I Love Verts!

I was having breakfast with some girlfriends recently when one of the moms got on the subject of sacred music. She's an ex-Catholic who recently returned to the Faith. A revert, as opposed to a convert. You couldn't help but get pumped up listening to her - she was so on fire about music and all things Catholic.

It was then that my dear friend Ann exclaimed, "I just love verts!!!"

I couldn't help but crack up. I never heard converts and reverts referred to as "verts." I think Ann has coined a new phrase.

And she's right. I love hearing the conversion stories of new Catholics. They seem to have a fire burining in them. They come to the Church, not because they were born into it, but because they chose it. They know more about the Catholic Church than many cradle Catholics in the pews.

However, I've never really thought too much about reverts. Perhaps, because I'm one of them. Yes, I left the Church for a while and then came back. It's a long story, but in a nutshell: I had a wild, misspent youth. I didn't leave the Catholic Church for Protestantism or any other organized religion. I was, well, quite frankly, a heathen.

I've long envied those of you who have always been in the bosom of Mother Church. Those of you who have always loved Church teaching. Those of you who have always lived Church teaching. Oh, to have few reqrets and know that you have pleased your Lord!

I can't change the past. Only the future. I don't make excuses or justifications for past sins, but I try to learn from them. Hopefully I'm doing a good enough job that people will someday look at me and say, "I just love verts!"

PopeStNick5: Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know

To read past library recommendations, or to join the email list, visit: Pope Saint Nicholas V.

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know
Author: Diane Moczar
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Date Published: Feb., 2006
ISBN: 1933184159
Price: 13.95
Comments: The divine surprises and chastisements that shaped the Church and changed the world.

Moving On

We're officially house hunting.

St. Joseph pray for us!

KC Catholic Homeschool Conference

If you live anywhere near Kansas City, keep the weekend of June 15th and 16th open. I'll be at their Catholic homeschool conference that weekend. I'll keep you updated on details as they unfold. It would be nice to meet some online friends in real life person!

Calling for All Catholic Homeschool Carnival Submissions

From Love2Learn:

The deadline for submissions to our December carnival, is fast-approaching. Please send in those Advent and Christmas ideas, stories, reviews etc. (prayer requests are also welcome) by November 26th. This carnival will be hosted by O Night Divine: A Blog Devoted to the Celebration of Christmas on December 1st!

Cool Stuff

Cool stuff in the blogoshpere:

Maureen in IL's Mom and Me and Recipes Project

The 47th Weekly Homeschool Blog Carnival

Cool stuff on the Internet:

Library Thing

Library Elf

Looking for Donations: Science Olympiad

A plea from my 3 oldest kids:

Hi!

We're part of the Science Olympiad team this year. Last year the team won 3rd place in our region!!! Our team name is CSI -- Creative Science Investigators. CSI will be competing in up to 23 different events at each of our competitions.

Our personal events include: Boomilever, Metric Mastery, Health Science, Remote Sensing, Simple Machines, Astronomy, and Forensics.

There's a lot of expense involved and we're looking for donations. Because we're homeschooled, we don't have the funding public school children receive. We need supportive friends and family to help us with the financial needs.

Any amount you could donate would really be appreciated. If you'd like your name to appear on the back of our competition T-shirts, then make a donation of at least $10 before November 29th (larger donors get larger print). If you own a business, this is chance to receive some positive advertisement while supporting future scientists.

There are four levels of sponsorship:
Mendel $10
Newton $25
Pastuer $50
Einstein $100

However, if you want to donate some other amount, that's okay too. There are two ways to send a donation (not tax deductible, sorry). You can mail a check to our coach (please email our mom, mwittlans@aol.com, for the name and address). Or, you can pay online through www.paypal.com (including credit cards!). The payment would go to csiso@sperling.com. If you donate this way, please leave the following in the comments: Name of the student you'd like to sponsor, do you want to be on the T-shirt, and how you'd like your name or business to appear on the T-shirt.

If you want to know more about Science Olympiads the websites are:
http://www.soinc.org/
http://www.michiganso.org/

More than anything, we ask for your prayers: that we will serve our team well, learn a lot about science, and give glory to God in our school work.

God Bless,
Christian, Mary, and Laura

Mom's Always With You

Teen Daughter asked if she could have a wallet of this picture. She says that way when she goes out alone, she'll be reminded I'm still looking over her shoulder.

I think I'll have one made for each child and keep the pictures pinned to their shirts.

Clothes Shopping with Teen Boys

Shopping for a teen boy who is growing taller faster than wider is a very interesting endeavor, to say the least. It's impossible to find clothes to fit a 6-foot tall teen who only weighs 120. They have Big and Tall Men stores, why not Tall and Skinny Men stores? Is it too much to ask clothiers to make blue jeans with a 29 waist and 36 length? Thank goodness for belts!

Which Do You Like?

Went to the photographer today to have a new press photo done. The old one (seen here) was outdated (1998). Besides, Rob hated it - he calls it my Miss Manner's picture.

You can see the pictures I picked from today's shoot at this website (just click on: View Slideshow). Now, I need to narrow it down to one. Let me know which one you like best.

Oh, I should tell you, the last shot was just for fun. The photographer was kidding me and he caught me scolding him on film. Don't laugh too hard at me.

Carnival of Homeschooling: Autumn Blessings

The newest carnival is up and running. In fact, it's the 46th weekly Carnival of Homeschooling.

So, grab your cotton candy and head on over to Sprittibee's place to check out all the rides. Make sure to dress warm as fall is in the air. Hope to see you there!

Catholic Homeschool Reviews

Have you been to Cathy Duffy's website lately? You know, her children graduated eons ago, and yet she continues to minister to those of us still in the trenches. She is such a blessing. You'll especially want to check out her Catholic homeschooling page - lots of reviews.

The first homeschooling book I ever owned was Cathy's Christian Home Educators' Curriculum Manual: Elementary Grades. Rob gave it to me, a year or two before we even began homeschooling. It was a slim volume in those days, not the thick tome it is today.

Cathy's newest book, 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, would be really helpful to new homeschoolers who are trying to figure out where to get started, or a veteran in need of a fresh start. It's not like the old days, when I began homeschooling. With so few resources around, there was little choice to make. Now, it's overwhelming with all the curricula available. 100 Top Picks has a test in it that would help a want-to-be homeschooler figure out what style of homeschooling would work best for her family. Cathy then guides the reader to the curriculum that works best for that style - sticking to just the best that's available (in her opinion, of course).

This would be a good title to recommend to your library!

Homeschool Participation in Guinness Record

I find it so cool the way Walden Media has been reaching out to homeschoolers. I received the following from their project support team:

Dear Homeschoolers:

Attached is yesterday's press release announcing the attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the "Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously in Multiple Locations" using a passage from E.B. White's classic book, "Charlotte's Web." See further information at www.walden.com. I would like for all homeschool participants to indicate on their registration form -- "homeschooler." This will enable the influence of homeschooling can be clearly demonstrated to all involved in the attempted world record event including gatekeepers in the press, wducation, and entertainment. This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase the clout of homeschooling and its strong commitment to reading and great books. I would love for you to consider spearheading participation within your spheres of influence. I'm of the opinion that homeschoolers could single-handedly break this record on their own! Vivat domesticus schola!

Your friend in film,
John

P.S. Please pass this along to all who need to be included in this opportunity.

Yeah, this is a promotion for the upcoming film: Charlotte's Web. It's also a great, and fun, opportunity for us homeschoolers. Make sure to mark your calendar for Dec. 13th (noon EST) and then go here to sign up. Make sure to also read the FAQ's. The deadline to register is Dec. 8th.

OSV Essay Contest for High School

The following contest is from OSV. Spread the word:

Our Sunday Visitor invites high school students in Catholic schools and homeschools to answer the question:

"How has your Catholic faith helped you live out Matthew 25?"

The Jan. 28, 2007 edition of Our Sunday Visitor will feature an "In Focus" section dedicated to Catholic schools. For this section we invite high school students attending an accredited high school or home school to write a 250-word essay answering the question above.

Our staff will select the three best essays to be published in the Jan. 28 issue. Authors of the published essays will receive a one-year subscription to Our Sunday Visitor, Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Church History by Matthew Bunson and When Did We See You, Lord? by Bishop Robert J. Baker/Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.

Essays must be submitted by Jan. 8, 2007 and can be submitted via mail to Our Sunday Visitor Essay Contest, 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN 46750, via fax to (260) 359-9117 or via e-mail to oursunvis@osv.com (please type "Essay Contest" in the subject line).

Carnival of Homeschooling: Library Edition

Speaking of libraries, the theme of this week's Homeschool Carnival is libraries. Stop by over at Spunky's place to check it out. Better make sure you have some extra time to surf before heading out though. Spunky has quite the carnival going.

RC History Contest

RC History is having a cool contest (see below). A simple little something you can do to with the kids while practicing writing skills, reviewing history, and having fun!

The First-Ever RC History Contest!

RC History is pleased to announce our first-ever history contest.

Several years ago, our family began a fun and educational project inspired by another homeschooling family.

Using the famous rhyme: "In fourteen hundred ninety two Columbus sailed the ocean blue." we began writing our own history rhymes to help us remember key facts and points from the events we were studying.

Our goal was to construct a rhyming timeline of history that we could continually add to and memorize over the days, weeks and even years!

Unfortunately, due to a series of life circumstances, our project was interrupted and eventually lost in a fire.

But, with your help, we'd like to begin afresh!

Not only do we want to construct a rhyming timeline, we want YOU to contribute your own history rhymes to the project, which we plan to publish, so that everyone who wants to can benefit from the creativity, fun, educational adventure of Rhyming Through History!

If your family would like to enter the contest, please send us an email and we will send you the rules and rewards!

Write to: sonya@rchistory.com with the Subject Line: RC History Rhyming Through History Contest

RC History is committed to making history your favorite subject!
Enter today!

UPDATE: Click here for rules and entry form.

HomeschoolLibraryConnection: A Thomas Jefferson Education

Homeschool Library Connection is a Yahoo Group similar to Pope St. Nicholas V, except that the focus is on general homeschooling books. Nancy Brown is the moderator of the group and does a great job. I suggest giving it a peek. Nancy only sends out 2 or 3 emails per month, so it's not going to take over your mailbox. Here is one of her more recent recommendations:

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century
Author: Oliver Van DeMille
Publisher: George Wythe College Press
Date Published: January 2006
ISBN: 096712462X
Price: 26.95
Comments: Andrew Pudewa, of the Institute for Excellence in Writing recommends this title. It's also all the rage these days in Classical education circles.

PopeStNick5: Pope John Paul II

To read past library recommendations, or to join the email list, visit: Pope Saint Nicholas V.

First check to see if this DVD is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: Pope John Paul II
Starring: Jon Voight, Ben Gazzara, Christopher Lee
Director: John Kent Harrison
Studio: Luxvide
Date Released: October 16, 2006
ASIN: B000JR0BYE
Run Time: 180 minutes
Price: 24.95
Comments: Based on the powerful true story.

Addendum: Interview with Jon Voight and another from NCR by Tim Drake.

Prayers Needed Today

There are a lot of important races and ballot issues all over the country today. Please devote an extra rosary or two for this intention, especially for Missouri and South Dakota.


A Prayer for Our National Elections
O God, we acknowledge You today as Lord, not only of individuals, but of nations and governments.

We thank You for the privilege of being able to organize ourselves politically and of knowing that political loyalty does not have to mean disloyalty to You.

We thank You for your Law, which our Founding Fathers acknowledged and recognized as higher than any human law.

We thank You for the opportunity that this election year puts before us: to exercise our solemn duty not only to vote, but also to influence countless others to vote, and to vote with a correctly-formed conscience.

Lord, we pray that your people may be awakened. Let them realize that while politics is not their salvation, their response to You requires that they be politically active.

Awaken your people to know that they are not called to be a sect fleeing the world but rather a community of faith renewing the world.

Awaken them that the same hands lifted up to You in prayer are the hands that pull the lever in the voting booth; that the same eyes that read your Word are the eyes that read the names on the ballot, and that they do not cease to be Christians when they enter the voting booth.

Awaken your people to a commitment to justice, to the sanctity of marriage and the family, to the dignity of each individual human life, and to the truth that human rights begin when human lives begin, and not one moment later.

Lord, we rejoice today that we are citizens of your kingdom.

May that make us all the more committed to being faithful citizens on earth.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Libraries and Homeschoolers

This is great news: Children's librarian writing a book on how libraries can serve homeschoolers. Looks like she already has a publisher. Check out the author's blog and leave many comments on what you would like to see in her book. This is an awesome opportunity to get our voices heard.

While you're at it, go check out Nancy Brown's Yahoo Group: Homeschool Library Connection. It's similar to my Pope St. Nicholas V list, only designed for homeschoolers in general.

Are Homeschoolers Prepared for the Real World?

5,000 homeschool grads are surveyed. Are they social misfits, or prepared to face the real world?

Catholic Homeschool Blog Carnival #2

It's a carnival! Grab some treats and enjoy the rides.

Catholic Homeschooling 101

Got my new Family Life Center catalog in the mail yesterday. Lots of great stuff in there. I was excited to see a CD of my interview with Steve Wood. Cool

To check it out, or purchase, click here. Or, you can get the Combo Special.

I think I may buy the Homeschooling through High School CD: Finishing the Final Lap. I can never have too much encouragement in that area!

In case you didn't already know, Steve Wood is a contributor to The Catholic Homeschool Companion. He wrote two great pieces: Twenty-One Things Fathers Can Do for Their Homeschool and Seven Ways Mothers Can Recruit Fathers.

Addendum: I don't know why the graphic of the CD came out lime green. It almost looks like a negative. (Or is it just my computer -- does it look okay on anyone else's computer?) The CD cover is actually quite lovely and looks a lot like the Companion cover.

Breath of Fresh Air

"As a current state legislator, member of the education committee and past member of the appropriations committee for k-12 and higher education funding, I cannot tell you how important it is that we elect John Knowles to the legislature. Education is not just about funding; it is about wise use of resources and wise decisions about education policy. We must keep educational choices in the hands of the parents first, not state government. One of the ways we encourage public education to do their best is by providing parents the options to, at their own expense, educate their children in a private school of their choice, or at home. Some of our best and brightest students are those who have been home educated. It would be unfortunate to have legislators who would work to stifle parental choice in education. Please give your support to John Knowles as he carries out his values centered campaign."

Sincerely,
Jack Hoogendyk
State Representative, 61st district.

Backpeddling

I received an email from Mark Meadows earlier today. It is not in response to my concerns emailed to him two days ago. Instead, he is responding to a homeschool dad.

It appears the only email Mr. Meadows responded to yesterday was the one sent by this homeschool dad. He didn't respond to the homeschooling mothers. When the dad brought this to Mr. Meadows' attention, he sent the following to the homeschool dad and cc'd us women.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions. I'm tired of addressing this candidate's lack of logic and knowledge.

My responding to you was all about me walking into the office after everyone had left and checking email. Yours was the only unopened one on the issue and staff had told me they copied others and had received some calls. I did not see any need to respond to other emails when you said you had disseminated my response. When I read the report of the interview, I was surprised that my comments had somehow made homeschooling my primary target for legislation. Especially after I thought I had quite clearly targeted people like the Hollands in my comments. I have alot I would like to do as a legislator-- homeschool legislation is not on the list. Someone also sent me the headline. I did not write the headline and I did not write the article. The reporter interviewed me by cellphone as I was going door to door. I thought I was pretty articulate but obviously I wasn't. We all agree that an abuser should not be able to escape scrutiny by deciding to homeschool after being identified. After I am elected I'll sit down with you and other homeschoolers and we'll noodle out a way to address my issue without affecting your rights. I added the email address of anyone I had gotten something from to this response so you might want to check and see if they are on your listserv.

All My Relations,

Mark

Update: I emailed MIRS. The reporter stands by her story.

Update #2: To read Candidate Meadows' response to me, click on the comments.

Mark Meadows Responds

I emailed Mark Meadows yesterday regarding the interview with MIRS. I haven't heard back from him, but a homeschool dad did:

Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2006 6:28:18 PM
Subject: Re: Home School

Actually, when I talked to MIRS I did not propose any new regulation of homeschooling. I suggested that a person who has been already identified in the public school system as an abuser or neglecter of his or her child should not be able to escape or reduce scrutiny by homeschooling his or her child. Homeschooling came up only because the Hollands decided to homeschool Ricky after they had been identified as potential abusers. I think the decision by the Hollands should have been a red flag. I agree with you (and apparently you agree with me) that underfunding and understaffing makes it difficult for FIA to perform the responsibilities placed upon it by state government. I want to require additional home visits under the Holland family circumstances and properly fund that function. My objective has nothing to do with homeschooling; it has everything to do with protecting children.

Thanks for writing.

Mark

I don't know where to begin. Mr. Meadows states that homeschooling should've been a red flag. Shouldn't the rope burns on Ricky's wrists, showed to his social worker, been a red flag? Shouldn't the fact that Ricky snuck into a neighbor's house looking for food been a red flag, or the fact that he stole food at school? What about his disclosure that he was handcuffed? Shouldn't his failure to thrive after being placed into the care of the Hollands been a red flag? There were red flags everywhere. They were tossed aside.

Mr. Meadows also states that abusers should not escape state scrutiny by homeschooling. The Hollands did not escape state scrutiny. There were multiple incidents of child abuse reported to the state. The Hollands were scrutinized. And nothing came of it.

Mr. Meadows also states in his email that he did not propose any new homeschooling regulation. Untrue. He wants to put "restrictions on who can homeschool." How is this not homeschooling regulation?

Someone, please enlighten me. How does adding more bureacracy and taking away homeschoolers' freedoms save children's lives?

What it all comes down to is this: A politician using the tragic death of a sweet little boy to further his own political agenda. A tactic that his own state party leader has decried in televised political ads.

If Mr. Meadows position really "has everything to do with protecting children" then he should be calling for a full investigation into why the state not only left Ricky in the Holland home, but why they continued to place children with the Hollands after they had been identified as "potential abusers." Instead, he wants "to revamp and put restrictions on the way home schools operate."

I hope John Knowles gets lots of homeschoolers volunteering to get the vote out this weekend.

State Rep. Candidate Vows to Restrict Homeschooling

The first bill former East Lansing Mayor Mark MEADOWS would introduce if he wins the 69th District House seat would be to revamp and put restrictions on the way home schools operate.

This is the lead-in paragraph to an article from the MIRS Capitol Capsule, THE paper read by all the Michigan politicos.

The article goes on to say:

Although he doesn't believe the Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM administration could have done anything else to save Ricky HOLLAND's life, he does think tightening up home schools would prevent further deaths.

For those of you who do not reside in Michigan, Ricky Holland was a seven-year-old boy who died at the hands of his parents. His mother was convicted of first-degree murder this week and his father pleaded to second degree murder. It was a child murder case that couldn't help but break your heart. Little Ricky was failed every step of the way.

It had nothing to do with homeschooling. Ricky was a foster child given up by his biological parents at two-years old. When the state severed their parental rights all together, the Hollands adopted Ricky. Because Ricky was considered a hard-to-place child, i.e. not a baby, the Hollands received financial incentives by the state.

There were problems from the beginning. Ricky told his social worker of being tied to bed and handcuffed. Neighbors and teachers reported child abuse incidents to the state. Toward the end of his life, the little boy was pulled by his parents from psychological visits and from school.

This is where Candidate Meadows gets it all wrong. He says the state couldn't "have done anything else to save Ricky Holland's life." What??? The state was called in, again and again, and did nothing.

The article goes on:

It's not uncommon for parents who have abusive records, like the Hollands, to home school their kids to hide the abuse, Meadows said. There's no restriction on who can home school their kids, so it makes it much easier for families who are abusive to keep the child at home, Meadows said. If the kids aren't in school, it's harder for others, specifically teachers to see the abuse.

But wait a minute, Ricky was in school. Remember, he wasn't pulled out until later. His teachers reported abuse to the state. The state did nothing.

Also important to note is the fact that neighbors reported the Holland's abuse. Also testifying at the murder trial was Ricky's doctor. Little Ricky was a normally developing boy until he entered the care of the Hollands. At that point he began to fail to thrive. They were starving him.

The article still goes on:

By law, teachers are required to file a report when they suspect that a child is being abused. Tightening up home schooling laws would keep kids in the public eye, which might result in more cases of child abuse being reported before it's too late, Meadows said. Meadows said he doesn't know if other states have similar laws, but he wants to give it a try. This might help state workers, who never seem to have enough personnel or money, to stay on top of every case, Meadows argued. "I think a Democratic Legislature would place a higher priority on this," Meadows said about increasing human service funding and passing his home schooling legislation.

Even after Ricky was pulled out of school, he was still in the public eye. He still had social workers assigned to him, he had the family doctor, he had neighbors, and he had extended family.

It is completely absurd that Candidate Meadows seeks to make this a case about homeschooling, while giving the State of Michigan and Governor Granholm a Get Out of Jail Free card.

It just doesn't fly.

To express your concerns to Mark Meadows, visit his website .

Please note that Mark Meadows is predicted to win this election. His opponent, John Knowles is rock solid pro-life, pro-family, and, yes, pro-homeschooling. To donate to Mr. Knowles' campaign and help him get out the vote, visit his website. I already made a donation myself. He takes Paypal and credit cards.

The election is only six days away. A win by Mark Meadows could translate into the loss of freedoms by homeschoolers. Michigan used to be THE most difficult state in which to homeschool. A lot of people worked hard and sacrificed so that people like me could educate my children in the way that I, as their parent, know is best for them. Let's not turn back the clock.

ADDENDUM: The contact page at Mark Meadow's webpage isn't functioning at this time. He can be emailed at meadowsforrep@sbcglobal.net.

Sophia Institute Titles at a Discount

Aquinas and More Catholic Goods is running a special on Sophia titles: 20% off. Check it out!

They also have a Catholic Homeschool page.

Homeschooling Goes Hollywood

This is pretty exciting news:

Walden Media Reaches Out to Homeschoolers.

PopeStNick5: To Be a Father

To read past library recommendations, or to join the email list, visit: Pope Saint Nicholas V.

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: To Be a Father: 200 Promises That Will Transform You, Your Marriage, And Your Family
Author: Stephen Gabriel
Publisher: Spence Publishing Co.
Date Published: Sept. 2006
ISBN: 189062666X
Price: 12.95
Comments: Review by Mike Aquilina

Sophia Needs Your Help

Sophia Institute Press is in financial trouble and asking for help. Sophia is a nonprofit organization. Their good works include the donation of thousands of books to religious and to prisoners.

Now may be a good time to buy any Sophia titles that are on your wish list. Or, perhaps, get some early Christmas shopping done. You can peruse their online catalog here.

Here are just a few titles of interest to Catholic homeschoolers:

The Catholic Homeschool Companion

Please Don't Drink the Holy Water

A Mother's Rule of Life

Memorize the Faith

Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know

A Life of Our Lord for Children

The Man Who Never Died

The First Christians

My Path to Heaven

The One Minute Philosopher

St. Patrick's Summer

Angel in the Waters

I've provided links to amazon.com so that you may read editorial and customer reviews. However, if you would like to give Sophia the most bang out of your purchase, then please order directly from their website.

The Cards Rock

Thank you Linda and Chuck for opening up your home to us Card's fans so we could watch the game last night. What great fun. I felt bad for your loss, but I'm confident you'll be seeing the Tigers in the World Series again soon.

Now, for a little sports commentary from Rob:

Wow, what an incredible ride by the Cardinals! How sweet it is to have beaten the Tigers! As improbable a World Series victory as any in history. In fact, the Cards won with the worst regular season record of any team in history. One can say it only shows the parity or mediocrity in baseball now, but it certainly shows how the revised playoff format allows a good team that suffered an inordinate number of regular season injuries a chance to heal in time for the big games. And that the Cardinals did, getting solid performances from Eckstein, Rolen and Edmonds, all of whom had serious injury problems fairly late in the season. But the biggest surprises of them all were (1) how a very young, mostly rookie bullpen rose to the occasion, especially Adam Wainwright who was still rotating through the minors as of July and didn't become the closer until September when Isringhausen's arthritic hip took him out, and (2) Yadier Molina's spectacular hitting, given he batted .216 in the regular season and had only 6 homers. IMHO Yadier deserved the MVP in both the NLCS and the World Series. He's just a totally unpretentious kid with loads of talent, who better to have won the MVP? His game seven, top of the ninth, two-run tie-breaking homer against the Mets stands out as the best memory of the playoffs for the Cardinals, followed of course by Adam Wainwright's game seven, bottom-of-the-ninth, two-outs, bases-loaded no-swing strikeout of Cardinals' killer Carlos Beltran. It doesn't get any better than the Cardinals-Mets 7-game NLCS series, especially that game 7.

Oh well, it goes without saying that the Cards benefitted inordinately in the World Series from shoddy defensive play by the Tigers, but the biggest key for the team was all the post-season experience it has piled up in the last 4-5 years, especially the memory of the 4-0 thumping by the Red Sox in 2004, that really left this team with a maturity level in the World Series far above what Detroit had. Understandable given that Detroit hadn't been in the playoffs in 19 years and was just 3 years removed from a 119-loss season.

In the end, St. Louis can only revel in its 10th World Series, second only to the Yankees. A great baseball tradition continues to be written!

Cardinal Fans in Enemy Territory

Here's a picture taken by Rob's friend Warren at the game Saturday. It's a great picture, even if I don't look my usual ravishingly beautiful self. It was taken before the game started. I like that you can see a couple of the Cardinal players on the field, the Tigers' scoreboard to the left, and the foul post to the right.

God Bless Jeff Suppan

St. Louis Cardinal's pitcher goes to bat for embryos, along with Jim Caviezal and Patricia Heaton. Pray for this Missouri election. The ramifications of its outcome will be huge.

We Went to the World Series!

Some weeks ago, Rob's boss in Detroit told us if the Cards ended up in the World Series with the Tigers, he would give us his season tickets to one of the games. He is a man of his word. Thank you Barry!

If you are a Cardinals fan attending a World Series game in Detroit . . .

. . . you will make lots of new friends.
. . . people will yell incredibly stupid stuff at you like, "Pujols is fat" and "McGwire does steroids."
. . . you better wear gloves, thermal socks, long johns, two sweatshirts, a coat, and a rain poncho because it'll be 45 degrees and sleeting.
. . . and you call your dad to tell him that you're at the game, the first thing he'll say to you is, "Do you have warm boots on?"
. . . and you spot another Cards fan, you'll feel compelled to run up and give her big hug!

It's been a decade since I've been to a Cardinals game. I forgot how much I enjoyed them. It is especially fun to attend a Cards game in Detroit when the stakes are high. Incredibly high.

Detroit Catholic Women's Conference

Saturday, I attended the Diocese of Detroit's Annual Women's Conference. I had no plans to attend as I'm just too busy. So busy, I had no choice but to go.

My girlfriends kept asking me to go. A fellow parishioner, whose name I don't even know, asked if I was going. It was in our homeschool newsletter. I received several emails. This conference was in my face, but I denied it. I'm too busy. I don't have time. I can't go.

Then, just 36 hours before the conference started, my friend Mary Jo asked me to go again. I was about to start into my litany of reasons, but before I could say a word, Mary Jo added, "I have a free ticket." Okay God, I get the message. I went to the conference.

In fact, I went along with 17 other women, most from my homeschool group. We caravaned in three minivans. A two-hour drive to Detroit insured lots of girl talk. Even at 6:30 in the morning, there's nothing like girl talk. Especially when it's uninterrupted by littles. After the conference we stopped for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant for even more girl talk.

In between all the girl talk, was an awesome conference with awesome speakers. Alice Von Hildebrand was an absolute hoot. She never cracked a smile, but the audience was in stitches. She spoke on the supernatural strength that lies in femininity. A serious topic, yes, but sometimes delivery is everything.

Dr. Janet Smith also managed to combine high ideals with humor. She spoke on Humane Vitae. She filled her talk with personal stories that lightened up the heavy subject. It's always a joy to hear Dr. Smith.

Coleen (yes, only one "l") is the originator of the Sex Respect Program, but her talk had nothing to do with sexual abstinence programs. She spoke about getting into the heart of Jesus. She is very inventive - she used a large blowup showing the intricacies of the human heart. She then used biology to explore the spiritual. She taught us to pray intimately, work diligently, suffer courageously, and to love generously. That's how we get into the heart of Jesus.

The high point of the entire day was a talk given by Ellen Salter. My eyes well up just thinking about it. She shared the story of her four-year-old daughter Meghan. Meghan has an undiagnosed medical condition. She is so weak that she requires life support to breathe and a feeding tube to eat. Ellen did not give us a story of sad suffering, but a story of love and hope. Every mention of her little girl's name brought a joyful smile to her face. You have to hear her story. Last I heard, videos will be available of all the conference talks at dignityofwoman@aol.com. I highly recommend getting the video of Ellen and sharing it with everyone you know.

There was Confession available throughout the entire conference and the day ended with Eucharistic Adoration and Mass.

And, that is how I spent my Saturday.

Misc. Business

The past three days have been a whirlwind. Saturday, I went to the Catholic Women's Conference in Detroit. Sunday, Rob and I went to the World Series game, also in Detroit. And yesterday was the Lansing Right to Life Banquet with Alan Keyes. I'll post about each event as I can find time over the next day or two.

The Catholic Homeschool Blog Carnival NEEDS YOU! Deadline for submissions is tomorrow. Post them here.

If you live anywhere near Chicago or Milwaukee, check this out.

It Really Works

Got an email that my public library is ordering Saints Behaving Badly and The Authentic Catholic Woman. Go to your library's website now, and make some requests!

Politics and Baseball

The governor's race in Michigan is too close to call. The outcome may come down to who wins the World Series. For real.

As reported on the radio, Governor Jennifer Granholm's poll numbers went up considerably when the Tigers won the pennant. Apparently, when people feel good, they vote for the incumbent.

Never mind researching the issues and looking at character. What matters is: Do you feel good?

Gov. Granholm is a Catholic, a convert to the faith. This has been cause for scandal, as she is also pro-choice, supporter of embryonic stem cell research, and recipient of Emily's List funds. Her opponent, Dick DeVos, is pro-life and pro-family.

Pro-lifers everywhere need to start praying for the Cardinals' win.

We're Going to the World Series

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets tonight, which means we're going to the World Series. The cool thing is the Cards will be playing the Detroit Tigers. Rob and I already have seats for one of the World Series games. We'll get to see our St. Louis team here in Michigan. Life is good.

The Thrifty Homeschooler

Over the years, I've watched a number of homeschooling friends put their children in school so Mom can work fulltime outside the home, even though Mom truly feels called to homeschool. Sometimes, this happens due to catastrophic events beyond anyone's control. Other times, it's completely avoidable. Either way, it breaks my heart.

For this reason I gave a talk at the NACHE conference many, many years ago called "The Thrifty Homeschooler." I received such positive feedback on the topic I went on to start a Yahoo Group by the same name and made the commentment to write a regular column. More recently, I started a blog.

I've decided to write a book on the topic of thrift, not just for homeschoolers, but for all families. My plan is twofold: Give practical advice and also delve into the spiritual benefits of thrift. It'll be some months before I lay pen to paper. In the meantime, I plan to immerse myself in reading about the spirituality of poverty. I'll begin, of course, with St. Francis. Please, if you have specific book titles you think I absolutely must read, leave a note for me in the combox.

Thataholics' Anonymous

My friend Mary Jo helped me out today and edited a writing project for me. Knowing I use the word "that" much too often, I was careful to go through the 20-page manuscript and removed all unnecessary "thats." Or, so I thought. Mary Jo deleted 18 more.

I've entered a 12-step program for "that" addiction.

Did you notice I didn't say, "Knowing THAT I use the word" or "Did you notice THAT I didn't say"? I'm getting better. I'm working the program.

The key is to stay clear of other thataholics. I was doing pretty well getting the "thats" out of my writing, having gone cold turkey, but then I read an article in Writers' Digest about how it's all wrong to take out the thats. The author stated that that is a much needed word for clear writing. He urged other writers to get the thats back in their writing.

It was all too tempting, I bellied up next to the author at the "that" bar and went on a nasty binge. It was ugly, but I've managed to pull myself out of the abyss.

I still have a long way to go, but with friends like Mary Jo, I can do it. I can beat the thats!

Rocking Baby Boomers

Last night we went to a Christian rock concert in Plymouth and we had a great time. Rob came straight from work in Detroit and I drove from Lansing with my friends Linda and Chuck.

About 10 minutes into the concert, my falling arches were already getting to me so I slipped off my shoes. Because the music was loud, the floor was shaking, so I got a foot massage as a bonus. It was quite nice.

The music was really pumping and I was tempted to climb up on my seat and dance, but I have arthritis and I couldn't quite make it up there.

Rob still had his business suit on when he met us, but he took off his tie. About half way through the concert, he unbuttoned his jacket. I'm married to a wild man.

The beat was getting to me and I felt the urge to do the bump with Linda, but I suddenly remembered that it isn't the 80's anymore. I'm sure Linda is very happy that I didn't give into my primal urge.

Everyone had their arms up clapping. I joined in for a minute but then my arms got tired. Later, the lead singer got everyone waving their arms high in the air and, having regained my energy, I joined in, but I almost knocked out Linda so I stopped.

At the end, I went to pull out my lighter but then I realized that I haven't owned a lighter in 20 years. Rob got in the groove and held up his cell phone, but it's an older model, kind of like him, and the light was a bit dim.

After the concert we all went out for a nightcap -- hot fudge sundaes at McDonald's.

Yep, we're some rock 'n rollin' boomers!

Biblical Passage and the Trivium

"Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
Isaiah 28: 9-10

The Lost Tools of Learning: Rhetoric Stage

I've updated this article, originally published in 2002:

Living Literature: High School
The Lost Tools of Learning
Reviewed by Maureen Wittmann

In 1947 at Oxford University Dorothy Sayers, an English writer and scholar, stepped up to the lectern and presented her speech, The Lost Tools of Learning. Then in 1977 her speech was published in National Review magazine. Since that time, The Lost Tools of Learning has been republished countless times.

The “lost tools” that Miss Sayers spoke of in her speech were the tools of a classical education. A classical education is based on the Trivium, which is made up of three stages.

The Grammar Stage (ages eight to eleven) builds a foundation by memorizing facts. The Dialectic, sometimes referred to as the Logic Stage (ages twelve to fourteen) develops analytical skills in students. Finally, the Rhetoric Stage (ages fourteen to sixteen) pulls the first two stages together and teaches students the art of articulation

The Trivium is not a modern approach to education, it was developed in the Middle Ages and widely used for centuries. One might even say that the Trivium is biblically supported. In Proverbs 2:6 we read: “For the Lord gives wisdom: From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom sound much like grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. The Trivium recognizes basic human development. It recognizes how God formed our intellect.

Children taught using the classical model have received the lost tools that Miss Sayers speaks of so eloquently in her speech. When students reach high school they have mastered the tools of memorizing facts and of analyzing those facts. Now they are ready to engage in the art of expression and in the science of communication. As Miss Sayers states, “The doors of the storehouse of knowledge should now be thrown open for them to browse about as they will. The things once learned by rote will be seen in new contexts.”

It is during the Rhetoric Stage that teens begin to develop their world view. Self-expression is at its peak. This is not the time to let one’s child go, but to continue helping him flower, guiding him gently. Challenge his thinking skills during this stage and make him defend his intellectual and religious positions.

The Lost Tools of Learning also tells us that “subjects” cannot be divorced from one another. It is especially during the Rhetoric Stage that we as parents and teachers should point out that all subjects are related to one another in some way.

Let us discuss briefly how a parent may apply the lost tools with a teen in the Rhetoric Stage.

Theology
High school is the perfect time to teach apologetics. Teach him to use his Bible facts and apply them to reasoned debate. Study the Early Church Fathers, how their leadership formed the way we worship today, and how the books of the Bible were determined.

History
In A Vote of Thanks to Cyrus, Dorothy Sayers relates that as a child she discovered the Cyrus mentioned in her Bible was the very same Cyrus found in her history text. Teens can recognize that Bible stories are not simply tales to entertain, but in fact history. Talk about Jesus Christ as a historical figure and the impact that Christianity has had in shaping world events.

Also go beyond your textbook and explore primary documents: autobiographies, documents, letters, etc. Give the high school student an opportunity to see how the turns of history occured through first-hand accounts.

Science
Look for the historical and biblical perspectives in studying science. Study the ethical ramifications in scientific research. Relevant topics for today may include stem cell research, fetal tissue transplants, and cloning.

Math
The more advanced math disciplines, such as algebra, geometry, and calculus, can be introduced. Study discoveries in historical perspective by reading biographies of mathematicians. Math studies can be tied into science.

Writing
This is the time for students to determine their own style. They can use Elements of Style or Chicago Manual of Style as references in writing. They should learn to prune their arguments and make their point without overdoing it.

Reading
Reading can move from narrative stories to challenging debates, critiques, and primary documents.

Latin
Latin can now be studied more deeply or dropped to make time for the modern languages.

Activities:
Read The Lost Tools of Learning. Study more deeply the Trivium and learn about the Quadrivium.

Search out other writings of Dorothy Sayers. She wrote a series of popular detective novels as well as many scholarly pieces.

Go to an online concordance and enter these three words: knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Look up the Scriptures that the concordance returns. How do you think that these words correspond to grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric?

Learning rests upon truth. Ask yourself: “What is truth?” Does the classical model of education lend itself to the discovery of God’s truth?

Resources
Books:
Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education (Ignatius Press) by Laura Berquist

A Catholic Homeschool Treasury: Developing Children’s Love for Learning (out of print) by Rachel Mackson and Maureen Wittmann, eds. Contains an excellent essay that explains Dorothy Sayers’ speech and classical education, written by Rachel Mackson.

The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (W.W. Norton & Company) by Jesse Wise and Susan Wise Bauer

Magazine:
Heart and Mind magazine has a regular column on classical education written by Laura Berquist.

Mail Order Companies:
Emmanuel Books
Carries The Lost Tools of Learning plus most of the resources recommended in Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum.

Memoria Press
Latin and classical materials.

Trivium Pursuit
Website contains much more than their catalog. Lots of articles and resources for Christian classical education.

Home Study Schools
Angelicum Academy
Online Catholic academy – liberal arts education based on the classic great books of Western civilization.

Kolbe Academy
Classical education – Ignation method.

Mother of Divine Grace
Catholic classical home study founded by Laura Berquist.

Regina Coeli Academy
An online college preparatory program using a Catholic classical curriculum.

Discussion Group
Catholic Classical Education

Website:
Classical Christian Homeschooling

Prayer Request

My cousin Laura passes on this prayer request on behalf of her friends. Please pray for 2-year-old Libby who has leukemia. This little girl is the youngest of 5 children. The family is so strong in their faith but this kind of thing can't help but take it's toll on all of them. Libby is in and out of the hospital, can’t walk any more. A bone marrow trnasplant is a possibility. Let's all of us raise this precious child and her family up in prayer.

St. Gerard, who, like our Savior, Jesus Christ, loved the little children so tenderly and by your prayers freed many from disease and even death, listen to us who are pleading for Libby. We thank God for the great gift of Libby and ask Him to restore this child to health. This favor, we beg of you through your love for all children and mothers. Amen.

PopeStNick5: The Authentic Catholic Woman

To read past library recommendations, or to join the email list, visit: Pope Saint Nicholas V.

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: The Authentic Catholic Woman
Author: Genevieve Kineke, foreword by Christopher West
Publisher: Servant Publications
Date Published: June 2006
ISBN: 0867167688
Price: $13.99, paperback
Comments: The author has a blog: Feminine Genius

You'll find a review at Catholic Exchange.

Harry Potter Documentary

I borrowed a video from the library last week: Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter. Talk about the secular world getting HP all wrong. It was a total waste of time to watch. It approached HP from the point of view that sends good Christian folks running for the hills when they hear the words, Harry Potter.

What I'd love to see is a video about the Harry Potter series from a Catholic point of view. It would have interviews with Amy Welborn, Regina Domain, Mark Shea, and most definitely Nancy Brown.

It could present all Catholic viewpoints and include the concerns of Steve Wood, Michael O'Brien, and Toni Collins.

I'd love to hear from Catholic teens who read the books and their take on whether the books promote Christianity or Wicca, or neither. It's possible that they're just plain enjoyable reads.

And maybe John Granger could be squeezed in there. He's not Catholic, but he has some great insights into the Christian symbolism found in the books.

It would be a perfect project to begin work on now with the last HP book coming out in 2007.

Any filmmakers out there?

Is it Maureen Whitman? Wittman? Whatman?

People have a hard time spelling my last name. Once, when Rob was quoted in our local newspaper, our last name was spelled three different ways in one article, Whitman, Witmann, Whittman.

The original cover art for A Catholic Homeschool Treasury had my name spelled wrong: Maureen Wittman. Fortunately, it was caught in time.

Here's how you remember the spelling: it's the opposite of Walt's last name. No h, 2 t's, and 2 n's. Wittmann.

Beautiful Homeschooled Kids

The kids are participating in the Science Olympiad this year. Last week we had a meeting at a local coffee shop, following Socrates Cafe, to work out all the particulars. We must have had at least 30 kids there.

Part way through the meeting, I had to excuse myself from the table to talk to a homeschool dad about some business. On my way out, a stranger stopped me to ask who all these kids were. I told her that they were the Homeschool Science Olympiad Team, made up of middle school and high school students. She told me, with excitement in her voice, "I just had to ask. I've never seen such beautiful kids before."

If this all sounds familiar, it should. I had a very similar experience, at a different coffee house, some time ago. There must be something to this homeschool/beautiful kid thing.

Catholic Homeschooling Carnival, Month One

The first ever Catholic Homeschooling Blog Carnival is up and running. Go check it out at the Love2Learn blog.

Please leave comments and let the bloggers know what you think. It's so helpful, and encouraging, to read your comments!

If you'd like to contribute to next month's carnival then go here. The more, the merrier. If you don't blog yourself, but come across a great blog post, you can submit the link yourself. Just let the blogger know.

The Blessing of the Rats

Being in a Franciscan parish, we had the blessing of the animals this last Sunday. It's an event that we attend every year and this year was no different.

Teen Daughter didn't want to go as she was afraid of being embarrassed, with good reason. But she was a good sport and went anyway.

When we arrived a few minutes early there were already about ten of our fellow parishioners there. All with dogs.

We pulled up in our blood-red, full-sized van, children poring out of every door, each with a different pet in tow. Rabbits, mice, hamsters, rats. Some in carrying cages, some in plastic balls, and others simply in hand.

As we approached the blessing area, one of the elderly parishioners exclaimed, "Oh my God, they have rats!" She and her puppy moved quickly away from us. In fact, about half of the parishioners shied away from us. I don't think that these folks will ever look at the Wittmann family the same again. We've gone from the nice big family to the kooks with rats.

It probably wouldn't have been so bad, except that the boys removed their rats from their carrying cages and let them crawl all over their shirts. I would've scolded them, but it was Rob, the Rat King, who put them up to it.

The rats and other wee animals were sprinkled with holy water and blessed by Father. I can't say that their new holy state has warmed my heart to the rodents -- I still keep a safe distance from them. But it made the children happy.

Well, except for Teen Daughter, who, along with her rabbit, was terribly embarrassed.

Happy Feast of St. Francis

Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.

As a child I was taught by Franciscan nuns, from K to 7th grade.

When Rob and I lived up north we lived in a small (50 families) Franciscan parish.

Here in Lansing, we've lived in a Franciscan parish for more than 12 years.

I think St. Francis is trying to tell me something.

To truly celebrate Francis' feast, send a St. Francis greeting card at Catholic Greetings.
To learn about St. Francis, see a bio at Catholic Online or an article at Catholic Encyclopedia.

Colleges Love Us

In the news today:

Colleges Coveting Home-Schooled Students

Thanks Linda for sending the link.

Confessions of a Homeschooler

I've mentioned here before that my friend Mary Jo Thayer has a super weekly column called Confessions of a Homeschooler. Check it out at Mary Jo's website, Mom With a Message. I think you'll really enjoy it!

Short Story Contest

One great way to get kids writing is to add a little competition to the mix. Here is a writing contest from Arx Publishing.

2006 Short Story Contest
Get Published — Win $50!

The Tarpeian Rock has sponsored writing contests for older kids and teens ages 12 through 18—a poetry contest in 2003 and a short story contest in 2004. The winners of these contests had their pieces published in The Tarpeian Rock and won $50 besides. If you would like to read them, please feel free to request sample copies of the 2004 and/or 2005 issues.

Our humorous essay contest in 2005 didn't go over as well as we would have liked, so this year, we have decided to go back to a genre which attracted considerable interest before: the short story. To qualify, the following criteria must be met:

* The author of the story must be between the ages of 12 and 18 as of December 31, 2006.
* The story must be 2,000 words or less.
* The story must be an original previously unpublished work.
* The setting of the story must be an event or incident from one of the following:

* The Peloponnesian War (431 BC to 401 BC).
* The Roman persecution of the early Christians (AD 40 to AD 306).
* The life of the Emperor Heraclius (AD 575 to AD 641).
* The life of Charlemagne (AD 742 to AD 814).
* The life of St. Dominic de Guzmán (AD 1170 to AD 1221).
* The life of St. Francis Xavier (AD 1506 to AD 1552).
* The local history of your town or state before 1800.

* Stories will be judged on theme, style, creativity and adherence to the rules. Those stories will be rated highest which demostrate a flair for language, appropriate use of wit or humor, and an understanding of traditional Western virtues, such as piety, honor, loyalty, hope, faith, charity, fortitude, devotion to family, etc.

* Stories which contain gross vulgarity, obscenity, or attacks on Judeo-Christian belief or morality will be disqualified.

The editors of The Tarpeian Rock will choose one (1) winner. The winner will receive a $50 award and the story will be published in the 2007 edition of The Tarpeian Rock.

All selections will be final and not subject to appeal. Friends and family of Arx Publishing and its members are ineligible to participate.
Entry Deadline:
Entries should be sent to the address below no later than December 31, 2006. The winner and honorable mention authors will be notified on or before March 15, 2007.
Arx Publishing, LLC
Attn: Tarpeian Rock Contest
PO Box 1333
Merchantville NJ 08109-0333, USA

This Week's Homeschool Carnival

The 39th Homeschool Carnival is up and running over at The Palmtree Pundit. Go check it out.

More TV's Than People

Anyone else find this incredibly sad:

More TV's Than People in Average Home

St. Catherine Catholic Lending Library

There's a new Yahoo Group in town. This looks like a cool one. Here is the description from the group's home:

Do you love reading edifying Catholic literature and history? Does your public library suffer from a deficiency in solid Catholic books? Is your budget such that you can't purchase all of the Catholic books and resources you'd like? Do you wish there were a Catholic lending library at hand to fill the gap?

This purpose of this email group is to connect Catholics who own good Catholic books with others who would like to read them. Once your membership is accepted, you will be invited to post any books you wish to share in the database section. Browse around at what others are offering.

When a borrower sees a book they would like, they email the lender and request it. The lender and borrower work out the loan period between them. The lender mails the book to the borrower via Media Mail at the lender's expense. The borrower enjoys the book, then returns it to the lender via Media Mail at the borrower's expense.

Because of the expense of international mail, we are limiting ourselves to US residents only (or those with military addresses capable of receiving Media Mail.) Please feel free to start a similar group for your own country if you are so inspired!

St. Catherine of Alexandria is a Catholic saint and patroness of libraries and librarians. We put this cooperative enterprise under her protection.

This group is not meant to be a discussion or prayer list. All members and all posts to the group will be moderated.

PopeStNick5: Saints Behaving Badly

To read past library recommendations, or to join the email list, visit: Pope Saint Nicholas V.

Check to see if this title is already in your library's catalog. If it is, put a hold on it and check it out. If not, fill out a patron request form right away. This can usually be done online at your library's website.

Title: Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil Worshippers Who Became Saints
Author: Thomas J. Craughwell
Publisher: Doubleday
Date Published: September 19, 2006
ISBN: 0385517203
Price: 15.95, hardcover
Comments: How could a librarian resist a title like that? How could any library patron for that matter?

Click here for and online review from Church Fathers' expert and author Mike Aquilina.

Click here to read editorial reviews, the author's bio, and an excerpt at amazon.com.

More on the Catholic Homeschool Carnival

There are several people to thank in putting together the upcoming Catholic Homeschool Carnival. First to Mary Ann Bernard and Ana Braga-Henebry for initiating it. Also to the Love2Learn Review Board who jumped in to help out. And finally to Esther in Hawaii for creating this beautiful graphic (Esther is the queen of beautiful graphics!). You all are the best!

For those of you wondering what in the world a blog carnival is, here is a synopsis. It's when you link to a bunch of blog posts from various blogs, based on a common theme. The common theme here is Catholic homeschooling.

To see an example of a carnival, check out this homeschool carnival from a few weeks ago.

Catholic Homeschool Carnival

I have exciting news to share! The first ever Catholic Homeschool Carnival is being pulled together.

If you're a Catholic homeschooler and a blogger then don't miss this opportunity to take part in this historic event.

The Catholic Homeschool Carnival will take place once a month, on the first Friday. The deadline to get your favorite post(s) in is the 25th of each month.

Click here to submit your post. And make sure to tell all your friends!

It would be extra cool if some talented Catholic homeschooler out there came up with a nifty graphic or two to use in promoting the carnival.

I Support the Pope Banners

Get yours here.

Congrats!

Congatulations to Danielle Bean and family on the birth and baptism of their beautiful new baby boy Daniel!

Discount on The Companion

If you've been wanting to purchase The Catholic Homeschool Companion, now is the time. It's available for 20% off the list price at my website. This offer is good through the end of September.

The website takes Paypal, including credit cards. If you prefer to pay by check or money order, please email me.

All books are autographed. If you'd like a book personalized, just leave a comment when you order.

The 38th Homeschool Carnival

The new homeschool carnival is up and running over at The Thinking Mother. Check it out to explore the What, Why, When, How, Where, and Why of homeschooling.

Prayer Request

Please pray for the Martin family who tragically lost their father and daughter this last weekend.

The newspaper article can be found here.

If you've attended the NACHE conference, you may remember them as the family who headed up hospitality.

Michael Dubruiel's Website

Speaking of Catholic author websites, my web design guy did a complete redesign of Michael Dubruiel's website. It's gorgeous. Make sure to check it out.

Catholic Author Webpage

Catholic Mom has a webpage at her site with links to Catholic author websites. Cool.

History Links Bulletin Board

Got this from Barb Little earlier today:

In the past, you expressed an interest in History Links. Because of this, I would like to invite you to join me on my journey: History at my house.

Because I WRITE History Links, I seldom get to actually DO History Links. I usually write the units while I am doing them. So, my kids get all the mistakes. They get all the projects that don’t work out. They get things in a confused order and then we straighten things out when we prepare the units for publishing.

That has been the norm for our schooling with the older kids, but this year I realized that I haven’t really done the beginning of history with the younger kids. So, this year I finally get to use my completed units on my own kids. This is one of the few times I have been able to do that. So, I thought, “Why not record this experience for others?” It might be fun for people to come along on our journey.

So, if you are interested in seeing how History Links works at
my house visit me at: http://historylinks.info/discussion/

You will be able to read the beginning entries without registering, but in order to post or read later entries you will need to register.

Please feel free to share this invitation with members of your homeschool group or email lists. And . . .

Happy Homeschooling!
Barb Little

History Links—Integrated Learning for Catholic Families Featured in Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks for Homeschool Curriculum Full Spectrum Learning—History Links Division

PO Box 411
Dickinson, ND 58602
Phone: 701-260-2599
Fax: 701-483-5548
woolylamb@wa-net.com
www.historylinks.info

Chesterton Helps for Homeschoolers

Nancy Brown has great news to share at her blog. She's received the go-ahead from Hillside Education to write a study guide to G. K. Chesterton's St. Francis of Assisi. This will be a great help to us homeschoolers with high school students.

Even more exciting is that she is writing adaptations of the Father Brown mysteries for 8- to 10-year olds. Wow, imagine introducing grade school kids to Chesterton! The mind boggles.

I hope that lots of people buy Nancy's books so that she can write loads more!

Laura Berquist's English Literature List

I recently came across Laura Berquist's syllabus for British literature (for 12th grade I believe) in the latest Emmanuel Books catalog. She has a few titles we missed in our recent high school literature discussion.

Here is her list:
Beowulf
Ivanhoe (Scott)
Emma (Austin)
Henry V (Shakespeare)
Helena (Waugh)
Sir Gawain the Green Knight (Tolkien)
Midsummer's Night Dream (Shakespeare)
Vicar of Wakefield (Goldsmith)
David Copperfield (Dickens)
Space Trilogy (Lewis)

Other options:
Kenilworth (Scott)
Macbeth (Shakespeare)
Othello (shakespeare)
Gulliver's Travels
The Woman in White (Collins)
The Warden (Trollope)
The Everlasting Man (Chesterton)
Brideshead Revisited (Waugh)

The Rat Skyscraper

As soon as the Fed Ex guy delivered the rat skyscraper, the kids were on the phone to Dad. He took his lunch hour and came home to put it together. This cage is truly a skyscraper. It would be like a 6,000 sq. ft. house to you and me. These rats are living in luxury.

The funny thing is how the kids, and Rob, love these rats. Rob has been dubbed the Rat King and the boys, the Rat Princes. Even sweet little Princess Rose loves cuddling with the rodents. Ick. I suppose I've been prejudiced by those rat movies of my youth: Willard and Ben. Then there's the icky Templeton of Charlotte's Web. And all the examples of real live vermin. Double ick.

But I'm told domesticated rats are nothing like their vermin counterparts. In fact, I'm also told, that if you're going to have small animals, domesticated rats are the way to go. They're smart, trainable, and very social.

Maybe someday I'll come around. I don't think I have choice.

We Have Rodents!

Pet rodents that is. It all started when we were visiting in St. Louis some months ago. My sister offered one of the family hamsters to Tween Daughter, who in turned begged me to let her bring the hamster home with us. Taking the easy way out, I told her to call Daddy. I knew that Rob would tell her absolutely "NO." After all, following the death of our last parakeet, he put his foot down and said no more small animals. He was tired of burying parakeets and flushing fish.

We came home with a new hamster.

Lesson learned: Don't take the easy way out.

Back to my story. After six weeks or so, Hamster Wamster passed onto hamster heaven. Again, Rob put down his foot. No more small animals. We already have a cat and two rabbits (all live outside) and that's enough.

Yeah right.

Somehow, Buster talked Dad into letting him have a rat. Yes, a rat - eek. Sparky then jumped into the fray. If his big brother got a rat, then he should have a rat too. After all, rats are social animals and are happier with a friend - ick. So, off to the pet store they go. Tween Daughter and her friend Toyota (not her real name) tag along. Toyota got permission from her grandma to get a pet mouse while at the pet store. Then TD talks Dad into letting her replace Hamster Wamster with a new hamster.

Are you still with me? They came home with 2 rats, a dwarf hamster, and a mouse. After a day, the mouse came to live at my house. Toyota's grandpa came home from his fishing trip, saw the pet mouse and said, "No way Jose!"

Oh, there goes the doorbell . . . it's the FedEx man with our new Rat Skyscraper. I'm so excited.

Grab a Ticket for the Homeschool Carnival

This week's Homeschool Carnival is up and running. Go check it out at Principled Homeschooling. You'll discover lots of neat homeschool blogs and great blog posts. For example, I enjoyed reading about Elitist Homeschoolers this morning. Sit back and enjoy, you've got a whole week to get through the links until the next carnival.

Almost 1,000 Books!

Still putting final touches on For the Love of Literature. I just finished an alphabetical list of all the books for the index. I had guessed that I describe about 500 books. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the actual number is 968! And that number doesn't include the textbooks, encyclicals, and other little resources I mention. No wonder it's taken me so long to complete this project.

Catholicizing Harry Potter?

If you want to learn how to baptize the Harry Potter books, head over to Nancy Brown's blog. She's been on the subject for several weeks now and makes some amazing observations.

Quote of the Day

A book is like a present that you can open again and again.

Seven Dumb Homeschooling Mistakes

Instead of the 7 Highly Effective Habits here are the 7 Dumb Mistakes Smart People Make When They Homeschool And How to Avoid Them.

Homeschool Carnival Needs You

Are you a homeschooling blogger? If so, then how about sharing your blog with the rest of the homeschooling world.

Just pick out your favorite post (it doesn't have to be recent) and send the url here: Blog Carnival.

I really encourage you to do this. Not only will it increase the traffic on your blog, it will help the homeschooling community.

Dr. Phil on Homeschooling

How would you like to be on the Dr. Phil Show? Well, here's your chance. Go to http://www.drphil.com/plugger/respond/?plugID=10527 to tell Dr. Phil why he should invite you to be on his show about homeschooling.

Note: Blogger is acting funny and won't let me put in any direct links.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Awesome Italian Pasta Sauce

My Italian neighbor has been delighting my family for ten years with his delicious pasta sauce. I've been perstering him for years to share his recipe with me, but he always insists that there is no recipe. It's a little different each time. Finally, I cornered him with a recipe card and pen in my hand. Here's what I got out of him:

tomatoes - pressed through a food mill
LOTS of fresh herbs: oregano, basil, bayleaf
garlic
brown sugar
chicken or vegetable boullion
worchestershire sauce
fresh ground pepper
(skip the salt, the boullion is already salty)
chopped onions
green peppers
mushrooms
ground Italian sausage

Simmer tomatoes, herbs, garlic, sugar, boullion, worchestershire, pepper, and onions for 4 hours. Add peppers and mushrooms. Brown Italian sausage and add. Simmer about 4 more hours.


I had a full bushel of tomatoes yesterday and used this recipe. Because there aren't exact measurements I had to guess, and taste, a lot. I skipped the Italian sausage because I'm canning the sauce - I'll add the sausage when I open the jar.

It's still simmering on the stove as I type and my whole house smells awesome. Mmmm, and it tastes great! Best sauce I've ever made.

I've never added boullion or worchestershire to pasta sauce before. I never even thought to do such a thing before. But, I think that's what makes the sauce so delish.

Addendum: My neighbor came by this morning with loads of fresh basil to share from his garden. He says only use a wee amount of worchestershire (oops). He also says that it's way better to substitute good wine for the boullion. (Don't use cooking wine -- if you wouldn't drink it from a glass it won't be good in your sauce.)

Raspberry Sweet Tea

First I had to give up my beloved coffee, even decaf. Then the doctor tells me that I can't have regular tea, only herbal tea as long as there's no mint in it.

This was hard news on a girl who loves her sweet tea. It was suggested that I just make sweet tea with herbal tea, but I knew that it would be sacrilege to do such a thing so I suffered, in silence, for months.

Well, today I joined the ranks of the heretics and made sweet tea with raspberry tea bags. I couldn't help myself, a pseudo cup of sweet tea is better than none at all.

And, I have to admit, it wasn't too bad. In fact, it was pretty good. Here's the recipe that I came up with:

Put 10 raspberry tea bags into a two-quart pot and cover with cool water. Bring to a boil. Do not continue to boil. Turn off the stove and let the tea steep about ten minutes or so. Remove the tea bags. Fill a one-gallon pitcher about a quarter to halfway with ice. Pour a cup of sugar over the ice and then pour the warm tea over the sugar. Stir well. Fill to the top with cool water and give a little stir.

What About Socialization???

The Lansing State Journal ran an op-ed piece last Sunday on homeschooling written by a 17-year-old homeschooled student.

Dr. Ray in Dayton

Got this yesterday:

The Dayton Catholic Homeschool Network is pleased to announce that Dr. Ray Guarendi will be speaking at our Catholic homeschool conference in Huber Heights, Ohio, May 18 & 19. His talks will be given on Saturday May 19th, schedule to be announced. For more information on our conference please visit Daytonhomeschool.com. For more information on Dr. Ray please visit http://www.drray.com/. Dr. Ray will be coming thanks to the generosity of a homeschooling family in Dayton.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Dr. Ray Guarendi speak, GO! In fact, take all your friends and relatives. And if they can't go with you, give them a Dr. Ray video for Christmas. Really.

Not only does he give some great parenting advice, he is hysterically funny. Rob and I saw him at the Michigan conference some years age and never laughed so hard in our lives. We had tears running down our faces. Then we went home and applied his advice.

Note, don't take the kids with you. You don't want them learning all of the parenting techniques that you're going to use on them.

BTW, I'll be a the Dayton conference too, along with Dr. Mary Kay Clark and Kevin Schmiesing (from Acton Institute). Make sure to check it out if you're within driving distance. This is a very reasonably priced conference with some excellent speakers and vendors.