Yet More Free Stuff to Win

It must be giveaway season or something. There is still more great stuff to win this week:

Cecilia at Hair Bows for Life is giving away 1 Mary's Box every week of May!

What is a Mary's Box you ask. Well, it includes a Blessed Mother Bow with your choice of Blessed Mother medal and color, stickers of the Blessed Mother, a Holy Card with the prayer for Purity, one decade white rosary (not pictured) and a pretty rose box. What an awesome idea for a First Communicant!

The handmade bows at Cecilia's blog are absolutely adorable so get over there and check it out. And while you're there, consider making a $5 donation to provide a pretty bow for an orphaned child through the Missionaries of Charity.

Another big giveaway can be found at Alicia's Studeo blog. She's celebrating her 5th Blogaversary and to celebrate she's giving away movies, books, and a free Homeschool Connections subscriptions.

So, what are you all still doing here. Get going and get entering these drawings for some cool free stuff!

Catholic Homeschool Help

mater et magistra, THE Catholic homeschooling magazine, has a new blog. Pay it a visit, say "Hi!" in the comments, and bookmark it. There is also a mater et magistra fan page if you Facebook.

Whenever mater et magistra comes in my mailbox, I stop everything I'm doing, grab a cup of tea and some chocolate, and read it cover to cover. Good thing the mailman comes early in the day.

If you haven't subscribed yet, check it out here: Catholic Homeschool Magazine.

Free Stuff in the Blogosphere

I love winning free stuff!

There are a couple of free drawings going on in the blogosphere that I thought you all would like to know about and pass on to others. Both end today so there is some urgency if you and your friends want to enter.

First, Jen is giving away 2 free subscriptions to mater et magistra, the Catholic homeschooling magazine at Wildflowers and Marbles.

Second, Mary Ellen is giving away 3 free Homeschool Connections subscription services and lots of other cool stuff -- autographed books, girlie stuff, crafty stuff at Tales from the Bonny Blue House. Scroll down and leave a comment in any of this week's posts.

Winners will be pulled this weekend.

Good luck everyone!

Catholic Planners

Ooh, ooh, the new planners are in, the new planners are in!

As you all know I love Michele Quigley's Family-Centered Press Catholic planners. I buy them for me and the kids. I'd buy them for Rob too but he prefers writing notes on the back of his hand.

If you're in the market for a school-year planner, you've got to check these out. They now include both the Ordinary (New) and Extraordinary (Traditional) Forms of the Liturgy with the liturgical colors proper to the day. I love it! And, you can choose from nine different covers. But you need to pre-order so get a going over to Family-Centered Press's website to check it out.

Don't forget to tell all your friends too!

PSN5: Florence Nightingale's Nuns

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: Florence Nightingale's Nuns
Author: Emmeline Garnett
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Date Published: March, 2009
ISBN-10: 1586172972
ISBN-13: 978-1586172978
Price: $9.95
Age Group: 9 - 12

Description: At the age of 24, Florence Nightingale decided to dedicate herself to the care of the sick, especially those wounded in battle. She worked for nearly a year with the nursing Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul in Alexandria, Egypt. After that, when she established a hospital to tend the wounded during the Crimean War (1854 - 1856), she welcomed the assistance of thirty-eight women, including a group of Catholic nuns. This Vision Book for youth presents the moving story of those ten heroic nuns, from the Convent of Mercy in Bermondsey, England. The conditions in military hospitals at that time were extremely primitive and often lacked even the most basic necessities for treating the wounded and dying. But these dedicated nurses, especially the devoted nuns who saw Christ in their patients, sought to give them the very best care possible. Their successful struggle to establish higher standards of sanitation and care became widely known after the war, and Florence Nightingale became famous.

Catholic Homeschooling in Ohio

I'll be speaking at the Dayton, Ohio Catholic homeschooling conference next month. I'm looking forward to seeing Regina Doman and Danielle Bean again.

This is a conference not to miss! Here is the information below. Make sure to stop at the Homeschool Connections table and say Hello!


6th Annual Dayton Catholic Homeschool Conference

May 21 & 22, 2010
St. Peter Family Life Center in Huber Heights Ohio.

Join us for encouragement, instruction, inspiration and great shopping!
New this year, Used Book Sale Saturday am only, 8:30am-11:30am.

For convenient, online early bird registration click here.

To view the schedule click here.

Our featured speakers include:

• Danielle Bean, Catholic author of "My Cup of Tea: Musings of a Catholic Mom"
• Regina Doman, Catholic author of "Angel in the Waters" and "Shadow of the Bear"
  
• Maureen Wittmann of Homeschool Connections and author of "For the Love of Literature"
• Fr. Frank Amberger of Remey parish and Knights of Our Lady
• Fr. Stash Dailey, Parochial Vicar at St. Michael, Worthington
• Fr. Frank Sherry, Fathers of Mercy, mission speaker
  
Andrew Schmiedicke, author and editor

To date our 2010 Vendors include:

• Dominion Academy of Dayton
Greathall Productions - The recordings of Jim Weiss
Home School Legal Defence Association
LPH Resource Center
Madonna University
Math U See
Pflaum Publishing Group
Sacred Heart Books and Gifts
• Seton Home Study School
St. George Catholic Books and Gifts
• Teaching Textbooks
• Usborne Books

Suggested early bird donation for attendance Single $15, Couple $20, Teen $10, Family $40

Books for Boys (and Girls) and Tale of Manaeth

When I speak or write on the topic of literature, the one comment I always get is, "I need book ideas for boys!" I've written on this topic countless times and still people ask me, "What are good books for boys?" So, when my friend Phillip Campbell gave his new book to me, Tale of Manaeth, I just knew I'd have to tell you all about it. If you have boys, buy this book. Gosh, if you have girls, buy this book. The boys will love the blood, guts, and gory war scenes. The girls will love the fact that the hero is a girl.

First, about the author. I know Phillip through our Catholic homeschool group. He's a homeschool dad who also provides tutoring services for local homeschoolers. In fact, I was so impressed by his natural teaching ability (my kids love him!) that I hired him for Homeschool Connections. Phillip is an Ave Maria University grad and currently a Madonna education graduate student. He is also the Director of Religious Education for a terrific parish in Ann Arbor.

While Phillip's book is not overtly Catholic, Tale of Manaeth was written by a dedicated and faithful Catholic. I like that. I get weary reading kid lit and weeding out the trash.

As The Curt Jester wrote recently, "Tale of Manaeth is an old school fantasy epic written in the narrative style like the Iliad or Tolkien’s Silmarillion." When Phillip first handed the book to me he mentioned that he was concerned that the writing style might be hard on modern ears, but he had nothing to worry about. It's refreshing to immerse oneself in language that excites the soul, that makes you think about the words themselves.

Yet, it is not the writing style that puts this book at the top of my list. It's the girl hero. She is a princess, living the good life, when suddenly she is thrust into a life or death situation. Not just her own life, but the life of her royal subjects. It reminds me a little bit of Alice in The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. (A book I really should review one day but for now I'll say I liked it but there is a huge red flag for the sequel Seeing Redd. Huge.)

But back to Phillip's Tale of Manaeth. Our heroine is Manaeth whose name is changed to Manissa. After all, she is no longer the same person. Manaeth was a young, naive girl. Manissa is a warrior queen. Unexpected, unplanned. She didn't ask for the job of warrior queen. Didn't necessarily want it. Yet rose to the occasion when called upon and saves the world with her wisdom, tenacity, and moral compass.

I love those kinds of heroes. That is the kind of hero a child can relate to and aspire to be. It demonstrates how everyday people living everyday lives can overcome the worst of situations and save the world. Isn't that what we all love about Peter in Narnia and Frodo in LOTR, who do things out of personal conviction, because it's the right thing to do and not out of a quest for fame and fortune?

So, if you're looking for a good read for your older tweens or teens, or gosh for yourself, I recommend Tale of Manaeth. (Make sure to ask the author to autograph for you!)

The Start of a Conversion

I'm a vert. Not a convert but a revert. I was raised a Catholic but public high school did it's number on me and by the time I left the University of Missouri I was a full blown heathen. However, through the grace of God I found myself, a decade later, yearning for Him.

I had an old college chum feeling the same yearnings. After weeks of talking about it, we finally set a date to go to Mass together. It was a big deal. Neither of us had seen the inside of a church in years so we figured we better get there a half hour early. After all, we had a lot of praying and reflecting to do before Mass.

On that fateful Sunday, my friend showed up at my apartment and we got into my brand new Nissan Maxima that didn't even have 1,000 miles on it yet. We pulled out of the parking lot and the car died. It wouldn't start for 5 minutes. We went a few feet and it died again. It wouldn't start for 5 minutes. We went a few feet and ... you get the idea. It died 4 or 5 times on the way to the church. Each time, we had to wait 5 to 10 minutes to get started again. We got to the church just as Communion was finishing up.

The church was 1.6 miles from my apartment. My car drove home just fine. It never broke down again.

I don't know about you but I saw it as a message. A very clear message. This going to church thing was so important that someone was trying to keep me from getting there. I knew I had to keep going.

What about my friend? He wasn't moved by the experience and is still away from the Church. As for me, my conversion was Petrine not Pauline. The car thing didn't knock me off my horse and I didn't find myself immediately on fire for all things Catholic. It was a slow journey but that day was the beginning of it. I did finally find myself fully and completely reconciled with God and His Church, but that's quite a long story.

One final note. I shared this story some years ago at a Catholic homeschooling conference that just happened to be held in that very same church. I was giving a talk to teens on choosing a vocation and job search skills. When I got to the part about leading a virtuous life so that you can clearly hear God's call, I told this story. It was an emotional moment. There I stood on the podium awash in tears. It was embarrassing to cry in front of a room of teens but I think they'll remember that it's a lot better to stay on the straight and narrow path. When you get off of it, it's really hard to get back on as it was for me. Sometimes, like for my friend, you never get back on.

And if it weren't for the fervent prayers of loved ones, I may not have got back on either.

PSN5: Longing for My Child

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: Longing for My Child: Reflections for Parents and Siblings After a Child's Death
Author: Christine O'Keefe Lafser
Publisher: Loyola Press
Date Published: October, 2002
ISBN-10: 0829417540
ISBN-13: 978-0829417548
Price: $12.95 (Amazon $11.10)

PSN5: Through Shakespeare's Eyes

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: Through Shakespeare's Eyes
Author: Joseph Pearce
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Date Published: February 2010
ISBN-10: 1586174134

ISBN-13: 978-1586174132
Price: 19.95 hardcover (Amazon price $13.57), Kindle $9.99

Product Description:

Fulfilling the promise he made in his previous book, The Quest for Shakespeare, bestselling literary writer Joseph Pearce analyzes in this volume three of Shakespeare's immortal plays -The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and King Lear - in order to uncover the Bard's Catholic beliefs.

In The Quest for Shakespeare, which has been made into an EWTN television series, Pearce delved into the known biographical evidence for Shakespeare's Catholicism. Here the popular and provocative author digs into the plays, which were written and first performed during the English crown's persecution of Catholics.

English history and literature were taught for generations through the prism of English Protestantism. Of late both of these fields have been dominated in universities and academic presses by modern scholars with filters and interpretations of their own. Though the evidence for Shakespeare's Catholicism has been studied before now, thanks, in part, to the unique contribution of Joseph Pearce, the Bard's genius is being analyzed in the open air of the public arena, the very place where Shakespeare intended his dramas to entertain and edify.

"What more is there to be said about William Shakespeare? Yet the supply of books on the great dramatist is never ending. Now, however, there is a new reason for this supply. The religion of Shakespeare, and specifically his Catholicism, is now recognized as a 'hot topic'."
-Peter Milward, S.J., Shakespeare scholar and author,Shakespeare the Papist.

Side Note: Homeschool Connections offers a MacBeth course from Dr. Henry Russell: The Catholic Shakespeare. It is currently available via the subscription service.

Catholic Unit Studies

A friend wrote to me:

Dear Maureen,

I am looking for an engaging Catholic home school program that teaches the family together while having individual assignments related to a theme. I have heard that this is what Konos does but it is not Catholic. I am not keeping up with teaching them all individually and they don't like it either.

Got any suggestions?

So, what are your suggestions for her? I'd love to hear what others have to say!

On the Radio

I have an interview tomorrow (Friday) on Relevant Radio to talk online education and take questions. They're giving me the entire hour from 2:00 to 3:00 PM Eastern on the show On Call. I hope you all will tune in and maybe even call in with a question or two. If you don't have a local station, you can listen online.

I'm also scheduled to appear on April 7th and July 8th to discuss homeschooling.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

I have 5 confirmed speaking engagements so far this upcoming season. I'd like to share the schedule with you so if you're in the neighborhood you can mark the date. I love meeting friends when I travel.

March 21
North Pittsburgh Catholic Homeschoolers

March 26-27
St. Louis Catholic Homeschool Association

May 21-22
Dayton Catholic Homeschool Conference
Topics: Relax You Too Can Homeschool and Virtually Homeschooling

May 28-29
Minnesota Catholic Home Education Conference
Topics: Thrifty Homeschooler, Relax You Too Can Homeschool and For the Love of Literature

June 19
Sacred Heart -- New Jersey

Hillside Education and Helping Those in Need

A while back, Margot Davidson of Hillside Education started a special page at her website to help homeschooling families in financial crisis. This month her Helping Those in Need page is focusing on Regina Doman's family. If you'd like to find some good buys and help a struggling family at the same time please pay a visit. Look for the links that say Handmade Items, Books Used, Books new, etc. (I'm leaning toward the rosary roses and crocheted hats myself!)

Homeschool Connections is taking part too. We will donate 50% of all live courses and $30 for every subscription (recorded courses). Just drop us an email at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com to let us know to credit your enrollment or subscription to Regina and her family.

Thank you Margot for organizing this effort!

Regina Doman, Fairy Tales, and Juvenile Diabetes

I am making a special appeal to you on behalf of our dear Regina Doman. If you do not know Regina, she is a very special Catholic homeschooling mother. Her Fairy Tale Novels have been inspiring teens, including my daughters, for some years now. When I see Regina at conferences there is always a line out the door of homeschooled teens waiting their turn to gush over her.

Recently, Regina's 6-year-old son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Unfortunately, the Doman's current financial and insurance situation leaves little if any room to cover the projected on-going costs of managing this illness.

What I would like to ask of you is this:

In addition to your prayers, please ask your bookstore, library, youth group, homeschool group, school, and book club to consider buying Regina Doman's Fairy Tale Novels.

Buying directly from Regina is the best route to help financially. Also, Regina's Fairy Tale Novels are available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, as well as from these websites and others:

St. George Books
Adoremus Books
Catholic Child
Catholic Company
Living Bread

Interestingly, Regina's Fairy Tale Novels will also be available in Polish. She recently signed an agreement with a publisher in Poland. How cool is that!

Contest - Win One Free Year of Recorded Courses!

Homeschool Connections just started a new subscription service and to celebrate we're having a contest! Leave a comment on the fan page in the next 48 hours and you can win a free 1-year subscription to our recorded courses. If you're not already a fan, that's easily fixed, just go HERE.

This subscription service is great for all families with middle to high school age kids. Try it for 7 days at $1! You can then keep it for only $30/mo or cancel with no obligation. This is a terrific way to supplement your child's education at your pace, on your schedule, and in the comfort of your own home!

Christmas Menu

Now to get the grocery list together for the Christmas day meal. Not only do I have to keep it gluten free but I also need to be mindful that my husband is a vegetarian. Oh, we'll have a turkey, one won by Sparky at the 4-H turkey shoot, but I'll make sure to have enough vegetarian fair for Rob. Fortunately, he eats fish and eggs (from our own free-range chickens). I would probably opt for salmon or smoked whitefish as our main dish if it were not for the prize turkey.

Here's the menu:

Appetizers
Shrimp Cocktail
Christmas Tree Cheese Log and crackers

Salad
Lynette's Salad
Raspberry Vinaigrette

Side Dishes
Winter Root Pudding
Wild Rice Pilaf with Water Chestnuts

Main Course
Roast Turkey

Dessert
White Chocolate Cheesecake

Gluten-Free Christmas Baking

I'm getting my shopping list together for Christmas baking. In choosing what will go on the Wittmann goody list, I need to keep my child with celiac disease in mind. The following Christmas recipes are all gluten free and totally yumcious:

Popcorn Snowman
Meringue Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Fudge Wreath
Cream Cheese Mints
English Toffee
Lollipops

It's different from the days when I would bake hundreds upon hundreds of cookies but no less delicious. And I don't find myself covered in flour at day's end.

Sea to Shining Sea at Google Books

My nine-year old was having trouble finding an answer in her Sea to Shining Sea textbook and so she brought the book to me. I couldn't find the answer anywhere in the book. So, I did what I always do -- I googled the question. Lo and behold, I not only found the answer but I found it straight from the horse's mouth. The teacher's edition for Sea to Shining Sea (Ignatius) is online for free!

You'll find it here:
From Sea to Shining Sea the Story of America Teacher's Edition

Hey There Obama (Drink the Kool Aid)

I love this YouTube. You got to watch and then pass it on! The singer is a friend of ours and he did a great job along with all the other folks who wrote and produced the video. Wouldn't it be cool if they got their views up to 500,000! Do want you can to help them attain that goal.

Now, be prepared to laugh (or cry) ...