Here are my favorite websites, books, blogs, products, apps, and miscellaneous resources that I use in my every day life. I hope some of them help you, whatever stage of life you are in at this time.
Contains affiliate links.
Homeschooling
Books
Educating the WholeHearted Child
Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace
Links
Simply Charlotte Mason: Their Organizer is an amazing time saver for lesson plans and end-or-the-year reports!!
Ambleside Online: The curriculum and booklists for each grade give me lots of ideas.
St. Thomas School Free Curriculum Collection: Gives me ideas for bringing the Faith into non-religious schoolwork.
All Things Bright and Beautiful: I highly recommend subscribing to this blog for Art, Music and Poetry studies.
Khan Academy: Great for Math and Computer Science
Scripture Typer: This website and app have made it easy and fun to memorize Bible verses. We’re memorizing 500 verses a year as a family!
Our Curriculum
Kindergarten, Age 4 Basic Plan
Kindergarten, Age 5 Basic Plan
First Grade Curriculum {2013-2014}, with Weekly and Daily Schedules
Second Grade Curriculum {2014-2015}, with Weekly and Daily Schedules
Altered Daily Learning Routing {2014-2015} after reading Teaching from Rest (see above) – this is working much better for us, and we are usually done by lunch. And there has been a drastic reduction in nagging from me and complaining from them. WIN WIN!
2013-2014 Life Skills/Baking Day/Art/Handicrafts
Traditional Catholic Living Amazon Store
I’ve pulled together the resources I’ve used, and placed them all in one store!
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Traditional Catholic Living: Amazon Store
Family Life
Links
My Job Chart: This is how we assign chores and give long-term rewards. Right now, our oldest is saving his points so he can redeem them for a new Lego set. It is an expensive set ($70) but I figure it will take him 5-6 months to earn it. He also has money he’s been saving in his piggy bank, so he will use that, too. In the meantime, he is building many good hygiene habits, helping out around the house much more, and learning to appreciate saving for something big. Also, for every 1,000 points he saves, I give him $1 to put in the Poor Box at our local church.
Holy Heroes: Our boys enjoy the Glory Stories, Advent and Lent Adventures, and the “Sweet Mary” CD. The coloring books are also highly recommended!
Catholic Culture – Their Liturgical Year activities and daily readings are excellent, easy to use resources. See my post Catholic Culture 101 for more information.
100 Days of Real Food: kid-friendly recipes and free meal plans that leave out processed food.
Plan to Eat: This online tool makes it easy to make tailored shopping lists based on the recipes I’m making for the week. I enter in the recipes from my eMeals weekly email, add in breakfast favorites from 100 Days of Real Food, and the Plan to Eat moblie site keeps track of all the ingredients I need. I subscribe yearly using the Black Friday deal, so it is a VERY affordable investment.
Parenting
Links
www.itakejoy.com: Sally Clarkson has inspired me in many ways! Her four children are grown now, and I appreciate learning from someone who has already lived through the stages of baby to young adult. My biggest take-away from her experience is that being a mother means serving Christ through your children, and that I should minister to my children the same way that Christ ministered to His Apostles during His public life. (There is lots to meditate on there!)
Books
Mother Love: Read it online for free here.
Marriage
Spiritual Inventory for Couples
Spiritual Life
Links
Sacred Heart Holy Hour – Pope Pius XI encouraged doing a Holy Hour in the home to make reparation for sin. This beautiful website has everything a family or individual needs to become a regular Night Adorer. You can even choose a specific time each month to have your hour, so that throughout the world, there will be at least one person keeping Our Lord company at home. The Holy Hour for a mother watching by the bed of a child is very touching.
Come Pray the Rosary – We use this website occasionally when we feel the boys are too rambunctious for sitting still on the couch for Rosary. The interactive rosary that highlights which bead you’re on has taught the older boys how to follow along, and we get no interruptions of “Is Rosary almost done?” because they can see how many more beads there are to go.
Resources
The Mundelein Psalter
iPhone Apps
Laudate – The best part for me about this app is its easy format for the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours). One click leads you to all the hymns, psalms and prayers you need to say for each hour. All you do is pray and scroll down. EASY! And FREE!!
iCatholicFM
Personal Life
Links
Lilla Rose: These hair clips are truly beautiful and amazing! Order online here.
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