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lovebeingamom
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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 2:20pm | IP Logged Quote lovebeingamom

I came across a list of suggested resources for Living the Liturgical Year with littles and I wsa wondering if anyone has read/used these books and what your thoughts were on them. I would like some feedback before I pull the trigger and purchase any. Thanks!

Catholic Mosaic (Cay Gibson)

Advent, Christmas and Epiphany in the Domestic Church (Catherine and Peter Fournier)

Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church (Catherine and Peter Fournier)

Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church (Catherine and Peter Fournier)

Celebrating the Church Year with Young Children (Joan Halmo)


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VanessaVH
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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 2:50pm | IP Logged Quote VanessaVH

The only one I have seen (and do own) is the Catholic Mosaic. I enjoy it, and am working to build my library from it, I have found that the activities and questions are all to much for my boys (all 5 and under) and a few of the books have either not interested them, or taken several days to get through (like the one on Pope Benedict) But overall it is a great resource that I am sure we will grow into as they get older. :-)

The Tomie de Paola Advent study, from the 4 Real Learning book, was a great hit this year though, maybe would be worth checking into.

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stellamaris
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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 2:51pm | IP Logged Quote stellamaris

Have all of them, and I love Catholic Mosaic and really like the Fournier books. I think I gave away the book by Joan Halmo, at least I never seem to use it, so I'm guessing it didn't fit the need here. But, really, for little ones I'd start with all of the fantastic liturgical year threads right here at 4Real for free! They are a tremendous resource.

If your children are over 6, you might enjoy Catholic Mosaic. My children LOVE the Mosaic books. Unfortunately, many of these books are unavailable at smaller libraries and are OOP, but if you have inter-library loan you could get (most of) them.

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lovebeingamom
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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 5:26pm | IP Logged Quote lovebeingamom

Thanks for the feedback ladies ... it is greatly appreciated!!!   

stellamaris wrote:
But, really, for little ones I'd start with all of the fantastic liturgical year threads right here at 4Real for free! They are a tremendous resource.


Any suggestions on where to to start searching ?????    
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MaryM
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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 5:29pm | IP Logged Quote MaryM

lovebeingamom wrote:
stellamaris wrote:
But, really, for little ones I'd start with all of the fantastic liturgical year threads right here at 4Real for free! They are a tremendous resource.


Any suggestions on where to to start searching ?????    


The best place to start is a thread that we have dedicated to this topic. It links each month and season to the various threads. It is in the "stickies" at the top of the Domestic Church forum so is always easy to find.

Liturgical Year Planning Threads

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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 5:31pm | IP Logged Quote stellamaris

You can start by going to the main forums page(by clicking on 4Real Forums above this thread) and in the Domestic Church thread near the topic you will see a "sticky" topic entitled "Liturgical Year Planning Threads". I'd start there!

You can also search for a saint's name or a specific liturgical season/day using the 4Real search option.

Have fun! Browsing the liturgical threads has got to be my favorite thing to do on 4Real!

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Cay Gibson
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Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 9:48pm | IP Logged Quote Cay Gibson

Hillside Education provides a free PDF of the Catholic Mosaic booklist here:
Catholic Mosaic booklist

and, if you scroll down, you'll see 4 free study guides to use in time for Easter.

Enjoy!

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MaryM
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Posted: Feb 16 2011 at 1:43am | IP Logged Quote MaryM

lovebeingamom, another FAQ thread we have here that I think would be very helpful to you is this one. We have compiled all the threads which talk about liturgical year resources and recommendations by title. Cutting and pasting from that thread, here is Jenn's summary of Celebrating the Church Year with Young Children which she recommends in her top 5.
JennGM wrote:
Celebrating the Church Year With Young Children by Joan Halmo is one of my newer favorites. I have some reservations as far as the music and other source suggestions, but I really, really agree with her focus on the Liturgical Year seasons, as that echoes the Church's focus. I'm not saying don't celebrate saints days, but they are the "supporting cast" as it were, and Easter is the focus, and the feasts that surround the Paschal mysteries should be in the forefront. She wrote this book after being introduced to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, so the focus on the liturgical year presented to young children echoes CoGS.


I also wanted to add thoughts regarding your original question about feedback on the particualr books. I did want to say that they are different from each other in style and focus. The Fournier books are all very similar to each other though each covers a different liturgical season. They have a pretty thorough explanation of each feast day or season they cover, with historical background and traditions and symbols. Then they include recipes, activities or craft suggestions to celebrate in the family. They also have lots of templates you can use for the crafts and activities. So that is their focus and presentation style.

Catholic Mosaic takes the feast days and seasons and focuses on a picture book. You read that book to give you the background, traditions or beliefs associated with it as they are presented in the book. So for each book it recommends, it lists the feast to go with it, then includes a list of discussion questions and some activities to go along - like copywork and enrichment activities (though most don't have a lot of detail - they are suggestions for you to flesh out in ways that work for your family). It is more like a mini unit on the book than an overview of the feast or season.

Each has its benefits for an approach to celebrate and learn about the liturgical year but as they are different I find it hard to suggest one over the other. It really depends on what kind of approach you are looking for at this time. I hope that helps.



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JennGM
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Posted: Feb 16 2011 at 8:30am | IP Logged Quote JennGM

Enjoying all the responses. Additional thoughts:

MaryM wrote:
Each has its benefits for an approach to celebrate and learn about the liturgical year but as they are different I find it hard to suggest one over the other. It really depends on what kind of approach you are looking for at this time. I hope that helps.


I totally agree! It all depends so much on what aspects you want to focus on living the Liturgical year. And I find that I vary my approaches so that all are helpful.

I really liked Joan Halmo, but not for her activities as much as the richness of understanding the liturgical year, teaching it to children (with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in mind). I reach for this book usually twice a year, before Advent and before Lent.

If you're looking for solid, traditional, sometimes crafty ideas Fournier books are extremely helpful. Browse their site to get a flavor of their writing and ideas. I have all the books, but rarely pull them out.

I have used Catholic Mosaic's booklist, but I haven't used the text much.

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lovebeingamom
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Posted: Feb 16 2011 at 1:07pm | IP Logged Quote lovebeingamom

MaryM wrote:
lovebeingamom wrote:
stellamaris wrote:
But, really, for little ones I'd start with all of the fantastic liturgical year threads right here at 4Real for free! They are a tremendous resource.


Any suggestions on where to to start searching ?????    


The best place to start is a thread that we have dedicated to this topic. It links each month and season to the various threads. It is in the "stickies" at the top of the Domestic Church forum so is always easy to find.

Liturgical Year Planning Threads


Thanks
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lovebeingamom
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Posted: Feb 16 2011 at 1:13pm | IP Logged Quote lovebeingamom

MaryM wrote:
I also wanted to add thoughts regarding your original question about feedback on the particualr books. I did want to say that they are different from each other in style and focus. The Fournier books are all very similar to each other though each covers a different liturgical season. They have a pretty thorough explanation of each feast day or season they cover, with historical background and traditions and symbols. Then they include recipes, activities or craft suggestions to celebrate in the family. They also have lots of templates you can use for the crafts and activities. So that is their focus and presentation style.

Catholic Mosaic takes the feast days and seasons and focuses on a picture book. You read that book to give you the background, traditions or beliefs associated with it as they are presented in the book. So for each book it recommends, it lists the feast to go with it, then includes a list of discussion questions and some activities to go along - like copywork and enrichment activities (though most don't have a lot of detail - they are suggestions for you to flesh out in ways that work for your family). It is more like a mini unit on the book than an overview of the feast or season.

Each has its benefits for an approach to celebrate and learn about the liturgical year but as they are different I find it hard to suggest one over the other. It really depends on what kind of approach you are looking for at this time. I hope that helps.



Thank you so much for the awesome feedback on the books. I will definitely take it all into consideration when I decide which (if not all) to use.
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