The format of the live classes is just top-notch--I mean, really amazing. They're intense in the most gentle way possible, if that makes sense. There's this really engaging discussion that happens for the girls, and it's not chaotic or overwhelming. It's got this formula they can count on, something they know what to expect from every time. So, it's gentle in that way--like, they're not thrown into something confusing or stressful. They know what's expected of them, and those expectations are so clear, which is fantastic. Sometimes my daughter gets frustrated because maybe she hasn't read something as thoroughly as she wanted to, or she didn't totally get it at first. But then the class discussion comes in and helps her work through it. It leads her to this deeper understanding that I can see growing in her, and that's exactly the kind of learning I want for my kids. It's not just surface-level stuff, it's real, meaningful learning. What I love most is how these classes teach her skills I think are so important. If she can sit in a room--virtual or not--and listen carefully, ask good questions, and think on the spot, then I feel like she can do anything. Those are the kinds of things that will help her in school, in life, in whatever she ends up doing. And honestly, I don't always have the time to work through that with her, and I'm not always sure where to start. That's why I keep signing her up for these live classes. It's such a relief to see how much she's growing, and I just don't want her to miss out on that.

Whether it is an appointment for curriculum planning, or asking Bethany the same question with a new twist, STAA always delivers with a smile and tone of great encouragement! For someone like me, that goes a long way. I’m truly grateful that God placed STAA in my life, and ultimately in our HOME. I am eternally blessed to have been enrolled as our children began with you in 2006 and now continues as our youngest is navigating High School years. Rich content, beautiful applications, and so much more for educating the Whole Person. Jesus, Truth Himself, is the Teacher in all areas of STAA curriculum. Praise God for this Homeschooling treasury. Thank you Bethany, and Debbie, for all the patience you pour upon me.

Basis for Rating: This course gets five stars because it teaches well how to write.Before encountering U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons by Lori Verstegen, published by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, second edition 2019, my writing was not notably engaging. Every sentence started with the subject, which makes it boring for the reader, so the sentence openers helped particularly. Effectively this composition course teaches how to write extraordinarily well. At first the dress-ups seemed completely unnecessary, but when comparing before and after they were included into a paragraph the end result was strikingly drastic. Since there is so much practice with dress-ups and sentence openers it becomes second nature to include them in all your writing. This journey into quality writing is worth the work. The stylistic techniques I have learned from this course will be used throughout my life.

Basis for Rating: I chose 5 stars because I learned a lot more about the world wars than I had ever known and that was really interesting for meThe most important lesson was the lesson where we talked about the Great Depression and the impact it had on the world.

Basis for Rating: I thoroughly enjoyed this course and learned much from it.One important lesson I have learned in taking Greek Literature 2 is the value of studying the actual text and verse in the plays and books being studied. Although time-consuming, it is vitally important to contemplate our own understanding of the text. One challenging time in particular was picking apart a quote from the third act of Oresteia, Eumenides, when Athena accepted the role to judge the case of Clytemnestra’s murder, and the Chorus prophesied the outcome: "Catastrophe now is comingfrom new ordinances, if a justicewhich is harm to justice shall prevailfor this man here, the matricide." (Aeschylus 3. 490-93)While trying to explain it to my teacher, I felt the great thrill of appreciation and passion for the excellent authors who detailed every aspect and word of their stories, creating something deep and quite frankly beautiful. I had many other moments like this and cannot express my gratitude for the experience of studying texts of such ancient history.

Basis for Rating: I thoroughly enjoyed this course, and learned very much from taking it.One lifelong lesson I learned from taking the course of Moral Apologetics is the importance of having an understanding of the bounds of the Catholic Faith. Catholic Morality by Fr. Laux especially talks about specific laws by which we are to live; well laid out and very clear. In these rules we, as children of God, can find the freedom and peace he desires for us, which I have certainly received through my reading. As Fr. Laux says “Law is the expression of God's will. It is the external norm or rule of our actions. It is knowing and applying law to our individual actions that we can attain our final end” (Laux 17).

Basis for Rating: I enjoyed learning how to defend my faith and just learning more about it in general.One important lesson that will probably have a lasting impact on my life isn't really one specific lesson but a whole book that we read. That book was A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court. I loved how in this book it showed that anyone, even people that are close to my age, can effectively defend their Catholic faith. I also loved how this book describes how one can defend their faith against other Christian denominations. When Michael attends the Bible studies at his uncle's church, he respectfully and intelligently defends his faith but also tries to hear and understand the other Protestant views, and I think this is a really important thing to note and a great way to go about defending your faith.

Basis for Rating: I liked the books we read and I felt that I really learned a lot and retained a great amount of information about our country's history from this class.One important lesson from this semester that I believe will have a lasting impact on my life would have to be the Hiroshima story. The way John Hersey described the events with such vivid imagery and how he shared the stories of the survivors after the bombing made me really think about the events of that day. I also never really read about the story before in depth so it was interesting to be able to understand that history better.

Basis for Rating: I thought that I learned so much from taking this course and that Miss Bethany really helped me understand everything much better and helped me improve on my writing skills.One important lesson that I think will have a lasting impact on my life would have to be the lessons on TRIAC paragraphs in the U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons Student Book. I had never learned about these kinds of paragraphs before and think they will definitely enhance my writing a lot. In lesson 30, it explains how these paragraphs help us write a great character analysis, and a well-structured one at that. It helps the writer focus on one character from a story and really hone in on how to structure the analysis on that character.

Basis for Rating: This book was so interesting, and I almost never got bored from reading it!In Christ the King, Lord of History in chapter 17, the section about Martin Luther had the most impact in my life. Before I even knew what Protestants believed, I asked myself why our faith is not as easy as that of Protestants. After reading that section, I found flaws in their faith, and I realized that Protestants don't show their faith with actions! They even took out or changed parts of the Bible! Ever since I started learning about Protestantism more, I grew a lot deeper in my faith. Knowing drift your own faith like the back of your hand is very helpful in increasing your faith. Also knowing what other religions believe, and their flaws, can help you stay with the things you believe in! Out of the whole book my favorite chapter was chapter 17 (Carroll 215-229). When you are reading Christ the King, Lord of History, keep in mind that something in there could help you grow deeper in your faith! Have a blessed day!

Basis for Rating: Each play was epic, and very entertaining to read!When I read a few plays by William Shakespeare, it had a lovely impact on my life. Especially Hamlet, because I couldn't stop talking about the tragic ending to all my friends. The plays, which I have read, were Macbeth, Hamlet, and The Taming of the Shrew. These stories helped me understand old English in an enjoyable way! I had lots of interesting learning moments, while working through the quiz for Shakespeare! I learned how to cite quickly, and take great notes. What else I learned was that if you enjoy reading the plays you will do a lot better in the class itself. I hope you enjoy reading the plays assigned for you, and have a blessed day!

Basis for Rating: I learned a lotI learned from reading Christ the King, Lord of History that people turn away from God because of their riches. A man, who was known as King Solomon, started out very good and holy. He built a temple for God with precious metals and jewels. Even some of the nails were gold. He put two huge statues of cherubim, whose wings stretched from wall to wall, to “guard” the holy place. It was believed that God dwelt there in a special way. The people thought of it as the age of “Solomon in all his glory.” (Carroll 35) But soon, Solomon got too attached to wealth and personal prestige. He became a dictator, levying crushing taxes and enslaving thousands of men and women.

Basis for Rating: I completed it with an A and that is good enough for me.An important lesson to learn from The Taming of the Shrew is how women should be more feminine than they are right now. The book starts with a girl who is hard to tame. Meaning she is not very feminine and girly. Toward the end, she marries a man who does not do anything she likes. By the end, she learns that she must obey her husband since he does so much for her.

Basis for Rating: Amazing course! I loved all the reading and the discussions were extremely formative. I definitely wish that we had more time, and/or were able to discuss more of Rice's work, 50 Questions on the Natural Law; I enjoyed his work immenselyGovernment and Natural Law truly felt like a culmination of everything I have learned in high school. The assignments required all my tools in writing and all my skills in comprehension. The difficulty of the course was matched with intriguing readings in which I delighted. Throughout the course we read Declaration Statesmanship by Richard Ferrier and Andrew Seeley, which taught me about civic duties, and how, from the beginning of our Nation, the Founding Fathers intended for every citizen to be a statesman, that is, a member of the political body. We are called to echo the founders' ideals of peace and unity for the U.S., an aspect which Ferrier and Seeley outline in their book, "Statesmen act in the real world, and their deeds are conditioned by what is actually possible. The founders faced the momentous task of establishing the first human government devoted to the propositions of natural right...They became the generals, congressmen, secretaries, and officers of that...government" (210).

Basis for Rating: Use of Catholic resourcesNever procrastinate. All the starred assignments should be ahead of all other lesser assignments. Thoroughly go through the Memorize the Faith book, for there is a lot of good material there, and a lot of questions waiting for you upon it.