This set of five DVDs by artist/architect David Macaulay provides many hours of insightful entertainment and a great introduction to science and technology on a practical level. Each themed film - Bridges, Skyscrapers, Tunnels, Domes and Dams - provides an in-depth historical treatment of the particular structure, interesting stories and overviews from famous structures, and basic scientific principles involved in each project.

The set features lots of great location shoots with David Macaulay narrating interesting stories and pointing out details of each site.

To give you an idea, "Tunnels" covers aqueducts and water-carrying tunnels of Ancient Rome, early canal and train tunnels of the 19th century (particularly in England and the U.S.), archaic and modern methods of tunnel digging (particularly under rivers), issues involving tunnel safety (both during the project and during use afterwards) with a special emphasis (in all areas) on the building of the Channel Tunnel in the 1990s between England and France. Each video also includes a "Building Small" segment and pamphlet so that families can tackle simple science projects at home that demonstrate principles of architecture.

Our family has really enjoyed these movies - from the four year old all the way up to Mom and Dad. The material is substantial, but easy to understand (particularly with the excellent use of computer graphics and artistic sketches).

I would recommend parental supervision with young children, at least for the first viewing. There are a few things that might be scary for little ones, such as a spooky introduction to the Tunnel show and some photos from an airplane crash in to the Empire State Building that might be a little disturbing. There are also some points in other movies that would be worthy of discussion, such as the environmental issues that come up in the Dams movie. Those are all the "sticky" parts I can remember at this point. I am hoping to view them again soon and will add to this list as needed. Overall, I consider the series to be very worthwhile and enjoyable.

Building the Family Cookbook by Suzanne Fowler is not your typical cookbook. Although the layout is similar to most church cookbooks with a comb binding that allows it to lay flat for reading, the contents include much more than recipes. The opening pages include such Catholic topics as "A Recipe for a Happy Life," based on scripture, "The Importance of the Family", based on the words of John Paul II, the value of a family eating meals together, some advice from other moms on motherhood, practical ideas for building a Catholic family, and more.

The book then follows the Liturgical Year's feast days with Saint's feast day or other feasts and includes a short biography of the saint or a description of the feast day along with a recipe for the day. Because the book follows the Liturgical Year, there is not a recipe for every single day.

The recipes vary. One day will be a main dish. The next day is a dessert. Surprisingly, the recipes are not the typical "diet" variety. In other words, the "St. Therese Fudge Brownies" have real butter and don't skimp on sugar. That is because The Light Weigh program allows the person to eat any type of food, just limited to small quantities. You do not need to be familiar with The Light Weigh program to enjoy the recipes or benefit from the wisdom of the book. But if you would like more information about The Light Weigh program, you can contact Suzanne at the webpage listed below.

The book closes with more advice on building a happy family, sources for the feast day information and an index to the recipes. Following her practical advice, sharing these wonderful saint stories, and enjoying these delicious recipes is a sure way to achieve Suzanne's goal of making dinner time your family's favorite time.

It is early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Religion and politics are curiously mixed and confused. How will the people of England survive this tumultuous time and emerge as one of the great powers on the earth. This is the setting for By What Authority by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson. It is the story of how two families, one Catholic and one Protestant, sort through the confusion and endure the suffering of finding and maintaining a religious identity.

The head of the Catholic family, Sir Nicholas Maxwell, is the Lord of a section in England just south of London. The Protestant family, Norris, lives next door and has a good rapport with the old Catholic family. The primarily Protestant village has great love for the Lord and his family and forgive them their superstitious religion. It is obvious that the younger Maxwell son is in love with Isabel Norris but the differences in their religions keep them apart – for a time.

Isabel Norris is a Jane Austen -type character, full of virtue and feminine moderation. She is happily Protestant and deeply devoted to her beloved Jesus. Her father, sensing the Maxwell youth's love for her, and worried lest the Maxwell ladies should convert her daughter to Catholicism, sends her to a friend in the country who is STRICTLY Puritan. His hope is that she will be repelled by the strictness and return to his middle-of-the-road Church of England Protestantism. Isabel is indeed horrified at the fiery God portrayed in the Puritan church but the movements of her heart and religious sentiments foreshadow her as a Catholic at heart. While she is away her father dies and when she returns, Lady Maxwell's sister becomes her living companion. This sister is actually a nun who was sent away from her convent and so begins the slow conversion of Isabel. Msgr. Benson is masterful at describing the mental and spiritual movements of a soul and so the reader is brought through all the agitation and wonder of Isabel discovering, discarding and finally accepting the truth about the Catholic Faith. In the midst of her struggles, young Hubert Maxwell has stated his intentions toward her and begs her to wait for him, claiming that the religious issue will resolve itself somehow. He leaves to sail off with Sir Francis Drake on one of his first piratical voyages. When he returns, ready to embrace her AND proud to announce his conversion to her Protestant faith, he finds that she has very nearly converted to Catholicism. He is furious and offers to be whatever religion she wants. In saying that, he has lost her. To her, the Faith is something so intrinsic that it cannot merely be put on and off as is convenient. She maintains her love for him through the whole story but she knows that she cannot be his wife.

All the while Isabel is suffering and coming into the Catholic Faith, her brother Anthony has graduated from Cambridge and, full of patriotism and religious fervor, sets out to set himself up in the world. He goes to work for the Archbishop of Canterbury and so is thrust into the politics and religion of the times. He has an occasion to meet and debate with a Catholic man and feels his Protestant beliefs disturbed. He also witnesses Edmund Campion's so-called trial and his execution and is very much affected by it. Msgr. Benson spends a lot of time describing the trial and relating the arguments made on both sides. During this trial, Anthony is basically converted. He sees that ALL the religious questions boil down to who has the authority to interpret the Bible and speak for Christ. Protestantism taken to its extreme would have each person interpreting the Bible as he would and becoming his own authority. That in itself did not fit with scripture, he thought. He realizes that the Church of Rome has the greatest claim to that authority. He submits his resignation to the Archbishop and attends an Ignatian Retreat with Father Robert Persons. At the end of the retreat he goes to tell his sister, Isabel that he has converted only to find her in the same situation. They come into the Church together to the great joy of the Maxwells (excepting Hubert).

Anthony becomes a priest at a seminary on the Continent and returns with Isabel to England at the time of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. He eventually is captured and threatened with torture and death. He meets with the Queen herself and she offers to let him leave the country alive yet have it let out that he signed "the oath" which says that he acknowledges the Church of England. He, of course, refuses and the enraged Queen sends him off to the torturers. He dies on Easter morning as Isabel kneels at his bedside reading the Gospel of the day. She has decided to leave England and perhaps enter religious life.

One of the most interesting aspects of the story is Benson's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth. She is fierce and unforgiving yet feminine and remorseful. He is very successful at describing the development of the awe in which her subjects hold her. She is awe inspiring. She is a formidable enemy and very moved by the loyalty of her people. She admires the gallantry and strength of the Catholic martyrs. She does not seem to be a deeply religious person herself and so cannot understand why these Catholics can't just accept things in order to live and have peace. He portrays her as having a certain goodness that is overshadowed by a multitude of forces, both within her and without.

The story would be excellent for upper high school level (and any interested adult). It might be interesting to read it along with a biography of St. Edmund Campion or Sir Francis Drake, and some history of the Spanish Armada. It is a compelling period in history and bears some deep thought as to its effect on today's world.

Callirobics will significantly and quickly improve your child's penmanship, even though he'll never form a single letter while using it. If your child has difficulty with consistency in formation, slant, and spacing, thinks he "just can't do it", has a bad attitude toward penmanship, or simply benefits from auditory and kinesthetic modes of learning, this may help.

The name, "Callirobics", refers to calligraphy and aerobics; these are exercises (though not very oxygen intensive, thankfully!) for the hand and brain, set to music. The program is an adjunct to any manuscript or cursive program that you are using, not a replacement for it. Its goals are to improve "eye-hand coordination, fine motors skills, self-esteem, and handwriting". Don't let the inclusion of self-esteem put you off; this program delivers what it promises, and the self-esteem is a natural result of accomplishment.

Callirobics was recommended by St. Thomas Aquinas Academy for my 6th grade daughter, but I decided to use it for my 8th grade daughter and myself as well. Within the first month of using the program for about 10 minutes a day, as instructed, I could see significant improvement. The endings of words started tending up instead of down; letters were better formed and more evenly spaced; there was a great improvement in slant and smoothness. Callirobics is rapidly and almost effortlessly effective.

A nice fringe benefit was that we began associating penmanship with joyfulness, since the combination of Liora's appealing accent (she introduces each exercise) and the engaging instrumental music create a pleasant mood. The children enjoy it so much that they ask to do Callirobics every day.

As effective as it is, Callirobics might not appeal to you initially if you're accustomed to more serious, formal approaches to schoolwork. The program has light-hearted illustrations and exercise titles ("Curly Head", "Lucky Clovers"). Also, the affirmations for students to write after each exercise may strike you as too full of phony self-esteem or humanist sentiments ("I make my life safe and happy", or "I am a beautiful person"), though some are not so bad ("I focus my attention on the task at hand"). The fix for that is to have your children write other sentences, such as "I'm thankful for the gifts God gives me", or to skip the affirmations altogether. The program will work just fine without them.

There are five levels: Beginning, Ages 4 - 7, 7 - 14, Advanced, and Adult, with different patterns and music for each. We are using the program for Ages 7 - 14, geared to cursive writing. The teacher's manual states that you need a Callirobics notepad; however, I called the 800 number and was told by Liora, who answered the phone, that any paper the student would normally use is appropriate.

For all those whose penmanship needs some shaping up, Callirobics may be just the right exercise program.