Raising Saints & Martyrs

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You see that look in her eyes...you know the one. The look that says she isn't going to do this without a fight. I see that look daily. Bear hates Language Arts. I haven't found books she enjoys reading yet. I haven't found a grammar program that doesn't make her cry. And I most certainly haven't had an amazing year trying to get this done.


Actually...I lied...I did find one curriculum that didn't make her want to kill me. That was Wordsmith Apprentice. It was fun for her. The writing was approached in a way that made it less like work and more like a fun activity. She began with filling out a job application and moved on to reading newspaper articles. This curriculum moves the child along with writing and gaining confidence without the child noticing. By the end of the semester Bear was able to bust out a great five paragraph sentence! We also used A Beka, but I wasn't loving it, and neither was she! Every day was a new fight this year. I really should I have switched gears early on, but I had hoped she would rally.

I used Wordsmith Grades 7-9 for Boo. She loves to write, so this wasn't a concern of mine at all with her. I did it in conjunction with Saxon Grammar and Writing Grade 7  and Wordly Wise 3000 Student Book 7. Boo will be using grade 8 for both of these next year at her own request. We have found a curriculum that works really well for her and plan to stick with it! She also used a literature curriculum by BJU: Explorations of Literature. I'm lucky because she loves to read and write, so none of this is wasted on her!


What made the cut for this year:

Moving Beyond the Page L/A 11-13 - This is new to us, but looks promising. Bear hates reading, writing, and grammar, but I am hopeful. She did use a couple MBTP books this year for fun and just loved them! They take a more classical approach than I am used to, but I welcome the change.
BJU Excursions in Literature - This went so well, Boo asked for it again!

In honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima I thought it wise to spread her will...or rather God's will. We all know the story, May 13th 1917 the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children. She had warnings and pleadings to offer us. She also make three requests. Three basic requests we cannot ignore...


Our Lady has asked the following of God's children:

1. Prayer - every time Our Lady appeared she asked that we pray daily. Not just any prayer...the Holy Rosary. Now, as a Catholic we all see them, we can pray with them, but can we really pray with them? Do we know how to focus that prayer? Feel the beads within your hands and let the rest of the world fall a way for a time?

Adapt to life:

I do prefer physical beads, but I will say that the download of Laudate has taught my own children how to maintain the prayer easily. Teach our children to pray from an early age, include them in your daily Rosary. Children mimic what they see. If they see you obeying God, they, too, will obey. If they see you praying, and see you reaping the rewards of that, they will pray too.

2. Reparations - to old school Catholics this is called Penance (ok...to all of us, but reparation sounds way less scary). We are called to confess our sins and leave them behind for eternity. You may want to do more than just "confess" your sins. God grants us mercy without asking...perhaps we should use that and be sure we do ask. Then it will be known to Him that we want His will to be done through us. A simple Act of Contrition is not the answer here. We must be truly sorry, we must mean it when we ask forgiveness of our Lord.

Adapt to life:

Ask for forgiveness regularly. Forgive regularly. Now, forgiveness is not the same as allowing people to walk on you, but that is a whole different blog post. Let your child see you begging God to forgive your transgressions. Let them see you put those sins in the past and no longer committing them. Our children will more readily ask for forgiveness if it does not seem shameful to do so.

3. Consecration - pay attention here...this matters: Consecration makes things holy. If we consecrate our lives to the Holy Mother, then we are opening them up to Jesus. We are consecrating our lives and hearts to Christ through the Holy Mother. This is important!!! By consecrating ourselves to Mary we are making ourselves holy for God. For His glory and happiness. We are called to have a fire within our souls for Jesus and Mary.

Adapt to life:

It seems like so much to live up to...lucky for us, we only have to desire and ask. When you truly desire and ask something of God, he responds somehow.  I cannot fully tell you how to incorporate this into your life, but I can tell you a great book to assist you in doing this would be 33 Days to Morning Glory. I used it as a personal retreat and it has done wonders in my life.



Rosary - Pray this daily with an examination of conscience...then consecrate yourself to God and the Holy Mother.

Make the Sign of the Cross

Holding the Crucifix, say the Apostles' Creed

On the first bead, say anOur Father

Say three Hail Marys on each of the next three beads

Say the Glory Be

For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery (perhaps followed by a brief reading 

from Scripture) then say the Our Father

While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, next say ten Hail Marys while 

meditating on the Mystery. Then say a Glory Be (After finishing each decade, some say the 

following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: O my Jesus, forgive us 

our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have 

most need of your mercy.

After saying the five decades, say the Hail, Holy Queen

I have seen such a massive influx of essential oils as of late. I think every one of my friends must sell them by now. Really. I am not kidding. All my amazing friends want to get back to as natural as possible for their own kids, and I love that! But what happens when this many people get into something like this? What happens when they all start to become "experts"? Things begin to get dangerous.

I have seen a few very well known companies that claim their oils are so good, no carrier oil is needed. Excuse me while I insert a massive eye-roll here. I hope these companies are joking. Anyone who is not well versed in oils needs to use a carrier until they know what oils are safe with their own skin. And, my personal choice is to always be safe with my own children and use a carrier.

See...here is the issue I have with the fact that oils have become so very commonplace. People are not really being educated on how to use them safely. I have been using oils since 2003...they came to me as a relief for postpartum depression. I went to an aromatherapist and learned. I read, I went to classes taught by those who had actually attended a school, I didn't read a blog, I didn't think all the books I read were right, I learned...for years, I studied.

Did you know that there is a whole list of oils that are discouraged from being used in massage at all?
Did you know that children and elderly people are more likely to have a bad reaction to oils?
Did you know some oils cause photosensitivity?
Did you know ingesting oils is NOT recommended without the instruction of a HHP?
Did you know some oils cause seizures?

Here is my favorite: One well known company has a blend that is used all over the house...this blend is almost TOXIC to those with epilepsy. Almost every single oil in it is extremely dangerous to anyone with seizures. And it is recommended to keep you healthy! And you instructed to just put it right on you skin. WRONG.

Please know, I love essential oils, I use them, and I will not stop. But, I do so safely. I do so without risking the health of others.

Holy Week is upon us. I love this time of year. I love the renewed feeling of knowing that God loves us all more than we could ever imagine. I have compiled some great Holy Week activities for the family. Our home doesn't do the bunny or any other non-religious traditions, so I am always looking to make my family feel like we have fun traditions as well.



I love this idea of a "calendar" to teach the story of this Holy Week. See the original post here.

From: Catholic Missionary Family

The Holy Week box is a brilliant idea for smaller children as well. This idea here is adapted from this original post here.

From: It's an always...always kind of love

This cross craft super cute and would be a great keepsake!

From: Mumma Made It

This is a great way to tell the story of Easter and still have eggs. This can be adapted so many ways!

From: Teach Beside Me

And finally, prayer...I feel all children should be led to pray daily...

From: That's what {Che} Said

I'm not going to lie here...at the beginning of the year I had this all figured out. I had my schedule set for Bear and Boo, I knew the daily routine, I knew the sports schedules, and I for sure was not going to waiver.



How, then, did we wind up here? Bear is constantly fighting me on school work while Boo just trots on by like it's the easiest thing ever. I was frustrated and at the end of my rope. I was watching as one child was falling behind because I was so determined to follow my schedule that I made. The same schedule I made without bothering to work with and consult the two people who knew best what they need: my daughters! Duh!

This week I swallowed my pride and did what I needed. I decided the best way to give my children what they needed was to talk to them. I had fallen into exactly what I do not want to be. The parent that says do the work and keep up {as a teacher, that is what I am told to do, as a mother, I know better}.

How was I able to gain control in just a week? Easy...look...

1. {ok, it was more like two weeks because I needed to plan for a week}...I followed my regular lesson plans for a week

2. During that same week, I began to just ease off and see where exactly the issue was. It really didn't take long.

3. I wrote everything down {by the way, I started the year with a time-block schedule, then swapped to a list schedule right away as both girls preferred it}. I noted what work was not getting finished, or how long each assignment was taking.

4. I read my notes and this is what I saw:
*Boo: Finished all work fast, correctly, and even early.
*Bear: Math was great, she is excelling, Latin...same, Geography is where she slows, she is bored with it. Science was going well as long as I was reading the book to her, same with History. Finally we have Language Arts...this is a disaster. Not one day resulted in finished work. She could only finish if we were doing it all verbally **ding!!

5. I called the doctor! Yes, you read that right. Now, I am not all about labels, but I am a divorced mother, so I need my bases covered. Her doctor and the specialist agree: learning disability {ps...I despise that term. These children are not incapable of learning, they just do it differently!!!} Appropriate appointments made, and school work will be done 50/50 verbally and on her own {because if we are being real...college}.

6. I regrouped: I pulled out my notebook, called the girls in and got to work!

7. The real work: I sat with each child and talked about how she learned and how she liked to break her day up. Boo really does do well with a list, so she still gets her daily task list to check off each day. Bear has a time-block schedule now. Technically both girls do, just in case Boo isn't feeling it that day, she has a time-block to get her through.

8. I went through and printed up worksheets for all missing assignments! Every. Last. One. I then filed those in a file with each child's name and class. If there is missing work it will be there. The child can go in and look when she has extra time and finish the work! I tend to have Friday as quiz day, so this is perfect for Fridays!

9. I picked up additional small unit studies for Boo. When she has nothing left, she can do some of that work. She loves ancient Greece right now, so I got two on that for her.

10. I took a hard look at curriculum because Bear was unhappy with Language Arts and was getting frustrated with the amount of time she was doing Math. For Language Arts, I got rid of a couple items, small books and stupid sentence stuff, and we no longer diagram. For Math I added Life of Fred, which we all LOVE. I am slowly beginning to rethink Mystery of History. While I absolutely love it, I am not sure either of my daughters likes the chronology. Plus, in Volume II there is a lot of anti-catholic view, which I can deal with because it forces me to teach my children the view of the Church, but I worry that I might miss something one day, What do you think? Is there a History curriculum you love?

New schedules for my girls:

In my home we keep Christ in Christmas. I choose not to include Santa in our home traditions. It isn't that I am a hater of Santa, but I don't see the need to lie to my children about a character that really has nothing to do with the actual meaning of Christmas. I get a lot of backlash about not doing Santa in my home...here are some of the responses and my response to them {in case you're considering firing Santa as well}.



You're ruining Christmas - Considering the holiday is about the birth of Jesus Christ, I do not feel I am ruining anything for anyone.

You're depriving them of their childhood - Ok, I don't even give a response here because this is asinine. Really? Jewish, Muslim, and Jehovah's Witnesses everywhere just cringed. How sad does a child's life need to be when Santa is what defines their childhood? My goodness people.

Your children will ruin it for everyone else's children - Again...Jewish, Muslim...not all religions, or even non-religious people believe in Santa. How exactly does my child single-handedly have the power to ruin the secret you hold so dear, but no one else does? You know Santa is pretend, how is that so different?

You're ruining the spirit of the holiday - *Ahem* Please excuse me while I adjust my nativity...

So...what traditions do we have? Well, while I do not have Santa {please note...he is in the decor, and we do have Santa dolls, we just don't participate in believing he is real}, I do have several other ways to enjoy the entire season. Here is a list of seven of them:

Our Christmas traditions:

• Feast of St. Nicholas - On the Feast of St. Nicholas we prepare a nice meal and set up our stockings and stocking holder for small gifts for the family. Nothing big, all really small gifts, but fun nonetheless. Everyone gets small stocking stuffers and snacks.
• Christmas Eve - Feast of the seven fishes. We are an Italian family, so we celebrate Christmas Eve as a fasting day {meaning no meat}. The fest of the seven fishes is my favorite meal of the entire year. *Just a side note, this is an Italian-American thing, but my great grandparents who came from Italy even celebrated* While an Italian-American cultural event, those in Italy do fast on Christmas Eve, just more informally than this. We open one family gift after dinner (an event of some sort that changes each year).
• Christmas Day - Mass, before all else. The children each get one gift. No more, no less. We received one gift this day 2,000 years ago, and I maintain that tradition.
• Epiphany - Three gifts are given to each child. One practical, one fun, and one wild card gift. This year, wild card gifts are handmade for each child. Customized to her/his own personality.
• Nativity - I cannot stress enough how much my children love the nativity scene. We do not place Christ in the scene until Christmas morning. After Christ is born, the Wise Men make their journey to meet Christ, getting a little closer each day until Epiphany arrives. I also have a fun play nativity the toddlers can touch, play, and learn with.
• Christmas lights - Most families enjoy this activity...we go get coffees and hot chocolate and head out to look at the Christmas light spectaculars in our area. This is a fun outing and kind of a big deal. My children and I are able to enjoy each other's company so much.
• Ornament exchange - I allow my daughters to hold an ornament exchange with friends. Dirty Santa style! They love this and it gives them the chance to bond with friends as well, plus learn to be gracious hosts.

When my life fell to shambles a few years back {ok, in retrospect it was the best gift God ever gave me, a way out, safety} I decided to overhaul the holidays. I have hated the holiday season since I had kids. I hate Christmas shopping, I don't get all into decorating, I don't love it. Like, at all. Well it hit me when my kids and I were on our own that the reason I hated it was because Christmas had become a thing of materialism in our home. I knew what I needed to do;

Bring Advent home! So. Darn. Simple.

But how? How do you bring Advent back into your home?

Start by heading to your church. Head in and pray. Pray hard. Talk to God, listen to God, and ask Him what he wants for your family. What does Advent mean exactly? It is the preparation for the coming of Christ. It begins the 4th Sunday prior to Christmas and ends December 24th; it is our time to prepare for the arrival of our Savior. And prepare we shall!




Here are 5 ways to prepare during Advent:


1. Go to Mass, maybe even a few on weekdays! January 1st is not the time for this resolution! It is now! Prepare before the arrival, not after.

2. Pray a rosary daily. Remember, it was Mary's "yes" that allowed this season to commence.

3. Repent, I feel any major feast or holiday {Christmas and Easter} should be prepared for with repentance. Be sorry for your sins, try to change them for Christ. Do real penance and confession.

4. Daily readings. You can downlaod the Laudate app to your phone and use it to get the daily reading. Read them daily, pray about them, ask God to be with you while you read.

5. Sacrifice, even if it is only your time. Perhaps you can volunteer somewhere so others can go home for the day, or buy extra groceries and make smaller, individual meals...when you pass someone who is homeless, give them a meal!



5 fun Advent traditions to start:


1. Advent wreath - duh. You can have one that you pull out year after year, or you can make a new, fresh one every year. And if you don't like the everyday wreaths you can make a modern version of Advent candle holders. The possibilities really are endless.

2. Jesse tree - Honestly, I had never heard of this until a few days ago. I think it is genius! I love this so much. It is the story of the ancestry of Christ in a way your small children will understand. I will be adding this to my own home next season for sure!

3. Advent calendar - Each of my children has one, and no I do not mean the kind filled with a candy each day. Ours are filled with age-appropriate Advent preparation. Some are activities, some are readings, some are even sacrifices, but all are there to help the children prepare for Christ in the best way possible.

4. Nativity Scenes - Add a nativity to your home. Handmade, store bought, kid friendly, whatever...the point is to remind your children what the season is really about. 

5. Celebrate feast days - Gather a list of feast days and how to celebrate them. Go to Mass that day, and celebrate the feast day. This a great way to really get involved in the season.