favorite subject. It could be a two or three days a week project. That would help her to see the progress you are making.
