Family integrated worship

I often hear mothers complain that it is impossible to get children to be quiet in church, or conversely, who believe it is possible but cry out in desperation when time and again they suffer through mass. I also hear many different solutions offered from well-meaning parents that include deep pressure massage, hugs, patiently waiting for childhood to pass, snacks, coloring books, a bag of quiet toys, and other distractions. I have even heard some people  recommend pinching them to get them to snap back to attention(!)

The solution that I have found was not easy to implement, but once I began, I did not stop. Committed, I struggled through about six months of constant frustration on my end as I adjusted to having my kids WITH me and not being able to focus on worship the way I had been accustomed. In the beginning, it was a great struggle, because it required that I remain completely collected and calm, that I address every infraction but seem to be immersed and busy in worship, that I allowed no peep to come from their lips and that every blessed moment of my time in Divine Liturgy be simultaneously engaged in adoration of God and the deep trenches of motherhood where fear and panic and desperation often lurk.

Along the way, little things convinced me that that keeping them with me was the right thing to do. Even before my return to the Church, I felt guilty putting them in children's church. I knew they were playing and coloring pictures and not in worship. I knew they weren't seeing me and their father worship and thus not gleaning the importance of it from us. Even when they went to children's church or the nursery guilt free---- I started to notice that they got sick. EVERY TIME. And the cycle was exhausting. One day, my husband decided we were going to attend a church that simply didn't HAVE a childen's nursery. I had a moment of panic, but also recognized the value of what I was being asked to undertake. Motivated by Charlotte Mason's motto for her students, I breathed in deep and said under my breath: I can, I am, I ought, and I will.It was time.

Determined to stick it out until it was DONE and they were trained, I endeavored to do the only three things I knew to do:

1. Expect them to behave. I knew they were capable, because I had been to churches where I had met children who behaved. I had seen neat rows of families with mother on one end and father on the other end and children who listened and were reverent and wore matching clothes with brushed hair. I had stared at those families with awe and wonder and a hushed sense of the sacred Presence while my own beasts wriggled and squealed and hollered and bit pews and worked on stealing the pencils and tearing apart the hymnals. I knew it COULD be done and I determined to expect that my little monkeys were just as capable as any other children. I also sat right in the front, to ensure that they could see and be a part of what was happening. Sitting in the front also puts the pressure on. People can see us.

2. Ignore their attempts to lure me into conversation and attention-giving during liturgy. Every attempt they made to talk to me was met with a swift "Shhhhh" and a redirection towards the front. I used the same theory I use at night with my babies: Don't turn on the light, don't make eye contact, no noise. Even trips to the bathroom were swift, unconversational, and non-interactive. Mass is only one hour long. It seemed to me that anyone-- even a toddler or a pregnant mother-- could forego water or snacks during that hour. No food. No drinks. No books. No toys. No games. Just Liturgy. That was the plan.

3. Address bad habits immediately. I didn't want my kids to drop things and make noise, and I knew that if they had things to hold... they inevitably WOULD because that's what kids do. So I didn't give them coloring books or snacks or toys. I didn't give them books or children's missals because I knew they would read them instead of paying attention. I explained my expectation, and I trained them in it at home whenever I had the opportunity to (for example, when we pray the liturgy of the hours together in the morning and at night.) If I saw that a child was particularly unruly I was not beyond taking them out, but when I took them out I made the experience as horrid and bland as possible. If perchance I was forced to take out an unruly one year old (that's the hardest age because they are still so young but also so loud) we would just stare at a wall for a few moments til they realized liturgy was more interesting. I didn't let them get down and run around, play, or run in the narthex. As soon as they were reasonably quiet again, we would return to our seat.

Our reasoning for the solution I determined to use is that we are a Charlotte Mason education family. CM believed wholeheartedly that kids could rise to the occasion when we expected more of them and treated them with respect. She was pro-parental authority (the parent sets the standard) but also pro-respect of the child as a person with rights and the capacity to do well.
She never manipulated, used love or fear, etc to motivate the child, but rather believed that parents should model good behavior themselves and train in good habits from the beginning-- and not allow bad habits to ever take place in the first place.
In other words, if we don't eat or draw in church, there is no reason a kid should, so from the beginning we expect and train the child to pay attention without using fear or love or bribes or manipulation as a tactic. They catch on very quickly---- and although I still have to take my one year old to the back from time to time, even she understands to lower her voice and sit still during the one hour we are at mass, and I am quite certain that if I never let her get in the habit of doing anything else it will stay that way.

Also, habits come by practice. Because we pray the liturgy of the hours as a family and they are also required to sit still and be attentive at that time, it isn't a foreign situation when we go to mass.

In the beginning, it worked pretty well, but there were still struggles, particularly when I was alone with the kids (my husband is often gone).
One day, my husband said to me, rather harshly, that though I was doing a good job, I was still enabling any bad behavior that came from them because I paid so much attention to it.
Calm redirection, he told me, was ALWAYS better than any reaction I was having.

Watching him with my children from the back while I rock a sleepy, loud, baby has sometimes been funny. I have seen the kids get to all sorts of shennanigans behind his back as he worships, but ultimately, they have been quiet, which is the main goal, and undistracting to all but ME, which is the other goal.

The hardest moment in my mothering came when I felt that I had finally arrived-- as per the above-- and that I could now rest in the peace of knowing that I had done a good job. In the car on the way home from mass one day I casually mentioned it to my husband and mentioned in a joking matter how glad I was for my quiet times of prayer at home when I could really HEAR God.
To my shock and surprise, he chastised me heavily for not paying attention during mass.

At first, I felt this was completely unfair--- I was supposed to keep everybody under control, excel at that AND find a way to listen??? But then I realized that he was more than able to do so.
I determined from that day to do even better, and though I haven't "arrived" yet I can say that I am now both able to keep our kids quiet and attentive AND am able to narrate the homily and say that I was able to pray during liturgy. It truly is a glorious level of peace we reach when we get to this stage in our motherhood.

I have strong feelings that this is a skill that REALLY helps children to grow both in confidence in themselves and in their relationship with Jesus. I also have strong feelings that it's an important skill to teach them because I am a firefighter's wife, and my kids have had to represent him by behaving well both at funerals and award ceremonies where misbehaving children are seen with much less empathy than the kids that act up during mass where people at least are thinking: "I'm glad they are there." Because we have insisted that they can, will, and ought to behave and pay attention during mass, they can represent their father in public events like that and truly give honor to the person being honored (in the case of Mass-- to Jesus!) and that makes my heart so happy.

I am praying for all of you who have not yet found the "perfect" solution to get them to pay attention, as it is such a valuable life skill. God reward all of you for your faithfulness to keep trying although it is -- as I well know--- a very, very difficult task.

Please do not think I am sitting here with my feet up and all the answers--- I too struggle when my younger children have decided to misbehave on any given day. But I do have peace, because I know what to do, and my intention in writing this is not to say that I am better than you or that my kids are better than your kids, but rather to share that peace and the means by which it came. As far as I'm concerned, all is grace. These ideas came from the example of holy mothers who have gone before and are the fruit of hours spent in tears in the bathroom holding an unruly child.

Incidentally, my mother in law still pulls out her organizer and writes notes in church and passes them around to people in the pews. She is in her sixties.

Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

More missions goodness!

we want YOU to learn the faith!

Suddenly, I am feeling so encouraged!!

After the missionary conversation I had with my children the other day, my kids wanted to talk about it more over lunch. They said they understood WHY the Church needs missionaries, but what they wanted to know was how to do it. So,  I asked them what they could do to be better at fulfilling the mission Pope Francis gave us all when he said:

 "We need to avoid the spiritual sickness of a church that is wrapped up in its own world: when a church becomes like this, it grows sick. It is true that going out on to the street implies the risk of accidents happening, as they would to any ordinary man or woman. But if the church stays wrapped up in itself, it will age. And if I had to choose between a wounded church that goes out on to the streets and a sick, withdrawn church, I would definitely choose the first one."

The kids went as far as to get a piece of paper and to write / draw down a plan for how we would fulfill the mission better. Many of the things they talked about we already do, but there were fresh and new and good ideas in there that encouraged me a great deal.

They determined we were called to be missionaries in four ways.

The first, they said, was that we were supposed to pray and study ourselves,  and teach people to pray and study. So they set a specific time each day for our prayer times so that we wouldn't skip over them anymore (we often don't get around to evening prayer, for example, because we just forget).

They planned a family dinner/rosary night like we have had before with loved ones, and a family-only night to restore us(!)

The plan they came up with looked like this:

1. We go to mass and confession every week and invite people to come with us.
2. We say morning prayer (they chose 7 am "because by then everyone is kind of awake"), evening prayer (5 pm "because it's before dinner") and their father and I say night prayer (10 pm "before you go to bed.")  If people are over, we agreed,  the more the merrier.
3. We have dinner-and-a-rosary parties on Wednesdays and Saturdays and invite friends to participate whenever we can.
4. We have our regular family shabbat night, reserved for our own family and close relations when possible, where we talk about family business, bless each other and enjoy each other and pray for each other.
5. We spend time studying the faith every day, alone and together, and with others whenever we can.

I was amazed at their insight, and how they outlined many of the same goals I have tried to set for our family. But then it got better!

The second part, they said, was to do acts of mercy in our neighborhood. I, of course, agreed. The Church recommends that when we do good works, we use the following guidelines:

The 7 Corporal Works of Mercy
To feed the hungry
To give drink to the thirsty
To clothe the naked
To shelter the homeless
To visit the sick
To visit the imprisoned
To bury the dead

7 Spiritual Works of Mercy
To counsel the doubtful
To instruct the ignorant
To admonish the sinner
To comfort the sorrowful
To forgive all injuries
To bear wrongs patiently
To pray for the living and the dead

 Parts two and three of their plan involved good works and discipleship. They decided that each of us would have an assigned job in the community and that we would serve in that way. As a homeschooling family, we take education very seriously, and create educational pathways for those in our community at every opportunity. Also, their daddy is a firefighter/EMT, their mommy a student-midwife, my oldest wants to babysit for people and teach art lessons, my five year old said he wanted to do yard work for people and paint, and my three year old said she would be a storyteller for the littlest people.  As if that wasn't amazing enough, they each then identified a "friend" in their lives that they could have over regularly to help them grow in their walk with Jesus. They told me their friends' names, and how often they felt they should see them and what they would do together. Then they told me that "daddy and mommy's job was to do that for us, first, and then for other people that come over."

The fourth part of their plan was to live simply.
We talked about how missionaries have to be ready to go wherever God calls them, so that just as when we had to pack to go to California, and to France, and brought nothing but God provided everything we needed, so we would have to live very simply and have only what we needed, and God would provide the rest. I asked them what they thought constituted our "needs."
Some clothes (they got as specific as to tell me what types and styles to keep and which ones to get rid of... hooray for our plan to dump stuff!!) some books for school and work, and some DVDs "that teach people things." They decided to get rid of all their toys except a few dolls and---- get this---- a box of costumes so they could teach bible stories and the lives of the saints. (BRILLIANT!) They also mentioned eating small meals regularly so that we would have enough money to buy great foods to serve the people that came over on feast days...something I've never discussed with them that is in my personal plan.

All in all, an amazing child-led conversation that ended up inspiring me. Surprise! From the mouths of babes...

Mission - a requirement of the Church's catholicity

849 The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men":[339] "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age."[340]

850 The origin and purpose of mission. The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit."[341] The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love.[342]

851 Missionary motivation. It is from God's love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on."[343] Indeed, God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth";[344] that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.

852 Missionary paths. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission."[345] It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. "This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection."[346] So it is that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians."[347]

853 On her pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the "discrepancy existing between the message she proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the Gospel has been entrusted."[348] Only by taking the "way of penance and renewal," the "narrow way of the cross," can the People of God extend Christ's reign.[349] For "just as Christ carried out the work of redemption in poverty and oppression, so the Church is called to follow the same path if she is to communicate the fruits of salvation to men."[350]

854 By her very mission, "the Church . . . travels the same journey as all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God."[351] Missionary endeavor requires patience. It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet believe in Christ,[352] continues with the establishment of Christian communities that are "a sign of God's presence in the world,"[353] and leads to the foundation of local churches.[354] It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel is to take flesh in each people's culture.[355] There will be times of defeat. "With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by degrees that [the Church] touches and penetrates them and so receives them into a fullness which is Catholic."[356]

855 The Church's mission stimulates efforts towards Christian unity.[357] Indeed, "divisions among Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice the fullness of catholicity proper to her in those of her sons who, though joined to her by Baptism, are yet separated from full communion with her. Furthermore, the Church herself finds it more difficult to express in actual life her full catholicity in all its aspects."[358]

856 The missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept the Gospel.[359] Believers can profit from this dialogue by learning to appreciate better "those elements of truth and grace which are found among peoples, and which are, as it were, a secret presence of God."[360] They proclaim the Good News to those who do not know it, in order to consolidate, complete, and raise up the truth and the goodness that God has distributed among men and nations, and to purify them from error and evil "for the glory of God, the confusion of the demon, and the happiness of man."[361]
-- Catechism of the Catholic Church

A parent's education

Yesterday, a friend posted a beautiful picture of--- her husband's bathroom reading. :) It made me laugh, but I could relate-- they are a CM house, and so as parents, read they must!

I've read a lot about parents following along with Ambleside for their own education and I love to hear about it. I was fortunate enough to be raised by parents who are also educators, and for that reason I have been surrounded by truth and beauty all of my life.

At the same time, I agree that one of  the most appealing aspects of a CM education is that parents and children are experiencing life side-by-side and learning-- at their own level, of course, but also in a way that enables them to interact together with the material being covered.

So with that in mind I would like to give you some ideas of ways you as a parent can benefit from educating your own children the CM way. Below you will find a few examples of books we are reading as adults to join in the conversation between our own children and Those Who Have Gone Before.

In the mornings, my children study Catechism. I've said before that our Catechism lessons follow a set order, and I try to follow along with that same theme myself.

On Mondays, they learn a Catechism lesson from a well-written textbook and narrate it. The following six days they recite the Questions and Answers to memorize that relate to their lesson, until they are ingrained in their memory. I do the same with my own copy of the Catechism, reading at my own level on Monday morning before the kids get up and working on memorizing my own sections throughout the week. That way when the kids hit me with a tough theological question, I've got ready-made answers already memorized to help explain the tough stuff.
I then add some living books-- namely biographies of saints. I read these along with my kids, but before the day begins, I also read up on the day's saint, and journal a bit. As they wake up, they join me--- by that time, I've learned enough to mention a few facts about that particular saint, which they enjoy listening to and drawing about in their own journals.

For math, I just stay a bit ahead of them, pre-reading a lesson or two in advance to ensure I know where we are leading.

For grammar, I take great pleasure in testing myself and reciting along with them as they learn the rules. If mom's doing it too, it makes it a lot more fun to see who can do it best!

For literature, I'm quite satisfied reading along with them because we select wonderful literature for them to read! But I do make sure to check out a poem a day from The Oxford Book of English Verse when they are done reading from the Oxford Book of Children's Verse. For foreign languages, I am enjoying the refreshers from teaching the kids Latin and French.

For science, I too record any notes I might find amazing about what I see outside. I too will draw along with them and fill up my "knower" with all sorts of fun science facts. I also read from the Handbook of Nature Study so that I know how to casually name-drop new friends... birds and insects, trees and bees.

For history, I pre-read most of their books, and I make sure to read stuff on my own level and narrate it to my husband when he has the time to listen. I also keep my own book of centuries, which for now my children can observe until they are old enough to do their own.

For fine arts, I too am learning to play an instrument, to use my voice, to memorize names of beautiful pieces of art and music, and to read sheet music.

For Shakespeare and Plutarch, when my children read from a re-telling, I read from the original.

And those are just some small and simple ways to join them on the journey. Taking on these practices is so much more meaningful than throwing a workbook at them and calculating a grade. It ensures not only that the child grasps the information, but also that the parents and children are enjoying life together and all that it has to offer. That they are growing together, or rather, side-by-side. That they are building memories that make a family.

This is the core of why Charlotte's methods are amazing-- everyone must be on board, and work together to create the atmosphere of education.

The Jesuit Educational Standard, Calvinism and Charlotte Mason... oh my!

I have recently been studying the foundations of what is called the Jesuit Education, as per the Ratio Studiorum.
Throughout history Jesuits have been famous for their educational contributions to the world. They perfected the art of the Classical Education, and like Charlotte Mason rigorously fought against the mind-numbing fact-imbibing techniques of the day.

I came to study it for two reasons. (a) My husband and I are interested in securing a 100 % Catholic education for our children, drawing from the ancients-- not because we are worried that they will stray from the faith if we don't, but because we know and understand  that the ancients were able to do one thing that is sorely lacking in our modern world: they were able to think.
(b) I am particularly interested in what ways the history of Catholic education affected the ideas of Charlotte's that we deem particularly brilliant. For example, how heavily she was influenced by this idea that children are born persons, a Catholic theological point that, if it were truly understood, would serve as a dissolving agent for the prevalent culture of death all around us.

I also find studying the history of the Classical Liberal Arts education very beneficial for putting Charlotte's ideas into context.

In this case, for example,  I was looking for information about how to DO our short periods of recitation in various subjects (math facts, latin, grammar) in the method Charlotte would have been most accustomed to. I knew that she had her students do recitations. I didn't know what they looked like.

Below is a simple breakdown of the Ignatian method.

The foundation of the Ignatian Method is based on the Spiritual Exercises and the Ratio Studiorum of St. Ignatius of Loyola and seeks:

• To focus on formation, not information
• To have the goal of leading the student to the knowledge and love of God
• To help the teacher/parent train the student's memory, understanding and will
• To train the student to speak, write and act well
• To do all things Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, for the greater glory of God

Ignatian education is education with a purpose in mind beyond simply filling heads with data. A proper education should:

• Form children into adults capable of being leaders and effective agents for Christ in the world
• Fashion in the student an intelligent obedience to all duly-constituted authority
• Develop in the student a respect for the contributions of the past
• Create competency in the arts of expression
• Instill in the student the habit of orderly thinking, trained by a thorough grounding in the basics and expanded in a literature-based curriculum

How does this work? The three tools of Ignatian education are:

• Self-activity: forms the habit of independent study and interest in scholarly pursuits
• Mastery: tackling progressively more difficult material through learning, repetition, and memorization builds confidence and motivation to keep learning
• Formation: emphasizes development of the whole person--mind, body and soul--to help the student learn to make wise choices in line with the will of God

(I got this simplified outline from Kolbe Academy - a Catholic classical homeschool curriculum provider that teaches using the Ignatian Method.)

Those of you familiar with Charlotte's Methods will no doubt see so many correlations between her ideas and the traditional Jesuit Education-- a true "Catholic classical education!"
Unlike the Puritan "classical"education, which aims to indoctrinate in order to arrive at truth, the Catholic education seeks to teach ordered thinking and the use of reason to arrive at truth.

I've been thinking about the importance of this a great deal as my family undergoes a very..... a very us kind of trial. My husband and his brother are having a disagreement, because his brother has suddenly become heavily influenced by Calvinist theology, and as such is suddenly rather anti-Catholic. This causes rifts and wounds in our relationships, which is unfortunate. I am confident in the power of Christ to overcome these demonic rifts and bouts of strife, but in the meantime I have also been fascinated as I watched the different ways with which they "make their case."
My brother-in-law's method of argument is to provide walls of scripture. He is a scripture hammer-- for each question that arises he provides ten-twelve different scriptures pulled from various parts of the Bible as "proof texts." There is no real method of interpretation, he simply gives us passages that he has been handed as "proof" of Calvinist/Reformed theology, regardless of the context, or seemingly opposing scriptures that exist elsewhere in the Bible. This is what I call the Puritan Hammer method of debate. I personally feel it's a method reminiscent of a toddler plugging his ears with his fingers and sticking out his tongue.... "Neiner, neiner! itissobecauseisaythebiblesayssoandihavetheholyspirit!" And I'm ashamed to say it's a method I've used many times in the past. :/

My husband's method, on the other hand, is to appeal to his brother's reason and ability to think. "Let's first determine who has the authority to interpret scripture," he argues, and "let's look at how these two scriptures could appear to disagree on the issue, one pointing to predestination and one pointing to free will."

In the car yesterday, on our way home from Church, my husband began to discuss the Catechism with our children. Rather than tell them: "Children, we believe this. Say it with me!" He posed them a question:
"Children," he asked. "Do you believe it's possible that God may have created someone to send them to hell?" "Nooooooooooooo!" They shouted gleefully. "Why not?" He asked them. And they began to reason together.... my kids giving answers and my husband asking questions. Only at the very end did he say: "Very good, children, that is truth. God both predestines us and knows all things AND gives us free will to freely choose Him. "

Honor your childrens' personhood by giving them the ability to think. But guide them in logical thinking, and provide them with ample examples of truth-in-action. This is the Catholic way.

There is no hard proof anywhere I've seen that says CM was influenced by these ideas, but she was no doubt very familiar with them.
Other innovative Catholic educators who were her contemporaries certainly took these ideas into consideration (Maria Montessori among them)-- with CM delivering further, clear instruction as to how to give a truly Classical Liberal Arts Education to a child who is born a person.

Certainly the goals and methods appear to have very much in common.
Both methods teach that formation of the whole person is to be prefered over the fine-tuning of just one aspect of the mind, both methods use self-teaching (vs teachers "telling") and allowing the student to grapple with the ideas themselves. Both methods emphasize mastery over covering a lot of ground. Both methods involve re-telling, and competing with oneself to enjoy the satisfaction of learning well-done. Both methods emphasize using the best possible literature (the "classics") as the foundation for all knowledge and understanding. Both methods had for their chief aim: the knowledge and love of God.

As I grow in my understanding of Charlotte's methods, it has been tremendously beneficial for me to dig into the long and sacred tradition of Catholic education, and to understand that these tried-and-true methods really formed Charlotte's ideas about education, which stemmed from her faith in God and understanding of his nature.

Catholics who are afraid of using Charlotte Mason because she "wasn't Catholic" should be studying her work. They might be surprised to find just how Catholic she actually was!

Mama Mondays: On the nature of Authority

My kids are memorizing the Ten Commandments in their Catechism lessons.
Naturally, this has led to all sorts of interesting discussions about what they mean.
Number four is a tough one-- one they have mulled over quite a bit, and one that directly affects them and convicts them regularly:

"Honor your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- (Ephesians 6:2) "that all will go well with you."

The other day, my sister in law  and I were watching our children playing at the park, and she described to me her battle with the issue of getting one child to sleep in her bed.
My thoughts ran over the range of ideas about how to solve this problem.
Many of my friends genuinely enjoy being in bed with baby. Even if that means staying that way as baby grows into a toddler... and school-age child.
Some (like me) think it's lovely, but impractical and doesn't meet our parenting goals.
Some downright object because of their parenting philosophies.

For those of us who choose to fight this battle-of-the-beds, and those who vacillate between the two, there are many methods. And they all work so long as we remain consistent and accept certain aspects of the method's downfalls. There is no perfect sleep solution.

One thing we all know, though, is that it's not enough to say: "because I say so." One cannot COMMAND a child to sleep. Mind you, there is a time and a place and way for saying that it's time to sleep, but that isn't the issue. The issue is the location and quality of the sleep that will be gotten.

In fact, unless the child has been trained from the beginning to sleep away from the parents or has been allowed to co-sleep, this often marks the first real battle-of-the-wills in the young parent's life.

Charlotte Mason talked a great deal about the issue of authority, which is one of the main reasons I get slightly ruffled -- or at least...... question--- when proponents of AP (And by AP I mean anything goes) parenting or unschooling families claim they use Charlotte's methods. Not only was she methodical and disciplined but she advocated order, structure, discipline, and even the occasional-- gasp-- spanking!

However, once I began to really immerse myself in her work, I realized that there was a great big difference in her view of our parental responsibility to discipline and most of the loud-mouthed pro-discipline parenting gurus out there.

Where the biblical parenting books I had read previously advised me to take authority, Charlotte often reminds us that we have it already. And where most of the parenting books I had read say to smash the child's will beneath your own until he is finally and perfectly submitted, Charlotte insists that we must enslist the Child's will beside our own until he has submitted of his own accord and because he is motivated to do right.

That's all fine and dandy, you may be thinking, but how do we do that?

And that's where the brilliance of Charlotte's methods becomes glaringly obvious, as well as the fact that her methods cannot really be separated one from the other. They are a system, part of a greater philosophy.

She says that we use the ONLY things we really have at our disposal:

Our own example.
Some of the most helpful parenting advice I have read in the past has involved the idea that children see everything we do. What a terrifying thought! And yet it is absolutely true-- children are so malleable, and imitate the things they see around them. This should be a good reflection for us on the power of our surroundings, but more than that it should inspire us to behave as we would like to see our own children behave. We ourselves set the tone in our family and thus, in the world.

Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” She answered, “Go home and love your family.”

It's true... children see.




Likewise, Charlotte admonishes us to remember those to whom we ourselves owe obedience. She says that letting the children see that we have our own things we must do because "we ought" helps them to realize that this is the natural order of life and not something they will one day escape.

The child's good habits.
Charlotte's insistence upon instilling good habits in children and intentional parenting (vs reactive parenting) results in the child being "formed" in good character from the earliest days. Like the advocates of tomato staking, CM teaches us that we should be vigilant over our children's behaviors and exposures from the very beginning, so that we will later be free to allow THEM freedom, knowing we have laid down the rails and that they will, with minimal maintenance, always stay on the right track. This is why she absolutely insists on teaching children the habits of attention, obedience, and truthfulness first and foremost.

The child's natural desire for order, truth, and beauty. This tendency will be a great benefit to them if it is cultivated.

In the past few months on facebook, for example, many of my friends have been discussing techniques and ideas for not yelling at their children. Having tried this myself I at first decided that quiet, Michelle Duggar-esque conversations with children simply weren't going to work with my flesh-nature.

Thankfully, as my Husband and my friend Cherry have frequently reminded me: there is the Holy Spirit to help me.

As if I needed anything beyond that, there is also this:

"Be good-natured in your position of authority. Have confidence. Don't be anxious, domineering, interfering, or demanding. Have confidence in the children. (Vol I p 29-30)

What's that? I don't have to TAKE authority? It is a gift given me by God that I must only use? OH.

Because how many of my arguments with my children are actually based on me not having confidence in my authority, or in my children's ability to do what I am asking them to do?

In combination with principle number one up there, that children DO what they SEE, I'm pretty sure that all my problems would be solved if I would just remember these wise words.
I'd no longer be playing referee between grumpy, authority-taking children left and right. I'd no longer be reproaching them for harsh words and tones of voice every few minutes.

In fact, I'm pretty sure we'd have those promised "smooth and easy days" Charlotte speaks of.

So how does this relate to the eternal bed-battle or to any other battle which I might have to pick with my child?

I must only be intentional.... training my child BEFORE the problem occurs. Instead of responding with wonder and awe and furor when a child fails at an expected behavior, I must examine how well I have prepared him to pursue the expected behavior. I must reproach only myself for not having done a better job at training him. I must remain calm, and continue to enlist his little will to firmly face the challenge side-by-side with me to overcome the flesh!

Make a list of the ten biggest problems you face with your children:

Do I want my child to behave in church? I must play church at home. I must teach them to sit quietly for a time, and by my own example, have a quiet time each day.

Do I want my child to be polite? I must be polite to them. I must play polite dinner games that teach table manners.

Do I want my child to play nicely with other children? I must teach them to share, and to get in the habit of using nice words and tones of voice. I must respond to THEM with kind words and a gentle tone of voice. I must share with them, and give them space.

I must only be intentional.
Say it with me: INTENTIONAL.
I must have a plan, and a vision. An end-result in mind.

My reactions should be gentle. My intentions firm.

Not only does this benefit children, but it also does wonders for marriage.

When applied, it would:

-- remove sources of marital strife that come from conflict over the children's character deficiencies or the reactions of one or the other parent TO those deficiencies.
-- give confidence to the couple in their parental authority and methods.
-- create situations where teamwork becomes not only possible, but vital.

God's ways work. Charlotte Mason studied them. If you give these ideas a chance, let me know how it goes!

"Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:66)

Fatherhood

My husband just wrote an amazing post over at his blog, Stromatais, on the topic of Fatherhood.

I want you guys to read it and pass it around if it touches you-- this is a message we strongly believe in and that has transformed our family as the vision has been revealed to us.

Click HERE to read it, and please share.

Learning when you aren't looking

I was feeling like a mega failure at homeschooling today....it's been a crazy month, and I just can't seem to get a handle on how to keep up. Instead of sticking to the lesson plans I've been racing around trying to incorporate our wild life into the things I'm hoping to be teaching.

Yes, there are teachable moments everywhere-- but I was feeling so frustrated that we had had very little time over this crazy vacation season to actually sit down and study our lessons.

BUT THEN....I had my family over for dinner.
It's my daughters' birthday and we were celebrating.

Just a few of the things I saw/overheard which completely changed my mind---and that reminded me that sometimes you just need to see your kids from outside the boxes you draw around your lesson plans. ;)

1. One of my kids asked for a broom to sweep up the porch. They all jumped in the air excited to help him, and left all the adults in the room standing around with their mouths hanging open when they did it. What kids do that??!

2. My seven year old daughter BEGGED me to read "just one page" from Paul Johnon's "A History of the American people," a book my dad -- who is an American Historian-- just finished.

3. My youngest (3) randomly recited a poem at the table: the Land of Counterpane.

4. My sister in law, a public schoolteacher who puts in countless hours training and curriculum selecting, was complaining about having a month to teach her kids fractions. My seven year old introduced her to Life of Fred. She left the house with the title of the LOF with fractions in it so she could buy it to teach her kids(!) Even better, she said: "then I can knock out some language arts requirements too." ;)

5. The same sister in law was talking about how she had Romeo and Juliet on the shelf in her third grade classroom and one of her students had picked it up and read it and had been talking to her about it. She expressed how amazed she was that her 3rd grader not only could read it, but would... after all it was on her reading list for ninth graders. We were able to testify to the fact that most "reading level" indications are meaningless. Good books are good books, and everyone will enjoy them. She found this idea amazing, and I loved sharing in her "aha!" moment.

6. My son, five, walked around spelling all the items in the room. And used both memory and phonetic rules, as appropriate, to do it. (Does it have a silent e?)

7.  My five year old son also spontaneously narrated the story of St. Paul's conversion in a manner that left all of us rapt with attention.

I'm not saying I'm going to lose the lesson plans (as if!) but only that in times of stress when we feel like we aren't "doing enough," it might be good to take a step outside our plans to see how much our kids are growing in all the beautiful ways we are guiding them... and if we have laid down the rails properly, in all the ways we aren't.

“They (children) must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this–that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of space, wherein to wonder–and grow.” -Charlotte Mason: Volume 1, Home Education, Part II, P.44

When husbands won't lead.

An old pastor of mine used to say: "you can't follow a parked car."
It's true-- leaders need to be going somewhere.
He gave me this advice in the context of preparing for marriage, as I went about my way looking for "the one" that God would give me. He warned me to stay away from those parked cars, and to pray for one who was moving. Fast. Towards Godliness, he told me, and not destruction.
I took that advice. In fact, I might have taken it too well. The man I married in the end is such a strong leader I have a hard time keeping up!! But don't think that means I have it easy-- men with naturally commanding personalities have their own challenges. ;)

One of the most common questions I hear wives discuss is the question of what to do when men won't lead. We understand our role relatively well. We believe we are willing, and we wait for opportunities to provide our helpful role. And we wait. And we wait. And we wait! If that sounds like you-- know that you are not alone. Women everywhere are sitting and praying and waiting for their husbands to take charge.

In my experience, that's where the trouble starts. You see, most of the time when I've been in this situation, I have waited, and waited, and waited. And grown impatient. And frustrated. Bitterness and resentment and --gasp-- disrespect have begun to rear their head. And yet: here's the kicker. He actually HAS been leading. Just not where I want to follow. He is giving me clear directions and distinct signs. He is doing things in a way that could not be more obvious. And yet I miss it, because I'm so focused on him leading me where I want to go that I miss his actual leadership-- and then blame him, pretending like he isn't going anywhere "good," or anywhere at all. Ahhh, sin.

Now, there are husbands who won't lead in any area--- they won't work, or won't make decisions, and they struggle. And these issues are more common than they should be. And I believe that any of us wives, even those of us with strong leadership-oriented husbands, have times when we experience this because-- guess what--- we married sinners. And sinners sin, and from time to time, they struggle. The nature of our culture and the messages out there in the secular world given to men ensure that men will battle in their minds with their vocation to lead. Apathy is a plague in our society, and the reasons for it should be glaringly obvious to any Christian. Real progress in any domain takes hard work, and we've all heard the old adage: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

A husband going through this kind of imitation-husbandry, when he plays the part of a husband but doesn't actually do the work it takes to provide for, protect, and serve his family needs encouragement and inspiration to step back into the fight. (or into it for the first time.) The film Courageous is a resource that addresses this in a beautiful way, and if you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend that you watch it. Don't be sneaky and try to get your husband to watch it when he doesn't want to. Watch it yourself, maybe watch it with your kids, and ask yourself what it will take to get your particular man motivated. Then pray, and get ready for your miracle. It won't be the first-- God is able to help your husband. Ask the Holy Spirit for advice in this area. Read your Bible for inspiration.

These struggles can be frustrating, but there is one area a man often won't lead that really tends to crush his Christian wife... That area is in spirituality. Almost every Christian woman I know either has-- or wants very much-- a man who does a few simple things. They are:

1. Lead the family in morning and evening devotions
2. Attend church and worship with the family
3. Have a regular habit of prayer and bible study

I would probably add a fourth-- every woman I know wants a man who has strong moral character. A man who is trying to improve himself and to seek God's will for himself and his family.

In fact, let's start in reverse. A man who is trying to improve himself and seek God's will -- is a man with a relationship with God. But that relationship, if it is real, will bear fruit in the form of religious habits which keep him disciplined and in spiritual shape. these will naturally spill out into his family. We all know how important these habits are for ourselves. We desire to see our husbands doing them, and doing them MORE than ourselves.

I will go so far as to say that a man who externally-- through his job or status, adherence to a religious affiliation, partnerships with Christian men, whatever-- "acts" like a Christian but does not lead his family in their faith is in sin. But I will also go so far as to say that a woman who does not look for, notice, and actively follow her husband's cues, as subtle as they might be, in this area, is also in sin. In other words-- get that plank outta your own eye first.

In the end, though, a man should be leading his family, starting with himself,  a wife should be an inspiring and good-bearing helpmeet, and a Christian family should have a strong and vibrant faith life.

So what if that's not what you have? 

A few things I've noticed about my own marriage in this area. Because yes, even my Mr. Command-Man (to use a term coined by Debi Pearl in Created to be His Helpmeet) sometimes struggles in leading his family spiritually, and sometimes I struggle in following his spiritual leadership.

Consider his spiritual background.
My husband comes from a long line of hypocrites. In his family life growing up, everyone called themselves Christians, poopooed all non-Christians, spoke Christian-ese, and went to Church religiously. BUT they argued and yelled the whole way to church, never had family devotions, ripped out and threw away every religious article that interested their kids that wasn't in line with their fundamentalist mindset, talked one way and acted another, got divorced, got remarried, got divorced, over and over to different people, beat their kids on the way to bible study,  abandoned their kids when they were most in need, etc. Whenever my husband's dad sat down to read the Bible, an argument would break out. By some miracle, through Grace alone-- he came out of that a Christian. But can you imagine the feelings he has associated with "religious" behavior?

Now your husband may not have had the same experiences, but consider his background when you are looking at the issue. What feelings and ideas might he associate with the types of activities you are hoping to see? How can you help him to change those and should you? Does he get a better sense of things by association with other families? By praying through and for healing in family relationships that were broken by this type of behavior? By attending a faith sharing group where these types of things are addressed? By reading a good book? Whatever it might be, there is an answer here. Somewhere, some how, he has negative associations with family devotions, because it's not like he hasn't heard about them.

Or perhaps he has NO concept of family devotions. His family didn't have them growing up and he wouldn't even know where to start or what it means. Perhaps he thinks its corny or artificial and would rather just "be good and do good." Exposure to the concept or idea, or simply starting some with your children and allowing him the freedom to participate as he desires without judging him or holding him accountable will certainly encourage him. God Himself holds your husband accountable for his behavior and habits around his wife and around his children. He doesn't need a harpie flying around reminding him of his shortcomings. He needs to see his wife and kids enjoying family devotions and to think--- I need that. I want to be a part of that.It is God's KINDNESS that leads us to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

Consider his manhood.
My husband is a man of action. One thing he cannot stand is what he calls "having a committee." This is what he says when he sees me start to sit down and plan and structure how to do every little thing from grocery shopping to family devotions to family events. He thinks much time is wasted on the planning part that could be more efficiently used in the doing part-- not that planning is bad, but that OVER planning, over thinking, over discussing, etc is a female-ish activity that needs squelching in his environment. While there are some areas I think these activities are useful, it is true that in the past, he has often exposed my weakness of overplanning and underacting. I like to think about and idealize events, activities and relationships, but not to do the hard work that it takes to make them happen. This is something I've been working on, with some degree of success, for years.

As a man, he takes everything seriously and means what he says. When he speaks, there are clues and points in there for me to pick up on. I need to listen. He doesn't like to repeat himself. And when he acts, he has thought it out, even if I haven't seen the process or it wasn't done the way I would have done it.

In other words-- and this is MY family, yours might be different-- there is no need to have a committee about everything. Instead, we go by his motto: "do good. be good."
My husband is a man, like all men he DOES express himself, albeit in a way that is different to what I'm accustomed to. Instead of doubting him or myself or falling prey to my emotions or ideas, I can listen to what he is saying. He means what he says.

Another thing he has often pointed out to me when I have lamented his "lack of leadership" in the spiritual area is that women are more emotionally driven than men. Call it a stereotype if you will, I call it a reality. We speak different languages.
Which then means that when I pray and speak to God, I give and receive a certain amount of emotional  communication. My praise and worship is filled with language that evokes particular feelings and emotions. My supplications are wrought with words that imply deep, longing needs. I cry and laugh and raise my hands and stomp my feet. That is me being real with God. And I am often thinking he isn't being real with God himself--- or that I don't see him "enjoying" the same type of relationship with God as I have. It has bothered me in the past.

When my husband speaks to God-- He is speaking to His heavenly father. And just as between fathers and sons deep exchanges are possible with a few respectful words, that is HIM being real with God. When I desire long, lengthy bible studies where we get to talk about how a passage makes us feel, and instead he gives me a brief, stern lecture on how a passage should have changed my life... I've learned to be filled with gratitude. Change, after all, is the point. Not good feelings. All the fun bible study ideas and bibley activities in the world aren't worth a dang if they don't change us.If my husband is a man of few words, who means what he says, he is going to bring the change and leave the ooey gooey behind. And I married him, so I accept that. In fact, over time I have come to very much appreciate and be grateful for his lack of sugar coating things. I can always count on him to tell me the truth in any situation. That is a blessing to me.

And lest you think I'm suggesting that a lack of compassion is a good thing, consider that a real man often is moved specifically BY his compassion. We, the "weaker sex" are so easily swayed this way and that and in so much need of their stability and solid framework.

Consider his precedent.
My husband says that great men almost always have rotten sons. This is something he prays about and guards against... because he desires BOTH to be a great man of God and to raise great men of God. We've seen the precedent throughout history-- through the PK (pastor's kids) phenomenon, for example, or through the sad heritage of the great men's sons who have paraded through our history books.
One thing we have noticed is that when men become pre-occupied with their OWN greatneess, it's a slippery slope downwards. My husband loves ash wednesday, when the priest traces an ashy cross on his forehead and tells him that he is dust, and to dust he shall return. Pride is often our greatest downfall, both  for husbands and wives. Even for parents-- as it prevents us from hearing our children and building a relationship with them and instead causes rifts and deep wounds. He believes that the most important thing a man can do is embrace his God-given vocation: the three part triangle which has for points his marriage, his fatherhood, and his work. If he is a man who has begun to make progress in the area of leadership where he hadn't been before, or whose wife is FINALLY beginning to make attempts to follow his leadership, it is clear that pride is the next enemy to overcome.

My husband says that when men have uninspired wives at home, they often come home and find their wives and children draining-- so they begin to "hide" themselves in the greatness of their work. This is why when I'm tired and in a bad mood-- my husband will spend hours upstairs writing a deep blog or a poem or parts of his book or something. But when husbands have gentle, meek, peaceful and happy wives, they find they enjoy their wives and children and become filled with joy in their primary vocation-- that of father and husband. Of course, he says, men must embrace their primary vocation first in order to achieve eternal success at their work. But, he says, it is a true test of manhood to embrace the primary vocation of husband and father when there is no one willing to be led and no joy or warmth to be found in the home.

Throughout history, it has been the traditional way that men lead and women follow. Only very recently have we women been given the freedom to say: "let's do it like this" uninvited. My best advice to you is not to abuse this privilege-- but instead to pray and ask God to make you the kind of women who would make our foremothers proud.

Some practical tips.
What, then, can we DO about this feeling that our husband is not leading?

1. Pray. Fervently.
2. Go to confession. Search your heart for places you have sinned and have not followed joyfully when he HAS been guiding you somewhere.
3. Delight in him. One of the things all happy wives have in common is the ability to overlook their husband's faults and to speak and believe only those qualities which make him ideally suited for HER. Disrespect is the opposite of delight. Find within you the grace you've already been given through the sacrament of holy matrimony to trust God fully and with abandon for your welfare, and delight in your husband.
4. Do not neglect the responsibility to teach your children. But ALWAYS use respectful words with your children about their father's leadership in this area. Even if all he does is bless them once before bed, be grateful and tell your kids so.
5. Look for ways he IS leading and follow him. Even-- especially-- if these are places you are uncomfortable going out of your own idea. One example is that my husband has created a culture of prayer in my family that is FAR more formal than what I had envisioned. And yet I see such growth in my children and in my self as a result of these formal prayer settings. I am very grateful for them.
6. Stop trying to turn him into someone/something he is not, and instead look for the wonderful things that make him unique and good.
7. Take some tips from Charlotte Mason and remember that habit is ten natures. Both for yourself, for your children, and for your husband, cultivate good and fruitful habits that build character and encourage each other in them.
8. Remember that what you say -- but more importantly, what you DO-- greatly influences your husband. That alone should give you a plan of action where you have been failing.
9. Speak his language. Many husbands are able to relax and focus more when their wives are attentive to their needs... be they sexual, emotional, or a need for cleanliness, order, or a good attitude.
10. Above all, trust God.

A letter to my non-homeschooling friends

Dear parent of a non-homeschooled child,

So, you have been reading about Charlotte Mason and are very interested, but don't feel prepared or ready at this time to make the plunge into homeschooling. Perhaps homeschooling seems impossible-- unreachable. Or perhaps homeschooling is not something you truly desire to do. Perhaps something in those Charlotte Mason quotes that keep popping up here and there on your twitter feed is calling to you and you want to do something about it, and yet you are happy to send your kids to school!

Friends, don't give up on her yet-- there is plenty of wisdom here to go around, and almost all of it can be used to give your children a successful start in life if you just begin to think like a home educator.

You see, homeschoolers, especially Charlotte Mason families, cannot really compartmentalize "school" and "home"-- for us they are one. Remember the first thing you read about her philosophy that resonated with you? "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life."

So if you begin to think in these terms, you can provide your child with a beautiful Charlotte Mason-style education, and still retain those elements which you feel constrained to (or which work for your family- I'm certainly not one to say that homeschool is the only way!) This realization gave me so much hope, because my husband and I believe strongly that our "right" to homeschool our children is already under attack in this quickly disintegrating "free" country. As American politics progress, education usually comes under the lens, and it used to cause a terrible dread in me. Having thought out over and over which actions I might be inclined to take should public schooling become mandatory, I have a CMish plan of attack, and so I would like to share it with you today in the hopes that it might create in you a sense of peace that this educational idea is available to you, even if your kids are not schooled at home. Certainly, some of the methods will fall by the wayside, but the vision can continue, and with a plan and some purpose--- all will be well.

First: understand the vision. Charlotte hoped to obtain a rich liberal education for ALL. As parents, especially as Catholic parents, we understand that it is our duty as married persons both to welcome children as they come to us and to educate those children-- ALL children-- who come under our care. Sit on that for a while and the implications of it will shed fresh light in your daily struggles, it did mine. It should also show you the duty you have in your neighborhoods and community-- a duty to open up pathways towards the liberal arts for all people... even the little people who come to your door or who run through your lawn on the way to the school bus. Big people too. Who can you help educate today? How can you make an education available to the people you encounter?

Next, begin in infancy. During pregnancy, even. Buy yourself a good copy of Charlotte Mason's works on education and sit down every day to peruse them, highlighter in hand. Become familiar with Charlotte-- as with an old friend. Then, you will be ready to start home educating your child.

Begin with a foundation of good habits. Never, never, never stray from these habits.
Give your child plenty of fresh air and good, healthy food. Give your child good habits and teach him especially, in the beginning, to pay attention, to obey, and to tell the truth at all times.

When your child is still an infant, give him clean, breathable, cotton clothing and bedding. Air out his room. Take him often outdoors. (You might want to take a tip from the Scandinavians, here, who let their well-covered babies nap outdoors.)

Redecorate his room and make it clean and simple... give him a few beautiful things and teach him to take care of them.

Give him good food. Breastmilk, at first, if you can, and then pureed vegetables and fruits.

Create a culture of prayer, Bible reading, and Sabbath keeping in your home. Become accustomed to order and neatness and politeness. Give your child jobs, and expect him to learn them. Patiently enlist his will to do right.

Teach your child, even your infant, to play with a toy a little longer than he is inclined. Cultivate the habit of attention. Read, read, read to your child, but only when he is interested. Let him play, freely and with no direction from you. Give him ample time with his imagination.

Teach him to help you around the house, using real objects rather than plastic toys. Speak to your child, using no form of baby talk, but only polite and kind and carefully chosen words.

Unclutter your home, and get rid of everything but THE BEST -- nourish his mind with only the most beautiful books... the ones with the best pictures and the most literary quality. Nourish his imagination and sense of history and geography. Put beautiful paintings on the walls. Teach him to become friends with the animals around your home and the plants and insects in the garden.
Nourish his body with healthy, good food and water.

Bring your child to church, and cultivate devotion and duty in him. Do not put him in the nursery.
Love your child, and respect his person. Enlist his will, and train it, rather than smashing it. Do not nag him, but help him to remind himself. Use gentle words with him unless the situation calls for something stronger. Express disappointment, not anger. Allow natural consequences to take hold and point them out gently.

As your child nears school-age, and begins to show an interest in letters, words, and numbers, teach them these three things as if it were a game-- sing songy alphabets, fingers tracing letters in the sand, abacus counting games.
Laugh often.

At six, and not before, tell your child he is ready for formal lessons now. Teach him the alphabet, and then phonics and sight words simultaneously (more on that in other posts or scout the web for info about how CM taught reading.) Create in him the habit of perfect execution--- give him short lessons but ensure that he completes what he can complete perfectly.

If you must at this point send him to school, do so knowing you have provided a wonderful foundation for him.

Continue these habits throughout his education. Turn off the TV and video games. Read him excellent books. Since his "school education" will be taken care of for you, focus on the rich array of things he won't receive in school. Make sure that he is weekly exposed to picture study, music study, and shakespeare and plutarch.
Take him on nature study walks. Daily.
Read him poetry every day.

Make him a copybook and teach him to do beautiful copywork. Give him dictations. Make him a book of Centuries and together place entries in it as his schooling progresses. Read him living books relating to the course content of his history lessons, and science lessons. Give him a nature journal and set him loose in beautiful places. Take hikes together and learn the names of birds and stars.
Read him the Bible, and together, memorize scripture and the catechism.

Help him to find truth and beauty in all that is around him-- to be good, and to do good. At every opportunity remove dry facts from him and allow him instead to immerse himself in a subject, especially through hands-on experience or through excellent reading.

Keep him busy with good, hard work but give him ample free time as well. Teach him important lifeskills and model good citizenship.
Make sure he learns to use his voice, to play an instrument, and to paint or sculpt.
Make sure he learns to recite poetry, to read beautifully, to speak and understand French, Latin and Greek.
Give him a strong character building program (scouting style programs are wonderful for this!) and a moral foundation. Place before him heroes he can imitate who have done well before him.

These things are accessible to you as a non-homeschooling parent and will make all the difference in the life of your child.

As you begin to implement these changes, one at a time, notice how the atmosphere in the home begins to change. Notice how disciplined you are becoming. And yet-- notice how much more alive everything feels.
Now you're there-- that place between ideas and activities, between thinking and doing-- suspended, and ready for anything.
"Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life."
Now you, you also, are a home educator.

I'm praying for you,
Barbie

A praying people

I read this article the other day.
At first I was annoyed-- typical "Catholic" drivel about how praying spontaneously is something WE do instead of something GOD does in us. I let my feathers ruffle as I thought about the damage that encouraging people NOT to pray spontaneously together would do.

But then something funny happened-- I started to realize there was some truth to it. It is not so much that it was encouraging people NOT to engage each other to pray spontaneously. Instead, it was encouraging wives to pray formal prayers with their husbands, which would act as gateways to Kingdom living in their homes.

I believe that husbands and wives should pray spontaneously together, and that it should come easily, frequently and naturally. That husbands and wives should take the time to pray spontaneously together every day.

The article challenged me:

This type of intimate, spousal prayer might sound beautiful to women. But to most guys--good, devout guys--not so much. It requires seat-of-the-pants verbal skills that many of them do not have. Not to mention a willingness to, at times, express emotions that are hard for a guy to discuss with his wife in an ordinary conversation, let alone talk to God about with his wife listening in. It's one more example of a woman finding it therapeutic to talk about her problems, and the man finding the same activity to be close to torture.

So wives who want to persuade their husbands to pray with them, but find them recalcitrant, would be well-advised to drop the hand-holding, spill- your- guts- to -God- together idea, and go for something that is more realistic. That is, utilizing the type of prayer that the Catholic tradition excels at. Namely, reciting formal prayers that were written by someone else! Or I should say, reciting formal prayers while investing them with your own will, intentions, feelings, etc.

My husband has been a Christian much longer than I have. And like many, many Christians walking around this earth.... he believes with all his heart but he has never had the experience that Charismatics, both Catholics and Christians, refer to as "baptism in the Holy Spirit."

He has never been "overtaken" by the Holy Spirit. Never spoken in tongues. Never had a word of knowledge for anyone. His experience of the Holy Spirit is much more calm and steady. It's less of a loud, passionate, vibrant love affair and more of a kingdom mentality.  He bows and worships. He trembles and fears. He loves, he obeys, and experiences the goodness of The King. He is moved and moves. His love for God is like the love of a couple who knows and trusts each other because they've been married for years and struggled to communicate for years. It's beautiful, but it is intimate. Above all... it is private.

It's not that he hasn't ASKED for Baptism in the Spirit. It's that he isn't one to do/say something that is contrived of his flesh. And because God Himself has not reached down and CHANGED the way my husband prays, he has not changed it. It's not that he doesn't exhibit the fruits of the Spirit-- he absolutely does. Rather, it's that he doesn't look like/act like a Charismatic Christian in his appearance, and for a long time, I wasn't OK with that.

I've been around Charismatics all my Christian life, and usually praying from a book pains me. I use books as a starting off point to get me going, and it's not uncommon for me to spend an hour at a time "lost" in a prayer-dance with God. I sing random songs. I get moved and say what I'm thinking. I feel inspired and speak God's Word back to Him. I sing, I laugh, I cry, I get on my knees, I stand up. I clap my hands and stomp my feet. I listen. I spend a lot of time listening.

My husband, on the other hand, usually stands very still, closes his eyes, and folds his hands in his lap during prayer. When he leads our family in prayer, it's often in familiar prayers... The Our Father. The Hail Mary. The Apostles Creed. The Glory Be. He likes to pray straight out of his Bible, or straight out of a prayer book. He and I met in Jewish services on post at Ft Jackson, and he and I have often prayed straight out of the Jewish prayer book together.

In the beginning of our marriage, I'd be bored to death and wondering why he wasn't more "spiritual." He, on the other hand, was content. And my kids who didn't always know "what to say" when they talked to God, were participating.

When he became a Catholic, one of the first things my husband really latched onto was the rosary. He prayed the rosary all the time, and was constantly reminding us to do the same. I prayed the rosary quite a bit. But I also prayed the Divine Office (the psalms with the Church) and preferred it.
That's what I prayed with the kids when he was gone.

It's not that I didn't like the rosary- I love it. But I have to be in the right frame of mind to pray the rosary, whereas praying the psalms, I find, puts me in the right frame of  mind. I love a rosary when I'm super frustrated and rocking a grumpy baby in the dark... but if I am standing free before my God, I pray a little differently.

I think that's just me... I'm a very biblically driven person and the biblical language is something that brings me to life and ignites my being. It has been the focal point of my spiritual life from the beginning, and it is how I work out my salvation.

So prayer in my family had always been kind of ... awkward. We know that it is only through daily prayer that we will truly live, so we do it. But it's a learning experience.
In the beginning, I prayed with the kids, and he prayed with me.

My prayer times with the kids were extravagant--- loud, worshipful, expressive.
My prayer times with him were quiet and formal.

Over time, I noticed that my oldest two children responded REALLY well to the prayers at mass. They absolutely love the rhythmic chanting, the eloquent language that speaks to them, and the distinct roles they have: now we stand. now we sit. now we bow. now we cross ourselves.
Their prayers were hung on these pegs and I noticed their prayers began to really improve and become intimate moments with God when that happened.

So I jumped in to praying formal prayers with my kids. We pray the liturgy of the hours together morning and evening, and there is a time for spontaneous prayer included, but because it has a format, it's comforting to all of us. When I did that, I noticed that each of my children developed their own prayer-habits.
My oldest became really invested in eucharistic adoration.... even spending time on her knees facing the nearest tabernacle each day. She is a little evangelist, and quite adept.
My second child is a bit prophetic. He speaks to inanimate objects and commands them. He famously will pray for up to an hour spontaneously and when the mood hits him-- often in the bathroom.  My third is a singer. She truly prays twice when she sings hymns.
And so it goes.

Another thing I noticed is that when  we began to pray formal prayers together as a family, my husband and I began to pray spontaneously together... something we hadn't done much up until then. And it wasn't until we ALL prayed formally together that this began to change. Suddenly, I would mention a difficult situation one of our friends was in, and instead of saying: "remember to pray for her," he would say to me: ""let's pray for her right now. Come here..."

My heart burst. THIS was the prayer life I believe a Christian family should have. And for the first time in my life, instead of it being artificial or me forcing it, it was natural and our natural leader, my husband, was leading it. Beautiful.

So it's been about a year that this change has taken place, and I am quite sure that we are well on the way to a meaningful family prayer life.

Last night, two of our dearest male friends were visiting. They came by to say goodbye as one of them was on the last leg of a trip. We caught up, we shared a glass of wine, we talked politics, and  they wrestled the kids. But then, instead of saying goodbye, as we were winding down,  one of them said: "Let's pray a rosary together before we leave."
Now, these are some of our dearest friends. And we have prayed together many times-- quick bursts of prayer at various times during holidays, during mass together, etc. But never a rosary. Never like this. I was... surprised, to say the least. Grateful, but surprised.

They asked my husband to lead the rosary  and sent my kids off to the family altar to gather rosaries for everyone.

I had a momentary panic.
.... but my kids aren't used to the rosary and will probably act up.
.... but my father in law hates the rosary and will probably be uncomfortable hearing us pray it.
.... but my husband says the rosary weird and will probably lead it funny
.... why can't we just PRAY??
We began. We chose the luminous mysteries (it was Thursday). My husband led us... and
it. was. PERFECT.

To sit in a room with three men, three husbands, three fathers, humbly praying the rosary... perfect.
Each man was holding a child and teaching them how to pray by holding their little fingers around the "right" beads, by explaining what each mystery means and what it revealed to us about God's character....perfect.
Each man reverently bringing his intentions, his family, and (because these men are men of influence in the community and therefore in the world) his nation before God and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. Perfect.

I thank God for formal prayers. I thank God for the rosary---I thank God for the Liturgy of the Hours. I thank God for the Catholic Church who gave us these prayers, through which many parents, spouses, and friends truly become ONE VOICE united in prayer. Through them, progress in prayer is made. Through them charity and humility become the standard.

Through them three men joined powerfully in the Holy Spirit last night to change a devastated nation, starting with each other. Through formal prayers our family and friends have truly become a praying people.
Glory be to God always.

Attention to the Will of the Child

The Way of the Will should be taught to Children.––It is something to know what to do with ourselves when we are beset, and the knowledge of this way of the will is so far the secret of a happy life, that it is well worth imparting to the children. Are you cross? Change your thoughts. Are you tired of trying? Change your thoughts. Are you craving for things you are not to have? Change your thoughts;
there is a power within you, your own will, which will enable you to turn your attention from thoughts that make you unhappy and wrong, to thoughts that make you happy and right. And this is the exceedingly simple way in which the will acts; this is the sole secret of the power over himself which the strong man wields––he can compel himself to think of what he chooses, and will not allow himself in thoughts that breed mischief.

Power of Will implies Power of Attention.––But you perceive that, though the will is all-powerful within certain limits, these are but narrow limits after all. Much must go before and along with a vigorous will if it is to be a power in the ruling of conduct. For instance, the man must have acquired the habit of attention, the great importance of which we have already considered. There are bird-witted people, who have no power of thinking connectedly for five minutes under any pressure, from within or from without. If they have never been trained to apply the whole of their mental faculties to a given subject, why, no energy of will, supposing they had it, which is impossible, could make them think steadily thoughts of their own choosing or of anyone else's. Here is how the parts of the intellectual fabric dovetail: power of will implies power of attention; and before the parent can begin to train the will of the child, he must have begun to form in him the habit of attention. (Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, pg 326)

This passage struck me this morning while I was searching for answers to a parenting problem I've been having.

It's interesting and very accurate: children need to have ignited in them a desire to do right because it is heroic and courageous. What it comes down to is a simple fact: motivation comes to them in the same way the Gospel comes to us: It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance, and the pursuit of truth and beauty that reveals His character to us.

My husband and I have worked tirelessly at instilling the habit of attention in our oldest and the payoff has been great both for her and for us.It worked so well that when my son came along, we were flabbergasted that he had not simply absorbed the habit in utero and we began a long line of battles with him in which we were mystified by his behavior, much of which was contrasted to that of his older sister, generally a careful attention-payer. One day, very recently, we realized our mistake: we had never focused with him on the habit of attention, without which the habit of obedience is truly only half a habit. We set about working on it and noticed a difference in his BEHAVIOR almost immediately.

The art of enlisting the will is a subject on which Charlotte Mason spends a good deal of time. It is worth reading her ideas because they keep in mind that while God is sovereign, we must be willing co-operators.
It reminds us that our children have human dignity, which in turn enables us to see them as persons rather than objects, a tendency which all people struggle with.

CM CHALLENGE: This month, I will be meditating on the above passage and looking for more ways to enlist my children's will and to instill the habit of attention in all of them.

What did this passage speak to you?

Books, Books, and More Books!

Just finished making up next year's booklists for our homeschool, broken down by month in which we will use them. (to avoid the "I can't afford this" panic I get into when I try to buy them all at once. :D)
The vast majority of these are available in our library, which really helps.
Because we consider ourselves a Liberal Arts / Charlotte Mason school, we emphasize the core in a way I attempted to reproduce from my experiences with the Classical Liberal Arts Academy without using their actual online courses at the moment (ie our supreme focus in the 0-4th years is on Grammar, Arithmetic and Catechism). We use living books and combined subjects to round out the disciplinary and academic intensity and spread out a "feast of ideas" before them in all other areas-- fine arts, history, geography, science, and the like.  That means our book selections have to work in many different areas-- they need to be living, engaging books with excellent (not mediocre) writing, demonstrate excellence in character and religion, cover a large number of subjects at once, and be good for using in narration/copywork/dictations, among other things (I have a weird thing for sturdy hardbacks, for example.) Picky, picky, I know. BUT I'm happy to announce there are some paperbacks on this list, surprised at how much fiction there is,  and that I haven't read them all so I will be discovering with the kids. (yay!)
Because we have a number of children, and because we cycle through history/geography four times during the course of their education, we will reuse many/most of these books.

Most of these come from Ambleside Online, Simply Charlotte Mason, Catholic Mosaic, Five in a Row, The Well-Trained Mind, or Connecting With History. We have been doing this for a year now and it's absolutely wonderful to combine all the age levels this way. The only work my children do separately at this age consists of individual reading lessons and arithmetic. We school year-round, with little breaks here and there.

Enjoy! Hope it helps somebody out there-- I'd love to hear what you guys are doing next year, particularly if you are schooling more than two children.

NOTE: FOR SOME REASON, THE PICS AREN'T SHOWING UP AND THERE ARE HUGE SPACES BETWEEN TITLES. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE AND AM WORKING TO FIX IT. SINCE IT'S LATE FOR ME, I WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW EVENING TO RE-DO THE PICS.  THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE!

APPIAN WAY ACADEMY BOOKLIST 2012 

(3 Students, ages 3-6, YEARS 0-1) 

TEACHER GUIDES AND PLANS:

Connecting With History Vol I: Ancient History 

Five In a Row Volumes 1-3 + Christian Character Supplement 

Ray's Arithmetic Parent/Teacher Guide

ARTISTIC pursuits Books 1 and 2 (K-3) 

The Harp and the Laurel Wreath 

Bible and Catechism 

Organizer/Lesson Plan Book 

Wildlife Field Guides for NC (Audubon) 

STUDENT MATERIALS: 

Our Holy Faith, Book One 

Catholic Children's Picture Bible 

RSVCE Bible

Phonics Pathways 

McGuffey's Eclectic Readers (Primer and Book One)

Ray's Arithmetic Series: Primary Arithmetic 

(Singapore Math Text + Workbooks levels 1A-2B)

Nature Journals

James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot 

The Burgess Bird Book for Children 

Getty Dubay Handwriting Books A and B (possibly C)

Founders of Freedom, Bk 1 Land of Our Lady Series 

The Old World's Gifts to the New 

Kingfisher Historical Atlas 

Kingfisher Encyclopedia of History 

Usborne Time Travelers 

Kingfisher Encyclopedia of Science

Blackline Maps of Ancient History 

Rosetta Stone Latin Program 1, 2, and 3

Cambridge Latin Course Unit 1 

Binoculars, Compass, Magnifying Glass

A Large World Map and a Large US Map, Laminated.

Art Supplies and plenty of paper.

Bedtime Reading and Audiobooks throughout the year: (we don't include these in the lesson plans, but we read them or listen to them in the evenings-- no TV. :))

A Child's treasury of Poems

Aesop's Fables 

Grimm's Fairy Tales 

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales 

Fables de La Fontaine 

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, Edith Nesbit 

The Just So Stories, Kipling 

Charlottes' Web 

Pippi Longstocking 

The Wizard of Oz 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 

Parables from Nature, Margaret Gatty, 

Peter Pan, JM Barrie 

King of the Golden River 

Pinocchio 

Little House in the Big Woods 

The Blue Fairy Book 

The Red Fairy Book 

Pocahontas 

The World Treasury of Children's Literature

Pecos Bill 

TERM ONE:

AUGUST

The Story about Ping, Marjorie Flack 

Lentil, Robert McCloskey 

Madeline, Ludwig Bemelmans 

A Pair of Red Clogs, Masako Matsuno

I Believe: the Nicene Creed, Pauline Baynes 

A Child's book of prayer in art, Sister Wendy Beckett 

Juanita and Our Lady of the Angels, Elizabeth Locke 

Clare and Francis, Guido Visconti 

Sister Anne's Hands, Marybeth Lorbiecki 

Brother Bartholemew and the Apple Grove, Jan Cheripko 

Stories told by Mother Teresa, Teresa/Edward Joly

Noah's Ark, Peter Spier 

Archeologists Dig for Clues 

Archeology for Kids 

The Magician's Nephew, CS Lewis

String, Straight Edge and Shadow 

SEPTEMBER 

The Rag Coat, Lauren Mills

Who Owns the Sun?, Stacy Chbosky

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Viginia Lee Burton 

The Glorious Flight, Alice and Martin Provensen

The Monk Who Grew Prayer, Claire Brandenburg 

Mother Teresa, Demi

Peter Claver: Patron Saint of Slaves, Julia Durango 

The Tale of Three Trees, Angela Elwell Hunt 

St Jerome and the Lion, Margaret Hodges

Gilgamesh the King, Ludmilla Zeman 

Revenge of Ishtar, Ludmilla Zeman 

Last Quest of Gilgamesh, Ludmilla Zeman 

Gilgamesh, Man's First Story, Bernarda Bryson

Old Testament Days OR Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors

OCTOBER

How to make an apple pie and see the world, Marjorie Priceman 

Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say 

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wendy and Harry Devlin 

Another celebrated Dancing Bear, Gladys Scheffrin Folk

Angel in the Waters, Regina Doman 

Horton hears a Who, Dr Seuss 

My Guardian Dear, Miriam Lademan 

Francis: the poor man of asssisi, Tommie DepAola 

A Saint and his Son: Tale of Tekla, Elaine Murray Stone 

Father Philip tells a Ghost Story: a Story of Divine Mercy, Susan Andrews 

Moonlight Miracle, Tony Magliano

The Great Pyramid, Elizabeth Mann 

Cat of Bubastes, GA Henty

Pyramid, David Weitzman 

The Golden Goblet, Eloise Jarvis McGraw 

Shadow Hawk, Andre Norton

NOVEMBER

Papa Piccolo, Carol Talley

Very Last First Time, Jan Andrews

The Clown of God, Tommy DePaola

Storm in the Night, Mary Stoltz

I sing a song of the saints of God, Lesbia Scott 

Saints: Lives and Illuminations, Ruth Sanderson 

The Spirit of Tio Fernando: a Day of the Dead Story, Janice Levy 

The Pied Piper of Peru, Ann Tompert 

Brother Joseph, the Painter of Icons, Augustine Denoble

Pharoah's Boat, David Weitzman 

The Egyptian Cinderella, Shirley Climo

Boy of the Pyramids, Ruth Bosnik Jones

Tirzah, Lucille Travis

Letters from Egypt, Mary Whately

TERM TWO: 

DECEMBER

Katy and the Big Snow, Virginia Lee Burton 

Night of the Moonjellies, Mark Shasha 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Rober Frost and Susan Jeffers 

The Christmas Miracle of Johnathan Toomey, Susan Wojcieschowski 

The Gift of the Magi, O Henry 

Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey, Robert Byrd 

The Clown of God, Tommy Depaola 

The miracle of St Nicholas, Gloria whelan 

St Nicholas, Ann Trompert 

The lady of Guadalupe, Tommy Depaola 

The legend of the poinsettia, Tommy Depaola 

the Night of Las Posadas, Tommy Depaola 

The Very First Christmas, Paul Maier 

A Small Miracle, Peter Collington 

The Donkey's Dream, Barbarar Helen Berger 

The Crippled lamb, Max Lucado 

Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors 

Hittite Warrior 

Old Testament Days

JANUARY 

The Giraffe that walked to Paris, Nancy Milton 

Three Names, Patricia MacLachlan

Wee Gillis, Munro Leaf

Owl Moon, Jane Yolen 

Take it to the Queen, Josephine Nobisso 

Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary Joslin 

The Little Match Girl 

The Last Straw, Frerick Thury 

Story of the Three Wise Kings, Tommie Depaola 

A gift of Gracias, Julia Alvarez

King David and His Songs

St Joseph Series King David 

FEBRUARY 

A New Coat for Anna, Harriet Ziefert 

Mrs. Katz and Tush, Patricia Polacco 

Mirette on the High Wire, Emily Arnold McCully 

They were Strong and Good, Alice and Robert Lawson 

The Most beautiful thing in the world, Susan Brindle 

Brigid's Cloak, an Ancient Irish Story, Bryce Milligan 

the Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica, Kathleen Norris 

Saint Valentine, Robert Sabuda 

Love is, Wendy Anderson

Aesop's Fables 

D'Aulaire's Greek Myths 

Lives from Plutarch (Lycurgus/Pericles/Alcibiades/Cimon) 

The Boys and Girls' Herodotus 

The Golden Fleece , Padraic Colum

MARCH

Babar, to Duet or Not to Duet, DeBrunhoff 

the Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf 

Down, Down the Mountain, Ellis Credle 

Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey 

St Ciaran, Tale of a Saint of Ireland, Gary Schmidt 

Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, Tomie DePaola 

St Patrick, Ann Tompert 

The Song of the Swallows, Leo Politi 

The Story of the Cross, the Stations of the Cross for Childre, Mary Joslin 

The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein 

Usborne's Ancient World 

Old Testament Days OR Classical Kids

The Librarian who measured the earth 

What's your angle, Pythagoras? 

String, Straight Edge and Shadow

The Children's Homer 

Lysis Goes to the Play 

God King: a story in the days of King Hezekiah 

Theras and His Town 

TERM THREE: 

APRIL

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter 

Mr. Grumpy's Motor Car, John Byrningham 

All those Secrets of the World, Jane Yolen 

Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney

Hosanna to You, Jesus, Marisa Mignolli 

Little Rose of Sharon, Nan Gurley 

Through the Eyes of John, Chad Daybell 

Petook: an Easter Story, Caryll Houselander 

The Very First Easter, Paul Maier 

Helens' Special Picture, Davide Previtali 

Saint George and the Dragon, Margaret Hodges

Detectives in Togas 

Mystery of Roman Ransom 

The Story of Queen Esther 

Science in Ancient Rome 

Herodotus and the Road to History 

Alexander the Great, Gunther 

Archimedes and the Door to Science

The Odyssey

The Children's Homer

MAY

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge, Hildegarde Swift 

Follow the Drinking Gourd, Jeanette Winter 

Harold and the Purple Crayon, Crockett Johnson 

When I was Young in the Mountains, Cunthia Rylant 

Gramma's Walk, Anna Grossnickle Hines

The Little Caterpillar that Finds Jesus: a Parable of the Eucharist, Susan Andrews 

The Weight of a Mass, Josephine Nobisso 

The Caterpillar that Came to Church, Irene Hooker 

Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue, Joan Bell 

Pascual and the Kitchen Angels, Tomie DePaola 

Karol from Poland, M Leonora Wilson 

Joan of Arc, the lily maid, Margaret Hodges

A Triumph for Flavius

The Aenid 

Lives from Plutarch (Coriolanus/Cicero/Marcus Cato/The Gracchi/Caesar/Antony) 

Shakespeare's Julius Caeser

JUNE

The Bee Tree, Patricia Polacco 

Andy and the Circus, Ellis Credle 

The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar, Natalie Kinsey Warnock 

Paul Revere's Ride, Henry wadsworth Longfellow

Remembering the Prophets of Sacred Scripture, Marianna Mayer 

the Fish in the Fountain, A Story of Baptism, Susan Bringle 

The Princess and the Kiss, Jennie Bishop 

Little Turtledove finds His Mate, Miriam Lademan 

the Very First Christians, Paul Maier 

The Twelve Apostles, Marianna Mayer 

the Blackbird's Nest: St Kevin of Ireland, Jenny Schroedel 

Across a Dark and Wild Sea, Don Brown

JULY 

Henry the Castaway, Mark Taylor 

The Finest Horse in Town, Jacqueline Briggs Martin 

Truman's Aunt Farm, Jama Kim Rattigan 

The Duchess bakes a Cake, Virginia Kahl

A Child's Rule of Life, Robert Hugh Benson 

The Squire and the Scroll, A tale of the Rewards of a Pure heart, Jennie Bishop 

The Legend of St Christopher, Margaret Hodges 

A Peek into my Church, Wendy Goody