Erika Drain and Monica McConkey from Arma Dei – Equipping Catholic Families have created a new resource for Catholic bloggers in response to the call of Pope Benedict XVI to “go forth and use the new media for the Kingdom of God.” Over 120 bloggers are participating!

So, to celebrate – we are going to host the first Catholic Bloggers’ Colossal  Share-A-Thon (& Giveaway).  We have a lot of great give-aways as well as cash prizes.

Enter Now! The Share-A-Thon will run for two weeks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go to Universalis – Yearly Calendar.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Add to Google Calendar button. Also, if you want to add the liturgical year to Outlook or another desktop or online calendar system you can download the calendar in vcalendar/ical format and then import.

You will be taken to your Google Calendar page where it will ask you if you want to add it to your calendar. Just ensure that you are only adding the items to one calendar – if you add them to multiple calendars that you are subscribed to, you will receive multiple reminders. And, it is time consuming to delete those entries since there is one for each day of the year.

Click Yes – and – voila – you have the liturgical year on your Google Calendar.

One other suggestion for families that have multiple calendars that they share – create a new calendar called Catholic Feast Days, or whatever you wish, and then add the liturgical calendar to that specific calendar. Everyone can subscribe to that calendar without worrying about receiving multiple reminders.

I am excited to see another resource for families who have preschool students. The reviews seem to be positive. I am intrigued by the idea of not having to gather lots of materials to make it work. Best of all it is liturgically based and contains over 25 templates, coloring pages,  and more.

FREE Midwinter Virtual Conference

Webinars begin on January 17th – I can’t wait to hear Nancy Brown bring Chesterton into a discussion finding levity in homeschooling.

We are facing our burnout seasons – make plans to head off the winter doldrums and ruts we are in.

She has created a k – 12 curriculum for her family and has shared it with the homeschooling community. The syllabi are bare bones – very few teaching notes or explanations. But she does include all the books used for literature and history, and her grammar and math suggestions. If you are developing your own curriculum, it might be helpful to take a peek.

St. Thomas School Free Curriculum

And a big thanks goes out to Homeschool Connections for helping Maria get these back on the interent.

For more information on the tradition of the O Antiphon – Catholic Encyclopedia

O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and, reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly.  Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

• The Heart of a Mother Nurtured in Prayer – a beautiful reflection on how prayer supports our lives as mothers along with a list of resources to help us deepen our prayer life and that of our children.
• The Family as a School of Charity – a reminder of the value of family life and how it prepares our children to enter the world
• Observing Ember Days  – this is a tradition we are going to bring back to our family
• O Come Emmanuel: Praying the O Antiphons – another tradition we have brought back to our family. The article does not just explain the tradition, but gives ideas of how to celebrate them.

The magazine needs your support – consider buying the electronic version of this edition to see what a great resource mater et magistra is:

Fall 2011 Edition

And, if you have a subscription, consider gifting another homeschooling family with a subscription.

Purchase Subscription – Print Edition

Purchase Subscription – Digital Edition

For those that prefer the paperback version:

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/a-picture-perfect-childhood/17543995

To read reviews, visit the following link:
http://caygibson.typepad.com/cays_cajun_cottage/picture_perfect_reviews/

• St. Nicholas Chocolate Coins
• Recipes for December
• O antiphons prayer companion
• December 16th and 17th – Ember Days
• St. Lucy Paper Dolls
• Clothespin Angel Craft