Homeschool Goodies

Participate in Wordless Wednesday!

Images of America
New Orleans Television
by Dominic Massa

More than 50 years ago, with the flip of a switch and the turn of a dial, local television became an unforgettable part of New Orleans culture.

For many viewers, the memories remain vivid, even if much of what they saw was in black and white.

keep reading . . .

I am very honored that my Dad, cinematographer Jim Tolhurst, was included (pages 60 & 61) in this newly published book. I grew up with all these faces and characters, so this book was a very enjoyable experience for me. It is also nice to know that my Dad and his work are still remembered so fondly.

Sew anything! September is National Sewing Month. Here are some ways to get more involved in sewing:

- Teach your kids to sew.
- Sew more often.
- Take a sewing class.
- Create your own sewing circle.

For more info, including project ideas, visit NationalSewingMonth.org

Now that we’re on to sewing, here is another summer project finally finished. I have a group of good friends that I sew with. There are just 4 of us and we sew a little and talk a lot. We are not real organized as to when we get together, but when we do, we have a great time. We all started this reversible quilted tote over 1 year ago. Each of us picked out our own fabric combinations. Needless to say they are all quite different. I’m finally finished mine and I’m enjoying using it as much as I can before fall sets in.

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization encourages you to unite with people throughout the world for the first annual Worldwide Rosary for Unborn Babies. This prayer event will take place on Saturday, October 18, 2008. Participants will pray the Rosary during the 9 a.m. hour for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies. Because participants will be pray during the 9 a.m. hour in their particular time zone, it is hoped that the earth will be circled with multiple waves of Rosaries.

Print, color and learn with Paper Dalis!

These historical paper dolls can help history seem more the story of people rather than disjointed dates and names.

Categories include: American Revolution, Holidays, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Biblical Times, King Arthur & Knights, Wild West, and even Saints.

I found this gem in the Fall Edition: Catholic Homeschool Resources and News. Thanks, Michelle!

A US company has launched what it claims to be the world’s first exclusively internet TV station.

IBL News reports that Amigot Corp New York has designed and engineered for a group of businessmen of Indiana, Real Catholic TV.com, said to be the first television station ot its kind on the internet.

Starting September 1, the station features daily news, daily political commentary, daily features on saints and history as well as regular episodes on morality, movie reviews, entertainment, apologetics and much more. keep reading . . .

Check out RealCatholicTV.com

This week’s Catholic Carnival, hosted by Sarah at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering, reflects on our continuing journey of faith.

Learn more about the Catholic Carnival.

My two oldest daughters are able to vote for the very first time in a presidential election this year. The issues involved are extremely confusing. I will be sharing the following links with them:

Priests for Life is calling believers to participate in an Election Novena for nine weeks, from September 1 to Election Day (November 4)

Voting Catholics can find the following, and more, at Priests for Life:
Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics
Statements of the US Bishops on Political Responsibility
Election Articles by Fr. Frank Pavone
Election Action Center

Pope Benedict clearly staes the three non-negotiables of the Catholic Faith:

As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable. Among these the following emerge clearly today:
- protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death;
- recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family - as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage - and its defence from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role;
- the protection of the right of parents to educate their children.

Promote the culture of life on your blogs or websites with these free pro-life web buttons from Homeschool Goodies. Choose from seven original designs and link to your favorite pro-life site.

Moral Principles for Catholic Voters, produced by Kansas Catholic Conference, does not instruct Catholics how to vote, but rather is a guide for forming consciences, not political opinions.

Be sure to visit EWTN’s A Brief Catechism for Catholic Voters by Fr. Stephen F. Torraco, PhD, and Moral Duties Concerning Voting.

And, always remember:

What’s Right With America

Do you know what’s wrong with America? Ask that question of a hundred different Americans and you’ll get a hundred different answers – and that’s what’s right with America! We’re free to criticize our government, our churches, and all our social institutions. Most of the foreigners who seem to hate America so much would never dare to express disapproval of their own governments. It’s not allowed where they live. But we have a Constitution and a legal system that protect our freedom.

We’re free to speak our minds, and we’re free to travel too – to go where we please, when we please. We don’t have to ask permission or explain the purpose for our trips or carry identification cards.

We’re free to choose our own religions, and to convert from one to another without fear of reprisal. Our services don’t have to be sanctioned and our sermons aren’t censored.

We’re free to choose any career we like, to work as much or as little as we want, to keep our earnings, to pass our wealth on to our children, and to contribute to any charity we favor. We’re not coerced or compelled into approved occupations, with the fruits of our labor withheld or “donations” forcibly extracted from us.

We’re free to raise our children the way we see fit, in our own faiths and with our own values. Our children are not wards of the state, spying on us and turning us in for ideological error.

We’re free to own and use firearms to protect our families and possessions. We’re not serfs and slaves dependent on masters to take care of us.

What’s wrong with America? The only thing really wrong with America is that we all spend too much time harping on what’s wrong. We spend too much time complaining about the few minuscule things that are wrong and too little time rejoicing in the many grand and marvelous things that are right. America is a great country, the greatest country on earth, the greatest country in the history of the world. Why shouldn’t we be proud of her? Why shouldn’t we be proud to be Americans? God has blessed this nation like no other. We should pray that He always will. This should be our daily invocation: God bless America!

It’s up to you to teach your children all the things that are right with America. Tell them the story of our war for independence. Recite “Paul Revere’s Ride” for them. Teach them the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” to “America the Beautiful,” and to “God Bless America.” Read our Declaration out loud and discuss with them the “self-evident” truths that are catalogued there, along with the list of grievances against the king. Tell them what happened to the men who dared to sign that document, how they gave everything they had for a cause they believed in. Watch “The Patriot” together, at least once a year. Review our Constitution and our Bill of Rights with your children. Make sure they understand and appreciate their liberty. That’s the only way they’ll keep it.

This article written by Bob Duplantier, professional writer and homeschooling father of six.

General: That those who are forced to leave home and country because of war or oppressive regimes may be supported by Christians in the defense and protection of their rights.

Mission: That faithful to the sacrament of matrimony every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of others.

There are many people in the path of Gustav, and they need our prayers. I found the following on the Archdioces of New Orleans website:

Prayer for Hurricane Season

O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude; you are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control. The Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster. During this hurricane season, we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a storm-less eternity awaits us. Amen.

Originally dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Audrey in 1957.
– Fr. Al Volpe, Cameron Parish, LA

Prayer for Protection against Storms and Hurricanes

Our Father in Heaven through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, spare us during this Hurricane season from all harm. Protect us and our homes from all disasters of nature. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Avert Storms and Hurricanes

Father, all the elements of nature obey your command. Calm the storms and hurricanes that threaten us and turn our fear of your power into praise of your goodness. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.