Gabbi is inducted into Phi Theta Kappa

Its a moment close to any mother's heart, but especially dear when you homeschooled your daughter for eleven years. This is what you dreamt about when you pictured her future, an intelligent, articulate young woman meeting life's challenges with success.


 Gabbi's grade point average of 3.7 at Three Rivers Community College where she takes her difficult pre-nursing courses (pre-calculus, Anatomy and Physiology and Organic Chemistry) is a source of pride to her and her family. She was inducted this week into the national honor society for community colleges, Phi Theta Kappa.

We have high hopes for her future as a nursing student at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Congratulations, to my beautiful scholar, you have really done well with the gifts God has given you. You are an inspiration to your younger sisters and a source of pride for your father and I. Your future is bright, you can do anything you want to do.
We love you Gabbi!

Another snow day!

This is the very first snow day my girls have had with me as the stay at home mom and them as the go to school kids. No, I didn't say, "Oh NO! I wanted some time to myself". I looked forward to a day like the old days when we homeschooled for ten years. I looked forward to having some help with Christina who has been recovering with me from a cold all week, and to making popcorn and watching our favorite movies in bed.
And it's time to put away those Christmas decorations!
Did I mention that I have dozens of unfinished writing projects,and that since I temporarily retired from teaching at Bella's school, I have had only ONE day alone at home? A day which included packing for the March for Life (we spent three days in the Liason Hotel in DC, compliments of ALL' s pro-life blogger award) and crying as I watched the Inauguration.
So, yes, I'm still anxiously awaiting my first real day home alone, finally finishing the unpacking so I can invite friends without shame, and getting caught up with my writing. But meanwhile I'm enjoying the girls. And no one is getting dressed today!

Snow day

Since we homeschooled until this year, we never experienced the pure joy of a snow day. I got a call at 5:30AM before the snow started falling, since such a HUGE storm was expected, and since I was as excited as a little girl, I HAD to get up and enjoy not having to get up. I napped luxuriously at noon just because I could. Oh, forgotten joys of homeschooling!
I even made a run in the snow to the local grocery store in the snow, playing Christmas carols on the radio. I hated to bother God with a request for a White Christmas our first time in Connecticut, but He read my mind. Isn't He awesome?
People at the local IGA were cheerful. A remarked to a mother who had carrots, milk and Hershey's bars, that she had the essentials covered. "If I'm going to be snowed in with kids, I've GOT to have chocolate!" she said.
I was stocking up on dog food, dairy products and Christmas cookie supplies. It was such sheer pleasure finally spending time leisurely baking a Chicken Pot Pie with leftovers, and getting to light my Christmas candles, and play my new favorite CD, "The Priests", as the silent snow buried us in quiet. We had the fire crackling, and I finally felt that Christmas feeling in my new home.
I had felt it plenty at school. St Joseph's had a wonderful Christmas pageant, and the Acadmy did their more sophisticated, but beautiful tableaux earlier this week. Though the entire cast were young women (even Baby Jesus was played by an infant girl) the fact that the Wise Men were played by an Asian, an African American and a Mexican teenager was very moving. The Academy had representatives of all races in the nativity play. Yes, Christmas had definitely visted the schools, but we had so little time at home that I was looking forward to Francisco's coming up this weekend to feel like I was "home for Christmas". We will be spending Christmas Eve and Day with his parents and mine on Long Island. Such are the sacrifices of moving. BUT the girls have two weeks off, and we can spend plenty of time as a family up here enjoying the snowy woods.

This nativity was on sale at the store today, so I bought it for under $5 to remember our first "Country Christmas".

Great Resource for Advent: Holy Heroes

A Catholic homeschooling mom from North Carolina has put together a helpful website for the busy mom who wants to celebrate Advent but finds that time is short (isn't that all of us?)
She reminds you to pray with daily email alerts, and has plenty of solid Catholic resources.
And an adorable introduction video.
Go to Holy Heroes and help prepare your family for Jesus' coming.

Book Review: A Haystack Full of Needles

Ask a mother who home educates her children, ask which question she encounters most frequently and she will undoubtedly respond, “What about socialization?” In the decade since I began teaching my three daughters at home, this question has remained, even as other questions like, “Is that legal?” and “are you qualified to teach?” have vanished due to the increasing prominence of home instruction.
Now, thanks to the experience and literary gifts of home educator and author, Alice Gunther we have not only an eloquent answer to this question, but an inspiring guide on how to help our children find friendship and acceptance outside the domestic church. “A Haystack Full of Needles” is the book we have been waiting for, the book we may give as a gift to questioning family members, but one we will also keep close as we seek opportunities to help our children develop socially.Alice, like so many of our family members had concerns about a home educating mother’s ability to meet her children’s need for social interaction. She takes us back to the days when she thought home educators were doing the impossible, to her early attempts at finding companions for herself and her young daughters, to the successful support group she is a the center of on Long Island. She inspires the mother who feels alone in her decision to home educate with her fond anecdotes and down to earth suggestions on how to find other Catholic home educating families, how to build community, how to run a successful social event, and how to support one another in good times and bad.
“ Home-educating mothers share a unique cultural experience. We understand one another, and a large part of "socialization" should be geared toward nurturing friendship for mothers who choose this narrow, but incredibly rewarding, path"
Haystack is far more engaging than a dry how-to manual, however. Alice, whose childhood involved many trips to family in the Emerald Isle has inherited the legendary Irish facility with language gives her prose a poetic lilt which leads to such picturesque images as,“The truth is homeschooling groups are not founded—they trickle together gradually, like a barrel filling up with rain. Still, there are ways we can help the process along, fastening the hoops around the staves of the barrel, lest we lose a precious drop.”
The secret to the success of Alice’s home schooling groups is her heartfelt compassion for the struggles of the home educating mother and her natural generosity in reaching out to meet their needs. “Socialization for homeschoolers is every bit as much about friendship for mothers as it is for the children. Many best friends have been made around the kitchen table”Haystack includes an impressive array of Alice’s social involvements, nature study groups, Shakespearean plays, creative crafts woven into celebrations of the liturgical year, but the greatest strength of this book lies in the fact that no one in the community is overlooked, not even the special needs child who is shy to become involved in a group activity. Alice has tips for getting these children involved and making them feel loved, “One trick I have is to pull out something especially fun, like a game or interesting little novelty. Not only does this entertain the child who happens to be alone—it also attracts others to be his companions." She describes the pains she has taken to teach her children the art of making the newcomer to the group feel welcome in her home, and that explains why at some of her Little Flower meetings, her lawn is filled with hundreds of happy participants.
Many people wonder if home educating is possible through high school. Alice admits that though many high school age boys attend school; home education social groups nurture the teenage soul as well.“When I think about home schooled teenagers, the image that presents itself in my mind is that of a rose freshly blooming. Those little children who once played in our house or crafted at our table are fine young men and women now, and they are a joy to behold. How many mothers of teenagers are able to say that they love all their children's friends? Yet this is what I can say wholeheartedly, and I believe that these vivid roses are even more beautiful when arranged together in a bouquet.”
That is why I recommend Haystack for all mothers seeking a sense of community in a fast-paced world in which children fail to savor the sweetness of childhood in their headlong rush to emulate questionable role models. Alice Gunther in her distinctly poetic manner, reminds us of the riches of a childhood fully lived in the loving embrace of the Body of Christ. The advice she offers in Haystack, is valuable even if your children are in school you are seeking ways to find like-minded friends for your family. She explains her balanced view of home educating here," As I mention this, let me be clear in saying that I do not think families who are not called to home educate are any less faithful or blessed by God. Yet, I do think, for whatever reason, God calls some of us to serve him in this specific way—not a more exalted way—but a different and necessary one."

I agree with my friend Alice that communities like the Immaculate Heart of Mary group which we enjoy on Long Island may just be the seedbed of the New Springtime of Evangelization which our dear Pope John Paul II predicted. One innocent child spending a pleasant afternoon among friends in the garden, one family sharing the joy of the Faith with another, young families are rediscovering Christian community and renewing the Body of Christ.
Alice Gunther's book is available for pre-order through Hillside Education

A new blog to enrich your homeschool

A dear homeschooling friend with many artistic gifts has begun a blog A Homeschooling Thespian about introducing the performing arts into your homeschool. Go over and learn how to help your children develop their proclivity towards the arts.

High Mass with Bishop Murphy in Uniondale, NY

Today Fr. James Pereda MDiv. received Papal Honors and was elevated to Monsignor. He has been the celebrant of the Indult Mass for years, serves on the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal and as chaplain to the Nursing Home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Queens. So, it was fitting that he celebrate the Solemn High Mass, the Missa XVII Adventus et Quadragesimae, with ten altar boys, the blended voices from St. Anthony's High School Gregorian Schola, and over three hundred attendees, the most prominent being Bishop Murphy himself.

Patrick of Creative Minority Report was there and has posted on it here.The Hymns which the Schola (which included my daughter Gabbi) were:
Attende Domine
Adoramus Te Christe
Jesu Salvator Mundi
Veni Jesu
Veni Creator Spiritus
Adoro Te Devote
Ave Verum Corpus
Ave Maria Caelorum
Lift High the Cross
(Click on the above links to listen to each hymn)
Even though I was chasing Christina through the vestibule, it was Heaven on earth, and I was so proud of the role which homeschoolers had played in all this. The altar boys were homeschooled, so was part of the schola, and most of the young children present. We have been preserving Tradition in our Domestic Churches, quietly, waiting for a day like this to show our bishop our love for the Traditonal Mass and it's Heavenly hymnody. This image of people hiding tradition away in their homes for a time of restoring the Church reminded me of the beautiful children's book, "The Miracle of St. Nicholas" where a Russian village, when the Communists shut down their church of St. Nicholas, hid the treasures of the Church, icon, vestments, altar cloth, candlesticks and the priest himself under floorboards in their simple homes until they were free one Christmas Eve to celebrate their beautiful Mass again, led by a little child too young to remember Mass in a church. Like that Russian village, we too have been waiting 40 years to hear the sweet strains of the High Mass in our village church.

This was Bishop Murhpy's first pastoral visit to the Latin Mass Community, but he assured us it wouldn't be his last. He will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Extradordinary Form on June 15, 2008 in St. Agnes Cathedral.

Funny Homeschool video

Is here. What a great job this beautiful BIG family did! I wish I knew who they were!

Book give away

All week, Catholic homeschooling author Maureen Wittman is giving away books to anyone who sends in their address to celebrate the release of her new book, "For the Love of Literature".

Feast of St Nicholas

Here's a post from last year. This year, the girls and I are reading the first book on the display past the candle, "St Nicholas the Wonder Worker", and of course, there were sweets in their shoes this morning! Elizabeth has a great post on St. Nicholas today.

My dear friend Tracey has set up her wonderful St. Nicholas mantel, and I thought you'd like to see where she found these treasures.
1. St. Nicholas cookie cutter
2.a tiny St. Nicholas rubber stamp (in front of candle stick)
3.book "St. Nicholas the Wonder Worker " by Anne Newberger
4."St Nicholas, The Real Story of the Christmas Legend" by Julies Stiegmeyer
5.Statue of St. Nicholas from
Leaflet Missal Company
6.Fr. Lovasik Saints Series, Book 4, St. Nicholas
7.Metal St. Nicholas statue with prayer card






8.Picture on wall over clock: Coloring book page from a coloring book of St. Nicholas
9. Pamphlet about St. Nicholas
10.Tracey's daughter Veronica traced a picture of St. Nicholas on a shrinky-dink and then baked in the oven, and glued it to a pin backing, a custom-made St. Nicholas pin!
10. Statue of St. Nicholas
11."The Saint Who Became Santa Claus" by Evelyn Bence
12. stained glass image of St. Nicholas
13. "The Miracle of St. Nicholas"
14.prayer card from the Ukraine
15. Baker's Dozen St Nicholas Tale retold by Aaron Shepard: a story about how baking St. Nicholas cookies led to our expression, "baker's dozen"
16.St. Nicholas faux stone statue
Thank you Tracey for sharing this varied and beautiful collection. She also reminds us not to
forget the CCC cartoon video, "Nicholas, the Boy Who Became Santa".

Where can we send our daughter for high school?

A Catholic father , an intelligent and conscientious man, was explaining why he and his wife took their daughter out of a Catholic high school: "They told the kids that the gospels weren't true."
Compare that with Pope Benedict XVI's affirmation in his best-selling book Jesus of Nazareth: "I trust the gospels." The Pope, a serious scholar who is one of the genuinely distinguished theologians of the day, judges it reasonable to believe the gospel accounts. Some religion teachers in a Catholic high school do not. Now, who do you think is right?

Over the years, many conscientious Catholic parents like the father quoted above have been scandalized and dismayed by the religious formation they've encountered in the Catholic schools, colleges, and religious education programs to which they've entrusted their kids. Not infrequently, it seems, a mischievous counter-catechesis has contributed to the young people's loss of faith.
To be sure, CTSA members aren't the people who teach religion in Catholic grade and high schools and religious education programs. But there's a link. It resides in the trickle-down effects of what these (academically speaking) humbler souls may have picked up from academicians in college courses and professional publications, as well as from the CTSA's own well-publicized proclamations of dissent.
In other words, the Catholic school teachers who have the religious studies credits they need to teach theology have been in the liberal propaganda machine long enough to believe this nonsense. And teach it. These are positions which I learned in my 11th grade Biblical Theology class from Sr. Pat, a young novice whom I admired so much, I came in on a Saturday to watch her take her vows at the convent.
"The miracles in the Bible didn't really happen the way they're written. People of those days didn't understand science and psychology the way we do today. For example, the Red Sea was really the Sea of Reeds, and there was no wall of water, the tide went out, allowing the Israelites to walk across"
I once heard a Pentecostal preacher enjoy this view very much. He said, " do you mean to tell me that all of Pharaoh's army, including his horses and charioteers drowned in two feet of muddy water? Now, THAT'S what I call a MIRACLE!!"
All the miracles were similarly debunked by Sr Pat, even Christ's multiplication of the loaves and the fishes." The people had the loaves and fishes, Jesus just convinced them to share them" Mother Angelica had fun with that one. "Do you think, that if I had been listening to Jesus preach for three days, with a salami sandwich in my pocket , I'd need Him to tell me to eat it? I got news for you; that salami sandwich would be long gone!"
The corrections to this nonsense came much later in my life. In high school I absorbed this stuff readily. I even went on a trip to a Protestant friend's home, notebook in hand, ready to defend what I believed then was the truth. Her correct interpretation of the Scriptures put the lies I'd swallowed to shame, and I never pulled out that notebook. I could tell she was right to believe that the Scriptures tell the truth. I am grateful for her understanding.

Sr. Pat has left the Academy since, but continues teaching the historical-critical method of theology in Catholic settings elsewhere, and was seen at a Voice of the Faithful meeting asking the bishop for more of a leadership role in the Church because of her education. Heaven forbid.

Meanwhile, since I live too far away from the one Catholic high school on Long Island which has the courage to teach from the Magesterium (ie. like Pope Benedict says, the Scriptures are trustworthy) while we live here, I either subject my daughter to the sewer of popular culture and anti-Catholicism in the public schools, or continue to home school her. Reluctantly, I have chosen the latter, but not without a bit of anger towards the Catholic Theological Society of America.They have robbed countless students of their Catholic faith, and essentially deprived my daughter of the legitimate pleasure of attending a good Catholic high school.

Nothing makes a homeschool mom happier than a box of books!

No, my homeschool book order hasn't landed on the doorstep, it's even better.
A friend of mine who has decided to send her children to Catholic school, has donated at least seven boxes of the kind of books I see my fellow homeschool bloggers rave about.
Books I have been meaning to buy, after reading about them on friend's blogs, like Maureen Wittman's Homeschool Companion, or Rita Munn's A Family Journal.
Books that may be in the basement somewhere, but I can't locate them, like the Bible History. Books I have given away to someone, and missed ever since, like Letters to Gabriel, Fertility Cycles and Nutrition, and .
Books I have seen over and over in Ignatius Press, but just couldn't afford, like The Spirit of the Liturgy by Cardinal Ratzinger, or Fire Within by Fr. Dubay.
Books which I haven't yet read from well-loved authors, like James Stenson's Compass.
Books which I love and can now give away because I have an extra copy like Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy, or Karol Wojtyla's Love and Responsibility.
Books I need to re-read like Dr. Dobson's The Strong Willed Child.
Books I planned to recycle but the older child's answers were written in pen, like the wonderfully written, Our Pioneers and Patriots by Rev. Philip Furlong.
Books I've always meant to read like Ruth Beechik's You Can Teach Your Child Successfully.
Books I know I'll read in one sitting like Secrets of the Eucharist by Michael Brown.
Charlotte Mason books. Fr. Lovasik books. Mother Teresa books.
Spiritual books, textbooks, art print cards, old fashioned music books and cool science kits. Phonics games and the perfect history and health books for my 5th grade daughter.
Preschool books for Christina, my Kindergartener.
There are even videos on Maximilian Kolbe, Pope John Paul II and that miraculous staircase.
Don't I have a wonderful friend? Don't you just love these books?!

Thank you, Lord, for your generous provision, there's just one more thing. . .could you send me a bookshelf, please?

Carnival of Homeschooling

The Carnival of Homeschooling is at Tami's Blog. Go and see what these folks are up to during their summer vacation.

Homeschooling Special Needs Children

Mary Ellen has an inspiring post over at Tales from the Bonnie Blue House about homeschooling Ryan, her autistic son. It has given hope to me, as I near the start of Christina's homeschool career.

Homeschooled 9th Grader Featured in Wall Street Journal

Brandon helps break the stereotype of the otherworldly homeschooled youth, unable to deal with the real world. He has his own home-based mutual funds management business, featured in this Wall Street Journal article.

Dr Ray Guardendi's talk at the IHM Conference

Six years ago, I discovered Dr. Guardendi while was speaking at the NACHE Conference. His practical advice on parenting matters, and his outageously funny sense of humor describing family situations, made me buy his CD's and, books. My favorite book of his is "Discipline that Lasts a Lifetime". His motto is that someone will discipline your children, if you don't, it may be a boss, a college professor, or it may be the court system. They may not be as understanding as you would, so discipline now and save your child from needing it later.

Dr Ray and his wife have ten several children, many of whom came as older children from terrible home situations which would make any adoptive parent shudder. So, when he says it's possible to discipline any child, and make him feel loved, he knows of what he speaks.

Thanks to him, I discovered that my little Isabella, then four, was putting one over on me. When sent to the corner for a time out, Bella would suddenly get an irresistible urge to hug me and tell me, "Mommy I love you so much I HAVE to hug you RIGHT NOW!". Funny how it never occurred to me that these urges only struck her while in time out. And I ran a day care for two years, so how could I be such a sucker?!

When I came home from this conference, and she realized her act was no longer going to get her out of time out, it vanished magically. It didn't take my bright little girl long, however to find the real culprit for Mommy's sudden enlightenment: that Dr. Ray who wrote that book she's always reading! Drats, foiled again!

This time, at the IHM Conference, Dr. Ray was in his usually side-splitting form, telling tales of trouble in the Guarendi household. Sandwiched between hilarious anecdotes, however, is sound parenting advice. Dr. Guarendi discusses a nationwide study of the top families in the nation, and says the most important factor these families cited in raising their children was R_E_S_P_E_C_T. Dr Guarendi warns us not to tolerate the slightest roll of the eyes, the deep sigh, the tossing of the head, and do NOT under any circumstances tolerate, "whatever" as a response! What would we think if, an audience member asked him a question, and he responded that way? This guys' a jerk; was his example to us.
We have to cultivate our "look" which tells our child no more nonsense will be tolerated, without our having to lose control. If we have done our homework, ie punishments for similar infringements in the past, all we'll need is "the look". A creative list of consequences includes: essays of whatever length, free trips to the child's room, grounding which cuts off all access to electricity (phone, TV, computer, radio, Ipod, X-box)and my personal favorite, where the fighting siblings sit across the table from one another, and neither may get up until the other one gives permission. I have never seen this one fail to eventually make them friends again, once the thrill of torturing one another wears off.
Dr Ray Guardendi has several Catholic radio shows where he can be called with questions, and a new series on EWTN with Fr. Kevin Fete, "What Catholics really believe", where he discusses the Faith, and his return to the Catholic Church from Evangelicalism.
Pictured here is his latest book, Great Teens, which I was going to review here, till one of my friends with multiple teens begged to borrow it first. If it's from Dr. Ray, you can be sure it's witty, and practical. He inscribed my copy to Isabella: Dear Isabella, Oh no! Mom's got another one of those awful books!
Dr. Ray.

National Catholic Home School Message Board Launched

Dear Leticia,

We met briefly at the IHM Conference this past weekend, and I wanted to pass on information about the new national Catholic homeschooling message board I just launched. This is a press release, and I would be most appreciative if you wanted to pass it on to anyone else.

God bless,
Draper Warren
CHSNA Vice-President of Communications

For Immediate ReleaseCATHOLIC HOME SCHOOL NETWORK OF AMERICA LAUNCHES NATIONAL CATHOLIC HOME SCHOOL MESSAGE BOARDChantilly, Virginia. On Friday, June 8, 2007, The Catholic Home School Network of America (CHSNA) announced the creation of a new website and message board designed to connect thousands of Catholic homeschooling parents from across the country. The announcement took place at the Immaculate Heart of Mary National Home School and Parent Conference, which has become the largest Catholic homeschooling conference in the country. Dedicated to supporting parents in their role as the primary educators of their children, the new http://www.chsna.net/ website was envisioned to become a focal point for information about Catholic curriculum providers and home study programs as well as a place for parents to exchange information and advice. Perhaps more importantly, it will be a place for Catholic homeschooling parents to establish friendships based upon shared values and goals. According to Draper Warren, Vice-President of Communications for CHSNA, "There is a wealth of knowledge and experience that veteran homeschooling parents have and can pass on to those who are new to homeschooling. An online community of this sort establishes a regular way to share practical experiences about what works and what doesn't." In creating this message board project, CHSNA joined forces with the technical team of BoredOnline.net, where Mr. Warren also serves as senior administrator. BoredOnline.net is a large message board for Catholic homeschooling students which has 2,485 registered users and has almost one million posts. Mr. Warren expressed the hope that the new CHSNA.net message board would surpass the great success of the BoredOnline.net website, and that it would afford the same benefits to parents which the students on BoredOnline.net are currently able to enjoy.The Catholic Home School Network of America has been involved in advocating parents' rights to homeschool their children, publishing a booklet in 1998 entitled "Responsibilities and Rights of Parents in Religious Education." More recently, CHSNA President Dr. Catherine Moran, together with CHSNA Vice-President of Operations Mrs. Virginia Seuffert, and Dr. Mary Kay Clark, President of Seton Home Study School, traveled to Rome to meet with Roman Curial officials such as Francis Cardinal Arinze and Archbishop Michael Miller, Secretary for Catholic Education to better familiarize them with the important role homeschooling holds in American Catholic education. For further information, please contact Draper Warren by email at mailto:CHSNA.net@gmail.com, or visit the CHSNA website at http://www.chsna.net/

Immaculate Heart of Mary Conference

Authentic Catholic Education: The Parental Duty was the theme of this year's Conference, in Chantilly, Virginia. Speakers included: Dr. Ray Guarendi, Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, Mr. James Stenson, Fr. Paul Scalia, Dr. Mary Kay Clark, Fr. Pablo Straub, Mrs. Virginia Seuffert, and Mrs. Laura Berquist. I will be posting on the talks which I attended.

The Beatrice Brigade.

If your confidence in your worthiness to homeschool, or the worth of what you are investing so much time and effort in, is lagging just read John Reynold's piece in the Scriptorum. It will remind you that we are changing lives, those dearest to us, and those whom we never dreamed we'd touch.
HT Catholic Zoo

Catholic Analysis: Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta Praises Home Schoolers

Catholic Analysis: Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta Praises Home Schoolers