...to critique a book, resource or game for Keeping It Catholic!

 

Simply Follow the Old Writers' Guidelines -

Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

 

Who Can Review?

All we ask is that you are a Catholic homeschooling parent, obedient to the Magisterium and holding a filial love for the Holy Father as the Vicar of Christ, that you understand and uphold the Church's long-held teachings on Catholic education, and that you are thoroughly familiar with the material you review.

 

What to Review?

Our first preference is for specifically Catholic educational materials aimed at children and teens. This includes books, games, newsletters, and magazines for Catholic homeschoolers. Whenever possible, we'd like to first endorse and promote both Catholic home study programs and Catholic companies which offer materials suitable for homeschoolers.

The books and materials (for example, games) should be currently available - meaning in print. While out-of-print books are treasures, they are often difficult to find and thus a source of frustration for parents.

Self-help or how-to books that assist parents in their Catholic educational goals may also be reviewed, although the main focus remains educational resources for children and teens.

Materials that are not specifically Catholic are also welcome for review purposes, with special attention paid to anything (positive or negative) homeschooling parents need to know in order to "Keep It Catholic." Anti-Catholic books, publishers, and catalog companies should also be brought to our readers' attention.

 

When to Review?

Review as soon as possible, when what you have learned from a book or other resource is still fresh in your mind. Jot down a few notes as you learn about the resource for later, easy reference when writing your review.

 

Where to Send the Review?

Email your review to keepitcatholic@usa.net

While we have every intention to publish every review sent to us, we do reserve the right to edit as necessary, ask for a rewrite or, in certain circumstances, to decline to print the review. Following our easy outline should deter any refusals.

 

Why Review?

The why of reviewing is to help other Catholic homeschooling parents in giving their children an excellent Catholic education, as well as saving their time and money. Other Catholic homeschooling parents could highly benefit from your experience and your willingness to share what you know.

 

How To Write a Review

 Following the examples already found on this site, please include the full title of the resource (including subtitles, if applicable), publisher, age or reading level, your name, the Catholic resource(s) where it can be purchased, and, possibly, the year it was published and its length in pages. Price is not imperative, as prices can change at any time but you may include such information if you wish.

A short bio on yourself is necessary, as reviewers will be given proper credit for their work. Unless you request otherwise, we will publish your full name with the review and include your bio on a separate page, listing our reviewers.

Simply include basic information like the years you've been homeschooling, how many children you have, and perhaps what led you to Catholic home education. If you have a website, KIC will feature it at your request.

Because KIC respects your privacy, you needn't publicly provide confidential information like your surname, your children's names, your place of residence or your parish, if you do not desire to divulge such information. If you wish to remain anonymous, KIC promises absolute confidentiality and will list only your initials and your brief bio information. However, you will be asked to confidentially provide your identity to KIC.

As for the review itself - Please explain why a resource shows itself to be either thoroughly Catholic, acceptable even if not thoroughly Catholic, secular, "New Age," or anti-Catholic. Provide at least one example to prove your point. Feel free to quote from the resource, if necessary, to further back up your critique.

While we encourage in-depth critiques, the review need not be a full length book report. However, it also needs to be more than "I highly recommend it" or "I liked it." Again, please cite reasons, if only a point or two, for either your recommendation, ambivalence, or your warning.

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Catholic Homeschool Review Pages - The Rest of It!

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