(How) Can I (Catholic) Homeschool for Free?
A friend who likes to plan early asks: Can I homeschool for free? Quick answer: Yes. Since so many homeschooling resources are now available online, you could get away with little more than pen, paper, a computer, a printer, and an Internet connection. BUT, unless...
100 Ways to Rebuild the Culture of Life
Family Celebrate life: birthdays, name days, anniversaries. Celebrate the living. Spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Get your marriage right. Seek spiritual direction if you need to, as individuals or as a couple. Have kids, have more kids, adopt,...
Christianity vs. The New Orthodoxy
SELF Then: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27 Now: Me + Feelings + Hormones + Surgery = Gender-fluid I create myself. MARRIAGE Then: When he brought her to the man, the man said:...
The Pope Didn’t Say “Divorce”
What he said: Dear Brothers and Sisters: We know well that every family on occasion suffers moments when one family member offends another. Through our words, actions, or omissions, instead of expressing love for our spouse or children, we can sometimes diminish or...
Deconstructing Contraception | Sweetening the Pill
Especially after Pope Francis' words about birth rate reduction, I'm really excited about this new documentary that's coming out! It's called Sweetening the Pill, produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. Their Kickstarter page is here. Nine days to go!! As a Catholic,...
Contraception, Abortion, Population Control, and Laudato Si’
From Laudato Si': 50. Instead of resolving the problems of the poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in the birth rate. At times, developing countries face forms of international pressure which make economic assistance...
Living “The Benedict Option”
What made me smile today: Seeing all the recent posts on living "The Benedict Option", which I first saw Rod Dreher write about in 2009 (a post which I consider rather prophetic; just the title alone is enough to give you pause, in light of what's happening today). I...
My Selfish Reasons for Staying Catholic
[In response to Elizabeth's question.] Why am I still Catholic? First and foremost reason before any other is the Eucharist, where my Savior is fully present: body, blood, soul, and divinity. No other Church can offer me what my Savior, the One who died for ME (and...
Living Spiritually in a Material World
One of the biggest challenges for families today is how to pursue happiness while at the same time develop the virtue of holy detachment. It’s the job of a lifetime for us, as individuals and as parents. With such easy access to one-click ordering and other conveniences, it can get difficult to maintain a spirit of simplicity and poverty. The ability to go without doesn’t get much press these days.
Sex Education in the Homeschool
A homeschooling mom friend asked how we do sex ed in our homeschool, so I'm listing some suggestions: Until age 10 or so, sex ed is pretty much "go with the flow" around here. Children are naturally curious and ask LOTS of questions related to bodies and nature, so we...
Where Dandelions Grow
Formal landscaping has never been quite my cup of tea, though I enjoy seeing them in period movies -- those pristine swaths of green, controlled and controlling, dotted with the dutifully pruned perennials and shrubs here and there. Our family seems to prefer a...
Shepherding Our Domestic Church
Through homeschooling we’ve embraced a lifestyle that allows us to spend time with our children. Since we don’t operate on “quality time” mentality, we don’t have to cram “the perfect” into a few choice moments – time together can be spontaneous and organic even when there’s stress involved.
As the kids grew up, we developed our own disciplining style and found a good balance between rewards for good behavior, and punishment via curtailing of privileges. Heart-to-heart talks are priceless life-savers for us. Because we try hard to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, we are able to identify when we are beset with spiritual attacks and other distractions from our mission. We often remind each other to go back to the basics: kindness, silence, Eucharistic adoration, Confession, Mass.
Anthony Esolen’s Life Under Compulsion
This is my favorite time of year: it's curriculum planning time! And Anthony Esolen's new book came just in time as my 9th-grader-to-be and I discuss what we're doing for Fall 2015. She'll be joining a homeschooling co-op for the first time and picking her own...
Life-Making, A Story
Great love stories often involve tremendous conflict and heroic resolution. By that standard, the story of my husband and me is pretty run-of-the-mill. I hesitate to write this column because our marriage has been so stress free, and people may think I’m smoothing over the rough parts. But our story is real, and maybe it needs to be heard, because our world doesn’t have enough happy marriage stories.
Consecration to Jesus Through Mary: A Rite of Passage
My mom has been a Marian devotee since she was a little girl. She would stand in front of the Mary statue at Church and mutter made-up prayers because she didn't know any "official" ones. She was so enamored with Mama Mary's face and just knew that someone who looks...