Susan Kalis

Sewing with Saint Anne

Book cover: 'Sewing with Saint Anne: A Sewing Book for Catholic Girls'
Author(s): 
Alice M. Cantrell

Today's young women can benefit in many ways from the lessons learned whilst sewing. Among them are the genuine self-esteem gained by completing a challenging task, patience both with oneself and with the project at hand, and quiet perseverance with a task that takes longer than expected. Sewing with Saint Anne is a delightful book that organizes and simplifies the steps needed to learn how to sew. The majority of the projects would appeal to a young lady from about age six onward if she had help, or from about age ten with just a little help.

A Mother's Rule of Life

Book cover: 'A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul'
Author(s): 
Holly Pierlot
Have you ever considered motherhood to be your vocation? Have you prayerfully considered the various daily duties and burdens of your state in life? Do you think that prayer time will have to wait until your children are older? until the dishes are done? until the entire house is decluttered? Do you long for the peace of the monastery? A nap? A clean house? A day in which all he schoolwork is completed? This is the book that will help you learn how to "do it all" without losing your mind or spending a fortune, while you and your family grow in holiness and peace.

Art 4 for Young Catholics

Book cover: 'Art 4 for Young Catholics'
Author(s): 
Reed & Roxolana Armstrong
Mary Rakow

What could be better than a well-planned and well-organized Catholic art textbook written by internationally-known Catholic artists who are also art historians and professors? This is the textbook! From the introduction by the authors: "The rules used here have been the time-tested tools used by artists for centuries and are based on natural law and common sense. Once acquired, these skills are not only transferable to other disciplines but also foster genuine appreciation and discernment in the field of art and of beauty in creation."

Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems

Book cover: Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems
Author(s): 
Fr. Joseph Esper

For more than twenty years, Fr. Esper has been a priest as well as an author, conference speaker, and authority on the lives of the saints. He has written this book to serve as a guide to perfecting our own weaknesses through the examples and experiences of the Communion of the Saints. This book isn't intended to be read straight through from cover to cover, but rather to be picked up and studied in short segments, so it is especially appealing to a busy, homeschooling family.

Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin

Book cover: Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin
Author(s): 
Leo F. Stelten

All Latin students will benefit from ready access to a Latin dictionary, but Catholic Latin students using a Catholic textbook, or reading from Church documents and the Vulgate Bible in their original Latin, will especially benefit from access to a Catholic Latin dictionary. The Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin has been written to help both seminary students and laypeople as they advance beyond their introductory Latin studies. The hardback binding, clear typeface, and non-shiny paper combine to make this book a pleasure to use.

A Year With God

Book cover: 'A Year With God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year'
A Year With God is simply THE purchase of the year! Completely original, inspiring, and unique, the abundance of fresh ideas and activities will re-energize your religion class and re-motivate you to make your homeschool a truly Catholic school in every sense of the word. Spanning the liturgical year, A Year With God contains hundreds of carefully detailed and illustrated projects and activities. Nearly all of these can be extended into several other projects, giving you many, many years of exciting projects to work on with your students.

Miserly Meals

Book cover: Miserly Meals -- Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75¢ Per Serving
Author(s): 
Jonni McCoy

The author of the popular Miserly Moms, a guide for frugal family living, has done it again! Jonni McCoy has written a stand-alone but complementary book that helps families to enjoy well-prepared, nutritious meals while keeping their grocery expenditures under control. Most homeschooling families live on one income, and we need all the help that we can get in controlling our expenses; this cookbook can help us to do just that.

The Good Bad Boy

Author(s): 
Father Gerald Brennan
Neumann Press has reprinted another delightful novel by Father Brennan in one of its lovely hardbound editions (they also offer it in a quality softcover edition). This short, easy-to-read novel was a wonderful addition to a rainy afternoon for our family. Although aimed at an 8th-grade boy typical of the 1940s, the diary format and "everyday" charm appealed to my entire family. It would be an especially good book for a reluctant or struggling reader to tackle successfully on their own.

Holy Names of Jesus: Devotions, Litanies, and Meditations

Book cover: Holy Names of Jesus: Devotions, Litanies, and Meditations
Author(s): 
Ann Ball

Did you know that Jesus is also known as "Divine Mercy" and "The Incarnate Word"? OK, those were easy ones. Do you know the story of the "Infant Jesus of Prague" or "The Black Christ of Esquipulas"? Mrs. Ball has written an interesting book describing the numerous names by which Our Lord has been known throughout time and throughout the world. The earliest names, of course, come from the Bible, but many of the others have been made known through the writings of the saints, visions, and documented miracles. Others are simply devotional.

Schola Latina

Author(s): 
Ken Stephenson

After several challenging years of teaching beginning Latin to my elementary-grade children, I have finally found exactly the book that I wish I had had available from the beginning. Not only is this book classical in orientation and Christian in content, but it is also very well-organized and easy to use. This program can be begun as early as third grade by a motivated student with excellent reading fluency and some grammar knowledge, but it will be beneficial for a beginning Latin student of any age.

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