Ginny’s Gems

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!

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.

Students and parents often call about the composition assignments, asking for advice about what to look for in reviewing a composition. Seton’s English lesson plans give specific guidance on grading compositions, which can be found in the Introduction and first quarter of each lesson plan.

by Gene McGuirk | For many years, the U.S. military has made it difficult for home-schooled high school students to enlist. They were often considered to be “non-graduates.” Seton has had many calls from families over the years about our graduates whom some branch would not permit to enlist. In recent years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been running an ongoing test of new homeschooled recruits to see if they could fit in.

by Dave Armstrong | My specialty as an apologist is “biblical arguments for Catholicism.” I enjoy that aspect of my work a lot because the Bible is the great “common ground” that all Christians share (and I strive to be ecumenical). We all reverence Sacred Scripture and believe it is inspired revelation.

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.

by Alannah Smithee | I have to go to the dentist. Normally, not a big deal. At least, it isn't when you haven't been stalling. But I have, for quite awhile now, in fact. And I have lain in bed many a long night worrying about it because I just didn't have it in me to call and schedule a date to be tortured.

by Michelle Bosso | I am currently in my third year of homeschooling with Seton Home Study School. This year my preschooler attends a private half-day program. While Brycen is at school, we complete the majority of the work for my 1st, 4th, and 6th graders.

Kids' Corner | Download this ‘St. Joseph’ Word Puzzle! A fun activity to for all ages! Search for these words: Anna, carpenter, David, Egypt, Gabriel, Herod, Joseph, just, Nazareth, Simeon, temple, twelve

by Pope Francis | In the family, faith accompanies every age of life, beginning with childhood: children learn to trust in the love of their parents. This is why it is so important that within their families parents encourage shared expressions of faith which can help children gradually to mature in their own faith.

by John Clark | We’ve all probably been in conversations in which a parent will comment that his child spends too much time on the computer or iPad, as though the parent had no control at all over his children. That’s pretty sad for a number of reasons, beginning with the fact that it alludes to a relationship breakdown.

by Ginny Seuffert | Every student must have strong background in both composition and public speaking. The best way to teach your child how to write is to enroll in Seton’s English program and follow the lesson plans closely, but in my experience composition is the last assignment parents and students tackle.

by Dave Armstrong | We can learn a lot from words: especially if we go back to the Latin roots of many of our English words. All Christians are familiar with the notion of God being the Creator. He made all things from nothing (theologians describe this with the wonderful Latin phrase, creatio ex nihilo).

by Mitchell Kalpakgian | The custom of visiting on Sundays and holidays, once a natural part of a human life, has waned in the last fifty years. Visitors feel the obligation to call in advance and ask permission lest they impose or inconvenience their hosts. Hosts who receive visitors sense the need to have ample provisions...

by Christine Capolino | Startling blue skies. Crisp, clear mornings and halcyon spring afternoons. An impromptu game of marbles. Discovering a family of ladybugs on the kitchen windowsill. Jungle animals imagined in drifting cloud formations. Quiet togetherness watering newly planted pansies. Joyful noise in piano and recorder tunes.

by Bob Wiesner | The Te Deum is an ancient prayer of praise, dating to the 4th Century. Traditionally ascribed to Saints Ambrose and Augustine, composed to commemorate Augustine’s baptism, scholars now also argue for the authorship of Saint Hilary or Bishop Nicetas of Remesiana. Whoever wrote it, it has a long history in the Church.

John Clark shares ideas for when you've got no time to be in the kitchen, and how to cook meals in less than thirty minutes.

by Mitchell Kalpakgian | The French phrase “déjà vu” (already seen) carries a negative connotation. If something is déjà vu, it means that one has done something, been someplace, or had an experience that he does not want to repeat, revisit, or undergo again.

by Sarah Rose | The month of March is dedicated to Saint Joseph. Chosen by God to be the foster-father of Jesus, Saint Joseph is perhaps the greatest saint, the one person, after Mary, closest to the Heart of Jesus.

by Dave Armstrong | Some things are so obvious that we take them for granted. We don't feel that we need to “argue” them because we casually assume that everyone “knows they are true.” The old Frank Sinatra song comes to my mind: “Love and marriage: go together like a horse and carriage . . .”