Make a Mini-Mary Garden

If you're looking for an easy, enjoyable faith-based craft to close out the month with, how about creating a mini-Mary garden?

Last week, in honor of the feasts of Our Lady of Fatima and St. Isadore the Farmer, we gathered with friends to do just that.  Since the month of May is dedicated to Mary, however, anytime this month would be a perfect time to make such gardens.

I know we are delighted that our friend suggested hosting a mini-Mary garden making event, as making the gardens proved easy and fun.  Before we made them, we prayed a decade of a rosary together and, afterward, we enjoyed plenty of time chatting and playing the beautiful sunshine, so it made for a perfect afternoon!  And, now, we are excitedly watching our herbs grow.  (Please, dear God, do not let my "black thumb" kill our edible plants before we can harvest them!)

Suggested Supplies

If you'd like to make your own gardens, you simply need to gather some basic supplies. 

(Note:  Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones for your convenience.)

This is what we used:

• a variety of herbs and plants. (We used parsley, basil, strawberries and nasturtium because it was what a local nursery had for us.  However, you could use traditional Mary Garden plants, too.)

• 10-14 inch round pots that are about 6 inches deep.  (My childred used heavy, breakable ones purchased at a local discount shop.  Some of our friends wisely ordered lightweight, unbreakable 14-inch TerraBowl Planters.)

• small statues of Mary.  (We used these Immaculate Heart of Mary Statue Favors, which our friend ordered inexpensively as a twelve count.)

• potting soil

• hand trowels 

• glass gems

• shells

• other decorative items from nature or your craft bin 

Putting Your Mini-Mary Gardens Together

Supplies gathered, the hands-on fun can begin!

1.  Fill your pot with soil.

2.  Decide where you want your Mary statue to be.

3.  Determine where you want your herbs to be.  Take them out of their original containers, loosen their roots slightly, dig small holes in the soil in your planters, put the root balls in, and pat the soil firmly, but gently, around the root balls.

4.  Decorate as desired with gems, shells, sticks and more.  (Luke made a blue gem pathway in the shape of a cross and a little arbor our of twigs.  Nina chose to put Mary in the center with a gem pathway up to her and shells around her.  Jack decorated with shells and gems in a rather symmetrical design and added some twigs, too.)

5.  Add your final touches and water gently.

It's that easy!  And, if you don't have the "right" size pot, don't worry.  Even in smaller containers, the gardens look great!

You can even use a basket if you wish.  We did this a several years ago in order to make Mother's Day Mary Garden Basket gifts which were quite a hit!

 

We'd love to see how your gardens come out!  Feel free to comment with a picture or post a snapshot of your Mini-Mary Garden at our Training Happy Hearts Facebook Page.

Are We Happy Accidents or Was the Universe Purposefully Planned for Us? {A Documentary Film Review}

When we were offered a chance to review either Exploring Ephesus, Torchlighters: The John Wesley Story, Privileged Species, Unbroken Legacy of Faith Edition or Flight and Metamorphosis by FishFlix.com, we debated which to choose.  However, since the whole family likes science and my oldest has voiced thoughts and questions regarding evolutionism vs. creationism, we decided to go with Privileged Species.

What is FishFlix.com?



FishFlix.com is an online store that seeks to bring folks quality Christian and family-friendly films at great prices.  From dramas, to epics, to children's tales, FishFlix.com offers a wide array of films that might inspire and entertain your family.
  
What is Privileges Species?

Produced by critics of Darwinian theory and advocates of intelligent design, Privileged Species is a 33-minute documentary film that investigates how the  universe seems specifically designed to support human life.  It presents evidence from physics, chemistry and biology and focuses on how carbon, water and oxygen make our species possible.  It also contains two special features:

• a preview of the paperback edition of Darwin's Doubt

• a trailer for its sister documentary Privileged Planet

Our Experience

I watched Privileged Species with my four- and nine-year old boys.  Of course, parts of the film were over their heads, but they still wanted to watch it and, as we did, they stayed 100% engaged.  They asked questions, made comments and even giggled at times (such as when there was a clip of an old movie about aliens.)

Later, my nine-year-old had this to say about the film:

 "I liked the whole thing.  It taught me about carbon atoms.  I liked the way it was filmed.  The natural pictures and animations were great.  The film talked about life.  I'd watch it again."

And he has.

As for me, I found the film quite interesting, too.  It packed a ton of information into a mere 33 minutes and used some stunning film clips and animations as it did.

The film opens with a clip of Bill Nye the Science Guy talking about how humans are rather insignificant specks of living stuff amid endless specks of other living things in our galaxy.  Then, after its opening credits, the documentary presents the question of if humans are an accidental byproduct of a universe that did not have them in mind and begins to answer that question with evidence which indicates that "the universe seems to be have been designed for us".

The film discusses how four features of the universe - gravitational forces, strong nuclear forces, weak nuclear forces and electromagnetic forces - happen to be "just right" to support our existence. If any of them changed even slightly, life would be nearly impossible.

It then dives into the three elements needed to promote life:  carbon, oxygen and water.  As it does, it presents fact after fact and thought after thought, including the ideas that:

• The timing and number of supernova explosions in the universe create carbon, a basic building block of life on Earth.  If the number or interval of these explosions changes, the delicate balance of life would be offset and life might actually be destroyed.

• The viscosity of water, its thermal properties, its density when frozen as compared to in liquid form, and the way it acts as a solvent make it perfect for supporting human life.

• Oxygen, which is required for all complex life, is at just the right percentage in our atmosphere - 20% - to support us.  Likewise, the balance is just right so as not to have spontaneous combustion of oxygen.   

The film then goes on to explain how humans have unique qualities in the hierarchy of life on Earth.  Things such as:

• intellectual reasoning

• a larynx that allows us to communicate with a broad range of verbal sounds

• brains and hands that work together to help us create basic advances - like fire - as well as greater technological ones

and more .

In short, Privileged Species works to prove that all the "coincidences" of the universe may not have just happened to us, mere specks among other specks in the universe.  Rather, it seems that the universe may have been purposefully designed to support a significant species - humans!

Might You Benefit from Watching This Film Regardless of Your World View?


Obviously, Privileged Species is produced from a creationist point of view and supports the Christian world view of an intelligent designer - God.  Thus, those wishing to gain insight and affirmation from such a point of view might enjoy this film.

Those who question, or even oppose, such a view might find Privileged Species worthwhile to watch, too.  At 33 minutes, the film does not require a huge investment of time.  Yet it does offer a thorough overview of what "intelligent design" supporters believe.  With a clear presentation and compelling arguments, Privileged Species offers a concise look at what non-Darwinian scientists theorize.   

Learn More
 

• View a preview of the film:

 

• Purchase Privileged Species for $9.99 (33% off its list price) at FishFlix.com. 

• Read what 100 Schoolhouse Review Crew families thought about a variety of FishFlix.com films.

• Find FishFlix.com on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,  Google+, and YouTube.

Faith through Food: Ascension Day and Pentecost

Faith through food! That's something we embrace around here.

Two days ago, we enjoyed part of our Ascension Day celebrations with an easy, meaningful picnic on our front lawn.

Quick and Easy Fixings!



(Note: Some of the links below are affiliate ones so you can easily see the products if you are not familiar with them.)

Having had a busy week and with life promising another full day, I needed to keep prep for the meal easy.  So, out came:

• toasted Vans GFCF Waffles
• Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread
• So Delicious Vanilla Cultured Coconut Milk
• fresh blueberries
• defrosted organic raspberries (since one of the children does not favor blueberries)
• Silk Pure Dark Chocolate Almond Milk 
• pure maple syrup
• cashews (for some protein)

At the head of the blanket, I also placed a statue of Jesus and Luke's copy of the The Action Bible opened to the page that depicts the Ascension. 

Faith through food! That's something we embrace around here.

Image Credit: Holy Heroes

Had we had more time for a picnic, I also would have put out a few things from one of our favorite apostolates, Holy Heroes, such as their Triumph of Jesus coloring book (which is half-off right now!) and their Glorious Mysteries CD.  But, revisiting those needed to wait for another day.

(Heads up:  For a limited time there is also a free coloring pages download of the Ascension on the Holy Heroes site, which you might want to grab for next year!)

Reinforcing the Readings with Food
 

Food at the ready on the blanket and grace prayed together, Daddy kicked off our faith through food time with a prayer from Why Catholic? Journey Through the Cathechism Live. 
 

 
Then, it was time to reinforce the Ascension day readings from the Bible through preparing and eating food, chatting and reading a portion of The Action Bible.

 
As I describe just how our food-and-faith chat unfolded, it might seem like it took a long time.  Honestly, the entire food-prep and chat portion of the "lesson" lasted less than ten minutes.  Then, further reading and conversation over the meal carried on for maybe a half an hour.  So, truly, I think anyone - even those with a tight mealtime schedule - could enjoy similar faith through food times on future Ascension days.  Our lesson was short, simple and oh so yummy!

First, we poured our Silk milk - a feast day favorite around here that we can tie quickly into anything.  In the case of Ascension day, it is brown, like the earth, and a sweet treat, like God's love shown to us through Jesus coming to earth and rising to open the Heavens!

Then, we all took served onto our plates.  I asked the kids why I might have chosen waffles for our Ascension Day lawn picnic.  What might they symbolize? Our brief discussion led to the ideas that:

• Waffles are round, like the earth is often drawn. Jesus came to the earth to be with us and stayed here many days.  He also rose after he was killed and stayed on earth for about 40 days before ascending into Heaven.

• The shape of a waffle is a circle.  Much like a circle never ends, neither does God's love for us.  Also, like a circle, Jesus came from Heaven to earth and went back to Heaven.  Waffles are also round like hosts, through which we receive Jesus at Mass.

• The waffles are brown, like dirt.  For us, they would represent the earth from which our Lord ascended into Heaven.

Next, for some, came the spreading of our "butter" and the idea that Jesus came to earth to spread God's love and that his disciples do the same. The apostles spread truths about God and our job is to do so as well.

Then, came yogurt (or rather, cultured vanilla coconut milk) topped with berries.  The children quickly piped up that these represented the sky into which Jesus ascended.  We also commented that the yogurt is white, a color of purity, like Jesus is pure and is sweet, like Jesus' love and that the fruit reminds us of the fruit of the Spirit, whom Jesus sent to guide us.  (Most of us put our yogurt and berries on our waffles, but our pickier eaters had them on the side!)

Finally, came the kids' favorite part of a waffle meal: the syrup.  I let the each pour a generous portion of pure maple syrup atop their waffles, asking while they did so, "What did God pour down on people shortly after Jesus ascended?"  The Holy Spirit!  We then chatted about how we see the Holy Spirit in our lives and how we can let the Spirit move us in sharing our faith, God's love and His light with others.


Then, as the children ate, I read a chapter from The Action Bible, which we chatted further about, before letting conversation move in completely organic ways.  The meal was brief but meaningful and fun.  I hope you might be inspired to enjoy a similar on with your children, soon.

Flashback to Our Easy Pentecost Breakfast Tea

 

Flashback to 2015

Next Sunday would actually make a fabulous day to try out faith through food.  I know that I plan to revisit some of the food ideas we enjoyed last year at our Pentecost Breakfast Tea!  Replete with symbolic foods, simple decorations, prayers and activities, that meal was a hit.  I just love when I can share faith, food and fun all in one with my children and hope you are inspired to do similarly.

How do you combine faith, food and fun in your home or classroom?  What Pentecost plans are unfolding for this year?

An Inspired ABC Book and Links to Freebies {A Schoolhouse Crew Review}

We love picture books here and two out of three of mine like kids' music.  So, when I was offered a chance to review S is for Smiling Sunrise by WordsBright I took it. 

A Small Publisher with A Mission for Good



WordsBright is small, independent publisher founded in 2013 to bring fun and educational children's books to the world which emphasize harmony, health and happiness.  Standing by their mission, they contribute 10% of their net earnings towards education and health projects for disadvantaged children.

From a Dad to His Daughter to You

I love when the story behind a book is as good as the book.  With S is for Smiling Sunrise, this is the case! 

One day, an entrepreneur and scientist named Vick Wadhwa tired of the alphabet books that he had found to read to his toddler daughter.  So, he set out to write some rhymes that would be educational and fun for her.  Thus was born S is for Smiling Sunrise, a positive, purposeful ABC book with a a free sing-along sound track which was inspired by a dad's desire for his daughter.

The picture book has been carefully designed to:

• teach and reinforce the alphabet to young learners, using rhymes for each letter which can be sung to the tune of the typical alphabet song.  (The rhythm of the text, I found, actually made more sense once I had listened to it sung!)

 

• increase vocabulary and comprehension in multi-sensory way.  The rhyming text includes both common early learner words (like the names of colors) and "big" and colorful words (like "fragrant", "kaleidoscope" and "galaxy").  Vibrant illustrations engage visual learners and sing-along text delights auditory ones.  Plus, the capital and lower-case form of each letter appear in the upper left and right sides of each letter page, sized large enough for little fingers to trace (although some of these, like "a" and "g" are in type font, not handwriting font.)

• encourage strong character development by including some positive words and concepts (such as "I is for infant...Potential for greatness," "Dreams and goals are inner jewels," "caring, sharing and honesty," and "always say, 'Thank you!'"

• simply enjoy, and perhaps, to give as a gift, using a handy fill-in page at its beginning.

Bright, happy illustrations and sing-along rhymes that include interesting vocabulary and positive values make S is for Smiling Sunrise different than many other ABC books. 


Our Experience

When our copy of S is for Smiling Sunrise first came in, I simply left it in the kids' book basket so they might find it, browse it and either read it to one another or ask me to read it, which they did.

My oldest read the book to himself; my younger ones browsed it; then, we all enjoyed it together.

About a week later, when we were headed out on a short drive, I told the children that I happened to have an audio to go along with the book and asked if they wanted to hear it.  They did, so we listened to it together in the car.  All of the kids remarked on the tune right away and two of the three enjoyed listening and asked to hear the sing-along version of the book a second time.  (The other, who doesn't like any music lately, complained about this.  I asked him to remember to practice his virtues, as mentioned in the book.)

I had hoped to use the book to continue introducing phonics to my youngest, but found that too many of the key words that go along with the alphabet letters do not match up with the basic phonic sounds we are working on.  For example, "artwork" is used for "a" instead of a word with a short a sound and "universe" is used for "u" instead of a word with a short "u".  So, instead, we simply read the book for enjoyment, plus vocabulary and values reinforcement!

I also tried using the book for copywork for my kids, which I thought was a grand idea.  Them?  Not so much!  It was like pulling teeth to get them to do it. (Not due to the book.  Just due to my kids.)  Still, I think the verses make for worthwhile copywork since the verses are short, simple and, often, meaningful.

 
This purposeful book has potential for much fun and learning for young children and can capture attention with vibrant illustrations and sing-along text.

Learn More

• Look into buying options.  The book is available as a physical book ($16.95) or as an e-book ($5.99), with discounts depending on the vendor you use or the volume of books you purchase.      

• Download a FREE MP3 of the Smiling Sunrise Song to go along with the book.

• Check out the FREE Pre-K Teaching Tips sheet and 7 -page K-3 Teaching Guide to go along with the book. 

• Find WordsBright on Facebook.

• See what 90 Schoolhouse Review Crew families thought about the book and song.

Might the young children in your life enjoy this purposeful ABC book?  

Happy Mother's Day to All (Or Is It?)

Mother's Day. 

This day used to be such a tough one for me. For years, I wanted so badly to be married and to be a mother. So, although I appreciated Mother's Day as an opportunity to celebrate my own mother and grandmothers, each year, as I looked around at all the moms with young children, I felt sad. Why not me? I cried, letting despair take over my day.

To think, I almost gave up dreaming that moments like this would ever unfold?

I have known others who have had a tough time with Mother's Day, too -- children whose mothers have passed, moms who have lost children to miscarriages, children and moms who have been separated for one reason or another, moms whose children have died, boys and men whose mothers have passed...  On a day that is meant for honor and celebration, all too often, I have seen sadness and despair creep in.

Today, then, I want to re-share and add to some thoughts that I posted in A Song for Jack, A Hope for Life a few years ago.

As I already mentioned, I often fell into despair throughout my twenties and early thirties about not being married or having children.  I wondered, Why me? and questioned God's timing.  Then, oddly, even after being incredibly blessed to meet and marry Mike and to be given the gifts of Luke and Nina, I persisted with tearful questions.  When Mike and I discovered we were going to have a third children, I fretted Why now?  Mike and I were not sure how we were ready for a third child to come along just yet and I did not know how I would possibly be able to handle life with the challenges we were facing at the time and another baby, too.

Luckily, the Spirit broke through to Mike and me and our questioning turned into welcoming, which, in turn, unfolded into years of blessing after blessing (to go along, of course, with challenge after challenge, which, despite my fretting, have all been more than manageable!)

This little face has continued to grow and to, daily, give testimony to the blessings that unfold from trust and faith!

As I wrote several years ago:

"Faith encouraged trust and trust brought blessings.  God proved to us what He so often does:  His timing is perfect even when it does not coincide exactly with ours...
From the timing of Jack’s conception, to that of his birth, to so many things since, surprises keep on unfolding.  More often than not, these surprises are joy-filled ones.  Always, they reinforce that God’s timing is magnificent, even when it is not in line with our own...(Now) I sing with praise, gratitude and hope.  The hope being that my children will always embrace life as the gift that it is.  The hope that all people will."

Now, I know some have challenges that are far greater than Mike or I have ever faced, ones that make this day so hard due to the ramifications of illness, death, separation under sad circumstances, etc.   However, I believe the message to us from our Lord and our Mother in Heaven is still the same: 
 

In all things, trust.  Focus on what you can be grateful for.  Hang on.  Embrace life here and never give up hope for the life that awaits in the hereafter.  Instead of questioning God's timing (and the effects of people's choices) with an air of despair, wrap yourself in the comforts of grace.  Say yes and be blessed.

No matter if your Mother's Day feels happy or not today, just say "yes" to the life you are experiencing right now and know there are blessings have and will unfold because of your yes.  Just like Our Mother in Heaven said "yes" to God and, thus, blessings unfolded exponentially, with each faith-filled "yes" we offer, His love magnifies.

So, today, if you're sad and all you can do is to manage a half-spoken, "Yes, I will let myself rest in You," please do that.  And know my prayer for you is that as you do your mourning may eventually turn into gladness.  And if you are happy, by all means, please shout out praises of "Yes!  Thank you, Lord!"  Make a joyful noise!

Whether your Mother's Day feels happy or not, please trust and say "yes".  

So blessed by His timing!

How can you say "yes" and be blessed this Mother's Day?