Tour of the Church - Preparing for Sacraments

 

I was so excited to get a copy of Preparing to Receive Jesus to use as the spine for our Sacrament Preparation this year for our oldest son (they have a new edition that they are working on to come out hopefully soon).  We have been reading Little Acts of Grace and learning about the Church and Church Behaviors.  Our son Ryan participated in Catechesis of the Good Shepard last year and learned so much but it is really great for he and I to re-visit and discuss more in depth.  One assignment is to complete a church tour that is kind of a scavenger hunt to find different items and then discuss them (stained glass windows, sanctuary light, holy water font, altar, candles, tabernacle, crucifix, lectern and confessionals).  I know that he is pretty familiar with these at our home parish and also were we attend daily mass so I thought it would be fun to go to our cities Cathedral to search for all of them in a new environment.  To make it even a little bit more special I had time take pictures of all of the different things that he was finding on my I-Phone and then I will print out a photo book for him of all of the special places within the Church!  I adore that all of the pictures are taken from his point of view.

 

 

Making the time to visit the Cathedral was also a special activity for this year because we were able to walk through the Door of Mercy!

 

"In April 2015, Pope Francis announced an extraordinary Jubilee that is to have the mercy of God at its center. “It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy,” Pope Francis said:

 

  “We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words:

‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (cf. Lk 6:36)’

Popes typically announce a jubilee every 25 years, although extraordinary Holy Years have been proclaimed for special anniversaries. The Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy includes the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence through performing works of corporal and spiritual works of mercy (feeding the hungry and visiting the sick, counseling the doubtful and comforting the afflicted), with a passing through a Holy Door, as well as the usual means and conditions for obtaining an indulgence.

Pope Francis has asked that in every diocese throughout the world a special door of mercy be designated and opened Dec.13, in the diocesan cathedral."

Site

 

Stained Glass Windows

 

Sanctuary Lamp and Tabernacle

 

Lectionary and Confessional

 

 

Candles and Altar

 

Crucifix and Holy Water Font

 

 

 

After we did the little scavenger hunt to find all of the different parts around the church we were able to spend some time looking at special things around the church and take some time to pray.

I want to always remember how he always take time to pray and how genuine and sweet his prayers are.

They always want to light a candle and pray to our Samuel.

 

 

 

Ryan thought this statue was really special as he is learning all of the 10 Commandments right now!

 

 

May God continue to bless and guide Ryan, and for all of those children as they continue to prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion this year! 

Our First Day of School 2016-2017

 

 

Here we go!  Off to another year of school!  We are so excited about the curriculum that we have chosen for this year and think it will be a really good fit for our family.  I almost am ready to just say "First Day of School" on the kids school signs because grade levels are becoming so fluid for us, but the grades below are pretty much where they are/should be for this coming year!

 

Ryan -

 

Age:  6 1/2 years old 

Grade:  1st Grade

Favorite Subject: Reading / Phonics

Future Occupation:  Librarian at the Public Library and Union Pacific Train Engineer

 

 

Connor -

Age:  4 1/2 years old
Grade: Kindergarten
Favorite Subject: "Learning about Money" - Math
Future Occupation:  "Medical Person"
 

 

Luke -

Age:  3 years old
Grade: Preschool
Favorite Subject: Reading Stories
Future Occupation: Priest and a "Train Man"
 

Peter -

Age:  9 months old
Grade:  Nursery School
Favorite Subject:  Story time and Cuddling
Future Occupation:  ??
 

 

Each year we like to measure the kids in August to see how much they have grown in the past year!  It is amazing to see how much they have grown in only one year. Luke (3 years old) has grown the most in the past year, almost 5 1/2 inches (and is now in the 98% for height for his age!!)!  Wow!

 

 

Often times people ask why we are homeschooling or how we came to this decision.  We have lots of different reasons why it is working best for our family right now and I think our first day exemplified so many of those.  I got up for morning prayers and an outdoor run at 5:45am and came back home around 6:45 to find my husband awake with our 4 year old.  As I was unloading the dishwasher and tending to morning chores our 4 year old asked if he could do his school. 

 

"Of course", I said.

 

He was done with his individual book work by 7:30am (free to play and explore the rest of the day) and I was able to focus and give him attention when his brothers were still sleeping.  It wasn't what was on my schedule, but I have quickly learned that although it is good to plan it is even better to learn when and how to throw those plans out the window to do what works best for our family!

 

My husband worked all weekend (as an Emergency room physician he has constantly variable shifts) so he had our first day of school off work.  We were able to have a family breakfast after our oldest son woke up around 8am (I often think how I would need to be waking him up if he was in traditional school and I love that he can get sleep when he needs it when he is young and growing). 

 

 

We then went to morning mass and a lovely women who often attends the same morning mass as we do, came over to give our little ones some special "ice cream money" for a little treat for their first day!  I love the community and support that we have.

 

We got home around 10am, and I had done my meal planning over the weekend and ordered groceries on-line (best idea EVER) so they were being delivered just about the time we walked in.  It is such a treat not to have to take extra time out of my schedule with all of the kids with to get groceries!

 

Our oldest son wanted to do his book work at that time so he did as the middle kids played outside and then had story time and our baby took a short morning nap!

After that was lunch and then some extra learning all together!  We were all finished for the day around 1:30pm and they have plenty of time for play.  Also, since my husband was off work for the day he was able to take our oldest son out to play golf  and to a special trip to the local library for a while and the little ones went down for afternoon nap and I played a riveting game of Candy Land with our 4 year old! 

 

 

 

The best part of homeschooling for us is that we are all able to be together as a family.  We are able to attend daily mass together so we can all prioritize our faith together.  Our kids certainly fight and bicker, but they truly are the best of friends and could not imagine being separated from each other during the day.  I also love how nicely homeschooling fits in with my husband's variable work schedule so we can prioritize family time when he is home and off work.  I hope that as our children grow they always know and remember that faith and family comes first!

 

 

 

I also love how individualized homeschooling can be.  I look at the four faces of our little ones and realize what gifts they are from God.  I realize that through homeschooling I am blessed with a very unique opportunity to teach them what they are interested in, in a way that they can best gain new information.  I hope that God continues to grant me to be patient, understanding and open to teaching our children with grace.  As it says in one of my favorite homeschooling books Teaching From Rest:  A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie, "We may sit at His feet; we may begin our day with prayer, Bible reading, and supplication, but its our teaching and mothering transformed by it?  Do we really trust Him?  Do we live each day from a state of rest?"

 

We are excited for a great year!  These are the years I am going to remember, these are the years that I am going to hang onto.  I am so thankful to be with our children to watch them grow, learn and explore during these precious years.

 

 

 

 

Growing Up Around the World - Omaha, Nebraska

USA

We have been having SO much fun this summer reading selections from Give Your Child the World and learning more about our world and the people in it! We were so excited to hear that Simple Homeschool was going to run a Blog Hop about where the different readers are from and what their lives look like in their homes.  We are so glad that you stopped by.  If you would like to follow our adventures in living and homeschooling please make sure to like our Facebook page below:

Children of the Church Facebook Page

Read about our FIRST FOUR WEEKS of Give Your Child the World HERE!

Read about our LAST FOUR WEEKS of Give Your Child the World HERE!

• Tell us about your family:
• Our immediately family has six people in it including my husband, myself and our four boys currently ages 6 years, 4 years, 3 years, and 9 months old!

• Tell us about where you live and how long you’ve lived there.
• We live in Omaha, Nebraska in the United States of America and we have lived here since 2002.

  

  Our Home

• What do you think is unique and special about living where you do?
• Omaha, Nebraska was just ranked as the Number 1 City to Raise a family!  It is a wonderful city with a great community.  We have the Number 1 zoo in the world, we host the College World Series, love the Nebraska Cornhuskers and we also have many other wonderful events throughout the year.



Omaha Zoo













• What languages are spoken there? If it’s different from English, can you help us learn a few common phrases?
• English is the main language but there are many other diverse ethnic groups within Omaha who speak many other languages!

• What are some traditional foods there?
• We are known for our corn and also our beef! 

Nebraska

Omaha Steaks

• Tell us about the climate where you live.
• We have a pretty variable climate in the Midwest, United States.  Our summers average 75-90 degrees and our winters can get to be below Zero degrees with lots of snow.  We do enjoy all four season and love watching the seasons change!

• What does school look like for the majority of kids where you live?
• We are blessed with a great education system in our city that includes traditional public school, private school and homeschooling.  Families have the ability to choose what educational path works best for their own family!

• What does school look like for your family?
• Our family homeschools with a wonderful Catholic curriculum and we feel very blessed to have the opportunity to come together to learn as a family.  You can follow what we do here at our blog Children of the Church! 

• Are there any special places around where you live?
• One of our favorite places to go in Omaha is the Holy Family Shrine.  It is a beautiful Catholic chapel on the side of the interstate where anyone can go to worship!

• If you ever had to move away from where you live, what do you think you’d miss most?
• If we ever moved away what we would miss most is our community of family and friends!  We are blessed to have a lot of our family in our city and most everyone else within a days drive from our home town.  We love to be able to spend time with our family and friends and we would miss them so much if we moved away. 

• Do you have a favorite book that takes place in your region/country?
• Our favorite books about our city and state are C is for Cornhusker: A Nebraska Alphabet, Goodnight Nebraska, Love is all Around Nebraska and Love is All Around Omaha!  They are all fun book to help our family and others learn about the wonderful things in Nebraska!

Thanks so much for stopping by to learn about our family!  Follow us HERE!