Saint Benedict Academy

Native American Unit Study

2011-10-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

Our two girls and I are studying Native Americans using the following two books: Sing Down the Moon by O'dell and The Book of Indians by Holling. We are loving these books! If you have any suggestions on any other books or activities for this unit please let us know!

Homeschooling Blogs-Why Do We Do It?

2011-10-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging here in quite some time. At times, I think that others say it so much better than me. Do we really need another homeschooling blog? But then I stop and think and realize that this blog is for my family. It is our journey of learning together. No two families are alike and certainly no two families are alike in the way that they learn at home.
I have decided that I miss blogging about homeschooling, about our daily lives together. It seems so appropriate that through prayer and contemplation that I would come to this conclusion on the Feast of St. Therese Liseux. Whenever things are unclear, my devotion to her sheds light on my path as a mother, as a teacher, as a wife.
Today when I looked through our blog I realized those treasured moments. They are so precious and I am so glad I have an account of them here.
Here's to all of you diligent homeschooling bloggers. May God bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you. May he look upon you with kindness and be gracious to you!

Graduation and Homeschooling

2011-06-21T03:43:00.000-07:00

Five kids and two of them are homeschool graduates! Phew! How did the time pass so quickly? Our oldest son graduated last year and now our second son is graduating this month. How do we celebrate graduating since we do not have the conventional graduation ceremony? We celebrate at Grandma's house on Cape Cod! She knows how to throw a party! I remember last year when our oldest graduated. We were in New York City for the official graduation date. Our son picked out a gift. ( It happened to be an amp peddle for his guitar). We wanted to get him a signet ring but he had no interest in that. He wanted something that he would use a lot. So off we went to the music store, not an uncommon place for this family to visit. A few weeks later, we headed up to grandma's for the real celebration. We have lots of relatives on Cape Cod so it was an automatic party!
This year? We still haven't figured out what to give our second graduate. His grandmother just recently gave him her baby grand piano that she had for forty years. He's having it refurbished in New Jersey. And while we are figuring out a graduation gift for him we can know one thing for sure, we will have a party on Cape Cod for this second graduate of St. Benedict Academy and...I think we've started a family tradition: cake, steamed clams, fishing, boating, beaching it, a lobster, and a little night tag with the neighborhood kids!
So congrats to our son, Andre! We are proud. You've worked hard and this is only the beginning of wonderful things to come for you! May God bless the work of your hands!

Embrace Every Moment

2011-06-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

Our family 8 years ago. Baby #5 came that summer.

It amazes me how life goes by so quickly. I remember those days when we started homeschooling our oldest. He was five at the time. And now? He is nineteen. How did fourteen years fly by so quickly?

Last week, we sat behind a young family in church. The little ones were wiggly and full of questions. The baby's eyes were alert and beautiful. The parents were trying to keep him quiet. Somehow, the sound of babies crying in church is a comfort to me. It brings back memories of those days when our boys dressed up daily in costumes while their sister crawled on the ground beneath their desks tugging on their pant legs while they colored a phonics page, or painted, or busily worked on their latest lego creation.

A few days ago, I walked past a little boy at an event in our town. He was wearing a cape. He had a mask on. I remembered fondly the countless times of our little ones ran around in public dressed the very same way and tears welled up in my eyes.

This week I am embracing every moment with our family. I am watching our 7 year old paint an herb box blue to match our dining room. I am taking in our family making a bed for our garden. I am watching our fifteen year old tool around on his bike. I am enveloping myself in every single moment that I see our five children interact with one another. I am breathing in this atmosphere. I am watching our children and I am thinking, "God, life is so good. I don't want it ever to change."

Change. Change will come. But those moments with your family will last forever. Academics. They will always be there. Time. Time goes by. Embrace every moment with your family this month. It is a gift. One of the best gifts that could ever be given.

Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks: An Invitation to Little House Read-Along

2011-05-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

Very excited to join in this with our little girls. Yesterday was a pocket full of spring here in Vermont. We took out our picnic blanket and started reading, and discussing, and reading!

Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks: An Invitation to Little House Read-Along: "Did you grow up with Laura Ingalls Wilder? I did! There's a read along @ Beyond Little House happening right now and I'm scheduled to..."

Back to Nature

2011-05-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Nature is just that wonderous! For me, it trumps everything else having to do with home learning. Why? It just feels so wonderful. It makes you feel healthy of mind, body, and spirit. It's been a long winter here in the Northeast so it seems almost sinful not to be outside to take advantage of the learning that can happen spontaneously out there!

We have been starting out our days by getting outside. Our 17 year old son has been taking the little ones outside to study nature at the pond behind our house. Nature is a passion of his and what better teacher than their brother who laughs when they say something cute or holds their hand as they make their way down the path. And...his knowledge of nature has long surpassed mine. He has read every field guide form cover to cover just for enjoyment.

A few days ago a little painted turtle came to our house for a little visit. I came home to our two oldest boys helping our girls prepare the aquarium that was in constant use by the boys just a few short years ago.

Ah...fond childhood memories. I miss those days when all of our children were little. But, I also enjoy those glimpses into those moments when you know your older children are reliving a precious childhood memory.

Yes, today we will walk. Today we will enjoy. Today we will create a memory that someday we will hold dear.

2011-04-11T04:31:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately on why we homeschool. I feel so refreshed to yet again read through A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. This excerpt really struck a chord within me when I read it last week:

Charlotte wished to prevent dryness in her teachers an so she reminded them never to be without a good book at hand. She understood the necessity to keep reading, to keep growing in the spiritual and intellectual life. She wanted teachers to pursue cultural activities, too. I bid you do the same--take part in Mother Culture.

How could I have so completely forgotten about this? As I read through her book I am refreshed and renewed. I also realize that I should always have one spiritual book going, one for encouragement in home schooling, and one lovely piece of fiction for personal enjoyment. What is this? You might say...from a homeschooling mother? How could you have forgotten?

In a world with computers at your finger tips, cell phones, and easy internet access I have fallen into the trap I never thought I would.

Only a short 6 years ago, I only allowed myself internet access on Saturday mornings and that was only to read and participate in the 4 Real Learning Forum!

As I read through A Charlotte Mason Companion, guess what other book has been added to my booklist? Ourselves Volume 4 by Charlotte Mason. Last night, I read deep into the night several pages and the answer of why we homeschool came to me. Well, it is only one of the reasons and to me the most important one: The relationship of our children between themselves and God. I cannot recommend enough Ourselves Volume 4 and I see why Charlotte felt it so necessary to write it.

As I read through that book I realize the importance of reminding our kids of vice and how it can be replaced it with virtue. For me it is like stumbling upon a gold mine, a treasure trove of advice.

Today we will start reading Ourselves Volume 4 together as a family. No schedules. No dedlines. Just because we were led to it. Isn't that really the beauty of homeschooling?

Is It Easier to Give Up Chocolate?

2011-04-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Are you having one of those Lents? The Lent where you plan what you want to sacrifice, what you want to give, and then God turns your face to where you need the most pruning? I am. Yes, I am pruning back. I am realizing those things that are good for me and those things that are not. Elizabeth Foss says it so well in her post here.

Yes...sometimes it is much easier to give up chocolate...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

2011-03-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes reflecting on the small pleasures in life can bring such peace and comfort. (I know, not very lenten of me but I am a work in progress.)

Favorite Coffee: Green Mountain French Roast via our Keurig Coffee Maker

Favorite Candles: Yankee Candle French Vanilla

Favorite lyric: "Bless your body, bless your soul, pray for peace and self-control" from the song "The World We Live In" by The Killers (I recite it often.)

Favorite book on my Kindle: Small Steps for Catholic Moms by Danielle Bean and Elizabeth Foss

Favorite book: Jane Eyre by Bronte

Today's Favorite Moment: Little girls discovering the first crocus of early spring...

A Reflection on Real Learning

2011-03-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

   I have come to the conclusion that I do think outside the box. I know, I know. It only took me forty-seven years to figure myself out! I usually have these "epiphanys" in the early hours of the morning when our five children are asleep.
   As we enter April, two of our five children are graduated and we are still continuing to homeschool 3 more. What an interesting thing to watch our two oldest and realize that they are really passionate about what they do! So whenever I have my doubts about what we have done at home, I will think about who they are now as young adults, and realize that God was leading us on this path over the years all along.

   Today I came across this post on this blog, La Paz Home Learning. How refreshing it is! I love when somehow I am lead to something that for me is like dipping my hand into a cold spring on a summer day!
With our busy life of the past couple of years, I have gotten away from the very thing that drew me to learning at home with the kids in the first place! I miss my camera, I miss the creative art, I miss the nature study, I miss those days when all we did was read real living books aloud!

   Practice: Today we will do one thing that we really love doing together as a family. Maybe a nature walk with a few photographs of the things that we see that interest us the most...and who knows where that will take us...

THE ELECTRIC COMPANY: Music Video: Burnham Brothers - Reading With Feeling

2011-02-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

LOVE "Reading with Feeling". Lots of home schoolers love to read with feeling!

2010-12-27T04:15:00.000-08:00

Very excited about getting a new Kindle for Christmas and looking forward to reading those books to the kids and to myself! Here is a link to a blog with recommendations to use with your Kindle.

Merry Christmas!

Keeping the Home in Home School

2010-12-16T04:10:00.000-08:00

I loved this article from Julie Bogart's blog! It is worth reading a couple of times and perfect for the season of Advent and Christmas. I just thought I 'd pass it along!

2010-12-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

Each year besides our family traditions, we like to pick a few prayer exercises and spiritual readings.
This year we are saying the Saint Andrew Novena (It is one of our son's patron saints)and reading the Book of Wisdom. Thank you lovely ladies at 4 Real Learning for your inspiration and your prayers. And to anyone who reads this, may God bless you and your families this Advent season!

Saint Andrew Prayer

Hail and blessed be the hour

and moment in which the Son of

God was born of the most pure

Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Beth-

lehem, in piercing cold. In that

hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to

hear my prayer and grant my

desires, through the merits of

Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of

His Blessed Mother. Amen.

A Thought I am Sharing...

2010-10-18T03:18:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe how quickly time passes. All you have to do is just look at your children and they will let you know how quickly the years have zipped by. It seems like yesterday that we welcomed our fifth child into our home. This is a moment I will never forget, a moment I hold so dear. God has been so good to us and we feel so blessed to be together as a family even as our oldest enters into his 19th year!

There are times when I grow weary of homeschooling but never regret it. It is so human to get tired. It is so human to get discouraged. After all, if everything felt easy, why would we need God? God knows what we need at every turn. And..He knew I needed these children. He knew that would bring my husband and I great joy.
Has this life been easy? No. Has it been trial free? No. But in those struggles there has been great joy. Last night I heard our seven year old giggle in her sleep. I smiled to myself and thanked the Lord for the joy he has given us; grateful for every single moment that we have spent together as a family, grateful for the lovely people our children have become.

Back to Scheduled Learning (or School)

2010-09-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it has been the easiest back to school transition this year, then it ever has been these past 12 years of homeschooling. I did put a lot of thought and planning into everyone's lessons. It feels incredible to have our 3 boys home for this first week of school. Of course, one is graduated but is working like a busy bee at his job. Our 9th grader loves the books that I have chosen and is diligently working through his lessons and finishing early. Our 12th grader has always been self motivated so he has been steadfastly working on all that he needs to get done. Our 6th grader who has always had a hard time with any formal studies is really excited and whips through all of her lessons without complaint! And our 7 year old is just a pleasure... just so excited to be a big girl in first grade. She read to her 18 year old brother yesterday from How To Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and he told her that her book was the very same book he learned how to read out of. She showed him her books and he reminisced that these were the exact books he used in 1st grade!

So did some miracle happen? I don't know. But I'll take it and be thankful. Every home schooling family knows the daily struggles that can occur while learning at home; lack of motivation, melt downs, sloppy work, incomplete lessons, and the dreaded outside interruptions! Then, you find yourself policing your children back into order, good attitudes, neat work and completed lessons. I personally dread having to kick into the police mode!

Homeschooling, for me, is so worth the periodic struggles to have these blessed moments when you know that your children get it, when you know that all the effort you put into their studies during the dreary winters of last year really have paid off!

Next week, our three boys will again go on the road with their dad (they are performers) and somewhere along the way the girls and I will meet up with them. But for now, I will take these treasured moments, these few days when I can remember for many years this was the only way our days used to be; learning at home among order and periodic chaos. I am so happy to have had the privilege of sharing these treasured moments over the years.

May all you lovely home schooling families have a beautiful start to your school year!

My prayer: Praying for all home schooling families. That they have a blessed school year and may the Lord bless the work of their hands!

For a Good Purpose: This Blog!

2010-06-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is I am so glad that I have this blog. I am currently working on end of the year portfolios and I am able to look at my blogs and remember the things we have done this past year. We did a lot more than I thought. It always ends up that way! Well, that kind of was my purpose of opening up this blog: to keep a record of the schoolish and unschoolish things we have done, to remind myself that we have done a lot, and to have a record that I could pull up anytime!

I totally forgot about the things our children read and did last fall! I have a record of it all right, but this just so easy to pull up!

This coming year, instead of having 5 kids to school, we will only have 4! Yep! We have our first homeschool graduate! And all I can say is "Amen"! Now we only have 12 more years of schooling with our six year old. Taking one day at a time...taking one day at a time!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-05-12T05:02:00.001-07:00

"Perserverance" by Karen Andreola

2010-05-08T05:08:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this article written by Karen Andreola entitled "Perserverance". This is really the virtue that is key for the home schooled child but even more so for the home educating mother. Actually,along with perserverance must come patience and my patience or lack thereof directs how and where the week, the day, or the hour will go. Perservering as a mother, as a teacher, as an encourager is necessary but perserverance and patience must go hand in hand. So many times I have fallen off the wagon of patience. This usually happens when there is so much to accomplish and so little time to complete the tasks. I lose patience when I feel the clock is running against me. In our society, we are a people of multitasking. Why do we have to complete two, three, or more tasks at once? I am quite sure the learned people of 100 years ago focused on one task at a time whether at work in the fields, or at home learning by candle light. The times when I do feel my most patient is when we are doing one task at a time. For instance, dictation done together with daughter and son feels very natural to the rhythm of learning and so right. Many things are getting accomplished at the same time while we are completing only one task. Along with dictation comes spelling, punctuation, attention to neatness, learning vocabulary, and exposure to beautiful language written by Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen, the poets, and so many more.

Over the years I have learned just because the children complete a bunch of worksheets in a timely manner doesn't necessarily mean that they are learning or having the best education! The most improvement I have seen is when we focus on one certain detail, like neatness in dictation and math. To me it seems that is when the most growth and learning occurs! Enjoying great literature while doing dictation is when I see the most improvement in spelling. And that is when the child with weak spelling skills becomes confident, encouraged and it is during those times when I see him or her grow in perserverance.

Through perserverance, I know that we are truly on the path to learning together as a family. Yes, even in those moments when I want to throw my arms up into the air and say, " I can't see any improvement! Will this child ever learn?". Dear Mothers and Fathers, through your perserverance and patience, your children are learning! Don't lose heart. You are giving your children such a wonderful gift; yourself. And those cherished moments of loving, laughing, and learning together as a family? Those are the precious moments you will cherish always.

The following excerpt is taken the article "Perserverance" by Karen Andreola:

“Trying times are no time to quit trying.” — Anon.

You can do almost anything if you will only have patience; water may even be carried in a spaghetti strainer if you can only wait till it freezes.
Persevere, my fellow homeschool mother. Onward, Christian soldiers. Don’t turn back. Every moment has a three-fold duty–one to God, one to others, and one to you.

Homeschooling Through High School Tips

2010-04-25T05:22:00.001-07:00

Simply Charlotte Mason has a lovely blog and I absolutely loved the segment on "Home Schooling Through High School the Charlotte Mason Way". I love the tone of this blog and the helpful pointers that really put me at ease.

Currently, we have two high schoolers, one graduating this summer and one entering the 12th grade. This fall, we will have our youngest son beginning his first year of high school. What I've learned during this journey of 13 years of home schooling is that every child is different right down to the literature list that they read. One child loves historical fiction and one loves non-fiction, especially science based. Our fifth grader loves everything Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell. Tailoring your home schooling to each individual child's style has been key for us over the years. And now? Our high schoolers are very independent learners. I am their coach. I am their encourager. We have discussions about subjects studied and books read. We talk about our faith and about the Bible. These are the tools for learning that Charlotte Mason encourages every child to attain.

But even after all of these years of learning with the children, I fall into doubt. Am I really doing a good job? Are the children learning? Is home schooling the very best for them? The answer is a resounding YES! And this is why. Home schooling families care about the character of their children and this is a facet that is quite overlooked in conventional schools. The school boards are so focused on academics that they forget the most important quality in every child is their character, teaching them to be good people and good citizens. Are they doing it intentionally? I don't think so. But our society is so driven by appearances and by how everything looks on the outside that they rarely take a good look on the inside.

At home we have the benefit at putting the character of our children at the top of the list.

Dear home schooling parents,

This week observe your children and how they behave toward one another and how they interact with those outside the family. I think that most of you will know how wonderful you are doing as home schooling parents. And then you can take a deep breath and relax. And the transcripts...the daily lists? Well, that is only "elementary, my dear Watson, elementary". :)

Science and Art Combined

2010-04-09T04:50:00.001-07:00

I just love combining art with science! This is nothing new. It is very Charlotte Mason. But, you know how sometimes you forget? Time goes by and then there you are stuck in a rut. Spring comes along and voila! Just by the shear beauty of nature you are quickly reminded of what excited you about natural science in the first place! The girls and I did a little study of flowers the other day, pulled out our water colors and began to paint flowers and their parts. We figured this was the best way to learn and remember about the pistil, stamen, and sepal.

I love it when the children love to learn!

When our teenage boys were studying biology with Apologia, we did lots of drawing and sketching. There is something special about using several of the senses to help you remember and even to never forget what you have learned.

These past months, we have seemed to have gotten away from the creative aspects that make learning so fun, but also productive. I don't know how we have, because it has always been so fun. It's kind of like when have your favorite food everyday. One day you run out of it, forget to put it on the shopping list, and then you arrive at your mom's house and she serves it at lunch and then you say, "How could I have forgotten about this meal? I have always loved it. Thanks, Mom, for reminding me about it!"

Well, thank you, nature, for reminding us of the beauty of learning about the world around us by getting outside, observing those things around us, and then creating something special and unique.

Smooth and Easy Days..Simply Charlotte Mason

2010-03-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Love this ebook and it is free! Just thought I'd share. Bless you all this Lenten season and enjoy!

"I Can. I Ought. I Will."

2010-03-04T04:31:00.000-08:00

We just love Charlotte Mason! Our home schooling style over time has moved more in line with the teachings of Charlotte Mason with just a little classical twist. I came across this site on the 4 Real Learning Forum. (I just love that place!) Training the children in virtue is really the place to start in home schooling. I remember many years ago when we first started home schooling looking for every book and article on character training for the kids. Over time, it is so easy to get away from this with the twists and turns of life and especially with life's shear busyness! I am so thankful for Lent for it is a wonderful reminder of what is the most important quality in each and every person: virtue.

Here is a lovely starter list for your children and, of course, more importantly for parents to make a list of their very own not only for their children but for themselves!

It is no mistake that Charlotte Mason focused on training virtue in children! Virtue breeds discipline and beauty in each and every individual which in turn can help us to follow Ms. Mason's well known quote, "I can. I ought. I will."

Goals for a 6 Year Old

2010-02-16T04:27:00.000-08:00

I love the Ambleside Online resources. And one of my favorite lists is from Year 0 on what a kindergartener should attain by the end of the school year. I love schooling or should I say learning with the little ones. This is such a special time because of their hunger and eagerness to learn and everything is just so new to them!

"A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six"

A reprint of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's. from Summer 93 Parents Review pub by Karen Andreola

1. To recite, beautifully, 6 easy poems and hymns
2. to recite, perfectly and beautifully, a parable and a psalm
3. to add and subtract numbers up to 10, with dominoes or counters
4. to read--what and how much, will depend on what we are told of the child
5. to copy in print-hand from a book
6. to know the points of the compass with relation to their own home, where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows
7. to describe the boundries of their own home
8. to describe any lake, river, pond, island etc. within easy reach
9. to tell quite accurately (however shortly) 3 stories from Bible history, 3 from early English, and 3 from early Roman history (my note here, we may want to substitute early American for early English!)
10. to be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
14. to send in certain Kindergarten or other handiwork, as directed
15. to tell three stories about their own "pets"--rabbit, dog or cat.
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song
18. to keep a caterpillar and tell the life-story of a butterfly from his own observations.

Catholic Churches in Manhattan

2010-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

I just happened upon this blog, Catholic Churches of Manhattan, when I was looking up mass times this morning. It is a lovely blog and certainly worthy of recommending! We are so blessed to be staying where there is not just one Catholic Church but two within a two block radius. God is so good.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-27T03:16:00.001-08:00

Beating the January Doldrums...

2010-01-17T05:14:00.001-08:00

I found this link, Family Catechism.com, via the 4 Real Learning Forum this morning. What a lovely site for learning the Catholic Catechism interactively! The kids always have studied the catechism since they were little and we continue to do so right through high school. This site goes along beautifully with the Baltimore Catechism. I recommend watching the tutorial under the information box to understand how to navigate the site. Each catechism question can also be answered by Fr. Lovasik or Francis Cardinal Arinze by prerecorded video. I am forwarding this link to each of our children to go along with their religion studies.

The weekend is the time I research and plan for the following week of school. I always like to freshen things up so that the kids are a little more inspired when it comes to learning.

I am very pleased to have come across The Teaching Company. Our high schoolers are enjoying the Economics and Chemistry courses. They basically direct themselves through experiments, writing their own labs, and composing their own material for the economics course. I am so pleased with The Teaching Company that I will continue to use them for upcoming courses studied...especially history!

Another site I have come across that I am absolutely pleased with is Livemocha which is a site for studying any foreign language. Our fifth and eighth graders are studying French and I also am furthering my studies in French using Livemocha. These courses are similar to Rosetta Stone but I like them better because they are more interactive and the course is free:)

I AM INSPIRED...which is so unusual for the month of January for home schooling families. I always love finding something new to study or to read and these resources have done the trick! Today I will spend some time watching the economics course...this makes for better discussion with our teenagers. Also, I have caught the younger kids watching these courses too during school hours and I'd have to be off my rocker to shoo them away!

Off to type up our weekly lesson plans and to follow that up with some snowshoeing.

Children Who Read A Lot Are Better Writers-Ruth Beechick

2010-01-11T04:07:00.000-08:00

Over the years, I have collected many home schooling books, ones that have given advice on how to classically home school, how to school using Charlotte Mason methods, how to school using conventional school methods, but there a only a couple of these books that I keep rereading, one of them being You Can Teach Your Child Successfully by Ruth Beechick. I love her very candid advice and the ease in which I can implement these natural methods of learning into our daily routines with our children.

Last night and this morning I chose to really take a look at Part II: Writing. As I am reading it, I realize that we have naturally taken this path in which she so openly advises. She even gives several writing lessons and activities within chapter's five and six.

Here is an excerpt from chapter 5 that has always been our belief, hence, listening to and reading good literature has always been at the top of our list.

"Writing is the other side of reading. Reading is receiving language and writing is producing it. While children grow in reading and writing abilities, they carry on a dialogue, like an extended conversation. Children write. Then they read and see the way books do it. Then they write again, influenced by what happened in their minds while reading. And so it goes, on and on for years. Children who read a lot are better writers." Ruth Beechick

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-16T04:10:00.000-08:00

Free Literature...A Treasure Trove

2009-12-14T02:35:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE to buy books! I love reading books on learning and on all subjects but this year we had to really cut back! The Baldwin Project is one of my favorite sites. These books online are free for all to enjoy. Also, if you'd like to purchase these books they are quite reasonable. You can also check out Yesterday's Classics by genre. I just love the conversational tone of these "living" books.

Here are a few we just couldn't pass up...

The Story Book of Science by Fabre is lovely! Read this aloud while your children sketch in their science notebooks. In fact anything by Fabre is a gem!

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by Houghton is also another pick for our family this season. A fun addition to your holiday traditions!

English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall is a wonderful pick not only for your younger children but for your high schoolers too! This book is divided up by author. Need some information on Chaucer, Shakespeare, Bunyun? You got it!

"Relaxed" Homeschooling with Schedules

2009-12-08T03:34:00.000-08:00

Relaxed homeschooling by the fireside...

Schedule for 16 year old...especially handy for him when traveling...

I've tried homeschooling without schedules. I just can't do it. It isn't in my nature so I won't fight it. I really do these schedules more for myself so that I can see we are accomplishing something. We love our Macintosh computers! I could go into how much we love them but that's another post! I will just say this though; Using a Mac computer is just so easy, and I know it because I am in no way computer literate and yet I create films, open up notebooks,write, create folders, and upload pictures with ease.

I have created a notebook file for each of our children and there is where I keep their schedules, books read, and activities. We don't stick staunchly to the schedule but it helps our family to have a much smoother day of learning and has created for us over the years a "relaxed" style of homeschooling.

Yesterday, I captured our children learning together at the fireside. Our highschoolers were studying SAT vocabulary flash cards, our six year old was writing her numbers, our ten year old was reading about Saint Benedict, and our thirteen year old was reading A History of US.

I loved the atmosphere so much that I had to take a few photographs!

Finding your style as a homeschooling mother or father is the first key to successful homeschooling, and writing schedules yet keeping a relaxed atmosphere is the best way to school for us!

Since our boys travel a lot, here is a sample schedule for our 13 year old ( mind you...he's got to be done by noon so he can work:):

Theology-Read 1 chapter per day of Saint Paul the Apostle

ch.4___ ch.5___ch.6___ch.7___ch.8___

Beginning Algebra (do math exercises in gridded notebook) This book is going to be really fun!

___Day 1 read pp.7-20 and do “your turn to play” NEATLY in your notebook

__Day 2 read pp. 21—25 on page 25 do “your turn to play” numbers 1-20

__Day 3 read p. 28 and do city of __Adin and city of __Elberfield (p.29)

__Day 4 do odd #’s for city of ___San Francisco & city of __Gainsville (p.30)

__Day 5 do __Palmer & __Racine (all) I will check these when you get home!

Language

Spelling- copy into your notebook from Sequential Spelling

__21^st day__22^nd day __23^rd day__24^th day (Really try to remember these words their syllables and prefixes and suffixes as you copy them.)

Copywork from David Balfour by Robert Louis Stevenson

__day 1 __day 2 __day 3 Really closely look at spelling and puntuations and copy neatly!!!

History-read volume 5 A History of US by Hakim

__ch.27__ch.28__ch.29 __ch.30

Literature: Continue to read your book of choice for your literature studies. Let me know what it is so I can enter it into your book log.

Earth Science: continue to read from your field guides entering in points of interest in your notebook, the gems and their chemical compositions.

Writing in the Style of...

2009-10-28T04:09:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Julie Bogart's site Brave Writer and her blog, a seed was planted in our hearts of how to approach writing this year. Three of our children came up with very creative and fun writing projects. Our 10 year old is writing a story with the working title "The Magician", our 13 year old is writing in the style of Andy Rooney from 60 minutes beginning with the line "Why do people have so many...", our 16 year old is making diary entries as if he was Benjamin Franklin, and our 17 year old who is studying British literature, wrote a short paper using the style of Jane Austen.

I am dying to purchase Bogart's book The Writer's Jungle and hope to do so in the future:)

Of course, one needs to learn how to write the five paragraph expository essay, but for us that isn't the only approach that we want to take. In homeschooling writing, we hope to have our children develop a love for writing and if not, at least not a fear of putting the pen to the paper.

Yesterday, our ten year old would not put down her story and spent a couple of hours working on it while periodically coming up to me excitedly saying, "Mom, listen to what happens next!"

The key: Do not correct sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Yep, that's right! We save that for our SEPARATE spelling and dictation exercises. Also, we will correct one paragraph a week in their stories. But, at that point they will not be playing the author but the editor. (This does not apply to the high schoolers. But, they are very capable of proofreading and it is not a drudgery to them.)

Here is a sample of our 17 year old's writing in the style of Jane Austen:

As I walked through the gate that opened onto the garden behind the vast expanses of Lord Peter’s manor, I thought back on what he had said regarding his brother’s disposition and character, which must now be in doubt. Sir Charles Blake had always seemed like such an agreeable fellow, and this version of his character given by his own brother was such a different account of things that it vexed me greatly. My own father, who deemed himself an excellent judge of character had said that he thought Sir Charles was a very pleasant sort of person in his own right (if not a little silly and air headed). However, to hear this account of a very different and wild young man (if the accusations of his brother were to be taken for the truth) was all too horrible to believe.
I continued through the maze of shrubs and flowering bushes until I came upon the white marble bench that I was accustomed to read on. I opened my book and so enveloped in the novel, I never heard the steps of Sir Charles coming up behind me.

“Miss Catharine,” he said in is jovial drawl that was so particular to him.
I gave a start and quickly arose.

“Sir Charles, you startled me,” I said. “I didn’t hear you walking.”

“I apologize for giving you such a start and interrupting your novel, but I admit that this manner of my brother’s is so dull and you’re much the pleasantest person in the house. How about we take a turn about the garden?"

These attentions, which would have been so welcome earlier, now only made me more curious in finding out the alleged “sinister secrets” that now plagued my thoughts of him.

“I thank you Sir Charles,” I said. “I had just been thinking of abandoning my novel when you arrived and would be delighted at the exercise.”

“Oh good!” He said, “Let us walk down by the river. The air is so delightful there.”

I walked beside him, my mind fixed intently on other things, returning his pleasantries and carrying on the conversation, but thinking on all the things I had ever heard said about him, or by him. I was thinking also on the conversation of last night that took place between Lord Peter Blake and myself. His brothers vague words that had lead me to believe that Sir Charles was somehow involved in the horrid goings on taking place across the seas in South Africa and his assertions that his younger brother would do anything for a little sport were chief in my mind.

“Are you alright madam?”

“Oh yes, yes, I’m quite alright.” I said wondering if my thoughts were that conspicuous.

“Because you seem a little lost in thought,” he said with the same smile he always wore. “You seem detached.”

“No, no, I assure you,” I said turning red. I never could bluff. “I think it is just the damp river air. I feel chilled”

“No, it is not that” stated Sir Charles (a little too assertively for my taste) “No, something is on your mind. I hope my brother hasn’t been telling you tales.”

How did he know? Something on my face must have shown him that he was very near the mark for he said his smile fading slightly, “I wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea of me.”

We stopped walking and Sir Charles looked intently into my eyes. I looked back. His face had changed. He now didn’t look like the country dandy that I had originally taken him for, but neither did he look like a hardened criminal. He looked more serious somehow and to me it looked more natural. Almost as if that silly smile and drawl were a game he was playing to hide a true identity.

If this were the truth, he must have suddenly realized he was giving himself up, for he quickly resumed his dapper smile and said, (once again with that peculiar drawl) “What a conversation we are having. My silly brother, a good chap though he is, has a propensity to think the worst of people. For him it is much easier than liking them. The truth is I did do some traveling in my youth, and did end up in South Africa with my father. Aaaahhh, I see by your face that you have learned of my trips to South Africa from my brother. Well then, know only that I was only there for my Father. It was recommended that he travel there for his health, and I went with him to make sure of his wellbeing. There is nothing more. Well Miss Catharine, I bid you good day.”

“Well,” I said to myself taking out my novel again and watching the retreating form of Sir Charles Blake. “This gives me something more to think about!”

A Big "Amen"

2009-10-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

I have to say a big AMEN to Ginny Seuffer'ts Column in Seton's September newsletter "Reflections on St. Paul" (page 4). She speaks of the trials of homeschooling but also how the benefits outweigh any sacrifice and of the glorious fruits of our labors. What an encouragement to read this beautiful reflection!

Making a Map with Our Six Year Old

2009-09-24T04:31:00.001-07:00

This was a really fun activity with our six year old daughter. We made a mini piece of land that she could draw a map from. We made map symbols pertaining to the physical features on our make believe topographical map. She then drew her map using the map symbols on our map key. This was great fun in which the whole family got involved and what a fun way to teach map skills!

After, she brought the tray outside to our patio table and played with her miniature animals on her makeshift piece of land. All in all a successful project!

Lesson Plan for Our 12th Grader

2009-08-17T03:53:00.000-07:00

Lesson Plan for 12th Grade 2009-2010

1. RELIGION-

Chief Truths of the Faith by Laux (one chapter per week) along with
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Imitation of Christ by Kempis

2. MATH- lots of review Geometry/Algebra Teaching Textbooks along with SAT review in SAT prep book
The Joy of Mathematics by Pappas

How to be Happy How to be Holy by O'Sullivan

3. AMERICAN GOVERNMENT/ECONOMICS -
-ECONOMICS

iTrade Stock Market Simulator (our son loves this) Learning how to trade in the Stock Market...totally simulated and totally free!!!

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury

A Blue Stocking Guide: Economics by Jane A. Williams

Literature and Government following much of the Ambleside Online lesson plans

-GOVERNMENT
1. The Law by Fredrick Bastiat

2. Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

3. The Great Democracies by Winston Churchill
Quick Civic Lessons

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

U.S. Constitution

Plutarch’s Lives following Ambleside Online’s rotation

Caritas in Veritate papal encyclical on Social Justice by Pope Benedict XVI

4. British Literature using Ambleside Online's resources

English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall ( ch. 77-85)
Silas Marner
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A Tale of Two Cities
David Copperfield
Frankenstein
Julius Caesar
Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Les Miserables
British Poetry using The Harp Laurel Wreath by Berquist and using the discussion questions in this lovely book.

5. Chemistry – Using MacBeth's Opinion High School Chemistry booklist

6. P.E. weight lifting/ice skating/running
7. Language:
-Completed 2 years of high school Latin with Lone Pine Classical
may do one year of high school French

8th Grade Home School Lesson Plan

2009-08-10T04:29:00.001-07:00

Our son's 8th Grade Home School Lesson Plan for 2009-2010

MATH-Teaching Textbooks by Sabouri

RELIGION- Bible History by Schuster along with the books of Acts of the Apostles and Luke
Baltimore Catechism No. 2-part 3
A Saint Biography per term by Mary Fabyan Windeatt

HISTORY- A History of US by Hakim (vol.5-10 with Hewitt lesson plan and guide)
Geography- World of Where

SCIENCE- Earth Science using Milliken guides along with a sketch book following MODG’s lesson plan for Earth Science

LANGUAGE ARTS
Literature-one book with each volume of A History of US
Vol. 5-Caddie Woodlawn Vol. 9 Strawberry Girl
Vol. 6 Across Five Aprils Vol. 10 Saint Biography (Story
Vol. 7 Huckleberry Fin of a Soul)
Vol. 8 On the Way Home by Wilder/ Lane

-Sequential Spelling 1 by AVKO
-Writing Strands Level 3 by National Writing Institute

- Lots of dictation from literature selections
-Typing daily on computer

French- more than likely using The Easy French

Reading Ruth Beechick Once Again...

2009-07-22T03:43:00.001-07:00

While planning and pondering the upcoming school year (yes, I know that I am tardier than most out there), I always like to start with reading words of wisdom. I have a lovely collection of homeschooling books that I have accumulated over the years. This year I am starting my planning by reading two books by Ruth Beechick: You Can Teach Your Child Successfully and

Language Wars.

Below are two quotes from Dr. Ruth Beechick. They say exactly what I observe and feel as a homeschooling mom. The first quote is what I think every homeschooling parent on the planet should memorize! The second quote really says what is at the heart of homeschooling... self led learning! I find myself a constant cheerleader and it is so important for homeschooling parents to know the importance of that role. In fact, I find myself more of a cheerleader than a teacher, encouraging the children along the way to the ultimate goal of independent learning.

To all homeschooling parents out there: You are doing a great job! Start with that thought and then plan with confidence!

Blessings,

Marianne

"I meet teaching parents all around the country and find them to be intelligent, enthusiastic, creative people doing a marvelous job of teaching their children. But, sad to say, most of them do not know what a great job they are doing. Everyone thinks it goes smoothly in everyone else's house and theirs is the only place that has problems. I'll let you in on a secret about teaching: there is no place in the world where it rolls along smoothly without problems. Only in articles and books can that happen." Ruth Beechick, You Can Teach Your Child Successfully

"Eventually your children may be pursuing projects in their free time that seem to you quite worthwhile. Then you can be the cheerleader. Get more materials, more information, a new idea, whatever will help them to go farther than they would on their own. Along the way you can quit using some of the textbooks; they're likely to seem superfluous if things are going well." Ruth Beechick, Dr. Beechick's Homeschool Answer Book

St. Anne Novena (click here)

2009-07-18T03:34:00.001-07:00

I am so blessed to have connected with this Australian mom over these past years. She is such a beautiful example in her Catholic faith. Please join in saying this St. Anne Novena daily until the feast day of St. Anne. Our family will be offering up all of your intentions.

I highly recommend following her blog, Under Her Starry Mantle. It is a breath of fresh air and a beautiful way to start your day! I will also post her blog link on our sidebar.

Faith and Life Series and Other Resources

2009-06-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

This week's recommendation:

The Faith and Life Series happens to be one of my favorite religion resources. It is thorough and it relies on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Holy Bible. They have taught me so much as an adult and I always look forward to learning along with our children. The price is reasonable and so worth it! So for our upcoming 5th and 8th graders thumbs up on this series. Also, I will purchase the first grade book for our Kindergartener and take it slowly.

Religion is one of our core classes so I don't hesitate on spending on this first. I consider these books "living books". They are well made, full of paintings from the masters, and they make our faith come alive along with the Bible and Baltimore Catechism.

What do we have handy for our religion studies?

-Holy Bible

-Baltimore Catechism No.1 and No.2

-Faith and Life Series

-biographies of saints (Mary Fabyan Windeatt or Ignatius Press)

-Under Her Starry Mantle (Anne's blog)

High School Reflections

2009-06-19T03:58:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that after reading Elizabeth Foss's post at her blog, I feel really hesitant to blog about high school curriculum or our experiences during these three years of high school home schooling. So make sure you stop by there to read her thoughts before continuing to read mine.

We have been on this home schooling journey for 13 years. Every year seems to be a little different from the one before. What is most strikingly different for me about home schooling high school is the very independent nature that the boys seem to work at. We have two high schoolers at this point, both have finished or basically finished 9th and 11th grade. When I say basically I mean that our 9th grader is finished and our 11th grader is finishing up. We have two accomplished high schoolers with two very different learning and working styles. I think the lesson here is that the learning style of the high school student will not miraculously change once 9th grade hits. So the same rule of thumb should apply to the high schooler. Fit the curriculum to the child!

Our two boys have very similar interests but there are definitely different strengths and weaknesses. One loves literature and if that was all he had to do, he would sail right through it. One loves math and science and if you gave him just Latin for the summer and nothing else he would sail right through that!

Both of these children have struggles and both have strengths. It is important to realize that they do not have to be good at everything. It is more about learning how to learn that is most important for the high schooler (and all children for that matter). It is my hope that our children will take away with them a passion to learn and to not hesitate to approach something they would like to learn!

Yes, I am hesitant to post our curriculum because every child is so different! We used a full fledged home schooling program at first and by quarter 2 I was tweaking and by quarter 4, there was almost nothing left of the curriculum we purchased! I don't think this is an uncommon occurrence with home schooling mothers. What ever you choose, know that it will all work out in the end. I have chosen things for our 11th grader in the past that I was not happy with and he is just fine. It has not effected his learning ability. He is not even traumatized! :)

This is our final list from 9th grade and in the next post I will reflect on what we will do for 10th grade (probably using a lot of what I used with our previous 10th grader). Again, this is just a list not something to be adhered to but just a little guide. I have linked some of the books we used for your convenience.

Grade 9:

Religion:

Introduction to the Bible- Fr. Laux

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Holy Bible

Math-

Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 by Sabouri (We love this and all of our boys use this.)

Science-

Apologia Biology (with lots of sketching and outdoor exploration. I'm not big on lots of tests.)

Geography-

Used "World of Where" computer geography game. We concentrated one continent at a time.

Ultimate Geography Timeline Guide

Time Magazine

Latin 2-

online Latin class with Lone Pine Classical (This is his strength. My 13 and 9 year old will probably not take this path but continue French and use Latin Christiana very lightly for Latin and grammar.)

Composition-

Composition Workshop level blue by Sadlier- Oxford --- Not thrilled with this. The only thing I like and you can get this from any program is a focus on a paper in each catagory; a persuasion paper, a narrative (which we've done lots of) , an essay, a news article, and a research paper.

He wrote lots of poetry and lyrics. I also loved his religion papers and reflections. One certainly could take writing from Religion, History or Science.

In the future, I will probably drop the composition course above and combine it with literature, history or science!

Literature-

Lots of Ancient Greek Literature then moved on to C.S. Lewis and Dumas

Calling this course Literature 9. I combined this with our 11th grader for book discussions. We used some of the questions from Novel Inquiries Volume 3 by Margot Davidson.

-Perelandra by Lewis

-Mythology by Hamilton

-Till We Have Faces by Lewis

-The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare

-The Odyssey - by Homer

-The Three Musketeers by Dumas

-The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas

NOTE: The above list may seem like it was a lot. Our home schooling style is very "unschooly", so it was very doable. The homeschooling style is also a very important consideration when figuring out what your 9th grade booklist will look like. If you tend to follow everything by the book then this list above would or could have the possibility of being very taxing on the mother and child.

And if you need to keep track of any of these things, for example a paper trail, (our state requires this) then writing narratives and sketching are a perfect way to keep track of these courses.

Again, this is our outline, and when our 13 year old hits 9th grade it will change for him. Our family truly believes in adjusting the "curriculum" to fit each child. My hope is that this will help you and not confuse you. My rule of thumb is to choose what you, the mother or father and child would like to learn together!

Blessings,

Marianne

Mother Teresa

2009-06-17T03:52:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine let me borrow a documentary on Mother Teresa, Mother Teresa by Ann and Jeanette Petrie. Actually, I never asked for it but she brought it to me one day and it sat on my shelf for a couple of months. This dear friend is a strong, beautiful, Catholic mother of 5 and I have always asked her to pray for our family. I have for many years asked for her thoughts on many spiritual and worldly matters and she has always come back with such great insight. It is as if the Holy Spirit had whispered the words into her very ear. It is no surprise that she brought this particular film to our family.

I know now that it was supposed to sit on our shelf for two months because timing as many of us know in this life is everything. Our family had a big week last week with various matters and so when our boys arrived home from NYC it was again no mistake that the very next morning we were all watching this film. I watched it first at 6 o'clock in the morning and you must know that I'm not much of a T.V. watcher and I NEVER watch T.V. in the early morning hours. I sat there riveted to the film. I did not even move to get another cup of coffee.

Same with the boys. It was a bit difficult for our 13 year old son as he has such a heart for the poor and unfortunate. When he passes by anyone on the streets of New York I notice that he makes the sign of the cross and prays silently. It is not uncommon to see him give money from his very own pocket to those he feels need it.

As we make this journey in life, I want our children to know about all of the corporal and spiritual needs of the people on this earth. Our society is so much about "self". It is so easy to let that attitude slip into even the very devout Catholic households.

Our family has taken away something very special from this film. The next day I ran to the library to find a biography to read about Mother Teresa. I see now why people were so touched by her very presence for her presence still remains.

Everyday for the past week I have woken up thinking about her faith and love in action and now I ask the Lord what can we do today for you? The most notable thing for me about her life was how she focused on the very "littlest" of things she was doing and did it with great love. It makes it so doable for us to touch each other's lives just by doing little things...that it does not have to be "great"...that every little drop counts.

Yes, our family has taken away something very special from this film and in God's great plan the timing could not be better.

Quotes from Mother Teresa:

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

"Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world. "

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you
without leaving happier. "

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. "

SAT Admission Ticket Frustration

2009-06-04T03:08:00.001-07:00

O.K. This may be my mistake, an oversight, a lack of focus on standardized testing but I got to tell you, "Why does this have to be so difficult?" Our oldest son is scheduled to take two SAT subject tests( Latin and Literature) for this upcoming Saturday. I got an email of the admission ticket information yesterday and was dismayed to see his "nickname" on the ticket. Yes...not legal name but nickname! We went in to change it and you cannot change your name online but have to call the College Board. So I did. She said it would take 5 to 7 days to change his name to the legal name on the admission ticket. I explained that the testing is in three days! She said I could fax two forms of i.d. one being a photo i.d. to them and maybe they could make the change. I begged for help but she was unmoved. I told her this was really the only chance to take the Latin Subject Test...still unmoved:(

Frustration: He may not be able to take these tests because his photo i.d. name does not match the admission ticket or roster!

You may be thinking I should have checked the admission ticket long ago. And you are right, I should have. Our son has had this online account since 7th grade and he is 11th now. He set it up not thinking that he had to put his legal name in there...thinking it was more like a username. It is a sight that is supposed to help you on the road to college. If we would have bought the tests by mail we would have used his legal name as always. He has taken the PSAT and SAT in the past with no problem and has always used his legal name.

Why am I posting this? Well, maybe to vent but mostly to let others know out there to check the SAT admission tickets way ahead of time. Testing in Latin later in the year is not an option due to the fact that he won't be taking Latin this upcoming year. He just finished the course and this is the optimum time to take the test. I will post on this subject again to let you know the outcome.

Plan: To fax information needed to College Board

Call the high school where the tests are being administered and tell them our dilemma

And...pray for help!

UPDATE:

"All's well that ends well." I always love it when Ma says that in The Little House Series!

I called the high school where the test is being administered and they were so helpful. The teacher that is heading up the testing on Saturday said it wasn't a problem that his middle name was on the admission ticket as long as his legal middle name matched his nickname, which it does. He recommended changing our son's name on the College Board site. Yesterday, I faxed over to the College Board two forms of i.d. (one being a photo) requesting that his name be changed to his legal name. The name change will occur within the next 3 to 5 business days which falls within the time limit of having two weeks after the test date to change the name at the College Board site.

He will fill out his SAT Subject Tests on Saturday with his legal name (which he always has done in the past). The teacher at the high school said this sort of scenario in name matching usually isn't a problem at the testing but it can pose a problem at college application time and if the two names don't match up the college may not accept the SAT test.

Just wanted to post this for anyone who is trying to avoid this type of dilemma. I know that the less challenges in preparing for college the better!

At Work...

2009-05-29T04:34:00.001-07:00

There are times when we school like this....but there are many times we do not. There are days when I work with each child one on one and some days the children work very independently. I am a list maker but we do not hold ourselves to it. It is just our guideline so that I know we are accomplishing something. Some days we may only do literature and some days we may only do science and history. When we school there are subjects we always do cover...religion, math, and some sort of language arts exercise...mostly dictation along with spelling because they both go hand in hand for us. Our family's style of learning has changed over the years.

We have five children and for our 15 and 17 year olds I felt strongly that they should have at least two years of latin in high school. For our 9 and 13 year old I feel differently. My gut feeling is for them to have French for their core language (They had nine months of tutoring with a French teacher) with Latin included as a tool to teach grammar and writing. I think that it is key for a home schooling mother or father to really be sensitive to each child's interests and strengths.

In the above clip our five year old does some painting while the two older children copy and conjugate Latin verbs. I love when the children copy and make notes because they are learning spelling, writing, and grammar all in one fell swoop. That particular day we memorized some dates in Roman History along with reading a story about Romulus and Remus. This may appear very classical to you, but it is not. I still hold to the idea that our family is more on a Charlotte Mason path due to the free time in the afternoon and their passion for natural sciences and an eclectic selection of literature studied. We have lots of books laid out that we consider "real books". We do not only study ancient history in a given year but American and European history. We have workbooks but I do not have them do every page.

But if they wake up and are excited about working in their workbooks then we go with the flow.

With our 9 year old we do math equations at the dry erase board. She finds math overwhelming due to how quickly the workbooks we used in the past moved. I am amazed at her growth in math this year and feel strongly that she is at her grade level at this point. Her language and literature skills are with her 7th grade brother who is working at a 7th grade level, which is why I have them working together.

"At work" here at times looks like at play. But I know that the children are constantly learning no matter what time of the day.

Plan for today?

Lots of poetry and literature. We will play a math game "Equate" with the 13 and 9 year old. Then myself and our 9 and 13 year old will help the 5 year old with reading, counting, and memorizing a simple poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Our high schoolers are finishing up their online Latin II course and one is writing a history paper on the medieval time period. And our 9th grader is really finished with all of his work for this year. He is very self motivated:)

AND MUSIC....always, always music!

I look forward to sharing with you some of the materials we use for each child in future posts.

Blessings,

Marianne

Mom Time...(for vid click here)

2009-05-23T04:16:00.000-07:00

I know you mothers are so awesome. Mothers put so much time and effort into their children. In both Elizabeth Foss's book Real Learning and Karen Andreola's book Charlotte Mason Companion they both dedicate chapters to mom time calling it "mother nurture" and "mother culture". Mom time for me is many things...stealing a quiet moment, a walk, a good book, creating a new song. But for me it is also going outside the comfort of my home and doing the thing I love the most! SINGING. The other evening I had the opportunity to sing at a lovely recital a song that I have not sung in 25 years, "Se Tu M'ami" by Pergolesi. It was truly mother nurture for me...a moment that I will truly treasure for the tables were turned. One of our sons filmed ME performing (usually it is the other way around). They were full of hugs and compliments and it felt so good. If you have the opportunity, you are welcome to stop by and give a listen here.

Blessings,

Marianne

May Feelings II

2009-05-11T04:31:00.001-07:00

I love this! Thanks, Jenny!!!

The Little Moments...

2009-05-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

A home schooling moment..."The Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carrol"

I love capturing moments whether on film or in a photograph. Taking in every moment is what I love about homeschooling. You can take in these precious moments with your children. In the homeschool setting, your children really learn about who they are... They learn what are their strengths and what are their weaknesses. Mother realizes each child's style of learning is different. What excites them...what doesn't? I have never taught our children all in the same manner. One child is sensitive to sound and activity around him...one child would work through his math equations even if the sky was falling down around him. One child loves math and finds it relaxing...another child would copy a whole book if you asked her but doing one math problem is like pulling teeth. ( We've learned to start the day with math...with the prospect of all the other things we get to learn on the horizon:)

I find embracing the little moments throughout the day is what brings such joy to homeschooling. Is it joyful every moment? No. There are times when I ask myself, "Why are you doing this? Marianne, you're being pulled in five different directions. You must be crazy!" Then I step back, take a deep breath, often times say a little "Ave", look around, think about what we have accomplished together and realize, "Yes, this is all worth it!" For nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Success never just drops from the sky!

And here's a little secret of mine..when days are tough..and it might have nothing to do with schooling..it might be one of those nice little curve balls that life throws at you, I go on our blogs and look back at what we have done and realize, "Wow, this is really cool. We HAVE done a lot. I forgot about the time we did this or when he or she said that...AND behold what joy!

These are the things that make life rich! Not money...not fame or recognition. As we read through the book of Proverbs I keep saying to myself this is so right on. Then the kids laugh at me and say, "Of course, Mom. It's God talking, remember?" And they always laugh when I say, "You know, God really knows what He's doing!" The teenagers look at me like I have three heads. "Mom, God is God and He always knows what he is doing."

Ah...yes embracing all of the moments and especially those moments when you learn about yourself! Some days I am patient, some days I am not. Some days I feel like smiling and laughing, other days I do not. Some days I think I can handle whatever comes our way...other days I know I can't.

I think that during these little moments you learn the most about yourself and those around you. Life's little moments, moments that are treasures, moments that make life what it is...a gift that we are so blessed to partake in.

Homeschooling...More Than Just Scholastics (Chapter 4)

2009-04-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

So happy together...:)

There are many reasons why mothers and fathers choose to homeschool. We have touched a bit on socialization in the previous chapters. Many mothers, myself included, spend hours researching about the scholastic side of homeschooling: Which program should I use if any? What should we study in science and in history? Should I bump junior up a year in math and Suzy down a year in spelling?

And then there are the styles of homeschooling; classical, unit studies, charlotte mason, rote and drill, unschooling, relaxed homeschooling. This is the time of year that many families are planning their curriculum for next September. I mention this because your style of homeschooling and your choice of curriculi are very important but homeschooling is so much more than scholastics!

I am always inspired by the photographs that are captured during our daily life. They seem to reveal to me more than just memories. The above photograph was taken the other day when our three boys had been away for 2 weeks. The realization that they love being together was so evident after their absence. What I am saying is that one of the reasons why we homeschool is for the family to be together!

I love how our oldest is with our youngest. How the children all interact with one another. I love how the children have their father at their fingertips (He works next door.) I love the moments when our five children discover about the world together. I admire the children when I see them helping one another.

The other day I observed our 17 year old teaching our 5 year old how to read. Yesterday I observed the 9 year old teaching the 5 year old how to clean their room. She dressed her. She brushed her hair. These are the moments when I know we are doing the right thing by homeschooling. The children are building life long relationships with their syblings, and with their mother and father.

Being together throughout the day gives us the opportunity to come up with new plans and new goals for homeschooling. It gives us the opportunity to gather together for an urgent prayer need for our friends and loved ones. Being together opens doors for new goals and to expound on precious goals sometimes forgotten. Being together daily helps us to grow as a family and as individuals.

A time will come when the children will leave this precious nest to go out into the world and do all of those things that God has called them to do. And when that time comes, we will hold dear those times spent learning and discovering the world together. And...I will feel so happy that as a family we realized the opportunity to learn together, took it, and embraced it. That my husband and I had the opportunity to see the world through our children's eyes and that we in turn were able to learn so much.

Good Friday

2009-04-10T03:44:00.000-07:00

"This is the wood of the cross on which hung the Savior of the world, come let us worship."

Prayer over the people:

Lord, send down your abundant blessing upon your people who have devoutly recalled the death of your Son in the sure hope of the resurrection. Grant them comfort. May their faith grow stronger and their eternal salvation be assured. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

All depart in silence. The altar is stripped at a convenient time.

At Christ's Feet

2009-04-02T03:34:00.000-07:00

As we approach Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday) and Holy Week, we as a family have been reflecting on the daily mass readings and books in the Bible such as Proverbs, the Psalms, and the Gospels.

I have been so inspired by this following Psalm as to have written music to it. It is worthy to memorize to take with you wherever you go...to reflect on during those darkest hours at night when all the cares of this life come to the surface. It is at this time that I lay at Christ's feet and ponder all the wonderful things he has done for me, where I trust in Him, seek Him, and find Him. Where He gives "the peace that passes all understanding."

"Know that the Lord works wonders for the faithful; the Lord hears when I call out. Tremble and do not sin; upon your beds ponder in silence. Offer fitting sacrifice and trust in the Lord."

Psalm 4:4-6

"But you have given my heart great joy than they have when grain and wine abound. In peace I shall both lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me secure."

Psalm 4: 8-9

Praying for all of you dear families and friends during this next week, for your intentions, and for all of your needs.

Socialization Continued...Are They Missing Out? (Chapter 3)

2009-03-31T03:39:00.000-07:00

Another big question about socialization is "Are they missing out?" Well, maybe they are missing out on some things...after all we have to be honest with ourselves. But how important are these "other things" at school? And should we perceive it as really missing out?

If I look back after these twelve years of homeschooling, I realize that we don't feel we have missed out on so much. The kids have friends they see weekly. They've participated in sports, lots of family gatherings, lots of homeschool gatherings, plays, dance classes, singing lessons, science explorations just to name a few. So, yes, they may miss out on prom...but contrary to popular belief, I don't even think that is a necessary rite of passage!

Instead of viewing them as missing out, I have come to see how much they are gaining by learning at home. One of things I have noticed about our children and the home schoolers in our group is the wonderful discovery of themselves.

The children manage to find the time each day to do those things which they love particular to themselves. When you know who you are life becomes full, exciting. There is time for home schoolers to explore so many avenues until they find those things which inspire them. Those talents and interests that God has meant them to do all along.

I remember my first year of college. I remember introducing myself to many freshmen that year and there was one question that was always asked. "What is you major?" After the first month at college, I realized that not many of the students knew what they wanted to do. They were undeclared until they figured out what they wanted to major in.

I'm not saying it isn't o.k. to be undeclared....and deciding a major is a big decision...but I was amazed at the lack of passion among my college counterparts. There was nothing that drove them to learn. In fact, they were on a mission to get out of classes, avoid homework, and party.

The photograph above inspired me to continue writing about homeschooling. You know the saying, "a picture paints a thousand words". For me it holds true. I come across candid shots of the children all of the time. And what strikes me the most is their insightful looks. They are learning so much even during those moments when you may think they are just "fooling around". I believe children don't just "fool around" but do everything with a purpose.

The photograph above may look like our son is just fooling around. But then I asked him a few questions.

"Did you go down to the pond for a reason that day?"

"Yes, I went to see if that raft we made a couple of years still floated."

"And what did you discover?"

"Well, it was a little weathered. Actually when I was looking down, I thought this is not a raft but a bucket. I tried to keep my balance for awhile. And...I realized I could still paddle around in it even though it was a little too emerged for comfort." (And for a little back round information, the water is 2 feet deep at this marsh.)

I believe that the above scenario is a common occurrence among children schooled at home. They have time to discover themselves and the atmosphere around them. They have time to discover who they are. Are they missing out? No, they are not lacking or left wanting. It is quite the opposite...during the age of discovery they are inquiring, uncovering, and becoming who they really are.

"Why We Homeschool... Socialization" Chapter 2

2009-03-23T04:41:00.000-07:00

We have our own store. It happens to be our family business. We have had the opportunity to talk to many people over the years. When we get on the subject of homeschooling, the number one question that these people ask us is "What about socialization?" This very question scared me at the very beginning of our homeschooling journey. Wouldn't the children miss out on being with their peers in a classroom? Wouldn't they miss out on learning how to be with people and how to interact with them? So I looked up what socialization meant and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Let's first reflect on the definition of socialization according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Socialization: the process by which a human being beginning at infancy acquires the habits, beliefs, and accumulated knowledge of society through education and training for adult status.

So we can conclude that the first 5 years of a child's life is the time when parents are in charge of the "socializing" of the child. But I remember not being worried about how our children were socialized in the first five years of their lives. I don't remember anyone asking me how I was socializing our children. Now we can ask ourselves why would it be such an issue after 5? What was the change? I can only conclude that it has something to do with our current society.

After all, socializing was never an issue with our forefathers, for the leaders at the inception of our country, not even during the time MY grandmother was in school. I also can only assume that we didn't just all of a sudden "forget" how to socialize and therefore have to depend on the "experts" on how to accomplish this "skill".

Even more interesting is the definition I found on my Apple Computer dictionary regarding socialization:

socialize |ˈsō sh əˌlīz|
verb
1 [ intrans. ] mix socially with others : he didn't mind socializing with his staff.
2 [ trans. ] make (someone) behave in a way that is acceptable to their society : newcomers are socialized into orthodox ways | [as adj. ] ( socializing) a socializing effect.
3 [ trans. ] organize according to the principles of socialism : [as adj. ] ( socialized) socialized economies.

As we look at the three definitions, we see three different definitions. When people ask how do you socialize your children when they are schooling at home, we can only assume they don't mean the second definition and we can only hope they don't mean the third! And I always like to ask the person who brings up socialization, "What do you mean by "socialization"?" So I can get a clear understanding of what they are asking. And...it is definitely the first definition which concerns them. And since it is the first definition that most people mean then the concern for children to learn how to "mix socially with others" becomes no concern whatsoever and a mute point. It's like asking an owner of a two month old puppy, "How do you get your puppy to play?"

I have never once thought of how to get our children to mix with others for mixing with others the most natural occurrence in daily life. Every home schooled child I've ever met ( and I know many) can hold intelligent conversations with their peers and adults, are polite and respectful, they look you in the eye when they greet you, and are very pleasant people to be around. If the world were full of people that acted like these children I've met, we just might have a chance of getting a glimpse of heaven.

But you might argue that these children are involved in a lot of outside activities and therefore are learning to socialize. Ah...but what about IN the home? Aren't they learning to socialize more at home than from any outside source. And I say you, "You bet ya!" Learning to socialize in the home is in my opinion the best place to learn get along with others because of the values and virtues that are taught within that home. If children treat their brothers and sisters respectfully then they will treat anyone else they meet in the same manner. And after all...what is the world made up of? Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles, etc.
And how many families have you heard of where rifts and turmoil are at the center of their relationships? It is sad but true. So maybe the point we could argue is while Johnny is off to school learning to socialize with 18 other 9 year olds, when will he get the chance to learn to socialize with his family at home? Sound silly. Maybe or maybe not.

I could write pages on the subject of what I think about socialization in society and among home schoolers. But the real point for me is that socializing our children has never been a concern for our family nor will it ever be. And how do my husband and I answer the question, "But what about socialization?" We say, "That's right. That's one of the reasons why we homeschool... so our children will learn to socialize...that they'll learn to interact with friends, family, adults and children."

After all, isn't that what the world is really made up of? :)

Why We "Home School" Chapter 1

2009-03-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Why do we home school? There are several reasons: Our Catholic faith, being together and learning as a family, respecting each child and their particular way of learning, disagreements on the way children are taught in classrooms, disagreements on the subjects taught in classrooms, and the number one for me: socialization! Yep, that's right, socialization!

I have decided that it would be fun to do a series on WHY we homeschool. Not that my opinion really matters all that much. After all blogs are really mostly people's opinions. But maybe writing about our real experiences will help somebody...maybe even one particular family. One particular boy comes to my mind when our 17 year old was in Kindergarten.

HORROR CASE...ONE LITTLE SWEET BOY...A CHANGE...A HEARTBREAK

Let's start with when I really knew I wanted to homeschool our children. We had just the three boys at the time and our oldest was in Kindergarten at the local public school. It was a quaint school with lovely classrooms. Toys were strewn about the Kindergarten room and I was excited about the upcoming days of our son's first school experiences. The mothers were invited to volunteer several hours a week as a teacher's aid. The school had 90 hours per week of volunteering. I just loved that idea!

I started volunteering the first week of school...sigh. I was so disappointed. As I cut out construction paper and organized worksheets, I saw a teacher who in the first week yelled at the children, demeaned them, punished them if they didn't answer questions correctly. I was appalled. She seemed to in the first week hone in on two particular children. They were quiet but they seemed happy. As the weeks went by, the atmosphere grew worse. The toys in the classroom were never played with. Art time which I thought would be a little looser, was stressful. She'd be looking at the clock. She would get on the 5 year olds if they were not painting or glueing fast enough. One child painted a tree without using brown and green. "Do it over! Don't you know that tree trunks are brown and the leaves are supposed to be green?"

I would say, "Take it easy. It looks nice. I love it. Very creative of so and so." She'd glare at me. There were several instances of this. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, our son was her pet but I don't say this proudly because those that weren't were abused. I tried to intervene. It didn't work. She'd correct me. I was on her territory.

Another instance during art, the kids were glueing tissue paper onto construction paper to make flowers. She passed by one of the children and said, "YOU are not following directions. You did this all wrong." She then proceeded to pull off all of the tissue paper off of the child's art project and instructed her to do it again in the correct manner. I won't go into detail on all of my reactions to her. I am not really the quiet sort...if you get my drift. But, it did no good. I was on her territory...remember?

One little boy in particular was a young kindergartener...when I say young he was 8 months younger than our son. He could do nothing right. She sent him home with pink slips. Receiving a pink slip meant that you were "naughty" and your parents were informed. She had blue "good day" slips which I observed that this boy took from her desk one day in order to bring good news to his parents. Yep, he stole them and he was caught by the teacher. The whole seen tore my heart out. This happy little boy was now a nail biter, nervous, and discouraged and now was stealing. It was just awful. I know this may seem like an extreme case but what is one child's life worth?

And unfortunately, she was doing this to another little girl in the classroom but the parents had sense to remove her from the school. And what about all the other children observing this? What were they learning? I think you can figure that one out.

This was just the beginning of our homeschooling journey. There is no one single reason to homeschool. But the previous story got me thinking and researching alternative education. I read every book I could get my hands on regarding homeschooling. I researched the reasons why other families homeschooled. How to homeschool. The different approaches to education.

And now 13 years of homeschooling later, I am so glad we chose home schooling. Our children are happy, creative, and considerate. And what about the other home schoolers we know? They are equally happy, creative, and considerate! Why in our homeschooling group, we have a boy who when he was ten wrote and published a book and now he is moving up in the National Geograpy Bee! There are lovely artists, musicians, fencers, hockey players, gymnasts, and dancers who are equally as talented and happy and confident. I leave you now with the thought that homeschooling is so much about loving the whole child...letting them bloom...encouraging them to paint pictures however they want...giving them a blank canvas and seeing just what they will come up with!

Homeschooling is about enrichment...all those "extras" that the schools talk about...being the core of learning.

Please stay tuned for more of "Why We Home School".

I leave you with a great book worth reading by a man who observed the above case scenario in the classroom many times over:

John Holt's Teach Your Own

Our Winter...

2009-03-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

As we look forward to spring I thought it might be fun to reflect back upon this winter...The fun we had actually at times was quite academic. Boy am I sneaky!

Recently we put our children's art up at SVAC...O.K. It's up now...but it's technically still winter!

Made igloos...

Studied snowflakes...

Went kayaking down our sledding slope...

Gathered with friends...

Made lots of time to study music....or should I say "play" with music!!!

Attended a geography bee...

Studied geology with the little ones...

Had LOTS of days creating art...

Played one of our favorite games..."Apples to Apples"...

Made our dining room into our own personal a bistro... >) Any excuse for a party is a real forte in our family...

Gave our oldest his own room ( thanks to Grandma)...

During Lent...

2009-03-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

During Lent our family has decided to really create a more God like atmosphere by working together. We are entering the third week of Lent and I must say that I really like what I am seeing in our children! They are working together, cooperating together, and really edifying one another! This is what I have been wanting to bring our family to. And just let me say that there was a lack of this kind of behavior before to the point to where I was really concerned! I prayed and meditated on what would be the best way to combat selfish behavior and the Lord brought us to this...

How is this Lent different for us? Well, we have chosen to have various jars to pull our Lenten practices out of. The jars are nothing special which encourages me to this year create specific jars for these practices for Lent in the future.

We have our daily "Fasting Jar" which one child will pull out the fast in which our family will practice together for that day. The fast may include no morning snack, no T.V., or no computer, water only with meals, etc. And...the fast is just for that particular day.

We also have the "Acts of Kindness" jar which has been the most effective. The duties include encouraging little sister or a friend, get a snack for brother or sister today, make a meal for the family (the older ones). The reason that this has been most effective is that on Sunday we do refrain from picking from the jars and when I arose this past Sunday, one of our sons was making breakfast for Daddy in bed and one was building a fire in the fireplace without being told. I notice that the children are cooperating with one another. When the five year old wanted to go out to play yesterday, one of our sons ran to get his coat and said "I'll take her outside!" I feel like I've been jettisoned into another household!

We also have a jar for Almsgiving. We have some particular activities we are doing as a family for the elderly this Lenten season. We have our jar with the Alms money included as part of the almsgiving. But, we also have a Spiritual works of Mercy jar that includes praying for certain family or friends or sending a particular loved one a letter.

I wanted our family to take away from this Lent habits...virtuous habits, ones that would lead us closer to Our Lord habits that they would practice way into the Easter season and into Ordinary Time. It is my prayer and hope that we continue on this path throughout the season Lent, drawing us closer to Christ, to more Christlike behaviors and attitudes.

2009-03-09T04:43:00.000-07:00

I found the Suscipe prayer at 4RealLearning Forum. I just love that place and have so encouraged about live the Catholic faith and homeschooling there. I also found the link to the "Floor Rosary" there. The Suscipe is a beautiful prayer that the children and I will memorize this week...

The Suscipe:

Take Lord, and receive
all my liberty,
my memory,
my understanding,
and my entire will --
all that I have and call my own.
You have given it
all to me.
To you, Lord,
I return it.
Everything is yours;
do with it
what you will.
Give me only your love
and your grace.
That is enough
for me.

Ignatius of Loyola

Can Your Homeschooling Style Change Along the Way?

2009-03-07T04:06:00.003-08:00

I always used to wonder if I would always continue to homeschool in the same style that I started out with 13 years ago. And now I know...a resounding NO! I have gone from being a very list oriented, "do everything on the list" sort of work booky mom to "lets take it a day at a time and embrace whatever comes your way" sort of style. I know that outside circumstances have sort of pulled me in this direction. Just to let you know...I have a very regimented personality...so I am really shocked that I am schooling in this unschooly manner. I must say that it is certainly very freeing. I do not want to make the mistake in thinking that this unschooly style is not doing much of anything. Actually, it is quite the opposite. The children have learned much more...they may not be doing as much per diem but they are learning more and retaining more! One of our children who has always struggled with spelling lists and writing, turned a complete corner within a two month period by me working with him one on one with spelling and dictation. No spelling lists, just words that are used frequently in writing. We did a sort of visual thing with breaking the words into syllables so that he would get into the habit of thinking of words in pieces. We have been using The Little House series for dictation and also finding sentences with subordinate clauses in them so we could work on grammar and punctuation with the benefit of learning where to place the commas. Also, lots of dictation using conversation from books since he likes to write stories with conversation between characters.

One of our daughters has turned a corner in math. She used to hate it and just did not "get it". Is there a particular math program we are using for her? No. It is more like playing with math. Measuring, cooking and using real life situations. She has memorized her math facts with ease and word problems are coming much easier to her. She is even doing math in her head. We do have workbooks that she is using..actually a couple of them. But it isn't so much the workbooks as the style in which we are teaching her that is working. We are very relaxed. I eased up when I realized that by the end of 5th grade our goal was to have her UNDERSTAND math and to have the skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division down. And now I know that we do not have to wait until the end of 5th grade. She is already there!

I think what has changed for me is my attitude. That tasks will be learned and accomplished. That school isn't just completing workbook pages, although I really feel at times you just have to homeschool that way because that is what is working for your family at that time. (Like when I was pregnant and sick for four months!) I think the attitude that children are always learning has helped me to realize all of the tasks they really do accomplish throughout the day. I am really excited because this is the first time in 13 years that I do not feel stressed and pressured each day. For the first time I can step back and really appreciate all of the moments I spend with our children. That we can come up with ideas together on how to learn new things! And...that learning is FUN!

I have much to say about our high schoolers and the way that they have been schooling and that is why that subject is better left for a future post.

And now thank you to all those ladies who inspired me to step back and read about Charlotte Mason. You all have encouraged me along this journey! A journey that I feel so privileged to be a part of!

Can Your Homeschooling Style Change Along the Way?

2009-03-07T04:06:00.001-08:00

Following God's Will...

2009-03-06T03:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I read aloud to our 9 and 5 year old daughters from How to be Happy How to be Holy.

Although the 5 year old is quite young for this book, I hope she will glean something from it. I look back at my parents' walk with God and know as a little girl, I gleaned many things. One of the things I did notice as a child is that their walk was real. It was heartfelt. They lived for God.

We read from the chapter "Our Father". Our little girls know this prayer but I love how this book reflects on each and every word of the prayer Our Dear Lord gave to us. When we got to the section of the prayer "thy will be done" these lines from the book struck a chord within me.

"The will of God for us is perfect happiness. If we do his will, we shall be perfectly holy and perfectly happy....No one desires our welfare as He does. He, and he alone can give happiness."

Ah...God's will... This is what keeps me going. I know and trust in Him. It isn't easy but it gives us freedom. We have freedom because we know that if we follow God's will, no matter what, we are on the right path, the path that He has intended for us all along.

The author, Fr. Paul O'Sullivan goes on to encourage us to say the words, "Thy will be done" as an ejaculation throughout the day. These are indeed words of wisdom and my Lenten prayer.

Today marks the fourth day since our three boys and my husband have gone out of town. This is something that has been and will continue to be quite frequent in our lives. Although this is hard for me, I know it is God's will. How do I know this? Because we have been praying "thy will be done" for a year and a half for this journey. Along with joy there is suffering and as Father O'Sullivan puts it: "Therefore, real peace and happiness God and God alone can give and gives to all who ask Him for it in prayer."

Simple Lenten Journey...

2009-03-03T03:20:00.000-08:00

Memory verse for this week:

"Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord:

Keep watch over the door of my lips."

Psalm 141:3

The virtues:

Kind words

Sweet even temper

Others before yourself (denying self)

Reading the Gospel of Matthew

Personal Lenten Journey...Doing for others...giving up certain items...extra time with Our Lord.

A Book Meme

2009-02-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

I have never participated in a book meme but I thought it a good idea this time...

1. What books have you read and/or reviewed in the last year that you would recommend to people looking for Lenten reading? Following of Christ by Groote which is not unlike The Imitation of Christ and one of my all time favorites hands down, How to be Happy How to be Holy by Father O'Sullivan.

What book/s is/are you reading this Lent? Total Consecration according to Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
and the book of Proverbs with the family...

Be sure to check out this link to okie-booklady who passed on this meme and who has wonderful book recommendations on her blog for Lent.

And...Please leave any comments on what books YOU recommend for Lent!

Hugs and Blessings,

Marianne

Lap Booking and Indoor Hopscotch

2009-02-21T05:01:00.000-08:00

While 13 and 9 year olds are studying inventors, our 5 year old is doing a Jan Brett unit. The little flap book contains her letters that she is learning using The Mitten as the theme with little mittens glued inside each page of the flap book. We plan on making a math lap book also...maybe with a cookie theme using The Gingerbread Baby by Brett. Imagine counting little gingerbread cookies and matching number symbols to match the amount of cookies. Perhaps the numbers can be stored in a little pocket in the lap book.

One of our sons making his lap book...
What do you do when it is too icy to play outside? Solution: Indoor Hopscotch!

Pro-life Preteen Says It All

2009-02-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

This prolife preteen's youtube video has gone viral and I see why. It moved me. It brought me to tears. It says it all...

A Lenten Reflection...Not Really...More Like a Lenten Hope

2009-02-19T03:35:00.000-08:00

I am going to post about upcoming Lent. Not because I have anything planned nor do I have any advice on the matter, but in hope that I will grow spiritually this year. I have had my setbacks no doubt. We have had a very joyful year so far with also very challenging setbacks. How can this be? Joy mixed with struggle? Our Lord is so good. He loves us so much. If we had ALL joy then that would be heaven on earth. Wouldn't it? I would not need God and in and my very human and sinful nature would lose that relationship with him. Yes, I have had very dry periods, and periods when I feel God is so close to me that I can feel as if I can almost touch Him.

This Lent I need to do some sort of "change-up". I don't know what it is yet. But...I am reading and I am pondering. I desire to be holy, but that is not enough. I have had better months when I have felt that I have done and said all the right things. And then...this month? I feel that if someone peeked into my window, they wouldn't know I am a Catholic woman that loves God, that wants to do the right thing. They would see someone who struggles daily in living her faith.

For example, My husband and sons went away for 5 days and it was just me, the girls, and thankfully my mother-in-law.

I dropped my husband and sons at the train station and came home to a dog that had gotten sick all over the house and a boiler that died ( that I tried to fix myself but instead managed to get fuel up to my elbows, watched a customer pull out of our store parking lot, and had to open our store after I tried my best not to smell like a gas station). This was all very frustrating. I managed a quick prayer, but I felt faithless, defeated, griped and complained to myself. I am stepping back now to look at myself. The "outside" situation was frustrating...but it was myself that frustrated me the most. There were times in the past where I would have been proud of how I handled these types of situations. All I managed to feel was mad, angry, and not very thankful about all of the wonderful things that God has done for us. And then...I felt ashamed.

You know, this has not just happened to me just once awhile, but daily. I do not like my current attitude. But, I know that Our Lord is our healer. The One I can go to to ask for help.

This Lent will be for me a stepping back, a hard look into myself, a prayer that God will mold me into what He wants me to be. For me, going to confession will be a very good start...

Hopefully, I can take my own advice below and "practice" those things which bring us ultimate joy on earth, the peace that passes all understanding, and really and truly "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." For me this verse bears repeating throughout the day. For what are we here for anyway but to live for the One who truly loves us for who we are, the Onevwho laid down His very life for us, who, if we let Him, will truly live through us, calling others to be followers of Him.

Lap Booking, Literature, Virtues, and Memory Verses

2009-02-14T04:19:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of families are doing this...but...since I am a little late on joining this bandwagon and I don't proclaim to be a homeschooling expert...I can still give my opinion on this one. Right? I have to give this lap booking activity a resounding thumbs up! Currclick is a resource that I am excited about because of their free items...although I do see us purchasing from them in the future.

What are we studying? Inventors. Our three youngest will study this unit together.

The older kids are doing an Alexander Dumas unit, reading both The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Christo which I plan to discuss with both of them. ( Which, by the way, has nothing to do with Currclick.) They were the ones who suggested doing this unit and I am all for it.

For religion we are still reading the Father Laux books but we are also incorporating Sirach and Proverbs into our daily read alouds together. It gives us an opportunity to talk about virtues and how important good living is.

After reading Education Is from Simply Charlotte Mason...I realized I wanted to really work on our character, our atmosphere, our daily lives, on educating the WHOLE person, not just academics.

Our two virtues that we are working on are:

KIND WORDS

SWEET EVEN TEMPER

We chose these virtues thinking these were the ones that would create a most desireable atmosphere. These two virtues will be our character focus which will take us into Lent. We also selected a memory verse for this week and plan to chose a new one to memorize weekly.

Our memory versefor this week is not taken from Sirach or Proverbs, but from Deuteronomy 6:5 (which is also in the Catechism):

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.

If we can start be loving God above all things then everything we do will be for him. He will help us. He will instruct us, mold us, and guide to where He wants us to be.

Attitude, Discipline, a Life

2009-01-29T02:30:00.000-08:00

I found this site, SimplyCharlotteMason while searching for a few Charlotte Mason websites. I did recognize it once I was perusing through it. It was a website recommended by Elizabeth Foss this past summer.

Sometimes in life the timing just isn't right. Well, I filed that site for later and I've got to tell you I love it. I am reading the free ebook Education Is... for the second time. This book is just what our family needed for January. I have always loved the Charlotte Mason philosophy and started implementing some of her recommendations even during this past fall...I just didn't really know it! Our philosophy, and every home educating mother has one, is a mixture of classical, Charlotte Mason mixed with a little unschooling. Here is what I mean.

Unschooling:

Yesterday, I had plans for our school day but our 9 year old had some plans of her own. She started reading Saint Benedict by Mary Windeatt and brought out her fancy pencils for her

Rosary coloring book. She spent hours on these two activities.

Classical:

Short snippets of memorization....poems...scripture...Baltimore Catechism...times tables and division facts. And...Latin flash cards. Respecting the three stages of the Trivium and Quadrivium: primary, grammatical, dialectical, and rhetorical.

I can notice these stages when we do outside classes from our home. Our nine and twelve year olds are taking French. When the teacher starts to have the children analyze the grammar, these stages stare me in the face. The twelve year old gets stems and endings. The nine year old does not. But, the nine year old is like a sponge in French conversation. She knows how to reply to a question, not by stems and endings, but by memorizing and by ear.

Charlotte Mason:

Here is where everything seems to come alive. Where everything starts to be connected and related! Music, Art, Literature and Science become intertwined and connected. This is where we relax and take everything in. Where our lives are connected to learning and our learning is connected to our lives. Where as Charlotte Mason says, "Education is an attitude, discipline, and life."

Attitude:

My favorite part of the ebook is the chapter on "Are You a Thermometer or a Thermostat?"

I won't spoil the chapter by spilling the beans. It is better to be left to the reader. But I will say that you can control your atmosphere. That your children can when kindly reminded...which I have been doing! Our atmosphere: Gregorian Chant or Classical music playing in the backround. When the atmosphere is amped up I say, "Atmosphere everybody...please."

Yes, the atmosphere does effect the attitude towards school at least for us.

Discipline:

This one all of us need to work on. Although, I do have a few children who need not be told what to do school wise. There are a couple of our children that need to be gently reminded. Sonya talks about not so much being disciplined with school but more about being disciplined in the virtues. So, we have each picked what we need to work on. Only ONE thing for now.

Life:

This is my favorite by far because it teaches the children that they are constantly learning and more importantly constantly HUNGARING for learning! When we were in New York City recently, it was easy to do this very thing. It might be more difficult at home. It is easy to fall back into the rut of doing the same thing daily. This is where the children's thoughts and desires come in.

This week, I have been teaching spelling and dictation to our 12 and 9 year olds by pretending that we are riding in a New York City taxi. I got this idea while in New York last week. We starting "reading" signs and buildings. We would try to remember what we just saw and then I would have the children spell the words back to me.

When we got home, we pulled out our notebooks (our nine year old loves her Vera Bradley one). I said, " We are pretending we are riding in a taxi. I will tell a story and when we see signs or buildings, I would like you to write them down." After we did that exercise, with lots of giggling and "do you remembers", we did dictation. I told a story and they wrote it down.

This is where spelling and dictation really came ALIVE for the children. I noticed they did not sigh or complain each day when I told them to pull out their notebooks. In fact, after a few days they wanted to know when we were going to play this game of "Yellow Taxi".

A side note: Our nine and twelve year old have not liked spelling. Our twelve year old has always dreaded it. This attitude has seemed to have left him. We have paid attention not only to spelling but to detail, and neatness in our work. This is what I mean. When I am telling them to write a word down, I try to pronounce it at first the way it looks...not the way it sounds. I tell them to look at each syllable. To find the stem. One of the children wrote "pining" when she should have wrote "pinning". We talked about the why of doubling the last consonant on that word and really focused on that particular skill for the week. After we do the word break down for a couple of days, I notice they remember and are visualizing what the word looks like with no extra help.

I love seeing success with this because I have tried every spelling program you can think of and guess what? I see the Charlotte Mason of it. Dictation is the best way to learn to spell and write. I now look back and noticed that it really worked for our oldest two. We did dictation daily, but I never thought much of the value of it. I look forward to LOTS of these fun sessions with our children. More importantly, I am loving that THEY are enjoying it!

Attitude, Discipline, a Life are all part of learning. And even more so a part of daily life. I highly recommend reading Education Is...if not for your schooling, for your own spiritual walk and journey. A mother could surely apply these beautiful concepts to her own life to help improve her virtues, her way of mothering, her way of living.

Blessings,

Marianne

Congratulations on Winning The Roll Into the XGames Challenge!!!

2009-01-27T05:37:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of this homeschooling Catholic family of six children. We were so excited to get the news that one of their sons has won a spot to see the XGames in winter 2010! Enjoy watching their video!!! And bless their mama's heart for letting them do this!

Where I Long to Be...

2009-01-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

For many years, church has been a place where I long to be. This past week we were in New York City and we went to mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It was a place where you could pause and feel God's presence...a breath of fresh air. It was inauguration day and our family just really felt like going to mass.

The cathedral is beautiful but I must say that I really love our country parish. I love the people there. I love where we live. Years ago, I used to long to be everywhere else but where I lived. If I lived at the beach, I wanted to live in the mountains. If I lived in the country, I wanted to live in the city. It feels good to long to be where God has placed you. Even though I really enjoyed being at mass in New York City, I was longing for our parish at home. Even though I enjoyed taking in all the sites, I would climb into bed in the evening and long for home.

We are home for now but will go back to New York soon. Our family is called to it right now.

Today, as I look outside taking in all of the pastoral beauty, I am thankful to God for where He has placed us.

Psalm 134

1 Behold now bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord: Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
2 In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless ye the Lord.
3 May the Lord out of Sion bless thee, he that made heaven and earth.

A Relaxed Manner of Home Education

2009-01-15T04:11:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling like this is the path that we have stumbled upon over this past year. When I read Elizabeth Foss's post here it was like looking into a mirror. Well, not really. I only have five children and she has nine. I do not have a new baby (my baby is 5) and she does. But I really loved reading her post!

Life comes at you hard and even sideways at times. I think the most stressful part for home educating mothers is the thought that you have not done enough, that you haven't completed that book, that you are way behind, that other mothers must do a much better j0b than you. After all, just read their blogs. Their homes look perfect. Their lesson plans look so full. They are more "hands on" than you. They are more creative than you. The list could go on and on.

I have been a fan of Elizabeth Foss ever since I bought her book several years ago. It was a breath of fresh air. I have read it at least ten times and I am reading it again.

I have daily lists for each child to check off their tasks as they complete them but the lists and goals are constantly being moved around. I have learned that I am spontaneous. I didn't know this about myself until I started home schooling. I used to be so regimented. I used to be so orderly. What happened? Children happened. For me flexibility is the key. Sweeping the floor ten times a day just wasn't going to cut it. I don't like dirty floors but I have learned to tolerate them for a greater good...spending time with the children.

A word about daily check off lists...

My oldest daughter cannot have a check off list. She panics, so she does not get one. She would much prefer to go through her learning at her own pace. Our middle son must have a list. He feels lost without it. It actually soothes him to check off his accomplishments. Our oldest son could care less about having a list but I give him one anyway.

Our second son does not need a list. He keeps all of his information upstairs, but likes to have one for his portfolio. Why do I give out lists then? For my own benefit. I can look and see how much they do accomplish. I'm not much of a stickler and I hate to constantly be on them. If they are completing some of the tasks on the list then I know we are moving ahead.

Now, do I keep a list for my accomplishments? I have in the past. Then I stopped when my calendar I keep in my purse was completely filled up and there was no more monthly calendars after August 2008. You know what happened? One day this fall I was driving home from grocery shopping and I happened to look at my windshield and I saw that my inspection sticker had expired three months previously. I quickly pulled over and to check out my license plate registration sticker. It had expired too! "But I paid that", I said, "I am absolutely sure of it."

Guess what? All those really important bills that I had put in a very special place like insurances, car inspections, and online classes were NOT paid but I thought I had. I used to have a list to check off these tasks in the past and now I am back to checking them off again. Although I don't stick to my list a whole lot, I still can know what I've done and what I haven't. So there you have it... my reasoning for having lists.

Back to the relaxed manner of home education...

I am all for it. It helps you stay sane. It helps you embrace learning. It helps you feel more accomplished. It encourages your children to learn and love learning. So I'm off to have a relaxed day learning with my children, to embrace their childhood, to embrace them as people, and to play together and pray together.

Happy 17th!

2009-01-14T04:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to our very grown up 17 year old. I am so proud of the young man you have become. I fell in love with you the first time I ever saw you that winter day on January 14th, 1992. A rainbow filled the sky and welcomed you into this world. I thought you would learn so much from Mom and Dad, but we have learned so much from you. One more year and you will be officially an adult. O.k. I'm crying now. I know that you were gifted to us from the Lord and we feel so blessed to have you as our son. And now...I will give you your birthday hug...and cry as I always do on birthdays.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you. May he look upon you with kindness and be gracious to you."

Juice Anyone?

2009-01-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

I pulled this back out after 5 years. The kids have been begging me to bring this out and now that I'm on a health kick I did! So, every morning all seven of us take a dose of homemade juice from our juicer. Here is the preference of each child:

Son # 1- carrot/apple

Son #2- spinach/apple/carrot ("...And whatever else you can stick in there, Mom.")

Son #3-prefers green juice spinach/apple/celery

Daughter #1-carrot/apple

Daughter #2-carrot/apple

Husband and I: carrot/apple/celery/spinach/mango/and whatever else we can find

Hey, you know the funny thing? Yesterday morning I had no veggies or fruits in the house whatsoever. Our husband and I went to the market to stock up for the week and guess what?

When we came home all five kids put in an order of juice from the juicer. I really can't believe it! And I thought kids were supposed to turn their nose up at vegetables!

Flying By the Seat of Our Pants...

2009-01-09T04:27:00.000-08:00

This is "flying by the seat of your pants" home education. Yes, we have our lists, our notes, and we follow them loosley. We were playing Don't Spill the Beans the other day when our five year old spotted her hundred chart. SHE decided to lay a bean on each number on the chart while counting up to one hundred.

Hmmm...our artistic nine year old said, "Can I learn to sew?" We spent a couple of hours laying out materials for pillows. I happen to have lots of cut-out quilt pieces. Can you say geometry and measurement?

One of our favorite games is Marsh Master A Wetland Game. We had our field guides out for further study. This activity sprung off of an animal discussion; What are mammals, birds, and fishes?
It is a cooperative game where you have to stop Arnold Apathetic before he litters up the marshland.

This Week...

2009-01-06T02:01:00.000-08:00

This week for the littles we are studying geology and owls. We've been following Five in a Row with Owl Moon and it is a hit! Our five year old can't wait to go owling. We will pick an evening when there is a full moon. We've seen owls here before but I don't know if we will see one on cue.

For geology we are sorting through our rock collection and matching them to the photos in our field guide. For more winter studies, we will use more picture books that focus on winter. Our nine year old is reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder and we will use that book as a springboard for culinary activities. We have the Little House Cookbook that has a nice selection of recipes that are mentioned throughout the Little House series.

Click here for Five in a Row Volume 2 booklist.

During Our Holiday Week We Have Been...

2009-01-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

Doing lots of ice skating...

Lots of art...

Hours upon hours of Fashion design (by one nine year old) ...
And very long games of "Lord of the Rings" Risk which last from 2008 into 2009... :)

Healthy...Mind, Soul, and Body

2008-12-28T03:35:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of cooking lately...and...really enjoying it. Cooking is not something I have ever embraced. I always prepared meals just to get the job done. Somehow it is my new passion. Our goal this 2009 is to get the family eating really healthy. They have been eating pretty healthy and not knowing it:) This cooking from scratch has stemmed out of necessity financially. I realized that if I did not buy snacks but made snacks it would be cheaper. I realized that if I made my own pizza it would be more economical and healthier.

The passion for cooking is encouraged by all of our family members. My oldest said to me the other day, "Mom, I just love the new you." I love it when our second son enters the kitchen and sees me mixing up something in the bowl and responds, "Oh...yummy. What are you making now?" I love it when our girls put on their aprons and lend a helping hand...and...I love cooking everything because I know WHAT is going in their mouths. I know that there is not some hidden ingredients slipped in that I don't know about!

I came across this really awesome Youtube site by Karen Knowler on raw food preparation. My husband and I enjoyed many of her clips this morning and are excited to try some of these really easy and healthy recipes!

These recipes include green juice, green smoothie, sprout growing, almond milk, chocolate smoothie, and one of my favorites raw muesli. I highly recommend her youtube site!

I am looking forward to getting healthy mind, soul, and body. I am looking forward to exercise, more alone time with God, learning more with the children, and eating healthy.

Sending prayers for a lovely New Year to all.

Easy-to-Make Christmas Gifts

2008-12-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

Sweet gift boxes and practical aluminum loaf pans from the dollar store..

How about some easy to make and economical Christmas gifts? Home made hot chocolate and a lovely lemon coffee cake might do.

The hot chocolate recipe is as follows:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Hershey's Cocoa
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
pinch of salt

I wisked these together...but I got to tell you... I added a 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and a bit more cocoa. My son and I kept taste testing the hot chocolate until we thought it was just right. You might want to do the same!

I can't give out the lemon cake recipe...It's my mom's and I promised... But what I CAN tell you is that the recipe contains the juice and grated rind of one lemon.

Lemon Cake Sugar Topping:

1/2 cup of granulated sugar
juice of one lemon

Mix together and pour over lemon cake.

2008-12-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

We chose to make these with wooden disks from our local woodcraft store along with painting them gold and copying the Antiphons from The Catholic Parent Book of Feasts by Martin, Puccio, and Romanowsky. I do love this book! Lots of lovely recipes and ideas to go along with the Church liturgical calendar.

We got our O Antiphons done just in time. Phew! This has always been my favorite part of Advent...and now...seven days of reflection on the coming of our Savior.

"O Antiphons" (click here for Latin chant)

2008-12-14T04:43:00.001-08:00

Click on photograph for enlarged view of "O Antiphon" symbols. These are made of clay but you could also make them in the style that Drew chose photographed above. Material being wooden discs as opposed to clay. Either way would be a wonderful addition to the end of Advent.

Soon the penitential time of the "O Antiphons" will be upon us! The photos are ideas for making O Antiphon ornaments or O Antiphon houses. THESE ARE NOT OURS. We are just planning! Last year we worked on our Jesse Tree project along with lots of lovely families. This year we are working on our "O Antiphon" project for more reflection during the Advent season.

If you do not have time to make the house or ornaments just a simple printing off of the Antiphons and praying each evening the breviary would be a lovely addition to the last days of Advent. You could have your children color them, cut them out, and hang them each evening on the Christmas tree. (We've done this many times.)

The Antiphons are practiced from Decmeber 17th through December 23rd as follows (symbols highlighted in purple along with their Latin counterparts) :

The Antiphons sung to "O Come Emmanuel":

December 17
O WISDOM, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly:
COME , and teach us the way of prudence. Amen. "O Sapientia..."
December 18

O LORD AND RULER of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai:
COME , and redeem us with outstretched arms. Amen. "O Adonai..."
December 19

O ROOT OF JESSE, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication:
COME , to deliver us, and tarry not. Amen. "O Radix Jesse..."
December 20

O KEY OF DAVID, and Sceptre of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens:
COME , and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen. "O Clavis David..."
December 21

O DAWN OF THE EAST, brightness of light eternal, and Sun of Justice:
COME , and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen. "O Oriens..."
December 22

O KING OF THE GENTILES and their desired One, the Cornerstone that makes both one:
COME , and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth. Amen. "O Rex..."
December 23

O EMMANUEL, God with us, Our King and Lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Saviour:
COME to save us, O Lord our God. Amen. "O Emmanuel..."

Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

What is an Antiphon?

From the Marian Libary :

Michel Huglo in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives the definition of antiphon: "In Latin Christian chant generally, a liturgical chant with a prose text, sung in association with a psalm" <> ... "derived from the classical Greek antiphonis ('resonating with')": "And in later Christian texts, the term' antiphonia' was used to mean 'antiphony', or psalmody sung by two choirs, perhaps to distinguish it from responsorial psalmody, performed by a soloist." It was used in early Christianity as a type of liturgical worship, as is documented in Theodore of Mopsuestia (d 428), and even as early as Ambrose (d. 397) who wrote antiphons and hymns. (p. 472)

Antiphona generally precede short chants, with texts averaging between ten and 25 words and simple melodies. "Several categories of antiphon developed without any link with psalmody, such as the great processional antiphons of the Gregorian processional." (p. 472, Part V) Although antiphons normally have biblical texts, these four processional antiphons express instead the devotion of the people (p. 472).

2008-12-11T03:40:00.000-08:00

This is not an uncommon way to school around here. Yes, we have lists but we are also very relaxed. I should have loved to have schooled this way when I was a kid...cozy fires, hot chocolate, a good book! Well, this is one of the moments I just had to photograph that way our children can look back and remember. Not that they will forget, but a photograph is always a good reminder. By the way, I NEVER make a fire around here. That is relief to me since I have never been a great proficient at building fires.

So thumbs up to cozy winter schooling!

The Book of Sirach

2008-12-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

Our family is loving this book! We have decided to make this a part of our Advent. This book is full of wisdom for daily living and I have found that just meditating on on few lines a day is so beneficial. Since Advent is also a time of penance, this book is a beautiful way to lead us on the path to virtue while encouraging us to renounce our vices. Praying for blessings for all families this Advent.

Chapter 3 on Humility in the book of Sirach:

17 My son, go on with thy business in meekness; so shalt thou be beloved of him that is approved.

18 The greater thou art, the more humble thyself, and thou shalt find favour before the Lord.

19 Many are in high place, and of renown: but mysteries are revealed unto the meek.

20 For the power of the Lord is great, and he is honoured of the lowly.

21 Seek not out things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength.

22 But what is commanded thee, think thereupon with reverence, for it is not needful for thee to see with thine eyes the things that are in secret.

23 Be not curious in unnecessary matters: for more things are shewed unto thee than men understand.

24 For many are deceived by their own vain opinion; and an evil suspicion hath overthrown their judgment.

25 Without eyes thou shalt want light: profess not the knowledge therefore that thou hast not.

26 A stubborn heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish therein.

27 An obstinate heart shall be laden with sorrows; and the wicked man shall heap sin upon sin.

28 In the punishment of the proud there is no remedy; for the plant of wickedness hath taken root in him.

29 The heart of the prudent will understand a parable; and an attentive ear is the desire of a wise man.

30 Water will quench a flaming fire; and alms maketh an atonement for sins.

31 And he that requiteth good turns is mindful of that which may come hereafter; and when he falleth, he shall find a stay.

Books That Build Character

2008-11-21T03:45:00.000-08:00

Our boys loved these when they were smaller and now we are reading these lovely Thorton Burgess books aloud to our two girls. Not only do these books teach science (the girls are pulling out field guides) but they also teach character. I even went as far as to tell my husband the stories from this book and relate it to OUR "grown-up" daily life!

Another favorite pick of ours is Leading Little Ones to Mary by Sister Mary Lelia. Each day the little ones consecrate themselves to Mary. The lessons are simple yet easy for children to understand. It is very common now to hear our daughters say, "Are you acting like Mary?"

This book is a beautiful way to start an early devotion to Mary while also learning about good character; to share, to think of others first, to be responsible, and to help others, etc.

When Art Just Happens...

2008-11-15T03:45:00.000-08:00

Our 9 year old daughter drew this last night using the charcoal from our fireplace. I love it when art just happens. She has an affinity for drawing lots of girls. I want to get a t-shirt made with "The Ladies" as we call them!

Extracurricular...But Not Really!

2008-11-04T02:18:00.000-08:00

Not extracurricular...but what is PRIMARYCURRICULAR!

Dance...

Art...

Music...

Drama...

Cooking...

The classes that were the most interesting to me when I was in school were the ones that were labeled "extracurricular". What are my very favorite classes during our homeschooling day? Extracurricular! But let's get away from that word. I don't like it and never did. The most enriching parts of the school day, the "classes" that create a love for learning, that color the atmosphere, are the ones that are usually left to the bottom of the "to do" list. Where do I put them now? At the top!

Yesterday, we went to our french class with the primarycurricular of cooking crepes. Yummy!

The children learned from their french teacher (who is from France) how to measure in grams and that the french usually have a cooking scale in their kitchen for measuring while cooking. The directions and commands were in french. And there was a delicious treat of many sweet toppings to go with their cooking project!

Here is a list of classes that are stuck with the misnomer of extracurricular:

-Art

-Music-intrumental and singing

-Dance/ballet

-Drama

-cooking/sewing

-computer (used to be anyhow)

-Karate

-gym class

-outdoor time(I remember when my second child was in school one of the classes that was cut out the school day was morning recess!) YIKES!

-PE

Yep...these activities are at the TOP of our list and there they will stay!

By the way...we use the lovely tool of art a lot during the school day; while books are being read aloud, or sketching for history, literature, or science. Music is played throughout the day ( classical and gregorian chant) and we are so blessed to have the outdoors always at our finger tips. And...many times there is just too much drama in this house! :)

Solution for the homeschooling doldrums?

It's Primarycurricular for us!

Less Computer Time

2008-10-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big T.V. watcher...I'm just not. It doesn't hold my interest. Call me easily distracted, call me noise overload sensitive. I may be a product of my father calling it an "idiot tube" when I was a child. After all, who wants to be an idiot? But there is another equally time consuming potential "idiot tube". The computer. "How dare you!", you say. Yes, how dare I. And now...I am stepping back and realizing my change over the past few months. I don't read blogs. I've been going to my favorite homeschooling forum less and less and have been blogging less frequently. A fairly recent post at a home schooling forum got me to thinking. Would a person who does not make the computer a habit and mainly teach Seton from start to finish do a much better service to her family than those that spend countless hours on the computer researching what to do? I have to say a resounding "yes". Another post I read at the same home schooling forum, somebody mentioned that they love researching curriculum but NOT teaching. I love researching curriculum too, but it can be a trap. A lie that coaxes you into thinking you need the next new homeschooling doodad or manipulative. Hmmm... That got me to thinking. I realized when I read these posts how dangerous computer time can be. It takes you away from your family...away from all that is really important in life. So there, I've said it. The computer is like T.V. It can take you away from those people that are most important to you...your loved ones. It can take you away from prayer time and learning about your faith. It can take you away from those gifts that God has blessed you with to use. It can take you away from this blessing laid before you, this gift: LIFE.

Today I enjoyed perusing our high schoolers' curriculum studying their theology and their english. It was time well spent for I felt connected to them. I felt I accomplished something worth accomplishing. It opened up to us a half hour of theological discussion and I felt the full benefit of this beautiful gift of life: my children.

This week let us pray that we use our time wisely. Maybe just a half hour of computer time a day would be sufficient... just enough. We can discipline ourselves. After all, aren't we disciples?

Just Beautiful...

2008-10-17T03:21:00.001-07:00

We did a Jesse Tree Exchange last year. I just love these ornaments that Drew and her daughter made...

Our dear friends, Drew and her daughter Julia, have done such a beautiful job with these ornaments! Drew is a big fan of G.K. Chesterton and was inspired by one of his quotes about loving the "gilded ornament" because the gifts of the Magi were gold. What a lovely addition to our Jesse Tree Exchange and what a privilege to have these ornaments be a part of our collection! What wonderful talent and creativity God has given them:)

DIRECTIONS PER DREW:

1. Prime ply wood with base. Used Folk Art brand gesso(water-based and easy clean-up)
2. Sand lightly with fine paper before gilding.
3. Apply water-based latex paint(manufacturer-Aqua Finishing solutions) Color: Dutch Metal Gold
(Don't seal with water-based varnish.
4. It covers in one coat and dries quickly.(Not intended for use by children but contains no hazardous ingredients listed by
NIOSH
5. To backs attach ribbon and then apply Modge Podge adhesive.
6. Align top edge of paper with top edge of ornament and apply. Trim away edges with sharp Exacto Knife

And I added ours too...

Sheaf of wheat...Ruth and Boaz

Using round wooden disks with holes already drilled, we spray painted these black and used a gold paint pen.

The baby Jesus...(which our little one played with for hours!)

Using light brown and purple felt, little round wooden balls, silk ribbon and some stuffing, we wrapped these up burrito style and secured with a glue gun.

PSAT Today...

2008-10-15T02:58:00.000-07:00

O.K. I had all these PSAT prep ideas and guess what?....It never happened. Well, the boys did do the SAT question of the day for the past couple of months. I did pick up the booklet for them to look at....hmmm...They perused it.

The prep?

_calculator

_no. 2 pencils

-social security numbers (optional)

-Vermont home school code (994699)

-12 years of home schooling

I'm going to make breakfast now. Take them to the test center. Pray on the way that the 12 years of home schooling has payed off. Praying for all test takers today!

Jesus, I Trust in You

2008-10-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

The following 2nd reading from the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time happens to be one of my favorite scriptures. It is my personal meditation this week.

Philippians 4: 12 - 14, 19 - 20
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.
13 I can do all things in him who strengthens me.
14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Preceeding the 2nd reading from Sunday, verses 4 through 7, is a scripture that helps me trust Our Dear Lord in all circumstances. For who knows how better to deal with us than the Almighty?

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

My prayer: May God's Holy Will be done. May we grow in understanding in the tasks that He wants us to complete each day. That we may rest in Him the One who asks us to know, love, and serve Him in this world.
Praying for all homeschooling families and all families and their needs this week.

2008-10-12T02:58:00.000-07:00

Psalm 23 is the responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, the 28th Sunday in ordinary time. Each week we pick out a Psalm for our family to reflect on throughout the week. We read it daily along with each child saying at least a decade of the rosary (their own personal devotion). My prayer is that each child will get in the habit of being responsible for his or her prayer life. We do have family prayer but also outside of studying theology it is my hope and prayer that our children will take this habit into their adult lives.

Psalms 23: 1 - 6
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism? (click here)

2008-10-09T09:43:00.001-07:00

Loved this quiz! Some of the multiple choice selections were comical but definitely worth taking. Fun for the whole family!

Favorite Homeschooling Moments of September and October

2008-10-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

September and October have been busy! There is no question that all home schooling mothers feel the "fall crunch" until everyone can catch their stride. I am proud of our children and how they have been working so hard. Our high schoolers have a HEAVY load. There have bumps these past few weeks but there always is in life. Here are some of my favorite home schooling moments:

Personal devotions...

High schoolers that self motivate...
Organizing books...
Reading and discussing apologetics...

Watching little hands complete big tasks...

Our favorite scripture to meditate upon for this week:

Psalm 139:1-17 "The All-knowing and Ever-present God"

1 For the leader. A psalm of David. O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:

2 you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.
3
My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar.
4
Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.
5
Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me.
6
Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.
7
Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?
8
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.
9
If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea,
10
Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast.
11
If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" --
12
Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
13
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
14
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew;
15
my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
16
Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.
17
How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!

2008-08-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

16 year old
Latin-journal and class
SAT prep-vocab. and Time Magazine
3 1/2 hours music rehearsal
practice guitar riffs 45 min.
reading Once and Future King by White
15 year old
SAT Prep prep-vocab and Time Magazine
3 1/2 hours music rehearsal
Latin-journal and class
reading The Dark is Rising
9 year old
math- lesson 1 BJU grade four and polygons on Geoboard using BJU math grade 5 (and alpha math u see)
spelling-unit 1 BJU grade four
BJU english 4 (got this book for 99 cents!) lesson with teacher manual + copy work
Bible reading section 1 Bible History by Knecht
art- embroidery and seam repair on stuffed animals
music- "Castle on a Cloud" and "Wishing you Were Here Again" voice and worked on a blueberry song for play in time.
listen to book on tape
12 year old
review French vocab and conversation for class today at 4:30 pm
wrote in journal for 1 hour (private blog)
history A History of US vol. 1 by Hakim
independent reading 1 hour
rehearsal music 3 1/2 hours
listen to book on tape
reading Inkheart by Funke
5 year old
lesson 5 in Teach Your Child...
dry erase writing letters m, x., o, s
work with Molly at library read alouds: The Honeybee and the Robber by Carle
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Child and Where Does the Teacher Live? by Feder
played "The Very Hungary Caterpillar" game

All- How to be Happy How to be Holy -read aloud

Flying by the seat of my pants with math for Lily. We love Mathusee but I also want to work the concepts that she feels confident with. It was fun to make many polygons with the geoboard and review them with her that way. Our little girl was having fun and enjoying herself and has really gotten a lot of math concepts that in the past were really hard for her to grasp. She has really grown in math concepts this past summer. And...I love to hear her speak french. She is passionate about it. She spoke french for a couple of customers today at our store AND sang "Castle on a Cloud" for them! How's that for "socialization". (The most popular question at our store from customers.)

2008-08-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

This is really an August 27th log. Just figuring this out!!!

All- read aloud How to be Happy How to be Holy

- voice lessons with vocal coach

-independent reading

15 year old

-Latin homework...extensive reading

-songwriting 1 hour

-independent reading 1 hour

-golfing 1 1/2 hours

12 year old- rehearsal 2 hours

-songwriting 1 hour

-golfing 1 1/2 hours

-French:review

vocab,french bingo, listen mp3

-set up private blog for writing assignments

-wrote 1 paragraph

16 year old
Latin homework extensive reading, etc.
songwriting 1 hour
golfing 1 1/2 hours
independent reading 2 hours

9 year old

-independent reading 1 hour

-embroidery

-French-review vocab,french bingo, listen to mp3

9 and 5 year olds - playground 1 1/2 hours

5 year old - cut/glue/ made art project with the letter "F"

This format is silly but I think I've figured it out. Better lay out tomorrow :)

2008-08-27T03:46:00.000-07:00

This is really for August 26th...just figuring this out!

16 and 15 year olds-

-3 hours music practice

-1 1/2 hours online Latin class

-composed new song

-Latin homework

15 year old-

-checked bees

9 and 12 year olds-

French homework/lab/french bingo

listened to book on tape (two hours)

5 year old-

-Art project-strawberry with caterpillar

-science...leopard frogs

-PE...Red light green light, mother may I,

-singing

12 year old-

-3 hours music practice

-composed new song

9 year old-

-voice and practiced "Castle on a Cloud"

PE - ALL... -Night tag!

Keeping a School Log

2008-08-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

In our state of Vermont, we have to submit portfolios each year. There are other choices but you get the idea...we have to keep pretty good records. I will be posting what we do here throughout each school week. It will be a good way to keep records and photos of what is accomplished here at St. Benedict Academy. We have not yet officially started school but we have been schooling throughout the summer.

_Latin

_French- with a French tutor

_Math (Algebra 2 right down to basic math)

August 20th, 2008

5 year old

Lesson 4 of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (TYCR)

The Kingfisher First Animal Enclyclopedia -Studying animals of Africa-making map of Africa and Molly will glue thumbnails of animals on map. Yesterday-Lions and Aardvarks...

Get Ready for the Code

Early Bird Kindergarten Math( Singapore 1A)

3 Boys

Weight lifting instruction with Dad
Songwriting and rehearsal
Reading independently
Reviewing Lesson plans for school next week
Andre-set trap for minnows
Alex-played mandolin
Forrest- played guitar
Alex and Andre- figuring out how to print Latin noun and verb tree

ALL

Read Aloud- How to be Happy, How to be Holy by Fr. O'Sullivan

Fourth Grade Booklist for Homeschooling (click here for MODG reading list)

2008-07-20T04:34:00.001-07:00

As I posted before, I am really going through our cupboards and reusing what has worked before for my 3 older children in the past. Here is a list of books I will be using for our fourth grader. Any new purchases? Yes! Math U See! And...I give it a thumbs up! I only wish I found this program sooner for my math phobic 9 year old. She LOVES math now. She is a visual learner and this is just the ticket! Following are the books I am sticking to for this school year for my fourth grader:

Math U See (Alpha)...

Science...this is really an in depth bird study. Each chapter our 9 year old will sketch a particular bird...NO TESTS!
A lovely language arts incentive...a Vera Bradley notebook :>)

For Bible...

For language arts...

A language arts incentive... A Vera Bradley notebook :>)

For spelling...

For a "spine" for history...

Memory work for catechism...

Music: Voice lessons once a week and vocal practice daily

Foreign Language: French lessons once possibly twice a week with French tutor.
Latin flash cards from Latina Christiana I

Reading book list...click link above. LOTS of historical fiction and saint biographies!

For the High Schoolers

2008-06-26T03:35:00.000-07:00

O.K. I have made my decision a few weeks ago about our 9th and 11th grader. I have enrolled them in Kolbe Academy. We will use their core for religion, composition, literature, and history. Our science will be biology which Alex and Andre will do together using the program from Apologia while following the lesson plans by Donna Young. They will continue with Latin 200 online at Lone Pine Classical.

History: 11th grader will be studying medieval history and the 9th grader will be studying ancient Greece.
Math: 9th grader will use Algebra II by Teaching Textbooks
11th grader will use Geometry by Teaching Textbooks with math review in Algebra for PSAT (has completed Alg. I and II)

I have been pouring over the lesson plans from Kolbe. Knowing me, I will probably go for the standard diploma. The honors and core diplomas look wonderful but as I said at Catholic Moonlight in Vermont, we are going to be busy! The days will start with Religion, latin II, and math. I will probably block schedule the other courses except for the composition class. I really hope this works for us! I am pretty sure it will due to the fact that the boys like classical literature. They've read so much on the other book lists.

Why Kolbe? I don't want to do the transcripts and diplomas. I just don't. I want to take a year where I don't lesson plan. (I love Kolbe's weekly lesson plans instead of daily.) I really want to dive into the curriculum with the kids. AND I want to spend time with the little ones.

Inconstant Kitty

2008-05-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

Just read chapter 11 of A Charlotte Mason Companion. There is so much to glean from this chapter. It is an abridged and revised chapter taken from The Original Home Schooling Series fifth volume entitled Formation of Character. O.K. Now I've just gotta buy this six volume series to read this summer!!!

This chapter focuses on attention. How can we hold our children's attention span? How do we keep the basic three R's from being monotonous and unexciting? By using 10 minute lesson increments with total focus! I know this is a BIG Charlotte Mason plus. In other words, this is one of her key teaching techniques. It encourages your child to not, I repeat, not dilly dally. Is this a problem in your household? It has been a constant in mine. It's time to stop talking about it. After babyhood, it ceases to be "cute". Let us not mistake spontaneity with dilly dallying!

My solution:

This week I will have my children write their own check lists. What do they want to accomplish for that day? If it is summer for you, it still would be good idea to get them in the habit of making a check list...even if it is a list similar to:

_morning prayers
-feed dog
-check in with Mom for any chores
-read a chapter or two from -----(summer reading list)
-help with dishes
-call Grandfather to say "hi"
-pick a few songs from my piano book to play

We are still doing school so we will compare lists and see if they match up. Remember, we are training their wills so that they will be independent of us. The goal: Their own prayer lives, own daily lists to complete, and their own personal goals!
Blessings,

The Will

2008-05-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

After reading chapter 10 of A Charlotte Mason Companion, it made me reflect not only on my children's will but my own. It really requires going back to the catechism and reflecting on the four cardinal virtues...especially temperance!

Will is about choosing and deciding. Do we want to follow the crowd or do we want to do what God has called us to do? What about the will in daily living? It is more about training the character than training good conduct. We want our children to be motivated in their lives, in their accomplishments, in their behaviour when we are not around to observe, to instruct, or to inspire.

The goal must be for the child to inspire himself. This chapter has made me stop and think about the future of our children. Do I want them to rely on me so much...even for homeschooling instruction? What about their prayer lives? All areas in our lives should be self-motivated and self-driven. But how do we get there?

Willpower. Each individual must have his own willpower, fortify his own will, be ruled by will versus impulse, and resist temptation. This takes educating the will!

Karen goes on to reflect on Charlotte Mason's teachings on character and behavior. Knowing God's will is key. We may not know in our daily living what his complete will is but we do know from the Bible and catechism God's will for our behaviors and interaction with others. We can learn what is virtuous and what is not. Studying good character in the saints and Bible stories will help our children and namely ourselves! For it is OUR behaviours that our children study the most!

This chapter is worthy of several readings! I will leave you with the catechism taken from The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Cathechism No. 2 from Lesson 10, "The Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Ghost". This is such a beautiful lesson and worthy of going over with ourselves and our children throughout the year. It states the standards of Christ and the standards of this world.

The four Cardinal Virtues:
"These virtues are called cardinal virtues because they are like hinges on which hang all the other moral virtues and our whole moral life. The word "cardinal" is derived from the Latin word "cardo"meaning hinge." (catechism # 133)

Prudence-disposes us in all circumstances to form right judgements...
Justice_ disposes us to give everyone what belongs to him.
Fortitude-disposes us to do what is right and good despite any difficulty.
Temperance-disposes us to control our desires...(catechism 134)

mater et magistra

2008-05-18T03:39:00.001-07:00

Mater et magistra, a Catholic home schooling magazine that was formerly Heart and Mind is being turned over to Margot Davidson from Hillside Press and to many other lovely ladies! This magazine looks lovely! Check out the website by clicking above:) I will post the link also on the sidebar for future reference.

Northanger Abbey

2008-05-13T03:12:00.001-07:00

Excited about what Catherine Moorland is going to say next! It was interesting to hear the kids reflections on our heroine after four chapters. The quote about her not being accomplished at the piano forte but being able to listen to one playing with little fatigue cracked us up. I'd say quite a few giggles yesterday throughout these chapters! Can't wait to follow this book up with the BBC movie:)

Books the children chose and are reading on their own:

Emma by Austen (Alex)
The Count of Monte Christo (Lily)
Old Mother West Wind by Burgess (Forrest)
The Phoenix and the Carpet by Nesbit

Composer of the month: Chopin
Artist of the month: Norman Rockwell

Two Read Alouds

2008-05-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

The two read alouds were are doing...Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. And we are planning to do The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

Computer printing plot outlines for both stories on Wikipedia.

Prayer and memory work for all this month to memorize from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis Book 3 chapter 21:

THE DISCIPLE

ABOVE all things and in all things, O my soul, rest always in God, for He is the everlasting rest of the saints.
Grant, most sweet and loving Jesus, that I may seek my repose in You above every creature; above all health and beauty; above every honor and glory; every power and dignity; above all knowledge and cleverness, all riches and arts, all joy and gladness; above all fame and praise, all sweetness and consolation; above every hope and promise, every merit and desire; above all the gifts and favors that You can give or pour down upon me; above all the joy and exultation that the mind can receive and feel; and finally, above the angels and archangels and all the heavenly host; above all things visible and invisible; and may I seek my repose in You above everything that is not You, my God.

For You, O Lord my God, are above all things the best. You alone are most high, You alone most powerful. You alone are most sufficient and most satisfying, You alone most sweet and consoling. You alone are most beautiful and loving, You alone most noble and glorious above all things. In You is every perfection that has been or ever will be. Therefore, whatever You give me besides Yourself, whatever You reveal to me concerning Yourself, and whatever You promise, is too small and insufficient when I do not see and fully enjoy You alone. For my heart cannot rest or be fully content until, rising above all gifts and every created thing, it rests in You