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Martha
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How do you, if you do, make your curriculum Catholic Centered?
I know most of us live it daily.. but I mean literally.
Personally, I use Catholic materials almost exclusively unless I truely feel I don't have a choice for some reason. I wasn't always this way, but the longer I follow this path - the more I seem to feel strongly about this. I don't fit any of the usual pigeon hole hs-ing labels as far as methods or styles. But this is the one way I can describe my curriculum - a Catholic Centered Curriculum.
I want my children so immersed in their faith, that anything contrary to it, seems odd and out of sorts to them. To the point, that even when they can't pin-point why - they just get that gut feeling.
Does anyone else have this perspective?
Does anyone else try to have a Catholic Centered Curriculum?
Thoughts? Opinions? even better - experiences?
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Nina Murphy
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I totally agree...this is what I hunger for as well. Especially since they don't have the Catholic culture coming from any other direction in their lives, but solely from us. I want them to love their extended family, but I want them also, like you said, to recognize what is contrary and feel that it is "not right".
Going with CHC or Seton will assure that those children and Mom are immersed in Catholicism. They are beautiful in that way. I have always chosen certain workbooks from those publishers to add to the mix for that very reason. I suggest highly the Seton Reading Comprehension program. It is really an amazing course on the Bible, the Saints...and miracles...and apparitions....and some deep theology (in the upper grades). Right now I am having my 3rd grader, 5th grader, and 7th grader do those workbooks and then we discuss (I hope). I pray they absorb the beauty there.
Of course, there is Catholic Mosaic and all of the wonderful reprinted Catholic Gems like Treasure Box and Angel Food for Boys and Girls. I try to make sure we are reading from a good "holy book" daily or at least weekly.
Morning prayers and Family Rosary will bookend your day as given to God and Our Lady...they are crucial if we do nothing else. Some days, that's it for us. 
Following the Liturgical Year is such a gift if you have that luxury. We used to go to Mass more often and talk about the Saint of the day (and using those cute little stickers for the calendar) and nothing seemed to keep things centered than that, of course. If you get your children "addicted" to receiving Jesus and the graces...they will not want to leave him when they are older. It will just feel wrong. They will "miss" Him. So: a good argument in favor of frequent reception of Jesus in Holy Communion/Mass.
Also, this is just me personally...but I think having a home environment with pictures, statues, crucifixes, scripture verses permeates their consciousnesses in such a way that they feel at "odds" when they are in domiciles or establishments that are purposely absent of the sacred, and lack that Catholic spirit. They will hunger and thirst for it. (Well, at least I do.)
May God bless you in your efforts. I have found it harder and harder as I have been more and more overwhelmed and preoccupied, and as they have aged to keep the secular out. (We live in a big city with lots of Starbucks, theaters, Borders, restaurants, stores, etc. on every single corner----all just empty, empty spiritually.) But I still make that effort to keep things as reverent and Catholic as is within my limited capabilities. I am certainly teaching them to be pro-life! 
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Rachel May
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My approach has been to make faith a gentle constant in our lives. My measure of it going over the top is my husband, who is not Catholic, but has a high tolerence for Catholicism. If he starts to think we are being a bit fanatical, he lets me know in some way, and I rein it in. We never have the problem of doing too little.
My materials are mostly MODG, so they are not poderously Catholic, but they do support our faith. The word "stable" is illustated by a nativity scene, but not every word is tied back to religion, for example. I do try to make Holy Days of Obligation and some feasts extra special with parties or some interesting faith inspired adventure. We use picture books of any sort to tie to lessons of faith, like our current Fruits of the Spirit study. We attend daily mass at least once a week, we go to Confession frequently, we occasionally go to Adoration or pray the Rosary together.
While I like the idea of our children being so immersed in their faith that they recognize "other", I worry about smothering them and making them resentful and defiant. Or as our priest said at Mass a few weeks ago (paraphrasing St. Paul), we give infants breastmilk, not tablefood, and we must do the same spiritually. So, I try to give them the best and most basic pieces of Catholicism first. As they grow we add a diversity to their diet, but I try not to overfeed. And where they are spiritually is not where I am; I am careful to respect that.
My kids are still young so things may change.
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Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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JennyMaine
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Martha, this is a great post.
I've been feeling lately that I don't fit into one certain mold. I think if I had to define myself, I'd say I'm eclectic and using Catholic materials.
I've often wondered how many Catholic homeschoolers are simply eclectic. In other words, not using all the materials from a specific supplier, such as Seton, CHC, MODG, etc. But still using all Catholci materials. I think I've come to the realization that I'll be picking and choosing various Catholic items from hither and yon and just using them to "do the next thing." I seem to function better that way than with daily lesson plans, and my children are still young enough that I don't feel the need for grades & a transcript (yet).
I love the varied methods available to us as homeschoolers. I've studied them all during the past 6 years and tried a few out. None of them call out to me, if you know what I mean! lol Also, I'm a revert to the faith, and still have quite a weakness for Protestant materials. I tend to look back at them and think, "Oh, that one sounded like so much fun. Why don't we have something like that as Catholics?" But if I try to use any of those materials, they leave me feeling empty. I miss having the faith woven throughout all subjects.
I think this is hard for me, because of the splintering in homeschooling groups. People tend to branch off under the umbrella of a certain style or method or philosophy of homeschooling. What if you don't really fit into any of those holes?
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Martha
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Rachel May wrote:
My approach has been to make faith a gentle constant in our lives. My measure of it going over the top is my husband, who is not Catholic, but has a high tolerence for Catholicism. If he starts to think we are being a bit fanatical, he lets me know in some way, and I rein it in. We never have the problem of doing too little.
My materials are mostly MODG, so they are not poderously Catholic, but they do support our faith.
...
While I like the idea of our children being so immersed in their faith that they recognize "other", I worry about smothering them and making them resentful and defiant. Or as our priest said at Mass a few weeks ago (paraphrasing St. Paul), we give infants breastmilk, not tablefood, and we must do the same spiritually. So, I try to give them the best and most basic pieces of Catholicism first. As they grow we add a diversity to their diet, but I try not to overfeed. And where they are spiritually is not where I am; I am careful to respect that. |
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Maybe I'm confused or just from a different perspective...
My dh is also a non-catholic, but very supportive. However, I'm blessed we've not had him give such an attitude towards anything .. yet. I don't know that it's possible to "go over the top" or be "ponderously" Catholic. There are certainly various degrees of involvment for everyone, but I don't think anyone can be too Catholic? 
I would have taken the bf-ing vs tablefood in a completely different light! My babies are exclusively breastfed because that is the healthiest thing for a young life. Therefore I would exclusively offer only Catholic materials to my young children because I feel it's healthiest for their young souls and minds. As they grow and develop, the catholic materials offered would become "meatier" to accomodate their growing appetite and nutritional needs.
I always find this perspective interesting because it nearly exclusive to Catholics. It is very rare for me to meet a protestant who is worried about seeming too christian or over-exposing their children to their faith. 
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Martha
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JennyMaine wrote:
I've been feeling lately that I don't fit into one certain mold. I think if I had to define myself, I'd say I'm eclectic and using Catholic materials.
I've often wondered how many Catholic homeschoolers are simply eclectic. In other words, not using all the materials from a specific supplier, such as Seton, CHC, MODG, etc. But still using all Catholci materials.
I miss having the faith woven throughout all subjects.
I think this is hard for me, because of the splintering in homeschooling groups. People tend to branch off under the umbrella of a certain style or method or philosophy of homeschooling. What if you don't really fit into any of those holes?
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This is very much how we do things. Catholic eclectic. Almostall my materials at this point are catholic. But I don't buy from any 1 supplier and I don't neccessarily use them the way the supplier suggests.
And it is difficult to fit in those pigeon holes! 
There are some subjects I do CM style, some I do traditional, some I unschool, unit studies, literature studies, and some classical methods in there too. Then there's tweaking various methods to suit either my teaching needs or a certain dc's learning needs. The only thing they have in common is the Catholic faith is woven through almost all of them to some degree.
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Kelly
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[/QUOTE}
I always find this perspective interesting because it nearly exclusive to Catholics. It is very rare for me to meet a protestant who is worried about seeming too christian or over-exposing their children to their faith. [/QUOTE]
I never thought of that, but you're probably right. ALthough, I would add to that that the problem is "exclusive to Catholic SITUATIONS because there are plenty of Protestants (most of them in my extended family ) who worry about Catholics who are 'too Catholic'!" Like Rachel, and Martha, my dh is non-Catholic---a lapsed Catholic---his family is lapsed with a capital "L", and my manifold brothers and sisters are card-carrying Protestants. I empathize with Rachel in getting those subtle signs that one's Catholicism has somehow stretched beyond their "comfort zone"---sometimes the signs aren't so subtle either  ---sometimes dh will simply put his foot down and say he won't do thus-and-such---or my brothers and sisters will make unkind comments about "Boston priests" or whatever...still, they love us and support us in general, and I know, when the chips are down, that they are there! In the meantime, we grope our way along, seeking to create a loving Catholic atmosphere that will speak to our children as well as our dh'es and extended family. For example, my dh has a very stressful job. When he comes home in the evening, he NEEDS a quiet, peaceful home, table set, dinner on the table (hopefully!). If we were out going to daily Mass at this time (which is unfortunately about the best time for us), then coming home in a whirlwind of chaos, the poor guy would ultimately crack. That's just how it is, so we, all of us, seek that Catholic balance. I don't see it as being too little or too much Catholic, but a balance. Like all the religious orders, we each have our distinct apostolates, our "charisms"!
Beyond the family arena, many of us, like Nina, are surrounded by commercial values, secular society, anti-Catholic sentiments that go beyond being non-supportive to being downright aggressive (we are in the Bible Belt, surrounded by Chick Tracts!). I guess we're all struggling to find our niche, to evangelize by example and by word. That's one of the great things about this board, that we can tap into the experiences and Catholicity here, whatever our circumstances, and get "recharged".
One of the things that kept me from homeschooling, at the outset, was my concern that we couldn't create an authentic Catholic atmosphere for my family. For some wierd reason, I thought you had to go to a Catholic school for that. Boy, was *I* wrong on that one! Once I figured things out, I tackled the project of Making Our Home Catholic, which of course, included Making Our Home School Catholic. While we don't use exclusively Catholic materials, I DO try to "Catholicize" everything, and avoid materials (and resource suppliers) who are anti-Catholic. The spine of our literature is great Catholic-and catholic- literature: reading that which is good and beautiful and true. We may study other languages individually, but we all take Latin. We follow the Liturgical Year and fold our non-Catholic family and friends into that (one of the things we do is put on an All Soul's Day party that is famous for drawing in the non-Catholics. One of my favorite memories is seeing our Assembly of God preacher neighbor help with the pinata, which was full of candy AND glow-in-the-dark rosaries!!! And having "fortune tellers" using saints cards to 'discern' the virtues of their 'clients' ) BTW A great resource for me for learning to follow the Liturgical Year has been "Thru the Year with the Von Trapp Family" and Mary Reed Newland's book, "The Year and Our Children". We are always pro-life. We try to lead by example by Mass attendance-when my non-Catholic family says things like "I think God will forgive you if you miss Mass", I just say, laughingly, well, "we're going, but we'll be sure and pray for you". We are deeply immersed in the horse world, which is notoriously non-Christian and commericalized-but guess whose barn is having a barn blessing, a crucifix and patron saint medals? While I never feel like things like this are enough (like Martha said, can you really be too Catholic?), I just keep trying to add in small things, and do, what I call, "stealth evangelization". Although we are nourished by our Catholic circle of great friends, by birth and by circumstance we are surrounded by non-Catholics, who I want to encourage toward the Catholic faith, not put off by SEEMING to be fanatical, even if we ARE .. Actually, when people I know say "Wow, you're homeschooling (along with the unspoken thought, 'she's a nut-case')" I usually say, "Yeah, we're religous fanatic homeschoolers"...somehow that always breaks the ice and opens things up to discussion, probably because we seem very UN-fanaticky!
Anyway, just a few random, rambly thoughts on this very thought-PROVOKING thread. Thanks for starting it!
Kelly in FL
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Kelly
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PS I forgot to add that, as we enter our 11th year of homeschooling, I see less and less distinction between Catholic Homeschooling and Catholic Home,regardless of our methodology!
Kelly in FL
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Taffy
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Thank you very much for your thoughts, Kelly. I find myself in a similar situation and really needed to hear your words this morning.
Thanks again! 
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Martha
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Kelly wrote:
| I never thought of that, but you're probably right. ALthough, I would add to that that the problem is "exclusive to Catholic SITUATIONS because there are plenty of Protestants (most of them in my extended family ) who worry about Catholics who are 'too Catholic'!" |
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Yes, that is certainly true and I would agree it is probably the motivator behind sush actions of many Catholics to "tone it down" - they are simply self-conscience or worried about the rejection of a loved one. Being the mother of 8, I am certainly accused often of being too religious!
Worst case in my home is dh will say something feels uncomfortable for him and why he feels that way, but he has no issue with me and the kids doing it. Even that doesn't happen too often. Christmas isn't as Catholicised as I'd like because he cherishes his own childhood traditions. Really though, this is the ONLY thing he has ever refused to budge on, so I don't think it worth the arguement. Besides I don't like christmas anyhow. Easter is my favorite celebration and he lets me go nuts over it!  (If I don't watch it - I'll easily spend double for easter than christmas! )
For *me* the result of being completely surrounded by non-catholic people/events is that I desperately crave the solace of surrounding myself and children in our faith as much as I can. Especially at home. Over the years this need has manifested itself in a more and more Catholic Centered Curriculum.
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lapazfarm
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OK, please don't throw tomatoes, this is just my perspective:
I think one CAN overdue the Catholic angle in homeschooling. I mean, for example, when teaching ABC's every letter of the alphabet does not have to be illustrated by a religious item. A can be for apple or Africa. It doesn't always have to be for angel or altar. There is a danger, as Rachel said, of alienating your children if we beat them over the head with it at every turn. Sure, throw in "B is for baptism", but also be sure to include "C is for cat". The most important thing is for our children to LOVE our faith, not to resent it because mom feels the need to bring it up at EVERY turn.
Now, I'm not saying anyone here does that, of course, but we should recognize that the danger is there and some children may be turned off to the faith because of mom's enthusiasm. I know it happened to my dh who left the church for many years because he felt it was being "pushed on him" for so long.
Just a thought.
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JennyMaine
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Theresa, I see where you're coming from. I think I come at it from the other end due to my own life experiences. Our family never missed Mass (unless you were vomiting, you were at Mass!). But there it ended. We were all public schooled, and attended CCD on Sundays. I never saw my parents prayer, read the bible, or live their faith in any way. I grew up thinking they were hypocrites. This experience was further capped by my brother's call to the priesthood. When he told my parents, at age 17, that he wanted to become a priest, my father was enraged that he would "throw his life away" on something so stupid. My brother joined the military instead. He is now Buddhist.
My sister is 41 and didn't know that Mary was ever-virgin (this is in spite of all those years of CCD!). I enlightened her about this a few months ago when it came up in conversation. My sister attends Mass every weekend.
I guess I'd rather teach my kids the truth at every possible moment and risk having them reject it because I beat them over the heads with it! That's better, IMHO, than marginalizing it. At least I'll know that I did all I could! Further, if I used many secular materials or Protestant ones, I would lose ground. I would slip into my parents pattern of being too busy to incorporate the faith into our everyday experiences. Frankly, when my daughter has to diagram a sentence about praying the family rosary, I'm not likely to skip it that night! When she reads a story about a family attending a pro-life rally, she wants to know if we can go, etc. But in the rush of getting through the average day, I could easily become an unrecognizable Catholic.
Anyone know what I mean?
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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Dawnie
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JennyMaine wrote:
| When he told my parents, at age 17, that he wanted to become a priest, my father was enraged that he would "throw his life away" on something so stupid. My brother joined the military instead. He is now Buddhist. |
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Jenny, what is it with young men joining the military and then becoming Buddhist?? My own brother became VERY interested in Buddhism shortly after joining the military, too. Although we didn't grow up in a Catholic home (I am a convert), our home was what I would call marginally Christian. We went to church most Sundays, but we never prayed together (besides Grace before meals) or read the Bible as a family.
But I digress. I was listening to EWTN radio not long ago and Fr. Pacwa mentioned that one of the things that influenced his vocation to the priesthood was receiving a Catholic education. He talked about how every subject was permeated with our Catholic faith and how being immersed in the faith helped him recognize that he had a vocation to the priesthood. That was inspiring for me to hear that.
Dawn
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Nina Murphy
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[QUOTE=JennyMaine] I think I come at it from the other end due to my own life experiences. [QUOTE]
Me, too.
[QUOTE]I guess I'd rather teach my kids the truth at every possible moment and risk having them reject it because I beat them over the heads with it! That's better, IMHO, than marginalizing it. At least I'll know that I did all I could! [QUOTE=Jenny Maine]
Beautifully put, IMHO.
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Nina Murphy
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Martha wrote:
| For *me* the result of being completely surrounded by non-catholic people/events is that I desperately crave the solace of surrounding myself and children in our faith as much as I can. Especially at home. Over the years this need has manifested itself in a more and more Catholic Centered Curriculum. |
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I relate well to this. I would say for me, I would not define the need so much manifested in a Catholic Centered Curriculum so much as a Catholic Centered *Life*
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Martha
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Theresa - I won't throw tomatoes! But I think maybe it's just a misunderstanding of what a Catholic Centered Curriculum looks like? I don't "brow-beat" them with it. It's just life as we know it. Or discussing life as we don't know it through a Catholic lense. We do discuss why other people do things differently for example.
Now JennyMaine brings up another valid point to contemplate: [quote/]I guess I'd rather teach my kids the truth at every possible moment and risk having them reject it because I beat them over the heads with it! That's better, IMHO, than marginalizing it. At least I'll know that I did all I could! Further, if I used many secular materials or Protestant ones, I would lose ground.[/quote]
I am a convert and see just where Jenny is coming from. Sometimes it is obscure. I've heard many mothers regret not doing enough, but I've not heard regrets over imparting too much faith!
I think many people join the Church (or leave) because they are desperately seeking Truth. (Which is why I get absolutly baffled when someone says they have to water it down or risk people turning away - that's what people come to the Church FOR! but THAT's a whole 'nother topic! )
In Jenny's case the truth was there for the taking, but not sought or lived. In my case, there was nothing. Everything was relative - therefore nothing was true. Maybe in Theresa's experience, she's seen examples of partial truth enforced (rather than taught & lived) with an iron fist - "brow-beating". Mercy and compassion for the growing soul should be a part of the "curriculum" too. I grew up calling this "preacher's son syndrome". Children do need to *grow* in their faith - we can't force it in them.
Now the ABC's example... I wouldn't use alter b/c it's not a good auditory example of short or long /a/. Angel I would use right along with apple and Africa.
Okay sorry if this doesn't make sense or is spelling incoherently... trying to feed Bridget and dh is pulling dinner out of the oven - so I had to make this quick.
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Nina Murphy
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Martha,
I am inspired by the example of your family. Is it too personal for me to ask (and if it is, please just tell me so, I won't mind ) if your husband is a practicing religious Protestant (or comes from a religious formation)? I ask because he is obviously open to life and living a very self-sacrificing heroic lifestyle. I once had a very holy priest (Maria knows him--- Father Edward Warren!) say: "It is so, so hard for us who HAVE the sacraments (to do what's right); think how hard it must be for those who DON'T." I am impressed by his fidelity to the Church's teachings which is not easy for men nowadays supporting a large family on one income......
God bless all of you, your prolific and beautiful family !!!
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~~Nina
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Martha
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Nina Murphy wrote:
I am inspired by the example of your family. Is it too personal for me to ask (and if it is, please just tell me so, I won't mind ) if your husband is a practicing religious Protestant (or comes from a religious formation)?
Nope. He's an only child from what I half-jokingly refer to as death-bed-believers of the strict sorta-baptist kind. (When religion is mentioned, that's what they say they are - baptist.) No church unless there's a death in the family, no praying unless someone is dying, but don't "believe in" dancing or having a beer. No kidding. I've known him for 15 years and I've never seen his parents even hold hands. Somthing which I just cannot get over being amazed by!  I've been looking for it too... they are an enigma to us both.
[quote/]I ask because he is obviously open to life and living a very self-sacrificing heroic lifestyle. I once had a very holy priest (Maria knows him--- Father Edward Warren!) say: "It is so, so hard for us who HAVE the sacraments (to do what's right); think how hard it must be for those who DON'T." I am impressed by his fidelity to the Church's teachings which is not easy for men nowadays supporting a large family on one income......
God bless all of you, your prolific and beautiful family !!! |
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awww *blush**blush* Don't be so impressed. For him, it isn't so much religion as it is loving me in general and a strong belief in marriage. As long as he sees that what the church teaches is good for our family - he is tolorant, if not always accepting.
And now I have to get off here and discuss the issues he does have with It as this thread as spark a conversation.
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Martha
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TracyQ
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Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
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Posts: 1323
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| Posted: Sept 24 2006 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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This is our 12th year of homeschooling. I'd say that our *life* is Catholic centered, so our homeschool too is Catholic Centered as well.
The curriculum we choose is not chosen with *Catholic* as the first criteria. It's based on wherever the discernment process through the Holy Spirit leads me. Sometimes that's curriculum that may be from a Catholic company, and may be Catholic based, and sometimes, not. We're defintely very eclectic, and the common thread for our philospophy for learning is *literature based*. The common thread for our life is our Precious Faith, with the goal being that it permeates all we do, including our learning together as a family (a.k.a. homeschooling ).
Often, if the Lord chooses something for us to use, we bring in our Precious Faith at every opporunity that we find it appropriate, necessary, and important to do so, and that happens often.
For us, it's been good to follow the Lord's will for our family through prayer first, and to choose carefully through discernment, because when I do, it's always a blessing, and when I don't, we struggle.
And if I used *Catholic* as my first and possibly sole criteria, we would have missed out on some extremely wonderful and really good resources and curriculum that has blessed our family, and our Faith as well.
I could give many, many examples of this, but it'd be way too long after 12 years of homeschooling, but this year is is no different. We are using an eclectic mix of many wonderful resources, many of which are not specifically Catholic, but which our Catholic Faith is brought in, both naturally and purposefully by me, because no matter what the Lord leads us to use every year, we always want it be pleasing to Him, and to glorify Him as we learn about, and live our Catholic Faith together as a family.
There are always so many perspectives when this topic comes up in a thread. I think every family is so different, with different variables and situations. It's always so hard to speak so generally when the Lord leads us each so differently based on our own unique situations with our children, marriages, strength, and knowledge of faith, etc. But it always gives us much pause for thought, introspection, and prayer that we are each doing the Lord's will in every part of our life, including our beautiful homeschools.
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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JennyMaine
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Joined: July 26 2005
Location: Maine
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Posts: 209
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| Posted: Sept 25 2006 at 4:58am | IP Logged
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Tracy, your post helped me to hone in on yet another reason why I need the majority of our curriculum to be very Catholic in content.
Because of the unexpected turn my life took six years ago -- never dreamed I'd go through a divorce and be a working, single parent homeschooler! -- I am no longer always there to learn along side the kids and weave the faith into a curriculum that doesn't already include it. From working 4 days/wk to remembering to take out the trash, I'm shouldering it all (with the Lord's help, of course!  ) And ya know what? I'm tired! lol
I think that's why it is so important for me to be careful with what we use. I know myself, and I could easily slip into a place where we are using all secular or Protestant curriculum. I might tell myself that I'll weave in Catholicism, but I won't really find the time to do it. I need a curriculum that takes care of that for me, so that I'm achieving two goals at once (ie, not only did Catherine learn alot about commas today, she also learned about a Marian apparition I've never heard of!). I also have the factor of having my mother watch my kids for the 20 hrs/wk I work. While she's great about supervising the kids while they do some independent work (handwriting, math, grammar, spelling), there's no way I'd use anything that would increase her workload. .. no way I'd ask her to actually teach. She is the ultimate blessing in my life, and I couldn't do this without her. It's enough for me that they are with her, doing their thing and that EWTN is always on at her house! Ease of use in that situation is important for us.
Now, if the majority of what I use has the faith specifically included (language arts, history, and a religion text), then I don't mind adding on a "bonus" that isn't from a Catholic perspective (an occasional unit study, literature study, etc.)
Thanks for listening while I clarified this for my own self! Things were much different back in the days when I was home full time. But God is so good, and if I work with the cross He's given me (not straining against that yoke!), we make progress. Speaking of which, it's 6 am and time to get those kids up and teach a few lessons before I head for work at 9:30! Have a great day, everyone!
__________________
--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Catholic Centered Curriculum
