Seton received a letter from a home schooling mother who reflected on her decision to home school. The following are highlights from her letter. The reason I began to home ...

by Kerry Costanzo | Already behind in our schoolwork, now we are REALLY behind. I didn't want to be this behind. . . I really didn't. Yet, during those last months of pregnancy, the fatigue was so severe, and the couch was so inviting, and the coffee pot was so empty (I wasn't drinking it during pregnancy). . . well, the homeschooling suffered.

As homeschooling parents, we often look for the best way to motivate our children in their academics. Professor Brandon Irwin of Harvard Business School has conducted studies regarding motivational style. Although this was done with business organizations in mind, we parents can sometimes learn from such studies and apply the principles to our educational adventure.

Stillness is a thing which it seems harder and harder to find. The constant barrage of information that comes to us now is seemingly more confusing than ever. Years ago, I remember seeing pictures of Times Square, with its multiple electronic screens flashing messages to passersby, and I thought it would be a rather disorienting place to be.

Because of our fallen nature, you and I are going to be subject to all sorts of temptations for the rest of our lives. There is no point in our lives – no matter how old we are – when we are going to be able to lose our vigilance when it comes to temptation.

Academics and spiritual formation go together. Seton shares some of Pope St. John Paul's inspirational thoughts on homeschooling and the love of truth.

Families grapple with discipline in the home. Ginny Seuffert tackles an aspect of it by making etiquette part of and not an obstacle to homeschooling.

I have known Catholic families and I know how much light they were in the 1950’s. One family I knew as a seven-year-old boy touched me by the very fact that the father of the family led the Grace of the meal with the Sign of the Cross and the prayer asking for God’s blessing. A small thing, but small things speak to pure hearts.

Unfortunately, the resolutions that are made are often forgotten or abandoned after the first several weeks. So, where are we to begin and how can we give ourselves a fighting chance at keeping the resolutions we make? How can we help our children to understand the value of making and keeping New Year’s resolutions?

Blessed are those who do not stumble or become hindered in their faith when Christ does not act according to the plans and preconceived ideas they’ve worked out in their own minds concerning how things will go in their lives and how God will move in their lives as well.

Catholic homeschooling is like running a circus! Mary Lou Warren explores 7 things the circus experience shares in common with running a homeschool.

Have my second grader reading. - My resolution is to have more fun with teaching. - More reading aloud, more hands on learning fun. - Keep up with grading and hours. - Grade every week and to be more hands on. - Be more consistent.

The words of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on the day of her first Confession are very appropriate: “How awful are those words of unloosing after a thirty years’ bondage! I felt as if my chains fell, as those of St. Peter at the touch of the Divine Messenger. My God! What new scenes for my soul!”

Do you know what an aspiration is? An aspiration is a strong desire to do something, be something, or possess something. People have many different aspirations. Some aspire to be musicians, doctors, or librarians. Some aspire to go to college, while others aspire to go right into the workforce. Some aspire to be priests or religious brothers or sisters, while others aspire to be good husbands and wives. There are as many aspirations as there are people in the world.

Pregnant and nauseous, I traveled with my husband, kids, and parents to Emmitsburg, Maryland, to sit on a rock. Yes, a rock. It’s a long story that begins and ends with Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. As I sat on the rock from which Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton taught her first three students, with my first three “students” Gianna...

How do I figure out the grade for my students for Section A on the quarter reports? I have an active wiggly little boy who does not want to sit still for his schoolwork. What do I do? Do I need to keep attendance records for my school district or for Seton?

Every Catholic homeschooler knows the marks of the church – One, holy, catholic and apostolic. We recite them in the Creed at Mass, and they remind us of the nature of our Church. In much the same way, Catholic homeschooling has marks and characteristics too.

Of course civility dictates that a person strive to make a good appearance that befits the occasion in an honest expression of who he or she is, and the person in the role of judge must take into consideration the fact that a first impression may be insufficient grounds for a correct interpretation.

My twin sister recently told me about a woman in her church who was faithful and devout. This woman did everything she could to keep her children from the world. She even home schooled them in order to preserve them for Christ. And yet, in the end, one of her children went the way of the world and even ended up on drugs.

The Catholic family home is often hazardous to sacramentals. Knowing that these sacramentals are symbols of holy people and things, we try to be respectful. We do. But there seems to be always such a clutter everywhere!