Christmas Novena Begins Today

To be said 15 times daily from the feast of St Andrew (Nov. 30) until Christmas Day (Dec. 25):

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary at midnight in Bethlehem in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, oh my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Check out these delightful quotes on thankfulness at on Dr. Thursday's Blogg.

Alleluia and God Bless America

No, this is not a post on patriotism, just another funny kid story. I was talking with my children about Advent a few days ago, which made some of them think about Lent as well. This became humorously clear when my five year old asked "When is that time when you can't sing God Bless America?"

Last Known Survivor of World War I Christmas Truce Dies

Here is an interesting article about a unique moment during World War I:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176252,00.html

This is a quiet transition that I've noticed significantly in my lifetime - the passing of the last veterans of World War I. I always remember as a teenager, noticing in gatherings of Veterans (such as a VFW in Napa, California, where I competed in the "Challenge of American Citizenship" speech contest representing Kolbe Academy in 1987) three distinct age groups - the young ones who served in Vietnam, the middle-aged ones from World War II and the old men from World War I.

It also reminds me of a piece of video I saw in Ken Burn's Civil War series of a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Gettysburg (the video was taken in 1938) which showed old veterans from North and South marching together. There's something about these connections that fascinates me and makes me feel closer to events of long ago. It makes them seem more real or something and is part of why I love history.

May they rest in peace.

By the way, there is a lovely children's book (for children of ALL ages) that gives a glimpse of the "human" side of World War I. It is The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy. This is definitely a "can't miss" title, along with its prequel The Good Master.

Melancholy and Joy

I'm not melancholy by nature. Perhaps that's why I found this Chesterton quote (now Nancy Brown and Dr. Thursday are getting me into quoting GKC too!) so encouraging during a time of grief for the loss of our nephew. I came across this quote, from Orthodoxy on the Living Without Schooling blog (I know, I really need to start reading more Chesterton for myself!)...

"Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind; praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labour by which all things live......Joy, ..... is the gigantic secret of the Christian...."

My heart is heavy and I ACHE for my nephew's family. I confess that I haven't had a lot of experience with the loss of loved ones. A very dear aunt died this spring after a long battle with brain cancer. It was hard and sad, but we had time to say goodbye and she was surrounded by her loved ones who cared deeply about her. This unexpected death was different (although it was another tribute to the importance of family). We were immediately caught up in the busy-ness of what we had to do - prepare for the funeral, notify family and friends. Now, several weeks later, the reality is only beginning to hit.

I felt privileged to be involved with music and pictures for the funeral. I've never helped plan for a funeral before. It did strike me how important and healing faith, memories and ceremony can be. I scanned in photos with Ruben's grandparents and with his immediate family. I played slide shows on the computer to help them pick out favorite photos. It was touching to see happy memories relived and some amount of joy, I think, in recognizing what they had shared with Ruben during his lifetime.

My brother-in-law picked uplifting - mostly traditional songs for the funeral: Be Not Afraid, Amazing Grace, Ave Maria and Faith of Our Fathers. I led a small choir of other family members in the music. The Church was a lovingly remodeled (surprise!) 100+ year old church with colorful stained glass windows (nice focal points while singing), a pipe organ and wonderful acoustics. It was a privilege to be able to do something to express my love and concern for the family. But it was also hard to suddenly realize that this beautiful music would make people weep.

I was touched to see those who cared for him and how they said their goodbyes. His friends and siblings played and sang his favorite songs at the reception. People were dressed in dark suits and dresses or jeans and some sported dread-locks and face-piercings. Love and grief were universal and it was a fresh reminder to me of the meaning of the word Catholic.

I am also reminded that tragedy has touched many people this year through things like natural disaster, terrorism and war. Please pray for all who will feel the loss of loved ones keenly during the coming Christmas/holiday season.

UPDATE: Here is a beautiful piece on the Rule of St. Benedict and "having death always before one's eyes" in order to not take life for granted.

The Bells of Dublin

I made it all the way to November 20th before pulling out my favorite Christmas album -
The Chieftains' The Bells of Dublin

Packed and Ready to Go

This is DD #4 today after she announced to us that she was all ready to visit Grandma and Grandad and Uncle Mike and Aunt Sharon for Thanksgiving.

Diligent Students are Students Who Love to Learn!

I think the discussion of etymology at the end of this post provides an interesting and unusual argument for the importance of helping children love to learn. What a neat connection. I've always thought it made the "work" of education easier and more delightful to have parents consider this love an important aspect of teaching. I never really considered that that love might be philosophically necessary. Hmmm.

A Lovely Blog on "Why We Homeschool"

I really enjoyed this post in the Bonny Glen. It's touching and worthwhile entirely on its own, but also hints at the idea of environment as an essential component of learning (which is something that I've spent a lot of time thinking about and chatting with friends about). I hope to write up something detailed about environment in the homeschool (and Montessori and Charlotte Mason have both been inspirations here) some day.

Many Still in Need from Asian Earthquake in October

It can be easy to get distracted by our own nation's sufferings, but there is still severe need in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan...

Here's a post a Godsbody

Christianity and Popular Culture

Don't miss this interview with Barb Nicolosi at Godspy

This is yet another reminder to me that we need to keep the world in perspective from our very comfortable, safe homes. These Christians working in and, yes, WITH Hollywood have guts, audacity. I think Barb has a real sense of the big picture, the influence of culture (especially Christian culture) on the secular world and the purpose and value of movies. There are so many worthwhile themes to consider in this interview - the problem with Christians being defensive and reactionary, how the lack of beauty in architecture and liturgy hurt us in the secular world, and lots more.

Oh yeah, hat tip to Matt Lickona

National Geography Bee Prep

Cross-posted from Love2learn Blog

We're preparing to participate in our local homeschool group's Geography Bee as part of the National Geography Bee. My oldest participated last year while #2 (the geography buff of the family) watched eagerly from the side-lines. He's finally old enough this year, and we just had to miss the practice round (my nephew Ruben's funeral was the same day - please keep him and his family in your prayers) so I'm putting some extra effort into sources of Geography practice for both of our participants. I did come up with a little incentive - especially for them to work together. We promised to take either of them out to ice cream if they make it into the final round of our local homeschool group's Bee. But if they BOTH make it into the final round, they get a bigger treat. :)

We've always had a lot of maps, map puzzles, atlases and other geography books around. These are some websites (mostly quizzes) which my children love and seem to be highly motivating. They're also an easy way for me to keep up just a little bit with my kids on this project. Since I thought others might be interested...

GeoSpy Game (this is where I learned the locations of all the countries of Africa!)

GeographyZone (country quiz - compete with others and yourself - this tracks scores by state and country - but practice at GeoSpy first so you don't bring the score down too much - it's hard! - especially the islands in Oceania, whew!)

Fun Brain Geography Quizzes (Practice Capitals of States and Countries - and much more - on several difficulty levels)

Info Please Geography Quizzes (Quizzes and Crossword puzzles on a variety of geographic topics)

Matt Rosenburg's Geography Quizzes (These are tough!)

Online Maps and Puzzles (hat tip Ana Braga-Henebry)

I don't remember where I read this, but in any case, keep in mind that the purpose of the Geography Bee is to get more people to study and care about Geography, which has been long-neglected in schools. This means that parents should make an effort to do some learning themselves and everyone should remember that any extra effort put into Geography for the sake of the Bee is a very positive thing. It should be fun and a source of motivation, not a cause of stress and pressure.

Do It Again

Just had to share this wonderful GKC quote from Nancy at Flying Stars:

"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say "do it again;" and the grown up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning "do it again" to the sun; and every evening "do it again" to the moon."

--G. K. Chesterton

Life is Fragile and Precious

Yesterday, John and I learned that our 23 year old nephew, Ruben, passed away.


May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen




Ruben Van Hecke (1982-2005)

Ancient Church discoverd by Archaeologists

4th Century Christian Church discovered by Israeli Archaeologists

(and they thought all the good stuff was found long ago)

Interesting Interview on Religious Liberty

with a Champion of Religious Liberty
from the Catholic Educator's Resource Center

How to Change the World

I found this post thought-provoking, but also optimistic:

It Takes an "I"

Looking for input on Homeschool Glossary

Cross-posted to Love2learn Blog

A few questions for readers of the love2learn blog or love2learn.net...

Glossary Suggestions:

I'm considering making a "glossary" page as a companion to the love2learn.net website. It would explain terms and concepts such as: multi-sensory learning, nature study, living books, cycle teaching, etc. I'm hoping this will help readers, especially those new to homeschooling, acclimate to some of the discussions.

Somewhere in this mix I'm hoping to write up a list of teaching techniques from which parents can draw in presenting materials to their children (such as the three-period lesson, dictation, narration, etc.). This will include brief explanations of each technique and resources for further information.

My question is, are there terms or concepts that you've run across that you'd like to see included in such a list (even if you already understand them now)?

Format Preferences:

Also, as I work on these types of pages for the website, particularly ones that might be referred to over and over again, I wonder whether the standard web-page format is good for most people or if there is a preference for a more printer-friendly Word document that could be downloaded from the website. (A Word document would be easier to edit.) I'm also considering Word documents for Reading Your Way Through History.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Kiddie Quotes

One of the reasons I started this blog was to keep my notes and odd tidbits of thoughts in better order than having them scattered - a few pages here and there - in notebooks all over the house and in Rubbermaid tubs in the basement.

Here's another notebook, and probably my favorite:

Funny Quotes from Our Kids

Ria - When my oldest daughter was three, she came with my husband and I to talk to the manager of an apartment complex we were looking into. The man had some sort of speech impediment, but my daughter obviously thought he had an accent (she was just learning about people moving here from different countries and learning English later in life). She was very quiet during the interview, but on the way to the car she said, "Mommy, I tried to hear what he was saying, but I couldn't hear him because he was speaking in a different country."

Ria - When my children were young Abe Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire was one of their favorite books. My three year old daughter was making sand-castles in the back one day. While they looked like a collection of sand-hills to the untrained eye, she was kind enough to elaborate on their construction. "This sandcastle is like Abraham Lincoln's house," she explained, "because it has bear-skin rugs."

Ria - My children have always learned little bits about their faith whispered into their ear during Mass. I point out the Consecration and draw their attention to what the priest is doing, etc. One day I took my 2 1/2 year old daughter out of church to change her diaper. We came back in quietly and stayed in back during the Consecration. When she saw the priest hold up the host during the Elevation, she said - loud enough for everyone in the congregation to hear - "Look Mommy, there's Jesus!"

Ria - My husband and I were talking about a business trip to Japan while my four year old daughter listened intently. She got very upset at the idea of his going so far away. I tried to console her by saying that at least he wasn't going to the moon. She responded that at least she could see the moon.

Gus - One of my kids thought St. Michael was a "Harkangel" as in "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."

Gus - One day I asked my two year old son where he got his belly button from - he said he got it for Christmas.

Ria and Gus - While I was rearranging the "schoolroom" bookshelf, I explained to my four year old daughter that I had to make room for cards. My two year old son asked me a number of times afterwards to play with the "room-fer cards".

Ria and Gus - When my two oldest were little, they liked to play a game they called "bride and broom".

Gus - While changing my two year old son's diaper, I asked him if he was poopy. He said, "Me is poopy." I said, "No. You say I am poopy." He looked at me funny and said, "Mommy's not poopy!"

My husband and his mom were talking one day about how particular our four year old daughter was about words and that you "couldn't put one over on her." My mother-in-law concluded, "Yeah, she's a sharp cookie." Ria, overhearing, replied, "No I'm not!"

Gus - Amused by the above reaction, we asked our two year old son if he liked sharp cookies. He said, "No. I like fresh cookies."

Ria - John and I were talking to our five year old daughter about how much a liter is when John asked how many liters of blood she thought she had. Ria was quiet for a few moments (as we watched in wonder) and finally said 28. When we asked her what she counted to figure that out, she explained that she counted all her fingers, all her toes, both eyes, her forehead, her head and her nose. Next I asked her what a liter was. She replied, "It's someone who tells you where to go."

Gus was trying to finish off the crust of his Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich in order to earn some sherbet for dessert when he suggested (hopefully) "How about put this on table and put sherbet on plate?"

Gus - My three year old son had two pieces of play money. He gave one to me and kept the other one in his hand. As he handed me the one "bill," he said "This is two." I said, "No sweetie, it's just one." He held up the bill in his hand and said, "No, this is one."

Ria - My five year old daughter was working on memorizing the Ten Commandments. She had memorized the first five (through "Thou shalt not kill.") perfectly. I had prepared myself to explain the sixth to her - "Thou shalt not commit adultery" in a simplified way for a small child by explaining that husbands and wives get married to each other and stay that way until they die - i.e. that they can't get married to someone else... So we started working on the 6th Commandment. I read it to her and she recited it back. Then I asked her if she knew what it meant. To my surprise she answered "yes." She went on to explain, in a very serious voice, that "You're not supposed to yell at adults."

Gus - My three year old son asked for some lined paper without any lines on it.

Ria - My five year old daughter was talking to her daddy about ears (she had recently watched a PBS show about music). She eagerly explained that there are even bones in your ear, like the drumstick.

Ria - My daughter had often heard stories about St. Lucy's Day, particularly from the "American Girl" stories about Kirsten. We talked about making St. Lucy's Day buns for several years before we finally got things together one year when Ria was six or seven. She was very excited about the big day and spent lots of time making a beautiful paper wreath with paper candles. We picked up some saffron at the grocery store and worked busily in the kitchen the night of December 12th. Since I had been a little disorganized about the timing, I had to stay up late finishing the baking but assured her that I would wake her up just before dawn so that she could bring Daddy the buns and some hot apple cider before he got up for work. We even "cheated" on the hot apple cider by picking up some powdered apple cider mix that dissolved into hot water. I finally went sleepily to bed at about midnight having filled a platter with charming pretzel shaped sweet breads with a nice glossy finish. She must have been pretty anxious about catching Daddy while he was still in bed, for we were gently awakened at about three in the morning by a nightgown clad little girl in a paper crown eagerly offering Daddy a St. Lucy's Day bun (with no plate) and a half cup of very lukewarm apple cider.

Gus - I don't know if it is habit or the fact that he doesn't hear the rest of us when he is praying along; but my son still recites the St. Michael prayer pronouncing that Satan and all the other evil spirits are "...crawling about the world..." seeking the ruin of souls.

My husband and I brought five of our kids shopping one Saturday. We stopped briefly at Home Depot where I ran in to get a few things. My husband noticed a safety fair in which the local fire department was offering free hot dogs and promptly piled all the kids out for a free lunch. When I was done shopping, I found them happily munching away and walked over to get a hot dog for myself. The firefighters running the grill correctly guessed that I was the mother of "those five kids" and went on and on about how well behaved they were. I went back to the van and reported our conversation to my husband. My ten year old son (Gus) looked at me funny and said, "All we did was get some hot dogs."

Some of their names for things:

Skinny Pig (Guinea Pig) - Gus
Grummage Sales - Gus
Karmasan Cheese - Gus
Scunscreen - ?
Christopher Robin Hood - Ria
McDonald Duck - Ria

Please share your own favorite kiddie quotes.

Storm Brewing in Sacramento...

Does anyone else think this is way over the top to expel Katelyn Sills from a Catholic high school because her mother exposed one of the teachers (who was subsequently fired) for volunteering at Planned Parenthood? I would think even the average pro-choicer would find this extreme...

hat tip to the Curt Jester

Katelyn's blog

And I thought our puppy was a lot of work...

Life, Death and Crabs

Holy Families make Holy Priests

This is a good (and very honest) article from a homeschool grad in the seminary:

Holy Families make Holy Priests