by Ken Clark | Back in the golden age of Hollywood, major studios made religious movies that actually praised God and religion. Charleton Heston alone seems to have played most of the Apostles and Prophets. Who can forget his roles as Moses in The Ten Commandments or John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told, two excellent religious movies.
Read More »‘The Sanctuary’ in Pre-Production – Navis Pictures Making New Movie
Jim Morlino from Navis Pictures, Director of EWTN favorites 'The War of the Vendee' and 'St Bernadette of Lourdes', is helming a new film to be completed by December 2014. "The Sanctuary" is an exciting and poignant, feature-length drama set in 1949 about a group of plucky children who escape the "confines" of their orphanage - only to find themselves lost in a forest of confusion and unrest.
Read More »De-Cluttering the Bedroom and Bathroom – Simple Spring Cleaning Steps!
by Abby Sasscer | The biggest change in our family this year is that Baby girl decided that she was ready to sleep in the “big” girls’ room with her sister. My heart is aching from this inevitable change and I’m still not used to seeing all this empty space at the foot of our bed. Sniff...sniff…..
Read More »The Moral Theology of St. Maria Goretti
As a homeschooling Mom and a Theology student at Franciscan University of Steubenville, learning new theology lessons is a daily occurence. What is amazing to me is that it is ...
Read More »6 Ways to Draw Closer to Mary This May
Marlicia Fernandez shares ideas on how we can draw closer to Mary, and honor our Blessed Mother during the month of May, Mary's month!
Read More »Celebrating Easter for 50 Days!
by Monica McConkey | Forty days is a long time! Although our Lenten program pales in comparison to Jesus’ sojourn in the desert, we recognize the struggles of our sacrifices and resolutions and how difficult they can be to maintain for forty whole days.
Read More »Is Homeschooling Really Allowed in China?
by Mary Lou Warren | Recently I came across a Wall Street Journal article on homeschooling in China which caught my attention. I was surprised at the concept that homeschooling might even be considered in China of all places. Surprise, surprise, according to the article, homeschooling is becoming popular there.
Read More »A Virtual Tour of Our Home: How We Keep Life Simple (or Try!)
by Abby Sasscer | Every time I do a meet-and-greet with mothers after my Project Nazareth talks, many of them have suggested that I be open to giving an online tour of our home. And while I thought the idea was great, a part of me wanted to keep our cottage out of the public eye.
Read More »Why Reading and Rosaries Saves Souls… Especially My Kids!
by Lorraine Espenhain | For a while, after the dinner dishes were done, my family would gather around the dining room table, pray the Rosary, and then go into the family room, where I would read aloud a chapter a night from a book about one of the saints.
Read More »Why Grownups Don’t Get Stickers for Good Behavior
by John Clark | I went to school for the first five years of my academic life. During that time, if memory serves (and it decreasingly serves), I received many stickers on my papers. Somehow—and no one really knows why—stickers have become part of the primary academic life in America; they somehow signify achievement.
Read More »How to Respond to Tragedy in a Spirit of Hope
by Emily Molitor | All that I offer, I give to Jesus. What does this entail? The cry of a widow over her murdered husband of one year? The agony of a mother by the bedside of her dying child? Opening the newspaper or checking my Facebook newsfeed reminds me daily: surely the world is one of suffering. Each way I turn I meet with a story of suffering, and I struggle not to become overwhelmed by fear and discouragement.
Read More »My husband reluctantly agreed to homeschooling our children, but I’m afraid he won’t next year.
by Dr Mary Kay Clark | Try to understand why your husband is opposed, but have a conversation only if it can be without bitterness or argumentation. He may be opposed because he thinks you are not qualified to teach, or because the children are not being “socialized,” or because the children do not have opportunities for sports activities. Whatever the reason, try to become more informed about reasonable answers: you are using an accredited curriculum or you will have the children participate in activities with other homeschooled children.
Read More »How To Organize Your Thoughts… Without Cramping Your Brain
by Lorraine Espenhain | Once a month, I host a book reading club for Catholic homeschooling moms in my home. I like to use these monthly meetings as an excuse to try out new recipes on those gathered under my roof. If the response is favorable, I then make the dish for my family.
Read More »Good Manners and Politeness are Keys to Student’s Success
by Ginny Seuffert | Theme 4: Repeated exercises in the forms of good manners and politeness. Gatto’s fourth theme is that elite private boarding schools offer their students repeated exercises in the practice of good manners and courtesy based on the utter truth that politeness and civility are the foundations of all future relationships and the key of access to places a person might want to go.
Read More »Our Cottage Spring Cleaning Adventure: Part 1
by Abby Sasscer | Spring is definitely in the air and what better time to declutter and organize our domestic church than during this beautiful season of Lent. Despite the on-again, off-again winter weather we’ve been experiencing here in Virginia, the Great Purge of 2014 is well underway in our little home in the hills.
Read More »9 Steps to Better Homeschool Motivation
by Mary Lou Warren | What can we do if we notice that our children are not motivated to learn? As parents and teachers, we want to inspire and encourage our children to learn and live a full and healthy life. What do we do if we start noticing a problem?
Read More »The Divine Paradox: How I Learned to Hold On By Letting Go
by Lorraine Espenhain | A paradox is a statement or situation that seems to contradict itself. For example, it has been said of the ocean: “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink!” Those who take Christ at His Word, and are not afraid to put that Word into practice in their lives, eventually discover what I call the Divine Paradox of Christianity.
Read More »Onward, Ever Onward! Lenten Advice for Homeschoolers
by Marlicia Fernandez | Lent is flying by and the pink vestments (or the rose, as many a priest has informed many a congregation) have made their appearance during the Mass, for Laetare Sunday. That means we are a little more than half-way through the Lenten season. Most of us find that exciting because we see the light at the end of the Lenten tunnel. Easter is right around the corner!
Read More »Why Learning About Courts and Corporations Makes Better Leaders
by Ginny Seuffert | Gatto’s Third Theme is that students must gain insight into major institutional forms including courts, military, and corporations, as well as the ideas that drive them. By truly understanding these institutions, students mature into responsible citizens who will not be persuaded by opinion-makers in the major media, but will be capable of forming intelligent, independent judgments, and then acting on them.
Read More »Saint Catherine of Siena: Patroness and Model of Homeschooling
by Dr Clark | Many years ago, a group of about forty Catholic homeschool state support group leaders gathered in Chicago for two or three consecutive years, in the month of April, to discuss the growing Catholic homeschooling movement. It was not an easy meeting to attend as we all had children and not much money for such trips.
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