The Mother of Divine Grace homeschool program provides Catholic families a curriculum that incorporates their religious beliefs while utilizing a classical approach to education.
The Mother of Divine Grace School
Founder and director of the Mother of Divine Grace School, Laura Berquist, also developed the curriculum recommended by her school. The basic curriculum is outlined in her book Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum. Ms. Berquist provides homeschooling families with a solid Catholic-based classical program of education.
The Mother of Divine Grace School is an accredited private school program. Records are kept of each student and transcripts and diplomas are issued to graduates upon completion of their studies.
The Mother of Divine Grace Homeschool Programs
A distance education program, the Mother of Divine Grace School helps homeschooling families design and implement a curriculum for each child based on their interests, needs and learning styles. In addition, the educational consultant assigned to work with each family considers the parent's teaching style, interests and resources while designing the curriculum for their child.
The Mother of Divine Grace school offers four homeschool programs:
- Teacher Review Program
- Teacher Assisted or Directed Program
- Learning Support
- Special Services Program
The Teacher Review Program
The Teacher Review Program is the main program of the Mother of Divine Grace School. When a student enrolls, he is assigned to an educational consultant that chooses the best curricula for that student. The educational consultant also is responsible for the following:
- Assisting parents in learning how to apply the classical method of education to their homeschool teaching
- Evaluating assignments using the rubrics of the Mother of Divine Grace School and assisting parents in learning how to implement those rubrics while homeschooling
- Reviewing each student's progress, answering questions and suggesting program modifications during formal consultations held three times each year
- Holding additional consultations if either the parents or the consultant feels it is necessary
- Answering questions via e-mail or telephone throughout the academic year
The Teacher Assisted or Directed Program
A supplemental program to the main Teacher Review Program, the Teacher Assisted or Directed Program, provides additional teacher support to the student. Working one-on-one with the student, the teacher provides the following support:
- Leads a discussion of the assignments and texts conducted via e-mail or telephone
- Works with the student to understand the concepts of particular problems.
- Provides tips to the student on how to improve his work
- At the student's or the parent's request, the teacher provides specific deadlines for completion of work
- Works with the student to set realistic goals
- Grades and reviews the students papers and selected assignments
Learning Support Program
The Learning Support programs are supplementary to the main Teacher Review Program. Students that enroll in the Learning Support Program take part in a weekly or biweekly group discussion class. During the class the teacher is responsible for the following:
- Reviewing concepts previously covered
- Teaching new concepts
- Leading the students in discussions
- Leading the students in role-playing assignments
- Administering pop quizzes
- Grading and reviewing papers and quizzes from the class
- Providing feedback to the students and parents
Special Services Program
The Special Services Program is supplemental to the main program. Students enrolled in this program are assigned to a special services consultant that adapts the curricula to the special needs of each student.
A Classical Methodology
A fundamental aspect of the Mother of Divine Grace school is their strong belief in the classical method of education. Also known as a liberal education, the classical method involves teaching the seven liberal arts:
- Grammar
- Rhetoric
- Logic
- Arithmetic
- Geometry
- Astronomy
- Music
A classical education also includes study of:
- Politics
- Nature
- Ethics
- The soul
- Theology
The Four Stages of Development
An important aspect of the classical approach to learning is focusing on teaching a child how to learn, and teaching students how to think and reason while following the four natural stages of a child's learning development.
- Primary stage - kindergarten through second grade
- Grammatical stage - third grade through fifth grade
- Dialectic or analytical stage - sixth grade through ninth grade
- Rhetorical stage - tenth grade through twelfth grade
For homeschooling families wanting an alternative to formulating their own Catholic-based curriculum, the Mother of Divine Grace homeschool program may be the perfect choice.
