--Sir Joshua Reynolds



Simplicity!  What a lovely goal, when each day is filled from 'sun up to sun down' with non-stop activity.  How and where can we find more time in the day?! For those of us who homeschool on a budget, it is a happy discovery to find that the simplicity we seek in our lives meshes well with CHC's 'core curricula.' 

How so? There are many ways to trim the homeschooling budget, including borrowing non-Catholic materials and downloading 'freebies' from the internet.  However, the danger in these approaches is that they 'miss' two critical reasons that we homeschool: nurturing our Holy Catholic faith in the souls of our children, and using a cohesive, unified program. Using a 'little of this and a little of that' creates the real possibility of dangerous academic gaps.  Instead, utilizing CHC's basic core curricula, as listed in the catalog and on the website, insures that children receive a solid Catholic education with no gaps, and reduces homeschooling costs all at the same time.

Just as significantly, from simplicity's standpoint, sticking to core curricula saves premium time lost searching the internet for 'anything that will fit' [while children await your attention] and downloading and printing materials [which also have a hidden cost in paper and ink cartridges].  Once materials are found and downloaded, still more time is expended trying to plan how to make everything fit into a cohesive whole.  In contrast, using value-priced core curricula takes no planning time, no search time: it's all there at your fingertips, already planned, complete and ready to teach. 

Certainly, non-core, 'beyond the basics' grade-by-grade CHC curricula can be 'bookmarked' to add as the Lord provides, perhaps a little each month, as the budget allows.  Many of these enriching materials can then be used in coming years with subsequent children, increasing the savings and reducing the cost of Catholic homeschooling with each passing year.

Simplicity in homeschooling and budgeting can and do go together! 

May our good Jesus meet your every need, and bless and prosper your families spiritually and academically as well,

Theresa Johnson 
www.chcweb.com