Today July 16th is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Happy Feast Day!!! On the 16th of July in the year 1251, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite, in Aylesford, England. She gave him a brown scapular and promised special protection and privileges for the Carmelite Order and that, “Those who die wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.” A scapular (scapula) is a kind of apron worn by religious orders, such as the Carmelites, and began with the Benedictines to protect their habits as they work. It is a piece of cloth, covering the chest about shoul ..read more

You will quickly come to know that I have a thing for history! Love, love, love to learn about all different people, places, and things from the past. You could say my mom instilled this love in me at an early age. And I have since passed it on to my children as we homeschooled. We immersed ourselves in many different time periods, adding in drama, hands-on fun, field trips, and YES books! The largest category of books we own is a close tie between religion and history. You can read some of my TOP Picks for Religion in the Blog, As for history, we always appreciated fair and balanced presentat ..read more

Over my 25+ years of homeschooling I also ran our family business, Emmanuel Books, where I was able to review literally thousands of Catholic homeschool books. Yes, I said thousands of books!! Call me a book nerd, but I absolutely relish the time I spend reading, reviewing, testing, sharing and using books for homeschooling families. Many of these books have become family classics now being passed down to our grandchildren. I have others, like my Catholic Bible Books for Homeschooling, TOP Picks Medieval Books, and Top Picks Ancient Egypt, and so many more to come soon. I share that with you t ..read more

Catholic Homeschool Online · Blog Annunciation Resources AUDIO   Mary’s Yes and Our Yes! The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is a beloved feast day, for it is the day we rejoice in Mary’s YES to God!  It only stands to reason that we and the Church rejoice as it is the day that the “Word was made Flesh!” Yes, especially NOW at this critical time! A very dear priest in our diocese was one of those singular individuals who lived his life in imitation of Mary’s self-giving Fiat, constantly inspiring countless people with his unwavering trust in Divine Providence. Even in the ..read more

? AUDIO VERSION: Catholic Homeschool Online · Monica Speach | Mother Cabrini And The Virtues Paola Ciskanik is joined in this podcast with Monica Speach, author and homeschool mom, who enthusiastically shares with us about one of her personal heroes, St. Francis Cabrini, and how she not only demonstrated many (if not all) of the virtues covered in Monica’s PACE curriculum, but also inspired me to start an ESL program in her diocese. We talk about: St. Frances Cabrini (her life, faith, and work with immigrants) the new Cabrini Movie just released by Angel Studios the 10 virtues to teach ..read more

Paola Ciskanik, 25+ year homeschool veteran and host of the Catholic Homeschool Community shows you how to make new friends who are on the same homeschool journey! In this quick video we explore the Mighty Networks platform where we host our private, ad free, safe and social media free community and discover BRAND NEW just released new resources that make connecting with fellow members a breeze and super FUN too! Let’s dive in and create a vibrant Catholic culture through engaging with fellow homeschoolers. Find and connect with like-minded families using the “Find Members” section, and easily ..read more

 Catholic Homeschool Online · BLOG The Power Of Prayer This Lent Audio Lent is soon upon us! Yay! It comes when I need it most. How about you? Are you ready? And what about your family? I truly believe the BEST place to start with any new season or endeavor, especially those related to our spiritual life, needs to BEGIN with PRAYER. God calls us to prayer. “Prayer is a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God” (CCC, no. 2558) Your homeschool is truly all about relationship. Yes, relationship with God and relationships with each other. And the Church in its wisdom provid ..read more

Catholic Homeschool Online · BLOG Homeschooling When Sickness Hits I bet you can relate to this scene! You are nursing full time to the sick kiddos in your home, so you get derailed from teaching the kids not sick. Then when the sick ones get better, the healthy ones get sick! This can go on for several weeks, one sick kiddo at a time! Then you get sick. What can a homeschool mom do? You could just be sick and skip school, right? “Plug-in” the kids with a few documentaries and viola it counts as a school day, right? BUT you have already missed so much time with them… Or you could do these TO ..read more

Catholic Homeschool Online · Blog Advent Homeschool Tips AUDIO While we all want Advent to be a peaceful time of waiting for the coming of the Christ child, it is a challenge to fit in all the liturgical celebrations, preparations for Christmas, and homeschooling on top of everything else! We were so honored to as this week’s guest authors, the MODG consultants, who collectively have decades of experience homeschooling their own children and helping others to homeschool shared with us their best tips for homeschooling during Advent. Go ahead and feel free to pick and choose your favorites fro ..read more

Catholic Homeschool Online · BLOG: Tired Parent’s Guide To A Peaceful Advent AUDIO Let’s hear top 5 tips from Dave and Debbie Cowden – fellow homeschoolers and the authors of The Prayer Book for Tired Parents: Practical Ways to Grow in Love of God and Get Your Family to Heaven. There are many things in life we cannot control, but when it comes to preparing for the Advent and Christmas seasons, there is plenty we CAN anticipate and “control,” to a degree. After all, we know that Christmas is going to fall on December 25 every year, so there’s no reason it should sneak up on us! If you’re look ..read more