A New Calendar for Mum that Never Gets Old and Helps Reinforce the Faith

Cover Page

New must have calendar helps Mum's keep it all in a row - literally!

Keeping track of things in the year can be a daunting task for even those who are really organized.  As many of us scour the Internet trying to find those tools and printables which will make life easier for us in our teaching or homeschooling journey, we are often dismayed to find things that would be perfect if only it had this or that.  One of my pet peeves was to find things that although they were functional, they were bland or not pleasing to use.  I was also looking for Faith themed things.  Needless to say, there wasn't much out there, so I decided to start making a few things and sharing them.  And now, thousands of resources later, I like to think that we have some really good treasures for Catholic and Christian families alike to enjoy using.

Today I share a free calendar that I have been working on for a while and have finally completed to be able to use it for this coming learning year.  As I am a sacramental prep catechist in my parish, I find that my CCD or Religious Education year has to be just as organized as my homeschooling year as I am very accountable to my DRE, my pastor, the individual families, and the Bishop, if need be.  And although things can get quite hectic for me at times between home and parish learning sessions, I always try to surround myself with elements of the Faith as much as possible to keep me focused.  I also like to be in God's glory, nature, as much as possible.  Having said that, my calendar combines linear thinking, nature and the Dedication of the Months into one resource which can be reprinted and used over and over each year.  Below are the sample pages for the month of July.

In this resource you will find a cover page and then two pages to represent each month of the year.  I also noted the dedication for each month and added a little pictorial reminder as well.  You will also find sweet Victorian graphics to represent different flowers or plants that are popular for that month of the year.   I tried to allow a bit of white space at the top of the right hand pages for you to write a scribble or two, a quote, a reminder, Bible verse to ponder, a doddle, etc.  This resource is designed to be printed back to back starting with page one (cover) and is to be bound on the left hand side in a binder or duo-tang, or simply just staple it together. 

The unique arrangement of the days in rows allows for this to be useful for daily menus, activities, saint or Bible study passages, Mass schedules or a daily focus for those who do a less encumbered style of learning based on historical events of the day or teachable moments.

Click Here to download Mum's new calendar (standard version)
Click Here to download Mum's new calendar (leap year version)
**Don't forget that 2012 is a leap year.

I hope you find this sweet calendar helpful and inviting to use.

Blessings,
Kalei

Fun Printable Reading Resources for the book Maybe You Should Fly A Jet! by Theo LeSieg - and they AREN'T just for the 2nd grader

Resources to help learners of all ages think about What they want to be when they grow up.

The summer break from formal learning offers children the opportunity for long blocks of imaginative play.  Often times children will act out what they hope will become the occupation of their choice later in life.  It is always a hoot to watch the kiddos pretending to be everything the can think of including the 'Flying Nun', an archaeologist,  an explorer, a baker making mud pies, a mum walking her baby in a stroller or even a professional soccer player. 

When we think about learning about occupations in a more formal way, we cannot overlook the humorous work of Dr. Seuss (writing as Theo LeSieg) called, MAYBE YOU SHOULD FLY A JET! I Can Read All By Myself Beginner Books.  This easy to read book is a fun imaginative work that exposes children to a plethora of different occupations all the while providing a solid rhythmic pattern of text.  We really enjoyed this read in our little homeschool and shared it among our various grade levels.  I then created a few little fun go along worksheets to help the children explore the work a bit more.  The sheets require the children to think about all the different kinds of jobs from the book as they answer some simple questions are to be shared amongst themselves later on.  This activity can be used with just about any level that wanted to participate for fun.  This could also be a fun writing co-op activity or even a party game.  Really!!

Here are what the sheets look like.  (Click the image to get a close up view.)

There are lots of jobs and occupations mentioned in this book.  Ask your learner to test their memory skills by recalling either the first twenty or the last twenty occupations.  Younger children can use this portion as simple copywork if necessary.  There is a sheet for either the first or last twenty.  Learners simply write out the job and then tell whether they would like to have the job or not by checking the appropriate box.  Fun colourful graphics remind children of different jobs.  You could also do this job additionally by just having children name twenty jobs that they would like to have.

Children of all ages enjoy expressing their opinion about things.  This sheet asks the reader to think about all of the different occupations that they saw in the book.  It then asks them to complete statements the jobs and their perceptions about a few of them.   The simple  statements include which job the think is the best, dullest, hardest, strangest, requires the most training, is the most rewarding and so on.  Our kiddos really enjoyed this activity and it could even serve as a writing co-op activity or as the ice breaker to a new class or party.

Click Here to download the worksheets for Maybe You Should Fly a Jet!

I hope that these sheets help your kiddos explore what they want to be when they grow up a bit more or at least have a few laughs learning about the possibilities that await them.

Blessings,

Kalei

Helping Children Become More Independent Learners

Resources to help the kiddos remember what to do when

Do you have tasks you do everyday? Of course you do what homeschooling mum doesn't? You can easily realize the importance of setting your goals or creating a list of tasks that need to be completed.  As you complete and check off your list, a wave of satisfaction washes over you and end the day with a feeling of happiness and accomplishment.  Children desire to feel the same way about their daily tasks too.

Children can easily become creatures of habit - when honed and developed - this can become a good and positive thing. What do I mean by this, you ask. In our little homeschool, like many of yours, we do certain subjects on certain days. We have certain books we read from at certain times, and also have a host of tasks that easily become routine to us such as fixing our bed, practicing a musical instrument, reading the Bible daily, etc. Without really realizing it, we could find that we have lots of daily tasks that children feel a great sense of accomplishment in completing. Sometimes these tasks might be short lived such as memorizing a poem or passage, reading a book, going to swimming lessons twice a week, or practicing a homemaking skill such as a small embroidery project. Yet other tasks involve long term commitment such as daily piano practice, using flashcards daily, learning Latin, or keeping a journal.  When we know what to do and when to do it, the tasks become expected and finished in a more timely manner. 

Many eductaors believe that it is a good thing to help your children organize their learning and create a schedule of sorts.  This teaches them organizational skills as well as the most needed skill of time management. 

Our offering today is a years worth of weekly task check-off sheets for the kiddos to help in their home learning.  I have a young child who loves check lists and finds them such a wonderful tool.  She uses them in her cleaning and daily learning as well.  Last year in grade two she would write out her daily things to do for her learning.  This would take her a while, but I would just sit quietly and let her go.  This coming year I have created a template for her to use for those things which will need to be done a few times during the week.  She will get a sheet in the beginning of the week and keep it in her folder to check off daily.  I have created enough for each week in the school year to have a different theme.  This keeps the sheet fresh and warm for her.  There are special ones for holidays as well.  I thought that others may find these quite useful too as they could be used by writing in a task, chore, book title, subject to be covered or any of a number of things.

The sheets have a variety of colourful themes that can be used for unit studies, particular interests of the time, holidays etc.  Almost every theme set contains two sheets - one for a girl and one for a boy.  There are some larger multiple paged sets including various sports and cultures.  A cursive font has been used to help us transition into the reading and writing of cursive text.  The layout is simple and clear and allows for ten different tasks and includes space for the weekly dates.  You will also find that the sheets leave space for hole punching on the left hand side of the page for easy placement into a folder, duo-tang or other binding.

We hope you find these weekly task charts helpful in your learning year.

Click HERE to see our collection of Weekly Activities and Tasks Charts.

If you have a child who likes to check things off on a daily basis for each of their subjects, you could also try out one of our checklist style assignment sheets HERE.

Blessings,

Kalei

Thinking About the Next Learning Year Yet? We are.

The true LOVE of Learning and printables to help you stay focused on your goals.

Although many families are just beginning to finish up their lessons for the summer and are NOT thinking about the next learning year yet, we are.  We are contemplating the true LOVE of learning and how we can bring that to fruition.  One of our family's goals for all of its members is to cultivate the love of learning.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit dispensed to the apostles and Mother Mary on Pentecost are also given to each one of us in the Sacrament of Confirmation.  This allows for us to be continuously challenged to better know and understand our Lord and the world He made for us including how we interact with it and with each other.  That is a tall order, we know, but it is our calling as Christians and Catholics.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit include:  Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord.  So, how does this translate into our learning year, you may be asking.  It is the factor of LOVE that needs to be incorporated into our school year.

Look to and allow the Lord to lead you.

Keep the Lord at the centre of your learning and planning.  Select curriculum that heeds the teachings of the church.  Choose books, curriculum and resources that reflect God's truth.  Avoid those things which require you to filter out errors, opinions and beliefs that do not fit into your faith and the teachings of Christ and the Church.  If we are to constantly rely on making due with something, unavoidably when we are tired or weakened, errors will get through and make their way into our lessons and permeate our homes and teaching sessions.  Do not under estimate the power and patience of the evil one to wait for us to become weak, to then infiltrate our Christian homes.  Be on Guard.  Confirmation makes us a soldier for Christ.  We must function as one for our children.

Omit Chaos and Be Realistic.

In our pride and vanity we many times forget that we are human and our children are as well.  We tend to want to see the value in every possible thing provided to us - every fieldtrip, play, free concert, co-op, study group... We often times overwhelm our children with resources, activities, outings and busy-ness.  We create goals based on theories or what other families are doing and burn ourselves and our children out in the process.  Omit the chaos of homeschooling by setting realistic goals which take into account your time constraints, budget, your natural abilities and talents as well as the appropriateness of the topicality and your child's personality and skill level.  Children will do what we set out for them, but it is up to us to discern what is best for them. 

Vary Your Routine.

When our Lord created the earth, He gave us so many options for food.  They range in colour, taste, texture, purpose, and availability.  He knew that each type of food would provide something we needed to remain healthy; it would enhance and strengthen our bodies when used in moderation. He provided us with a well rounded and balanced diet that would meet all of our nutritional needs.  We can learn alot from our Lord when we apply this to our teaching and learning.  Too much of any one thing is not good for us - whether it is too much of one kind of resource, too much of one subject, too much of one topic, or too much of one activity.  Our Lord taught us to vary our routine to create well rounded Christians capable of growing in knowledge rather than being stifled by it. 

Expect Setbacks.

If we remember the parable of the vine and the branches we will recall that it is the pruning that causes the growth and production of fruit and that the vine dresser is the one who does the pruning.  Setbacks are our opportunity for growth.  It is the pruning that the Lord gives us to help us grow in virtue and truth.  We must expect setbacks to occur in our learning year.  Our plans for achieving the goals we set within certain times frames, parametres, using certain programs, in a certain budget, or under a certain guide may be put on hold or may have to change permanently for our very own good.  We cannot get so caught up in goals and outcomes that we overlook the joy and knowledge that is occurring with real learning no matter how slow or small it is.  When illness, financial hardship, death of a loved one, emotional distress or any of a number of other factors take hold of our lives, we must remember that it is our personal opportunity to test the virtues that we have, to see how strong or weak they are.  We must know setbacks will come and we should plan for them by giving ourselves some breathing room in our yearly planning.  Every homeschooling family will go through setbacks at some point, the key is to remember that we are called to do this task and that our behaviour, however good or bad it is, will definitely impact the life of our children.  If they see us pray in time of need, reach out to others in crisis, receive the sacraments in time of weakness and sin, they will know it is what they should do in the same situation when it arises.  We must be exemplary examples of the truth and faith for them.  We must teach this to them for everything else can be learned in a book on their own.

Our offerings today include some neat little sheets from Shell as well as some new freebies from our own collection.

Shell over at Thinking Love, No Twaddle blog has created some little printables to help children become more independent learners.  When you feel your learner is ready or when are ready to help them become a bit more independent, this five page set may be just what you are looking for.  Children can note down their own info or mum could help with a few notes as well.  There is a space for prayer, chores, what we are reading, weekly tasks and more.  I also love the little learning quotes that are on each page too.  Each page has a different theme focus including dinos, animals, science, Christ and the children, and there is also a lovely simple journal page too.  See a few sample pages below.

Find this and many of her other cute printables HERE.

From our creative side, we have designed some goal planning sheets to help you to figure out the goals you have for each child, by subject, and then the core and supplemental resources/activities that you intend to use to meet your goals.  There are a variety of bright themes that parents or even older learners could use to see their year at a glance.  There are even check-off boxes to help you keep track of your accomplishments.  These were designed to help you remember that although teaching our children is a tough and encompassing job, there is always room for joy and smiles.  My pastor always reminds us that the mark of a good Christian is a joyful heart.

Here are a few sample themes from our goal planning sheets:

Click HERE to see our entire collection of new goal planning sheets.

We hope our resources have got you happily thinking about your next learning year.

Blessings,

Kalei

Pentecost Marks the End of Easter. Now what do we do? Let St. Anthony and the CCC help.

What do you have planned for your spiritual year?

With the celebration of Pentecost, the Easter season will officially come to a close. We are now reassured of God's love and our forthcoming eternal life illustrated through Christ's resurrection. With Pentecost we recognize our call to become disciples of Christ and display our allegiance and love to God through our actions. The challenge for each one of us will be to remember Easter all year through. Mother church helps us with this task by focusing our spiritual attention on different aspects of our faith. We call this the Dedication of the months.

Here are the areas that Mother Church suggests we should focus on yearly basis by month:

January - The Holy Name of Jesus

February - The Passion

March - St. Joseph

April - The Resurrection

May - The Blessed Virgin
June - The Sacred Heart
July - The Precious Blood
August - The Assumption
September - The Holy Cross
October - The Rosary
November - The Poor Souls (Holy Souls in Purgatory)
December - Advent (The Coming of Christ)

If you need a little reminder of these days, feel free to download our Learning Card on the Dedications of the Month. With two different cards per page, it is paired with the card for the Mysteries of the Rosary.

Click HERE to download this card and so other faith building cards.

Although we are given a monthly focus, there are still tons of opportunities throughout the year to focus on different rich aspects of our Faith. We recall different mysteries of the Rosary - The Annunciation, The Assumption, Easter, Christmas and many others. We also recall the wonderful faithful works of the holy saints. One such saint that has a special place in our little homeschool is St. Anthony of Padua. His feast day is June 13th. We have put together a page with fun printable resources to help you celebrate the feast day of this saint with your family or classroom too.

Click HERE to visit our page on St. Anthony now.

Another way to celebrate your faith daily is through learning and living the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church). We can do this very simply by knowing what God expects of us and being willing to do His will. Shell of Thinking Love, No Twaddle blog has created a quick reference sheet to help us all remember and learn the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes and the Lord's prayer. This sheet can be used in a number of ways. It can be a reference sheet. It can be cut apart and put on flashcards for ordered play or matching play. It could be attached in an F3 folder or used in a unit study for lesson reinforcement. These are just a few ideas.

Find this and other faith builders at Shell's page HERE.

We hope that your spiritual life is somehow enriched and enlivened with the use of our free printables.

Blessings,

Kalei - That Resource Team

Notebooking Sheets to Focus on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a Few Other Goodies

Colouring sheets for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Let us continue to focus on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Perhaps you would like to learn even more about this wonderful devotion or would like a special way to encourage your child to connect with our Lord in their writing.  We can't offer funny doo-dads, trinkets and things  - as that wouldn't be offering our Lord the reverence He deserves, but we can offer some special learning helps.

God promises us many things.  As we come from the heart of the Father and are made in His image, we learn that He is always ready to love us, forgive us and welcome us back to His loving care if only we have a sincere desire to truly love Him above all things.  In the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jesus once again makes clear the promises to us that He has every intention and power to fulfill, but what are we asked of in return?

The "Nine First Fridays" was revealed in The Promises of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary.

"I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment." 

The conditions required of this devotion include: 

1. Receive the Holy Eucharist nine times.
2. Do so on the first Friday of the month.
3. Do this for nine consecutive, uninterrupted months.
4. Do this with the proper disposition.
5. Do this with the intention of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to receive the fruit of this great promise.

If you are looking for a great way to explain the promises and the devotion to the Sacred Heart to your children, then you may want to read The Promises of the Sacred Heart by Fr. Lovasikto your children.  Most think of this book as only for the very young, but don't be fooled.  The average Catholic parent is only catechized to a Gr. 5 level and reminders all good for all of us! :)

If you would like a read for your older children or a simple novel for adults, try Saint Margaret Mary: And the Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Mary Fabyan Windeatt.  Many Catholic children (and adults too) enjoy this book series.  Keep in mind that these books are not all equal in reading difficulty, length and topicality either.  If your child has a gentle heart, keep that in mind when choosing which saints to explore.  Details of martyrdom can sometimes be a bit difficult for younger readers.

Here are some additional resources to help with your learning once these or other resources have been read about the Sacred Heart:

Notebooking Sets

Find two notebooking sets ready for any age or level of learner.  One set is a coloured set featuring the artistic work of Batoni.  The other is a new six page set perfect for those who like to write as well as colour.  Images are black and white and are perfect for colouring.

Click HERE to see all of our notebooking sets.

Colouring Pages

Speaking of colouring sheets, we have also just posted 5 new colouring sheets featuring the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Some include a promise as well as an image and others are straight colouring.  We have tried to include very simple images as well as very intricate images as a challenge for older learners who may be looking for an artistic challenge.

Click HERE to see our collection of colouring pages. Please note that many colouring sheets from the blog have not been moved over and updated yet on our new site.  As we are still updating our website, don't forget to search our blog for more colouring fun too.

Little Liturgical Lesson for June

Looking for a little Lesson as well?  Why not try on Shell's Little Liturgical Lesson on June as the Month of the Sacred Heart?  Find a short version of the story surrounding this devotion to our Lord, plus a colouring sheet and other art goodies.  I love that her lessons are done with such love of our faith and includes background text to really bring her activities to life. 

You can see all of her lessons and link to her blog HERE.

Learning Cards on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Need a reminder of the promises of the Sacred Heart?  Print out and create a learning card all about the promises of the Sacred Heart plus a card to write a prayer to our Lord.  These are perfect for home catechises or a Religious Ed. class as well.  Almost all of our resources are created for either our own little homeschool or parish CCD class.  To use these resources, simply print out, cut apart and glue.  Laminate for durability and longevity. 

See all of our Faith Learning cards HERE.

Sacred Heart Montessori Cards

Looking for a chance to study art in this devotion?  Print out and create our Montessori set featuring various images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  There are six cards in the set.  Print out two sets for matching fun.  Laminate for durability. 

See all of our Montessori card sets HERE.

We hope that these goodies can help you in your journey closer to our Lord and bringing your children with you on it.

Blessings,

Kalei

Focusing on the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June

Daily reminders of the Sacred Heart of our Lord

Do you have things that you plan to do each day but do not get to them?  Do you sometimes even give your word to your children, spouse or friends and then end up having to break your promises because of lack of time or energy?  If so, you are in good company.  If you are a homeschooler, then these can be regular occurrences. 

As June begins, Mother church helps us recall the promises that our Lord gives us in the devotion to His Sacred Heart.  In fact, when Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary over four hundred years ago, He gave us at least twelve promises of help to those who would honour Him.  Do you remember what the twelve promises are?  What's more, do you remember them on a regular basis?

The twelve promises from Christ are:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

Our resource to share today is a new monthly over-sized wall calendar featuring the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The images used were selected to allow children to colour the individual pieces while still providing classic colour images as well.  This is a creative first for us in this popular style resource, but we thought it would be a nice interactive change that would allow for lots of art practice and blending of colours using coloured pencils.  

Each image represents the Sacred Heart.  The flames coming forth from His heart remind us of our Lord's burning love for us and His wanting us to love Him in return. The crown of thorns reminds us of the sacrifice required to make up for sin.

We hope this helps you to remember to focus on Christ and His love for us daily and to remember the promises that our Lord gives us which He is never too tired, overwhelmed, or short on time to follow through on.

Click Here to download this June Sacred Heart of Jesus Calendar.

Click HERE to see our entire collection and learn how to assemble the calendars.

Blessings,

That Resource Team