8 Sensory Smart Ways to Celebrate St. Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony's Feast Day is but a day away on June 13, so, today, I thought I'd offer you eight sensory-smart ways to celebrate St. Anthony of Padua.  That way, whether you want to honor him on his feast day, or do a little bit each day, you'll have plenty of ideas to choose from!

{Disclosure:  This post includes affiliate links to Amazon and Holy Heroes.  If you click through them to make any purchase, we may receive small income.  Thank you, as always, for supporting our endeavor at Training Happy Hearts in our children and ourselves and sharing about it here, whether you do so by purchasing items through our affiliate links, reading and sharing our posts, or simply joining us in prayer.}

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Delight Your Senses with a Visit to Pray at a Church Named After St. Anthony

St. Anthony is a popular saint and many churches are named after him.  Why not try to find one local to you?

If you are anywhere near New Bedford, MA, I would highly recommend going to Mass or simply stopping in to pray at St. Anthony of Padua church. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have seen.  You can take a virtual tour of it online.

Truly, the place provides a visual feast and, being there, stirs the soul.  Of course, participating in Mass at any church provides soul food and a sensory feast, though, so , if you can , on Saint Anthony's Feast Day, get to Mass.

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Enjoy the Auditory Fun of a Saint Anthony of Padua Audio

Long car rides can get tedious for children who like to move and groove, so while bodies are still for our crew, we tend to keep minds and ears engaged.  One way we do this is by listening to Holy Heroes CD's in our minivan.

Photo Credit: Holy Heroes

Holy Heroes CD's make the stories of the saints come alive.  So ride to take today.  So, today, I will be laying hands on our copy of Glory Stories CD Vol 6: Saint Joan of Arc & Saint Anthony from Holy Heroes so we can listen to it anew.
 
If you'd like to listen to the Saint Joan of Arc & Saint Anthony CD, too, and do not own a copy, you're in luck.  It is the Holy Heroes Deal of the Day, so it is a prime time to order one at 13% off!

~3~

Enjoy the Visual Fun of Coloring Free Images of St. Anthony

Although we typically listen to Holy Heroes in our minivan, sometimes we like to listen to the saint stories while playing with LEGOS, doing chores, or coloring, too.  I have already bookmarked two lovely, FREE stained-glass style images of St. Anthony at St. Anne's Helper to print and color this year. A quick Google search can find you many more images to color or paint, too.

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Get Tactile Painting a Peg Doll (or Coloring a Wooden Puppet)

Speaking of coloring, if you have Sharpies, paper scraps, and fabric scraps, plus a wooden ice cream spoon, large craft stick , or wooden kitchen spoon , you can easily engage your tactile senses making a St. Anthony of Padua puppet inspired by Mary Spoon Puppets we made for Mother's Day years back.
 
You could also "level up" by engaging your tactile and visual senses and your fine motor skills to paint a St. Anthony peg doll.  I hope to get my own children inspired to do so tomorrow with the Saint Anthony page in our Encyclopedia of Peg Saints (which we recently reviewed).  I just love the Encyclopedia of Peg Saints and look forward to how the facts and images about St. Anthony in it may inspire a faith-filled time of crafting for our family.
 

  ~5~

 Get Moving with a Scavenger Hunt

St. Anthony's Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

A friend and I have recently recommitted to weekly nature walks for our families, so I am going to share a wonderful idea from Shower of Roses with her and suggest that we engage our children's proprioceptive and vestibular senses as they search high and low completing a St. Anthony's Outdoor Scavenger Hunt this week. 

Since the links to the Shower of Roses St. Anthony of Padua's Outdoor Scavenger Hunt seem to be broken, we will simply used the image of Jessica's hunt as a model for making our own version. 

~6~

Search for Lost Items with a Tactile Sensory Bin

Several years ago, I put together a St. Anthony Seek-and-Find Sensory Bin for an All Saints Day party.  In it were a variety of dry beans and ten "lost objects".  The children loved it and, since then, the bin has made a reappearance at subsequent All Saints Day parties where it remains a hit, as well as on St. Anthony's feast day. 

Children of all ages seem to enjoy the challenge of finding tiny objects among beans.  Try it and see it if yours do, too, but be prepared with a drop cloth underneath or do it on a hard floor to make clean up easier.  Those searching hands can create quite a mess.

~7~
Get Tactile and Visual, then Gustatory, with Painted Basil Pots

 

This past week, our monthly Children's Adoration and More meet-up focused on St. Anthony.  After Adoration and prayer (plus an unplanned break in the sunshine when a fire alarm sounded), we set to painting pots to plant basil in.  

Some of these we made into "Spiritual Bouquets" for the priests who are kind enough to lead our Adoration time by inserting craft sticks with prayer promises written on them.

Others we simply painted and planted with the intention o f decorating our porches with basil pots or giving them away as is customary on Saint Anthony's feast day (as per the Saint Anthony of Padua website.)  We learned about this idea on Catholic Cuisine, where it was suggested that children include images of lily, bread/the Eucharist, the Christ Child, a book, or fish on their pots, since all of these are symbolic of Saint Anthony and his stories.

Of course, not every child did this, but they all enjoyed painting and potting.

~8~
Cuddle in to Read Together

One of my children's favorite calming activities is simply snuggling together to read together.  This year, we'll be reading the sweet story about Saint Anthony in our out-of-print Story Library of Saints, a copy of A Rich Young Man. Saint Anthony, and the simple page with darling illustration of Saint Anthony in a library copy of My Friends the Saints (which sells on Amazon for as little as a penny! and which we already read once at an early St. Anthony feast day celebration.)

I know there are other great St. Anthony books to share with children out there.  We simply do not own them and cannot get them at our local library.  I'd love your recommendations, though, of which ones you've read that would be worth purchasing, so please do share in a comment.

Obviously, we love celebrating saint days here.  If you have fabulous ideas for learning about St. Anthony of Padua and living the liturgical year through celebrating his feast day, we'd welcome them.  Do share.

Clean, Christian Fiction that Captures Kids' Attention

Before being offered a chance to review The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins by Shiloh Run Press, I'd never heard of the book nor the vendor.  Now, both are on my "to watch for" list, because my children so enjoyed the book and want us to read its sequel!

A Quick Overview of The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle is a 251-page hardcover book with 41 relatively short chapters that often end with  cliff hangers that keeps children (or at least my children!) begging for more.

In my oldest child's words:

This book is about a girl named Avery who is captured and brought to a castle.  She is 13.  A the castle, many 13 year olds are captive.  At first, no one seems to know why.  Avery tries to figure out why and how to escape to find her father and save her brother.  She also wants to save other kids.

I will add that one of the other girls in the castle, Kate, quickly befriends Avery, as does a boy named Tuck (who also becomes the center of light romantic attention from Avery and another girl in the castle.)  Together, Kate, Tuck, Avery, and another boy named Kendrick,work towards helping their fellow captive 13 year olds live a good life despite their captivity in the castle while Avery begins to piece together the many mysteries of the castle as she works to unravel secrets that may lead to freedom for herself and others.

Interwoven in the action and dialogue of the book is mention of prayer and Bible verses.  There are also clear examples of virtue and vice among the characters.  None of this, in my opinion, becomes preachy or awkward.  Rather, the character's journeys with morality and faith simply become a part of the story -- a part I appreciate.


Our Experience with The Glass Castle


My children and I all found The Glass Castle appealing.  We read it aloud together, and after an initial bump of fear from one of my children, all of my children took well to the book, often requesting that I read two to four chapters of it (or more!) in a single sitting. 

Better still, on some nights when I was too tired to continue to read, my oldest took over reading parts of the book to his younger siblings, and -- be still my Mama-prays-her-daughter-will-take-off-with-reading heart -- my daughter, who struggles immensely with reading, sometimes attempted to puzzle out parts of pages in the book, striking bargains, such as, "Mommy, if I read this part, will you finish the page with me?"  How can a Mama say no to that?  Regardless of how much I wanted to rest my eyes some nights, I ended up reading another chapter of the book when my daughter's enthusiasm for it prompted her to push through reading passages beyond her typical ability.

So it was, that the The Glass Castle became a book that we read at night, after breakfast, and in the minivan when waiting for classes or gatherings to start until it we finished it - which did not take many days!  And so it was that Avery, Tuck, Kate, Kendrick, and all became part of the fabric of conversation and inspiration in our home.

More than once, I have heard my children chatting about the characters and plot of the The Glass Castle during their free time.  A few times, I have even witnessed them engaging in dramatic play inspired by the book.  And, I chuckled when my daughter began using choice time to draw trees as she decided to design a paper banner that represents herself and our family, much like Avery designed one for the children in The Glass Castle.   

Would We Recommend the Book?

Without reservation, we would recommend The Glass Castle  to others.  In fact, my children and I already have as a clean, fun read that keeps you turning pages and can inspire conversation and activities, too.

My oldest said:

Mom, let's tell (friend's name) about it.  He will LOVE this book.  I like it.

He also gave the summary I already offered earlier in this review.

My youngest, at five, said:

I loved it!  It was so awesome.  It was exciting and has a lot of mystery.  I liked when the kids became king and queen.  I want to read the next one.

The fact that my youngest said this about a book that did not have explicit fighting in it is amazing.  He is so into knights, battles, etc. that, typically, unless a book is a beautifully illustrated picture book or contains some battle scenes, he does not sit and listen to the entire thing.  However, there was enough mystery and tension in The Glass Castle to keep him fully engaged each time we read the book aloud.

My daughter, however, was the book's biggest fan.  She said:

When Mom started reading the book, it was at bedtime and I thought it was spooky.  I did not want to read it anymore, but my brother wanted to.  So, when she read the second chapter during the day, it got better, and by the third chapter I began to like it.  By the fourth chapter, I loved it!  I asked Mom to read three chapters or more at a time.  I really got into the story and want to get the next one.

Avery is a little like me.  She wants to figure more stuff out, to understand mysteries like me.

In the book, it said her mommy had had a brown eye and a blue eye and, when she saw a picture of the former queen, the queen did, too.  So, I think the queen is her mother or something like that.  They must be related...  I cannot tell you more or it would spoil the story.

I like how there is a bad guy, or, actually, a bad gal.  She is not really bad.  She is just selfish.  She wants to marry the boy that Avery is friends with and her brother is a scout.

In the story, there is a mystery, adventure, a little romance (that's why it's meant for ten year olds even though I am eight), faith, virtues, and much more. 

I think it's kind of weird that someone in the story takes all thirteen year olds and brings them to a castle, but that that is part of they mystery.

You have to read it!  It is a great story for people who like romance, adventure, faith, mysteries, and a tiny but of naughtiness from some of the characters.

I asked Mommy to get the next book called the Ruby Moon.  I loved this book as a family read aloud.

Obviously, my children enjoyed this Christian-friendly, middle grade fiction book!  So, we've already recommended The Glass Castle to local friends and now we are recommending it to you, too.  The only caveat I would add to our recommendation is that, since the book is part of a series, not all the mysteries developed in the story are solved.  Many questions remain open for future books in the series.  This excited my children to read more, but, if you have a child who likes to "know everything that happened" by the end of a single book, then consider yourself forewarned, in The Glass Castle you will not come away with the satisfaction of knowing all the answers and action by the time the last page is read.

Learn More

Ninety Schoolhouse Review families with children of all different ages read and reviewed this book meant for middle-grade readers.  Some read it as family read together like my family did, and some approached reading it as independent pleasure or assigned reading.  Learn what each thought about it by clicking through the banner below.



Shiloh Run Press is a division of Barbour Publishing, which can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
 

The next book in The Glass Castle series, The Ruby Moon, will be released in October 2016.  My daughter already has it on her wish list!  In the meantime, she is learning the virtue of patience waiting for its release and is also coming up with all sorts of possibilities of what might happen next and what might be the answer to some of the mysteries within The Glass Castle.

What clean, middle-grade fiction has captured your children's attention lately?

We Gave MaxScholar a Try

With a struggling reader, I have often heard of the "Orton-Gillingham approach" and the "Lindamood-Bell Process" and wondered if such things might help my child succeed.  Thus,when I was offered an opportunity to review the MaxScholar Reading Intervention Programs by MaxScholar, I took it.  My hope was that by pairing MaxGuru with some other recent ELA work my children and I have been doing, my daughter might finally "take off" with reading. 

Since I also have a kindergartner who is learning to read, I was happy that I was given the chance to add a second child to the one year license for MaxGuru that we received as well.  I had high hopes that MaxScholar would be a complete win for both of my younger children.

What Is MaxScholar?

MaxScholar is an online program which can be used on a tablet or computer and is intended for students in grades K-12  who struggle with reading due to Dyslexia, ADHD, learning disabilities, and more. It uses a multi-sensory approach which incorporates the "Five Pillars of Reading":

• Phonetic Awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension

Within MaxScholar are:

• MaxPhonics - This sections uses the Orton-Gillingham method to teach the basics of phonics. (The method, I find, is sound, but in an online format, did not appeal to my children as much as I hoped it would.)

• MaxReading –This section uses the Lindamood-Bell process to teaching reading comprehension.  (My two younger children are not advanced enough in their reading to read passages from this section, but my older child is and may use this section later on.)

• MaxWords – This section focuses on spelling, prefixes, suffixes, and Latin and Greek roots.  (We did not explore this section much.)

• MaxVocab – This section allows students to play games with new words. (This section drew my children's interest.)

• MaxBio – This section exercises reading skills through reading biographies.  (This section is way above my younger two children's reading levels, but I noted biographies of interest in it nonetheless.)

• MaxMusic –This section uses song lyrics to teach ELA and also allows students to have fun doing such things as playing on an on-screen piano.  (Because MaxScholar is made for a wide range of homeschoolers and "regular schoolers" some of the artists highlighted are pop ones I would not encourage my children to explore.  Others are classical ones, etc.)

• MaxPlaces – This section focuses on reading while learning about different places around the world.  (We did not explore this section much, but plan to in conjunction with future geography studies with my oldest.)

Our Experience

With such a wide variety of menu items to learn and practice reading skills with, you would think MaxScholar would be a hit for most children.   However, I have to be honest, the program did not win my two youngest over.

My youngest, at five, was complacent about using MaxScholar most days and could even manage it on his own sometimes.  However, he never asked to use it, and, when he was asked to use it, just before he logged in , healways made sure to set a timer so he would not have to stay on the program a minute longer than he was required to so.  (We do most online things for 15 minutes in a sitting.  For some things, my youngest conveniently forgets to set a timer or asks if he can have more time.  Not so for MaxScholar.)

Sometimes, my son worked on MaxScholar on one of our laptops by himself.  Sometimes my husband, a sibling, or myself sat nearby to help.  All the time, he moved along with exercises at a fairly steady pace. 

As our review period drew to a close, I asked my youngest what he thought about MaxScholar.  He said:

I like the word games.  I do not like anything else, except where you draw the letters.

I could use it by myself, but had a hard time sometimes, so Mom helped me. 

It helped me learn spelling and reading.   

I don't want to use it anymore.  It's not really that fun and it does not help me much.  I like other things better.

So be it.  As a former ELA teacher and current tutor, as I sat next to my youngest child, I could see how the methods employed by the phonics portion of MaxScholar were sound, but they simply were not interesting enough to ignite a desire in my son to continue the program.  

MaxScholar is also not something that my daughter wants to continue.

My daughter, at eight is a struggling reader who cheered when I told her it was time for me to write our MaxScholar review, because she knew that meant she would not have to continue with the program any longer.  For, more than once during our review period, I reminded my daughter that we had made a commitment to try the program and that we needed to honor that commitment.  The program might not be a favorite for her, but it is sound, and, given a chance, might help her.  Many children are helped by it... Her response to such reminders was, "Not me!"  And, frankly, I have to agree. 

While MaxScholar is based on solid methods and presents them in a logical way, which, as former ELA teacher and a current tutor, I can see benefiting many children, as a parent, I have to admit my child is not one of the children that the program can help.

Between the time when I agreed to reviewing MaxScholar and when we began it, my daughter and I had a heart-to-heart about resources and she told me that most online things "just aren't my style." However, we also talked about how some online things can be quite helpful and that, since she wants to improve some skills, we could keep trying some.  Thus, when we first logged onto MaxScholar she was willing to give it a go.

Her willingness quickly dissipated the clipped phonics sounds in the audio proved hard for her to decipher.  Our remedy for that was for me to repeat the sounds the computer spoke.  Still, we were off to a bad start.

Another day, we tried a placement test, which I admit, we never completed, because she disliked it so and there are only so many battles a mom can handle in a day.

Still another day, I introduced my daughter to the games and music sections. These were more of a draw for her, so I used them as a carrot for the phonics work sometimes (but did not let her play around in the music section too much, because, as I previously mentioned, I did not like all the artists presented in it.)

In the end, when I asked my daughter for thoughts to share about MaxScholar, she said:

Some of it was too easy.  Some of it was too hard.  Some of it was too confusing. 

I did not like the lady, my teacher.  Her sounds were hard to understand.  My mom had to sit next to me and tell me the sounds. 

The only good thing was the games.  The real games.  Hangman.  The music game.  That type of thing.  The other things where you had to do letters were not real games.  They said they were games, but they were not, so I did not like them. 

I do not think it helped me and I am not continuing. 

So, as you can see, even though my daughter struggles with reading, she does not struggle to make her opinion known, and it is not from the wind that she gets that. 

Could MaxScholar Be a Good Fit for You?

I tend to be clear with my opinions, too.  Thus, I want to close out this review by saying that even though MaxScholar was not a hit with my youngest son, nor my daughter, it is not a bad program.  In fact, now that our review period for the program is over and my two younger children do not want to use the program, I might give my oldest son free reign with one of their log-ins.  I have a feeling that my son, who is an online learning aficionado will enjoy some of the more advanced readings within the program, and his enjoyment of them will make the remainder of our one-year license worthwhile.


I also would add that 90 Schoolhouse Review families checked out MaxScholar and some met with HUGE SUCCESS!  Just because the program was not a good fit for my children, does not mean it will not be for yours.  So, do be sure to check out the other reviews and even to try a free trial.

Connect with MaxScholar 

You can find MaxScholar at:

• Facebook,
• Twitter,
• Pinterest,
• Google +,
• LinkedIn,
• YouTube

What a Blessed Family Prayer Day!

"You have perfect children," a woman turned around to my husband and me and said with a smile.  Immediately, the two of us burst into quiet laughter.  For although our children had been rather wonderful for most of the day, in the hour before the woman spoke of their perfection, our boys had been bickering outside and our daughter has passed through a brief whiny moment. 

Yep, like all children -- okay, like all people (my husband and I included!) -- our children get quarrelsome, moody, and over-reactive.  Imperfection, at times, is glaringly obvious.

Yet, there they were, at the moment the woman commented, sitting perfectly enough that the woman felt prompted to turn and compliment their behavior. 

What had prompted the children to sit so sweetly, spellbound?  I dare say, the Spirit and the beauty of beautifully composed and played music concluding a faith-focused day.

Family Prayer: Merciful Love Event

For the second year in a row, we attended an event at Holy Cross Family Ministries in honor of Servant of God, Father Peyton.

The day opened with a Children's Program in a small chapel, that I was asked to lead.  After much prayer and thought, I decided to focus the workshop on introducing the children to familiar objects in our friend, Jesus' home.  

Basically, I led the children in brief prayers and drew their attention to different liturgical objects, naming the objects and chatting about their significance and symbolism. 

We had special permission to allow the children to walk up on the sanctuary, touch some of the liturgical objects, and see where the relic on the altar was. 

With the Spirit leading, the program went smoothly, was well-received, but had to be cut a little short so we could all get over to Our Lady's Grotto for Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

After Benediction at the Grotto, we walked in Procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the Holy Cross Cemetery, pausing along the way to pray decades of the Rosary together, which children and families led.

Once we arrived at Father Peyton's grave, we participated in a short prayer service.

Then, the Procession with the Blessed Sacrament continued to the Holy Cross Center, where we all cooled off a bit, and took a break.

There, Father Leo chatted with the children and us a bit and showed us the seal of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. 

He also showed Mike around the sanctuary, since Mike had volunteered to read the second reading at Mass.

We had a short break and then Mass presided over by the Most Reverend Jorge Izaguirre, C.S.C., Bishop of Chuquibamba, Peru.  It was a beautiful service.

Following Mass, we enjoyed a reception and buffet meal.

Then, we took a play break in a courtyard before going on to be wowed by an Eric Genuis concert. 

Eric Genuis' music was moving, and his stories were balanced between humorous and heart-tugging.  My children remained thoroughly engaged (this the "perfect" comment!), and my husband and I were impressed, too.  Eric Genuis truly is a truly is a gifted musician who lets the Spirit speak through him both in his public concerts (which we experienced) and in his prison ministry (which he told us about between pieces at the concert).

Eric Genuis' colleagues were equally amazing to listen to.  Together with Eric, they made the concert as enjoyable to hear as to watch.  You could see the passion in each musician as they played.  So inspiring and uplifting! 

I did not catch the name of the violinist and celloist, but wish I had so I could share them forward.  They were both talented, and my daughter was particularly impressed by the violinist.

My daughter also enjoyed listening to and meeting Chelsea Coyne, the soprano soloist that wowed us all with her powerful, emotion-filled voice.

What a delight it was to experience Eric Genuis and his fellow musicians in concert.  We had never heard of him before the event, but will not soon forget him. 

We have an autographed CD to enjoy whenever we wish now.

We also have memories of a fabulous, faith-focused family day.  Making time for days like the Family Prayer: Merciful Love event brings such fruit.

As Father Peyton always said, "The family that prays together, stays together."  May you and yours make a choice to pray together often.

Hey Mama! I Have a Planner Review and Coupon Code for You

It's that time of year again.  The time when I reflect upon the past "academic year" and plan forward for the next leg of our homeschooling journey.  Thus, I was happy to receive a copy of the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 by The Old Schoolhouse for review.  I am always looking for new tools to inspire me to get and stay organized and this one looks promising.

My favorite thing about the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 is that it starts in July.  In our state, families have to send an annual education plan/assessment report to local school districts.  Since our family chooses to "school" year-round with a relaxed, eclectic style, I tend to send these reports in June, beginning the next "school year" in July.  I appreciate that with the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 I can plan and track our activities from July forward daily without having to cross off and/or write in dates for the summer months.

A random thing the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 planner includes that ended up being helpful for us the other day is a list of presidents and their wives.  For no apparent reason, my youngest began asking who the third, fourth, fifth, and son presidents were.  I do not have presidential names and ordinal numbers memorized, but did not have to go online to find out an answer for him.  There is a list in the planner!

There are also writing prompts...

... and story starters that I can see coming in handy.

Plus, there's a page of invention dates.  I have never seen such a list in a planner, but find it happily coincidental that the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 has such a list since my oldest child has begun peppering me in our minivan with questions such as, "Mom, when was (insert random item) invented?" Or, "Was (insert invention) invented before (insert another invention)?"  I am not sure what prompted his curiosity, but my response to date has been, "I am not sure. Remind me, and we will look it up.  Maybe for the coming year we can finally begin and keep up with history timeline notebook."  The planner will help with that! 

Other helpful portions of the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 are:

• year-at-a-glance calendars for 2016-2018 (which, of course, can make long-term planning easier)
  
  
  
• dated monthly calendars and note pages through June of next year  (I appreciate that these are dated as I tire of writing in dates in planners)
  
  
  
• undated weekly planner pages (Not including the header column and row, there are five columns and seven rows on each weekly planner page grid.  This offers flexibility, which I am grateful for.)
• monthly goal pages (There are only five of these.  I wish there were 12.)
• semester goal pages (There are five of these.  I do not need five, so will likely use some for monthly goals.)
• yearly goal pages (There are five of these, I assume, to accommodate families with up to five children.  I will use some of these for monthly goals, too.)
• a 180 day attendance checklist (I consider every day a school day, but Sunday, so do not need this, but I know, in some locations, a record of attendance is required, so this chart may be helpful to others.)
• spaces to write book read this year  (I have tired numerous times to keep a book list for our family, but never succeeded for any length of time.  We read a lot and I rarely want to pause to write down what we read, so these pages will become note pages for me, likely for books and resources I want to check out.)
• curriculum planning sheets (We are so eclectic and experiential in our learning that I won't need these.  I am considering using them to track blog review vendors and due dates, though.)
• a homeschooling contacts list (which will come in handy as I sometimes forget or cannot find my phone and having the information written down will be helpful)
• a list of the 13 colonies by date (Trivia like this is helpful with my random-questions kids.)
• information on the branches of federal, state, and local governments (With the elections this year, having such key information on-hand for my children's random questions will be helpful)
• a list of the states and their capitals  (After focusing our geography club on the USA this past year, we should have states and capital down, but, if I am honest, do not.  Thus, this list could come in handy.)
• pages for keeping track of academic transcript information (These are not anything I need or will use, but those with high schoolers will appreciate them.)
• a checklist/skills learned page (I will not use this page either, but for those that will, it seems having 12 such pages would be helpful as the page indicates four weeks/one month.  Oddly, there is only one of these pages.)
• a checklist page for other courses  (I might use this to track all our spontaneous studies and experiential learning.)

The planner also has a generous sprinkling of "HeyMama!" letters that are written by a fellow homeschool mama to encourage and inspire you on your journey.    These, I think "make" the planner.  They add a unique and encouraging touch.

Another unique feature is sepia-tone photos of old time inventions such as a butter churn and a dibber, with short descriptions of them.  These make fun trivia.

Learn More


The planner is 9" x 11" with 196 spiral-bound pages, so it can be opened and laid flat.  You can see a pdf of sample pages linked online, where you can also find digital version. 

 

You can also get the planner (including shipping) for $10 off right now when you use the discount code CREWCODE, which is valid through July 15, 2016.

If you'd like to read more about what other mamas think of the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 planner, check out reviews written by 125 Schoolhouse Review families.



You can find the Old Schoolhouse on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google +.

Here's to a well-planned and organized 2016-2017 homeschool adventure with helpful tools such as the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner. May the next leg of your journey be fruitful!