Awesome News!

I just got an email from my publisher -- For the Love of Literature is on the way to the printer. They should have a proof in about a week and the actual real book about 2 weeks after that!

Joan is going to put it up at Ecce Homo's website today and offer a pre-order special and 10% off your entire order. This special is only good for Internet orders.

Here's what you do to get your discount. Once Joan has the website updated, place your order and then enter the discount code: LOVELIT. This offer will be good until November 20th.

I probably should wait until the website is updated, but I couldn't wait to share the good news! Besides, I have a busy day with Scouts, Mass, and All Saints Day activities -- who knows when I'll be able to get on the computer again.

Update: The website is updated now. The prepublication price for For the Love of Literature is only $9.55, plus the 10% off entire order!!!

Remember the code and deadline above. In fact, feel free to pass the code on to all your friends! This is too good a deal not to share with the world! Ecce Homo carries some great Catholic historical fiction for kids as well as Little Flower and Blue Knight materials, plus a few other goodies.

Growing Up

Teen Daughter 2 is growing up and entering a new phase in her life. Yesterday, for the first time, she did not go trick-or-treating. She stayed home and played board games with her girlfriends.

Tonight is the big All Saints Day Party and she won't be dressing up for that either. Instead, she'll be assisting the grownups in running the party.

Oh gosh, where did the time go.

Congress Made Me Late!

Congress made me late yesterday.


I went to pick up Teen Son from the community college yesterday morning. After waiting about 5 minutes, I noticed that the car clock said 9:05 AM. TS doesn't get out of school until 10 AM. I could've sworn that it was 10:00, but the clock said 9. So, I double checked with the digital clock across the street from the Capital. It said 9:06 AM. I chalked it up to brain fog and headed off to the coffee shop to grab a bagel and steamer to keep me busy for the next hour.


When I finally picked up Teen Son, I exclaimed, "You wouldn't believe what I did! I came to pick you up at 9 instead of 10! So, I went to Beaners for an hour." TS looked at me, with that pitiful look reserved for middle aged mothers, and gently said, "Mom, it's 11."


Then I had to race home to get Teen Daughter 2, who had Latin Club at 11:15 AM, all the while apologizing to TS about a thousand times.


So, how did Congress make me late? Well, here's what happened. Turns out that the car clock, and clocks all over the city, were pre-programmed to fall back an hour last weekend. The problem is that Congress decided to move Daylight Savings Time back a week -- next weekend. Apparently my congressman forgot to tell my car's clock.


Hopefully, I'll remember to manually change the house clocks this weekend and won't be late picking up Teen Son again. Or, would I be early? I'm so confused.

CE: Where in the World Did We Get This?

Mary Jo's Confessions of a Homeschooler column is up at Catholic Exchange. Go check it out!

So anyway, as I write this column, one of our sons is carting arm loads to the garage, and he's not happy about it. He's neither a shopper nor a saver, so none of the junk is his. But he's got the muscles, so he's got the job!

And, hey, make sure to tell all your friends about Catholic Exchange's new and improved Homeschool Channel!

MWittKids Library Thing

I spent a little time this weekend posting books that take place in Asia at the kids' Library Thing. Now I'm off to add a few Vikings titles and if things go well, I'll get some African titles in there too.

Schneider: Lack of oversight for home-schooled alarms educator

I'm so stunned at the lack of journalistic professionalism in this article from the Lansing State Journal, that I'm not quite sure what to say. The sad thing is that I normally like John Schneider's daily column.

She had a bad feeling about this one, beginning with her doubts that the parents of the girl were capable of providing academic training to their daughter. Head offered me convincing evidence to support those doubts, but asked, for the sake of the family's privacy, that I not reveal the specifics.

He can't give us specifics -- we're just supposed to accept his word there is convincing evidence?

He goes on to quote another public educator, but there is no representation from the homeschooling community.

Fair and balanced reporting? What do you think?

More on Pullman

Pete Vere, canon lawyer, author, friend to those in need, and all around nice guy, has a new article up at the Washington Times: Atheism for Kids.

Mr. Pullman's critics say the story inverts the Christian imagery used by C.S. Lewis in "The Chronicles of Narnia," portrays the Catholic Church as evil and depicts the Judeo-Christian God as an evil liar.

An interesting side note: The ever secular Snopes picked up the Pullman story HERE.

CE: Traveling Husbands and Homeschool Lessons

Ana Braga-Henebry has a terrific article up at Catholic Exchange.

In the realm of academics, my husband's travels can easily turn into geography units. During this last trip, our entire family learned enough geography to cover a whole academic quarter.

Quiz Busters Update

The Quiz Busters taping was so fun!

Rob took the 4 younger kids to Sharpshooters, while I went to the taping with the 3 older kids along with their pal Paul.

They tape 3 shows in a row and our team was scheduled for the final slot of the day, 8:15 PM. We got there at 8 as instructed and found things to be a bit behind. We sat in an "overflow" room along with our competition and watched the taping of the previous show live on a big screen television. It was fun with kids, parents, and coaches from both teams calling out answers. I think it helped calm nerves, even it only for a wee bit.

Then we moved to the studio. The audience was given instructions. No moving about, no whispering, signaling, no eating or drinking, etc. We were even given the opportunity to practice clapping.

Team pictures were taken, the players given instruction, and chairs & name tags adjusted. Then in came the MC and the game was set to start just after 9 PM.

It was quite an exciting game. The two teams were pretty equally matched with their scores neck-in-neck throughout most of the game. A few answers were missed due to nerves, but the kids gave a great showing.

About halfway through the game, the individual team members introduced themselves. I had to smile when the first contestant from our team stumbled a bit as he struggled to remember what grade he's in. It made me think of my own homeschooled children, "I don't know what grade I'm in, my mom just gives me a bunch of books to read!"

The game got really exciting at the tail end, during the lightning round. Questions were being thrown out in rapid fire, about 15 in 60 seconds. Our team was answering them left and right, mostly by our awesome captain, Jeffrey. Then with only 5 seconds left and our team only 1 question behind, a pop culture question was thrown out. I don't even remember the question, but the answer was Beyonce. (I overhead one of the kids say later, "Who is Beyonce?")

I had shared with a friend earlier that day, "If these kids have any trouble, it'll be the pop culture questions." Teen Son joked later, "Now, if all the questions would have been about Latin, Middle Ages history, classical music, and Lord of the Rings, we would have won by a landslide." But, alas, they lost, and by a mere 10 points. I've got to tell you though, it was a great game and the Southside Homeschool Raptors have a lot to be proud of!

I can't until next year -- we'll be back!

Homeschooled Teens on Quizbusters

Teen Son and Teen Daughter One will be competing today on Quizbusters, a local game show for high school students. Please offer up a little prayer for them and their teammates -- The Southside Homeschoolers.


They're excited. I'm a nervous wreck.


I'll let you know how it goes.

Cool Website

StemCellResearchCures.com. Go check it out.

This is a great site for information about ethical stem cell research. Get the facts and share with anyone who doesn't understand the opposition to fetal stem cell research.

Flighty Middle Aged Women

I went to the doctor today for a checkup. I really wanted to talk to him about short-term memory loss.

But I forgot.

Mexican Breakfast

I'm always on the lookout for great egg recipes as my friend Linda B. keeps me well stocked with fresh farm eggs -- yumcious! Yesterday, for our regular Sunday family brunch, I decided to liven things up a bit with a new egg recipe.

Rob has kept to his vegetarian diet since Lent and I'm still finding it a little challenging to create delicious, flavor-filled, meals. As we drove home from Mass, I remembered a delicious black bean egg tostada dish I had in California a few years ago. When I got home I set to recreate it. The family loved it!

Here's the recipe in case you'd like to give it a try:

Egg and Black Bean Tostadas
olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used 1/2 yellow and 1/2 red, but you could use green instead)
1 16-oz can black beans
1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce (the itty bitty can)
salt and pepper to taste
8 eggs
8 corn tostadas (I get these in the Mexican section of the grocery store. They're fried corn tortillas. You could fry your own corn tortillas in vegetable oil if you like.)
2 cups shredded colby/jack (or your favorite) cheese
Optional toppings: sour cream, fresh salsa, guacamole

Coat the bottom of a large pot with the olive oil. Once hot, over a medium heat, add your cumin and red pepper, sauteing for only 30 seconds. Add your garlic, onions, and bell pepper. Saute until the onions are translucent. (Your house will smell sooo good!)

Add the can of beans, liquid and all, plus the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Quickly reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until it's a nice thick consistency.

While the beans are thickening, start cooking your eggs. I made fried eggs for Rob and me, and scrambled for the kids. Either way will work great.

Put a tostada on a plate, top with a fried egg or scoop of scrambled eggs. Top that with a ladle of the bean mixture and shredded cheese. Serve sour cream, fresh salsa, and/or guacamole on the side.

I wanted to add chopped cilantro at the end, but this was an unplanned meal and I didn't have any fresh on hand.

If you want to spice it up, just add more red pepper or a chopped jalapeno pepper.

This is easily doubled. I only made 8 servings since a few of the older kids weren't home at the time.

Oh, one more note -- if you have a friend who brings you fresh eggs from their farm, remember to offer up a little prayer for that person every time you crack an egg. Linda brings me 2 or 3 dozen eggs every week, so I get to pray for her a lot!

CE: The Day I Had a Coronary

Mary Jo Thayer does it again. Her Confessions of a Homeschooler column never fails to make me laugh and cry at the same time! Helps me look forward to Mondays!

The kids were behind me sitting on the furniture, rosaries clasped in their little hands, giving each other odd glances and wondering if what had just happened would happen again.

On another, yet similar note, if you ever need a good speaker for your conference or youth group -- Mary Jo is pretty darn good. Her specialty is chastity talks.

CE: Good News or Bad News

Kevin Clark of Seton Home Study is in the spotlight on the Homeschool Channel.

If we look through the stories about the gods in Greek and Roman myth, what kind of gods do we find? Largely, the gods are portrayed as rather self-centered and unpleasant people. The gods are generally interested in their own comforts and intrigues. Occasionally, they will do good deeds for human beings. However, there is no sense in which the gods love humans. There is no sense in which the gods would lay down their own lives for humans.

Homeschool Kid Etiquette

A word about library etiquette. Well, a few words. And I may get off the topic a wee bit.

I have a friend whose mom is totally against her homeschooling. Why? Because the mom is a librarian in a big city library and the homeschoolers make her nuts. You see, they come every week for their homeschool get together and they let their kids run wild. WILD!

So, because a few homeschoolers in a distant city don't pay proper attention to their kids in public places, a wanna-be homeschooler is getting grief from her mom. Major grief.

I know what it can be like at these gatherings. You're stuck in the house more than you like some days and you can't wait to gab with your girlfriends. You tend to ignore the kids so you and Betty Sue can swap favorite recipes or wax on about whatever.

Please, if your goal is to get together with girlfriends -- host the gathering at at an empty gym where the kids can play with little supervision. Or go out and leave the kids home with Dad.

If your goal is to provide an educational outing for the littles, then get organized. Keep the children occupied with meaningful activities. Assign different tasks to different moms. Talk to the kids beforehand about proper behavior in public places. Remind them of their manners. If they can't live up to the standards, take them out. (Out of the building, not knock them out!)

And, have them send a thank note to the librarian (or whoever) when they get home.

The Father Brown Reader

Nancy Brown has awesome news! I'll let her tell you -- just go HERE.

Don't you just love the cover!

Google Alerts

Ever wonder what people are saying about a certain subject on the Internet? Or maybe you just wonder what they're saying about you? If you go to Google Alerts, you can set it up so that you receive email alerts about any topic -- a news story, a sports team, a favorite author, a distant cousin.

For example, if I wanted to know what people are saying online about my homeschool book, I would set up a query for "Catholic Homeschool Companion." I could then have Google contact me immediately, once a day, or once a week. I could also have Google notify me of everything on the web, or I could set it up to only notify me of blog posts or news stories, etc.

This is a neat little tool.

Cub Scouts at the Police Station

If you take your Cub Scout pack for a field trip to the police station, you'll be quite entertained by their questions for the staff. You'll hear things like:

"So, you ever been tazered?"
"You ever kill a guy?"
"Do the inmates like the food here?"
"If you have a bullet-proof vest on, does it hurt less when the criminals punch you?"
"What do you do if the bad guys don't want to go to jail?"
"Do you have a latte machine?"

And there'll be conversations such as:

"Have you ever put a guy in the electric chair?"
"We don't have the death penalty in Michigan. We just put them in prison for life."
"So, have you ever gone into a cell and found bones."
"Um, no. We incarcerate them while they're alive, not for eternity."

Nine-year-old boys sure come up with some crazy ideas.

Cool New Blog: Movie Reviews

The Love 2 Learn crowd has a new blog: Love 2 Learn at the Movies. Go check it out!

Other Love 2 Learn offerings:
Love 2 Learn Website
Reading Your Way through History
Love 2 Learn Blog
Unity of Truth Blog

State Approved Curricula

One question I get from new homeschoolers is, "Should I go to the public school and get their curricula?"


No! My husband works in public education. I've seen their curriculum. First of all, it's designed for a large classroom setting, not for a mother working one-on-one with her child. Second of all, it's all color and glitz and no content.


The NEA would have us all use state-approved curricula, but in all honesty you'd do much better going to the public library and just borrowing real books.

The state doesn't know what works best for my individual children. I'll go so far to say that it doesn't even have my child's best interest at heart. The state cares about the state's best interest. The state's main concern is a citizenry that serves the state. My main concern is a child who serves God.

CE: The One Stop Place for Homeschool News

Catholic Exchange has a couple of good articles for homeschoolers today.

First up is Mary Jo's column, An Accidental Bad First Impression.

By the way, some of those moms have become my very dear friends, and our children have gone on to enjoy years of solid Christian friendship, complete with the virtue of modesty, along with a little more interest in and knowledge about the joyful noises made by insects.

Second up is an article by Heidi Bratton, A Catholic Education for Every Catholic Kid: Education by Home Schooling (part 5 in a series).

If education itself is like a glorious, full-color picture book, then homeschooling, for our family, has been like a pop-up version of that book.

Prayer Update: Thank You

I recently asked for you for your prayers for a special intention and a miracle has been granted! Now keep praying, we need another miracle or two for this person. Thank you!!!

New Adoremus Coupon Code

Adoremus Books is offering 15% off of your total purchase! Good until November 26, 2007. Just key in this coupon code: AOB117. And shipping is free for orders over $25!

Math Marathon

Super Boy decided to complete 60 pages of his kindergarten math workbook in one day. Amazingly, he got almost all correct answers. (Teen Daughter 2 did the correcting.) We held him back yesterday, so he only completed 40 pages. This morning he already has 20 pages done. With only 10 or so pages left in the book, he's begging me to order a first grade workbook. At this rate, he should be going off to college to complete his math degree by the end of next month.

CE: Homeschooling in the Eye of the Storm

Even more cool people showing up over at Catholic Exchange! Check out Margaret Mary's homeschool article this morning.

Now, two decades later, I realize how mistaken I was in that early assumption. Yes, sometimes a crisis interrupts our homeschooling for an afternoon, or a day, or a week. Some crises are even more long-term. That's where the flexibility and stability of homeschooling have been our refuge.

CE: Ideals Live

Nancy Brown has the lead aticle at Catholic Exchange today. Cool!

"Data processing, actually. Well, I found out ideals are dead. People mess up the world and nobody's perfect," Ken said, chewing his steak, as if that explained his statement. "Computers are what I understand. But I am the most ethical computer person in the field," Ken joked. We laughed.

Immaculee Ilbagiza and the Rwandan Holocaust

Last Friday I attended a talk by Immaculee Ilibagiza, author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, along with some friends, teens, and a couple thousand other people.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Immaculee speak, do not pass it up. Go! It will change your life. For the better. Go!

Her story is one of forgiveness. Forgiveness of the most unforgivable.

As she walked down the church aisle you could see her nervousness. She didn't expect so many people to show up on a workday morning. But her smile was radiant. She looked right at me and I felt as though I had been touched by an angel. When she reached the podium and saw the large number of students in attendance, she really lit up.

She went on to tell her story of horror, of how she lived through the Rwandan genocide in 1994. She hid in a bathroom, a mere 3' by 4', with 7 other woman. Yes, those numbers are correct -- a total of 8 women in a 3' by 4' bathroom. They could not talk or make any sound (including flushing the toilet unless timed to flush at the very moment the other toilet in the house flushed). They slept standing up. They could not wash or change their clothes. Food was almost nonexistent (Immaculee lost 50 lbs., going from 115 to 65 lbs.). This went on for 91 days. Ninety-one days!

The house where Immaculee was hidden had been searched several times. Searched by angry mobs with nothing but killing in their hearts. They turned over furniture, they slashed open suitcases, they tore into closets, but they never opened the bathroom door.

The power of prayer. Fervent prayer.

There were servants, guests, and children in the house who would've turned the 8 woman over to the mob in a heartbeat. But they never figured out, until the end, that the spare bathroom was off limits.

The power of prayer. Fervent prayer.

When Immaculee finally emerged from the bathroom, the horror continued. The killing was still going on, but waning. Then there was finding and burying the dead. Nearly one million dead in less than 100 days.

The Hutu tribe, about 75% of the Rwandan population sought to completely annihilate the Tutsis who made up 20% of the population (there is a small population of pygmies). They sought to kill them all in the most vicious manner. Many times hacking them to death with machetes, from the unborn to the elderly.

Immaculee found her parents, 2 of her 3 brothers, grandparents, neighbors, college friends, all murdered in this way by the mobs.

The amazing part of this story is that Immaculee forgave. She went to the prison, met the man who organized the killing of her beloved family, and said to him, looking him straight in the eye, "I forgive you."

One thing that strikes you when you see Immaculee in person is her beauty. She simply radiates beauty. The kind of beauty that comes from deep inside and cannot be denied except by the most hardened of hearts. Even her name is beautiful.

I highly recommend her book, Left to Tell. Buy it or borrow it, and definitely share it with others. Please be forewarned that it does contain graphic descriptions of the genocide, but it is necessary to truly understand the story's message of faith, prayer, and forgiveness. I read almost all of it in one sitting (and with a box of Kleenex). I finally put it down in the wee hours of the night, only to pick it up the very next morning as I sat before the Blessed Eucharist at the Perpetual Adoration chapel. It has been on my mind ever since.

I pray the story will never leave my mind. I pray that I will always heed its message: As long as we are breathing and our hearts are beating we can forgive, even the unforgivable.


Addendum: I just found this DVD, The Diary of Immaculee, on amazon.com and the reviews are pretty good. I'm going to order it right now. You should be able to find Immaculee's book (it was a New York Times Bestseller) and maybe even the DVD through your library.

CE: Making the Most of Your Public Library

Even more stuff of interest for homeschoolers over at Catholic Exchange.

At any given moment, I have somewhere between fifty and ninety books checked out from the public library. Because "real" books provide the foundation of my homeschool, the library has become a very necessary resource.

Catholic Exchange and Homeschooling

Catholic Exchange has a couple of articles up that are of interest to homescholers.

Mary Jo's Confession of a Homeschool column, Being a Wierdo Has Its Benefits.

Those other weirdos are still my friends, thank the Lord. They have been my supports and mentors for more than a decade. And when I think of what it means to be a committed mom, those three always top my list. This race is going to be a dead heat, and I don’t even mind because all of us have benefited greatly from daring to be weird.

And then there's What Does a Teaching Credential Have to Do with Learning? by Ken Lawson.

While I was writing my novel ReEnchantment: A Schoolboys' Adventure, one of the scenes I struggled with was when the mother, contemplating schooling her own child, has doubts about her ability to do the job. There are a number of motives at work in the character I developed, but unquestionably one of the major worries that beset her and most parents considering home school is whether they have the skill. I contend theirs is nothing more than a temporary lack of confidence.

Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for a special intention for a family member.

Saint Costumes

The following is an email and review from my friend Maria in Kansas City. I attended the KC Catholic homeschooling conference this last year and saw, up close and personal, the costumes that Maria speaks of in her email. They are gorgeous!

I have been working hard with a friend of mine for the past few months helping her expand her dress up business to include a much wider variety of saints and religious in addition to the more standard fare of knights and princesses, etc. *We are also working on providing small unit studies to accompany each costume. We're not yet certain when we can have that ready, but we're working hard on it. The unit studies will include: biographical information, interesting stories, additional resources and historical fiction for further study, special prayers, customs and traditions, recipes and sometimes short plays or skits for those who enjoy making history come alive by reliving it. :) Pray that we can do everything we hope to do! :)

Debbie is now taking orders at her new website:
http://www.ourcoatsofmanycolors.com/

If you want to order something, do not wait. For the past two years Debbie has had to tell procrastinators that she cannot fill the order they placed because they waited until the last few days before Halloween to order. Our Coats of Many Colors is a small business
which is currently well stocked but which can't yet handle huge volumes of last minute sales. If you want something, order it now and you will get it. For further information, contact Debbie at debra@ourcoatsofmanycolors.com.

Jonah and the Big Fish

I can't believe that 98% of people got this quiz wrong! I am glad to say that I got the right answer. Don't Catholic Exchange readers watch Veggie Tales?

Addendum: OOPS! I read the results wrong. Somebody at CE needs to line those stats up better so they're easier to read by 40ish women. Anyhoo, 94% of quiz takers got the answer right. Whew, that makes me feel better.

CE: Martyrs of Ancient Rome

My latest on Catholic Exchange.

Bishops being martyred under Trajan, St. Ignatius fighting heresy in the early Church, the persecutions in Lyons, St. Justin using arguments of philosophy to persuade the Emperor Aurelius to validate Christianity — these are all events worth further study in our homeschools. The Saints impact history in a way that is still felt today and we would be remiss not to share their stories with our children.

If you have a favorite book or resource for the study of Ancient Rome, make sure to leave a comment.

Prayer Request

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Charles D. Charles is the father / father-in-law of our good friends Chris and Brenda. Please also pray for peace for the family. Thank you!

Lord God, you are the glory of believers and the life of the just. Your son redeemed us by dying and rising to life again. Let our departed brother share the joys and blessings of the life to come. Please bring comfort to those who mourn his passing.

Amen.

Homeschooling Misconceptions

There is a heated discussion going on in the combox at Mark Shea's blog. I've learned there that I'm "a touch too sentimental and/or naive," among other things. If you'd like to join the fray and put in a good word for homeschooling, click on over.

I'm not sure how to give you a link to Mark's original post -- his blog is set up differently than mine. So, I'll cut and paste here:

The NEA Doesn't Like it When Homeschoolers Consistently Wipe the Floor with Public School Kids in Test Results...so they issue disdainful press releases. Pretty soon they are going to raise their eyebrows so high they will lift themselves off the ground in a paroxysm of high dudgeon.

Addendum: Margaret Mary found a link to Mark's original post. Try THIS. Thanks MM!

Sacrificial Parents Equals Homeschooling Success

Following is a rough draft of a paper Christian wrote for his college composition class. The assignment is kind of vague -- the topic is family life, school, and diversity training (everything this instructor assigns has to do with diversity). It shouldn't be a straight narrative or purely descriptive and doesn't require footnotes.

Feel free to critique as he still has time for major edits.

Sacrificial Parents Equals Homeschooling Success

When people ask me where I go to school, I say, “I’m homeschooled.” Their reply is almost always, “Homeschool? Where’s that?” Homeschool is not a school at all, but a radical family lifestyle. Homeschooling used to be illegal in Michigan to all but those who were state-certified teachers, and whose homes followed the strict safety codes followed by public schools– such as emergency exit signs pointing to all ways out and sprinkler systems in case of fire. For homeschoolers, these were the Dark Ages of Michigan, where parents who weren’t satisfied with what schools had to offer had to teach their children in secret. Today, however, there are few laws governing homeschooling in Michigan, and homeschooling is growing at a rapid pace.

However, even in Michigan, with its lenient regulations, homeschooling can be a daunting challenge. Most homeschooling parents must support their families on a single income, and pay for all school expenses; these parents usually have large families, which demands even more financial and time resources. Homeschooling families must also deal with stereotypes and prejudices. Many homeschooling parents educate their children not only through middle school but through all four years of high school as well – most homeschooling parents do this without any kind of education degree, often teaching multiple grade levels ranging from preschool to high school seniors at the same time. For a large family of six or more children this can be overwhelming.

With so many obstacles, it would seem homeschooling is destined for failure. Yet, typical Homeschooled students receive above-average grades, are less rebellious, and possess better communication among family members. According to a study out of MSU, homeschool graduates vote at a higher rate, and are more involved in the community. Some colleges seek out homeschoolers to attend their universities. For something that is as challenging as homeschooling, this is all amazing. The big question is, how is this possible? I believe the answer lies with parents. It is through the tremendous sacrifice and love of these children’s parents that they find such success. For the average homeschool parent, it is love that motivates them to begin a child’s education at home, or to pull a child out of school to learn at home. Concern for their child’s well-being drives these parents to make incredible sacrifices, like giving up a career to teach and care for their children full-time at home.

To succeed in homeschooling, the demands on parents go beyond giving up a career and living off one income; many homeschooling families are also large, the average number of children probably about twice that of the average American family – that’s four or five children. Many homeschooling families have far more children. For example, the Smith [I've changed the name here -- MW] family of Sunfield, Michigan, homeschools, and has eleven children – ages ranging from the oldest in his late twenties to the youngest who is seven. Because of the devotion of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, their children enjoy a good education and a smooth running family life. While parents like Mr. and Mrs. Smith may not have much time to themselves, much money to spare, or much space, they are content and have well-rounded children.

The only common challenge these parents’ sacrificial love has not overcome is the many stereotypes surrounding homeschooling. Parents are often seen as rigid taskmasters who won’t allow their children to leave the house. Stereotypes surrounding their children are many and often conflicting. Homeschooled children are portrayed by these stereotypes as stupid, geniuses, shy, nerds, freaks, mindless drones, or victims of their inflexible parents. The most popular stereotype is that all homeschoolers are hyper-intelligent nerds; this is probably because most news coverage on homeschooling focuses on these few brainiacs.

While a nontraditional upbringing might be another obstacle for homeschool families to overcome, the parents who choose to homeschool are proactive to show the public what homeschooling is really about. Since many stereotypes surrounding homeschooling are beginning to fade, and homeschooling becomes less and less mysterious, it seems parents are doing a good job. So, maybe this is yet another obstacle homeschooling parents will overcome.

Homeschooling would not be a success, however, if parents simply stopped at overcoming the challenges. It is necessary for success to explore new territory as well. Parents are vigorous in their role of caregiver and educator, and expend a great deal of energy to help their child recognize his or her full potential. With a passion, these parents take steps to further their children’s education, social life, and overall well-being. Many families are part of a homeschool community, and they take the idea of community seriously. These groups are vibrant; children interact and parents share resources. Our local homeschool community hosts events such as back-to-school parties, ultimate Frisbee, and track. It also provides groups like Latin Club, Writers’ Club, Reader’s Anonymous (a reading group), and Socrates Café (a discussion group). Mid-Michigan even has a homeschool Science Olympiad team known as Creative Science Investigators (or CSI). Science Olympiad was originally a program for schools to encourage the sciences through competition, but when parents were willing to take the roles of professional teachers as coaches, CSI became possible.

Parents in general often make huge sacrifices for their children, so perhaps it’s not too surprising that so many couples in Michigan willfully, often joyfully, choose homeschooling for their children. The sacrifice is great, but so are the benefits; these parents realize this, and that is why most strive so hard to make homeschooling work for their children. Homeschooling allows parents to be involved in their children’s education to an extent beyond the capabilities of schools, giving them the opportunity to make any sacrifice they feel necessary for their children. Because homeschooling allows parents to express their love for their children through constructive means linked directly to education, homeschooling should always be an option for parents who want success for their children.

Vicipaedia

This is way too cool. Wikipedia in Latin!

NOTE: I fixed the above link and you should actually be able to link to Vicipadia now.

Homeschool Apologetics

In an effort to convince you that homeschooling doesn't work . . .

Your neighbor, a school teacher, shares with you, "I once had a homeschooled kid put in my class and his work was below average."

You reply, "Public school children are never below average?"



A stranger in the grocery store declares, upon learning that you're a homeschooler, "I once knew a homeschooled kid who was horribly shy."

You reply, "They don't have shy kids in public schools?"



Your cousin Barney shares with you at the family Christmas gathering, "I once had a neighbor whose uncle's co-worker's sister-in-law homeschooled. That kid went off to college and totally rebelled, smoking and drinking and who knows what else!"

You reply, "Public school children never rebel?"



Your brother-in-law tells you, "Your kids will all be nerds!"

You reply, "They don't have nerds in public school?"
Alternate reply, "Good! Nerds don't get in trouble with the law or with girls or with drugs or with staying out all night."


A fellow parishoner asks, "What about socialization?"

You reply, "YES! That's exactly why I homeschool, because of the superiority of the socialization. How wise of you to see that!"

Catholic Mom: Nature Science

My October column is up over at Catholic Mom.

As this conversation between my six-year-old son and my 66-year-old father continued to unfold, I couldn’t help but smile and think, “This is homeschooling at its best.” My son’s enthusiasm for birds did not come from a science textbook, it came from the study of nature science in a relaxed home setting. Due to the birth of their new baby brother, Joe and his siblings had just spent eight weeks immersing themselves in the study of nature.

The NEA Sets Us Straight

If you're looking for some interesting reading this morning, go check out the NEA's 2007/2008 Resolutions. It's full of all sorts of goodies. Reading their resolutions always makes me wonder: Is the NEA a teachers' union, a professional organization, an agent for social change, or political hacks for liberals? They can't seem to make up their mind.

If you'd like to know what they have to say about us homeschoolers, I'll save you the hassle of scrolling through the 105-page pdf file:

B-75. Home Schooling

The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.

The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)

Bless their little hearts. I just get all warm and fuzzy knowing that the NEA is looking out for my children.

CE: The Surprise Temper Tantrum

Mary Jo's latest on Catholic Exchange.

The year my husband and I decided to explore homeschooling brought an unexpected reaction from one of our children. It wasn't the preadolescent 10-year-old girl prone to hormones. It wasn't the stubborn six-year-old boy who did not like change. And, it certainly wasn't the two-year-old who began, out of the blue one late May, sadly and pitifully to say each day after his lunch, "When can we go get my tids kids from cool school? I miss my tids." It was the eight-year-old, the child who up until that point had never questioned or argued about any of our parental decisions...

CE: HP and the Pope, Part Two

Part two of Nancy's Harry Potter article is up at Catholic Exchange. Go check it out! You may find an interesting comment or two at the end as well.

Prayer Update: Mom

Thank you everyone for your prayers. Mom's tests all came back negative, which is a very good thing. Now if you'll just offer up one more that she'll be able to implement some healthy life style changes, I'd sure appreciate it.

Prayer Request - Mom

Please offer up a prayer for my mom, Marirose. She's having some tests done at the hospital today. Thank you!

CE: Harry Potter and the Pope, Part One

The first of Nancy Brown's 2-part series on Harry Potter is up at Catholic Exhange. Please leave her a nice comment -- register if you have to.

"When I first heard about Harry Potter, now many years ago, the one thing that stopped me from reading them was the pope's remark."

Small World Big Family

My friend Lynne Cimorelli has been featured in an article that seems to be making the rounds in newspapers across the country. Read about her family of 13 HERE. And leave a nice comment, please.

BTW -- You may recognize Lynne as a contributing author to both A Catholic Homeschool Treasury and The Catholic Homeschool Companion.

National Punctuation Day

Oh no! I'm so totally bummed out! I missed National Punctuation Day yesterday! The celebrations, the speeches, the parades, the special National Punctuation Day meatloaf.

Oh well, I guess there's always next year.

Memphis Catholic Homeschooling Conference

If you live anywhere near Memphis, TN, then mark your calendar for the weekend of March 14 and 15, 2008. I don't have all the minute details yet, but I can tell you that I'll be speaking at their 9th Annual Catholic Homeschooling Conference. I'd love to meet some of you there!

CE: The Beauty of Eating Words

Mary Jo Thayer's first Confessions of a Homeschooler column is up at Catholic Exchange. This week's topic: The Beauty of Eating Words.

I admit it. I did not want to homeschool my kids. In fact, I said emphatically to my friend Anne one day, with my hands on my hips, at her announcement that she was going to homeschool, "I will never homeschool my kids!"

Mary Jo and I have been friends for a long time. She was one of the pioneering homeschoolers who first welcomed me into our local homeschool support group more than twelve years ago. I love Mary Jo's column, which will run for 20 weeks, because I've experienced some of those stories with her. But, I think you'll enjoy it too.

CE: A Student's View

The new and improved Homeschool Channel at Catholic Exchange is up and running. I decided to start with Teen Son's Heart and Mind column from a couple of years ago:

I love homeschooling; although I can't compare it to going to "real school," as my siblings call it, I'm sure I couldn't be more happy with any other form of education. With homeschooling there's no "hurry up and wait" like my non-homeschooling friends tell me there is at traditional school. I only have to walk the distance from my bedroom to the living room!

Monday will be the debut of Confessions of a Homeschooler by my good friend Mary Jo Thayer. Confessions will run every Monday for the next 20 weeks. Mary Jo's column is frank and yet so funny.

Wednesdays will alternate between my column and guest columnists. I will also run guest columnists on Fridays.

So, there you have it -- three days of homeschool reading at your fingertips each and every week.

If you don't want to miss any of the fun, I suggest going to Catholic Exchange's website and signing up for their daily digest. Just scroll down the sidebar on the left and look for Newsletter. The digest includes a list of all the CE articles for that day, plus the Words of Encouragement and Homily of the Day.

If you'd like to write a column, email me. I'd love to send the writers' guidelines to you.

Honey, Are We Pro-life or Pro-Choice?

"Hi! We're collecting pop cans to raise money for our trip to Washington, D.C. in January for the March for Life."
"That's a pro-life thing right?"
"Yes"
"Hold on. I need to ask my husband."
Turning to holler to her husband, "Honey! Are we pro-life or pro-choice?"

Turned out they were pro-choice and the teens from the Homeschoolers 4 Life didn't get any pop cans from that house. But they did manage to collect $101 in pop and beer cans (10 cents a can here in MI) and donations from the rest of the neighborhood.

Crazy thing how some people don't even know if they're pro-abort or not.

Sons and Priests

One of the old gentlemen at church came up to me recently, put his arm around me, and told me, with complete certainty, "You'll have a priest for a son someday." Just out of the blue. He was so sure of himself that I find myself wondering which son it'll be.

Will it be the one who I just scolded for making fart noises with his armpits? Or maybe the one who, just an hour ago, was sent to his room for kicking his sister. Or, perhaps that little guy who insists he can't sleep in his own bed and climbs in with Mommy and Daddy every night. Or, maybe even, the one who has been discerning the priesthood since he was six but these days feels called to the married life.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Helping Mark Pay the Dental Bills

Speaking of worthy causes, Mark Shea is on Day One of his Quarterly Pledge drive over at Catholic and Enjoying It! If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, then hop on over to Mark's blog and give him some.

If you like what you read here, please help keep an emphatically lower middle class writer solvent so he can keep bringing you the weird combination of offbeat humor, theological ramblings, ecclesial and civil politics, and various cultural ephemera that you've come to realize you can't live without.

Leaving for College

Super Boy: Did Christian leave for college already today?
Me: Yes, honey he did.
SB: I miss him a lot. A whole lot.
Me: He'll be home in 4 hours.
SB: Oh no! That's such a long time.

How will SB ever be able to handle it when his big brother goes away to college for months at a time! I guess I better start looking for a good shrink now.

Catholic Exchange: Homeschooling Channel

I was on the phone with my editor at Catholic Exchange to let her know I'm ready to get back to writing my regular column after a summer break. Somehow, before hanging up, I found myself the new content editor for the homeschool channel.

The pay is right in line with my other writing jobs -- free. Hey, at least I didn't take a pay cut. And I'm very happy to have the opportunity to bring the good news of homeschooling to a larger audience.

I have lots of ideas about expanding the focus of CE's homeschooling channel. However, it will have to wait until I can get high speed Internet. That's okay though, because I'd like to take baby steps. We'll start with regular articles by a variety of authors. Later we'll add podcasts, videos, and other fancy stuff.

In the meantime, if you're looking to donate a little cashola to a good nonprofit group, Catholic Exchange is the place to donate! It isn't cheap bringing Catholic news to the world, even when your writers work pro bono.

Charlotte Mason Primer

I'm doing a series of posts on Charlotte Mason education over at the Thrifty Homeschooler blog. Sort of a CM primer. I plan on continuing the posts well into next week. Any ideas or comments are more than welcomed!

Prayer and Lit Book Update

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that Joan's son, John, is doing well and continuing to recover from brain surgery. Though, I ask that you please continue to pray for the Strombergs.

The bad news is that this means the release of For the Love of Literature will be pushed back. We're now looking at a Christmas release.

Soon-to-Be Mother of a Man Child

In just a few short days, I'll be the mother of an adult. Teen Son will be turning 18. I want the day to be special for him and have some ideas in mind, but I won't mention them at this time in case he reads my blog.

What are your ideas? What have you done for your children on their 18th birthday?

Gosh, where did the time go?

Forcing Kids Into Schools

Sometime ago, a gentleman wrote to our local newspaper expressing his concern over homeschooling and the supposed need for more regulations. He suggested that all homeschooled children who test below the 50 percentile should be forced to go to public schools.

I wonder if he would be open to the suggestion that all public school children who test below the 50 percentile should be forced to be homeschooled.

I wonder too if he realizes that 50% of kids test at or below the 50 percentile.

Never Mind

My sister Chrissy found CHSNA! Their new website is HERE. It's still under construction. You can read about the change HERE.

My non-Catholic, non-homeschooling sister found the Catholic homeschooling group. Too funny. Thanks Sis!

CHSNA

Anybody know what happened to CHSNA (Catholic Home Study Network of America)? Their website is no longer up.

The Latin Road

Also getting an award this week for expediency is Schola Publications. I ordered The Latin Road on Thursday and it got here Saturday morning. Whew, good thing since Teen Daughter Two's Latin club starts on Monday morning!

Ordering From CHC

CHC rocks! I placed an order on Wednesday and it came Friday morning. I've been buying from Catholic Heritage Curricula since the olden days when they were Catholic Heritage Games. One thing that's always impressed me, alongside their products, has been their professionalism in the way they run their business.

Update on John

From Joan:

Thanks so much for all your prayers for my son, John. He came home from the hospital yesterday. He has a benign tumor in on his brain stem that was blocking the brain fluid from circulating. He had a permenant shunt inserted to divert the fluid to his abdomen. He is having a rough recovery, having lived with the pressure on the brain for so long. He is offering up his suffering for a friend's vocational discernment (wow!). He hasn't complained once. He'll have to go to therapy to regain his balance and head movement. We are looking at a four to six week recovery period.

Again, thanks for your patience and prayers.

DK Eyewitness and Copywork

We are getting some formal schoolwork done around here. I sat down with Buster and Sparky yesterday to do some copywork. I gave Buster a book on cell biology (hey, he loves science). And I let Sparky go to the bookshelf and pick any DK Eyewitness book he wanted. I wasn't too surprised when he came back with Pirate -- it's such a boy thing to do.

I love the DK Eyewitness books for copywork and dictation. They're filled with simple, little vignettes. Okay, they're not great literature but, hey, they do the job I need. The kids get some handwriting practice and I can check on their punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc. Plus, they may just retain some cool facts.

For those of you on a budget, the Eyewitness books are easily found at the library. You should keep in mind that DK is a secular publisher and so pre-read before handing them over to the kids. You may have to make a verbal correction or two.

Planning the School Year . . . Finally

If you've yet to plan your school year and are feeling horribly guilty about it, I'm here to make you feel better.

September 4th arrived and I had not so much as thought about planning the school year, except to enroll Teen Son at the community college. A busy summer and unforeseen life changing events just put that school stuff to the back burner.

Admittedly, I'm an unschooler at heart. Teach them to read and they can take it from there. (Real books, real books, real books!) But, alas, I'm married to an academic who sees things differently. So, we throw in a textbook here and there and even plan out the school year. I do have to admit, it's nice to have our goals written out and to have a plan to fall back on. (You can find my official planning forms at my website -- click on Downloads.)

So, a planning I shall go. Fortunately, I have my old friend Laura Berquist to help me out. Her syllabi are a life saver. I don't follow everything in each syllabus, but it's a great place to start.

First I sat down with Teen Daughters 1 and 2 along with their syllabi. We discussed their goals for the year and how to go about achieving them. We went through our bookshelves to see what resources we already have on hand, went to the library's website to place 20 or so holds, and ordered the rest from Emmanuel Books.

The next day, I sat down with each of the littles. Again, the bookshelves were searched, library holds were placed, and this time a big fat order went to Catholic Heritage Curricula.

Not to worry, we're not sitting around twiddling our thumbs here. Education is taking place all the time, even without the appropriate MCP math workbook. While we wait for the UPS man to bring our new books, library trips, snuggling on the couch to read together, exploring the woods, and so much more is going on.

Picture This

If you accidentally put your $200 digital camera through the washer AND dryer, it will not work. It will be broken.

However, the memory stick with 469 pictures will be a-okay. Thank you Lord!

And, if you're really blessed, your husband won't kill you. He'll just heave a heavy sigh and bite his tongue.

Prayer Request Update

Joan writes:

Thanks so much for the prayers! John is still in the hospital. He has a tumor that is blocking the fluid drainage and is having trouble adjusting to the shunt. We are looking forward to have him home. God bless, Joan

Catholic Mom: Socrates Cafe

The September column is up over at CatholicMom.com:

However, if I engage them in conversation and ask probing questions they make connections, come up with insightful conclusions, and retain their lessons. This is known as the Socratic Method.

Emergency Prayer Request

Joan Stromberg (Ecce Homo publisher) writes:

I'd like to ask for prayers for my 12 year old son, John, who was rushed to the emergency room this week with hydrocephalus. There is a lot of pressure on his skull, loss of vision, stumbling and loss of depth perception. He has about three times the amount of fluid in his brain than he is supposed to have. He will have to have brain surgery to have a shunt inserted tomorrow.

Since I've been spending most of my days at the hospital, I haven't been able to fill orders. Please be patient with me and we'll get to your order as soon as possible. Any prayers you could send our way would be greatly appreciated.

This note is from yesterday, so John's surgery is today.

Prayer Before Surgery

Loving Father, we entrust John to your care this day; guide with wisdom and skill the minds and hands of the medical people who minister in your Name, and grant that every cause of illness be removed, John may be restored to soundness of health and learn to live in more perfect harmony with You and with those around him. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Adventures in Birdwatching (DVD)

We've really been immersing ourselves in bird identification around here lately. We found a cool DVD at the library: Adventures in Birdwatching to help us out.

Most of the birdwatching videos we've discovered have been pretty dull. Not as dull as paint drying on the wall, but close. Adventures in Birdwatching is much more interesting than anything we've seen and the kids have been enjoying it immensely. (Parental warning: there is a wee bit of discussion on bird reproduction.)

The star of the series is Ken Dial. He's a Wyoming ornithologist with a sense of humor. He makes birdwatching fun. He definitely loves what he does and his enthusiasm is contagious. In fact, he reminded the kids of another bird enthusiast we all know. I heard a few times as we watched, "That guy sounds just like Dad!"

Adventures in Birdwatching comes from the cable station Animal Planet. Being a non-TV family, I wasn't aware of Animal Planet's programming. But if this is an example, they're doing a good job. Not that I'm pining for cable TV. Even good shows have those wretched and horribly inappropriate commercials.

These days, you can still watch cool TV shows by going to the library and checking out whole seasons on DVD and forgo all commercials. I love it.

Now I'm off to see if I can find an interesting DVD on identifying animal skulls. You think I'm kidding, don't you?

For the Love of Literature in Catalog

I just got my Ecce Homo catalog and the new book is on the cover. The price is $11.95, which is wonderfully inexpensive. My twelve years of homeschooling all for twelve bucks. That's a dollar a year! What a great deal!

My web guy and I are working on updating my homeschooling website for the book's release (approx. Oct. 15th). We're uploading some free downloads and getting ordering information together.

It's all so very exciting!

Discerning Harry Potter

In the past, I've recommended parents read as much as they can about Harry Potter, pointing them toward a whole slew of resources, in order to help them discern whether or not HP was for their family. Nancy Brown's recent blog posts on gnosticism, combined with some completely off-the-wall anti-HP articles I've recently discovered, have made me realize that parents should just read HP for themselves and then make up their own minds about it.

What About Socialization?

Another reason to homeschool: Illinois School Pushes Smut on Children as Young as 12

Kudos to the parents fighting this stuff.

You Shall Be Changed to My Likeness

Rob writes:

Wow,what an incredible insight into the Eucharist that Augustine provides below -- that it is not about God being changed into the form of our flesh but about us being changed into His likeness! Hopefully I will never forget this insight again in receiving Our Lord. In my frail humanity, I too often fall into the selfish thought that receiving God is about sustaining ME in this valley of tears instead of becoming literally one with Him as he became One with us.

Commentary of the day:

Saint Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and doctor of the Church
Confessions, VII, 10

Christ calls us to see the light on ourselves

Being admonished by my books to return into myself, I entered into my inward soul, guided by you. This I could do because you were my helper. And I entered, and with the eye of my soul saw above the same eye and above my mind immutable light. It was not the common light which all flesh can see; nor was it simply a greater light of the same sort, as if the light of day here to grow brighter and brighter and flood all space. It was not like that light, but different, indeed very different from all earthly light whatever.

Nor was it above my mind in the same way as oil is above water, or heaven above earth, but it was higher because it made me, and I was below it because I was made by it. Those who know the truth know that light, and those who know it know eternity. Love knows it, O Eternal Truth and True Love and Beloved Eternity! You are my God, to whom I sigh both night and day.

When I first knew you, you lifted me up, that I might see that there was something to be seen, though I was not yet fit to see it. And you revealed the weakness of my sight, shining forth upon me your dazzling beams of light, and I trembled with love and fear. I realized that I was far away from you, in the land of unlikeness, and I heard your voice as if from on high: “I am the food of strong men; grow and you shall feed on me; but you shall not change me, like the food of your flesh, into yourself, but you shall be changed into my likeness.”

It's a Major Giveaway

Lisa at CatholicMom.com is giving away free Catholic Bible study videos to the first 30 people to respond. Hurry up and get over there!

Lit Book Update

I've got a release date for For the Love of Literature -- October 15th. The publisher is planning to offer a presale deal in the upcoming weeks. I'll keep you posted.

First Field Guides

Teen Son and Teen Daughter 1 have been poring over field guides and books on tracking animals all week in preparation for their MYHEC competition this weekend.

This has inspired the younger kids to pull out their own field guides and nature books.

I love field guides. They're great to take on camping trips and to have on hand for nature walks. Gosh, we've pulled them out to identify creatures in our own backyard.

The National Audubon Society has a series out just for the younger kids (grade to middle school) called First Field Guides. They're great. They're simplified versions of the full-fledged field guides.

See if you can find them at your library and if you like them, buy some to have on hand. You can find them pretty cheap used. Some books require ownership such as good reference books. The First Field Guides fit that bill. (If you click on the covers, you'll go to the amazon.com page to read reviews.)

PS If you're a Blogger expert, can you give me a tutorial on how to upload multiple graphics so they look nice and neat? I don't think Moms Who Blog have approached this topic yet, have they?

A Woman's Choice and College Writing Courses

Teen Son and I went to the community college bookstore to purchase the last of his books today as some had been back ordered. The style guide for his composition class is The Little Penguin Handbook. I opened it to a random page to check it out and found the example for apostrophe use to be: "a woman's choice." Okay, you can't tell me that wasn't put in there for political reasons. I'm sure this is just the very beginning of PC junk he'll be finding in his classes.

I can't wait to get him to Franciscan University! (Oh, if they only had muzzleloading scholarships!!!)

Mice and Humility

If you're The Thrifty Homeschooler and a list member writes to you to ask, "I have mice in my house what do I do?" and you smugly think to yourself, "Oh, poor dear! I'm glad I don't have THAT problem," God will use this opportunity to teach you a lesson in humility.

You will find, the very next day, a mouse in your house. Not any ordinary mouse mind you, but a very different sort of mouse. A black mouse who comes out in the middle of the day to visit your daughter's pet mouse, Cocoa.

You'll found yourself acting like a cartoon character out of Tom and Jerry, standing on top of a chair with a broom, imploring the children to go outside and find the cat. They'll find the cat, bring him in, and set him down in the middle of the room. The cat will then look at you like you're some kind of idiot, turn, and smugly walk back outside through the hole in the screen door.

You'll then go through your husband's work bench in the basement to find the handy dandy 99 cent mouse trap, muttering something about "no mouse is going to make a fool out of me" and set it with a nice chunk of cheese.

You'll be careful to set the trap out of sight of Cocoa's cage as your daughter is concerned that her pet mouse will be forever traumatized at seeing her new beau murdered in cold blood.

Three nights in a row you'll set out the mouse trap and three nights in a row the little black mouse will steal the cheese without setting off the trap, even though you tested it.

You'll mention all this to your friend Dawn who will in turn comfort you with her wisdom, "You know, if you see one mouse, there's at least five more living in your walls." Remind me to send Dawn a thank you card.

At this point you'll throw up your hands and give it to St. Francis, begging him to ask the little mice to go live outside where it's nice and sunny rather than in your house.

Yes, God has a sense of humor and seeks to humble us whenever He can.

Shooting Sports and Homeschoolers

Homeschool Siblings Win Scholastic Skeet Contest from The Hudson Reporter (New Jersey).

Practical Homeschooling did a nice article on shooting sports for homeschoolers in their December 2006 issue. I wish I could share it with you, but alas it's not online. I only just found it because I picked it up at the library.

Prayer Request

My friend Ali asks for your prayers. On Monday she'll be speaking at the local prison on NFP. Yep, natural family planning to inmates. God bless her soul! She'll give a talk to the women and then meet separately with the men. May the Holy Spirit guide Ali's words and fill the hearts of those who hear her.

HP and Expressing Grief

I was so moved by this post that all I can say is: go read it yourself.

Regina Doman Speaks: Harry Potter and the Grieving Mother

Back to House Hunting

The bank turned down our bid on the house (it was a bank-owned property). Someone outbid us by a measely $1,500. I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Back to square one.

I'm Washington Times Famous

Last night, Rob was sitting at the kitchen table reading the weekly edition of the Washington Times while I curled up on the living room couch poring over kitchen makeover books. Here is the conversation that flowed between rooms:

Rob: Maureen!
Me: Yes?
Rob: You made the Washington Times!
Me: Huh?
Rob: You're mentioned in the Washington Times!
Me: Me?
Rob: Yes.
Me: By name?
Rob: Well, not by name. But it's you! You're famous!

What happened was that Pete Vere's review of Nancy Brown's book The Mystery of Harry Potter made the Washington Times. In the review, Pete writes, "Then one day, she discovered that another Catholic mother from her home-schooling circle considered the books to be good children's literature."

I'm the "Catholic mother from her home-schooling circle."

I'm famous. Sort of.

Literature and Crisis of Faith

Yesterday was our Teen Wednesday discussion of the new Harry Potter book and it was a great discussion. There was one tidbit that sticks out in my mind and I just have to share with you all.

The subject of Philip Pullman's books came up. One of the teens, an incredibly bright and faithful young man, who is about to head back to college for his Sophomore year, shared how The Golden Compass and it's sequels caused a crisis of faith for him. He found himself questioning whether God was really all He was cracked up to be, as a direct result of this literary series.

The young man also shared that he once had a similar crisis and that was after reading The Da Vinci Code. That time, he found himself questioning the Church. He said, "Satan knows I LOVE books and that's how he's going to attack me."

I asked if the HP books caused any kind of spiritual crisis. "No," he replied, "quite the opposite." He, and all of the young people present at this discussion, found the HP books to be morally uplifting.

The Golden Compass is coming out as a movie soon. Please don't be duped by the media into going to see it. It is not in the tradtion of LOTR as they claim. Pullman has publicly stated that his goal in writing children's literature is lead them away from Christianity.

Every now and then I'll run into a good Christian homeschooling parent who mentions their children love the Pullman books, being completely unaware of the books' content. They assume they're good literature because of all the hype and awards they've received.

This is what Jeff Miller referred to as swatting at gnats while letting the camel through. We need to see all the effort that has been placed into attacking HP placed into warning parents about the Pullman books.

Senior Year

Just because I haven't had enough life-changing experiences in the past week, I enrolled Teen Son in college yesterday. Community college, but college none the less.

He'll be taking algebra, Spanish, and composition at the local community college as part of his senior year. He'll still have religion, literature, and science at home.

I think it'll be a nice way to ease him into life away at college. Especially having to get up four days a week to make an 8 AM class!

CueCat Barcode Scanner

If you Library Thing, you just have to get the Cat Thing. Actually, it's called CueCat. What it does is scan the bar codes on the back of your books making cataloging on Library Thing very easy.

Mine came yesterday and I just scanned all my DK Eyewitness books. It only took a few minutes. In all honesty, it doesn't take tons longer to manually type in an ISBN number, but if you're doing a lot of books it is a very nice tool to have on hand. And besides, it's way more fun to scan the code than to type it in.

Just wait until the kids discover it!

St. Joseph Pray for Us

Rob and I put a bid on a house this weekend. Rob is on his way, at this very moment, to deliver the earnest money to the real estate agency.

Looking at houses has been fun but actually spending the money to buy one is a whole other ballgame.

Pray and breathe. Pray and breathe.

Love in the Little Things

The best advice I ever got from an editor was not to be too heavy handed with the message in my writing. He taught me to just simply tell my story and let the reader find the moral on his own. It was excellent advice I try to remember to this day, many years later.

That editor was Mike Aquilina and he follows his own advice, as you can see from my amazon.com review of his book Love in the Little Things. (If you find my review or other reviews helpful, make sure to click the little helpful button.)

Blessed Toys

I received the following email this morning and thought some of you may be interested:

Could you forward this to your homeschool families? I am a homeschool Mom from Chaplet, South Jersey, Jennifer Racancoj:

Hi, everyone! I started selling Blessed Toys. I bought some for my children also. They are really neat!

You can buy Mary and Jesus, St. Paul, St. Peter, David and Goliath. Samson, Noah, and Moses for the boys. They have a toy nativity set to play with during Advent and a really cute teddy bear that sings "Jesus loves me...the Bible tells me so"

The Messenger of Faith dolls tell their biography and recite Bible verses. Jesus, Mary, and Esther are beautiful dolls and so are Leah, Elizabeth and Abigail. They are called Proverb 31 dolls (tells about a good wife being a blessing). They dress modestly and bring the children closer to God and help bring God and virtue into their imaginations.

If you are interested in buying any or looking at them, please go to my website at www.blessedtoys.com/members/jenmary (if you are ordering, please make sure you are on the website with the "members/jenmary" at the end so I get credit for the sale.) If you click on Contact Me, my email for the business comes up jenmary@blessedtoys.com. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

I really want to spread these toys around because we need to help children to think holy and play holy!

Thank You

The children and I are back home in Michigan, safe and sound. Rob will fly home in a few days so that he may spend a little more time with his dad.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and kind notes of condolences. They lifted us up and carried us through a difficult week.

Continued Prayers Please

Thank you for your prayers. Rob was at his mother's side when she passed away earlier this evening. Her long battle with Parkinson's Disease has come to an end.

The kids and I will leave for St. Louis first thing in the morning. Your continued prayers are much appreciated.

Super Boy (5-years old) put it all in perspective for us when he said, "Grandma didn't die. She went to live with Jesus."

Which Byzantine Ruler Are You?

I had a little fun with this quiz . . .

You’re Eudoxia!

This strong-willed Frankish lady, from a military family, rose to an imperial marriage thanks to the machinations of a eunuch named Eutropius. Eudoxia eventually soured on her benefactor and had him condemned to death. St. John Chrysostom, the patriarch of Constantinople — who was himself no great fan of Eutropius — protested and pleaded for the eunuch’s life. Eudoxia found this annoying, and she took offense at the patriarch’s homiletic assaults on her use of makeup and her habit of erecting monuments in her own honor. She sentenced him to two increasingly arduous exiles, from whose hardships he died. Eudoxia herself died shortly afterward, still quite young.

Find out which Byzantine ruler you are at The Way of the Fathers!

Note: To find out my true Byzantine identity, click on the comments.

"That Ride Scrambled Me!"

If you take your 5-year old to the fair and he begs to ride the Scrambler, don't give in. He may just get off, stagger over to the midway, and promptly throw up.

Just in case you were wondering.

(Said boy pictured here after his mother got a clue and confined him to Kiddie Land.)

From White Ribbons to Gold Medals

The shooting sports awards were Tuesday and the kids came home with loads of medals and ribbons. Teen Son, Teen Daughter One, Teen Daughter Two, and Buster all made their parents proud. Watching Teen Son pick up his gold medals, I couldn't help but reflect on our first 4-H archery competition.

Six years ago we decided to try archery as a family sport. We began in April, meeting every Monday with our 4-H club, using borrowed equipment, through the middle of June.

I'll never forget sitting in my lawn chair watching the kids at that first 4-H competition. Teen Son, then an 11-year-old boy, completely missed the target with his first six arrows. I buried my face in my hands and prayed, "Please Lord, don't let him end up with a zero. Please, help him hit the target. Please!" Most of the next 54 arrows at least hit the target. His end score was dismally low, but it wasn't a zero.

At the award ceremony two weeks later, my son picked up his white ribbon ("C" award) and I assumed that was the end of archery. I thought he would be so discouraged that there wouldn't be enough enthusiasm to continue the sport when spring came around again.

I couldn't have been more wrong. We went home and TS set up a target in the backyard and began to practice. When spring came around, he not only practiced at the coach's house on Mondays, but throughout the week at home. That year, TS came home with a blue ribbon.

In years to come, gold and silver medals would become the norm and he would compete in archery at the national level. He came to enjoy other shooting sports and this year found himself the national 4-H champion in muzzleloading.

I share all this with you, not so much to brag but to encourage the kids who read this blog. Champions aren't born, they're made. They're made of persistance. If, at first, you don't succeed, try, try again. Champions don't win every competition (even Tiger Woods has a bad day now and then). They're different from others because they put those losses behind them and get right back to practicing. So, if you have a dream and you experience setbacks, don't give up. Try, try again.

Prayer Rquest Update

Rob will soon be leaving from Detroit to head to St. Louis to be with his mom (Mary). Continued prayers for Mary as well as for Rob's safe travel are greatly appreciated. I'm not sure yet when the kids and I will join him.

Prayers Please

Please offer up prayers for Rob's mom, Mary. She's in hospice care and had a particularly rough time last night. We're asking for many prayers, especially today. Thank you.