I'd like to add to that title right away by saying that I also welcome my SONS into my kitchen! In fact, many of you who read my blogs are probably familiar with my son Jacob; 14 years old and a FANTASTIC young chef!
However, the question was recently posed to me as to how we, as mothers, can instill a desire and joy in the hearts of our DAUGHTERS to be comfortable in and enjoy working along-side us in the kitchen. For that reason, this post will refer specifically to our girls. (That's not to say that a reader can not take what is written here and apply it to their home for sons as well!)
I have found the the "art" of homemaking is one that has been increasingly diminished in our society. I would go so far as to say that it is in danger of becoming obsolete if those of us who cherish these things do not make a strong effort to restore and nourish it in the hearts of our children.
Personally, I LOVE BEING IN MY KITCHEN! We spend SO MUCH TIME THERE as a family.
Often, if we have made special snacks, instead of sitting down to enjoy them, we just sort of "hang out" around the center island in our kitchen! Some of our greatest family times have been shared in this way and I recommend it to all families who are trying to strengthen their bonds of togetherness. Cook and eat and linger together in the kitchen!
The following are some of the ideas that came to my mind as I pondered the question asked by my friend which inspired this post:
1) Choose it as an activity! By this I mean, instead of sitting down to watch tv, or going off in your own directions apart from one another, gather your girls into the kitchen with you and be excited about it! Make it fun! Show them that we moms are not "all work and chores"...Perhaps you could take a day for a craft and handpaint/decorate some special customized aprons...one for each of you with your names on them...or how about having some Chef hats set aside for the times you cook together? (We have aprons at our house and my girls LOVE any time they have a need to put one on!) While the hats are a sillier way to go (no offense intended there to my good blogging friend Haley, who IS a professional chef by trade...just in case she stops by to read this, HA HA)...but the aprons really evoke feelings of femininity and grace! Who doesn't enjoy looking at old fashioned photos of the lovely housewife adorned with her earrings, heels, a pretty dress, and a calico apron?!? Anyway, the point of this first idea is to bring the girls INTO the kitchen in the first place, choosing it as an activity (as opposed to treating it as a duty or chore).
2) Turn on some music! Keeping with the idea of making the atmosphere light-hearted and welcoming to your girls, turn on some music while you work...you can allow the girls to play some of their own favorite tunes...or you can "step out of the box" a bit and play some music that exudes a "dining-experience" ambiance...some Spanish guitar perhaps...or other music with that European flair. Before you know it, you'll find that you and girls are having fun humming along and dancing around the kitchen while you work!
3) Engage your daughters in conversation! Take an interest in THEIR interests! I have found, time and time again, that kids, especially teens, will really "open up" and "share" with me while we are cooking together! This is a wonderful time in which to "connect" and "touch base" with your girls! Ask about their friends, their hopes, their dreams, their ideas, their opinions...try to show them that you really care about what's on their mind...even if you're just asking about a new hobby they enjoy or a favorite movie they've watched recently. Let them ask YOU questions too...perhaps share some stories of your own youth or early marriage days...we ALL have those disastrous cooking stories from whence we were young brides, don't we? (Mine involves not knowing that people in the world use FORKS to eat pork chops and that they eat applesauce COLD, HA HA)
4) Work with ONE daughter at a time. While this is not a problem for me personally, I've heard that when some moms bring their girls in the kitchen, the girls get caught up in their giggles and talks with each other and sort of leave mom out of the picture. If this is the case for you...invite only ONE daughter at a time to work along-side you. I do this sometimes just to create some special one-on-one time; which is sometimes difficult to find in a family of ten children! For those of you who like charts and lots of structure, you could create a "Kitchen Helper Chart" so that each daughter knows when it's her turn. I know a family that calls this "Junior Chef Night" (which would be more applicable to younger kids, I think)...this particular mom's kids LOVE bearing this title and will often inform us when we see them, that it is THEIR turn to be the "Junior Chef" that day!
5) Invite your daughter's friends (and your own) to cook WITH you in the kitchen. If your girls are having friends over...again, choose THIS as an activity...bring the girls into the kitchen to bake some cookies to share or have the OTHER mom teach a new recipe to your girls. Some of my most cherished memories with friends have been made here in my kitchen! It's a great way to spend social time. Know a mom who just had a baby? Allow the girls to help make a meal to take to her! Is one of your daughter's friends ill? Let her make some soup and deliver it, along with some wildflowers, to cheer her up!
6) EXPECT the girls to help. If you have daughters that have been influenced by more wordly ways ; and perhaps they are not too keen on the idea of coming into the kitchen with you...JUST KEEP TRYING...don't make it an invitation...but simply say, " So and so, meet me in the kitchen at such and such a time today so that we can prepare dinner together"...When your daughter arrives...show her by example that you are happy she is with you and that being in the kitchen and serving your family in this way is a JOY...if you are consistent and you keep trying...you will see that in time your daughters will come to look forward to their time with you there. If you are a "chart" person, you could create and post a dinner prep schedule that is Mom/Daughter based.
7) Have a date night with your spouse that your daughters prepare! Let your girls make an entire meal and decorate the table like a cozy restaurant to serve you and your husband for a special night together! (Feed the kids earlier or in another room with a movie or something).
The girls will gain a sense of pride and also see how important it is in marriage to spend some special one-on-one time together...yes...we spouses sometimes go out on a date...but it's always good to let your daughters SEE you and your husband relaxing and socializing together as well.
8) Bring a Geography supplement into play by having one night a month or week where you sample foods from another country. Assign your girls the task of choosing a country ahead of time; and doing the necessary research to find a recipe and create a shopping list. Then, on the given day, work together to prepare and enjoy the meal! You could take this a step further and let the boys in on the act by coming to the table prepared to teach a bit about the country's flag, people, customs, government, and traditions! Allowing things to be different from the ordinary every-day meal once in a while, gives the girls something to which they really look forward in sharing with you!
9) Serve your daughters! In the same way that I encourage the girls to serve you and your husband...you (and your husband too, if you like) can serve the girls once in a while. Dress up the table and prepare a meal for them that lets them know how much you appreciate their efforts in the kitchen, in school, and in your family each day. Special times like this really help to forge the bonds of family, and create a JOY in your daughters' hearts when it comes to being in the kitchen.
10) Enlist the help of your daughters in the decorating and arranging of your kitchen! Our girls are SO creative, aren't they? Let your daughters help organize and design your kitchen...even helping to paint walls or decorate cabinet knobs. By doing this, it helps to give your girls a sense of ownership in the kitchen...it becomes THEIR kitchen too; not just Mom's...and they will take pride in learning to keep it functioning in an orderly way when they have personally helped to set it up.
11) I always look for ways where I can help my older kids build their leadership skills and service opportunities by mentoring their younger siblings. Let your daughters do this with their kitchen skills too! Have them peruse some simple kid-friendly recipes and then "give the kitchen over to them" so that they can teach their little sisters how to prepare a meal or two. This lets them feel like "young women" and "comrades to mother" rather than just "kids who are being made to do yet another chore for mom".
12) Perhaps you don't feel it necessary for you and your daughters to always be together in the kitchen, but would still like to instill feelings of joy and service in them as far as their wanting to take part in the feminine art of caring for the family by working in the kitchen. This can be accomplished by having the girls start a meal, perhaps preparing ingredients or chopping veggies early in the day, and then having Mom finish preparing the meal later in the day. (This could be incorporated while you are teaching younger children...the girls can use that time to get some things started toward dinner for that day).
What helps you to encourage your daughters in their desire and joy to serve their family in the kitchen with you? Leave a comment and share your stories with us! One can't have too many good ideas you know!
I wish all of you God's blessings as you bring your daughters into your kitchen. May you find that you have many joyful moments together, building cherished memories to last a lifetime...AND preparing your girls to raise a family of their own one day should God lead them down that path!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Incorporate the Faith into the Homeschooling Day!
Are you looking for ways to incorporate and celebrate the traditions and customs of your Faith into your homeschooling day? Here are some of the ways that my own family enjoys these things. Perhaps you'll find an idea or two here that you would like to try!
1) We begin at the breakfast table! After we have said our Grace before our meal...we add this small morning offering to start our school day: We simply say, "All I think and do and say, I offer to YOU oh Lord, this day"... this small little prayer CENTERS us as we prepare to do our morning work and begin our school lessons. It provides a FOCUS for us. Somehow, when we have stated out loud that we are offering EVERYTHING we do to God...it helps us to be more mindful of our words and deeds as the day unfolds. There are more lengthy Morning Offerings that can be prayed together...my family chooses this very basic and easy version since we have so many younger children in the house.
2) SING while you work! We often sing the Responsorial Psalms from the Mass or other songs and hymns of our Faith as we go about our morning chores. At times, you might find that the older teens in the home refrain from singing out...but that's OK...just allowing them to hear you and the Little Ones singing still blesses them and brings the songs of the Church into their school day. I would suggest that you don't insist on their voices being heard at this time, but rather just let them hum along or enjoy their brothers and sisters' singing while they work.
3) Play music on your radio, dvd player, etc...in addition to singin our own little songs, we often put a "tape" on in the background both as we begin our work for the day, and even sometimes while we are studying or working. (I have some students who enjoy having music of the Faith playing in the background while they study and others for whom this is a distraction...so I allow those students to go study in a quiet room if we have music playing)...Whether you play Kid Songs or a beautiful tape of Nuns singing the rosary doesn't really matter...what matters is that you make the songs of the Church a natural and normal part of your school day.
4) Prayers of the students' intentions. I like to invite the kids to offer their own intentions in our prayers as we start our school lessons each morning. Nothing fancy...simply going around the room, each one taking a turn to offer up their prayers and their school day for someone or something that is in their hearts. I am CONTINUALLY moved by the thoughtfulness, compassion, and innocence that emanates from the childrens' intentions...one might pray for a sick family member, another for fellow homeschooling students, still another for those in danger of abortion, or a simple "I pray for all of those for whom no one else prays". Not only does this morning gesture incorporate our Faith into our day, but I find that it really aids in helping us to rid ourselves of self-centeredness as we must think "outside ourselves" to offer an intention.
5) Other prayers during the day: We find many opportunities to gather for a short prayer time
during our school day. I encourage the kids to pray silently as they begin each class...perhaps calling upon the intercession of a patron Saint for a particular subject...or simply asking the Holy Family to pray for them while they work. We also STOP TO PRAY EVERYDAY by gathering at our Family Altar to say the Angelus at noon (give or take a few moments here or there)...The Angelus is one of my personal favorite devotions! I like to tell the kids stories of how in days of old all of the Church Bells would ring out (and still DO) to call the faithful to STOP for a moment and PLACE OUR MINDS AND HEARTS WITH GOD. Having a small table in your classroom or Family Altar somewhere in your home, creates a nice, easy place to come together in prayer. You can see our Family Altar by scrolling a little more than half way down the page HERE.
Other easy ways to bring prayer into our lessons are to say a decade of the rosary before breaking for lunch or gathering to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 pm (The Great Hour of Mercy)...one of the older kids can lead, thus allowing them to mentor and witness to their younger siblings...a Litany of the Saints or even a prayer spoken from the heart is welcomed.
NOTE: If you are not Catholic and you'd like to learn some of these beautiful prayers and devotions, leave me a comment and I'd be happy to send them to you!!! And if you are of another denomination or of the Jewish faith for example, and would like to share some of your prayers and devotions with us...please feel free to do so!
6) We try to keep to a four day school week. The older students often have work they still must do on Fridays, but we TRY to keep that day for "further research", "working on special projects", "completing unfinished work", etc...this makes for a GREAT opportunity to incorporate the Faith into your day! One day a week, set aside some time for your kids, and instruct them to spend a half hour engaging in some spiritual reading...reading about a Saint perhaps, or studying the Catechism...reading Scripture or a novel related to the Faith. ENLIST THE HELP OF YOUR OLDER KIDS HERE and let them become a LEADER for their siblings!
I will often have my oldest students read to the younger ones...or make simple stick puppets to tell a story of a Saint! The younger children DELIGHT in these special times with their older brothers and sisters, and the older kids get the chance to show their creative abilities! I am FLOORED by the little plays and stories they come up with to teach the Faith!
7) Have the Mass readings for the day available to your family. Either you can read some of these to them (if you aren't able to attend Daily Mass) or simply have them available on the computer or on a written calendar so that they can "connect" to the Church by hearing God's Word during school each day. (I have the readings listed on my Daily Blessings website every day in the sidebar...feel free to use that for your convenience!)
8) GO TO MASS! We haven't been able to take part in this HUGE blessing for several years as we have had too many babies at the same time to be able to hold them at Mass without Daddy being there to help! However, we are now getting into a state in life where this is more possible and have been enjoying some weekly Masses together in addition to Sunday Mass. Truly, if you are able (and I know it takes MUCH effort and organization), I can not think of a better way to begin a school day than by participating at Daily Mass. EWTN offers a live Mass on the television if that is available in your home as well.
9) Celebrate "Name Days"! Does your child have a patron Saint? If so...this is a fun way to incorporate the Faith into your school day! Find out the Feast Day for your childrens' namesakes and allow them to have a small presentation and celebration on that day! The child whose "name day" it is can read a little story about that particular Saint...perhaps a craft can be done for older students or coloring pages for Little ones...(again if you have high schoolers, they can enjoy helping with and teaching the craft)...make a special meal or snack and hang some decorations in the classroom area! (My blogging friend Gae, from Cherished Hearts at Home blog...is QUEEN of FAITH DECORATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS...visit her blog to glean a PLETHORA of ideas!)
My blog, benmakesten, always has the "Saint of the Day" posted in the sidebar near the bottom of the page as well...this is a quick and easy way to read about the Saints:)
10) Have a family prayer group during school hours...one day a week...or even every other week...or once a month...whatever works for you...enjoy a Family Prayer Group time. This is another thing that fell by the wayside in our own home when we had lots of babies to care for at once..but we are now restoring since the youngest is now TWO! Before each gathering have everyone check the calendar for their listed Prayer Group contribution. You can create your own list, but here are some ideas that we use...simply make a schedule and rotate the duties among family members each week: 1) Someone to do an Opening Prayer 2) Someone to read a story, article, or something which has inspired them recently 3) Someone to offer Intentions for the Faithful 4) Someone to lead a song 5) Someone to do a Closing Prayer 6)Two people to prepare and serve a snack The Faith comes alive during this short time when you are gathered as a family...it's easy to make it a part of your school schedule; especially if you strive for that four day week I mentioned earlier!
11) DECORATE! One of the easiest ways to incorporate the Faith into the homeschooling day is to make the Faith VISIBLE through the decorations of your home/classroom area! Even if you don't have a room set aside for learning, you can still add small reminders of the Faith throughout the house so as to "feed the soul" throughout the day. I remember years ago, when my second eldest child attended Catholic School outside the home for a time...he told me that one of his favorite things was being able to see pictures and statues of Jesus, Our Lady, and the Holy Family as he walked through the halls each day. School days can get pretty busy and overwhelming at times. All of us, students and moms alike, can feel a bit lost or lonely as we strive to accomplish all that needs done in addition to the life events that are part of a homeschooling day....it helps to be able to glance up at the walls or borders of a room and see the smiling face of JESUS or Our Lady or our favorite SAINTS! The decorating process can be worked in as a supplement for Art Lessons and these images and reminders become "silent teachers of the Faith" for our children during their daily classes. You can adorn your outdoors this way too buy planting a "Mary Garden" or adding a few statues of the Saints to your yard...let it be a school project and have your students plan, design, create, and maintain it all through the school year!
12) Incorporate "Catholic Schools Week" into your year! This is a tradition of many Catholic Schools outside the home in America. One week each year is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of a Catholic Education. This is a wonderful time to learn about the founders of Catholic Education in America (Elizabeth Ann Seton for instance, or John Neumann to name a couple). Sometimes, as homeschoolers, we take advantage of the blessing and opportunities we have to practice our faith during school each day. It becomes so natural to us that we fail to appreciate the gift of it. Celebrating Catholic Schools Week is a good way to remind our students that we are BLESSED to be able to be taught at home AND to be able to make our beautiful Catholic Faith part of all we do in school each day! In 2010, January 31st to February 6th is the scheduled time for Catholic Schools Week (but you can celebrate it any time you like)...Here is a link to a website where you can get ideas for this week-long celebration...you can make t-shirts or hang posters or implement many other fun ways to CELEBRATE your Catholic Education!
13) Work Faith activities into your lesson plans! This is especially easy if you implement some of these ideas right into your Religion class! In the same way that you might write, "Read pages 13-21" as an assignment, you can also include things such as: "Pray a decade of the rosary for those who are out of work" or "Write your own prayer of thanksgiving and share it with your family at the dinner table today" or "list 10 things that you love about the Catholic Faith" or "write a letter/send a card to a priest or religious Sister that you know, letting he/she know that you appreciate them and keep them in your prayers".
Having it listed as "an assignment" ensures that it will get done!
14) Adopt a seminarian! Many young men who are in seminary are very far away from their homes and families! They long to feel the blessings and welcoming of family life and are often eager and willing to share their experiences and their faith with you and your children. Call a seminary near you and inquire. You can set-up a "pen pal" type relationship, writing letters back and forth and also invite your seminary-pen-pal to come to your home and join you at dinner, for celebrations, or for a game of kickball out in the yard! This is a "win/win" for both YOU and the seminarian; your children are exposed to the JOY of the calling to the priesthood and the seminarian is strengthened and nourished by the company of your family while he is away from his own.
15) Create a Random Subject Jar with topics of the Faith inside! WE LOVE OUR RANDOM SUBJECT JAR! Ours is one of "general topics" and often those that the children include will pertain to matters of our Faith. Making a RSJ is very easy and fun! Take a jar and label/decorate it. Have each member of your family think of topics of the Faith about which they are interested in learning more...some ideas might be: "A day in the life of the Pope", "Steps to being ordained a Deacon" "The origin of the Sacraments" "American Saints", etc...anything at all that the kids think of is acceptable. Have them write the ideas on small slips of paper, which they fold and place in the jar. We use our RSJ on Fridays, but you can use it ANY time that suits you best! Take turns once a week, once a day, once a month...whatever...and have one person draw a slip of paper out of the jar. Then, spend an hour or two learning as much about that topic as you can! Use your books, the internet, conversations with others, etc...If you like to PRE-plan, you could draw out the topic a few days ahead of time, thus leaving ample time to get appropriate books from the library or save links to websites. This activity is a great way to incorporate your Faith into your homeschooling day! We have been late for dinner and chores so many times because we get caught up in the fun of Our Random Subject Jar!
16) Student's Book of Gratitude: Give each of your students (of appropriate age level of course) a small writing journal at the beginning of the year ( or any time, if you've already begun your lessons and this idea is new to you). Instruct them to take a few moments EVERY day to write at least five things for which they thank God on that day. Those of you who are frequent visitors to my blogs know that I believe a "grateful heart is a joyful heart". It REALLY helps to nurture the virtue of gratitude in a soul when we must stop and THINK: "What am I thankful for today?" It also teaches your students that there IS something to be thankful for in EVERY day...even those days that feel as though nothing has gone right. (This is an activity that I highly recommend for mothers and fathers as well as students!) I have Gratitude Journals that I completed years ago and I still like to take them out once in a while and read back through them...they are filled with memories, joys, trials, sufferings, and prayers from my life and it does my soul good to go back and remember those things.
17) You can tie in a field trip or pilgrimage to your homeschooling experience and make it an excursion that celebrates the Faith! Visit a local Church to study the architecture or artwork.
Go to a Cathedral...visit a Shrine...or simply take a trip to nearby park and go for a rosary walk together while you are there!
18) Finally, here are a few little ways to place reminders of our Faith all around during our homeschooling day:
*** Place some Holy Water Fonts on various walls throughout the house. (We keep them by our entry ways and in the kids bedrooms)
*** Encourage the children to write J.M.J. at the tops of their school papers. This stands for: Jesus, Mary, Joseph and is a quiet gesture that helps to "center" our thoughts as we begin our lessons.
*** Place a small figurine on each child's table or desk. My kids each have a tiny statue of Our Lady by their lamps, as well as pictures of Jesus and some of the Saints.
***In the spirit of The Little Flower, St. Therese, make some sacrifice beads as a family craft.
These ten small beads are meant to help us cultivate a desire to serve in our hearts. When an act of kindness or good deed is offered, a bead can be slid from one end to the other. Over time, a child can "check himself" by seeing how many beads are being moved each day. This is not to say that they are "earning their way to Heaven"...but rather that it helps us in self-knowledge and mastery...if we see that there aren't many beads being moved, then we know that perhaps we need to try a little harder to serve others for love of God. Here are some simple instructions to make these beads.
*** Play games of the Faith such as "Mary Memory". This is an easy matching game where cards with various images of the Virgin Mary are turned upside down and players turn over two at a time, trying to find a match. There are many games on the market today which celebrate the Faith as well as help catechize those participating. Mary Memory and other Christian toys, puzzles, and games are available HERE.
***Have the older students share their creative talents by making small stick puppets or sock puppets to tell a story of the Faith to your younger children. This can be as simple or elaborate as they wish...My daughter taught the story of the Miraculous Medal/St. Catherine Laboure by drawing and cutting out figures and adhering them to sticks to use as puppets!
Well, I hope this little list has enabled you to glean a few new ideas about how to incorporate the customs and traditions of our Faith into your homeschooling day! As always, we LOVE to learn new ideas from you too! Please feel welcomed to leave a comment under this post and let us in on some of the ways that YOUR family brings your faith into your daily school time!
Homeschooling is a BLESSING! And it's so nice that we are able to support and encourage one another in our journeys via the "cyber world" of computers and blogging!
Go to the home page of our website: Homeschool Faith and Family Life which is offered online for the very purpose of encouraging, supporting, and enriching your homeschool, faith, and family life. We hope you'll visit us often!
1) We begin at the breakfast table! After we have said our Grace before our meal...we add this small morning offering to start our school day: We simply say, "All I think and do and say, I offer to YOU oh Lord, this day"... this small little prayer CENTERS us as we prepare to do our morning work and begin our school lessons. It provides a FOCUS for us. Somehow, when we have stated out loud that we are offering EVERYTHING we do to God...it helps us to be more mindful of our words and deeds as the day unfolds. There are more lengthy Morning Offerings that can be prayed together...my family chooses this very basic and easy version since we have so many younger children in the house.
2) SING while you work! We often sing the Responsorial Psalms from the Mass or other songs and hymns of our Faith as we go about our morning chores. At times, you might find that the older teens in the home refrain from singing out...but that's OK...just allowing them to hear you and the Little Ones singing still blesses them and brings the songs of the Church into their school day. I would suggest that you don't insist on their voices being heard at this time, but rather just let them hum along or enjoy their brothers and sisters' singing while they work.3) Play music on your radio, dvd player, etc...in addition to singin our own little songs, we often put a "tape" on in the background both as we begin our work for the day, and even sometimes while we are studying or working. (I have some students who enjoy having music of the Faith playing in the background while they study and others for whom this is a distraction...so I allow those students to go study in a quiet room if we have music playing)...Whether you play Kid Songs or a beautiful tape of Nuns singing the rosary doesn't really matter...what matters is that you make the songs of the Church a natural and normal part of your school day.
4) Prayers of the students' intentions. I like to invite the kids to offer their own intentions in our prayers as we start our school lessons each morning. Nothing fancy...simply going around the room, each one taking a turn to offer up their prayers and their school day for someone or something that is in their hearts. I am CONTINUALLY moved by the thoughtfulness, compassion, and innocence that emanates from the childrens' intentions...one might pray for a sick family member, another for fellow homeschooling students, still another for those in danger of abortion, or a simple "I pray for all of those for whom no one else prays". Not only does this morning gesture incorporate our Faith into our day, but I find that it really aids in helping us to rid ourselves of self-centeredness as we must think "outside ourselves" to offer an intention.
5) Other prayers during the day: We find many opportunities to gather for a short prayer timeduring our school day. I encourage the kids to pray silently as they begin each class...perhaps calling upon the intercession of a patron Saint for a particular subject...or simply asking the Holy Family to pray for them while they work. We also STOP TO PRAY EVERYDAY by gathering at our Family Altar to say the Angelus at noon (give or take a few moments here or there)...The Angelus is one of my personal favorite devotions! I like to tell the kids stories of how in days of old all of the Church Bells would ring out (and still DO) to call the faithful to STOP for a moment and PLACE OUR MINDS AND HEARTS WITH GOD. Having a small table in your classroom or Family Altar somewhere in your home, creates a nice, easy place to come together in prayer. You can see our Family Altar by scrolling a little more than half way down the page HERE.
Other easy ways to bring prayer into our lessons are to say a decade of the rosary before breaking for lunch or gathering to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 pm (The Great Hour of Mercy)...one of the older kids can lead, thus allowing them to mentor and witness to their younger siblings...a Litany of the Saints or even a prayer spoken from the heart is welcomed.
NOTE: If you are not Catholic and you'd like to learn some of these beautiful prayers and devotions, leave me a comment and I'd be happy to send them to you!!! And if you are of another denomination or of the Jewish faith for example, and would like to share some of your prayers and devotions with us...please feel free to do so!
6) We try to keep to a four day school week. The older students often have work they still must do on Fridays, but we TRY to keep that day for "further research", "working on special projects", "completing unfinished work", etc...this makes for a GREAT opportunity to incorporate the Faith into your day! One day a week, set aside some time for your kids, and instruct them to spend a half hour engaging in some spiritual reading...reading about a Saint perhaps, or studying the Catechism...reading Scripture or a novel related to the Faith. ENLIST THE HELP OF YOUR OLDER KIDS HERE and let them become a LEADER for their siblings!
I will often have my oldest students read to the younger ones...or make simple stick puppets to tell a story of a Saint! The younger children DELIGHT in these special times with their older brothers and sisters, and the older kids get the chance to show their creative abilities! I am FLOORED by the little plays and stories they come up with to teach the Faith!
7) Have the Mass readings for the day available to your family. Either you can read some of these to them (if you aren't able to attend Daily Mass) or simply have them available on the computer or on a written calendar so that they can "connect" to the Church by hearing God's Word during school each day. (I have the readings listed on my Daily Blessings website every day in the sidebar...feel free to use that for your convenience!)
8) GO TO MASS! We haven't been able to take part in this HUGE blessing for several years as we have had too many babies at the same time to be able to hold them at Mass without Daddy being there to help! However, we are now getting into a state in life where this is more possible and have been enjoying some weekly Masses together in addition to Sunday Mass. Truly, if you are able (and I know it takes MUCH effort and organization), I can not think of a better way to begin a school day than by participating at Daily Mass. EWTN offers a live Mass on the television if that is available in your home as well.9) Celebrate "Name Days"! Does your child have a patron Saint? If so...this is a fun way to incorporate the Faith into your school day! Find out the Feast Day for your childrens' namesakes and allow them to have a small presentation and celebration on that day! The child whose "name day" it is can read a little story about that particular Saint...perhaps a craft can be done for older students or coloring pages for Little ones...(again if you have high schoolers, they can enjoy helping with and teaching the craft)...make a special meal or snack and hang some decorations in the classroom area! (My blogging friend Gae, from Cherished Hearts at Home blog...is QUEEN of FAITH DECORATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS...visit her blog to glean a PLETHORA of ideas!)
My blog, benmakesten, always has the "Saint of the Day" posted in the sidebar near the bottom of the page as well...this is a quick and easy way to read about the Saints:)
10) Have a family prayer group during school hours...one day a week...or even every other week...or once a month...whatever works for you...enjoy a Family Prayer Group time. This is another thing that fell by the wayside in our own home when we had lots of babies to care for at once..but we are now restoring since the youngest is now TWO! Before each gathering have everyone check the calendar for their listed Prayer Group contribution. You can create your own list, but here are some ideas that we use...simply make a schedule and rotate the duties among family members each week: 1) Someone to do an Opening Prayer 2) Someone to read a story, article, or something which has inspired them recently 3) Someone to offer Intentions for the Faithful 4) Someone to lead a song 5) Someone to do a Closing Prayer 6)Two people to prepare and serve a snack The Faith comes alive during this short time when you are gathered as a family...it's easy to make it a part of your school schedule; especially if you strive for that four day week I mentioned earlier!
11) DECORATE! One of the easiest ways to incorporate the Faith into the homeschooling day is to make the Faith VISIBLE through the decorations of your home/classroom area! Even if you don't have a room set aside for learning, you can still add small reminders of the Faith throughout the house so as to "feed the soul" throughout the day. I remember years ago, when my second eldest child attended Catholic School outside the home for a time...he told me that one of his favorite things was being able to see pictures and statues of Jesus, Our Lady, and the Holy Family as he walked through the halls each day. School days can get pretty busy and overwhelming at times. All of us, students and moms alike, can feel a bit lost or lonely as we strive to accomplish all that needs done in addition to the life events that are part of a homeschooling day....it helps to be able to glance up at the walls or borders of a room and see the smiling face of JESUS or Our Lady or our favorite SAINTS! The decorating process can be worked in as a supplement for Art Lessons and these images and reminders become "silent teachers of the Faith" for our children during their daily classes. You can adorn your outdoors this way too buy planting a "Mary Garden" or adding a few statues of the Saints to your yard...let it be a school project and have your students plan, design, create, and maintain it all through the school year!
12) Incorporate "Catholic Schools Week" into your year! This is a tradition of many Catholic Schools outside the home in America. One week each year is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of a Catholic Education. This is a wonderful time to learn about the founders of Catholic Education in America (Elizabeth Ann Seton for instance, or John Neumann to name a couple). Sometimes, as homeschoolers, we take advantage of the blessing and opportunities we have to practice our faith during school each day. It becomes so natural to us that we fail to appreciate the gift of it. Celebrating Catholic Schools Week is a good way to remind our students that we are BLESSED to be able to be taught at home AND to be able to make our beautiful Catholic Faith part of all we do in school each day! In 2010, January 31st to February 6th is the scheduled time for Catholic Schools Week (but you can celebrate it any time you like)...Here is a link to a website where you can get ideas for this week-long celebration...you can make t-shirts or hang posters or implement many other fun ways to CELEBRATE your Catholic Education!
13) Work Faith activities into your lesson plans! This is especially easy if you implement some of these ideas right into your Religion class! In the same way that you might write, "Read pages 13-21" as an assignment, you can also include things such as: "Pray a decade of the rosary for those who are out of work" or "Write your own prayer of thanksgiving and share it with your family at the dinner table today" or "list 10 things that you love about the Catholic Faith" or "write a letter/send a card to a priest or religious Sister that you know, letting he/she know that you appreciate them and keep them in your prayers".Having it listed as "an assignment" ensures that it will get done!
14) Adopt a seminarian! Many young men who are in seminary are very far away from their homes and families! They long to feel the blessings and welcoming of family life and are often eager and willing to share their experiences and their faith with you and your children. Call a seminary near you and inquire. You can set-up a "pen pal" type relationship, writing letters back and forth and also invite your seminary-pen-pal to come to your home and join you at dinner, for celebrations, or for a game of kickball out in the yard! This is a "win/win" for both YOU and the seminarian; your children are exposed to the JOY of the calling to the priesthood and the seminarian is strengthened and nourished by the company of your family while he is away from his own.15) Create a Random Subject Jar with topics of the Faith inside! WE LOVE OUR RANDOM SUBJECT JAR! Ours is one of "general topics" and often those that the children include will pertain to matters of our Faith. Making a RSJ is very easy and fun! Take a jar and label/decorate it. Have each member of your family think of topics of the Faith about which they are interested in learning more...some ideas might be: "A day in the life of the Pope", "Steps to being ordained a Deacon" "The origin of the Sacraments" "American Saints", etc...anything at all that the kids think of is acceptable. Have them write the ideas on small slips of paper, which they fold and place in the jar. We use our RSJ on Fridays, but you can use it ANY time that suits you best! Take turns once a week, once a day, once a month...whatever...and have one person draw a slip of paper out of the jar. Then, spend an hour or two learning as much about that topic as you can! Use your books, the internet, conversations with others, etc...If you like to PRE-plan, you could draw out the topic a few days ahead of time, thus leaving ample time to get appropriate books from the library or save links to websites. This activity is a great way to incorporate your Faith into your homeschooling day! We have been late for dinner and chores so many times because we get caught up in the fun of Our Random Subject Jar!
16) Student's Book of Gratitude: Give each of your students (of appropriate age level of course) a small writing journal at the beginning of the year ( or any time, if you've already begun your lessons and this idea is new to you). Instruct them to take a few moments EVERY day to write at least five things for which they thank God on that day. Those of you who are frequent visitors to my blogs know that I believe a "grateful heart is a joyful heart". It REALLY helps to nurture the virtue of gratitude in a soul when we must stop and THINK: "What am I thankful for today?" It also teaches your students that there IS something to be thankful for in EVERY day...even those days that feel as though nothing has gone right. (This is an activity that I highly recommend for mothers and fathers as well as students!) I have Gratitude Journals that I completed years ago and I still like to take them out once in a while and read back through them...they are filled with memories, joys, trials, sufferings, and prayers from my life and it does my soul good to go back and remember those things.
17) You can tie in a field trip or pilgrimage to your homeschooling experience and make it an excursion that celebrates the Faith! Visit a local Church to study the architecture or artwork.Go to a Cathedral...visit a Shrine...or simply take a trip to nearby park and go for a rosary walk together while you are there!
18) Finally, here are a few little ways to place reminders of our Faith all around during our homeschooling day:
*** Place some Holy Water Fonts on various walls throughout the house. (We keep them by our entry ways and in the kids bedrooms)
*** Encourage the children to write J.M.J. at the tops of their school papers. This stands for: Jesus, Mary, Joseph and is a quiet gesture that helps to "center" our thoughts as we begin our lessons.
*** Place a small figurine on each child's table or desk. My kids each have a tiny statue of Our Lady by their lamps, as well as pictures of Jesus and some of the Saints.
***In the spirit of The Little Flower, St. Therese, make some sacrifice beads as a family craft.
These ten small beads are meant to help us cultivate a desire to serve in our hearts. When an act of kindness or good deed is offered, a bead can be slid from one end to the other. Over time, a child can "check himself" by seeing how many beads are being moved each day. This is not to say that they are "earning their way to Heaven"...but rather that it helps us in self-knowledge and mastery...if we see that there aren't many beads being moved, then we know that perhaps we need to try a little harder to serve others for love of God. Here are some simple instructions to make these beads.
*** Play games of the Faith such as "Mary Memory". This is an easy matching game where cards with various images of the Virgin Mary are turned upside down and players turn over two at a time, trying to find a match. There are many games on the market today which celebrate the Faith as well as help catechize those participating. Mary Memory and other Christian toys, puzzles, and games are available HERE.
***Have the older students share their creative talents by making small stick puppets or sock puppets to tell a story of the Faith to your younger children. This can be as simple or elaborate as they wish...My daughter taught the story of the Miraculous Medal/St. Catherine Laboure by drawing and cutting out figures and adhering them to sticks to use as puppets!
Well, I hope this little list has enabled you to glean a few new ideas about how to incorporate the customs and traditions of our Faith into your homeschooling day! As always, we LOVE to learn new ideas from you too! Please feel welcomed to leave a comment under this post and let us in on some of the ways that YOUR family brings your faith into your daily school time!
Homeschooling is a BLESSING! And it's so nice that we are able to support and encourage one another in our journeys via the "cyber world" of computers and blogging!
Go to the home page of our website: Homeschool Faith and Family Life which is offered online for the very purpose of encouraging, supporting, and enriching your homeschool, faith, and family life. We hope you'll visit us often!
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