12 TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

I found quite interesting to find 'twelve day of Xmas', from shower of roses, especially teaching lots of catechism through it. Another site which found to be really useful is curriclick, they offers free lap book folders  every week, sounds quite interesting. Schools going to break from today on wards for Christmas term holidays.
http://teaching4joy.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Week%204%20Dinosaurs to learn with D

16th Dec

Thinking to do some assessments this week as it school is going to break up this weekend for christmas term holidays . Did maths assessment for annu and munu.They performed fairly well. Found some previous good question papers online free from  SATs-Papers.co.uk. CAME TO KNOW ABOUT IMAGINETS.

Boy toys

Lego perpluxus (from shower of roses)

Metal earth laser cut models (from Amazon) age 12-14


Metal Works London Tower Bridge 3D Laser Cut Model Marvel, the second is Metal Marvels - Empire State Building and the third one Metal Works Neuschwanstein Castle 3D Laser Cut Model Marvel. The forth was Metal Works Burj Khalifa and the last one was Metal Marvel 3d Laser Cut White House Washington D.c Unassembled Model Hobby

Audio Living Books

http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/links-of-interest-to-homeschoolers_11.html  FOR AUDIO VIDEO LISTS

Teach Geography and History (resources)   * http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/links-of-interest-to-homeschoolers_11.html*


Audio Living Books  *https://archive.org/details/audio_bookspoetry*

Living Books for ears  http://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail?pid=18352

Geography book free online  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12228/12228-h/12228-h.htm   * Maps, Compass, dIRECTION 

fINE aRTS     http://harmonyfinearts.org/  V.VERY GOOD*

Learners at home  http://learnersathome.blogspot.co.uk/   very good resources lists.

*AUDIO BOOKS*

http://www.myaudioschool.com/
https://catalog.librivox.org/people_public.php?peopleid=19
http://www.artsreformation.com/talespinners/
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/categories/1
http://www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/History
http://www.readingwell.com/audio.html
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/
http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/juniorclassics.htm

free e books

http://www.amazon.com/b/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&node=2245146011&pf_rd_i=1286228011&pf_rd_m

HOME gEOGRAPHY

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12228/12228-h/12228-h.htm   

fREE GEOGRAPHY DOWNLOADS

rosary

Loving Father in Heaven, you bless us and renew us in many ways when we turn to you in prayer. Bless these rosaries our hands have made (sprinkle rosaries) to enlist our hands in prayer and good works. As the beads pass through our fingers and we think about your Beloved Son Jesus, lift our minds and hearts. May we realize that we, too, are your sons and daughters; that you love us; and that, in Jesus, you lead us further into life.

Mary, in your son, Jesus, you are our mother, too. When we have crucial needs, teach us to ask one hundred percent of you, not twenty-five or fifty, knowing that you can then help us one hundred percent because God can refuse you nothing. In your love, in the love of your son Jesus, and in the love of God our Creator, may we grow to be our best selves, a blessing to those around us and to our world (sprinkle students).

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into our world to help us, to teach us, and to bring us home to our Loving Father. Thank you for giving us your mother to be our mother as well. As we pray the Rosary, teach us to become quiet and calm, to visualize the Mysteries of the Rosary and to learn from them. May these events from your life teach us to hear the quiet, still voice of your Spirit and guide us in your ways. May we learn to love and serve you and others and to live in your peace, love, and joy. Amen.

Queen of the most holy Rosary, in these times of such brazen impiety, manifest thy power with the signs of thine ancient victories, and from thy throne, whence thou dost dispense pardon and graces, mercifully regard the Church of thy Son, His Vicar on earth, and every order of clergy and laity, who are sore oppressed in the mighty conflict. Do thou, who art the powerful vanquisher of all heresies, hasten the hour of mercy, even though the hour of God's justice is every day provoked by the countless sins of men. For me who am the least of men, kneeling before thee in supplication, do thou obtain the grace I need to live righteously upon earth and to reign among the just in heaven, the while in company with all faithful Christians throughout the world, I salute thee and acclaim thee as
Queen of the most holy Rosary.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary ~ Pray for us!

http://files.audiosancto.org/20081005--The-Most-Holy-Rosary-A-Necessary-Devotion.mp3

http://www.waltzingm.com/2008/10/our-lady-of-rosary-coloring-page.html

http://teachermamatina.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/ideas-for-celebrating-feast-of-our-lady.html  more ideas on rosary

making  twined rosary- http://rosaryarmy.newevangelizers.com/make-them/

My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet. Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart, and for this special favor which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: (Mention your request).

I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son. If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused. I know, dearest Mother, that you want me to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request. If what I ask for should not be granted, pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.

I offer you this spiritual “Bouquet of Roses” because I love you. I put all my confidence in you, since your prayers before God are most powerful. For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus, your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.

To Our Lady of the Rosary

O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the study of thy fifteen mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the Holy Rosary, through Saint Dominic, thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of thy mysteries, and the faithful imitator of thy virtues. Amen.

Blessings,

Trouble with girls

From Children's Magazine 

Educationalist and author of 21st Century Girls Sue Palmer unravels what makes girls unique, equipping you to work with them more effectively. The trouble with girls? What trouble? For most people working with children, it’s boys who cause problems. Girls tend to settle down to activities and do as they’re told. They’re much easier to manage... Sadly, in the long term, that’s the trouble with girls. Due to a complex combination of nature and nurture, the female of the species is more socially aware than the male, and keener to please those around her.

 She values the approval of others and judges herself by prevailing social norms. So if, as time goes by, a girl feels her life isn’t going well, she tends to assume it’s her own fault. ‘The big difference,’ says child psychiatrist Sammi Timimi, ‘is that boys externalise their problems and it comes out as bad behaviour – girls tend to internalise them, as sadness. Boys’ issues are therefore issues for others, not just themselves.’ As a result, we notice troubled boys immediately, but often we don’t recognise that girls are experiencing difficulties until much later, when they’ve had plenty of time to brood on their personal ‘inadequacies’.


 21st century girlhood In a screen-based, hyper-competitive consumer culture, there are many sources of stress for young, impressionable human beings. Today’s girls are bombarded from birth with marketing messages about the way they’re supposed to look, dress and behave. They’re constantly exposed to unattainable images of female perfection and – as easy access to internet porn exerts increasing influence on popular culture – many of the messages they hear and see about ‘normal’ female behaviour are extremely sexualised.

 So, despite 50 years of gender ‘equality’, 21st century girls are probably encouraged to think of themselves as sexual objects more than any previous generation. But they’re now competing alongside men in the work place, so girls from aspirational families are also expected to excel at school, and in a vast range of extra-curricular activities too. The American writer Courtney Martin puts it neatly:

 ‘We are the daughters of feminists who said ‘You can be anything’ and we heard ‘You have to be everything’. We must get As. We must make money. We must save the world. We must be thin. We must be unflappable. We must be beautiful.’

 Unsurprisingly, the pursuit of perfection on so many fronts can lead to exhaustion or self-loathing, and emotional meltdown. Self-criticism begins early – girls of 5 now frequently express dissatisfaction with their bodies and appearance – so there’s a danger that, by the time they reach their teens, internalising these feelings will lead to depression or other mental health problems like anorexia or self-harm. These are dramatic examples, of course, but the pressures of growing up in a competitive consumer culture are likely to affect all girls.

To Read

History of the protestant reformation in England and Ireland by William Cobett 

Cursive Writing

                            Why Teach Cursive Writing?

Why do kids need to learn Manuscript (cursive?) today? What I mean is….we don’t write much by hand anymore, isn’t printing enough?

It is true, with the advent of the computer, we don’t write by hand very much and the value of skills such as cursive writing can become obscured. However, handwriting requires discipline and coordination. It is more than putting symbols on paper. It develops fine motor skills in the fingers and the hand, and eye-hand coordination. It takes less eye-hand coordination to print than it does to connect the letters in cursive writing. That eye-hand coordination can then be applied to other skills.

Cursive writing can help develop processing skills. The child has to think about what he wants to say and then write it legibly and coherently on the paper.

“To the Parent” section of the Handwriting books says this about “why” cursive is taught at Seton.

“ …there are still many situations in life when handwriting is necessary and appropriate. Good, legible penmanship conveys the writer’s personal consideration and respect for the reader.”

Can’t this consideration and respect for the reader be conveyed to the reader through printing and keyboarding or typing?

Maybe, but the personal touch is likely to be missing. How important is that personal touch? Let’s consider telephone conversations. No one likes to be called by, or to speak to a machine on the telephone. Why not? The same information is imparted, but the experience is vastly different. It’s impersonal and on some level lacking in consideration and respect. (Don’t I rate speaking to a real person?).

One of our elementary counselors had this to say:

"It was also said that it is easier to reverse the formation of manuscript letters than it is cursive letters. For individuals with dyslexia, they learn to recognize manuscript letters, but they learn to write in cursive.

Also, once a person gets the form of cursive letters, they are supposed to be able to write quicker than if they were printing in manuscript. Most students in college are probably listening to lectures and typing their notes into a computer. But what if you don’t have a computer and how are college students taking tests?

One instance where cursive is used is a person’s signature. Not only do we need to know how to write our own names, but we need to be able to read what someone else writes. Perhaps, in the future, cursive will be eliminated and we will have a fingerprint code that will produce our names, but for now, cursive is still a part of our culture.”

Steps to Teen Motivation

                                                       5 Steps to Teen Motivation

by Sarah Rose


Are your teens always completing their research reports at the last minute, or not completing them at all?  Do your teens complain that their school work is pointless? Are they rebellious and disrespectful?

1.  Pray
Parents wrestling with these dilemmas are fighting a moral and spiritual battle.  To win such a battle, they must use moral and spiritual weapons.  Fortunately, Jesus never gives us more than we can handle; He will provide parents with the means they need to help their children know and love Him and obey His Commandments.  Ultimately, God alone, working with and never against the free will of teens, can change their hearts.  As the head and heart of the home, however, fathers and mothers can create an environment in which God’s grace can flow more abundantly.
Therefore, the first thing to be done is to ask for the means to create a loving Christian home.  Pray.  Pray without ceasing.  Never doubt that God hears our prayers, though His answer may not come in the way or at the time we want.  If at all possible, begin going to daily Mass.  Take your teens with you, saying, “This will get you up in the morning,” or “This will give us a much needed break from school work.”  Convey the spiritual benefits as well.  Eventually, daily Mass will become a habit, not a chore.
Not every family can attend daily Mass, but every family can pray the Rosary every day.  Our Blessed Mother gave fifteen promises to those who pray the Rosary.  They can be found on this website: Our Lady’s 15 Promises for Praying the Rosary
One of Mary’s promises is this: “The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.”  Print a copy of these promises and post it on your refrigerator.  Pray the Rosary out loud in the living room or main room of the house every day.

2. Good Company

Many teens go through a phase of rebellion.  This is a common side effect of becoming independent.  Children are becoming adults and must learn to live their own lives without depending on their parents for everything.  At a time when your children are being influenced less by you and more by their peers, it is important that they have friends their own age with good Christian morals.  Encourage your children to join a parish teen or pro-life group.  Find a homeschool support group and join in their family activities, or start your own homeschool group.  If you have only recently begun homeschooling, your teens may miss their old school friends.  If at all possible, allow your children to continue spending time with their old friends.  If these public or private school students are clearly having a negative moral influence on your children, be firm in limiting their time spent together.  It would be better, however, to increase the number of good influences in your children’s lives and let their old friendships fade away than to forbid them to see their best friends.

3. Daily Discipline

Teens often struggle with laziness.  As children, they bounced out of bed soon after sunrise, full of energy and enthusiasm.  Now, if they had their way, they would play video games or spend time on Facebook or Pinterest until one in the morning and sleep until noon every day.  Teens should be getting practice in setting their own schedule.  However, in the “real world,” college classes often begin at 8:30am, and many jobs require being at work at 8:00am.  So continue starting homeschool lessons no later than 9:00am, or whenever your family gets home from morning Mass.  If, despite getting an early start, your teens still procrastinate with their school work, teach them to set goals for themselves.  Have them begin with their most difficult subjects, while their minds are fresh in the morning, so the rest of the day will be easy.
Or, if they are still sluggish even after Mass and breakfast, find the best time of day for them and have them study their most difficult subject then.  If your teens are still lazy about school, it might mean that you are not challenging them enough.  If they simply do not care about school and say that school is pointless, you have a bigger problem.  Try to find what they are passionate about and incorporate it into your lessons.  If they are interested in science, plan a trip to a natural history museum.  If they like history, visit an area of historical interest or participate in a reenactment.  Teach your teens to set goals for themselves, both short-term and long-term goals.  If they manage to finish all their work for the year before June, take them on a special trip.

4.  Looking Ahead

The teen years are the time to look toward the future.  Do they want to go to college?  Contact colleges and find the average high school grades and SAT scores of incoming freshmen.  Find what grades and scores must be achieved to qualify for scholarships.  Ask your teens what kind of careers they want.  Help gear their high school education toward their goals.  If you are unable to motivate your teens with any goals and they still refuse to do their work, you may need to resort to “tough love.”  Tell them, “Alright, if you don’t do your work, you can’t graduate.  It will be hard to get a good job without a high school diploma.”

5. Limit Media

One final point is worth considering for parents dealing with rebellious or unmotivated teens: limit media.  For the most part, watching TV is a waste of time.  Worse, many movies and TV shows depict heroes with deplorable morals.  Consider limiting TV time to one wholesome show per day.  You might move the TV to an out-of-the-way place and bring it out only for family movie night.  Make sure your teens are exposed to people worthy of emulation, not pop culture celebrities.  Keep books and movies about the saints in your home.  If, when they were younger, your teens grew up reading about and praying to the saints as their best friends, they will have no shortage of good role models.  If your teens are not accustomed to reading about saints, it is not too late to start.  Find an exciting book about St. Sebastian, St. Ignatius Loyola, or another “manly” saint for your son.  Your daughter might like reading about one of the many intelligent, independent women saints, such as St. Catherine of Sienna or St. Teresa of Avila.

Music has a profound impact on the way teens think and act.  Many songs have objectionable lyrics.  If your teens are highly discerning, you may not need to limit their choice of music, but work on creating a Christian environment.  This does not mean that you must forbid all music but Gregorian chant and overtly Christian bands.  Classical music has been shown to stimulate intellectual development even in infants, so consider playing classical music as background music during some lessons.
The Internet has many positive uses in the homeschool.  It is a powerful tool for research.  Many English, math, and science tutorials are available for free.  As every parent is aware, however, there is also much to be avoided on the Internet.  Pornography is so prevalent that a child or teen can accidentally stumble across it. To limit the dangers of pornography, keep your teen’s computer in the living room or any room of the house that gets a lot of traffic. Many “historical” resources, online or in print, contain falsehoods and half-truths, especially when referring to the Catholic Church.

Always remember: the duty of parents is to provide for their children, both materially and spiritually.  The family is the domestic church, the place where saints are born.  With prayer, discipline, and perseverance, you can help your teens in their walk of faith.

Developmental Insights

                          Developemental Insights about children.

Here is a very brief summary of areas of general competency and interest of various age groups, according to the developing research.

First and Second Graders (aged 6–7) still live richly in their imaginations, love routines, praise, and 

being with their families. they need lots of guidance and structure; but they are developing a new sense of 

independence and need lots of patient encouragement and praise. they don’t operate well under pressure 

and can react in frustration if competition becomes too intense. they fidget a lot, so be patient with them. 

to keep their attention, use actvities like stories, arts and crafts, puppets, acting, dress-ups, and playing 

instruments, simple worksheets, card and board games, and puzzles. if you have a blackboard or dry-erase 

board, they love to write and draw on them. they love music and movement and will trust you to lead 

them in vocal prayer, creative dramatics, and singing activities. sevens are hyper-sensitive to criticism, so 

give them plenty of time to complete tasks. they are particularly fond of physical activities, since their 

coordination and strength are really blossoming. Keep lessons brief, varied, and focused, avoid competitive 

activities, discipline gently, and always be encouraging in spite of their being easily distracted.

Third and Fourth Graders (aged 8–9) are still lively and responsive to your creative ideas, and they can
be very fond and enthusiastic toward teachers. eights like clubs and group activities, and they are also able
to understand the concept of “right and wrong.” they can relate to the suffering of others and can begin
to engage in deeper discussions of their life experiences, family traditions, and personal feelings. they are
more confident readers, so you can bring them together, montessori-style, to look up Bible passages or
read aloud from scripts for group dramatics. they willingly enter into lively competitions and love to outdo each other in memorizing Bible verses or finishing a group project ahead of others. they may start to
be cliquish and a little insensitive towards each other, so gently demand good manners—especially during
circle time—and give everybody a fresh start with each lesson.


Fifth and Sixth Graders (aged 10–11) can enjoy a deeper interest in the lesson and have greater attention
spans than ever before. they tend to like television and movies. they are generally happy, more self-confident, and good problem solvers who love to plan, design, and build things. they are swiftly developing a
sense of fairness; they want to do what is right and still love pleasing parents and teachers. it’s a great time,
(in limited doses) to ask them to nurture younger students or siblings. their friendships are deepening and
becoming more important to them. they have a growing interest in science, animals and nature, and love to
do arts and crafts. they are not terribly religious yet, but will pray and behave well at mass when properly
supervised. they are more open to and enthusiastic about service projects, since they can now relate to the
importance of helping others.

From avemariapress

Principles of simple life

I found it very interesting to read the below post from the seton magazine.

“Be as simple as doves” -  Matthew 10:16

What I do know is that our ultimate goal is not voluntary simplicity.  Our ultimate goal is Heaven.  Our family just felt called to love our God in Heaven by embracing a life of simplicity here on earth.  We strive to live simply as a means, not as an end, in a world where we are constantly being told that wealth and earthly possessions mark the true measure of a man.

While I promise to write more articles in the future about the logistics of simplification, such as decluttering and organizing,  it is important to understand simplicity on an internal and spiritual level before we can truly simplify our external environment.

Lessons from Scripture and Saints

So what do Sacred Scripture and the Saints teach us about simplicity? How does simple living benefit our lives and our souls?

1)  Simple living brings about true freedom of spirit. This freedom of spirit helps us to focus more on our relationship with God and others. Saint Teresa of Avila writes, “In this holy abandonment springs up that beautiful freedom of spirit which the perfect possess, and in which there is found all the happiness that can be desired in this life; for in fearing nothing and seeking and desiring nothing of the things of the world, they possess all.”  In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul writes, “But I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted and fall from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

2)  Simple living brings about true joy.  It teaches us that earthly possessions will never truly satisfy us and should never be seen as a veritable source of lasting joy.  In First Chronicles, it is written, “I know my God that Thou provest hearts and lovest simplicity, wherefore, I also in the simplicity of my heart, have joyfully offered all these things.” In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he writes, “That in much experience of tribulation, they have had abundance of joy and their very deep poverty hath abounded in the riches of their simplicity.”   St. Therese of the Child Jesus also writes, “I know well that joy is not in the things that surround us; it dwells in the innermost soul.”

3)  Simple living leads us closer to our God. We must remember that there should be a deep connection between our ritual of simplifying and our relationship with God Himself.  Saint Francis De Sales writes, “Simplicity is nothing but an act of charity pure and simple which has but one sole end – that of gaining the love of God.  Our soul then is truly simple when we have no aim at all but this, in all we do.”  Saint Vincent De Paul also writes, “Simplicity ought to be held in great esteem…it is a virtue most worthy of love, because it leads us straight to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

So how does all this translate to us today? Below are eight principles that our family has learned (and is still learning) in this sometimes difficult but often rewarding journey.  The principles below focus on both the practical and the spiritual, and the beauty of it all is that there are no set rules or regulations when it comes to voluntary simplicity.   Voluntary simplicity is partly a lifestyle and a mindset, but mostly a disposition of the heart and soul.

The Path to Simplicity

Here then is a glance at the Eight Principles of The Simple Life that I will be writing about in the next several months:

S – Stewardship of Treasure
I – In God We Trust
M – Moderate Consumption
P – Poverty Awareness
L – Less Is More
I – Instilling A Spirit of Gratitude
F – Focusing On Relationships
Y – Yearning For Heaven

In living out these principles, you will soon discover a deeper love for God and others by practicing wise stewardship, trust, surrender, temperance, generosity, holy detachment, gratitude, contentment, true order and, most importantly, a desire to prepare for a holy death.

Like a dove flying freely towards the heavens, simple living brings about true freedom of spirit, gives us lasting joy and leads us closer to the Heavenly Kingdom.  Come join me in this beautiful journey and you will soon discover how rich you truly are!