Catholic Arrows

Lent is right around the corner.  A time to prepare our hearts and souls for Easter!  The highest feast in our faith!  So what is Septuagesima ?  It is a Pre-Lent!  So I figure it is a time to prepare for Lent.  To decide what things I want to do to share this time with my children and get everything together. In the Old Rite the weeks leading up to Lent are called by special names : Septuagesima - 70 days to Easter, this year February 17, 2019 Sexagesima- 60 days to Easter, February 24, 2019 Quinquagesima - 50 days to Easter also the Sunday Before Ash Wednesday, March 6! Obviously the math is not exact, but the idea is looking ahead to Easter.  The Latin Mass has already donned the purple of the penitential season and the Gloria and "Alleluia" have been removed from the Mass until Easter.  While most churches are still wearing the green of Ordinary Time, it is a good time to prepare to prepare ! Planning has not always ...

It all started with the cards.  Over 300 of them!   But let me back up.  My daughter is in homeschool Kindergarten this year and with three little brothers we have not been active in the local groups until now.  With the start of this new year, my plan was to get out more!  So we attended a couple of park days.  That was fun.  Then Valentines came into view. Two of the homeschool groups in the area, of course, planned a Valentines Day party.  Which one to choose?  The first group is our town's local homeschool group.  I have met some of the mom's but my daughter hasn't met many of the children yet.  The second group is our regional Catholic homeschool group.  I want our homeschool journey to be enhanced by our faith not just in our home but in our society.  One party is on Thursday the other Friday!  Both 1pm to 3pm!  We decide to do both! Now we have never been to a Valentines Day party and I barely remember...

Language Arts - The Good and the Beautiful - Level K My daughter (5) finished up The Good and the Beautiful   Primer and Primer Supplement before Christmas.  She enjoyed putting three letter words together and beginning to read.  She continues to go back and read stories out of the Primer Reader.  The new Beginner Books Box A which came out timely, were also a hit.  When the level K books arrived, she was so excited to start! So, we are starting Level K slowly!  As this is an advanced curriculum (1st grade material) and my daughter has been slow to be solid on her alphabet, I was hesitant to start.  She was doing well sounding out words and was motivated to learn to read so we will take it day by day! Math - Math U See - Alpha Math is a strong point for my daughter.  She was already counting to 100 with minimal help and doing very basic addition in the fall.  We had previously been working through Primer and decided to move her on to...

Arrows are made to fly straight.  You want them to hit what you are aiming for.  You want them to fly a long distance.  You want them to stick in the target and not bounce off.  The road to heaven is both long and narrow but the end goal brings the greatest reward. When we bring children into this world we have great plans for them.  We want them to grow up healthy, happy and holy.  We want them aimed for heaven.  We know the road is long and we want to prepare them for the journey.  We want them balanced so they are not thrown off by the cares of this world.  We want them strong so they are not deterred by the challenges they will surely face.  We want to sharpen their senses so they stick true to their ultimate target.   Even more God uses children to shape us!  We learn to love as God loves as we raise these little ones.  As we seek the best for them, we learn patience, humility, perseverance, trust, forgiv...