St. Francis of Assisi Homeschool of PA part 2

Start of new semester brings us...

2011-01-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

...some catch-up to do. We seem to be behind in math and science. This week is the week to start buckling down and catching up in those areas.

We had a great Advent/ Christmas/ New Year. We miss those who now live with the Lord and those who live here on earth but are too far from us to visit.

Forgiving ourselves

2010-12-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

"If God has forgiven you your past, you have no right to continue clinging to it." -Alex Rebello

2010-12-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

love these demotivation posters at http://www.despair.com/

With firm resolve I promise to...

2010-12-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

+J.M.J+

1. Stop lying. Stop telling lies to everyone – no matter how irrelevant some lies seem. Stop lying to myself especially. Go to confession ASAP and then regularly (monthly) seek reconciliation. Attend Mass as often as possible.

2. Live what I believe and resolve to know God in the way I believe I am to know Him. Pray on my knees every day – a Rosary and Divine Mercy and some personal “chat” with Jesus. "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you."

3. Always be prepared to be a refuge for family and neighbors. Accept that my family and I have not done enough for God, family, neighbor, country, and world – IN THAT ORDER.

4. Accept the hard times to come. We all will have to pay for what has been done and will have to do with less. Loss of material things can be a good thing. Always make sure to tithe – God cannot be outdone in charity with those who with free will practice charity in His Holy Name.

5. Count my blessings and always find a blessing in what may first appear to be a curse…

LAUS DEO!

Mid-November Daybook

2010-11-21T10:37:00.000-08:00

November Daybook

Outside my window – the leaves are off the trees, the trampoline is full of children who have decided to sumo-wrestle, apparently. They have even stuffed their jackets with pillows to make themselves “fatter.”

I am listening to – the sounds of the wind dancing around the trunks and bare branches of the trees; a little girl’s giggles

I am wearing – whatever will keep me warm – sweats, sweater, socks, slippers

I am thankful for – everything God has blessed me with! Especially the fact that my voice is back! It is not yet 100%, but it is back after a 5-day hiatus…

I am thinking about – food storage, ‘brown envelope alerts’ (inside joke with a long-distance friend), algebra

I am reading – The Hunger Games (trilogy) – by Suzanne Collins and Sometimes a Light Surprises – by Jamie Langston Turner

From the kitchen – This season’s hosehold job is working on more cooking from scratch and food storage. I just printed out a couple of good basic recipes for tortillas – both wheat and corn.

In the learning house – I have been working a lot with Fratello Maggiore with algebraic concepts. We seem to have to concentrate a lot on distribution and order of operations. (Thank God he is home and not struggling in a classroom.) Fratello Piccolo seems to readily grasp the concepts and is doing pre-algebra in 6th grade.

Living the Liturgical Year – We are gearing up for the start of Advent. I look forward to decorating the house in purple next weekend. I also cannot wait to listen to new LCM CD’s of various topics

We are making – a household binder of homesteading/survival – it is a slow process and it looks as if it will fill up fast. This binder will include lists of supplies for a self-sustaining homestead, etc.

A few plans for the rest of the week – we are so excited to visit a friend of ours tomorrow – we will all learn together how to slaughter lamb and will end up with ½ a lamb for meals!

One of my favorite things – my hands wrapped around a mug of hot cocoa or coffee

My opinions of the news – YIKES! Prepare for the worst, but always hope and pray for the best – as it is His Holy Will.

LAUS DEO!

Beware of smilin' lions

2010-11-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

"When I was studying Arabic literature, I came across these words - ‘If you see the lion's canines exposed, don't think that the lion is smiling!’ We see it even in the dogs when they show their teeth. That is not the sign of friendship. You might say “Oh, but the dog is smiling!” He has something to tell us and today in our world you have many people who smile or who pretend to smile, pretend to be peacemakers, just to be lawful teachers, and yet we find so many writings which have misled the Christians, the members of the Church. There are so many justifications today in the modern world to dilute the teachings of Christ and of His Church. And this is the biggest danger that we face today: we try to justify unjust actions, to justify our sins, to justify our immoral behavior. Particularly to justify the suffering we inflict on the innocent."

~Bishop Macram Gassis - Diocese of El Obid, Sudan - Spoken at the EWTN homily on 11/19/2010

Please pray for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world!

So we have our patron saints for 2011!

2010-11-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

This year I was able to get Angela M. at Where Angels Blog to pray for our saints for 2011 liturgical year.

My patron saint is St. Peter!

Babbo bear – Andrew

Fratello Maggiore – Thomas Aquinas

Fratello Piccolo – John Neuman

Sorella Half-Pint – Veronica Guiliani

Thank you Angela!

November is All Souls Month

2010-11-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Merciful Father,

hear our prayer and console us.
As we renew our faith in Your Son,
whom You raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters
will share in His resurrection,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Heavenly Father, You sent Christ Jesus your Son to wash away the sins of all mankind through His perfect sacrifice, and you cleansed our departed brothers and sisters in the waters of baptism.
May His perfect sacrifice free them from the power of death and give them eternal life.
In your mercy, O Lord, grant them eternal rest,
and may perpetual light shine on them forever. + Amen.

***

Eternal Rest

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

Requiem Æternam

Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
Requiéscant in pace. Amen.

Point to ponder

2010-11-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred." ~Fr. Peter West

two very good quotes...

2010-08-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

When bad men combine, the good must associate: else they will fall, one by one... ~Edmund Burke, 1766

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Have a Happy 3rd Friday of Lent

2010-03-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

No burgers or steak for you today.

sigh
But there is always some delicious fish or vegetarian dish to anticipate here at our house.

My current favorite blog (from someone I do not know)

2010-02-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

CHEEKY PINK GIRL

She is Catholic,
she is human,
she is honest,
and
she can be a HOOT!

I truly appreciate her honest observations and her life struggles.

Hats off to you, Char!

How one family celebrates Lent

2010-02-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

We have been slowly discovering the beautiful traditions of our Faith. Sometimes, after learning about certain Traditions of the Catholic Church, we make our own home traditions in order to reflect a particular liturgical season.
Not many years ago, we thought of Lent as this “obligatatory time” to give up chocolate and go to the occasional fish fry. We had fallen into a pattern of taking home a parish bulletin laden with Lenten advice and simply laying it on a shelf never to be picked up again. Of course, we made sure to “get our confessions in” before Holy Week, but it was out of habit. When I was lucky enough to have Good Friday off from work, I used that day to shop to fill Easter baskets full of delicious treats and to perpetuate the “Bunny thing.” Lent was just this long period of meatless Fridays - not a hardship when you really like all things seafood - in February and March.

Something behind this pattern was “off” to us when we began to realize that Lent was meant to be something spiritual. We started to understand that “mortification of the body” (I.e. fasting and abstinance) was not a torture to be endured, but an opportunity to focus those energies on repentance and prayer. It also helps to put us in touch with those suffering on earth as we prepare to walk Christ’s Passion during Holy Week. As we realized the significance of Lent, we wondered why we were so willing to brush it off as unimportant. I was at a loss as to how to achieve that “atmosphere” of almsgiving, fasting, and prayer.

After some thought, our family discovered a way to decorate our home, our Domestic Church, in order to assist us in remaining presently in Lent. Finally, we unpack the same linens we used during Advent and drape our family altar, dining room table, and fireplace mantle in purple. We then place some candle holders that I had decorated with simple pictures of the Stations of the Cross on our mantle. We can now easily do our own Stations of the Cross as a family whenever we feel the urge. I also picked up some small unfinished wooden letters that spell out “Repent”, or “Pray” so that we are reminded of the reason for this particular season every time our eyes are drawn to the purple cloth.

This tradition of ours is supplemented with appropriate field trips, more EWTN programs for children/adults, Lighthouse Catholic Media-style CD’s by good, solid Catholic speakers, and quiet, seasonal music that does not become celebratory until Easter. We have found that Lent is a great time to have a retreat or to give even more of our time and talents to a community charity or to give a little more of ourselves at our parish. Of course, we still prepare for the family’s Easter traditions and we still bake a lot, but it has now been placed in its proper place in this Domestic Church and we praise God for that.

Busy day tomorrow

2010-02-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

I am getting tired just thinking about tomorrow. Apparently, we have a "Post March For Life 2010" meeting of the moms, then our first apologetics class, a break for lunch, and then I teach Latin class. We will be busy from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow at one families house (May God bless her abundantly for that alone! We are already asking for early sainthood for her...)

I was going to take the kids back to karate after quite a hiatus, but I think it can wait another week - a week I won't have three other major time-consuming things happening...

Some comments on home education

2010-02-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

“Anonymous” wrote to a groups of us fellow homeschoolers:
I know that our state law seems restrictive especially compared to many other states; in the long run, however, this might also prove a blessing, especially with homeschooling coming under fire in California. The parameters which are in place now might prove in the future to protect the right to homeschool in our state.

A compilation of our thoughts (written by a number of moms):

I just think we are too willing to give up too many of their personal liberties to people who don't know how to raise children better than we do. Do politicians (or professional educators, for that matter) really know what constitutes a proper education for your child more than you do?
One needs to remember that laws only punish law-abiding citizens. Lawbreakers by definition do not obey the law! We need to remember according to the Declaration of Independence we have inalienable rights (non-transferable, God-given), not 'privileges given by the State' (a premise of Socialism).
The problem with the PA law is that the government has taken over an area that God gave to the family. I know the verse, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's." AMEN - I believe all that the Bible says. However, I disagree with the state’s (and others’) fallible interpretation of that verse. God gave the responsibility of raising children to the family, not to the state. This law does not protect children, it only punishes the law-abiding parents in this state with more paperwork, expense, and it gives the State an avenue into the day-to-day activities in our homes. The 4th Amendment says that the State should have no assess to my private papers without a warrant and without probable cause that a crime has been committed. With our current law, we have to prove we are not guilty of a crime to continue home educating each year, even though the State has no probable cause that a crime has been committed. We are assumed guilty and we have to prove our innocence each year.
Our state operates under the assumption that parents do not have their children's best interests at heart. However, the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that the assumption is that parents do have their children's best interests at heart and laws should reflect that spirit.
The PA law is designed to control us, not protect us, and it certainly does not contribute to our children's success. Government oversight, as research by HSLDA and others cites, does not contribute to a student's educational success. It's foundation is flawed - they believe they know better than parents what is best for their own children.

Our children having us as parents and we parents having our individual children is no mistake Please don't think that children in schools are learning every day - they are all wishing to be out and learning the things that they actually WANT to learn.
______________________________________________

“Anonymous” wrote to a groups of us fellow homeschoolers: The other concern that we might overlook as we seek to diligently train our own children is that there are other family situations that are not necessarily the best.

A compilation of our thoughts (written by a number of moms):

The problem with the PA law is that the government has taken over an area that God gave to the family. God gave the responsibility of raising children to the family not to the state. Child abuse and neglect are already against the law. PA home schooling law does not keep those children who are being abused from the abuse of parents/guardians who would abuse their children regardless of their schooling situation!
I disagree with the foundation of your argument - I am not to determine which family situation is the best. I am to do God's Will in my life and for my family and, of course, to help those in need when I see a need. I am not to judge another family's situation as being better or worse than mine. Just because certain family situations are "not necessarily the best" does not mean they are abusive or wrong! Like was stated above - the oppressive state laws regarding home schooling does not prevent child abuse and nelgect. Just like churches' and other organizations' policies requiring "Child Protection" training does not keep abusers from abusing children - it just serves to protect the organization's rear end. No child abuser (whether a parent or stranger), a defined law breaker - see earlier comment, is going to choose to NOT abuse a child simply because they were required to take a course on protecting children from abuse. It is a completely illogic premise.

Life...normalized

2010-02-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

We are officially dig out from the Big Winter Storm of 2010 and only have a few minor things to work on due to our experience of being powerless, waterless, and stranded. Things are ~~normal~~ back-to-baseline - which is not normal to others, but normal to us :-)

I cantored last evening's mass and this morning's choir mass. I am breaking out in song once again now that my vocal cords have thawed - LOL

PapPap and Nanna took Sorella Half-Pint to her montessori-based catechism this morning. She was very excited to see Fr. P and her friends again...

Babbo Bear took Fratello Maggiore and Fratello Piccolo to 11:30 am Mass where the boys served at the altar.

Various classes are still being canceled due to a lack of parking spaces at various homes, but we expect that to be fixed in short order.

I am dreaming daily of green grass and warm air on my skin! Who is with me???

Green police

2010-02-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

You know, I thought the Super Bowl Ad for the car (can't recall the brand - it was so memorable) that satired "Green Police". Well, a city in MA seems to be full of ~~freaks~~ activists and concerned citizens that are ~~out of their looney minds~~ apparently serious about forcing "greenness" on its residents. SERIOUSLY? Seriously. Chalk another one up to the religion of Environmentalism and worship at the altar of All Things Green...
Lookin' for a new roll of duct tape.

Busy reading and found a few "gems"

2010-02-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

In a satirical piece, Acts of the Apostasy blogger writes about the Supernatural Bowl and I find myself definitely on the side of the Saints - not the Mules!

My exact thoughts on altar servers and footwear can be found here written by CheekyPinkGirl who considers herself an opinionated Catholic. - Go girl! Babbo Bear actually said something to our parish priest about an older altar server who was in soccer shoes (and pulling her feet in and out of said 'shoes') and chewing gum while serving on the altar!

I, too, have a problem with altar girlz since the Catholic Church is NOT a democracy and - news flash, folks - males and females are different whether you want to admit it or not. This is not 'It's about me, it's about my rights, it's about equality - and those who disagree with me are either malicious or bad (or probably both...)' - it is not about us as individuals, it is about service to God. Many would-be priests are being brushed aside under the pretense of 'equality.' Sorry if this offends, but so be it. I am a modern, logical, reasonable, 100% feminine child of God- not a feminist (and I thank Him every day for that!).

And why, oh why, am I hearing more and more about crappy confessions instead of wonderful, soul-cleansing ones? Why have I had to look elsewhere (outside my own parish) to find a good confessor? Char is right about this one - it is NOT a drive-through and each of us is the 'greatest of sinners' (to paraphrase a prayer in the Byzantine Rite) and we need good confessions to be the RULE, not the exception!

2010-02-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Mom and Dad, I want you to know

My young heart is beating, my eyes fill with tears,

I pray that your love will conquer your fears.

God knit me here, you are my lifeline,

Will you sing to me, sweet Mother of Mine?

If you do not want me, please give me away,

There are loving arms waiting that want me to stay.

You will think of me each day of your life,

And the doctor who tore me from you with his knife.

Why would you want us to suffer this pain?

If I'm lost forever, what would you gain?

My Daddy, Listen, can you hear my screams?

Help Me! I cry for you in my dreams.

A farewell lullabye, please sing to me, Dad,

The pain is so great and I am so sad.

My heart aches to see, to feel and to touch

The Mom and Dad who I love so much.

Will I never run, or sing, or play,

Or hear the kind things that mothers say?

I would love to see Grandmom and play with toys,

And hug my Daddy like most girls and boys.

To money and things my parents are drawn,

But when their arms long to hold me, I will be gone.

The tears of the Angels flood Heaven today

As I join fifty million souls who perished this way.

We are crying our hearts out and trembling with fears,

But ours screams for mercy fall on deaf ears.

Does anyone out there have compassion for me?

When you were sown in her womb, your mom let you be.

I am being tortured in this home that I know,

Will you sing me a lullabye before I go?

A stranger prays and sings on the street

For all the children they never will meet.

Someday in Heaven, I'll find you to say;

Thank you for praying and singing that day.

As I lay there dying, I saw you weep,

With a sweet lullabye you sang me to sleep.

The Angels will carry me home when I cry

With millions of infants who pray in the sky

For the souls of the parents they yearned to kiss

And never will know the babies they'll miss.

My Savior awaits my arrival today,

"Vengeance is Mine," I heard the Lord say.

Your soul, Mom and Dad, you have defiled.

Oh Beg for God's mercy for killing your child!

The Angels sing lullabyes at Heaven's door

And play with the Babies, our tears shed no more.

Catherine Walsh

God is most interested in what?

2010-02-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. (Rick Warren - author of A Purpose Driven Life)

Very true words - thank God He gave us the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Let it snow... AGAIN!

2010-02-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks as if we are not out of the woods yet. More snow is falling now. Forecast has us prepared for 8-12" more.
We are well-prepared for this next wave. Gas for generator, water for drinking/cooking, water for washing/force flushing toilet, milk, food, etc. We are ready for whatever falls on us through tomorrow night. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
I am still trying to figure out why people need rolls and rolls of tp for a few days of snow - do these people know something I do not? What does one do with dozens of rolls of tp - insulate the attic??

NOW and the Super Bowl Tebow ad...

2010-02-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

...are you seriously kidding me? SERIOUSLY? NOW (Nat'l Org of Women) needs to get real and perhaps tackle something actually serious like human trafficking, pedophilia, true suppression of women, the link between abortion and breast cancer... the list goes ON and ON and they are upset by Tebow fake-tackling his mother in a Super Bowl Ad?!!!!
(eyes to Heaven) - Lord, hear our prayers, poor sinners that we are.

I laugh at the absurdity.

I never did post our resources for the year

2010-02-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

Wow! We have just finished day 115 of our school year (in PA we are to "school" for 180 days - quite a joke to us veteran home educators since education occurs 24/7)

I realized that I never posted my list of resources for this year. These are our bread and butter after the Bible and the CCC...

Fratello Maggiore - gr 7

The Life of Grace - Faith and Life gr 7
Jesus, The Way, the Truth, the Life - Image of God gr 7
Lingua Mater
Latin
Life Science
Daily Grams Gr 7
PreAlgebra Demystified
Stories of the Saints III - CHC
My Catholic Speller, E - CHC
Christ and the Americas
Great Documents in U.S. History: Volume 1

Fratello Piccolo - gr 5

Credo: I Believe - Faith and Life gr 5
The Sacrament of Confirmation
Rare Catholic Stories and Poems- CHC
The King of the Golden City - Mother Mary Loyola
Jesus, the Catechism, and Me - Fr. Levis
Language Of God D
Latin
Life Science
Daily Grams Gr 5
Singapore Math 5
Stories of the Saints I - CHC
My Catholic Speller, C - CHC
From Sea to Shining Sea
Great Documents in U.S. History: Volume 1

Sorella Half-Pint - gr 1

How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
My Very First Catholic Speller - CHC
Singapore Math 1
Little Stories for Little Folks: Catholic Phonics Readers - CHC
Bob Books
Catholic Heritage Handwriting Series: Levels K and 1 - CHC

Morning has broken

2010-02-07T06:15:00.000-08:00

I sit here on generator-assisted computer time. Power company guarantees power to all customers by Friday, Feb 12 - that is 5 days away... We are stuck vehicle-wise, but have the necessities.

The sun is out and the thick, deep blanket of snow is beautiful. The dog is leaping through the snow. The kids are upstairs getting something for breakfast. Babbo Bear just awoke - he took the 1:30 - 3:30 am "furnace shift."

God is good.

We are warm and comfy. There is still coffee to drink. The kids are used to not getting much 'media' so they are not nearly as bored as many others may be with no power...

Big Snow of 2010 Daybook

2010-02-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

Outside my window - is over 2 feet of beautiful snow. The trees are bowing under the weight of it all and the air is cold and biting - but it is a sight to see! Early today it was as if God laid the softest quilt of white cloth over us!

I am hearing - the hum of our generator that is keeping our furnace's fans blowing the warm air from our wood burner. The clicking of the keyboard, and the ticking of the clock.

I am wearing - flannel pj's and slipper boots

I am thankful to God for - wood, coal, gas, water, and coffee! Of course, also for my wonderful family. Every family member is pulling his or her weight during this hardship.

I am thinking about - Latin class and the fact that it had to be canceled due to this power outage and lack of parking

Our learning corner - HalfPint is learning to read. She is doing beautifully and really taking off with it. She can read Green Eggs and Ham with hardly a challenge...

Around the house - we are currently just trying to keep the house warm during this power outage for all 7 humans, 3 dogs, and nearly 30 birds. The adults of the house have to take 2-hour shifts during the night with the wood/coal burner because there is no electric "emergency backup" to kick in if the fire dies out.

One of my favorite things - besides fresh, strong, hot coffee??? Ummm - snuggling between flannel sheets and sinking my head into my pillow and having my nightly chat with Mother Mary and her Amazing, Awesome Son!

I am reading - Imitation of Christ and A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror ~ Larry Schweikart (Author), Michael Patrick Allen (Author)

My thoughts - Mr. Gore MUST be frozen somewhere and shocked at the way climate change is happening - I know God made this earth to be wonderfully self-healing and He knows just what He is doing... I am a good steward of the land where I live, but I refuse to join the new 'religion' of environmentalism.

My own devotional project

2009-09-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have taken up a devotional project of my own. Feel free to join me.

I want to randomly open the Bible to a passage and read it. *The key is to read as small a passage as possible and reflect on it.* Then I write a letter to Jesus for 10-15 minutes (almost like free association) and reflect on my letter. Then if a theme speaks to me that I need to blog about, I will write about it here.

Today's Bible reading is: Acts 7: 49-60

Today's thoughts from my writing:
St. Stephen is speaking TRUTH and the result of his testimony is his martyrdom. It makes me more determined that my calling is to speak the TRUTH in all things as well. This takes the gift of FORTITUDE, doesn't it?

First Day of the 2009-2010 School Year

2009-08-31T06:14:00.000-07:00

So I sit here today in our newly reorganized library classroom and we have already done the following:
(This is also how I hope every day will begin.)

-Prayer and Devotions
-Saint of the Day
-5 minute journal time (today's question: "Write about what you will do today to demonstrate the virtues of St Aidan - joyful kindness in helping others.")
-Familiarizing the boys with their weekly planners. (we are using the Days of Faith Student Planner and Assignment Book from Pflaum Publishing Group.)
-Daily GRAMS Lesson 1-5
-Week 1 Spelling Lesson
-Math drill of some type
-Latin review
-Music practice

School year starts tomorrow

2009-08-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

Our school year starts tomorrow. I am starting slowly with the subjects that are "week number dependent." Spelling is one such subject.

I have all three at the following (very loose) grade levels:
1st
5th
7th

I'll post the curricula and how the first day went later.

May Our Blessed Mother and Our Lord watch over us daily...

Free Personal signatures - cool!

2009-08-18T12:41:00.001-07:00

TEXTAREA_ID

New beginning

2009-08-18T12:14:00.001-07:00

Since I have not found my original passwords, etc to the old blog. I started another one.