Religion

We put this poster up in our upstairs hallway thinking that the colorful pictures would be attractive to the little ones and help them develop a better understanding of the Life of Jesus. The full color drawings are attractive but dignified. It's been a big hit so far. I find my six year old reading words here and there, my four year old asking about what happens in different pictures and my two year old pointing to her favorite scenes. The pictures include simple descriptions and dialogue along with Biblical references.

Bernie (age 4) says: "I like Christmas and Easter and Palm Sunday and the Last Supper. And I like when Jesus was baptized. Jesus made water into wine."

Terri (age 6) says: "I think the poster looks pretty. It is about God. I like the pictures of Palm Sunday. It looks like fun. "

Gus (age 8) says: "It's sort of like a Picture Bible on one poster."

Four reproducible work sheets cover "the Miracles of Jesus", "the Parables of Jesus", "Who is Jesus" and "Events in the Life of Jesus".

This is a friendly little introduction for children to the small ways that they can show love to God. It's a combination of a book of manners (since there are explanations of how to behave at Church - and why) with a simple devotional theme that is accessible to young children. What a great idea!

Children are gently encouraged to bow their head when Jesus' name is said, show a sign of affection when they pass by a Catholic Church because Jesus is present in the tabernacle, and say a prayer when they see an ambulance go by. Regarding Holy Mass, the book encourages and explains why we dress appropriately for Mass, bless ourselves with holy water, genuflect, and try to pay attention even when it's hard. There are also parts of Mass that are illustrated and explained (both how we act and what is happening): the "Lord Have Mercy" prayer, The Prayer Before the Gospel (and the special signs we make at that time), The Consecration and Communion. The book concludes with the theme of prayer, including why and how we pray to Mary, to the Saints and to the Angels and prayers for mealtime and bedtime.

Each subject is covered with a colorful illustration on one side of the page and a page of text (including a Bible quote). It's perfect for children preparing for their First Communion, but could certainly be enjoyed by younger children too.

This new book on the liturgical year was published last year by a recent homeschool graduate. The segment on Advent covers 34 pages (the pages are 8 1/2 x 11 inches with very dense text - so this is quite a bit of material). Miss McEneany, has provided a very thorough, updated resource for Advent traditions by bringing together detailed instructions, ideas and explanations from a wide variety of resources (including quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and explanations about traditions from the Byzantine rite). This segment on Customs for Advent includes information about the Advent Wreath, (and the Byzantine Advent wreath), the Christ Candle, Jesse Tree Symbols and corresponding Old Testament readings, Advent Friends (sometimes called Kris Kringles), Gifts and Cribs for Jesus (to prepare with good deeds, prayers and sacrifices during Advent), ideas for daily spiritual devotions during Advent and quite a bit more. Each explained custom (where appropriate) also includes related prayers.

The second chapter provides detailed ideas for Home Education during Advent by means of a unit study on the time before Christ. This unit study ties together a certain amount of History, English/Vocabulary, Geography, Religion, Math, Literature, Health, Religion, Art, Science, Home Economics and Latin/Music in order to delve deeper into the meaning of Advent.

Chapter three covers Advent Recipes which differ from older books because of a more modern emphasis on natural foods. I would also have to explain that the recipes are not necessarily "traditional" Advent recipes, but rather natural food recipes that would be considered appropriate for Advent. This chapter includes an extensive segment on growing sprouts as well as recipes for dishes (along with explanations of why they are appropriate) such as: Avocado Potato Salad; Root, Sprout and Flower Noodle Salad; Carrot Salad Fish Loaf, Beet Soup, Avocado-Cauliflower Cream Soup, Carrot Cake and Sprouted Sunflower Burgers. All recipes in the book are meatless and in fact contain no animal products (making them cholesterol free). A four page section in the middle of the book provides glossy, full-color photos of the recipes, many of which incorporate festive decorations. The book also includes an extensive bibliography, a listing of sources for materials and foods mentioned in the book and an alphabetical index of recipes.

First copyrighted in 1955, this cute booklet tells the story of St. Marguerite d'Youville, of Canada, founder of the Grey Nuns. The chapters portray brief vignettes of her childhood and growing ups years brushing through the many, many sorrows and crosses of her life. This will serve as a delightful read-aloud as the language is very suitable for young children.
On a personal (and artistic) note, I would have preferred if the the new edition had left the original illustrations intact. By adding shading, they lost the freshness of the originals they also are no longer suitable for coloring-- a very favorite activity in our homeschool.