Maureen Wittmann

This book is a wonderful companion to the Narnia books and/or movie. C. S. Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham, wrote the foreword and the commentary that accompanies each recipe. He explains the origins of the recipes as well as how they fit into the world of Narnia. Quotes from the books also accompany the recipes.

I was surprised to find that this book is currently out of print. With the release of the new movie, you would think that Harpers Collins would have re-released it. Used copies are selling for $150 to $200, so borrow it from the library.

Maud Hart Lovelace is famous for her Betsy-Tacy series of chapter books. The Trees Kneel At Christmas is a delightful story of two Lebanese-American children in 1951 Brooklyn. Their grandmother tells them how the trees kneel on Christmas in their homeland of Lebanon, but in their new home of Brooklyn the people do not have enough faith for the trees to kneel.

Inviting the reader in with its black and white illustrations on each page, Great Moments in Catholic History presents one hundred exceptional events in the history of the Catholic Church. Originally published in 1938, each page presents a great moment beginning with the Annunciation and ending with Pope Pius XI's 1937 Encyclical letter on Atheistic Communism. At the end of the book there are 500 quiz questions, 5 for each of the 100 historical events, to review the lessons learned.

This lovely little storybook has been enjoyed by my preschoolers as well as my grade-school-aged children. As the moral of the story unfolds, this colorful story book exposes children to a little bit of Ancient China. It is the story of Ping, a child with a green thumb. However when the emperor gives Ping a seed to care for, he cannot even get a sprout from it. Yet all of the children of the land, who were also given seeds to nurture, return to the emperor's palace with beautiful flowers. Ping, humbled, gives the emperor his empty pot expecting to be scolded.

Book no. 2 has the same division and order as book no. 1, but the lessons are more in depth for the older student, taking a spiral approach. Its recommended use is for grades six through eight.

This book is available from nearly all Catholic homeschool providers, including those listed below.

Though very inexpensive, the New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechisms written by Father Lovasik are worth their weight in gold. They are based on the Baltimore Catechism which was first approved by the Archbishop of Baltimore, James Cardinal Gibbons in 1885. The New Saint Joseph version goes beyond the simple question-and-answer format of the original catechism, it incorporates Holy Scripture with each lesson and includes discussion questions, a fill-in-the-blank section, and suggested Bible readings at the end of each lesson.

Years ago, a friend who teaches university-level art classes, told me that the best way for me to teach my children art was to combine how-to instruction with art appreciation. She suggested learning about the life of a particular artist by reading biographies and then learn how to imitate his or her technique. This made perfect sense to me, but I did not feel knowledgeable enough in the subject matter to put together my own curriculum and I did not know of any such art program that could be used in the home.

The Spelling Power Activity Task Cards provide a multi-sensory approach to spelling instruction. (The activity cards are coded to indicate a visual, auditory, kinetic, and/or tactile instruction style.) Such an approach gives a child multiple ways to "retrieve" the phonics rules from his "mental filing cabinet." This approach is particularly well suited for children who have trouble retaining their spelling lessons, or have learning disabilities.