We have homeschooled with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy for six years, with one to four students (plus babies and toddlers) in any given year, from pre-first through seventh grade. STAA customizes the program to suit our individual needs, with the flexibility to change as our life's circumstances change. For instance, we have done
block-style scheduling upon the birth of a new baby; dedicated a particularly bleak February to student-led illustrated compositions for science, history, penmanship, and religion; and adapted math programs and facts drill to suit a distractible, high-energy child. Hands-on activities and living books add to our history and science courses, but they are part of an overall plan, giving us the structure that Mom appreciates. Our favorite subjects are the ones we can do as a family: art and music appreciation, map making and geography songs (using the lovely maps from Berg's Geography: A Literature Approach), science experiments, and reading aloud together. Our advisor is an absolute gem, ever ready with sound advice about academic instruction and, more importantly, about teaching each particular child according to his strengths and weaknesses. The STAA program is rigorous, yet flexible and manageable; we are confident that our children are receiving a sound Catholic and classical foundation in their studies. The only thing left for me to wish for is for them to move to Ohio, near us!