The diocese of Fort Wayne South Bend has their curriculum guidelines on line.  I don;t have the link but if you google Fort Wayne South Bend catechetical guidelines it should get you there.  For some of the Confirmation level grades ( 6,7 and 8) I think they have some planned out lessons on line also.

I have no idea what my son’s confirmation class at church uses…they don’t have a book or a published Syllabus.  At home, I use Faith and Life’s 8th grade book, and I love it.  We also memorize catechism questions.

I recommend Thomas Sulllivan’s “Called to Knighthood” book and the catechism for an understanding of what the sacrament is all about.  Unfortunately, I can’t recommend any of the programs our parish has done.  I understand that Matthew Kelly is developing a confirmation program that will be free to parishes, but it is not done yet.  You could still check out his website at dynamiccatholic.com     He’s raising a ton of money for it so that it will be free to parishes.  I recommend the Youcat for the confirmandi - it is the new youth catechism.  There are questions in there too, I believe.  Also the Fireside Youth Bible has “topics” in between all the scripture that explain a lot about the Catholic faith and there are questions for discussion there as well.  We used it in our confirmation group and found it useful.  I also recommend some meetings with parents (many of them may be poorly catechized and you have to get the parents commitment to continue the faith at home) as well as at least one single sex meeting so that topics that pertain more specifically to one gender or another can be discussed.  Our parish is one of the few that divides the kids up by gender, but it has been successful.  Discussion is freer, there is not as much showing off, and topic can be tailored to questions that arise from the group.  Then our retreats are done in a mixed group.  The number of kids who are confirmed and then leave the church before age 30 is staggering and makes me think that what we have been doing is not working.

Seton’s press has a Confirmation Preparation book that is very through that I used as a supplement, by I liked the workbook, “Confirmed in the Spirit” by Loyola Press that my eldest son used.

Just wondring what PSR stands for?

Parish School of Religion, known in other places as CCD.

Start with the diocese.  Ours has an entire office devoted to religious education.  No one should be doing this alone!

I love the Didache series available through Ignatius Press.  (Into to Catholicism Freshman year; History of the Church and Understanding the Scriptures for Sophomore/Jr year; and Our Moral Life in Christ for Senior year.

It might be helpful to reflect in this way from Nonviolent Communication:
1.Observe the situation without judging yourself or anyone else. Just observe.
2.Ask youself, “What are my feelings about this?” What sort of burnout is it?  Resentment, physical exhaustion ( you are really busy and have been for a looong time!), anger, disappointment,sadness,etc.
3. What needs do you have that are related to your feelings about this situation? A need for appreciation? Choice?Support? Excercise?Oder? Peace? Time alone?Touch? Creativity?
4. What specific requests can you make that would enrich your life and make it more wonderful in this situation? Using an online program to relieve you of some homeschooling duties? ( like ALEKS for math) Hire some help for the little ones? ASk for help from someone you can depend on for relief?
When you can be honest with yourself about your needs (and allow youself to validate them) you wil more easily be able to speak them to others and find the answers to you seek. We are catechised to “Give till it hurts”, but when we are caring for little people, being burnt out is hurting more than ourselves. If you considered this to be joyful suffering, you wouldn’t be asking for advice.

Hi Sharon.  I will certainly keep you in my thoughts and prayers as you try to discern what is best for your children.  I will share this with you…we send our children to a parochial school and I serve on the PTO board.  Another woman that serves with me has two also enrolled in the school.  After getting to know her, I’ve come to learn that she sent her oldest two to the parish school, home schooled the next seven, and now has the youngest two back at the parish school.  I asked her about their decision to send some to parochial school versus homeschooling the majority and she said it was all based on the season of life that she and her husband were at.  They made sure that the schooling was equitable (I know, some will argue that public school or parochial school will never be as good as homeschooling), but understood and taught their children that equitable doesn’t mean exactly the same, but rather what best meets the need of the child.  And while I get that “the only thing that matters in this life is helping my child get to heaven for the next”, my heart breaks just a little as I watch our daughter attend parochial school after attending public school and now receiving no art education.  Is “art” just icing on the cake…absolutely!  But she loves art and really misses art class.  (Our parish is tiny and only can afford to fund a music teacher and a PE teacher along with computer and library.)  So, yes, there are advantages and disadvantages to every schooling situation.

hi Sharon, I’ll say a prayer for you.  My goodness, you need a rest!  I thought you might find this article helpful, though I’m not sure if it fits your situation.  It’s by Simcha Fisher, who homeschooled 6 or so kids for years and years and recently put them in charter school—I think one is in public school too, and found a lot of unexpected blessings there.  http://www.ncregister.com/blog/what-i-learned-when-my-kids-went-to-school/

Thank you so much for the input! I have a some considering to do and lots more praying.  I do tend to overburden myself and cut away the things I like to do and then wonder why I am so tired and worn out!  (I’ve been a mom for 28 years, I should know that I have to make some time for myself or watch out!!!)  And I enjoy reading Simcha.  She speaks my own thoughts so often.  Maybe I’ll suggest some date nights out with the dh to do some real talking about what’s going on.    God bless you all!

Hi Sharon,
Wow! Your letter could have been written by me (well, parts of it, as we have no grandchildren yet!)  We’ve been homeschooling since 1994 and have graduated 2.  The three I have left at home are 7th grade, 4th grade and 1st grade.  Our circumstances have also changed in that I now have to make an income.  I am discerning the same things you are right now.  I will pray for you.  I realize that our season of life has changed and that I am not able to give these three children the education I was once able to provide.  My heart hurts because I love homeschooling and believe in it so much!  But, my reality is that I need to make an income and right now, I can’t do both(homeschooling and work) and perform either job well. So, we’ve decided that the 7th grader will begin attending the local Catholic school next week.  The 4th grader may be right behind him.  It’s NOT an easy decision to make.  I am sad that the desire of my heart and my reality are incompatible.  I’ve always said that sometimes God speaks through circumstances.  It’s just so difficult.  Blessings and prayers to you.

Love Spelling Power.  I use it for my 4th grade and olders in a modified form.

For books, I recommend going to Emmanuel Books.  They have a booklet called A Mother’s List of Books for $7.  Also, if you look under “Booklists by Grade” they have booklists used by Mother of Divine Grace homeschool - which uses a LOT of historical fiction, and you’ll know it’s a good reading level.

My 13 yo loves the King Arthur books by Howard Pyle.  I bought some at Emmanuel and some at Dover Publishing.  He also has one or more on Robin Hood and other similar settings like that.  Feel free to email me if you have any more questions.

Shannon, the Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum—great Christian historical fiction for kids about the Dutch during WWII.  Exciting and fun, serious but not depressing.  For the girl, American girl books or Dear America are nice and wholesome and great intro to historical periods.  Some of the Dear America might be too old for her, so preview them first—they have some more disturbing subject matter.  The Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander.  5 novels starting with “The Book of Three.”  Really fun fantasy, with good morals.  I loved them when I was a kid, good for girls or boys.  They are along the lines of Narnia or Tolkein.  (great choices too!)  If they are into historical fiction they might like Vision Books, which are saints’ biographies.  They are fun to read—I was not a very pious kid but I really enjoyed them.  Will post more if I can remember them!

Bethany, my 6 yo son hates church.  I think his older brothers were similar, but they no longer give me grief (they are 11 and 13 now).  Don’t try to force him to love it.  It’s an hour of being quiet and sitting still - not fun for an child, especially not a boy.  Right now, we form the habit.  Then comes the understanding of the duty/obligation.  THEN comes the love.

Not being empathetic towards characters in a book is nowhere near the same as not being ‘empathetic to others pain’. Many people aren’t moved emotionally by what they read. I am a very emotional and empathetic person, often to a fault, but mainly with aural and more visual mediums like pictures and video, not by words. I read a ton, I love to read and read books that I know make others cry but I think I’ve been moved to tears once by a book in my whole life and that was “As the Red Fern Grows” when I was about 10.

I don’t mean to divert the thread, but oh Karen, I thought I would need therapy after Where the Red Fern Grows! Our teacher read it out loud to us in maybe 4th grade. I don’t know how she made it through without sobbing—I guess years of repetition.

I wasn’t any different. You could be my mother describing me. I devoured books and loved books but made no emotional tie to any of them. Or even to movies. I would imagine what it would be like to be certain characters and I would rewrite my own reactions, etc. but I can’t say I ever shed a tear at that age. I was much closer to adulthood before I grew that way emotionally. I was just very young, naive and immature. I was smart, responsible and had great friendships, but just didn’t make any connections on the level you’re talking about. There was nothing wrong with me. (That I know of !) It’s just how I was. I get all teary now. Diaper commercials can make me cry! So don’t worry. She has a lot of growing and experiening yet to do.