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.
We are new to STAA, and we love it already! We were impressed by the initial evaluation process; it was as if our adviser knew our kids, just by evaluating their work. She was able to help us find the material that was a right fit for our kids. We had the flexibility to choose what works for our family, and each individual child, and not be limited by a boxed curriculum. We are excited to learn History, Science, and Religion together with each child doing work at their own level. Our kids are looking forward to it so much, they have already read through most of their literature, just for fun. We do feel finding this program has been a blessing for our family. Our advisor is wonderful; it's nice to know she is available if we need her.
This is our first year homeschooling. STAA and [our advisor] have made this a very easy transition. We have had a great year!
We have all enjoyed the way STAA ties the courses together for the whole family.
We started homeschooling when our oldest was in Kindergarten. We started with a very traditional homeschooling curriculum with all the lesson plans and texts sent to us. My oldest son and I struggled through the first two years of his schooling battling over completing exactly what the lesson plans suggested. It was a very difficult and trying experience for both my son and me. After completing his first grade lessons, I did a learning styles test through Mercy Academy with my son and my daughter, who was to be starting Kindergarten. I came to the conclusion that the traditional curriculum was not the way I wanted to teach and not the best method for my children to learn. I looked into alternative schools and methods. I came across St. Thomas Aquinas Academy and the classical approach to education and thought it would be more appropriate for my children. After the initial assessment, I was very impressed with the information that my advisor gathered from such a simple assessment. Yet, I was still not willing to follow all of her suggestions and chose to do some classes based on my own understanding of the children. I followed the procedures for a home generated course plan and began the year. I sensed that my advisor did not agree that this was the best option (for math) that year, but she left it up to me. Half way through the year, I realized that I had not chosen the most appropriate text for my children. I changed again and taught the class free-style making sure I covered all the necessary bases for both children. They both did well, not only in math, but also in all their courses. This year I decided to follow all of my advisors suggestions for all of their classes. I am not adding anything, 'officially' to their studies until the requirements are well on their way to completion. I realized after having a bit of a meltdown last year and sending an email to St. Thomas saying that I was ready to load the kids into the van and drop them off at the nearest school, that I was trying to do too much. The guidance that I received from my advisor helped me to put the school year into perspective and helped me to understand that my children are not perfect because they are homeschooled and they do not have to outshine every public schooled child out there. The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility with which we can educate our children. They don't have to be concerned with whether they are working "at, below, or ahead" of grade level. They can learn at their own pace without judgment and without fear. The most rewarding event that has come out of following the curriculum at St. Thomas Aquinas is the fact that my husband has seen the tremendous results of the children enjoying school work, not even realizing that it is school work. My husband had not supported my decision to homeschool and his feelings were confirmed with the struggles of the first two years. This past year, he became an integral part of the homeschooling. He began talking to the children about what they learned that day, he took on the teaching of their science course and discussed what they were learning in history with them. I am so excited about this coming year because we are studying Ancient Egypt for history and my husband has already decided that he will teach it. Also, science is the human body and the books that we are using have already excited the children. What little boy would not be excited about a book titled: "Blood and Guts." This is probably too much information, but I am very pleased with the changes that have occurred in my children and my family because of the change to St. Thomas. I am impressed with the level of support when needed and the lack of interference when not. Thank you for all that you do.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the STAA program! It was a pleasant coincidence that while attending a Homeschool Game Night during our first few months of homeschooling that we were introduced to STAA by a very satisfied mom of four. STAA has a methodical approach to homeschooling, which we found quite encouraging being new to homeschooling while we developed our own mission statement in educating our two boys, aged 12 and 6. We found STAA to be solid and established in the nuances of homeschooling and have used their procedures quite successfully. We truly enjoy the fact that help is just a phone call away and the staff is always calming and affirming. We highly recommend STAA to all families who are thinking of switching from another program or are simply looking for a great Christian curriculum backed by experienced staff members.
I really don't know what I would do without your kindness, and very helpful advice. You are a blessing to our family.
I just wanted to write and let you know how grateful we are for your program. This is our second year with STAA. The program and curriculum is excellent, flexible and enjoyable with great support. Our homeschool atmosphere is now a relaxed one since there is no more wondering if there is a *better* curriculum out there. After experimenting with so many other curriculums, I am so happy we have found our home with STAA. I look forward to many future years with you.
I have three children, a son: age 8 (entering 3rd grade), a daughter: age 6 (entering 1st grade), and a pre-pre-school son: age 3. Last year we were recommended to teach "The Morning Offering" prayer as part of their Religion requirement. Myself a convert, and even my husband, a "cradle Catholic," were unaware of this prayer, but I found it and learned it. We have made it a morning routine that they cannot watch TV with breakfast (a habit in itself I know we need to break, but alas, that's another story...!) until they say their Morning Offering. Much to my amazement and joy, my oldest (late riser) stops himself while coming downstairs if the TV is already on, says the prayer by himself and then proceeds to come and join us!! This is a boy who is full of energy and independence is not second nature. I am so proud of him, and thankful that this can be something he will have for the rest of his life... Even our 3 year old has learned parts of this prayer, grace at meals, and his personal favorite, the Hail Mary. Our daughter, age 6, has memorized quite a handful of prayers, including the Act of Contrition and Apostles' Creed. This has nothing to do with my ability, believe me!, but DAILY prayers, morning and night, over the past years with STAA. We started while our oldest was in parochial kindergarten. Is it hard? Yes! Do I want to give up at times? Yes! But is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!! And being with STAA who offers experience, support, and the guesswork out of the plethora of homeschooling materials, it has been a godsend. I also appreciate how flexible you have been in offering options to pursue our interests through the "Home Generated Course Plan" and in allowing them to work at their own skill level and pace. It feels like a nurturing, home schooling community. I feel dependent (on God alone), independent (to get the job done), but I never feel alone. The kids are teaching me all the time. By the time the kids graduate, I'll have a PhD in patience!! I hope this helps. With all our struggles, it brings us a little closer to Jesus' own sufferings, and with all our joys, it helps us to boast more of the greatness of the Lord.
Our family has enjoyed Greek Literature and Greek History. Last weekend our priest's homily included references to Greek Gods and famous Greek thinkers; he said he really didn't know much about Greek Gods and Goddesses other than from the cartoon Hercules. Boy could our kids have given him an earful about that! As the teaching parent, I am overjoyed my kids are learning about these famous Greeks because I never did. Now I see their importance to modern philosophy and science.
[O]ur family so enjoyed our wonderful relationship with STAA as our [son] worked his way through high school. It was a wonderful and outstanding experience for him and we continue to suggest your program to all those who are looking for an excellent homeschool experience.
It is a thrill to receive the delightfully arranged weekly guidelines from STAA that keep us on track but allow for flexibility.
The academy works as a team to accomplish for your family specific ideas or needs for education, but more importantly, what each individual in your family needs, even Mom.
We love the programs STAA advises us to use. They bring excitement to learning, especially for the subjects which are not are our greatest ones. The advice given is suitable to our family and our lifestyle; it helps us bond. We appreciate the advice given for it is individually given for our children for certain subjects like religion, reading, math, and group given for unit studies in history, science, math, music, and geography. This year, my 13th year, I will officially be teaching five children--kindergarten, fourth grade, seventh grade, tenth grade, and twelfth grade. Wow! I have been given the confidence I need. Now I need to pray and teach and let them learn. This past year the two oldest children had difficulty with their algebra. I called in mid term to report our difficulties. Right away I was advised on an easier algebra program to use temporarily. What a difference that program made. No more tears, anger, and avoidance of math! What a relief! As our children tend to learn differently, I appreciate the individualized instructions on how to make learning more exciting or how to change the pace or what to do to make a difference. Our dyslexic child, a tenth grader, learns best by listening. I was always searching for ways, but no longer. I have been guided to many ways of helping him learn as this child is very intelligent and gifted. I would not have seen this if I had continued to do schooling for him in the ways I had been. We have tried a catholic homeschool school for eight years who instructed us to use generalized books by the grade level. This way not good for the dyslexic child or our oldest child. I tried to teach with no guidance for a couple of years. I knew I needed guidance. We have been with STAA for four or five years now. It is the way to go. I knew it in my heart right away. I look forward to our yearly interview and to the monthly newsletters that encourage and educate me. Homeschooling is a sacrifice and I want to do what is best for our children. I want them to love to learn and learn how to find the answers. I want them to use these skills in the adulthood. I highly suggest STAA to anyone who homeschools. It is the way to go for us. Thank you STAA!
We are now going into our third year with STAA. We have a third grader, second grader and a kindergartner STAA has more then met our expectations as home schooling parents. The assessments give us great confidence that our children's education is going in the right direction and their academic weaknesses are being addressed. We had homeschooled for a couple of years before STAA and found the unending list of curriculums to be overwhelming. With STAA we have been extremely impressed with their suggested curriculums such as Miquon Math, Little Angel Readers, Map Skills and many others. For parents wanting to instruct their children in a Catholic education that upholds the teachings of the Church we would highly recommend STAA. The staff at STAA is a joy to work with and it is obvious that they put great care into giving parents the necessary support to be successful homeschooling families. If we could say one thing to anyone considering going through STAA it would be that it is a decision they will not regret if they choose STAA.
After doing a lot of research regarding home school curriculums, we decided upon STAA because 1) they would work with us to find the appropriate materials for our two children, 2) they provided enough structure to allow us to move through the topics where we had less experience, and 3) they would work with us regarding timing and extracurricular activities. We chose home schooling because our small rural catholic school closed during the middle of the school year and we had a couple of learning challenges - my daughter needed some extra support in some of the basics because of a year in public school where she was not challenged and my son who needed to move forward at a pace faster than either private or public schools where we are located could handle. We have been very pleased with the cooperation and support that we have gotten through STAA.
This will be my daughter's third year with STAA. She is now a ninth grader, and we have been homeschooling her for nearly seven years. Before using STAA, we were on our own, selecting curriculum, scheduling, etc. That worked well at the time, but as she approached the middle school years, I felt as if I wanted guidance and someone else's input. STAA has worked so well for us. I have been so pleased with their suggestions and help. We had always used Saxon Math, and were successful with it. So STAA recommended that we continue with it as long as it was effective. It wasn't long before we hit a snag/log jam; and my advisor had great suggestions, helped us get through a struggling time with Math, and eventually recommended Math-U-See Algebra 1. That has been a really positive change for us, and once again, my daughter is doing excellent with her math. I have especially liked the curriculum recommendations for writing (Wordsmith) that were given us. I was at a loss as to how to go about writing, even though my daughter is an excellent writer. I didn't know how to draw out her creativity, and had tried several programs. STAA just seemed to "know" my daughter, so when we followed their advice, teaching writing was no longer a struggle for us. My daughter and I also appreciate the freedom we have to disagree with their curriculum suggestions, or use something else that works for us. STAA has been understanding of difficult transitions in our lives, flexible and supportive. I plan to use their expertise throughout my daughter's high school education.
We have been so very happy with our first year with STAA! Thank you for walking me through it and for all the fantastic resources and materials we are using, there is not one we don't like!
After completing 9th grade with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy, I did not hesitate to register my daughter for 10th grade. The consistent four-year high school overview helps me to feel secure with the broad picture of high school as well as where we are presently. The academically challenging subjects work together beautifully as a unified whole. For instance, selections from Bulfinch's Mythology are reflected in Astronomy, Greek History, and Greek Drama. The STAA recommended texts provide excellent learning opportunities. After studying Accurate Communication, Traditional Logic and Diagramming, I cannot imagine a high school program without them. It is a thrill to receive the delightfully arranged STAA curriculum weekly guidelines that keep us on track but allow for flexibility. When our church provided Bible Studies during Lent and Advent, we could substitute these hours for the recommended curriculum. The STAA package provides forms that facilitate reporting weekly progress and quarterly reports. We readily adapted to the procedure. The staff at STAA acknowledges that I am my child's teacher and understands and supports the needs of our homeschooling family. One of my greatest concerns was whether my teaching/learning style would be agreeable to STAA. My daughter and I read and discuss the Great Books together in addition to her independent work. Encouragement was just a phone call away. Stress lifted and productivity increased. If in doubt, call! That's my motto. When I was told to tell my daughter to study like a saint, I knew I was home. With STAA, we can celebrate and share our Catholic faith and heritage as well as our homeschooling life.
Hello! I thought you would appreciate this: [My son] has mentioned a few times in the past months that he was glad he was homeschooled. He even said he was glad he had to write so many papers. He has noticed that many students are unable to write. Also, he was able to write a 4-page paper with citations in 1.5 hrs. Both [of my sons] are excelling in college. They said homeschool was much harder. :) Thank you!
Thank you for your prayers, time and guidance. We are grateful to have you as part of our homeschooling adventures.
On two different occasions this past week when I've been in conversation with [my 11th grader], she has expressed deep gratitude for STAA and homeschool. She has cited several concrete examples of how going through your curriculum has shaped her and has made her a better Catholic. As a mother accompanying my children on this journey, I call out in resounding agreement!
It was great speaking with you yesterday. Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement. I entered our meeting feeling discouraged and “wilted”, but felt refreshed and strengthened afterward.
I especially appreciate the advice and wise counsel I receive from the St. Thomas Aquinas Academy staff during our phone appointments and their understanding of my children's needs.
