I am always on the lookout, for books with great content to enrich our children’s faith, to fill our bookshelf. If you are also looking to fill your home with wonderful books, here are four great stories for your shelves! The Virgin Mary: Queen of the Mountain, Queen of Heaven This comic book style short … The post Byzantine Bookshelf appeared first on The Byzantine Life ..read more

This week we’ll get into our curriculum picks for the 2024-2025 school year. These resources range in years from k to 4th grade. However, if you were interested in teaching catechism, you’ll want to read last week’s post for those choices. Little Badger This is Little Badger’s first official year of homeschool. Last year was her pre-kindergarten year. And in that time we focused on math (preschool math at home, followed by kindergarten math with confidence) and beginning to learn to read. So I’ll start by talking about how we are continuing her journey into reading. Learning to Read Curriculum ..read more

This article is about how we are setting our priorities straight: catechism first! As one school-year draws to a close, and the next school year begins, I am drawn to all the different opportunities for the coming year. Do we need more books? More math? More subjects? There are so many great and amazing resources out there! And advertisers are great at preying upon a mother’s fear of missing out. At the end of the day, it turns out only one thing is necessary. God. And that is why, amidst even my desire to look at more and more curriculum for various subjects, I need to start with what is trul ..read more

Hello everybody! Glory to Jesus Christ! Thank you for checking in with us. More specifically, thank you for patient with us during our year hiatus from creating content for The Byzantine Life. It has been a year of adjusting to having a toddler boy and participating in more activities outside the home. (In particular, two days a week of music lessons, and two days a week of homeschool co-op, with some overlap). Now that this year is at a close, it is time for me to get back to writing (and perhaps, producing video content). And in honour of this return, let me bring you a short reflection on B ..read more

September 1 – Church New Year! 5 – Holy Prophet Zachary and Elizabeth 8 – Nativity of the Theotokos 9 – Holy and Righteous Forebearers Anna and Joachim 14 – Exaltation of the Cross 17 – Holy Sophia and her daughters 26 – Repose of St. John the Theologian 28 – Venerable Father and Confessor Karita September in The Byzantine Life Church New Year September is the beginning of a new church year. And, here in Canada, a new school year as well. Little Fox will officially be a first grade student (though doing third grade math and grammar, if you’ve looked at our curriculum choices). It is also a lon ..read more

What We’re Using for Homeschooling This Year… English Language Arts Literature: Ancient History – 2 Days a Week Two days a week Little Fox’s required reading time will include 15 minutes of reading a book from the following list, and then giving a narration of what happened in they story, which will be recorded in our English binder for the year. Other required reading will be done the other days of week. Also, 45 minutes to an hour of free reading time will be built in to every day in addition to the 15 minutes from required texts. If you’re interested in more about our reading lists, check o ..read more

Making A Reading List I love making a reading list – whether it is for my kids, or for me. Part of the enjoyment might be knowing that the reading list will also become a shopping list. (And that being because of the decline in the accessibility of the modern library). But also, as a choleric, I like lists that I can check off. Finishing a series of books is enjoyable for the sake of reading, and for the sake of the accomplishment. When making a reading list for homeschool, there are a couple things to consider. Purpose of the Reading history education other topical learning exploring langua ..read more

A Quick Recap of the Ascension The Ascension occurs on the 40th day of Easter, and refers to Jesus’ ascent into Heaven. This feast day marks the completion of our salvation by Christ. He rose into Heaven so that we may join him there. In the Byzantine Churches, it is a Holy day of Obligation. And is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the church year. The Ascension was also the last time the Theotokos and the disciples saw Jesus on Earth. It happened at the Mount of Olives, which is also where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and foretold of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus made three promises that we ..read more

August 1 – (Dormition Fast Begins) 6 – Transfiguration 9 – Holy Apostle Matthias 15 – Dormition Feast (and Icon) and also Flowers of Dormition 16 – Image not Made by Hands 29 – Beheading of John the Baptist August in The Byzantine Life I am spending this month working on a major project… building a home organization course! I am not making the videos this month. But I am organizing all my notes and plans for the course so that it is ready to film and go! Other major news is that I have spent this summer preparing to take my class 5 road test. It will be a great help to our family if I can star ..read more

On August 6th we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, which is when Jesus revealed his glory to three of the disciples (Peter, James, and John) on top of Mount Tabor. This occasion is particularly special as it is one Jesus works upon himself. We find many accounts of this event recorded in scripture (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:1-7, Luke 9:28-36, and 2 Peter 1:16-18). Although not directly recorded in John’s gospel, the Transfiguration permeates it’s writing such that his gospel is called the Gospel of the Transfiguration. John 1:14 is an example of this Transfiguration-infused text. And t ..read more