No (or Little) Fuss Candlemas Ideas
Monday is Candlemas or The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. On this day, Catholics remember the obedience of Mary and Joseph as they presented Jesus in the temple 40 days after his birth which...
View ArticleCandlemas 2015
“My eyes have seen the salvation which you have made ready in the sight of the nations; a light of revelation for the gentiles and glory for your people Israel.” Luke 2:30-32 Enjoyed on this day of...
View ArticleAs We Enter Lent 2015
As Ash Wednesday approaches, I’m making my (Lenten) list and checking it twice. Family Altar: I’ve prepared our family altar with a few reminders of this liturgical season: Bible: (Our stack of...
View ArticleFavorite Books for Lent
A list of our favorite read-aloud books for Lent, listed basically in the order we would read them as Lent unfolds and Easter approaches. The Story of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross for Children...
View ArticleFree Parenting Magazine
The spring issue of my free parenting magazine, Tender Tidings, is available for viewing! In this issue: spring cleaning house and home, nature journaling ideas, clean up your family’s favorite junk...
View ArticleA Family-Centered Holy Week 2015
A re-post of our Holy Week plans from last year with updated comments! Not much has changed for this year, except that we are going to confession at our parish tonight (Monday of Holy Week). ********...
View ArticleEaster Photos
I tried to have a nice photo taken of our family on Easter eve before we went to the evening vigil, but we have a hard time synching for photos! It’s a miracle we had a few shots where we all …...
View Article3 Questions Every New Homeschool Parent Should Ask Themselves
I came across a great article by Brandy over at her blog After Thoughts. She says many new homeschooling parents focus first on picking out a curriculum (who can blame them — it’s such fun!), but...
View ArticlePurple Belt
“When the student is ready, the master will appear . . .” Ancient Shaolin saying A few weeks ago Dominic tested for his purple belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate . . . He has a wicked side kick. It is …...
View ArticleRugged Maniac
Aidan and I “ran” a 5K obstacle race on Saturday. I use the term “ran” loosely, because I could run about 500 feet before I had to stop. Frankly, I was always relieved to reach an obstacle so I could...
View ArticleFree Basic Liturgical Calendar for Planning Your Homeschool Year
Here is the 2015-2016 version of my liturgical calendar chart that I use for planning activities during our school year: Kim’s free liturgical calendar 2015-2016 If you’d like to see how I use this...
View ArticleHomeschooling: Beyond Curriculum Lists
This is the time of year when many homeschoolers are having conversations about curriculum choices. We are curious what others are using and why, what works for other families and why. I started...
View ArticleOur Curriculum Plans 2015-2016
(The image above is our curriculum boxes. The children have their own box for keeping their school books organized, but this year I’m adding an organization binder to the front of each box which will...
View ArticleHomeschool Room Update
I’ve been working on organizing our homeschool room, something I do every year, but this year I really wanted to take care of some lingering problems that were going to become overwhelming with Lydia...
View ArticleHow to Raise a Reader
“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read to a child.” — Dr. Seuss My friend Lauri snapped some cute photos of Lydia reading at our weekly homeschool park day: This is a …...
View ArticleA Catholic Mom’s Thoughts on Charlotte Mason’s “Way of Reason”
Charlotte Mason believed that the goal of education is to shepherd a child toward wisdom and virtue, toward right thinking so that it might lead to right action and good character. She encouraged...
View ArticleA Catholic Mom’s Thoughts on Charlotte Masons “Way of the Will”
The way of the will and the way of reason are described by Charlotte Mason as “two guides the moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children.” Philosophy of Education, Principle 16. In my...
View ArticleBeauty in the Word: Catholicism and Charlotte Mason (A Series)
I’ve been devouring several books on education theory recently (Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education by James Taylor, Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper, and Consider This: Charlotte...
View ArticleFREE parenting resource!
The Fall 2015 issue of my FREE parenting magazine, Tender Tidings, is available! Here you go! In this issue: Family-Centered Fitness:… Read More
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