Catholic Mosaic

Catholic Mosaic Baby Edition

I am often asked by parents what age is best to begin using Catholic Mosaic with their child(ren).

Here is your answer:

St. Patrick Would be so Proud

It's never too early (or too late) to begin learning about your Catholic faith.

Get Ready for the New Liturgical Year

There is a new year, a fiscal year, a sports year, and a school year.

There is also a church year...and it's fixing to begin anew with the first Sunday of Advent, November 30, 2008.

Our friend Michele is so sweet and so talented. She is offering a new, full-color liturgical wheel for you to download and print. She has it in three various sizes for use with any of your liturgical year projects: Religion folder, lapbooks, housekeeping binder, teaching guide, wall chart, etc.

Just click on the wheel of your choice and you'll be that much closer to getting ready this new liturgical church year.

A Gift for You

Michele also has the brand-new 2009 Family-Centered Planners ready to mail to you. What a great way to keep abreast of the church's feast days and holy days, and keep all your liturgical year plans neatly recorded in one place.

Visit Our Lady without Leaving Home

This is one of those excellent, mosaic-y ideas that are so ripely perfect for a Catholic family to use while using the Catholic Mosaic guide book.

Visiting Our Lady Around the House shared by Alicia

She writes:

"Our house is filled with images of Our Lady and our young ones particularly enjoy making a little walking litany around the house on the way up to bed. They take turns identifying the particular title of Our Lady and everyone responds in song "Ora Pro Nobis" (pray for us). "

Around the World with Mary

A wonderful little project begun by Kathryn in England:

Around the World with Our Lady

The girls and I began it today.  We're beyond excited!  It makes a wonderful finis to our Around the World with Cinderella geography study.

For now we're just printing out the Marian image and using the prayers as our copywork.  They are then inserted into a special Marian notebook.

Thank you, Kathryn!  What a rich gift you have given us.

A Gift of Gracias

Feast of Our Lady of Gracias is January 21.

Need inspiration?

Go here and here and here and here.

Recent Study on St. Tekla

Joann and family shared their recent Catholic Mosaic activity from their recent study of St. Tekla of Etiopia.

Joann writes: "Inspired by the Catholic Mosaic, we thoughtfully decided on something we could do to help someone in a poverty stricken foreign land. We, through Heifer International, have donated a flock of chicks to a family in poverty. We had a wonderful time discussing what could be done with a flock of chicks, and we came up with many many ideas. We also have made a poster to remind us to pray for the family that will receive our gift."

I am familiar with the Heifer International project since our 4-H group hosts.  There is a children's book on this project that your family might enjoy reading:  Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier.

Timing is Everything!

Our first Little Flowers meeting was held yesterday (October 5th) at the park:

The saint we covered was none other than St. Faustina whose feast day was yesterday:

Ideas for Remembering Mother Teresa and the Blessed Mother

On September 5th, Joann's lovely family used the Catholic Mosaic coloring book: Fenestrae Fidei to observe the 10 year anniversary of Mother Teresa's death.

Waltzing Matilda did a beautiful Coffee, Tea, and Thee in remembrance of Mother Teresa.  So simple, yet so lovely.

And my friend, Colleen, really knows how to throw a tea party...even with 5 boys of her own: Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother

Another mother of many boys, Leonie in Australia, made a yummy cupcake rosary ring at her home on September 8th: Nativity of Our Lady

So, see, even in homes with all boys, one can still celebrate the liturgical year and various feast days of the Church.

Any creative simple ideas your family unveils on their blog and would like to share with others for saint feast days and celebration dates, please email them to me at caygibson@bellsouth.net

Wonderful Review of Catholic Mosaic Coloring Book

Ana Braga-Henebry gives a wonderful review of Fenestrae Fidei on her Love2Learn blog.

Thank you, Ana.

You can order your copy of Fenestrae Fidei here.

(Hillside Education grants copying permission of the coloring book for each child in the family.)

Organization is Next to Godliness

Lovely Cheryl has prepared us for the autumn months!

Get your liturgical year notebooks out of the basket or off the shelf, pick-up some floral and religious stickers on your next shopping trip (list this on your shopping list now), and find saint prayer cards for:

• St. Claire
• St. Francis
• St. Bartholomew
• Mother Teresa
• St. Peter Claver
• St. Jerome

Remember, the Catholic Mosaic booklist is here.

Need help getting your liturgical year gear organized?  You aren't the only one.  Melanie was wondering too.  Go here to find out how others get organzied:  Organizing Liturgical Year Stuff