#CatholicCrafts on Instagram, #Giveaway at Catholic Sistas and #SuperSaints!

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Do YOU love Instagram? There’s a new tag out there to help you organize and discover awesome Catholic Crafts! Read all about it at Equipping Catholic Families and add #CatholicCrafts to share your Catholic Craft Triumphs!

Catholic Sistas giveaway

Check out this GIANT Giveaway over at Catholic Sistas! $1300 in Catholic prizes and over 60 winners!

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…and some other exciting news directly from Equipping Catholic Families: We’ve launched our campaign for the official print of the Super Saints Quizzing Cards!

Please check out our Project: Super Saints: we’re 32% towards our goal and the campaign ends August 31st!  Invest in tools to foster your kids’ love for the Saints!

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If you’d prefer to get your Cathletics Craft Kits here and now with $10 OFF, the funds from our Back to {Home}School Sale will go a long way to helping us print the Super Saints!

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Thanks for your support and enjoy your Cathletics Craft Kits to print at home!

Teaching Our Children to Pray

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During Lent we are taking time as a part of our homeschooling to focus on the three areas of Lenten focus:  Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.  The first area that we have been focusing on is PRAYER!

First of all, at the beginning of Lent we all learned The Lent Song from Catholic Icing.  We love it because it was easy to learn and explains the meaning of Lent in easy ways for kids to understand!
“Prayer, Fasting, and Alms Giving,
We are meant, to repent.
40 days of sacrifice,
Being super, extra nice,
This is Lent.  This is Lent.”
(Sung to the tune of Frere Jacques)
Our Regular Prayer Schedule is woven within our homeschool and daily schedule.  It usually looks like this:
  • Morning:
    • Mom:  Daily Readings, Spiritual Reading and Journaling (Usually about 30 minutes, hopefully before the kids wake up!)
    • Family:  Morning Offering and Learning about the Saint of the Day (usually at the breakfast table)
  • Afternoon:
    • Angelus at Lunch Time
    • Decade of the Rosary with Holy Heroes CD’s after Homeschool and Nap Time
  • Meal Times:
    • Prayer Before and After meals
  • Evening/Bedtime:
    • Our Father/Hail Mary/Glory Be
    • Prayers of Intention
    • We are also adding the Daily Examen and Learning the Act of Contrition

Continue reading more HERE!

Nicole Ernest is loving living out her vocations as a Catholic wife and mother. Nicole resides in Nebraska with her husband and their lovable, energy filled boys. Nicole shares about living the liturgical year, homeschooling and marriage/ family life at her blog Children of the Church. Nicole is thrilled to be a part of Catholic Blogger Network!

 

 

Catholic Homeschool Styles & Curriculum Predictor

Take the Quiz and let me know, in comments, if you think it predicts your style accurately.


Homeschooling Style Quiz: (by Dr. Chen – see below)
Use the following scale in answering the questions. Be sure to circle the number that corresponds with your answer.

1 2 3 4 5 6
That’s not me at all Rarely true, only 20% of the time Occasionally true, about 40% of time Often true, about 60% of time Usually true, about 80% of time Almost always true


Group 1A questions
I look forward to homeschooling 1 2 3 4 5 6
My husband wants me to homeschool 1 2 3 4 5 6
I love to study and learn new things 1 2 3 4 5 6
I enjoy reading aloud to my children every day 1 2 3 4 5 6
I find myself naturally explaining things to the children 1 2 3 4 5 6
I’m in the middle of reading a book (romance novels excluded) right now. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average (total divided by 6) for 1A=______________

Group 1B questions
There is a show or movie on TV that I want to watch almost every night 1 2 3 4 5 6
I spend an hour or more each day visiting friends or chatting on the phone 1 2 3 4 5 6
My husband wants me to homeschool, but I dread it. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I can’t find time to read. 1 2 3 4 5 6
It’s very hard to find time to play with or read to the children. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I often feel guilty about not getting enough accomplished. . 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average (total divided by 6) for 1B=______________

Group 2A questions
The inside of my kitchen cupboards are clean and organized . 1 2 3 4 5 6
We all make our beds, put away our clothes and do our chores without a lot of problem . 1 2 3 4 5 6
I rarely misplace things. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I enjoy paying the bills, planning the details of a trip or organizing an activity . 1 2 3 4 5 6
The books in our personal library are categorized so that I can easily find them 1 2 3 4 5 6
The inside of our refrigerator is clean. . 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average (total divided by 6) for 2A=______________

Group 2B questions
Usually there is laundry to be done and piles around that need to be folded . 1 2 3 4 5 6
I have a hard time getting my children to do chores . 1 2 3 4 5 6
I want to teach my children but there are so many choices that I don’t know where to begin . 1 2 3 4 5 6
When my children ask me where something is it takes a long time for us to find it . 1 2 3 4 5 6
I don’t know what we will be having for dinner until it’s time to cook the meal. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I procrastinate a lot. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average (total divided by 6) for 2B=______________

Group 3A questions
I like to plan things down to the last detail 1 2 3 4 5 6
I like doing craft activities or taking trips to the zoo or library with the children 1 2 3 4 5 6
I think a great way to learn is curled up on the couch with a book 1 2 3 4 5 6
I would let my children do their schoolwork on the floor if they wanted to 1 2 3 4 5 6
Kids can learn more about nature by walking around outside than they can from a book 1 2 3 4 5 6
I hated my textbooks and workbooks when I was in school 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average (total divided by 6) for 3A=______________

Group 3B questions
I like the idea of my children sitting at desks quietly working 1 2 3 4 5 6
It’s important for me to know what and how to teach my children each step of the way 1 2 3 4 5 6
I’m afraid my kids will have “gaps” in their education 1 2 3 4 5 6
I want my children to be at the same place in their subjects as the children in school 1 2 3 4 5 6
I like the idea of having just one book for each subject 1 2 3 4 5 6
I worry that I won’t be able to teach my children what they need to know. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average (total divided by 6) for 3B=______________

Analyzing the Results:

The average from 1B, 2B and 3B must be reversed in order to analyze the results of this test.
6 becomes 1
5 becomes 2
4 becomes 3
3 becomes 4
2 becomes 5
1 becomes 6

After you have reversed the score for those 3 groups take a final total. Your total score should be between 6 and 36.
What your total score indicates:

6-12 total strongly suggests that you should use a homeschool program such as the Angelicum Academy or Seton HomeStudy. [I’d imagine that would apply to Our Lady of Victory, as well..maybe Kolbe, too. ]

13-18 total suggests you should use a program, but that you could add or change a small part of the program without a problem.

19-24 totalindicates you would be comfortable using some type of lesson plan system that you can modify to suit your needs. Good options might be the lesson plans from Catholic Heritage Curriculum or syllabi offered by Mother of Divine Grace or SaintThomas Aquinas Academy. [Could Kolbe fit in here, too, as it also allows modifications?]

(BINGO!  This is where my test puts me.  But, I *feel* that I meet the description of 13-18 as I do use a program – MODG- but enjoy its flexibility to add in Seton, OLVS ,CHC books and other resources suggested by my mentor, Paola of EmmanuelBooks.)

25-30 totalsuggests you could develop your own lesson plans, but would need support and guidance which could be found in DesigningYour Own Classical Curriculum or the suggested curricula at Catholic Heritage Curriculum.  It would also be helpful for you to examine lesson plans that others have written before creating your own. [ Consider, MaterAmabilis, I would think.]

30-36 total strongly suggests you would have no problem creating your children’s educational program.

If your score “doesn’t make sense” go back and recalculate making sure that you reversed the appropriate scores  as directed at the top of the page.

Quiz designed by Andrea Chen, Catholic Homeschool Mom of six, director of Mercy Academy Homeschool Program (http://www.mercyacademy.net), with a Phd. in Psychology.

It was put together based on her experience and knowledge of tests, measurement and homeschooling. This questionnaire has been tested on over 100 homeschooling mothers and found to be valid.

Do you agree?

in +JMJ+

Allison from

Catholic Homeschool Support Groups on Facebook

Get connected to other Catholic homeschoolers on Facebook. There are a variety of groups.

I am seeing much more activity in the Catholic homeschool Facebook groups than I am seeing in the yahoogroup emails. If you are looking for support and Catholic homeschool info please consider these links to active groups. These communities are helpful and connect us to others like us across the map. 

+ Catholic Homeschool Moms https://www.facebook.com/groups/24164460379/ over 1,000 members

+ Catholic Homeschoolers of NorthEast (PA, NJ,DE,MD) https://www.facebook.com/groups/115513477358/ over 70

+ MODG Moms https://www.facebook.com/groups/29412108736/ almost 200

+ Mater Amabalis(for Catholic Charlotte Mason approach) https://www.facebook.com/groups/materamabilis/ almost 200

+ Catholic Homeschooling Resources https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Homeschooling-Resources/137231707453 almost 700

+ Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschool FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Totus-Tuus-Family-Catholic-Homeschool/285307812834?fref=ts over 700

Did I miss any? Please add to comments.

We Made a Lorax Tree Craft

From this website , found on Pinterest, we found inspiration to make a Lorax craft.

Make sure to open the link above to see instructions I did not include here.

First, my daughter and my mother collected craft supplies. A piece of cardboard for the base…green construction paper…paper for a path….foam shapes….clay….popsicle sticks…pipe cleaner….yarn….glitter glue.

After wrapping the cardboard in green paper and cutting a winding trail out of black construction paper, my mother helped my daughter glue foam pieces onto the trail to look like a cobblestone path.

This wasn’t in the movie, but any chance to use more glue was fun for my daughter!

To make the tree trunks, we used popsicle sticks . Pipe cleaners created the look of the stripes and helped to grab the “Truffula Tufts.”

Here, we have sunk the sticks into mounds of clay that she then painted with green glitter glue.

We realized she even had tiny bears that she could include to replicate the movie, now all we need is a little Lorax.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

-The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Fishing for the 12 Apostles

One day while teaching the kids about the 12 Apostles, I decided to come up with a fun and easy way for them to learn the names of the twelve apostles. I know grown adults that stumble with the names of Jesus’ twelve followers. I figured it might help them remember better if they could play a game.
So I came up with the game Fishing for the Apostles.

I figured the fishing game was perfect since some of the apostles were fisherman.

To learn more about the game and for the free printable CLICK HERE

Blessings,
Monique

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My Lenten Journey for Kids

I posted EGG-straordinary Lenten Rosary Project for your Family – a tutorial for a Lenten activity for families – over at Catholic Sistas. As I was revamping this post from one I did last year, I came across many great additions. While I won’t go into the specifics of the Easter Egg Rosary Project here, I will show you the booklet that evolved from it’s transformation from a post that was original to Designs by Birgit last year. I simply used links to various ideas for coloring pages, Stations of the Cross carousels, and other ideas and created a Lenten Journey Book for Kids.

My links are here: My Lenten Journey for Kids

Unschooling and Catholicism – Yes, it's possible! :)

I don’t define myself strictly as an unschooler since we’ve been attempting to use a curriculum lately, but during the earlier days of homeschooling, I didn’t realize that we were actually unschooling in a way. Now, for those of you who may be thinking: “Huh? What in the world is UNSCHOOLING?,” you may find the links on this page useful.
Image source here. (Disclaimer: The blogger whose site I got this from says she’s a “free thinker,” so I don’t know if she believes in God. Just being clear that I’m not “advocating” free thinker-ism [if there’s such a term, LOL]. Of course, God loves ALL people and it’s up to Him to make the final judgment.)
Actually, come to think of it, what we’ve been doing these days could be classified as unschooling too, especially since I still haven’t been able to “land” my dream “job” of becoming a fulltime stay-at-home mom. It’s been a real struggle for me to plan our lessons and implement them, and most days I end up letting the kids play to their hearts’ content, and make up for the seeming “lack of lessons” by reading more books as usual during bedtime. 😉
In this light though, I am really grateful that I’ve stumbled upon the Unschooling Catholics blog and have even joined their yahoogroup. (Though right now, I’m more of a silent member, hehe!)
Homeschooling our children is still one of my top priorities now, and I find it really exciting that God is showing me different ways of how my fellow Catholic moms and our fellow Catholic families make it work. 😉 At least I know that there are lots of options out there for us who feel and believe that we are called to homeschool our kids – thank You, Lord! 😉
So if you’re interested to see how unschooling and Catholicism work out for the family’s best, try going over to the Unschooling Catholics blog! 😉 They have a list of Catholic unschoolers’ blogs on the right sidebar of the blog page, which you may want to explore too. 😉
Here’s to Catholic homeschooling, whatever “form” or “style”! 😉 + AMDG +

Lovable, Capable, Valuable Plate

A special plate I made when our family was just beginning.

A friend shared the idea that although you could buy a “special” plate for birthdays this could be about more.

And so it marks life’s celebrations and even life’s disappointments with the reminder that in good times and in bad when this plate appears at your place in our family table….

You are loved….You are valued…You are capable.


Allison blogs at Totus Tuus & Catholic Homeschool