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Tina
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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I am purchasing Catholic Mosaic to use this coming school year. I also plan to purchase some of the beautiful books to go with it. But I cannot afford to purchase them all at once. I hope to acquire them over the next few years, a little at a time. I plan to buy around 10 for this year and use the library (if they have them) for the rest.
My question is, in your opinion, what 10 would you choose? Should I choose the ones that the libraries don't usually carry? Or are there ones that children want read over and over, so it would be good to get those to keep? I'm just not sure. I'm familiar with some of the books, but I have trouble making decisions like this   so I'd really love your opinions on this.
Thanks so much!
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~Tina
mom of 3 girls and 1 little man
The Best of Times
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Paula in MN
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I borrowed all I could from our library, and bought the ones they didn't carry. Then I bought the ones we liked to borrow the most. Then I threw up my hands and decided to buy all of them.
If you are going to use the plans in CM, buy those books first. Many are listed as supplements to the actual plans.
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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graciefaith
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I bought CM last year but havent really used it. I plan to use it this year and to slowly buy the books.
Our old library only had a few titles. My girls love Our Lady of Guadalupe, Brigids Cloak, Christopher the Holy Giant and the Tale of Three Trees. We also enjoyed A Peek into my Church.
I included in my last purchase from Adoremus Books Angel in the Waters.
I would see what your library has and get those to look over and decide if you like it enough to purchase.
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Blessed wife and mom of 3 girls, Sept. '01, Dec. '02 and Oct. '07
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Waverley
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I agree with the other posters. I took the booklist, found out which of the books my library had, looked at the remaining books online and then I purchased the books I couldn't get from the library based on which months I had the fewest books available.
I also keep the booklist in my purse or car so that if I'm out at a garage sale, Goodwill, bookstore etc and see books on sale, I can check to see if they are Mosaic books.
We have loved our Catholic Mosaic. It is such an easy, simple way to teach the children. Although I frequently get tempted to get carried away with extra activities for a book, I have found that our most successful CM experiences have been when we've just used the activities listed in CM.
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JennGM
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Tina, we still haven't read or own all the books. I add different titles gradually. Some of my decision making process:
1) What is the age and gender of the child to read the books? Choose appropriately. "Petook" was over his head for a while. St. Joan of Arc, even though it was about a girl, it was a girl soldier, so that was attractive to him.
2) Which feasts are usually marked in our household (interest, solemnity, nameday, seasonal)? Would this book be a great addition to our celebration or learning about this feast or saint? Our first years I tended to pick a season ahead a book or two on a saint on the General Roman Calendar or liturgical season theme. I just now got "Brigid's Cloak" and "Our Lady of Altagracia". We like both of them, but I was trying to stick to the main feasts that are celebrated in the liturgy.
3) I reflect on my family's rhythms and patterns. Are there times of the year where adding extra books or activities isn't going to happen (traveling, outside activities?) And when are the seasons when I want more books to illustrate and flesh out the Liturgical Year?
4) What are our favorite authors and illustrators? We love Tomie dePaola, so even though most of his books are at the library, we wanted a copy of our own. Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter -- we want seasonal books to revisit every year. And Tomie's books do double duty for Elizabeth's Advent and Christmas Unit Study.
And I haven't done much of the activities in CM. If I get the reading in, that's a big check in the box.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 2:42pm | IP Logged
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BTW, Ignatius is running a sale on In the Midst of Chaos, Peace by Sister Wendy Beckett and scissored paper cuttings of Dan Paulos and Sister Mary Jean Dorcy.
This is one on The Catholic Mosaic Booklist.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Cay Gibson
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Everyone has given great advice, Tina.
I encourage you to first take the list and check with your librarian. See what your library has first.
Then I suggest focusing on the next two-three months coming up. That way you are not consumed with frantically trying to purchase and plan for several months down the road thus allowing the possibility of the book and your motivation to sit and stagnate on a shelf.
Sister Anne's Hands for August is a beautiful book. Worth buying if your library doesn't have it. I used it with my 4th grade CCD class this past year and you could have heard a pin drop. And they loved making their hand-mosaics.
Any books on Mother Teresa are worth checking into now because her birthday was at the end of August and the anniversary of her death is at the beginning of September. Lots of time to spend on this great saint.
Peter Claver by Julia Burango on Sept. 9th is probably not offered in public libraries. You'd be lucky to find it. So I would check that one on my "to purchase" list.
The Tale of Three Trees should be on most library bookshelves. If not, request it.
St. Jerome and the Lion might or might not be at your library. It's written by a well-respected children's author (Margaret Hodges) and that makes it possibly a library-find.
For October, most libraries will have Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who!" (the book, not the movie  ), but probably not Regina Doman's "Angel in the Waters". That one is beautiful, affordable and worth purchasing.
Also in October is the Feast of St. Francis. My library abounds with possibilities on this saint. Take a day to scan the library shelves, set stuffed animals on your literary display table, and bask in studying animals that week. Go to the zoo! Easy as that. 
That should get you started. Then you might want to take a breather before going into the holiday months.
CM can last through the rest of your children's educational years. You don't have to read (or buy) all the books this year.
Pace yourself and you'll enjoy it that much more. And I do hope you enjoy it immensely.
Let us know how it goes.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
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Tina
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| Posted: July 30 2008 at 10:37pm | IP Logged
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This is the first chance I've had to check back in here today. I just want to thank you all for your feedback. Naturally, when I saw the CM booklist, I just wanted to be greedy and buy them all  . But like I said, we just can't afford it.
As most of you suggested, I will definitely check with our library to see what they carry. I know they have at least some of these stories, because we've borrowed them before . I also want to see how many they keep in stock, so I know if I need to reserve them way in advance.
Waverley~ I like the idea of keeping a copy of the booklist with me for when we come across library book sales or stop by our local used book store.
Jenn~ I will have to give this more thought. My children are ages 2 to 12, so most of the books are bound to suit somebody  . But I hadn't thought about looking at the calendar in terms of "Will we actually have time to focus on this book and the activities at that time?". I will keep that in mind. Oh, and thanks for the heads up about the sale. That is quite a savings! I'm thinking of getting that one for my mom, too, for Christmas!
Cay~ I'm happy to see your recommendations. I actually already own a couple of the books you mentioned and am very pleased with them. It will be really great when we have the CM book to pull ideas from! And I'm taking your advice on starting with the upcoming months, first. After all, once we get to Advent, I could always start hinting to my dh for a bookstore giftcard as a Christmas present .
I am sure we will love CM! We already have Christmas Mosaic and used it last Advent and Christmas. My girls LOVED it. They even said that was their most enjoyable part of this past school year.
Thanks again to all of you for your advice! I can't wait to get started!
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~Tina
mom of 3 girls and 1 little man
The Best of Times
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Catholic Mosaic-Best Books to Purchase
