Today, we welcome a new columnist, Maria Cecilia Escobedo! Her monthly column is: Catholic Wellness Moms. Timeless Inspiration from Mary, the Mother of Jesus Amidst the myriad of self-help books, fitness programs, and diet plans, there exists a timeless source of inspiration: Mary, the Mother of Jesus. As a figure of grace, strength, and unwavering faith, Mary offers profound insights for women seeking to cultivate wellness on their path to holiness. Spiritual Wellness: Deepening the Relationship with God For Catholic women, spiritual wellness forms the foundation of their journey towards holi ..read more

Can we make our children smart? Cultivating Intelligence Catholic homeschooling parents are on a profound journey not only to educate their children academically but also to nurture their hearts and souls. Part of this endeavor involves cultivating intelligence. But what exactly is intelligence? Ask yourself what truly makes a child smart and how we can enhance these essential skills and attitudes in our children, I would argue that it encompasses curiosity, observation skills, a thirst for discovery, and a joyful engagement with learning (study). “Curiosity and situational interest are power ..read more

Joseph Pearce needs no introduction. He has been among the foremost experts on England’s Catholic literary heritage for over two decades. As a Homeschool Connections instructor, he is one of my colleagues! Today, I talk with Joseph about one of his favorite subjects: the great English playwright William Shakespeare. What is it that fascinates people about William Shakespeare? Why is he still a fixture (possibly the preeminent one) in the canon of Western literature so many centuries later? Quite frankly, it’s all about his brilliance, which is matched, if at all, only by two other possible con ..read more

Continuing my series of reviews of graphic novels for Catholics, today I am going to share my thoughts on a beautifully illustrated work about one of the modern world’s most popular saints, the Polish Conventual Franciscan St. Maximilian Kolbe. Maximilian Kolbe: The Saint of Auschwitz is an illustrated life of the great Polish martyr published by Sophia Institute Press. It was written by Jean-François Viver and illustrated by the Swiss artist Denoël. Originally published in France under the title Maximilien Kolbe, Un saint á Auschwitz by Artège in 2019, the Sophia edition is an English transla ..read more

Scholastic Method and Aquinas If you’ve ever read St. Thomas’s Summa Theologiae, you will be familiar with the Scholastic method of argumentation. The Scholastic method provides a structure for framing an argument that uses dialectical reasoning to examine a problem from opposite viewpoints, resolve contradictions, and extend knowledge by inference. Aquinas’ approach to dialectical reasoning always begins with a clear statement of the problem. For clarity, it is stated in a yes or no format (e.g., “Can God alone create?” “Does the will move the intellect?” etc.) Once the problem is stated, Aqu ..read more

Searching for the best Catholic homeschool grade school program? Did you know that Homeschool Connections offers an elementary-age program tailored to Catholic homeschooled children in grades 3 through 6? The Homeschool Connections Grade School Program grew out of a shared desire of co-founder Maureen Wittmann and me to offer HSC families a learning program for their younger family members that could be family-centered and reliant upon excellent literature as a foundation.  This program began in 2018 with the development and live instruction of a 4-year cycle of the Multi-Subject Grade Sc ..read more

Graphic Novels for Catholic Catechesis Popularity of Graphic Novels One of the most notable shifts in American publishing over the last several years has been the rise of the graphic novel. A graphic novel is defined as a long-form work of sequential art, utilizing a combination of words and images to tell a story in comic-like panels. Artistically, a graphic novel appears very similar to a comic book, with the notable difference that a graphic novel is usually a self-contained story wrapped up in one or two books (as opposed to comics, which are serialized stories taking the form of a periodi ..read more

When is the best time to start a child in foreign language classes? When I was in public school as a child, we were not introduced to foreign languages until 8th grade. It was not until we reached high school that foreign language was mandatory. Many of you probably had a similar experience. Therefore, we may conceive of foreign language as best suited for middle and high school, but not elementary. After all, why saddle an elementary-aged child with having to learn a second language when they’re still working on mastering English? Right? Actually, there are many wonderful reasons to introduce ..read more

It is generally admitted that the way young people experience adolescence today is profoundly shifting. How society views adolescents, what we expect from them, and even how long adolescence lasts are all being reconsidered. Consequently, adolescents can feel frustrated and stuck in an ill-defined status. Society is increasingly treating them as neither children nor adults. In this article, we will discuss some of the ways adolescence has changed in the modern world and how reconnecting with the idea of traditional “rites of passage” can help restore some of the structure. Extended Adolescence ..read more

Tips to help your homeschooled children excel at reading. In an age when we are bombarded with a flood of information, building sound reading skills has never been so important. A child’s relationship with the written word begins early, in the elementary years. This is when they are first exposed to the printed page and introduced to strategies to help them grow into confident readers. Building these habits in our children might not be intuitive, however. When our child wrestles with reading, we may be at a loss as to how to help them concretely. In this article, we will review five of the eas ..read more