Month of Thanks Day 9: Thanks be to God for Flexibility in Homeschool Scheduling

One of the great benefits to schooling at home is the adaptability of our schedule to new choices ... exciting events ... or just plain letting life flow around us and sweep us up into the whirlwind. 

Today was just such an example:  Lego Maniac was able to spend the morning participating in a class, "Shakin' up Shakespeare", led by a some folks who are in the Richmond (VA) Shakespeare Company.  Not only did he learn about Shakespeare's plays (by acting out, miming and interpreting the Bard's works), he also came home an enthusiastic witness to this classical author!  How many kids in 6th grade have learned to LOVE Shakespeare ... he loved it ... and now String Bean (5th grade) and BamBam (2nd grade) WANT to learn more about these plays ... so we'll tweak the schedule a bit and dive into Shakespeare!

Love, love, love the homeschooling gig!  Thank you, God, for the ability to homeschool my little cherubs and turn them onto loving, living and learning ....

 

mater et magistra ... a great publication needs YOUR help

Some of you may know that I am a regular contributor to the only Catholic homeschool periodical out there ... mater et magistra.  I write the quarterly handcrafts column as well as contribute reviews and other editorial assistance.

Margot, the publisher, and all of us on the editorial staff are attempting to make the magazine more accessible, more available to all Catholic homeschoolers.  In light of that, there is a poll we'd like you to take (whether or not you currently subscribe to the magazine) to understand what our current and potential customer base would like ... click here for more information about the magazine as well as a link for the survey.

Thanks for your help with this as we strive to continue to make this magazine consistently useful to all our readers.

 

Mary's Month and May Crowning

The month of May, for Catholics everywhere, is considered the "month of Mary".  And usually, close to the beginning of the month (or in our case, the first Friday in May) groups of Catholic children celebrate Mary's Month by crowning a statue ... bringing flowers of the fairest ... to crown the Queen of the Angels.

Today, our parish had the homeschoolers participate in our own crowning -- crowning the lovely outdoor statue of Mary after 12 Noon Mass. 

It was a gorgeous 70+ day, not a cloud in the sky,

while Father blessed the crown of roses (Lego Maniac, not pictured was one of the dozen altar servers ....)

, two children who made their First Communion this year crowned the statue

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and we prayed a full Rosary and sang Marian hymns. 

So while the big girls were doing this: 

The little girls were doing this: 

and my youngest was doing this:

 

(facing 90 degrees from the action!)

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Here's Mary's Court:

After the celebration, we ate:

and socialized and enjoyed this uniquely Catholic celebration!

Blessed Mother, please watch over all who look to you for succor ....