What's New

A small illustrated children's book about two children who visit a number of their neighbors of different ethnic backgrounds and discover that each of their cultures uses rice in their cooking. Includes recipes in the back. A good way to introduce children to our country's ethnic diversity without getting "politically correct." (Warning: We get hungry every time we read this book.)

This inexpensive (approximately $15) jigsaw puzzle provides an easy and fun way to learn World Geography. Pieces are cut along country borders (although larger countries are split into pieces). Colors are simple and continents, oceans, countries and capitals are clearly marked. A few of the smaller countries are joined together in one piece. Canada is broken up into pieces cut along the province borders. The United States is broken up into pieces composed of one or two states each.

This novelette, set at the time of the French Revolution, follows the lives of the nuns of the Carmelite convent at Compiegne during those troubled times, all the way to their martyrdom at the guillotine. Despite the rather short length, the novel is very deep and very moving. The author, rather than having the charcters preach to the reader, created a story which causes the reader to consider some very substantial spiritual issues - suffering, pride, fear, and how God works in our lives.

A memory game showing 36 pictures of outstanding sites worldwide.

While looking for something fun to add to this year's curriculum purchases, I discovered this memory game in the Montessori Services catalog. I can't tell you how much fun we've had with it. The whole family down to the 2 1/2 year old have enjoyed rowsing games of memory while learning about important historical, cultural and religious sites from around the world.

The cards are approximately 2 inches square with full color pictures of famous sites. There are a high percentage of Catholic sites: