YOUNGSTOWN THOM group supports Catholic home schooling

The Triumphant Heart of Mary Homeschoolers meet two or three times monthly.
TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- When Patty Wardle of Poland began home schooling her children in the Catholic tradition, she longed for a support group that held the same religious beliefs and values.
She's been home schooling her children for nine years. She and her husband, John, have four children: John, a high school freshman, Jacque, in grade six, Mary Jo, grade two, and Jacob, a kindergartner.
Eventually, she met other families at her church, St. Dominic, who were also using Catholic home schooling resource materials.
About a year ago, the group formed the Triumphant Heart of Mary Homeschoolers, or THOM, to support parents providing Catholic home education to their children.
The support group meets two or three Wednesdays a month at St. Dominic Church in Youngstown.
The families go to noon Mass, then to the parish center for lunch, prayer and rosary, gym, crafts and other age-appropriate activities.
The adults and children also take field trips, have seasonal parties and participate in sports such as ice hockey. Parents meet once or twice a month to plan new events.
"It's just such a beautiful group, it's almost like a second family. Everybody just instantly bonds and feels comfortable around one another," Wardle said.
Fifteen families involved
The group currently consists of 15 families with about 40 children from several parishes. Children in the group range from infants to high school seniors.
THOM is in the process of starting its own Web site. Wardle said many members are referred to the group by a Catholic home school networking Web site, http://www.chsna.org.
Although there are other home school support groups, Wardle said theirs is the only one in the area that is specifically for Catholics. She added that the group is the only Catholic-oriented home schooling group in the six-county Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.
"There's nothing contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church," said Wardle.
The group also includes families from both the Roman Catholic and Byzantine Catholic rites. Still, she said the group is debating whether it should be open to other denominations.
When it comes to teens, "We're really interested in promoting pro-life activities and natural family planning. Those are probably the major differences. We are in unity with the Holy Father and our bishop," she said.
Mission statement
The group's mission statement points out that the Catholic Church says that parents have a right to educate their children in their home. The statement also says members strive to use Catholic texts and resource materials while home schooling.
Wardle said she began home schooling because she didn't want to work full time to keep her kids in Catholic school.
"It's an alternative. Not everyone can afford private schooling, not everyone is happy with public schools. They want a little more religion in their child's life. It's a happy medium, I think," she said.
Wardle said there are several Catholic home school curriculum options and her group can guide parents in selecting one. Some parents order educational materials from a catalog to create their own program. Wardle said she didn't feel qualified to create the curriculum, so her children are technically enrolled in a correspondence course from a Virginia-based school that even grades the tests.
"Home schooling teaches children a lot about sacrifice and selflessness. There's a lot of self-discipline involved. I think that it builds character," said Wardle. "That's what home schooling is really about, whether you're Catholic or not, it's all about building character in these children."
XFor more information, contact Wardle after 5 p.m. at (330) 757-0602.