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Seton curriculum?

I was wondering about this curriculum-- especially the religion books. Thanks for any info!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Christine Volpe on February 18, 2010 at 8:52pm

I used Seton for a period of time when we first began homeschooling seven years ago. I loved their religion books. Having received my CCD training in the 70's, I think I learned as much, if not more than the children learned! The books are very thorough and true to the Church's teachings. Although I piece together my own curriculum these days, there are some Seton materials I still use. I love the Faith and Freedom readers. My first-grader's reading has really taken off using them this year. Also, the Confirmation preparation book is top-notch.
Hope any of this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Diana H. on February 18, 2010 at 10:54pm

I just ordered that Confirmation Prep book today. Good to see what you wrote...

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Permalink Reply by Patricia on February 19, 2010 at 8:01am

We have been using Seton (& supplementing with other materials we also like) since our eldest (9th grade now) began homeschooling in Kindergarten. We have been very pleased with how solid their religion materials are. We also like the fact that they offer religion texts from an Eastern Catholic perspective/spirituality in the high school grades. I also received parish-based religious education in the 70s-80s & have learned A LOT about our beautiful Catholic Faith since we began homeschooling.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer R. on March 18, 2010 at 11:46am

Patricia,

We are fully enrolled in Seton for our 10th grader. I just started homeschooling a year ago and I agree with you this program has been such a blessing for her and all of us in the family! The program is solidly Catholic and I am learning so much about our Faith along with her. It's amazing the sense of peace we received since starting Seton Homestudy. After battling 20 years in the public school trenches with my eldest daughter and youngest, I thank God He lead me to use Seton for the youngest DD. Even though she only has 2 years of schooling left with Seton, I know she will be blessed for her lifetime. How wonderful you have been using Seton since kindergarten with your eldest child!

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer R. on March 18, 2010 at 11:50am

Diana,

I highly recommend Seton for all ages of children. I am a convert and the religion texts are wonderful, and solidly Catholic. I am learning so much! My husband went through Catechism in the 1960's and he said these books are very similar to what he used then. You will love them!

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Permalink Reply by Angèle on March 19, 2010 at 1:02am

I'll give you a longer answer because I've been meaning to evaluate the curriculum for my own use and now's a good time to type something up on it.

I can speak about Seton both as a student and a teacher. I was homeschooled with Seton from 2nd grade through graduation.

My own recollections as a student: When I was doing the elementary program, the Religion was mainly the Baltimore Catechism. The high school books were pretty good, but their tests and writing assignments are what really stuck with me throughout the last several years.

Seton's 12th grade religion book is AMAZING. It sparked an interest in philosophy and theology that made me want to go to a Catholic college to pursue further study, and I credit the Seton education for getting me into a Ph.D. program in philosophy.

Now I'm teaching my nieces with Seton. Since I was a student, Seton has written and published their own books.

For elementary:

English: I must say, the Voyages in English books that I used as a student were better than the elementary English grammar books that Seton publishes now. At least for 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade, the English grammar books are not as advanced as Voyages in English, and there are several errors in the books (typos that are crucial). Yes, they have great Catholic stories as their drills, and the girls (and I!) are learning about saints we had never heard of... but I'm not sure the grammar lessons are the absolute best. B-

History: Seton does not put much emphasis on history in the elementary grades. As such, their K-3 books are rather pathetic. The 4th grade book is pretty interesting, and their State History project is very helpful. B

Handwriting: BEAUTIFUL full-color pictures in their handwriting books, but their actual handwriting lessons are not quite standard for writing (B, P, R and a few other letters are strange looking). A-

Spelling: I've been pretty disappointed with the spelling books so far. My nieces aren't particularly good at spelling, but the books are far too easy for them. The methodology of the books are good, as are the daily reviews, but the word lists are far too simple. C

Reading/Phonics: I'm not quire sure how to judge this. Both of my nieces are advanced readers, so I'm not sure how to rate the curriculum here. The grade levels were WAY too easy for them (they were bored reading, "See Jane. Jane runs. See how Jane runs. Run Jane, run" in 2nd grade!). The Reading for Comprehension and Reading/Thinking Skills books put out by Seton are very good. Phonics (because the girls are good at reading) is also far too simple. I wanted to bump them up a grade, but because the writing assignments in middle school are pretty difficult I don't want to push them ahead too far. ??

Science: Seton's science books (for 1st and 2nd grade) are a joke. They look sloppily and hastily put together with ridiculous images and way-too-advanced lessons. Granted, Seton doesn't put much stress on science for early elementary grades, but these books would have been better not to have been published. The 4th grade book is much better, and I let the 2nd grader use it with her sister because her own book is just absurd. C- (lower grades), A- (4th grade and beyond).

Vocabulary: Seton uses the Wordly Wise books. They're very very good. A+

Math: The Seton-published math books are weak at best. I use them but supplement heavily with manipulatives and homemade worksheets. I suppose it's not really possible to teach the basic math concepts from a book, anyway, so I don't want to be too hard, but there are hardly any review sheets and so I end up hand-writing a million drills. I think MCP (which they offer) would be better. Once you get into 4th or 5th grade, they start with Saxon. I'm a major fan of Saxon math (I know reviews go both ways, but I think it's a solid incremental great series). Elementary math: Seton published books: B-, MCP: A-, Saxon A+

Religion: Unparalleled. Seton's own published books, and their use of the Baltimore Catechism are first rate. The images are beautiful, the lessons are simple but rich, and they spark a lively interest in the Faith from a young age. A++

With all that said: I use Seton and happy with it because I know it inside and out. There's a lot of "busy work" but one of the major reasons for homeschooling, anyway, is to adjust the pace of the education to each individual child. Skip what's unnecessary, and do every lesson for the concepts that need more practice. Supplement with library books where needed. Is it the holy grail of homeschooling and the absolute best available? Probably not. But the structure, lesson plans, beautiful books and objective grading staff are sure wonderful.
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This review (above average but not spectacular) was just for the elementary. I have radically different views for their middle/high school curricula, which I do believe are extraordinary. Seton's high school curriculum is HARD but worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears; it's a truly amazing college prep program.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia on March 19, 2010 at 11:37am

Angele,
Thanks for your thorough input on Seton based on your experience! We have used Seton for 5 children from K through 9th thus far, & plan to stick with it in the future for the younger ones -- supplementing with other materials & adjusting to each child's level as necessary. Like you said, we've moved children up in spelling, phonics & readers as needed. We enrolled in the Seton program when our first was in Kindergarten, but have not found it necessary to enroll since then (& couldn't afford it anyhow). I love learning along with the children, particularly as they enter high school!

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer R. on March 19, 2010 at 4:26pm

Angele,

When you have the time I'd like to read your review of the Seton high school curriculum, especially History and English. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Angèle on March 19, 2010 at 8:21pm

Hi Jennifer,

Well, I can't really write about Seton's high school curriculum as a teacher (I haven't taught it yet! But from doing it myself and talking with my old friends, most high schoolers with Seton are self-taught... they get the books, read the lesson plans and chart their course themselves with minimal parent participation, calling Seton's counselors when they need help.) But I can say a bit about it from when I was a student.

(By the way, you can read about their high school curriculum at their website: http://www.setonhome.org/curriculum/hsc4.shtml or their high school booklist http://www.setonhome.org/curriculum/highschool.shtml).

Religion 9: Is an extended Baltimore Catechism with extra Scripture, doctrine and insightful analysis. The tests and writing assignments really help bring the text alive. A+

English 9: Wordly Wise (AWESOME), and Book Analyses from Lilies of the Field, Merchant of Venice (it's a great intro to Shakespeare), Where the Red Fern Grows (everybody hates that one, but they won't get rid of it -- you just have to suffer through) (plus 3rd quarter poetry analysis).
Seton REALLY focuses in high school upon analysis and composition -- reading and analyzing great literature and writing 5 paragraph essays on characters, main conflict, plot, theme, point of view, foreshadowing, etc. It all starts in 9th grade English.

Grammar and Composition 9: They used Warriner's Grammar when I was a student but now they have published their own book. Warriner's is old school but it's thorough and amazing. I know grammar pretty well (though I don't always use it!). If Seton's book is as good as Warriner's, be prepared to have a miniature grammar-Nazi in your house!

Algebra I: Saxon. AMAZING.

Earth Science OR Physical Science: I'm not really a fan of any of Seton's science books. They don't publish their own books, but they use science from a Christian perspective. I just never got into the books very much -- I did what I had to and was glad when it was over. I would've really liked to have done a lab through the community college -- and Seton accepts transfer credits for some courses (but not biology, so be careful with that).

Vocabulary (1 Semester)-Optional: My sister took this course and aced the vocab section of the SAT. I didn't take it and... well... I wish I would have :).

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Grade 10:

Religion 10: They start using Fr. Laux's books in 10th grade. Again... old style books, but there's nothing wrong with the way they used to teach the Faith! When there are post-Vatican II updates they write it in the lesson plans, so it's important to read the lesson plans along with the books.

English 10: Wordly Wise 7 for Vocab.
This is where the rubber hits the road. Seton's graders are HARD. They are nit-picky and don't give out easy A's. If you are rambling, using improper grammar, spelling, or have sentences out of place, you will get caught. They require disciplined, concise, and articulate writing with insightful analysis. But their counselors are available on the phone to HELP, and they ARE very helpful when you need them.
10th grade brings on Animal Farm, A Tale of Two Cities, and 4 book analyses (chosen from a selected list).
By this time, after 9 years of grammar lessons they stop teaching grammar. So, if you're transferring in, it would be helpful to get a survey grammar course and learn the parts of speech. Seton's English courses are mainly literature analysis and compositional writing (in the 5 paragraph essay form).

World Literature: 10th Grade... EVERYBODY'S favorite course. The anthology put out by Seton is AWESOME. It has GREAT stories in it, fun essays... I still go back to this book sometimes. But... in 10th grade when you're already doing English book analyses, you also have World Literature book analyses (only for the 1st 2 quarters) so it's intense. It's the same story with 11th grade... 2 courses with lots of writing. OUCH.

World History (Catholic): The main book is Christ the King, Lord of History. It's totally from a Catholic perspective... at the expense of every other perspective (that's pretty much how all history is written though, right?). There are some conspiracy theories in it, little-known facts about obscure Catholic figures, and it paints the Inquisition and Crusades in ways you've probably never seen before. It's a hard sell. I don't doubt the verity of the assertions, but it's definitely the minority view of history. When you try to write research papers, it's hard to find other sources that concur with the statements put forth in this book. Again, I don't doubt it's true (it required intensive research by a well-respected Ph.D. into original sources to write it), but it's definitely unique.

Geometry: Uses the Houghton-Mifflin book. I cried my way through geometry. I don't like to think about that year.

Biology: They use a different book now than what I used. BUT, they also read "Humani Generis," which is AMAZING. Reading Church documents while taking science class: gotta love Seton!

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Grade 11:

Religion 11: It's mostly a Bible History class. I learned quite a bit about Scripture this year that's stayed with me.

English 11: Another literature analysis and composition course. Booklist: The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton, The Bridge of San Luis Rey (most people find this difficult but fruitful), A Man for All Seasons, The Scarlet Letter, The Screwtape Letters and The Song at the Scaffold. These are lesser-read works (besides Scarlet Letter), but Seton always supplies lecture notes to help the student probe into the symbols, literary devices, characters and theme. It's an excellent course.

American Literature: Most people's least favorite course. After coming off the high of sophomore year's World Lit course, you fall pretty hard when you take American Lit. The anthology is boring, the books for analysis are dull, and I still have a bad taste in my mouth for American Lit. I appreciate it, but I don't particularly like it. From the dozens of Seton-ers I've talked to, this is a pretty universal experience.

American History (Catholic): Textbook used: Christ and the Americas. I feel the same way about this as the World History course. It's written totally from the Catholic perspective to the exclusion of most others, so it really shows how the Catholic immigrants (Irish and Italians etc.) were persecuted. There's a long section about the Catholic founding fathers. It ends rather abruptly in the mid 60's, though. I didn't know much about American History from the 60's onward and since I was born in the Reagan era, I didn't know much about any of that time. It needs to be supplemented with modern American history.

Algebra II: Saxon. Redemption for my awful Geometry year :).

Foreign Languages: Latin I, Spanish Now, and French.
A word for Seton's language courses: GET A TUTOR. Seton requires 2 years of a language, and, my friends... it's just not worth it to try to teach yourself.
My older sister took Latin (which is Henley's) and cried through 3 years of it, but she did learn it because she was stinkin' motivated.
My brother, younger sister and I opted for Spanish. The "Spanish Now" book that Seton uses is confusing and doesn't lend itself to being self-taught. After two years of it we barely knew any.
Just take your languages at a Community College, get dual credit, and call it good.

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Grade 12:

Religion 12: Following Christ in the World was, I think, the single most influential book of my high school career. I loved that book. I still reference it. Perhaps it was just because I was never exposed to the contents in any other setting but... wow. Even adults should buy this book for themselves.
Religion 12 with Seton is an apologetics year. AMAZING.

English 12: After the strangeness of the junior course, you get the wonderful and amazing British Lit year! Yahoo!! Book analyses on every girl's dream: Jane Austen. The anthology for this year, Prose and Poetry of England is fairly good. The poetry analyses are rather good, too.
Reading list (not including the quarterly book reports, as in all of the English courses): Pride and Prejudice, Murder in the Cathedral, Robinson Crusoe (shoot me now... I actually burned this book on the bbq pit when I finished with the analysis... but I'm weird like that), and Macbeth.
By this time you've gotten pretty good at analyzing literature and are well-prepared for college lit classes. I knew the system by this time and could crank out essays fairly quickly and get A's. I loved this course, and after finishing 4 years of Seton's English and lit classes, I was WELL prepared for writing in college.

American Government (Christian): The textbook is old (not in a good way), but everybody comes away from this year knowing all about Roe vs. Wade, which is kind of the capstone writing assignment (a 5 page research paper). It's a good overview of our government system (as the government should be, anyway). The Federalist Papers are read and analyzed, which every American should do. And, once again, a Church document is read (Quadregesimo Anno.. On Social Reconstruction). It's a good course, if you're not too plagued with Senioritis at this point to enjoy it.

ELECTIVES:
Seton offers a few electives that are okay. I'd say SKIP 'em (with one exception: see below).
Seton accepts "independent study" courses (if they're documented), and I'd highly recommend doing this for your electives. I did classical piano lessons, tennis, and even driver's ed. My brother did woodworking classes, art lessons, my sister did horse training lessons. This is the fun stuff of high school that you may as well get credit for. Public schoolers take "weight lifting" for their electives... why not have a few fun gimmes as a Setoner?

The one exception to the "don't do Seton electives" would be their Shakespeare course. It's intense, but it's a GREAT course. Not for the faint of heart, but for the lover of literature it's well worth it.

Hope that's a help. That was my experience and, as far as I know, represents what a lot of Seton grads think, too.

Even with the high school course, you don't have to do every lesson of every day. Do what helps, work through the Summer (year-round schooling is typical and I dare say inevitable with Seton's high school course, unless you're uber motivated), and call the Seton counselors (or use their online forums) when you need 'em.

God bless,
Angèle :)