Anonymous Families

St. Thomas has helped our family in structuring our time. We were organized I thought but to the overdo point of schooling doing every subject, every day. As more family members enter the schooling years, it either ends to overkill or burnout and takes the "fun" out of schooling or at least the "gourmet" out of cooking since there is no time left for anything but school. St. Thomas has helped our family put school into perspective and break our subjects into set days which has helped us do each subject better because we have more time to enjoy them. It makes things less overwhelming when things are categorized into days, weeks or even quarters. After 3 years, I have finally figured out to use my quarterly grading reports as lesson plans breaking up the pages of all the books into quarters and filling it in now before school starts; making my progress reports easier at quarter grading knowing exactly where I started and where I ended. It helps set goals for each quarter. This has brought more order to our lives as now our kids know it's Monday, time for History, etc. There is never a question as to what has to be done today. The daily lesson plan guidelines also disciplines the parent to write out the lessons for the week for each child enabling the child to work more independently and be more in control of his/her own work. Our advisor has also taught me a lot about different programs having a vast knowledge of what's out there and what works for us. Overall, she finds what works for our family as a whole, not just each grade level, bringing children together in subjects such as history that can overlap, even if grade levels don't necessarily, making my workload easier as a teacher. Aside from academics, schedules and paperwork, my comments would be about our advisor's disposition dealing with us each with a kindness and joy that is rare with people you meet each day; a good example of the way we each need to be as mothers and teachers to our children throughout the day and to our husbands after the long school day is over.

Two years ago, after putting together my own curriculum for 6 years, I switched to STAA. It was the best decision I've made in 8 years of homeschooling! The STAA curriculum is wonderful, with excellent selections in all the subjects. Their choices - especially in history, grammar, math, and the fine arts - are often texts that I may never have come across on my own. Having such a well-thought-out curriculum means that a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders; I no longer have to worry if we're "covering the right things", or "doing enough". I'm confident that by following the STAA program, we are doing just what we should be. At the same time, the program is flexible. When we a have a particular text that we really like, and that's working well for the kids, that's fine with STAA; they're not at all rigid, and always are respectful of each child's individuality and the parents' wishes. They also understand that when you have children of different ages, you need to be able to adapt the program accordingly, which works out beautifully for my children (ages 13, 11, 6, and 4). Another benefit is that record-keeping is far easier now. I used to wonder what I should keep each year, so I ended up keeping almost everything, but without a very good system for it. Now I follow STAA's quarterly reporting system, and at the end of each year I have a complete and succinct portfolio of accomplishments for each child. Finally, the STAA advisors are outstanding. Their insights into my children have been extremely helpful; they really know what it's like to homeschool day in and day out; they are encouraging and supportive, confident that parents can educate their children (even on days when the parent might not be so sure!); they are always professional and courteous. My husband and I are both so thankful for STAA. We couldn't be happier with the program, and would encourage any Catholic homeschool family to give it a try.