Tag: book reviews

September 4, 2016 Morning Basket, Our Faith, Our Homeschool, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Teaching the Catholic Faith in Our Homeschool

These are my favorite resources for teaching the Catholic faith to my kiddos.

Catechisms

 

St. Patrick’s Summer: A Children’s Adventure Catechism 

(Marigold Hunt)

A fun approach to the Catechism in storybook format. The children in the story are visited by Saints who deliver catechism lessons and tell exciting stories from the history of the Church. A great read aloud for those preparing to receive the sacraments.

An Illustrated Catechism (Inos Biffi and Franco Vignazia)

Richly illustrated in a style reminiscent of medieval illuminations, this beautiful book is organized according to the outline of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, with a section corresponding to each of its four main parts: The Creed, The Sacraments, The Commandments, and Prayer.

The New Saint Joseph First Communion Catechism

Originally published in 1963, this more traditional catechism is presented in question and answer format. The topics of creation, the fall, redemption, and sacramental life are all presented in an orderly manner, with accompanying full color pictures. This is a very thorough presentation of the faith at a level young children can grasp.

Jesus and the Saints

A Life of Our Lord for Children by Marigold Hunt 

By the same author as St. Patrick’s Summer, this lovely book tells the story of the gospels in a way that is engaging and accessible to children. No dumbing down here. Hunt takes nothing away from the gospel and adds only enough to help children understand the context of the time and place.

The First Christians by Marigold Hunt 

Another one by Marigold Hunt, this tells the story of the Acts of the Apostles in her signature engaging style.

Saints and Angels: Popular Stories of Familiar Saints by Claire Llewellyn 

Stories of some of our favorite “Super Saints” and the Archangels accompanied by absolutely gorgeous illustrations.

First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion

Receiving Holy Communion
(Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.)

Pretty “old school” in it’s style and tone, this book offers a beautiful, straightforward explanation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It includes an explanation of the origin of the Mass; prayers for before, during, and after Mass; as well as conditions for receiving communion and a simple examination of conscience.

Going to Confession (Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.)

An excellent companion to the above book, this one explains the origin and meaning of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and takes kids through the logistics of the sacrament. It also contains a thorough examination of conscience based on the Ten Commandments. This is an excellent, gentle explanation of the sacrament that focuses on Jesus’s mercy and love for us.

A Picture Book of the Mass: Illustrated by the Masters (Lacy Rabideau)

This is a missal for young children from the creator of Catholic Icing. It provides the responses for Mass and is current for the new translation. Each page is illustrated with a gorgeous, classical painting to help children (or adults!) meditate on what is happening in the Mass. Helps young children to follow along and understand the Mass.

Jesus in my Heart (Sr. Immaculata Vertolli, OSB)

This book, written and illustrated by a Benedictine nun of the Abbey of St. Walburga, is part workbook, part textbook, and part keepsake. It was written to provide a hands-on curriculum for sacramental preparation that would engage a child’s senses and imagination.  The highlight of the book is the 3-D  card with fold-out “gates” and pocket inside representing a tabernacle. The child is invited to visit the Blessed Sacrament and insert the prayers he writes to Jesus into this card.

The Weight of a Mass
(Josephine Nobissio and Katalin Szegedi)

This beautifully illustrated and gentle tale celebrates the power of the Mass. A shabby, penniless old woman enters the baker’s shop as he is preparing luscious creations for the king’s wedding. When the baker refuses to give the old woman even a crust of stale bread, she offers to say a Mass for him, in exchange for food. Scoffing, he writes “One Mass” on a tiny piece of paper, places it on his scale, and tries to overbalance it with heaps of his finest pastries, but to no avail. The Mass outweighs them all.

The Mass Explained to Children (Maria Montessori)

While this book is written about the old rite of the Mass, it is an excellent, detailed, and understandable explanation of all aspects of the Mass from the prayers to the vessels to the vestments. Truly a treasure.

Confirmation

My Path to Heaven
(Geoffrey Bliss, S.J. and Caryll Houselander)
*Age 10 and up

Based on the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises this “retreat in a book” provides detailed illustrations to guide your child’s meditation on such  essentials of the Faith as God’s will, angels, Heaven and Hell, the Fall of man, the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Nativity, the Passion, salvation, the sacraments, faith, hope, love, and contrition, and it teaches children the relevance of these truths in their lives and in the decisions they make. Best for kids a bit older as some of the imagery might be scary to younger or more sensitive children. Also excellent for adults.

Archdiocesan Curriculum to be available ?

There is remarkably little available to prepare young children for Confirmation. Most material is geared toward teenagers. As our Archdiocese shifts to conferring the sacrament on 8-year-olds, parents will be challenged to find appropriate materials. The Archdiocese has indicated its plan to release a curriculum which will be made available in May of this year.

 

August 14, 2012 Book Reviews: Books for Parents, Parenting Post a Comment

Book Review: Raising Your Spirited Child

The subtitle for this gem of a book is “A guide for parents whose child is more: intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, energetic.” If you have a child that fits this description, you must get your hands on a copy of this book.

I am raising a very spirited young woman. One of my favorite tales of her spiritedness occurred when she was newly three year old. We were standing at the back of the church during mass. I was holding her two-week-old baby brother in the baby carrier, and she was sitting at my feet. I was feeling thankful that, for the moment, everyone was quiet and well behaved. I peaked around the baby to look down at my cherub and discovered that she was wearing nothing but her undies. I was shocked and horrified. “Put your clothes on!” I hissed. “No.” Mortified, I picked her up and carried her to the basement where in a state of post-partum exhaustion I begged, threatened, cajoled and otherwise failed to get her into her clothes. A very kind woman offered to help, which I gratefully accepted. She dug in her purse looking for something with which to bribe a sullen 3 year old. She found an unopened tube of chapstick and offered it to my little one if she would just put on her clothes. My precious daughter’s response was simply to cross her arms and glare at the kind woman who then replied, “Most kids aren’t this stubborn!”

What I love about this book is the positive tone and the practical. There’s a section devoted to finding new labels to describe the spirited behaviors that can be so taxing to parents. Kurcinka encourages you to call up your favorite image of your spirited child, the one that “includes the snappy eyes, the infectious grin, the agile body, or the astounding question,” and to hold that image while you “discover the hidden potential” in a list of obnoxious characteristics. Unpredictable becomes flexible and creative. My stubborn, naked child becomes assertive and persistent in the face of challenges. Reading this section actually takes you from despair (how I am ever going to survive parenting this child?!?!) to a feeling of being abundantly blessed with a fascinating child who will one day do, and in fact already does, amazing things.

Once she’s helped you obtain this attitude change, Kurcinka provides an in depth course on temperament. Here she discusses introversion versus extroversion and each of the “more” characteristics (intensity, sensitivity, persistence, distractibility, adaptability, regularity, energy, first reaction and mood). In each section she provides a sensitive and supportive overview of the personality trait as well as sound practical advice for preventing and managing the difficulties it can cause. If you’ve read this book, you know that a naked child at church may be particularly sensitive to things like the temperature of a room and the feeling of her clothes on her skin. Combine this sensitivity with intensity and persistence, and well, you end up with a naked kid who refuses to get dressed in the back of the church.

This book guides parents into proactively considering the situations that may overwhelm their particular child. At our house, a few minutes spent considering the comfort of our spirited daughter’s clothes, choosing some layers, and discussing whether that really pretty dress will still feel comfortable when she’s been sitting on a wooden pew for a while goes a long way toward a more peaceful Sunday morning.

As a spirited adult, I especially appreciate the sections addressing how to cope “if you’re intense/sensitive/persistent too.” Again, Kurcinka’s tone is always encouraging and never condemning. These traits aren’t good or bad. Being “intense” or “sensitive” is no more of moral issue than being right- or left-handed. It simply helps to know what you are so that you can behave appropriately.

The last third of Raising Your Spirited Child is full of practical advice for specific situations. There’s a chapter on tantrums, as well as bedtime, mealtime, and getting dressed. The final chapters address the social life of a spirited child including helping the spirited child succeed in school.

Raising a spirited child is a unique challenge. It can be overwhelming, particularly when your parenting philosophy is opposed to punitive and physical discipline. So many parenting books recommend breaking a child’s spirit. But that spirit is a gift from God and a tremendous benefit to your child once she learns to manage it appropriately. No, we’re not to break our child’s spirit, we’re to instruct and guide it so that he can learn to use it to do amazing things.

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