Solemnity Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

Fr. Carr will be offering a Low Mass tonight at 6:30 for the Solemnity Feast of Saints Peter and Paul at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal, VA.

Great Resource: The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project

For families who are on a budget and cannot always afford to buy the plethora of books desired for their homeschool, there are several online options now available. For example, many of our highly recommended books can be found at the Baldwin Project for FREE!

Check out their website: www.mainlesson.com

Celebrating Feast Days in the Home

Catholics are so blessed by the lives of the saints. Those who have lived courageously before us. Holy men and women who have shown us the way to lead good Christian lives, who inspire and encourage us. True role models and heroes. But there are so many, making it sometimes overwhelming when it comes to planning celebrations for these saints at home. That's why my family sticks to picking a few saints that are particularly special to us. Either because they are namesakes, or they have helped us in some way, or maybe one of the kids just recently read a book about them. In our home, we particularly love St. Francis and it just so happens that we also love many saints who followed in his footsteps: Franciscans! Next week, on June 13th, we will celebrate one of our favorite Franciscans. St. Anthony of Padua.
When it comes to planning these celebrations, my first stop is Catholic Cuisine. Life can busy, but no matter what happens, I know I will need to feed my family. So the easiest way to honor a saint on their feast day is to incorporate a meal that is associated with them. Sometimes it's just a meal from that saint's nationality (Italian, French, etc.). Or maybe it has something to do with one of their miracles. Or it could do with their habit or the order they belonged to. The possibilities are endless! That's why I love Catholic Cuisine. Here's what we're doing for St. Anthony:
For Dinner-
Italian dinner (probably Spaghetti and Meatballs, my kids favorite) with St. Anthony's Italian Dinner Rolls.
Tonsure Cake for dessert (chocolate cake baked in a bundt pan)

In tradition of St. Anthony's Bread, we will make a donation to Food for the Poor. If I had an herb garden, I'd love to pass out basil to friends! Maybe next year?

If I'm feeling really ambitious, and decide to do more than just make food in honor of a saint, I go to Catholic Icing for more inspiration. She has a lot of great ideas for crafts and games. You'll find tons of fun things to do this month on her Liturgical Activities for Kids in June post. I think my family might try the scavenger hunt for St. Anthony's feast this year.

Of course, it goes without saying that the absolute best way to celebrate a feast is by going to Mass. We also like to say a Novena the nine days before the feast and fast during those days. It makes our celebration even better!

What are your family's traditions when it comes to celebrating feast days? Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

May you all have a wonderful Feast of St. Anthony! I'm off to go make our plans for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart... one of our favorites (which is also next week)! God bless you.

A Great Resource for the Catholic Family!

Are you using a Charlotte Mason approach with your teaching? Do you want to incorporate more literature to your child's repertoire? Are you looking for ways to celebrate the liturgical year at home? Then this book is for you!

Catholic Mosaic was written by Cay Gibson and is an illustrated book study for Catholic children. Inside the book you will find study guides to 52 children's picture books that are organized according to the liturgical year. The best part? You can use this book whether you follow the traditional calendar or the new calendar! The book itself follows the new calendar. But on Hillside Education's website, you will find a booklist for families who follow the traditional calendar. It's definitely worth checking out! The booklist is going to be used as a resource for Schola Rosa's preschool. I look forward to sharing some of these gems with your preschoolers!

Catholic Mosaic Booklist (new)
Catholic Mosaic Booklist (trad)

June 2nd Meeting

JMJ

We held our first recruiting meeting at Samuels Public Library the morning of Saturday, June 2nd. It was more like an open house than a meeting, as there was no formal presentation.  There was, however, great discussion between interested moms and the the existing members of the co-op.  If YOU are interested in finding out more about Schola Rosa, we cordially invite you to see where it will all happen on July 24th at Virginia Hills.  Not only will you see the books and teachers for next year, but you will get to tour the facility as well.  

I look forward to seeing you July 24th! 

We are growing!

We are now 6 families big!

• This means 26 children!

We can accommodate between 10-15 more families, depending on their family sizes. If you know you want to join us, please do not hesitate to jump on board and remember to ask what duties are still available. You can always email us the family registration info.

Contact us! scholarosa@gmail.com

Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis!

Please pray for the return of the SSPX! May all the Bishops of the SSPX follow Bishop Fellay to Rome.
Surely, Pope Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity!

How does the co-op work for you at home?

            (CCM: Classically Catholic Memory; CWH: Connecting With History)

Before the Co-op Meeting

CCM: Gather maps, notebooks, and supplies the night or morning before the co-op meets.

CWH: Mom reads one of the recommended readings in the “Consider” section of CWH Unit One: The Early World.

Monday at the Co-op ~ The Early World

CCM: Complete Memory work and activities in all subjects: Religion, Latin, History, Science, Math, Timeline, Geography, Poetry.

Language Arts: A Picture Study, Q&A, Narration, Copywork, Dictation, or Composition based on skill levels

CWH: Begin “Notebook” section in CWH Unit One.

K-1 Grade Project: Read stories from the New Catholic Picture Bible and complete Creation Story Collage.

            2-3 Grade Project: Reading, Diorama of the Days of Creation.

            4-5 Grade Project: Reading, Begin Timeline of People and Events

Art: What are the oldest pictures in the world?

            K-1 Activity: Line drawings with charcoal

            2-3 Activity: Light and Shadow study with charcoal

            4-5 Activity: Using charcoal with water

Science: The Classification of Living Things

            K-1 Activity: Distinguishing between Living and Non-living (rock, plant, and gerbil)

            2-3 Activity: What does a rock/plant/gerbil do?

            4-5 Activity: What does a rock/plant/gerbil do?

Music: Theory & Practice 

History and Memory Work at Home during the Week

• Tuesday: Listen to CCM CD (15 minutes); Finish Core Text Readings in CWH
• Wednesday: Listen to CCM CD; Begin Reading The Magician’s Nephew during family read aloud time
• Thursday: Listen to CCM CD; Choose one or two books from the Literature section of CWH; find picture books at library about the ancient world. Think “Cave Man”!; Continue The Magician’s Nephew.
• Friday: Listen to CCM CD; Continue reading and exploring the history topic; Continue The Magician’s Nephew.

*The Magician’s Nephew is also in Audiobook format for busy moms who want to listen, too!

What about the other subjects at home?

All of the subjects we cover at the co-op can be continued at home if you purchase the highly-recommended books from the booklist. We use a set booklist from which to draw our activities, so teachers spend less time surfing the internet.  This also allows all of us to be “on the same page” literally!