Online History Course for Catholic Homeschoolers

Ancient and Classical Times, semester 2

Description: Beginning where semester one left things, this course covers the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean and the story of Rome up to the Incarnation. The course will include readings, lectures, study questions, essays, field assignments, quizzes, and tests. Readings will be drawn from various sources. Lectures will cover both specific themes and the overarching narrative of history.

(This is a Cultural History and Dialectical Enrichment course.)

Instructor: Kenneth Rolling, M.A.

Age Range: 7th-9th grades

Live Class Time: 12:00 pm ET Wednesdays

Course Information Packet: Ancient and Classical Times, Semester Two

Pre-requisite: None.

Online Logic Course for Catholic Homeschoolers

Logic, semester 2

Description: Continuing with the Traditional Logic texts by Martin Cothran, this class will cover book II. Great emphasis will be placed on games, drill, and discussion during class times, which helps fix the concepts in the students' memories and habituate them to their use. The content covered begins with simple apprehension of things and moves through the study of simple syllogisms to complex syllogisms and then to the application of this new knowledge to various case studies. The texts will be supplemented with materials provided by the instructor. The class includes weekly assignments from the text, quizzes, tests, argument analysis, and other activities.

(This is a Language Mastery course.)

Instructor: Kenneth Rolling, M.A.

Age Range: 7th-12th grades

Live Class Time: 1:30 pm ET Wednesdays

Course Information Packet: Traditional Logic, Semester Two

Pre-requisite: Traditional Logic, Book 1 or the equivalent.

Online Second and Third Year Latin Class for Catholic Homeschoolers Spring 2012

Second Year Latin, semester 2

Description: Using Benjamin D'ooge's "Latin for Beginners" as our grammar textbook, we continue learning how to compose, translate, and speak Latin. Composition assignments are created by the instructor to add an element of fun to the learning experience. Students write about a variety of topics that are dear to them, such as family and friends. The instructor carefully chooses primary texts from ancient authors, medieval saints, and Church documents for translation exercises. The spoken element comes in the form of memorized Church prayers for recitation. Students continue learning more prayers of the Catholic Church and several hymns. In addition the these prayers and hymns, students also memorize some Latin poems and prose sections which are all chose carefully to aid in the comprehension of Latin grammar. There are homework assignments, quizzes, memorization activities, a long composition, and two exams for this course each semester.

Instructor: Alecia Rolling, M.A.

Age Range: 7th-12th grade

Live Class Time: 9:00 am ET Wednesdays

Course Information Packet: Second Year Latin, semester 2

Pre-requisite(s): Second Year Latin, semester 1 or equivalent. Contact us for placement.

N.B. Second and Third Year Latin students are in the same class this semester. Third Year Latin students have different assignments and will be graded with higher expectations.

SEMESTER 1 WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE AS AN INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSE.

Online First Year Latin Course for Catholic Homeschoolers: Spring 2012

First Year Latin, semester 2

Description: Using Benjamin D'ooge's Latin for Beginners as our grammar textbook, we will begin learning how to compose, translate, and speak Latin. Composition assignments are created by the instructor to add an element of fun to the learning experience. Students write about a variety of topics that are dear to them, such as family and friends. The instructor carefully chooses primary texts from ancient authors, medieval saints, and Church documents for translation exercises. The spoken element comes in the form of memorized Church prayers. Students learn the basic Latin prayers of the Catholic Church that Pope Benedict XVI has said every Catholic should know in Latin. In addition to these prayers, students also memorize some Latin poems and prose sections, all carefully chosen to aid in the comprehension of Latin grammar. There are homework assignments, quizzes, memorization activities, a long composition, and two exams for this course each semester.

Instructor: Alecia Rolling, M.A.

Age Range: 7th-12th grade

Live Class Time: 9:00 am ET Thursdays

Course Information Packet: First Year Latin, semester 2

Pre-requisite(s): First Year Latin, semester 1 or equivalent. Contact us for placement.

SEMESTER 1 WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE AS AN INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSE.

Saint Nicholas Discount on online classes at Rolling Acres School

The Rolling Acres School is running a sale between now and December 6 on spring 2012 online classes! $160 per class if you enroll before December 6!

Here are the classes being offered:

First Year Latin

Second/Third Year Latin

First Year German

Second Year German

Ancient and Classical Times
Logic

Introduction to Philosophy

A Greek Primer

Find out more here!

Sample Online History Lecture for Catholic Homeschoolers

At Rolling Acres School, they are continuing to add sample materials for online courses! These sample materials translate to some FREE materials for those looking for ideas and tips. Here is yet another FREE sample lecture, this time a history lecture!

CLICK HERE.

The course enrollment deadline at R.A.S. is August 31, 2011, and courses begin on September 5, 2011.

From what we can tell, no other online course provider is supplying so many peeks into their courses for the year.

Sample Online Logic Lecture for Catholic Homeschoolers

At Rolling Acres School, they are continuing to add sample materials for online courses! These sample materials translate to some FREE materials for those looking for ideas and tips. Here is a sample logic lecture!

CLICK HERE.

The course enrollment deadline at R.A.S. is August 31, 2011 and courses begin on September 5, 2011.

From what we can tell, no other online course provider is supplying so many peeks into their courses for the year.

Online Rhetoric Course for Catholic Homeschoolers

Rhetoric, semester 1 $180/semester

Enrollment Deadline: August 31, 2011.

Description: Using the popular Classical Rhetoric with Aristotle text by Martin Cothrin, as well as Aristotle’s Rhetoric itself (available here) this class covers the basic concepts of Aristotelian rhetoric. The class will go beyond Cothrin’s text to explore more of the Rhetoric and will also spend some time looking at competitive debate as it is practiced by the National Catholic Forensics League. Our focus will be on speech rather than writing. More than just a course on speaking technique, this class is a study of what a person is and why he does things. Great emphasis will be placed on drill, exercises, and discussion during class times, which helps fix the concepts in the students’ memories and habituate them to their use.

(This is a Language Mastery course. For an explanation of the course concept, click here.)

Instructor: Kenneth Rolling

Age Range: 10^th–12^th grade

Live Class Time: Thursdays 5:00 pm ET

Course Information Packet: Rhetoric (updated 08/17/2011)

NEW! Pre-requisites: The capacity to follow an argument and age-appropriate writing abilities; familiarity with basic logic is definitely a plus, but is NOT required.

Academic Calendar 2011-2012

@ The Rolling Acres School

Online History Courses for Catholic Homeschoolers

Ancient and Classical Times, semester 1 (Dialectical Cycle), $180/semester

Description: Drawing first on the Old Testament, and then moving into the Homeric and finally Classical literature of Greece this class progresses from creation up to Persian War. The course will include readings, lectures, study questions, essays, field assignments, quizzes, and tests. Readings will be drawn from various sources. Lectures will cover both specific themes and the overarching narrative of history.

(This is a Cultural History and Dialectical Enrichment course. For an explanation of the course concept, click here.)

Instructor: Kenneth Rolling

Age Range: 7^th–9th grade

Live Class Time: Wednesdays 12:30 pm ET

Course Information Packet: Ancient and Classical Times (Dialectical)

Pre-requisites: none

The Rolling Acres School is also offering Ancient and Classical Times (Rhetorical Stage-grades 10-12).

Online Philosophy Class for Catholic Homeschoolers

The Wonders of Nature: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (Fall semester only) $180/semester

“Wisdom begins with Wonder” it has been said. Rather than merely focusing on the writings of the western philosophical tradition, this course begins with the more common and more accessible things that make us wonder. Focus is placed upon these things through guided adventures, or “field assignments” as we call them. Field assignments include everything from stargazing to watching classic films, from making cookies to saying prayers. These experiences, when approached critically, give rise to moments of perplexity, lines of questioning, and revelations of beauty and mystery. In these moments we find the goal of the assignments—to help the students form the firm footing of wisdom through close and critical contact with the true, good, and beautiful things of the world and behind them the source of all truth, goodness, and beauty. Assigned readings drawn from literary and philosophical sources find their proper place at this point, providing insight, direction, and the genius of great minds who share the students’ experiences and perplexities. The students come together having each experienced the adventure and read the texts to discuss these, providing the dialectical element necessary for any truly human understanding of things.

This one semester course focuses upon the experiences to be gained in the world of ‘natures’ (not ‘nature’ in the modern sense). Students are asked to observe various phenomena closely, to re-enact some famous experiments in natural philosophy, and to interact with various types of things in various types of ways. Discussions will likely cover topics like the wisdom of nature and the limitations of that wisdom; the order of nature; what math is and its relation to nature; how to tell a cow from a horse; the idea of a creative God; what is life; what is silly and worthwhile about environmentalism; why we eat animals; the ontological value of mud; and many others. Students will be tasked with various writing assignments, including: close descriptions of physical phenomenon, summarizations of texts, analysis of arguments, persuasive essays for and against arguments in our readings, and reflections on the significance of experiences. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, students will be called upon to participate in discussions, asserting positions and working out reasons for and against them in courtesy and good humor.

In summary, this course can be taken as an introduction to philosophy or a survey of the earliest Greek philosophers that begins where these first philosophers began, with the ‘problem of the world’ and all of the things we find in it. It operates on the assumption that speculation must flow from the things that we are given to know through our senses. It attempts to move students toward wisdom, by helping them see what things are and why they are that way. This is Aristotle’s approach, and it is a good one. The authors covered will include the natural or pre-Socratic philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, and some other more recent selections. The skills the course will teach are to read, to write, and to speak carefully and well.

• (This is a Philosophical Adventures course. For an explanation of the course concept, click here.)

  Instructor: Kenneth Rolling

  Age Range: open to 10^th–12^th grades

  Live Class Time: Wednesdays 5:00 pm ET

  Course Information Packet: The Wonders of Nature
  

  Pre-requisites: none

Online Logic Course for Catholic Homeschoolers

Logic, semester 1 $170/semester!

Description: Using the popular Traditional Logic texts by Martin Cothran, this class covers the basic concepts of formal logic. In the course of the year both books I and II will be covered. Great emphasis will be placed on games, drill, and discussion during class times, which helps fix the concepts in the students’ memories and habituate them to their use. The content covered begins with simple apprehension of things and moves through the study of simple syllogisms to complex syllogisms and then to the application of this new knowledge to various case studies. The texts will be supplemented with materials provided by the instructor. The class includes weekly assignments from the text, quizzes, tests, argument analysis, and other activities.

(This is a Language Mastery course. For an explanation of the course concept, click here.)

Instructor: Kenneth Rolling

Age Range: 7^th–12^th grade

Live Class Time: Wednesdays 3:30 pm ET

Course Information Packet: Logic, semester 1 (updated 08/16/2011)

Pre-requisites: none

The Rolling Acres School

2011-2012 Online Courses for Catholic Homeschoolers

We personally know of many Catholic homeschooling families who are interested in online courses as a way to take advantage of tutors outside the home without having to leave the home. As a way to help these families, we have compiled a list of the online, Catholic schools who offer LIVE classes via the internet, i.e. classes that use LIVE video-audio-text conferences or some combination thereof. It turns out the list is quite short!

*Please let us know if we have missed a program or school, and we will update the post right away.

• Angelicum Academy - A Great Books program. Full curriculum for Grades N-12.
• Catholic Schools K-12 Virtual - An online school working with its local parish to help local parishioners with home education. Full curriculum for Grades K-12.
• Classical Liberal Arts Academy - Small, online school that offers a curriculum for grades K-12. Classical approach.
• Homeschool Connections - A service that works to connect homeschoolers with the experts. Offers a recorded lecture archive through subscription and Live courses.
• Regina Coeli Academy - An online school that offers a complete curriculum for grades K-12. Large faculty and variety of courses.
• The Rolling Acres School - An online, one-room schoolhouse run by a husband and wife. Offers enrichment courses for history, literature, and philosophy as well as foreign language courses.

Mother of Divine Grace offers an online component to their program, but you do have to be enrolled in their curriculum.
It would be great to hear what others think of these schools in the comments below!

Online Philosophy Courses 2011-2012 for Catholic Homeschoolers

In an increasing effort to fulfill this blog's mission, we are writing this post to provide links to online schools and services which are providing online classes this coming year in philosophy. We have limited the list to clearly-Catholic organizations for purposes of promoting Catholic homeschooling and those who work to provide great services to Catholic homeschoolers. We hope that you are able to find a place for philosophy in your homeschool this year.


Nota Bene: It seems that each school is offering different topics and different times, so the possibilities are great!!


Homeschool Connections:
An Introduction to Modern Philosophy; Thursdays at 4pm ET, (Grades 11-12)

• September 8 - December


• $190/ semester


• 12 classes/semester


• Technology: Live audio-text-video conference


• Homework: Homework graded by the instructor, Dr. Jean, Rioux, Ph.D.


• Textbook: N/A


• Instructor's Availability Outside Class: Emal.

Regina Coeli Academy:
Philosophy I: Logic, Dr. and Mrs. Romero, Mondays 4:30-6pm ET (Grade 9)
Philosophy II: Nature (Included in Biology Course-Grades 9-12)
Philosophy III: Ethics and Epistemology, Dr. Romero, Tuesdays 4pm-5:30 pm ET (Grades 9-12)

• August 29-June 1


• $499/year


• Classes meet once per week


• Technology: Live Audio-Text Conference


• Homework: Graded by Instructors


• Textbook(s): Logic: Martin Cothran's Traditional Logic, Books I-II and Material Logic; Ethics and Epistemology: Electronic texts provided by instructor.


• Instructor's Availability Outside Class: Email and Private Conferencing

The Rolling Acres School
Logic: Wednesdays 3:30 pm ET (Grades 7-12)
Rhetoric: Thursdays 5pm ET (Grades 10-12)
Philosophical Adventures I: The Wonders of Nature: Wednesdays at 5 pm ET (Grades 10-12)

• September 5-May 11


• $330/year or $180/semester


• Weekly recorded lectures and Live classes


• Homework: Graded by the instructor, Kenneth Rolling, M.A.


• Textbook(s): Logic-Martin Cothran's Traditional Logic, Books I-II; Rhetoric-Martin Cothran's Classical Rhetoric with Aristotle; Wonders of Nature-electronic texts provided by instructor


• Instructor's Availability Outside Class: Email, Skype conference, and group study conference

Other Schools offering philosophy: We were unsure from their websites whether one could sign up for one course or if one had to sign up for the entire curriculum. Times were not provided. If you know more and wish to share this information, please comment below.

• Classical Liberal Arts Academy

As always, please let us know if there are corrections to be made on any of the above information or if there is a school we missed.

The Rolling Acres School

Mr. and Mrs. Rolling will be teaching at this school beginning in the summer of 2011! This is an up and coming online school that offers homeschoolers classes that focus on the liberal arts within a Catholic perspective. The website is still under construction, but you can put in your suggestions and requests for courses next year! Mrs. Rolling's classes are already posted, and Mr. Rolling's will be posted soon.

The Rolling Acres School -- the one-room school house for Catholic homeschooling families.

Online Latin Courses

Hear ye! Hear ye! Mrs. Alecia Rolling is offering online Latin courses for middle school and high school students via Homeschool Connections. Latin I-III will take a composition- and translation-heavy approach, exposing students to original Latin texts ranging from ancient to modern (including medieval Latin and Church documents). The courses are designed to be challenging at all levels, so for every student there will be different hurtles to jump. They are, however, assailable! Expect much pain the first week or two, but soon translating callouses will form and all will be well.

Oh, yes, and we must remember to prepare for the spring National Latin Exam!