St. Francis and First Communion

Well, today I FINALLY(!) started these notebooks with LegoManiac, String Bean and my nephew. Thank goodness my SIL was there to help explain as they just weren't into it. It seems that if you read some of these wonderful homeschooling blogs that "their" kids understand it all and are anxious to really produce something nice, etc.

We discussed manners at Church -- why we cross ourselves with holy water, genuflect to the tabernacle, etc -- and then talked about St. Francis. I love St. Francis -- he loves animals and people; ALL of God's creation are his family. I love this. I hate the portrayal of this rather opinionated man as the cutesy, animal lover (to the exclusion of humanity). St. Francis could be very tough to deal with, especially when it went against what he firmly believed in. Very few (if any) children's books deal with this part of Francis....maybe I should write one?

But, at least we started the notebooks .... that's the important thing to remember. And that next week is another chance to "catch" the kids' imagination and spark the interest in their Faith that is such an important part of "sacrament prep".