Resources: Catholic and Homeschooling combined

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Do you want a recommendation for one of the best homeschool resources? Do you want to imbue your homeschool with Catholicity and love of learning? Have I got a recommendation for you!

Have you seen the only Catholic, homeschooling quarterly available? mater et magistra (a quarterly for which I'm proud to write the handcrafts column) is an amazing publication! The name says it all: Mother and Teacher which is what the Church is for us all; but in lower case letters it's what each one of us is in the hearts of our homes: mother and teacher!

Each issue has a theme which means these are definite keepers for future projects. The volunteer contributors are experienced homeschoolers with lots of great information for incorporating the arts, sciences, books and crafts into our learning adventures. Margot works hard to give the magazine a sophisticated feel with lots of depth to the articles.

If you haven't seen this magazine ... ask around or better yet, go to one of the many regional homeschool conferences (for instance, Margot will be at IHM this next weekend) and look for the m-et-m table! I really do thing you'll like what you see and want to subscribe to the only Catholic homeschool magazine out there. And at $20 for 4 issues, it's a great price too!

Christmas: gift suggestions ....

... for those wanting to give something unique that gives throughout the year.

1. A subscription to mater et magister Catholic homeschool magazine. This quarterly is packed with great information for novice and expert homeschooler! There is always a unit study as well as articles about teaching the classics, literature and incorporating good books into your curriculum, handcrafts (written by yours truly!), nature study and reviews of resources. This magazine is really worth every bit of the subscription price. It is also the only Catholic home education magazine on the market.
2. A planner/calendar from Family-Centered Living. These planners are wonderful -- they are well-laid-out and include saint of the day, prayers and meditation pages, all major feasts and liturgical year celebrations as well as the traditional two-page spread with lots of space for noting appointments. There is a "man's" and a "woman's" version -- I got my dh the "man's" version and he LOVED it! I've used this planner for a few years now and really like the way Michele has it laid out. The planners are 5.5" x 8.5" and come either spiral bound or hole-punched. There are some cool add-ons: menu-planning pages and lesson planning pages!
3. Linda at Sacred Heart Books and Gifts has a marvelous selection of home-education and Catholic resources that will make fabulous gifts. I check her website and want one of everything (or pretty much anyway). Through the end of November, she's discounting things even further to clear inventory. Her prices are as good or better than Amazon's and free shipping for orders over $25 (in the lower 48 states).
4. Couldn't let a "gift giving list" go by without plugging my own book: Great Yarns for the Close-Knit Family contains over two dozen original designs based on a dozen fantastic family read-alouds -- read the books and make the projects! How fun is that?????
5. As Jennifer comments below, a subscription for a family to Magnifikids would be a GREAT gift and each month the family would remember the wonderful donor.

As I come across more great gift suggestions, particularly geared to Catholic home-educators, I'll post them here! Most of these suppliers will be Catholic home-educators trying to make a living while teaching their children at home -- let's support our own!

Check this out!

CHC, a well-known home-educators' resource catalog, is now carrying the book!

Review: Haystack Full of Needles

About five years ago, I met an amazing woman: a woman with now 6 girls and one boy, a home school mom steeped in the Catholic faith, a charitable and crafty woman. I “knew” this woman only through the Internet, and yet a real friendship grew and flourished.

That woman, Alice Gunther, just wrote a book as full of the Catholic faith, charity and craftiness as all her online writings…. a book that is imbued with the Holy Spirit and love of the Blessed Mother…. a book that shares so willingly with others her own journey of family-based learning. Haystack Full of Needles is subtitled “A Catholic Home Educator’s Guide to Socialization”, but it is so much more than just about socializing.

It’s an adventure story.

Gunther takes the reader on her own adventure: an adventure from only child to raising six girls and one boy …. an adventure where the heroine starts out as the self-professed greatest critic of the homeschool lifestyle and emerges as the queen of homeschool advocates … an adventure with the Catholic faith at the center and all the wonders of the world emanating from that core. This is an adventure with happily-ever-afters scattered abundantly throughout.

A fairy tale? A useless venture like looking for a needle in a haystack? Not at all.

Gunther shows how through prayer, friends and love for her own children she is able to give her family a full and rich education without the brick-and-mortar so often touted as the only answer. But more than that, Gunther shows that the children involved (and she uses more examples than her own beautiful children) not only thrive in this setting but desire to continue even through the “terrible teens”. And they survive as healthy, knowledgeable, faith-filled, loving young adults who socialize with one and all.

An interesting side theme in Gunter’s book: the need for socialization for the homeschool mother. This mom-time is as critical as the children’s socialization and education, but often gets overlooked in discussions of the “s” issue. Gunther credits a handful of close friends who not only helped her embrace the home educator’s vocation but also help her continue to plan activities and clubs for the dozens of families in their groups. These close associates help through the good times and the bad.

Gunther credits too, the loving support and guidance of her husband – spousal involvement and support are key ingredients for success in any home education adventure.

Most importantly, a strong and active faith life for all in the family (but especially for the home-educator) – socializing with God and His saints – reaps untold rewards and assistance along this path that is still considered “alternative”.

The book is full of practical tips and suggestions for creating your own home education adventure with other families. And, as Gunther repeatedly points out, this can be one family or 20 families – the important point is to find things that you and your family love and create clubs or field trips, inviting others as desired.

For Gunther and her family, looking for other like-minded families is no longer like looking for a needle in a haystack – the haystack is full of needles!

[A personal note: my eight-year-old daughter immediately recognized the cover-art as Monet’s Haystack at Giverny – how many other eight-year-olds in “real school” even know the name “Claude Monet” let alone titles of his work? ]

Meme: Hot off the presses!

I've never started a meme but I'm usually too late to jump in on one. Solution? I'm starting one right here and now. Anyone who reads my blog -- would you like to join in? Here are 10 questions so you can know a bit about me, right now, July 16th 2008!

1. Favorite Summer drink -- red wine on ice -- the finer crushed the better; not only does it slow down the imbibing, it is a great thirst quencher and isn't sweet! Thanks to bil Noah for the "recipe"!

2. Worst part of Summer -- driving in the car on one of our road trips (either to relocate or just to visit family) -- especially if we're loaded down with stuff and we've got teen(s) and little(s) in the car together!

3. Best part of Summer -- driving in the car on one of our road trips (amazing the amount of knitting I get done; besides I love seeing family)

4. Favorite Shopping Experience -- IKEA: not only do they have some of the coolest stuff, they think I'm awesome because I'm so honest (I'll post THAT story in a day or two)

5. What I'm reading -- anything on homeschooling (just finished, and my fav so far, is Debra Bell's Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling), self-sufficient farming (one I just got is called The Self-Sufficiency Handbook -- WOW!), and building my dream house (a huge one-room cabin with loft space for sleeping, ala the Nearing's stone-house).

6. What I'm praying about -- selling the house in Denver, dear St. Joseph, please!

7. What I'm currently knitting -- a knitting bag for a sequel to my book (hopefully); this bag is taking forever as it's done in a slip-stitch pattern, with a gusset and self-strap! I'll post when I finish this puppy, believe me! I've been working on this particular design since mid-June and even dh (who knows VERY little about knitting, and rarely comments on my projects) thinks it's the most complicated, and most beautiful, thing I've ever done.

8. What I'm currently writing -- a sequel to my knitting book, a book on creativity from a Catholic world-view, and handcraft articles for the new Catholic homeschool magazine, mater et magistra. The first issue is due in the mail this week -- have YOU subscribed yet?

9. Where my time has been most-focused lately -- scheduling homeschool for this next year (including finding co-ops, sport activities, support groups and generally trying to get acclimated to life in NoVA!). I love Debra Bell's comment -- I'm paraphasing here:

yes, you will forget to teach them something, but if you teach them to love
learning, when they come across that something, they'll be able to TEACH
THEMSELVES so relax!

10. Favorite quote of the day: this was on My Catholic.com today.

If one yields ground on any single point of Catholic doctrine, one will
later have to yield later in another, and again in another, and so on until such
surrenders come to be something normal and acceptable. And when one gets used to rejecting dogma bit by bit, the final result will be the repudiation of it
altogether.

– St. Vincent of Lerins

That's it for my FIRST meme.

So, what would your answers be? Go ahead and post a blog post and link in the comments section here.

FRCH: 10 years old and having a party!

Alicia's great site for Catholic homeschoolers, Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers, is celebrating 10 years (!) of bringing great reviews of a diverse blend of resources to Catholic homeschoolers. The site covers just about any subject or topic a homeschool parent (or student) would need and gives a list of reviewed resources.

I'm proud to be one of her reviewers!

Hop on over to the site and get in on the book-giveaway to celebrate the decade!