PSNV: The Mystery of Harry Potter

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 Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide
Author: Nancy Carpentier Brown
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Date Published: June 18, 2007
ISBN: 1592763987
Price: Softcover 12.95
Reviews:

As a fan of Harry Potter, and a Catholic Christian, I have often lamented the time wasted on paranoid analyses of J.K. Rowling's great work of Christian (yes, I said Christian) fantasy from believers who ought to know better. Now comes a fine appreciation of Rowling's achievement from a first rate writer, believer, and (to top it off) Chestertonian Catholic. Thanks, Nancy Brown, for doing justice to the greatest Christian fantasy epic of our generation. - Mark P. Shea, Senior Content Editor, CatholicExchange.com

Nancy Carpentier Brown has done us all, especially parents, a great service. The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide is an informative and original assessment of the Harry
Potter books, examining why they are not only great literature, but great Christian literature as well. Harry Potter should be on every Catholic family's bookshelf, right alongside Nancy's book. -Sean P. Dailey, editor-in-chief of Gilbert Magazine.

Nancy Carpentier Brown has done a great service to Catholic parents, and to Catholic readers of fiction in general: Cutting through the hype and controversy surrounding the Harry Potter series, she provides her own confidently Christian interpretation of the story. In truly Chestertonian fashion, she turns upside down the strident criticisms of those whose opposition to real-life witchcraft and sorcery prevents them from seeing anything good in the books. Her clearheaded analysis of the fundamentally moral, religious, and even Christian character of the narrative is very convincing. Her voice deserves to be heard. -Fr. Pierre Ingram, CC, S.T.L.

At last a book by a devout Catholic mom about Harry Potter! Nancy Brown puts to rest the objections raised by Catholics who have not read Joanne Rowling's wonderful books and raises concerns for prudent Christian parents to consider. This is a must for every Catholic parish library and RCIA teacher! –John Granger, author, Finding God in Harry Potter

The Mystery of Harry Potter is a great resource to enlighten Catholic parents and educators that JK Rowling is on the side of the angels. -Robert TrexlerEditor, CSL: The Bulletin of the New York C.S. Lewis Society

The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide by Nancy Brown is fantastic! Whether you hate, love or are unsure about Harry you have got to put this book on your reading list. Mrs. Brown wrote it in a way I would have never dreamed. She ties J. K. Rowling's story of Harry Potter to G. K. Chesterton's Battle of Lepanto. Only a Chestertonian like Nancy could pull it off so beautifully. -Maureen Wittmann

(Note to librarians: Amazon has the wrong release date at their website - it is available now)

20% Off at Adoremus Books

In Kansas City, the owner of Adoremus Books gave me a 20% off coupon for orders placed online. He also said I could share it with you and the world. So, if you need to order books, films, music, homeschooling stuff, or what have you, head over there and enjoy a discount on your entire order.

After you put everything in your shopping cart, you'll head to the checkout. During that process, you'll be asked for a discount code. Enter KANKS67 and it'll give you the 20% off at that time.

Adoremus carries over 6,000 titles, so there is a good chance you'll find what you need. Plus, they offer free shipping on orders over $25! Hey, that's as good as amazon, plus you get to support a nice Catholic family business!!!

This offer expires July 9, 2007. Feel free to share with all your friends, email loops, the blogosphere, etc.

Teen Lit Help

Another cool blog for you all to check out when I'm out of town next week: Teen Literacy Tips, a new blog from Nick Senger of Literary Compass. He's looking for lots of input as well sharing his own wisdom.

Homeschooling Community

One of the many things I love about homeschooling is simply being a part of the homeschool community.

Rob had a friend years ago who was a public school superintendent. Later, this gentleman left his job to start a company that helps parents with their special needs children. In the process he found himself working with homeschoolers.

When I went to him seeking some help with one of my own children, he shared this with me (I paraphrase):

You know Maureen, I've really come to appreciate homeschoolers. When I was in the public schools and I would go to parent meetings and hear comments like, "My Billy is so smart" and "Suzy is the most popular girl in her class" and "Jimmy is the best football player on the team." It was all about them.

When I go to homeschooling meetings, I hear, "Oh, you're having trouble with reading? I know just the program to help you!" and "Do you have any good ideas for field trips?" and "Don't get discouraged, you can do it!" It is all about building up one another.

Homeschooling Asperger Kids

Someone left a message in the combox last week about my experience homeschooling a child with Asperger syndrome. If you're not familiar with Asperger, it is a high functioning form of autism.

The last time I visited St. Louis, my sister Eileen really insisted I need to write on this topic. She brought it up several times to drive home her point. You see, she's seen such great progress in my son Sparky that she believes my experience will help others. And, quite honestly, that has been the center of my writing - to share my personal experience in an effort to help others in similar situations.

However, Sparky is only nine and we still have so long to go in this journey. This is why I haven't written on the topic before. But Eileen made some very good points to me that I didn't recognize myself. I see and live with Sparky everyday. The changes I see are so gradual and I also see there is so far to go yet. The changes Eileen sees are three to six months apart and are drastic. She is totally blown away by Sparky's progress.

And then I get the message in the combox. So, for now, until I can write more in-depth, I will share the part of my God's Wildflowers speech about Sparky and Asperger Syndrome:

My husband and I first noticed something when he was about 20 months old. We brought it up to a couple of doctors we were seeing for other issues, but they blew it off. After all, he had already had a lot of intrusive medical procedures performed at his young age. This would surely create some backsliding in his development and in his behavior. He seemed autistic to me, though mildly so, but I trusted the doctors’ assessment. Plus, his seemingly autistic behavior came and went. I was told that an autistic child would always display autistic behavior – it didn’t come and go.

Then God sent a messenger, so to speak. I was putting together The Catholic Homeschool Companion, which is a compilation of essays written by a variety of homeschoolers. One of the authors wrote about her son with Asperger Syndrome. I still didn’t get it after reading her essay, because you know the doctors told me that my son didn’t have autism. However, in the process of editing this essay, I went to the library and borrowed a book the author recommended, Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments. I didn’t want a book recommendation in The Companion that I hadn’t read myself. Well, I sat down to read Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments on the couch next to my husband, and I was only a few pages into it when I began to cry. I turned to my husband and said, “This book is about Sparky!” I couldn’t believe it.

I went to our family doctor and he confirmed my suspicion that my son has Asperger syndrome. I began to read everything that I could find on the subject and talking to other parents of Asperger kids. This was really helpful. But the most helpful thing was a seminar I attended for school personnel and parents on autism and Asperger. My husband works at a charter school and made arrangements for me attend. The teachers brought videos of their Asperger students to share. These kids seemed so lonely it broke my heart. They sat alone in the farthest corner or in the doorway or at a table by themselves.

The teachers and counselors I met were wonderfully loving people. They really cared about these kids, but there was little the teachers and counselors could do for them. Several teachers told me my son was lucky to be homeschooled because no matter how much help these kids get from their teachers, there is little that can be done about the torment they receive at the hands of their peers. Kids can be terribly cruel and in an environment where there are 25 kids to every adult, a kid who is perceived as weird isn’t going to get a break.

In my home, my son is loved unconditionally. I admit that there are days when he brings us to our knees. But then, maybe being brought to prayer isn’t an entirely bad thing. He requires a lot of attention, but as parents we do what we have to do.

Probably the best advice I’ve gotten so far is the importance of humor. This child is prone to meltdowns. If things don’t go his way he can’t deal with it. He is a creature of habit. When a day doesn’t go as planned, or when something doesn’t happened that was promised, he will completely lose it. Once he is into a meltdown, all you can do is wait it out. The key is to stop it before it gets out of hand.

I’ve learned over the years how to recognize a meltdown is coming. To head it off, I take a deep breath and say something funny. For example, I’ll say to him, “Sparky, no laughing! We don’t allow no stinkin laughing in this house.” And pretty soon his scowl will begin to soften. Then I’ll go on, “If you even think of smiling, you’ll be in huge trouble. I mean HUGE trouble Buddy.” By now he’s laughing out loud and I’m still going on, “You better stop that laughing or I’ll give you something to laugh about Mister.” Then I grab him up and give him a big hug. By now, he’s forgotten that just seconds ago his whole entire life was in a shamble because we couldn’t go to the baseball game on account of rain.

Also, I can’t discipline this child like the other children. Just raising my voice will upset him and any words spoken in the process will be completely lost. I need to keep calm and get him focused. I need to make sure discipline is swift so he makes the connection between his transgression and the punishment. Usually a time-out, putting a toy in time-out, or a chore. If the transgression is against a sibling, I usually have to give him some instruction on showing compassion. He doesn’t seem to understand that his actions can hurt other human beings. We’re still working on this and probably will be for a while yet.

As for homeschooling, he is very bright and is light years ahead. However, reading is another story. It's different from his dyslexic siblings, it is more like he just wasn’t ready. Then suddenly, just last summer he started to show readiness. I used Orton-Gillingham with him this year, along with his younger sister, and he took off quickly. He's now a pretty fluent reader.

Advice for New Homeschoolers

The conference in Kansas City was great! I got to hang out with a couple of dear friends as well as meet so many new and interesting people. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me! (A special thank you to Rosie.)

One thing I learned while there, was that I need to completely rewrite my Relax, You Can Homeschool Too speech. From the questions I got, I realized what new homeschoolers really need is specific information on how to get started and not so much info on the whys of homeschooling or generalities.

When I first started homechooling, there where few to no choices. We just winged it as we went along. (And, our kids are turning out okay!)

Today, parents are completely overwhelmed with all the choices. Home study school or design-your-own? Charlotte Mason, classical, Montessori, unit studies, or literature based? Saxon, Math-U-See, MCP, Fred, or ABeka? Unschooling, relaxed, eclectic, or work-study? Should I supplement with online classes, tutors, co-op classes, or community college? And that is only the very beginning.

New homeschooling parents come to conferences with an idea of what they want to do, hoping to refine that idea as well as purchase the materials they will need for the year. But, what often happens is that they walk into that vendor hall and see a whole slew of new options they have not yet considered and begin to question their original choices for their homeschool. Then, they either overbuy or throw up their hands in frustration.

Perhaps this week, before I leave for South Dakota, we all can talk this over. What advice would you give someone just starting out? And, we have to consider the two different kinds of new homeschooling families - those who are pulling older children out of school and those who are starting at the very beginning.

I have my own ideas on this and will try to mesh them out over the next three days, but I really value the opinions and experiences of my readers, so I'd like to hear from you too in the combox.

TTFN

I have much to do yet to prepare for the KC trip. And then, shortly after my return, I'm off to SD with the 4-H shooting team. So, blogging will be pretty light for the next three weeks or so.

If you find yourself in need of a blog fix, check out the blog roll in the sidebar (you'll need to scroll down about halfway or so). There's some great links there.

And here's a cool blog I haven't added to the blogroll yet: Ambrose-a-rama. It's written by an American (Pittsburgh) Catholic living in China. China has a special place in our hearts here -- but I'll write about that another day.

Prayers offered up to St. Christopher for safe travel are welcomed.

Catholic Author and Publisher Recommends The Companion

"This book is awesome, a real treasure trove of information about homeschooling. It will surely give confidence to any parents who are considering homeschooling their children. Wittmann and Mackson are to be commended for the work they've done."
-- Matthew Pinto, Author, Did Adam & Eve Have Belly Buttons?

To order The Catholic Homeschool Companion, click HERE.

Kansas City Here I Come

I'll be heading to Kansas City on Friday. In fact, I'll be leaving in the early hours as my plane takes off around 7 am.

If you're anywheres near KC, make sure to check out the Catholic homeschooling conference. My sister may come all the way from St. Louis! It's sure to be an awesome conference with some great speakers and vendors.

I'm looking forward to meeting some old email friends and hope to meet some new friends too! Thanks to Maria for putting me up for the night!

Q & A: The Lit Book

I've been getting questions via email and in the comments about the new lit book, so I figured I should bring the questions out here for everyone's reading ease.

What age group is the book written for?
This is a book written for homeschooling parents to help them teach their children from preschool to high school. It is filled with literary suggestions for all ages, including adult. After all, if we parents are to teach our children, we need to first teach ourselves.

Is this the expanded version of your booklet, Literature Isn't Just for Reading?
Yes it is. I put together Literature Isn't Just for Reading: Teaching Core Subjects through Real Books to accompany my conference talk by the same name. A one-hour talk just wasn't enough. From the comments and questions I received after each talk, it was evident homeschoolers needed more. They needed a resource they could hold in their hands and take home with them.

The original booklet was 5 by 8 and had 80 pages. It was nothing more than a glorified reading list, yet I found it was a real help to parents.

The new book is 6 by 9 and 300 pages. It's still a glorified reading list, but it's a pretty cool glorified reading list ... I think. It does have short chapters on such things as using your library, classical education, unit studies, Charlotte Mason, etc., but the bulk of the book the reading list (I call them literary guides in the book). There are about 950 books listed, each with a short description, with an age recommendation, and sorted by school subject.

Who is the publisher?
First, a little back story if you don't mind. I gave the booklet to my friends Mike and Terri Aquilina and they loved it, encouraging me to expand it and get a publisher. (BTW - Mike wrote a beautiful foreword to the new book.) I sent it to several big publishers and got turned down flat.

Then an angel sent Joan Stromberg to me. Joan, on more than one occasion, had a vending table next to mine at Catholic homeschooling conferences. She saw what a great resource this booklet was and asked me to send a book proposal to her. At first, I told her no. Her publishing house, Ecce Homo Press, is a small business and I was ready for the big time. (Oh, how God must laugh at me.)

At first, I thought that I could expand the focus of the book to include school teachers. I interviewed several principals, teachers, and librarians from Catholic schools. I put the book a year behind schedule doing this. I struggled and struggled, but I just couldn't do it. What we homeschoolers do is so different from what they do. Teachers would benefit from such a book, but it would have to be written completely different.

So, I realized I needed to get back to my roots. Joan is the ultimate homeschool publisher and the perfect person to publish this book. I humbled myself, went to her, and asked her to be my publisher. And, I must tell you, I am so glad I did. She is pure joy to work with.

When is the book due out and can it be pre-ordered?
The publisher will be done with editing and formatting by month's end. It will then go to the printer, which can take up to a couple of months. It should be ready by the start of school. (Let's all pray for that!)

It is not ready for preorder yet. When I have a definite publication date, I will make sure to let you all know how you can preorder.

Are those your kids on the cover?
I got this question with The Companion too. Nope, my kids have yet to grace a book cover, though I put their picture inside my little Renaissance puzzle book I'm currently updating. The children on the lit book cover belong to Joan. It's a beautiful picture - I absolutely love it!

Now I want to know how you find time to write books, homeschool and the other "mother" duties that must be accomplished daily? WOW, women like you impress me ... I can't even keep the dust bunnies under control.
Please don't be impressed. You can ask my husband and friends (Linda, feel free to pipe in); they can tell you I'm not Superwoman. I'm terribly lax when it comes to housekeeping and those dust bunnies are beyond out of control. I have children who help me a great deal. It also helps if you're an insomniac. Besides, writing is part of my homeschooling. The kids are not only my guinea pigs, but help me with it all.

Addendum: Joan put the cover on a webpage so you can see the true colors. Click HERE.

Cover Art

I'm so excited! Here is the preliminary artwork for the new book cover. What do you think?

BTW - It should be on it's way to the printer by month's end. The publisher is nearly done with editing and formatting.

Addendum: Ooh, it came out really green on the blog. It's not the green in real life.

PopeStNick5: Top Ten

Top-Ten Suggestions for Making Purchasing Suggestions to Your Library

· The form you need to fill out may be called a variety of things: patron request, item request, suggest a purchase, or something similar.

· Making suggestions online is often easier than filling out a form in person. To find your library’s website visit http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/.

· Give as much information about the book as you can: title, author, publisher, date published, ISBN number, and a link to a review of the book.

· Sometimes it’s more effective to ask a main library instead of a suburban or branch library.

· You’ll have a better chance of a purchase at a big library than a small one, which needs to get rid of books to save room.

· Titles published in the past year are more likely to be purchased. Librarians want their purchases to have a long shelf life and so are weary of older books.

· If you do suggest an older title, make sure to comment it’s a “classic” and will be checked out for years to come.

· Don’t give up if you feel your suggestions are ignored. Book orders are made when funds are available, so it may take a few months before you see the fruits of your efforts.

· Tell all of your like-minded friends to make purchasing suggestions too. Some libraries wait until they have two or three requests of the same book before ordering.Once the library purchases the books you suggest, check them out so the librarian will continue to order similar titles.

Number Eleven: Join the Pope St. Nicholas V Yahoo Group today!

PopeStNick5: The Resilient Church

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 Resilient Church: The Glory, the Shame, and the Hope for Tomorrow
Author: Mike Aquilina
Publisher: Word Among Us Press
Date Published: May 2007
ISBN: 1593251041
Price: $11.95 Paperback
Comments: A collection of historical sketches on the Catholic Church.
Endorsements at Mike's blog and a review from his Grail Code co-author.
From the publisher:

Beginning with the earliest martyrs and ending with the twentieth century, The Resilient Church offers a fascinating look at the trials and triumphs of the Catholic Church over the past two thousand years. Fast-paced sketches of critical periods in church history give readers perspective on the challenges faced by the church today. Short selections in each chapter highlight some of the great heroes who influenced the course of history.

Literature by African Countries

I've got the African reading list up at the Love2Learn blog. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thank You

The 4-H kids met their fundraising goal! Thank you all who donated. Thank you especially to those of you who have kept them in prayer. (Keep the prayers coming - competition is only a few weeks away!)

I'd like to publicly acknowledge our large corporate donors:

Distinguished Expert
Dowding Industries
Michigan CAT
Safari Club Lansing Chapter

Sharpshooter
Capital City Rifle Club
Ingham Sharpshooters 4-H
Pheasants Forever

Marksman
Eaton Rapids Conservation Club
Hornady Manufacturing
Onondaga 4-H Club
Thompson / Center Arms
Total Firearms Inc.
VFW Post 6986

Promarksman
Bellairs Romneys
Capital City 4-H Club

Literature Lists by Geography

The Love2Learn Board is putting together all kinds of cool reading lists by geographical area. You all know how much I LOVE reading lists, so I can't help but join in on the fun!

Check out these reading lists in progress:
Across America: State-By-State
Canada
Mexico
Asia
Europe
South and Central America

This is a collaborative effort, so please go and add your ideas to the comments. Corrections, additions, and comments are all welcomed! Alicia will put the final lists up on the Love2Learn website. (Which, btw, is currently being completely revamped and improved and should be available soon!)

I'm working on a reading list for Africa which I hope to post in the next day or two at the Love2Learn blog.

The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide

Lots of exciting stuff going on over at Nancy Brown's blog. The release of her Harry Potter book got moved up a couple of months and is now due out in just two weeks! Check out her blog to get caught up on all the hoopla! You can also check out her amazon.com plog for updates.

Don't you just love the cover! I can't wait to hold the real deal in my hands!

It's an Unschooling Carnival!

I love a good blog carnival! If you'd like to see what the unschoolers are up to, get some cotton candy and head over to Unschooling Voices #9.

Homeschooled Kid Wins the Spelling Bee

Yet another homeschooler wins the Scripp's National Spelling Bee, even though math and music are his first loves.

Opening Doors for Ladies

I've really been impressed with Rob's chivalrous act of always opening my car door for me recently.

Then I realized the lock on his car door is broken and he has to open mine first to get in.

PopeStNick5: Jesus of Nazareth

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: Jesus of Nazareth
Author: Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI
Publisher: Doubleday
Date Published: May 15, 2007
ISBN: 0385523416
Price: 24.95 Hardcover
Comments: “This book is… my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’” —Benedict XVI

Reviews: NCR(egister)
Catholic.org

Colorado Catholic Homeschooling Conference

I had a great time at the Colorado conference last year. Looks like this year's conference is going to be another humdinger:

Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educators Conference
"Teaching the Art of Living"
June 21-23
Holiday Inn - DIA
Denver, CO

Guest Speakers include: Elizabeth Foss, Eric Genuis, Kelly Roper, Bishop Michael Sheridan

For information call (303) 279-2452 or visit our website at www.rmchec.org/

Catholic Blogger Extraordinaire Recommends The Companion

“The Catholic Homeschool Companion is an invaluable resource for any Catholic parent who seeks to form their children, not only in knowledge, but in wisdom and love.” -- Mark Shea, Senior Content Editor, CatholicExchange.com.

Mark is also author of:
By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition
Making Sense Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible As the First Christians Did
This is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers the Real Presence

To order The Catholic Homeschool Companion, click HERE.

Confirmation, Community, and Gas Prices

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of being a confirmation sponsor to a very special young lady, Callie. The Confirmation took place in the Grand Rapids Diocese and they do things differently than we do here in the Lansing Diocese.

Rather than the bishop coming to your parish, he has you come to him. Callie's fellow 69 candidates and their families had to drive an hour or more to St. Andrew's Cathedral in Grand Rapids. Additionally, another 5 parishes were confirmed the very same day. My guess is that there were about 200 candidates present.

When I asked a deacon about this, he stated this was a more efficient use of the bishop's time, freeing him up for more important duties. This comment flabbergasted me. What is more important than going out to meet the youth of the Church and confirm them?

At the end of the Mass, the bishop gave another explanation. He felt that bringing all these parishes together under one roof created community. We are, after all, part of a bigger Church. We need to get out of our parishes and meet other Catholics in our diocese. I think he also said something about neighborhood, but at that point he was losing me as all I could think about was whether or not my seven kids, seated far from me, were holding up okay after such a long Mass.

I'm afraid to say that I didn't feel a part of the community that day. It was more like being lost in a crowd. Plus, it was an hour and half drive from my house, it was difficult for my family to find seating, grandparents where unable to attend due to the hardship of the long drive, etc. I overheard quite a bit of rumbling outside the church about gas prices ($3.50 a gallon here) and how it's cheaper for the bishop to drive to a parish than for hundreds of people to drive to him.

I'm sorry to say it was more mayhem than community. We were rushed up to the bishop when it came time for the candidates to be anointed. Callie was literally pushed by the usher when her turn came. The bishop stood there with his thumb up and ready. By the time I got to Callie and my hand on her shoulder, he was already anointing her. Rather than have the sponsor tell the bishop the confirmation name, each candidate was given a name tag. The bishop could then just read the tag instead of spending precious time asking for the name. I felt like cattle, not part of the bigger Church.

Is this a common phenomenon? Does your diocese operate this way?

Boy, do I ever appreciate Bishop Mengeling of our diocese who travels tirelessly (until his recent illness) to meet his flock.

Oh, one more thing. The bishop told the kids he had a gift for them, a very nice prayer book. The book was handed out by ushers at the door as candidates departed. When one of the kids asked the bishop to sign the book for her, the bishop refused, saying if he did it for one then he would have to do it for all. Yep, that's community.

CDC by Steig

The best way to find cool kid books at the library, IMO, is to just find an interesting place in the Dewey Decimal System, sit down at that shelf, and start pulling off books.

This week, I found myself sorting through the 790 area where the math and word game books are located. I found a neat book titled CDC by William Steig.

This is a fun word play book. For example, the title CDC is code for "see the sea." The book is filled with such word puzzles. Can you guess this one: C U N 10-O-C ?

Be forewarned, if you check it out from the library, read it first. I didn't do this and there were a couple of questionable phases. Not horrible, but you may want to skip one or two. But then again, one clue is a saint.

The kids are really loving this book, plus this type of word play helps develop math skills, so I'm going to check out the prequel, CDB when I get to the library next time. That one is shelved in the Juvenile Easy section so is, hopefully, free of parental worry.

Indianapolis Catholic Homeschooling Conference

If you're anywheres near Indy and looking for a Catholic homeschooling conference, got this in my inbox this morning:

Quo Vadis: Where Are You Going?

Holy Family Home Educators and Marian College presents . . .
Indianapolis Catholic Home School Conference and Curriculum Fair
When: Saturday, July 21, 2007
Doors Open at 8:00 a.m.
Ends with Benediction at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Marian College Campus, Indianapolis
3200 Cold Spring Road
Indianapolis, IN 46222
Cost: $25 single/$30 couple - if registered before July 1
$30 single/$35 couple - if registered on or after July 1
FREE to Catholic Parish DRE, Youth Minister and Clergy with business card
Please see our website for more information http://www.hfheindy.org/

Home Again Home Again

The Dayton conference was great. This was their first full blown conference and they did an awesome job. If you missed it, make sure to mark your calendar for next year.

Dr. Ray's table was just behind mine so we were like neighbors and got to visit a wee bit. He brought along 3 of his 10 children and it was really nice to hang out with them while their dad spoke. I think they should start a support group along with my children for kids whose parents talk about them publicly.

I also got to spend a few minutes with Dr. Clark. It's always nice to get to see Dr. Clark. She amazes me with all she does. I was excited to find that Seton is writing their own grade school math series. I purchased the 2nd grade workbook and it is quite lovely. Much like the MCP books only with Catholic pictures here and there plus the answer key is built right in to the workbook. If you want the answer key to MCP math books, you have to purchase it separately. The reason Seton is doing the math series is because MCP has been purchased by Pearson and there are changes in the future. So blessings to Seton for taking up this task.

I also purchased a couple of Seton's handwriting books. My daughters all love their handwriting books and beg for them. (My sons run screaming for the hills when they just hear the word "handwriting.")

I also got to visit with Fran of Illuminated Ink and her teen son. They have the coolest stuff. My girls spent a bit of time and money at the Illuminated Ink table. I'll write more about them later.

Right now, I'm just happy to be home and I'm off to take a nap.

CE: Are You a Good Candidate for Homeschooling?

The weekly column is up at Catholic Exchange: Are You a Good Candidate for Homeschooling?

I am often asked what qualifications are necessary in order to homeschool. In my opinion there is only one qualification: the burning desire to take complete responsibility for your child's education.

Dayton Here I Come!

If you're anywhere near Dayton, Ohio this weekend, I sure hope you'll be stopping by the Catholic homeschool conference. They have some great speakers and vendors lined up. I'm bringing my shopping list and I'm hoping to see some of you there!

Blogging will be pretty dead until Monday.

Teen Library Thing

If you've been sitting around wondering what homeschooled high school students like to read for fun, I'm here to help you.

I head up a group of about 20 homeschooled teens who meet every Wednesday. The third Wed. is our book discussion. The teens all put out names of books they'd like to read as a group and then vote for the next month's book.

They've taken those book titles and cataloged them at Library Thing. Click HERE to check it out.

I'm also going to put it the sidebar (near the bottom). I already have my personal library and homeschool library up. (Though all are works in progress. It could be years before I get ALL our books cataloged, reviewed, tagged, etc.!)

Catholic Heritage Curricula: Language of God

Also on my order to CHC was Language of God for Little Folks by Nancy Nicholson. Mrs. Nicholson also wrote My Catholic Speller. I own tons of her titles and love them all.

Little Stories for Little Folks were a God-send 10 years ago when I was teaching my dyslexic child. You get 45 - 8 1/2 by 11 sheets made to be folded into little booklets. Kind of like inexpensive Bob Books. At that time, I needed lots of simple readers for practice. Today, I'm still using them with my non-dyslexic children. I let them color the booklets once they master each one. It makes for a nice reward. Except for the booklet about the rat, my kids love them.

Catholic Stories from Science 2 makes a nice read-aloud for my grade-school and preschool children. Very cute and gives us lots to talk about. And, like all of CHC and Nancy Nicholson's products, very Catholic.

The Language of God Grammar Series is very nice too and recommended to me by my friend Nancy Brown. They're consumable workbooks that weave our Catholic faith into the grammar lessons. They're pretty user-friendly and so far I find them to be thorough.

I look forward to Mrs. Nicholson's future titles!

(I have to admit here that I've never been a big fan of workbooks, but have come to rely on them more heavily lately as I'm teaching 7 different grade levels. And the kids ask for them! However, I am very picky about which workbooks I use and make sure to work them alongside the children engaging them in conversation. And, of course, our main curriculum remains Real Books.)

Catholic Heritage Curricula: Speller

I just love Catholic Heritage Curricula. I've been buying stuff from them from way back when, when they were Catholic Heritage Games.

I ordered their My Catholic Speller at the Milwaukee conference for one of my kids who's struggling in spelling. We love it! I hope CHC has a table at the Dayton conference this weekend so I can order some more for the other kids.

If you haven't seen My Catholic Speller, it's a consumable workbook. On the first day, Mom and Child go over the spelling words and then the child completes a workbook page on the words. There is also a Scripture passage to learn that includes some of the week's words. On day two the child completes another workbook page. Then there are quizzes on day three and four with review of any missed words. If the child hasn't yet mastered the spelling words, then a final test is given on the fifth day.

It's a very well laid out program, easy to use, and I find that it also helps with vocabulary and handwriting, as well as Scripture. Very nice!

Danielle Bean Gets The Companion

"The Catholic Homeschool Companion manages to give its readers an unbiased look at a wide variety of different homeschooling methods along with a great wealth of resources, information, inspiration, and support. There is something for everyone in this book!"

-- Danielle Bean, Author, My Cup of Tea: Musings of a Catholic
Mom

Thank you everyone who has made a donation or purchased The Catholic Homeschool Companion. I'll continue to off them at the discounted price indefinitely as well as donate my profit to 4-H. I'll also continue to offer the freee sample of Heart and Mind until I run out. And, yes, the books are autographed. (If you want the book personalized or the free magazine, please leave a comment when ordering.)

God has truly blessed this fundraising effort. I haven't raised big money through the blog ($30 so far) but every little bit helps and I so appreciate it! I also appreciate the checks that have been arriving in my mailbox all week through the kids' letter writing campaign.

I got one big check from a rifle club even though we hadn't solicited them. You see, we use their club for a big competition each year and so we didn't feel right about asking for money since they're already so generous to us. But after some of our kids went out to the club to help with their annual spring clean up, they sent a donation all on their own. These are such great kids, people want to help them any way they can. How cool is that!

Matt Pinto Gets The Companion

"This book is awesome, a real treasure trove of information about homeschooling. It will surely give confidence to any parents who are considering homeschooling their children. Wittmann and Mackson are to be commended for the work they've done."
-- Matthew Pinto, Author, Did Adam & Eve Have Belly Buttons?

So far, we've raised $20 for the 4-H kids. Order The Catholic Homeschool Companion HERE and $5 will be donated to the Sharpshooters 4-H Club. Or just click on that Make a Donation button in the sidebar. Tell all your friends!

Thank you to all who have contributed so far!!!

Inflatable Studios

Got this in my combox:

Hey there! I've recently started a comic strip about homeschooling called "Schools Are For Fish." I saw you had posted the first comic on your site, so I thought I'd let you know the colored version is at: http://www.inflatablestudios.com/
I set up a site for this and many future comics to come. Hope you enjoy them!

The T-shirt is very cool. I must have one!

Rob and Hillary

Rob's friends were getting worried he may becoming some kind of a liberal with his new vegetarian diet and getting the toxins out of our house. (At least he hasn't started wearing Birkenstocks.)

He showed up to his birthday party in this T-shirt and all their concerns were dashed.

Men and Duck Tape

I accidently ripped a hole in my nice white down comforter with a hanger. Before I could take a needle and thread to it, I found Rob had fixed it for me.

With duck tape.

More on Socialization

This CBN article goes perfectly with the sardine cartoon I posted last week: Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schooling.

When most home educators and school administrators speak of successful socialization, are they referring to the same thing?

A Sweet Deal

My appeal on Friday yielded $15 for the 4-H kids. Still $4,435 to go! Time to sweeten the pot.

If you order a copy of The Catholic Homeschool Companion not only will you get $5 off the list price and have $5 donated to the Sharpshooters 4-H Club, but you will also get a sample issue of Heart and Mind - a $5 value! Now, how can you pass that up? (Just leave a note in the comments when you order that you'd like the sample issue.)

Of course, you're free to send a donation straight to the 4-H kids (how can you refuse those sweet cherub faces?) by just clicking on that MAKE A DONATION button in the sidebar to your right. No amount is too small or too large.

G. K. Chesterton Unit Study

My weekly column is up at Catholic Exchange. This week I offer a high school study on The Donkey, a very cool poem by the man himself: G. K. Chesterton.

In order to truly learn we need to understand, not just remember more information. When a writer is sharing something that is above our heads, we must rise to understand what it is that the writer is trying to communicate.

Also, if you'd like to check out the official American Chesterton Society blog, then click HERE.

Help 4-H and Save Money!

Have I got a deal for you! You can save money and help kids at the same time. (Scroll down a few paragraphs if you want to skip the saving money part and just help kids.)

I'm offering The Catholic Homeschool Companion for $5 off, plus, for every book sold between now and May 31st, I'll donate another $5 to 4-H. Click HERE to order (Paypal and credit cards).

As my faithful readers know, my two oldest children made the Michigan 4-H Shooting Sports Team along with five other homeschooled teens from our local club, and I got volunteered as Fundraising Coordinator. (I have cool business cards and everything!)

Sending seven teenagers, two coaches, and a chaperone to South Dakota is an expensive proposition. The training and ammunition costs alone are astronomical. However, the kids have risen to the occasion. They're doing pop can drives, giving presentations to local gun clubs, and so on (plus practicing almost daily). So far, they've raised $4,000 of the needed $9,000. We're almost halfway there.

Now, I'm doing my little part. Buy a book (makes a great Mother's Day gift!), save some money, and help kids. You can't get a better deal than that!

Oh, by the way, if you want to donate but already own a copy of The Catholic Homeschool Companion, you can still help out. Take a look at the sidebar on your right, at the top. There's a Paypal button for donations, including credit cards.

Addendum: If you prefer making your donation by mail, please email me, for the address.

Socialization, Homeschooling, and Sardines

My friend Ann sent this cartoon - I love it! Check out the artist's website HERE.

Catholic Mom: Getting the Most Out of Your Library

It's the first of the month and you know what that means, don't you! My monthly column at Catholic Mom is up. I know you've been waiting anxiously all month for this, so click HERE to check it out!

Prayers for Bishop Mengeling

Please offer up many prayers on behalf of our Lansing bishop, Bishop Mengeling. Having been out of town the past few days, I am not up on all the details. From what I understand the bishop had emergency surgery Thursday evening where they found a large tumor on his bladder. I'm told they were unable to remove the entire tumor and recovery will be long.

Heavenly Father, we commend to You your most humble servant, Bishop Carl F. Mengeling, Bishop of Lansing. You, O Lord, know the plans You have set before him. We trust completely in your mercy and grace. We ask that You watch over our bishop and all those caring for him. Grant Bishop Mengeling peace, patience, and healing in whatever ways he needs them most and according to your holy will. These things we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

St. Peregrine, Patron of Cancer Victims, pray for us! Amen.

I would like to note that Bishop Mengeling is a friend to homeschoolers. If you own The Catholic Homeschool Companion, you'll find he wrote the foreword.

LSJ Update.

American Papist Update.

Milwaukee in Pictures

Let's have a contest: How many homeschoolers can you name?

I'll post the answers in the next day or two. Meanwhile, I have to recuperate from all the wild antics that go with hanging out with Catholic homeschoolers from all over the country for an entire weekend. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal by the Dayton conference!

Update.
HINT: If you click on the pictures you can see the name tags. Or, you can go to Michele's blog where she has the bottom picture labeled.

CE: Composting Unit Study

My weekly column at Catholic Exchange is a unit study on composting. Just in time for spring!

If you've never composted or if you live in an urban area, I encourage you to still be open to introducing composting to your homeschool studies. Composting can be a wonderful addition to your science studies, in a very natural way. Both the novice and the urbanite can pull it off. This unit study introduces all the resources necessary for success.

Wisconsin Here I Come!

I'll be spending my day today preparing for the Milwaukee conference. I leave first thing in the morning. Blogging will be light to nil until Monday morning. Everyone have a great weekend. And, I hope to meet lots of you in Wisconsin!

God Answers Prayers

Its so cool how God answers prayers. And so typical how I'm so lacking in faith.

As you probably already know, my two oldest kids are going to be competing at the national level for muzzle loading.

Seven of the twelve teens representing Michigan 4-H Shooting Sports are from our local club (and all homeschooled, btw). This is quite the accomplishment, but also a huge financial task. We need to raise $9,000 to cover their travel to South Dakota, lodging, practice fees, ammunition, equipment, etc. I'm the one in charge of fundraising.

So, here's the cool part.

I had set it in my mind that I needed to have at least $2,000 raised by last night's meeting. I was so disappointed when my mailman didn't deliver any envelopes with checks yesterday, leaving my to-date total at $1,950. I really let it get me down.

Well, I went to the meeting and, just as we're about to start, another mom handed two checks to me that put us over $2,000. I was so ecstatic I couldn't stop hugging her. Then, when the meeting was over, another mom gave me a check.

Here I was praying and praying over this fundraising, and still I didn't trust God would handle it. I was so untrusting. Boy, God humbles me every day. And that's a cool thing.

Milwaukee, Here I Come

If you're anywhere near Milwaukee or Chicago, I sure hope you're planning to attend the Greater Milwaukee Catholic Home Educators Conference. All the cool people are going to be there, including Fr. Ray Gawronski, Holly Pierlot, Nancy Brown, Stan Schmidt, Rita Munn, Mary Daly, Dan and Kristin McGuire, The Donut Man, and more. And I'll be there too.

I'll be speaking to the teens Friday night on job search skills and then Saturday I'll give my God's Wildflowers talk. Also there'll be a book signing at 2:00 on Saturday at my table.

Please pray for my safe travel as I drive with Teen Daughter 2 and her friend Catherine to the conference. Thank you Nancy for giving us a place to lay our heads!

PopeStNick5: Unprotected and Unhooked

My friend Linda sent the following article to me

Rotten fruit of sexual revolution’s tree focus of new mainstream books

The article mentions three books: Unprotected, Unhooked, and The Thrill of the Chaste. I featured The Thrill of the Chaste on Pope Saint Nicholas V not too long ago. I'd like to now feature these other two books. They are not Catholic books, however, I think it important to have them available in our public libraries.

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

Title: Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student
Author: Miriam Grossman, M.D.
Publisher: Sentinel
Date Published: November 2006
ISBN: 1595230254
Price: Hardcover $23.95 (Amazon $15.09)
Comments: "How could the so-called caring professions ostensibly dedicated to student welfare have collapsed so completely?"
Review: National Review

Title: Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both
Author: Laura Sessions Stepp
Publisher: Riverhead
Date Published: Februaury 2007
ISBN: 1594489386
Price: Hardcover $24.96 (Amazon: $16.47)
Comments: Also available in audio book.

Review: ABC News

Our Week in Pictures

A busy week. Not only did we catch Junior, but we celebrated a birthday, had a Confirmation, and went shooting.

Super Boy turned 5-years old. As of September, for the first time in almost 18 years, I'll no long have a preschooler in my house. My "baby" will be a kindergartner.

Teen Daughter 2 celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was interesting as I watched each of her classmates step forward to be confirmed. They were all so nervous they looked like they may pass out any second. But TD2 had the most beautiful smile on her face. She was not only fully ready to receive the sacrament, but joyful about it. I'm so proud of her.

And . . . for the first time in my life, I shot skeet. As a girl and a young woman I had experience with hand guns and rifles, but that was a looong time ago, and I've never held a shotgun. I have to admit it was a lot of fun. It was hard, but fun. Thank you to Andrew who talked me into giving it a try and then coaching me. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks after all.

The teens and their friends got a kick out of it too. They were at a different part of the range, shooting muzzle loader. When someone told them I was shooting with my friend Debi, they all climbed up on the burm with binoculars to watch us. We had no idea at the time.

Today, we celebrated with our friends the B's as their son Matt made his First Holy Communion (sorry I don't have a picture). It was a lovely Mass and a lovely day.

Now, I'm going to go lay down and rest for a few days.

The Siege Has Ended: Alleluia

Rob finally turned the sofa upside down, tore open the bottom, reached in, and pulled out Junior.

She is now residing comfortably in the Rat Skyscraper. There is one problem though. Maggie, Princess Rose's pet rat, isn't too happy about having a new roommate. Miss Maggie is currently in time out in the corner. (Actually, in the traveling cage.)

It isn't enough that I have to play referee to the little people who live here, now I have to play referee to their pets.

Maybe, I should play some John Lennon for them. Give Peace a Chance!

Eighties Lit Quiz

Uber librarian Adrienne Furness asks:

Maureen,

Hi! How are you? I have a patron looking for a book she doesn't know the title to that I can't find, so I am polling as many colleagues as I can think of to see if I can find it. It's a chapter book that she read as a girl in the 80s about a really smart girl who ends up in another world/reality where animals teach her about the Golden Rule.

I'm usually pretty good at these kinds of questions, but I've
searched and searched and come up with nothing. Does it ring any bells for you?

I hope all's well there....

Best,
Adrienne :)

I can't help her. Can you?

Prayer: Learning from Our Children

This week's column is up at Catholic Exchange: The Power of Prayer

As she told the story, I could almost hear Our Lord say to me, "Oh ye, of so little faith. Your children never gave up hope and I have answered their prayer."

I Look Good

When I went to Lowe's to purchase the live trap, I got into a conversation with the cashier. Upon finding out I'm the mother of seven children she exclaimed, "Dang girl, are you for real!" "Yep," I replied. "Whoa you look good for havin' so many kids." "No," I mumbled, "not that good." She quickly replied, "I'm tellin' you girl, you look goooood! I'd like to look that good. Seven kids, wow." As I took my package and walked out the sliding doors, she waved and hollered one more time, "You look goooood girl!"

I'll be doing all my shopping at Lowe's now.

Day Five: The Siege Continues

Junior continues to live in the sofa. A couple of homemade traps only scared the wits out of her and she's barely peeped out since. I bought a live trap from Lowe's and she managed to get the food without setting it off.

I think God is trying to teach me patience and perhaps a few other lessons.

PopeStNick5: Love in the Little Things

My library asks for links to amazon.com and book reviews when making purchasing requests online. To go to amazon.com just click on the hyperlink at the book's title or on the picture. I do my best to find online reviews for you but this is sometimes difficult when a book is brand new such as today's book Love in the Little Things.

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: Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life
Author: Mike Aquilina
Publisher: Servant Publications
Date Published: March 2007
ISBN: 0867168145
Price: 12.99
Comments: Foreword by Scott Hahn
The table of contents.
Back cover blurbs at the author's blog

Note: This book would be a perfect Mother's Day or Father's Day gift if you're looking for something for that special someone. Even if you buy it, still make a purchasing request to your library and still check it out if they do shelve it!

Update: Review at Karen's blog.

Prayers for the Loss of a Child

I recently asked for prayers on behalf of my brother-in-law Tom who has been deployed to the Persian Gulf. This is from a recent email from him (I've made a couple of minor edits to protect identities):

Last night I did the hardest thing I have every done in my some 20 years of ministry – tell a parent (father in this case) that his 8 month old son had died. The flash message came from the Red Cross (what we call an AMCROSS message, or AMCROSS for short) came to the ship’s chaplains; they found out who the sailor belonged to; found me in a brief; and I and his chief petty officer (who was also in the brief) went to find him. I didn’t know the content of the message at this point; my instructions were to take him to the chaplain’s office. We got there, and the chaplain told me to come into the office alone. I knew then it wasn’t good, but was still not prepared for him to tell me about the death of AW1’s child. He then asked me if I wanted to tell him, and I knew in my heart I had to do it. I couldn’t pass the buck on this one. We brought him, his chief, and his buddy into the office, and I pulled my chair up close in front of him and told him. I have never witnessed pure shock before. He kept asking, “My son?”, and I had to keep answering yes. While all this was happening, our administrative chief petty officer (I think) informed the Commodore (our boss) and got the ball rolling on getting him off the ship ASAP. I’m sure our staff helo pilot and liaison with the air wing had a lot to do with it as well. To end this sad story, he will be leaving the ship at 1130 Hawaii time for the LONG flight back home.

Please keep this young soldier and his family close in prayer. What a terrible tragedy.

St. Martin de Porres Pray for Us!

My friend Margaret Mary writes:

Do you know the story about St. Martin and the little creatures? According to the story, they were eating the bed linens at the convent. And someone wanted to get rid of them. But he talked told them to stop eating the linens and live in the barn and he would feed them there, and they did. I don't know if it's legend or fact, but I do know that he's known for his love of, and ability to deal, with the animals. I love him for his charity and gentleness with people, and his love of God.

I guess we need to get St. Martin praying for my rat/sofa problem!

Day Three: Under Seige

Today is the third day of our sofa being occupied by the pet rat Junior. This is causing me some mental stress as well as some marital discord.

I'm all for picking up the sofa, turning it upside down, and shaking the little bugger out. However, my dear husband, being the animal-loving Franciscan he is, doesn't want to cause poor Junior any distress.

Twice, the younger children have caught Junior, but only for a second. They let her go when she fought to get away. I guess she really loves my sofa.

So, I've decided to do what any good self-respecting homeschooler would do: create a unit study.

Each child will be assigned to design and build a humane trap. Grades and Carnegie credits will be given for the successful completion of this project. The learning goals include planning, architectural design, trigonometry, working as a team, rat psychology, and Christian love for all of God's creatures even icky pet rats.

Trips will be made to the hardware store and library. Surely, google searches will take place. I wonder if Wikipedia has any articles on the humane capture of rats.

This is what homeschooling is all about. Let the fun begin.

The Saga Continues

Junior continues to set up her apartment in the sofa. Oh well, I was thinking about buying a new sofa anyway.

In fact, she's peeking out right now. If I move to capture her, she'll only run back inside. I have a little bowl of water in the corner of the couch for her, lest she get dehydrated.

We tried putting food in the carrying cage and then tying a string to the door. The plan was to coax her into the cage and then pulling the string, locking her in the cage. It didn't work. She's a child and much faster than Rob's middle aged hands. The kids are too impatient and end up scaring her before she gets into the cage.

I went to Home Depot to buy a habitrap. I told the sales guy, "I need a trap to catch a rat without hurting it." I wonder why he looked at me funny. They only had live traps for little mice and for huge squirrels. Nothing in between.

I'm open to suggestions here (aside from moving out and leaving the house to the pet rats, please).

The Continuing Saga of the Pet Rat

We still haven't captured Junior, but we know where she is. She's living in our sofa. There's probably enough crumbs in there to sustain her for a month.

We had company over and I had to tell them, "I'm sorry, you'll have to sit on the love seat as there is a rat in the sofa."

This is my life.

CE: Educator's Discounts

The weekly column is up at Catholic Exchange.

Many years ago while purchasing supplies for a homeschooling potluck at a paper store, I happened to mention the purpose of my purchase to the sales clerk. She exclaimed, "You're eligible for a 20% discount!"

Cutting the Grocery Budget

My monthly column at Catholic Mom is up. Actually, it's been up since April 1st, but I forgot to tell you. Forgive me?

If you are an average American family, you can cut your grocery bill in half – through baby steps.

Snow Tip of the Day

For those of you who, like us, still have snow on the ground, I have a tip.

You know that hunk of ice and snow that collects under your wheel well? You know how tempting it is to kick it off every time you go to the car? Well, if you drive a rust bucket like me, don't let the temptation take hold, otherwise a chunk of your car may come off with the snow.

I know. It happened to me.

Even More Catholic Homeschooling Blogs

First, another prayer request. Please offer up Heather from the Homeschool Blog Awards in prayer. She learned just yesterday that she has a brain tumor. As Alicia points out, the timing is uncanny. With this being the week of the awards there have been many calls for prayers on her behalf that she may not otherwise have received.

Second, here are even more nominated Catholic homeschooling blogs I need to add to my blogroll. Make sure to check them out and if you like them, you can vote for them at the Homeschool Blog Awards.

Living Without School (Unschooling/Eclectic)

No Fighting No Biting (New)

Mozart and Mud Pies (Crafts and Projects, Super Homeschooler)

Lapaz Farm Home Learning (Living-What-You-Believe, Unschooling/Eclectic)

As Cozy As Spring (Cyber Buddy, Design)

Journey of a Mother's Heart (Living-What-You-Believe)

My Thoughtful Spot (Cyber Buddy)

Among Women (Nitty Gritty)

Liber Parma (Teen)

Happy Hearts at Home (Thrifty - one of my favorite topics!)

Thank You St. Isidore

And thank you prayer warriors! My computer is miraculously working again. My friend Linda B. called and said to try unplugging it and then replugging it in. I told her I already tried that a couple of times, but what the hey, I could try it again. It worked!

Now I have a new prayer request (warning: not for the squeamish). Sparky got a new rat, Junior, to replace the late great Sandy. I told the kids not to touch her and leave her in the cage for the first few days, but Princess Rose couldn't help herself and took Junior out for a visit. Unfortunately, the princess let Junior get out of her hands. I now have a rat loose in the house. I'm not a happy camper and not too excited about going to bed.

You all came through on the computer problem, now I'm counting you to come through on the rat problem!

Catholic Homeschool Blogs

Now that I'm home, I've spent a few minutes going through the Homeschool Blog Awards. There are a lot of neat blogs to be found there.

I was also happy to find quite a few Catholic bloggers included. The nominated category is in paranthesis:

Maureen Wittmann (Super Homeschooler)

Karen Edmistin (Encouragement, Cyber Buddies)

Cay Gibson: Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks (Nitty-Gritty)

By Sun and Candlelight (Super Homeschooler - and currently in the lead, Design, Crafts and Projects, Encouragement)

Melissa Wiley: Here in the Bonny Glen (Super Homeschooler, Mom, Encouragement)

Melissa Wiley: The Lilting House (Super Homeschooler, Mom, Encouragement, Unschooling/Eclectic, Funniest)

Cottage Blessings (Mom, Crafts and Projects, Encouragement, Live-What-You-Believe, Unschooling/Eclectic, New)

Elizabeth Foss: Real Learning (Mom, Live-What-You-Believe, Curriculum/Business, New)

Love2Learn (Group)

Chesterteens (Teen)

My Domestic Church (Live-What-You-Believe, Current Events/Politics)

Van Goal (Teen)

Minnesota Mom (Funniest)

Danielle Bean (Funniest)

Blessed Among Men (New)

O Night Divine (Group)


Please let me know if I've missed any.

Voting closes at midnight on Friday, so go and vote now!

Addendum: I found loads more, but I'm off to Teen Wed. and then I've got a meeting at my house tonight. I'll post them all tomorrow.

St. Isidore Pray for Us!

We got home from St. Louis only to find our computer on the fritz. In fact, it appears to be completely dead. I'm typing now from Teen Son's laptop. Please offer up a prayer that my computer may be raised from the dead and no files lost.

Homeschool Blog Awards

I thought you might like to know that voting has started today on the Homeschool Blog Awards http://homeschoolblogawards.com/

I was surprised to find my blog on the list. I guess I better actually blog something this week even though I'm out of town.

Also nominated is Love2learn Blog (best group blog) and ChesterTeens (best teen blog).

Margaret Mary wrote a very nice blog entry about my nomination (I'm blushing). Thank you MM.

He Is Risen!

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' Then they remembered his words."

(Luke 1: 1-8)

Happy Easter!!!!

Death of a Rat

While the world wages war, life with it's trivialities continues here.

This week, Sparky's rat Sandy passed on to rat heaven. It was quite the ordeal. It became obvious in the late morning that Miss Sandy was in trouble. She was lethargic and weak. The kids called Rob, who in turn asked me to take the rat to the animal hospital.

I knew that if I took her in that all they would do it euthanize her. I instead called my friend Linda G. (not Linda B.) who is a vet. She came over and examined Sandy. Her prognosis was that Sandy's life was at an end but insisted on doing everything to save her life.

Linda gave Sandy a shot of penicillin and warmed her up in a towel. She then took her home to give her fluids intravenously. But Sandy took her last breath as Linda put her on the heating pad on her kitchen table. Linda then applied CPR. (Yes, for real!)

I am so grateful for friends like these. She brought some peace to my little children, as well as Rob, knowing that nothing was left undone.

Sandy has been properly buried and eulogized.

On a completely different note, I'm off for Easter vacation. Blogging will be little to none for the next several days.

May you all have a very blessed and joyous Easter!

The Nimitz and Iran

This is my brother-in-law's ship.

We're doubling prayers here.

CE: High School Oration

This week's column is up at Catholic Exchange.

Great speeches stir the heart. Throughout history distinguished orators have mobilized nations toward grand actions -- noble, as well as evil -- through their words. ...

Birthday Cake

Rob's birthday was this week and so we had a little party for him on Sunday. He's never been much of a sweet eater and with this health kick we're on, he wasn't really interested in a birthday cake. But, you can't have a birthday party without a birthday cake, can you?

Teen Daughter One made a traditional chocolate cake for our guests and I made a healthier version (sort of) with angel food cake and fresh fruit. The funny thing is that the angel food cake went faster than the chocolate cake. Our guests loved it.

Here's what I did, with the help of my friend Julie: We sliced an angel food cake in half (see the picture). Then I put scoops of mango and raspberry sorbet on the bottom half. Then I put the top half on top of that. Julie and I then filled the center with mango, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I put more ice cream scoops on top and then Julie put more berries over the top. Then I drizzled strawberry All Fruit down the sides.

Totally yumcious!

Prayers Please

My brother-in-law Tom is being deployed today to Afghanistan and Iraq at 4 pm California time. He is a chaplain and has already been over there several times. Prayers for his safety and for my sister and their children's peace of mind are greatly appreciated.

Frogs and Spring

In Alaska you know spring has sprung when you hear the ice break.

You know spring has sprung at my house whe you hear the mother shriek, "Get those frogs out of my house!"