Are there any catholics here studying the Great Books?

[KNF-TX]

I am not that orthodox, but I was wondering if you thought a catholic could use Omnibus? I looked into Angelicum's Great Book program, but it was not as "busy mom friendly" as Omnibus. I appreciate the lesson plans and answers contained in Omnibus. I have Omnibus I, but I am more concerned about II and III. How have you worked through the Great Books? Are there any catholic websites you found helpful? Thanks, Kristin

[Plaid Dad]

Have you seen the study guides and course plans from Kolbe Academy (http://www.kolbe.org)? You can pick and choose the books you want to study, rather than buying one big volume that may include a bunch of stuff you don't need or want. The Kolbe study guides contain straightforward, focused comprehension questions; the course plans (which you can purchase even if you're not enrolled) have discussion and essay topics as well as reading schedules. These aren't fancy, full-color books like Omnibus, but then again, they don't have a fancy price tag either! The guides I've seen have been very solid, and there are no concerns for even the most traditional Catholics about encountering theology or assumptions that don't mesh with our faith. HTH!

[Faithr]

Well, I tried to use Omnibus I but reformed Theology is shot all through it and I found it a lot of work to pick through it and discern what we agreed and disagreed with. I found the Angelicum teaching guides very mom friendly in comparison. I didn't have to do all that thinking! I could just have my daughter read and then answer the questions.

[KNF-TX]

I really don't have time to read each book and figure out the answers. Are the answers somewhere else? Can you please tell me a little more about how you use the guides with your daughter.

[Laura K (NC)]

If you are interested in ancient history you might consider Laura Berquist's syllabus. This summer I will have to decide whether to use her syllabus or go on ahead with SWB's ancient history text. I'm leaning toward SWB's text even though it seems like more work.

I haven't used Angelicum Academy. I seem to look at it every year and then decide against it. I assume it has a syllabus and other kind of teacher helps.

There is such a strong Reformed presence in Classical homeschooling. That was the first thing that really attracted me to Reformed Christianity. I just don't think it would be worth the time to use Reformed materials for history when there are more appropriately-biased books for my family.