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.

In September 1965, Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical titled Mysterium Fidei (Mystery of Faith) to provide the faithful with the teachings of the Catholic Church on the doctrine and worship of the Holy Eucharist. The first half of Catechism on the Real Presence is an eloquent question-and-answer catechism that carefully details each of the main points of Mysterium Fidei, cross-referenced to specific paragraphs in the document itself. The latter half of the book contains the entire text of the encyclical itself as a convenient reference. Also included are notes which refer to various Bible readings, encyclicals, and the writings of the Church fathers. Finally, a topical index points the reader to both the related questions in the catechism and the paragraph in Mysterium Fidei.

Father Hardon's ability to take a difficult subject and explain it with directness and simplicity shines in this catechism. The very first question tells us why we should make time to study this topic in depth both for ourselves as the catechists of our children and for our children themselves. Question 1 asks, "What is the most precious treasure of the Catholic Church?" The answer is, "The most precious treasure of the Catholic Church is the Holy Eucharist, which is the most fundamental truth of the Catholic faith." This book is a valuable addition to a high school level apologetics or doctrine class, or to a Confirmation preparation course for older students.

This book was designed for grades 7 through 9 to give "a vital, illustrated presentation of Catholic literature to help students 'see' and love Christ four ways always: in Himself, in Others, in His Creation, in His Mother." [from the back cover]

The author does this by first explaining how God is visible to us: In Himself (Seeing God: "Love the Lord thy God"), In Others ("Love thy Neighbor"), In Creation ("Consider the Lilies") and In His Mother ("Behold thy Mother"). The book reviews and brief author and illustrator biographies are broken up into these four categories. We are introduced to great authors of the past and present (at least as of 1949!) who have illustrated these concepts to us by use of real characters, action and life situations.The reviews themselves are rather brief - they really amount to short "teasers" - an attempt to interest students in reading these books. There are also a number of brief essays which elaborate on how some of the individual books teach us about God, even if indirectly. Although Catholic Authors was designed for students, I think it should be required reading for homeschooling parents. Its value is two-fold for us: 1. A source of information about good reading for our children (although many of the books are out of print, others are available new from companies such as Bethlehem Books, TAN and Neumann Press). 2. An education for parents (without a huge amount of reading) in the importance of literature, and especially Catholic literature, in our children's education and spiritual formation.