Advent

This is a very simple advent calendar with little doors to open each day of Advent. The price is very reasonable, but the quality is suitable for a one-time use (it would be difficult to close the doors a second time around). The illustrations are very simple with some glittery high-lights but my favorite feature is a simple task (though some are very generic) printed on the inside of each door for the child to do to prepare for Christmas. Here are a few random examples:

"Jesus, as we prepare to welcome you, let me be welcoming of others, too."

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut ‘n Color is actually a 3-dimensional story book about Our Lady of Guadalupe. Once completed, this cut, color, and assemble kit creates a lovely storybook attached to an attractive diorama that children can use with the paper dolls to act out the story. A few parts will need some adult supervision. On the bottom of the “book” are pages of the story that you turn while the diorama remains in view. Each kit includes the book, scenery, church, and paper dolls of Juan Diego, the Bishop, and Our Lady of Guadalupe all on card stock with easy to follow instructions.

The Jesse Tree Ornament Kit comes with 12 ready-to-assemble, 3-dimensional ornaments on card stock, instructions, Bible verses to find the corresponding story to each ornament, string, and sequins. Each finished ornament is approximately 3” x 3” x 2.” They also sell a wooden tree ornament that requires some assembly to display the ornaments on.

In Advent Reflections, Come, Lord Jesus! Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan shares four meditations, one for each week of Advent: “The Threes Comings of Jesus,” “St. John the Baptist,” St. Joseph: A Man Forgotten,” and “Our Blessed Mother Mary.”

A Year With God is simply THE purchase of the year! Completely original, inspiring, and unique, the abundance of fresh ideas and activities will re-energize your religion class and re-motivate you to make your homeschool a truly Catholic school in every sense of the word. Spanning the liturgical year, A Year With God contains hundreds of carefully detailed and illustrated projects and activities. Nearly all of these can be extended into several other projects, giving you many, many years of exciting projects to work on with your students.

with laminated "jelly-proof" covers

During the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in beginning and in continuing traditions within our families within the context of the liturgical year. This book has been written to help make these celebrations easier to plan as well as to provide countless new ideas. Some of these ideas are original while others are traditional. This book is especially well-suited for families with children in the preschool years up through the late elementary years.

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 nice pamphlet is a simple introduction to Catholic customs and keeping Advent and Christmas meaningful and holy. The Advent segment overviews traditions such as the Advent Wreath, Jesse Tree and Advent Calendar and makes suggestions for remember the great Marian feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. There are brief explanations of the symbolism and history of some of these customs as well as relevant tidbits.

This book contains ideas, history, personal anecdotes, traditional prayers, instructions, etc. for incorporating religious traditions into your family's celebration of Advent and Christmas. Using just one or two of the ideas listed in this book will make this season much more meaningful for you and your family.