A Great Investment for the Catholic Homeschool

Over the years I have tried different things to teach the younger ones about the Mass.  My hope has been that the more engaged they were at a young age, the more they would grow to appreciate it as they got older.  I also hoped that understanding would improve behavior during Mass. 

 

 

Years ago I purchased the Mini Mass Kit from Our Father's House listed below and at a Catholic Homeschool Convention I found the vestments.  These were quit pricey.  I probably invested a little over $300 in a few years creating the Mass Box that the kids could only play with respectfully and properly.  This means that we only allowed the boys the play priest and wear the vestments. 

Jumba grew up with the Mini Mass Kit in the house and was not interested.  When shopping for Confirmation gifts a month ago I found this cloth version called My Mass Kit.  It was only $70.  I liked it because it was very portable and self contained.  It was also quiet making it just the trick I needed to engage my "very bored" 5 year old at church.  He brought the kit to the car the entire first week but not into daily Mass.  He would get to the car after Mass and then pull the pieces out and try to remember how the priests had used them.  The second week he took it inside two times and only one time did we take it into the cry room and actually get the pieces out.  We were alone for daily Mass and I let him set it up and then watch the priest to compare the real items to his kit versions.  This is not a toy that I think should be brought to church all the time.  I think of it as a tool that works wonderfully at teaching a young one about the Mass. 

The learning book that came with the kit is pretty good.  If you only have girls I would still get this version.  They don't really play Mass with  this version, it isn't real enough.  I still think it is a fabulous teaching tool.
Wee Believers My Mass Kit
I was even more thrilled when I got home and examined the packaging.  My favorite Cardinal is quoted on the box!

" . . . will capture the imagination of little children with regard to the most sacred realities of life." 

~Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke, D.D., J.C.D., Prefect, Supreme Tribunal of the Apostoic Signatura

Now it is time to go old school.  I ordered this kit years and years ago, probably to help with teaching Pooker for her first Holy Communion.  I know it is well used but I could not find old pictures.

Our Father's House Mini Mass Kit
The goal was never to try to convince the boys that they needed to be priests but to make the option real.  Just like having a doll and pretending to be mom and dad, the kids have also played Mass over the years.  In our play they don't have two girls get married and in the same way they only have a boy as a priests.  This isn't political it is just the way it is. 

 

Bear is actively looking onto several different seminaries and trying to decide which one is the better fit for him.  I don't know that he will be a priest for certain but I do know that today he thinks that is what his vocation truly is.  Pickle declared a few weeks ago that he also would like to become a priest.  His true desire is to be an NFL star but a good back up option is the priesthood.  I thought J was going to panic about the family name living on when Jumba announced the other night that he too wants to be a priest.  I am not sure about any of them but most of all doubting the current dreams of this loving 5 year old.  I say all that to let you know that even if none of them end up as priests I still think that the these investments were money well spent!  (Oh and in your spare time, Please offer up a prayer for my boys and their vocations, whatever those vocations might turn out to be.) 

Sex Education Resource

So many times we fight letting our children hear how the public school children learn about the birds and the bees. I don't disagree. I want my children to understand their bodies and their ability to reproduce through God's eyes. There are good resources out there for the physical aspect only that are used in the public school settings. I wanted more than that but what to use? I also found some good Christian based material, but again not perfect in my opinion.

I want my child to learn from the very beginning that the love of husband and wife is representative of the love of the Father and the Holy Spirit creating the Son. I desire to understand the Theology of the Body as explained by The Great Pope John Paul II. But how in the world do you teach your child these deep theological concepts while they are still very very young?

Unfortunately not teaching them is a bad option. Our children see and know much from TV, Internet, ads, and radio. Your first child will know much less than the younger ones but ones. So I recommend the official teaching to change based on the development of each child and their placement in the family, or maybe when they ask.

We found that with our big family my older children had many questions that we glossed over until they were around 10 to 12 years of age. Then we tried to continue to dialogue, taking it deeper. We found one book that really helped with that The Joyful Mysteries of Life by Catherine and Bernard Scherrer published by Ignatius Press.  I recommend reading this with your child. Mom to daughters and dad to sons, if possible. I made the mistake of letting our oldest just read the book on her own, and I was pregnant at the time. The book did a good job of telling her how it happened and that it was a beautiful part of God's plan. She did confront me at one point with, "I know how that happened, I read the book!"

Now this is just a starting point. I would not end with this at all. I am loving the newer resources that are coming out on the Theology of the Body studies for high school and college age.

What I don't love about this book is that is presents the "perfect" side of things. It is almost too sticky sweet. I have never seen life that way and the world has twisted the role of sex in our lives so much. This book is almost too idealistic to be at all helpful to our real world children.

What I love about this book is that it creates the words for us to start with. It gives the mechanics of sexual intercourse in a non threatening manner. I love that the language is soft and loving. I love that the reality is so pleasant that if presented the right way your children can see the truth behind the lies that society tells. I love that our beautiful faith is the basis for the facts of life.

Use this book to start your conversation with your child. Do not think you are finished when this book is over. Point out in a movie or show how the characters get it or don't get it according to our faith. Stay involved and as they hit the high school years start looking for a Theology of the body resource.

Hich School Books for Catholic Faith Study

In our home we really believe that the study of the faith is not a subject. It is more of a way of life. That being said it is very important to understand that faith and to push your faith to grow. For the high school years it is very appropriate to take courses to study the faith in an in depth manner. I believe that the high school years is the perfect four years to offer a deep study of the faith.

Finding the right text is very difficult with this one. I felt so blessed when my friend found this serious of books from the Midwest Theological Forum. This is from their website:

"More about The Didache [DID-uh-kay] Series:
The Didache Series presents the life and doctrine of the Catholic Church in the context of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teachings of Vatican II as witnessed by the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The Didache Series also draws from Sacred Scripture, the lives of the Saints, and the Doctors and Fathers of the Church. It is ideal for high school and adult education, seminaries and colleges, RCIA, catechism classes, and home schooling."

My children and I have found that the books are very well written. They are not dry. They bring the faith to life. It is exciting and yet readable. They are engaging and yet very much in line with Rome. I just love these books. I would encourage any individual that is wanting to study their faith more to pick them up. Start a group and study them with friends. You might not know as much as you think you do about your faith.

What I don't love about the books is that they are long. The one on Scripture and the one on the Church are not broken down very well to use to in a homeschool setting. I would love them more if they could have broken the chapters that were 50 pages long into more digestible bites and give us around 25 chapters.
What I love about the books is that they are easy to teach with. They give so much information and the answer/teacher books really help in leading a discussion on the books. We have developed our own club based on these very texts and I will discuss those in another post.

Real Learning

This is a wonderful book. I had been homeschooling for years before I saw this book. We had moved to Houston and I began to have real issues with some of the children with learning issues. As I grew more and more discouraged at their lack of correct output I began to loose focus on my true purpose of homeschooling. A friend began to tell me about this book, she knew the author and was so excited that it was in publication. I love it and I really believe that it can help anyone learn how to focus on the true meaning of education of their child.

An Important Science Resource

Every Catholic homeschool must have a book entitled 1000 Years of Catholic Scientists. It is to be used as a resource for all science classes. Our classroom is better off having this book. I have found that for the study of science we have had a hard time finding a text that is challenging enough, while still being interesting. If it meets both of those standards it is often written in a secular manner or sometimes if it is written by certain Christian groups it might even be anti-Catholic.

I want my children, my students to grow to appreciate their faith and the world that our Creator has given them. Our wonderful Roman Catholic Church has too often been given a bad name in regards to science. When one looks closely the truth can be seen. Often the Catholic church has worked to pursue the study of all sciences. Understanding God's creation is understanding Him.

Unfortunately as those that had issues with the church for various reasons began to write the text books found much of the truth was distorted or lost. I found that as we studied science I was longing for a reference to help me balance the truth with what was reported in the text. I was so happy when I found this thin book. I am so thankful to have this. We pull it out as we use all other science text.

I have so enjoyed learning from this book. I am most thankful to the author. If you are a Catholic Homeschooling family and you want to be able to study science with a resource that will help you find the truth about many of the worlds most famous scientist then you must have this resource in your home library.

Here is the description of the book from the site that sells this valuable resource.

1000 Years of Catholic Scientists new edition
Did someone say that good Catholics can't be good scientists? Never have been, never will be? Have they heard of Pasteur? Of Lavoisier? Of the Ampere whose name is abbreviated on most of the electrical appliances in your house? Using the Catholic Encyclopedia, now on line, along with her personal background in science and a network of other resources, Jane Meyerhofer has composed this list of nearly 200 eminent Catholic scientists since the tenth century. Find them in every century, in every field of endeavor. In the new edition, scientists are listed chronologically, with an alphabetic index. This is much easier to use, and -- though it is intended as a reference book, the list actually makes a very interesting read, straight through. Mrs. Meyerhofer is a homeschooling Mother of four (so far) and did all this between the peanut butter and lullabies. It is a great work of intelligent love.