School or homeschool or both

We homeschooled our son for all of gradeschool. This is his first year  in high school. He is attending a Catholic school so needless to say it is costing. I have picked up extra hours at work to pay for the school. I don't mind, though, because I want him to have a very good education. It is a very good school. I would have to say it is harder for me because I am not there every moment to oversee what he is being taught. I can't hear what the teachers and other children are saying. I believe the Lord has led us here and he will always be with us. I am very grateful that I have a son who will sit and talk and tell us about his day. I am also grateful I have a husband who partners with me in sending our son to a Catholic school. I feel if he is to attend school, looking around it is the best place for him to be outside of homeschooling.

With homeschooling in mind, I realize, also that once a homeschool mom, always a homeschool mom. When our son comes home with homework, we want to see it. We want to be sure he is doing the work correctly. We want to make sure he understands the teacher. We question him. We hold him accountable to listen to the teachers, to be sure he knows what is going on. It has been a challenge for him, his first year in a school setting but it is good. It is a learning process for all of us as we have transitioned to a school setting instead of homeschooling.

There are so many ways to continue to be involved in your children's education even though you are not homeschooling. As it says below, we parents are the first and foremost educators of our children. Teachers are just hired out by us. The kitchen table and the couch are still are school friend in the evenings when homework or studying abounds.

One thing is for sure, in order to succeed we need prayer in our lives.

I found a few prayers regarding education I thought I would share.
They will also be posted under prayers. In these prayers we will ask Our Lord to help us, lead us and guide us in educating our children and we will ask his mother, who is our mother, along with our friends the saints to pray for us so we can raise our little ones for His glory.


St. Thomas, patron saint of students:

A Student's Prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas

Creator of all things,

true source of light and wisdom,

origin of all being,graciously let a ray of your light penetrate

the darkness of my understanding.

Take from me the double darkness

in which I have been born,

an obscurity of sin and ignorance.

Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.

Point out the beginning,

direct the progress,

and help in the completion.

I ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A Prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas

Virgin full of goodness, Mother of mercy, I entrust to you my body and my

soul, my thoughts and my actions, my life and my death. O my Queen, come to

my aid and deliver me from the snares of the devil. Obtain for me the grace
of loving my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, with a true and perfect love, and
after Him, O Mary, of loving you with all my heart and above all things.
Amen.

A Prayer to St. Thomas Aquinas

Wonderful Theologian and Doctor of the Church, you learned more from the Crucifix than from books. Combining both sources, you left us the marvelous Summa of theology, broadcasting most glorious enlightenment to all.You always sought for true light and studied for God's honor and glory.

Help us all to study our religion as well as all other subjects needed for life,
without ambition and pride in imitation of you. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph of Cupertino for Students

O humble St. Joseph of Cupertino, singularly favored by God in the difficulties of study and the worries of examinations, implore the Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind and aid my memory in the search of His truth and wisdom. Help me especially in the decisive moments of examination, protecting me from that forgetfulness and disturbing anxiety which often accompany them, so that I may grow in knowledge, love, and service of God from Whom flows that wisdom which leads to eternal life. Amen.

In this Prayer for Students, we ask Saint Catherine of Alexandria to intercede for us so that we always pursue our studies with eternal life in mind. Saint Catherine, is a  patron saint of  students and teachers.

A Prayer for Students to St. Catherine of Alexandria:

O glorious Saint Catherine, wise and prudent virgin, thou who didst set the knowledge of Jesus Christ above all other knowledge, obtain for us the grace to remain inviolably attached to the Catholic faith, and to seek in our studies and in our teaching only the extension of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord and of His Holy Church both in ourselves and in the souls of others. Amen.

http://www.school-clipart.com/

Google pictures

School

We have homeschooled for 8 years and now my son is going to high school. We have found a really great Catholic high school nearby.  He has only been there a couple of days but so far he seems to like it. My husband and I both enjoy helping our son in the evening with his homework. 

We recently purchased a huge bunkbed for him with a desk underneath, arranged some lighting and it makes a great place for working on homework.

Book review: Break-In at the Basilica

My son and I have enjoyed two books as of lately in a series of three.  The first one is called Lost in St. Peter's Tomb.  The second book is titled Break-In at the Basilica. The third, which we haven't read yet is titled Curse of the Coins.

The stories center around two young children. A brother and a sister whose parents travel frequently. The third person the story centers on is Sister Philomena.

Sister Philomena is a nun in a convent in Grottaferrata, Italy, which is near Rome. Few people realize she is a special investigative agent to the Pope. The young girl and boy are her niece and nephew and when their parents travel, they send the children to stay with her at the convent. This seems quite dull to them at first, especially Riley. He doesn't see how spending any time in a convent can be fun for a boy.

In the first book they are looking for  a mysterious intruder in the Apostolic Palace, they end up led astray by a white cat and end up in St. Peter's tomb. They help to recover the missing relics of St. Peter, all the while learning about St. Peter's life and learn about the Vatican and Italian lifestyles, as well as famous places and works of art.  Very interesting.

The second book starts out similar. They are sent to spend time with Sister Philomena, their aunt. When a break in occurs at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. They again find themselves in the center of action, helping  Sister Philomena search for clues.  They explore the basilica, study its frescos, sneak into the tomb of Saint Francis, wander through Assisi, at find themselves at the little church of San Damiano.  In the story they spot a wolf, hear its howl or feel its presence. What is the meaning of the wolf. What is it trying to tell them? Woven into this story  are the personal stories of Saint Francis and Saint Clare and the sights and sounds of Assisi.



We enjoyed both of these books. They are very interesting and move quickly.  I am very excited to get the next books in the series. This book, too, sounds very interesting. They are in search of the 30 pieces of silver Judas was paid for betraying Jesus. Franciscan monks of Jerusalem sent the coins to the Vatican Museums for authentication and safekeeping - but then they disappeared!

I read, also, there is a fourth book coming. Sister of Siena.

Here is a link for more information:   http://www.auntdeesattic.com/index.html

I love the reading aloud part of homeschooling. It is my favorite part. It is amazing what I learn, too.

School or homeschool?

Well, my son is reaching high school age and next year may attend a Catholic school. I wonder if this is what my life will be like?

Christmas Vacation

We always take two to two and a half weeks off of homeschooling for Christmas vacation. I always seem to have big plans of what I would like to do during that time. Christmas fun. Learning the faith through activities. I never seem to have enough time to get it all done. Though, maybe just doing life is learning, too.

Next week we will be back to the books again, but during this holiday time we have 3 birthdays to celebrate, one in which my son turned 13, besides celebrating Christmas and New Years.

During this holiday season my son and husband were able to adventure  on a winter scout camping trip. It was  a one night camp and most of the next day. They had alot of fun, did a lot of sledding, cooked over a wood stove, slept in bunk beds and just had fun.
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Christmas time is a magical and busy time for us but we are enjoying it.

Homeschooling

     

 We have been homeschooling for 8 years now. Our son is in 8th grade  There have been  ups and downs but I have loved every minute of it. We are studying our Faith very deeply this year. He will be confirmed into the Catholic Church in Spring. It is such a glorious thought to think he is studying so much of God, the Holy Spirit and of the love God gives us and the beautiful church He left us.  As I attend the class with him I learn so much also. Things I didn't learn or remember from my own childhood. I hope and pray he will remember much better than I did the things he is being taught.

Our strongest and best subject is history. We love it. This year, though, we are also studying Latin. Wow, how that has helped with spelling. We started last year with English from the Roots Up. and moved on to Our Roman Roots and I have to say understanding how our language came to be and how words are put together sure helps me understand and spell better also.
Next is Math. Joshua is great at math, though, he doesn't believe it.  He can figure things in his head so well and quick. 
I came across a little gem here this year, Easy Grammar. Wow, do we like this curriculum for English.
We have a lot of other subjects yet.  We love off days, of course, field trips, choir, debate class. Our school is going well and I thank the good Lord He is always with us and guiding us. 
Hope your homeschool is going well, too.
Check out some of the links below for curriculum.
                                      

Working together

My husband and I worked together recently to build a holder for our garbage cans that can sit outside of our house. It's kind of like a little shed for garbage cans. It was great working together like that. It took us about a couple of weeks on and off.
My husband, son and I also worked together remodeling one of our bathrooms. We all had particular jobs to do and worked like a team and got the job done and it looks great. Special thanks to my husband who did so much work on both projects. It was also great to see my son working so hard right along side of us, being very diligent.