Get Ready 4 Kindergarten Birthday Box

Do you have a preschooler in your house who is just dying to jump into school like the big kids? Or are you just looking for fun and easy projects to do with your preschooler that require zero prep time on your part? The Get Ready 4 Kindergarten Activity Boxes are the answer to either problem.

These activity boxes are designed to help little ones get ready for kindergarten while providing a guided program for parents that incorporates literature, crafts, games, and more.  We received the Birthday Box to review with our 3 toddlers.

Our box focused on shapes. Included in the box were two craft projects, plastic shape tiles with pictures the child could attempt to copy, an Eric Carle book, and shape related flash cards for the child to match with the designated shapes.

The plastic shapes and book were the hands down favorites of the kiddos.  One of the pictures they were asked to copy was of a caterpillar. We are currently watching a bunch of caterpillars at home and waiting for them to turn into butterflies so this was an instant favorite for Seamus.

The book arrived wrapped like a birthday present. Instant bonus. What kid doesn't like opening presents?

The craft projects included in the kit were making bird feeders and writing a thank you note. Nothing fancy or out of this world BUT every single item for the projects were included in a single bag per project. No chasing down glue or paper or anything. It is all right there at your finger tips. This is simply wonderful. This means you can open the box and go or hand a project off to an older sibling without worrying about them needing anything.

Seamus, Charlie, and Kolbe all loved the box and playing with it. I recommend this resource to any parent who is looking for an easy way to add some fun to their school time with their toddlers.

I received a free activity box in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.

CTC Math

One popular math program in homeschooling circles right now is CTC Math. CTC Math is an online program covering grades K-12, from beginning counting all the way through to calculus. We tested it out in our home over the past month.

The positive aspects of this program are many. This program is online so you can access it anywhere with an internet connection. You pay one fee and have access to all the grades for all of your students. This is beneficial both for students who excell at math and for students who struggle. With access to all grade levels, a student can just keep moving along when they finish a level and there is no need to purchase new materials. A student who is struggling can easily repeat lessons and get extra practice until they understand a concept.

If you have a student who is easily overwhelmed by seeing a whole page full of problems at once, this program can help alleviate those feelings because problems are presented one at a time. This was a tremendous benefit to my 3rd grader who just gets anxious when he sees a page full of problems stretching out before him.

This program provides skill assessments so you can place your student at exactly the right place in the program. No need to review material already mastered. You can assign tasks for your student to complete by a certain date and give quizzes and quarterly tests all through the program.

One of my favorite features is the weekly update that is emailed to the parent which details exactly what each student accomplished that week. You get a list of log in times, lessons covered, grades, and more. This is incredibly helpful to me with one particular student who likes to fib about what they have done that day.  I can log in on the parent side and immediately check on what the student has accomplished that day and immediately verify if progress was made or not. This simply lowers stress levels and avoids confrontations and frankly removes the temptation to fib about what you've done that day because you know Mom can check immediately from her computer. Maybe you don't have a student who likes to stretch the truth but then again, maybe you do.

There are a few negatives.  This program is online. I know I listed that as a positive but bear with me here. Online only means you can't pack it along in the car. Online means it is all on the computer. Personally, I'm not a fan of lots of computer time for elementary and middle school aged kids. I've even seen a negative side in lots of online classes for high schoolers at times. For younger kids, I really prefer to keep them off the computer as much as possible and working in other ways.  So I really would not attempt to use this program with anyone under 3rd grade. 

The yearly subscription fee does mean that you have to plan to pay every year. Although the cost is fairly minimal if you have several children using the program, it will add up over time compared to some other computer based programs that are a one time purchase.

The program was not as user friendly as others we have used. It did take me a few days to figure everything out and there are still a few features that I am still getting used to.

After using the program with an elementary student and a high school student, I am overall very pleased with the program. We do plan to continue the program with two of our students for the rest of the year. 

I received a free year subscription to CTC Math in exchange for this review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Playing With Plays - A Review

I received free copies of four of the books in this series in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

I've been meaning to get this review put together for about a year now. Yes, I do sometimes get that far behind on, well, everything. And in the last 18 or so months we've had two kids with broken arms,  1 child who needed several months of physical therapy, one kid diagnosed with an anaphylactic allergy, two different children who each had 2 surgeries, 2 new babies added to the family meaning 2 c-sections,  one baby spending 3 weeks in the NICU, one baby spending time in the PICU, me being so anemic that I required a blood transfusion, and a deployment thrown in there for good measure. So, um, yes, I have put a few things on the way back burner and just let them simmer away in my mind somewhere until I was able to deal with them. Like this wonderful review.

Playing With Plays is a series of books that takes higher end literature and breaks it down into child friendly language. Each book contains three different versions of the plays, each meant for a different number of actors. As a performance, the plays are designed to be relatively short (15 minutes or less) but creativity is encouraged on the part of the actors.

One major deterrent for many young children and participating in plays is the fear of forgetting lines or not being able to memorize a long script. This problem is alleviated with Playing With Plays. Some of the words within the script are bolded. These words are particularly important to maintaining the character of the original work and are meant to be said as written. The rest of the words are meant to be a guide. Say them as written or get creative and ad-lib. These are the ones my kids had the most fun with during their performance.

At our Homeschool Expo last year, a group of kids performed one of acts from Hamlet. No one got any of their lines exactly right and there were a few times when younger siblings wandered into the play unexpectedly but everyone enjoyed themselves. More importantly, the kids involved understood the gist of the play. Our performers that afternoon ranged in age from 6 to 16. Everyone was able to find a part they could both understand and perform easily.

These books are very affordable at under $10 each. Group discounts are available directly from the publisher if needed. If you are neither charging for the performance nor the classes to learn the play, you are able to use the materials for free and make photo copies of scripts if needed. If you are charging for the classes, you must purchase a book for each student. If you charge for the performance, there is a royalty fee required but it is a very reasonable one.

These books are perfect to use in a homeschool to introduce your younger children to Shakespeare, Dickens, and other classic literature in a very relaxed, fun way.

My only complaint is that there is too much negative, demeaning language thrown into the plays in an attempt to make them relevant to modern kids. I realize that Shakespeare himself wrote quite a few insults in his plays but the modern take on them was a bit beyond the original meanings for a children's version in my opinion.

Overall, these books earn a 4 out of 5 in my book. If the language was a bit less modern, I'd like them even better.

Dear God, I Don't Get It

We all have those times when we feel like God is not answering our prayers. This can be a hard thing for adults to understand but getting a child to understand why prayers appear to go unanswered can be a struggle. The book Dear God, I Don't Get It by Patti Maguire Armstrong helps children understand just this question.

Dear God, I Don't Get It is the first in a series of books about the Ajax family. In this book you meet brothers Aaron, Luke, and Tyler.  As the story opens, the family learns that they must move. This is something that feels like the end of the world to 12-year-old  Aaron Ajax. He prays to God to please find a way for the family to stay where they are but his prayers are not answered in the way Aaron expects.

This book helps broach an often misunderstood concept in a way young minds can easily grasp.  Adults are often heard saying that prayer works but they fail to understand exactly how prayer works. Many children often grow up with the mistaken notion that all you have to do is pray and God will grant your every desire. Failing to understand that God often answers our prayers with a no because He has something else in mind for us can cause many people to question their beliefs. By the end of the book, Aaron begins to understand that God's answers are not always our own.

This book does a wonderful job at weaving faith into the lives of the characters without being preachy or pushy. It successfully walks that fine line without beating the point home with a morality stick. This helps to keep the story interesting without turning you off.

I recommend sharing this book for kids in the 8 to 12 age range. The entire series promises to provide an easy way to tackle some of the tough topics in life with your children.

Mass Books for Kids

How do you answer that age old question of what to do with the young children during Mass? I know we've gone through many different ways of managing young kids and seem to have settled on you just expect them to learn to be quiet and bring as few distractions as possible. Because there are few things as annoying as an older child dragging in a toy store or a Happy Meal or a tablet loaded with movies to Mass. Seriously, that sort of thing really bugs me.

One of the few things we will allow our kids to have during Mass are kid friendly Mass books. But how do you know which ones are worth the money? Today I am sharing my views on the books by  Catholic Icing and Holy Heroes.

The booklet by Holy Heroes is really two books in one. On one side, you have the prayers of the Mass. Flip the book over and you'll find a collection of Best Loved Catholic Prayers.  You can also purchase an audio CD to go along with this book with the Holy Heroes kids leading your children through all of the prayers.

The Holy Heroes book does, however, lack pictures. It has a very simply layout that focuses almost exclusively on the words of the various prayers. This allows for more information but means the book is best suited for an older child. The audio CD that can be purchased with the book is great for using in the car to help your kids memorize prayers or during family prayer time. This section of the book includes prayers such as the Angelus, Memorare, the St Michel Prayer, and several common prayers in both English and Latin.  I love this book for the middle kids in the family.

The Mass book by Catholic  Icing is called A Picture Book of the Mass. This book focuses exclusively on the prayers of the Mass. I love this one because of the amazing pictures. The booklet is illustrated using old masters paintings. With at least one picture on every page, it keeps the attention of younger kids. Older kids also enjoy the paintings but this one is my go to book to grab for the toddlers. Even if they can't read the words, they are captivated by paintings in the book.

Price wise, both books are just about the same. Both companies also offer bulk discounts so these would be great books to buy for religious ed classes or homeschooling groups or vbs or just to donate to your parish. They are both soft cover booklets so if yours live in the diaper bag like mine do, they will show wear and tear after a while. But the affordable price makes them easy to replace.  As nice as the hardcover formal books many of us received  as First Communion gifts are, these books are a little more convenient for younger children or larger families. You also know that your purchase is supporting a small at home Catholic business. Which is a win-win situation for everyone.

All opinions in this post are entirely my own. I was not compensated in anyway for my review. Just sharing one Mom's opinion.

Children's Adoration Guidebook

Like many folks my age, I was never introduced to the rich traditions of the Catholic faith. The rosary, stations of the cross, adoration, novenas, the saints. All of these wonderful aspects of our faith were neglected, not taught, not shared for so many years.  Now that I am raising my own children and truly learning right along with my children about the amazingly rich history that is part and parcel of the Catholic faith, I sometimes struggle to find the ability to teach the kids comfortably about those things that I have had no experience with myself.

Enter the products from Holy Learning and you have a wonderful way to bridge this gap. Holy Learning sells a wonderful array of products to help you teach your children about the Catholic faith in not-too-boring, often hands-on fashion.  They have faith folders, faith rings, faith cards, a new section of faith games, and a children's adoration guide.

The Children's Adoration Guidebook contains a wealth of information and prayers to help your children (and their parents) better understand what adoration is meant to be and accomplish. It starts with a basic explanation of what Eucharistic Adoration is and what people typically do with their time at adoration.

Next up is a huge section containing many Catholic prayers including an examination of conscience, all of the mysteries of the rosary, the stations of the cross, the divine mercy chaplet, and special prayers devoted to various saints. A wonderful aspect of this section is that for rosary, all of the prayers are repeated on their own page for each set of mysteries. This means there is no flipping back and forth and makes it much easier for younger readers to follow. Both the rosary and chaplet sections have a coloring sheet that you can copy to allow your younger children to color in each bead as they progress through the prayers.

A reflections section follows the scripted prayers. In this section, you will find a collection of pages with "story starters" or suggestions on things for the child to focus on and write about during adoration. These lined pages cover a variety of subjects ranging from what I need help with, how I have been blessed,and how to pray for our secular and religious leaders. These pages can easily be copied for repeat use or laminated so that you can reflect back on the things you wrote earlier.

For the younger members of the family, there is a section with pictures of the many special items they might see in church or the adoration chapel.  These pictures can help your child better understand the sacredness of all the items they see in church each week. I'm sure I am not the only person who never knew what a tabernacle was or what the sanctuary lamp signified. With these pictures, you can guide your children to an understanding of what they see in church each week. Admittedly, there are no descriptions included so you'll have to add that part yourself.

The final sections of the guidebook include brief lives of a few common patron saints along with short bible passages of popular parables. These tend to be saints and parables that kids will recognize from readings at Mass so they should find them easy to understand.

This guidebook arrives to you as a large pdf file.  You may find it is best to have it printed somewhere other than home unless you own a laser printer.  Then it can easily be bound at an office supply store of put into a three ring binder. If you use a binder, you can also add in a pencil case to hold pencils, rosaries, and other items your children may use during adoration.

I shared this guidebook with several other mothers and they all liked what they saw. Some of their opinions are included in this review.  I do believe this is a wonderful resource to help your entire family grow in understanding the concept of Eucharistic Adoration.

If you are interested in some of the other products offered by Holy Learning, here is an earlier review I did of the Respect Life Faith Folder.  We've also used several other faith folders not only with our own children but also with our co-op and they have all been well received. If you would like to use any of these wonderful products with your children this year, use the code hitchings for 15% off your order. This code will be valid for two weeks from the date of this post.  If you have little ones preparing for their sacraments this year, you will find many wonderful hand-on resources to help them understand the sacraments.

I received this guidebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning

Simcha Fisher recently published the book The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning.  I've been hearing nothing but good things about this book for a while so I was interested in reading it. It promised  a real life view of natural family planning that takes off those rose colored glasses so often worn by nfp promoters.  And yet, I must say, I felt the book feel flat on it's proverbial face.

The first sign to me that things were not quite as they seemed with this book was the three pages of glowing reviews immediately in the beginning of the book. These reviews were all written by the same group of Catholic Mommy Bloggers who all tend to review each other's work and always write about the same things each of the other bloggers are writing about.  It's as if they are all sitting around in a big circle and patting each other on the back all the time, telling each other how wonderful they are all the time. I've noticed that none of these ladies ever have anything negative or critical to say about each other's work.  It's as if they all realize that each of their careers depend on continuing to support and say wonderful things about each other and encouraging each of their readers to purchase books published by the rest of this group.  I will admit that anytime I see a huge group of glowing reviews written by this group of ladies, I immediately find myself becoming critical of the actual work.  And with this particular book, one of the glowing reviews was written by a blogger who was then quoted later in the book.  Sorry but when you do that, you lose all credibility in my eyes.

I realized part way through this book that it was mostly a bunch of Simcha's blog posts put together into a book format.  This is a complete turn off for me. If I wanted to read the blog posts, I would do so.  But I bought the book because I was hoping for something new and unique.  Not something I found in the book at all.

The overall tone of the book was rather irreverent and casual.  I know this was an attempt to make the subject more human.  However, I found that as the book progressed, the tone was so irreverent that it became incredibly off putting and somewhat insulting.  Maybe I'm old fashioned but I really think that most books for adults that are not comedies should be written in a slightly more formal tone. Especially when discussing a topic such as this one.

The title of this book was rather misleading. This book was written essentially to women only.  Not to all "sinner's" as the title suggests.  I am of the mindset that NFP needs to be discussed, used, and interpreted by both parters in a couple. Not only the wife.  Yes, all of the charting must be done by the wife because it is her cycle that is changing. But every husband really needs to learn how to interpret the charts himself so that he's not just being a big gigantic jerk and constantly asking what the chart says. But then again, maybe that is just the difference in the way our method teaches (teaching to the couple the entire time) vs the way many other organizations teach (focusing the teaching exclusively on the wife).  It shows much more respect and consideration when a husband takes the time to learn how to read the charts and just does it himself rather than leaving it all to his wife.

So there's my opinion on the book. I know it won't be popular in many circles but I frankly felt let down, almost lied to by the reviews and constant shouting about the book being a wonderful realistic view of NFP.

The Queen & the Cross

All of my Grandmothers shared the same first name: Helen.  Our 3rd daughter also shares a version of their name: Eleanor. And yet I'd never taken the chance to learn much about Saint Helen other than knowing vaguely that she was known for finding the true cross.  That changed when I read the book The Queen & the Cross with my children.

This picture book guides young readers through the life of Queen Helen and her journey to find the true cross of Christ.  From bidding farewell to her son, the Emperor Constantine, to meeting Bishop Macarius in Jerusalem, the stage is carefully set to give ample historical references to place the story in properly in a child's mind. Queen Helen is portrayed as a humble woman with a strong faith in God.

When three crosses are unearthed instead of just one, it takes a miracle to determine which one is the true cross.

I enjoyed the illustrations in this book and the simple storyline that effectively shared the life of Saint Helen without bogging down younger readers with extra details. A more detailed biography on the saint is written in the back of the book for those who want to learn more.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Queen and the Cross-The Story of St. Helen. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

a.k.a. Genius

Step into the shoes of one Gabe Carpenter as he navigates the daily challenges of life as a seventh grader in the book a.k.a. Genius.  Gabe is your typical 7th grade boy dealing with the normal challenges of life: an annoying sister, a locker that won't open, parents who don't quite understand him, changing social status at school, and that ever annoying lunch room.

Years after being released from the confines of a school environment, I felt all of the insecurities of life in school rushing back at me as I read this book.  Being one of those lucky people who attended 4 schools between 7th and 12th grade, I remember well that constant fear of will I fit in, will everything work out, and for goodness sake who on earth will I sit with at lunch.  The shifting sands as all of the other kids are trying to determine where they stand in the pecking order so the folks who were your friends yesterday suddenly won't speak to you today. I will honestly say that I've not read a young adult book recently that so accurately captured that struggle every kid deals with while navigating the halls junior high.  Or am I dating myself by even calling it that anymore?

After reading the book myself, I handed it to one of my sons to read.  He loved the book as well. His favorite character in the book was Linc, best friend of Gabe Carpenter.  I do believe he said he enjoyed his sense of humor.

Although this book does have a typical cheesy everything is perfect eventually ending, I did find it otherwise an enjoyable read. Gabe doesn't ever figure everything out or get his act completely together but does eventually start to come to terms with being ok with the person God has created him to be. In a library full of empty preteen literary suggestions, this one stands out in my mind as a positive yet realistic choice for young readers.  A welcome change from the current popular offerings out there.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on a.k.a. Genius. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

Raising God First Kids in Me First World

Did you ever find yourself really looking forward to a book only to be entirely let down once you actually finished it? I finally got around to reading Raising God First Kids in a Me First World by Barbara Curtis. I know I kept putting it off because it was the last book she wrote before she died and I felt like once I finished the book, I would be closing the book on a source I had become used to looking to for wisdom. I always loved that Barbara was so real and honest in sharing about her life.  You could always feel the love she had for her family and yet she never held back from sharing some of the painful stuff. The real nitty gritty stuff that helps you relate to someone and maybe, just maybe makes you feel like you aren't such a failure at this parenting thing after all because someone else is dealing with less than perfect stuff, too. Let's be honest here: there simply are not many truly large family bloggers who are sharing the less than perfect stuff with the world.

Yesterday I finally sat down during karate class to finish the book.  And although you could feel the love she had for her children and just knew she put so much of her heart into the book, I have to say there was nothing new in the book for me at all. Or much concrete advice to be honest. There were lots of stories about her children but no real suggestions.  So I guess I'm feeling a bit disappointed.

It is wonderful to see that she felt such closeness to her high school and adult children. I don't think many parents feel that connection. I doubt many kids feel that connection. And it was obvious she poured her heart into the book in her last few months. But I have to call it more of a final memoir than a parenting book.  Wonderful stories of a wonderful family, but not quite a parenting book.

And, yes, I do still miss reading the stories she would share with her readers every week.

The Locket's Secret

We have several kids in our home who are at the stage of looking for preteen/teen books but often find that most of what is currently being offered for kids at this level is simply inappropriate for our family.  I promise the authors out there that you can actually write entertaining stories that have nothing to do with occult type themes.  Really, it's not that hard.  But I digress.

Lately we have been making a point to seek out young adult authors who write books that we actually want our children to read.  I was thrilled to discover that Pauline Books and Media is now starting to focus on producing books for teen readers.  I had the opportunity to read the book The Locket's Secret by K. Kelley Heyne.

The main character in this book, Carrie, is a young teen girl from a homeschooling family who finds herself in the middle of several different major life changes. Her family is moving across country so that her father can accept a new job, leaving behind all of her friends.  Mom is expecting a new baby and the entire family is still recovering from a heart breaking loss.  We follow Carrie as she struggles to make sense of all of these changes while loosing herself in a vivid daydream of her own design.

I will admit that the daydream world was my favorite part of the book.  I think we can all remember placing ourselves in our own fantasy world when life's challenges got a bit too hard to handle. As Carrie lives within her fantasy world, the characters in her mind deal with the same issues she is trying to handle.

My one complaint was that you did not discover that the family in the book was struggling to deal with the death of one of their children until several chapters into the book.  As a family that is currently dealing with the same issue, having it sneak up on me in the book was a bit startling.  I do wish it had been spelled out a bit more clearly in the description because I'm not sure how each of my children would have handled that aspect of the book had they come upon it themselves. And yet I did find that a passage in the book spoke to my heart regarding the issue and helped just a little bit. "I'd love to tell you that it's going to be okay, but you'll always hurt a little. It's the price we pay for loving."

Overall I enjoyed the book and plan to keep my eye on the other offerings for young adult readers from Pauline Books and Media. This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Locket's Secret. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

Totally Catholic

Are you looking for a way to help your children understand the Catechism? A book that explains key concepts of the Church in a way children can understand? But one that does not bore them or talk down down to them? Big order, huh?

Totally Catholic: A Catechism for Kids and Their Parents and Teachers is a book that fits this bill.  Totally Catholic is totally interesting. It engages the reader with pictures, prayers, and a lively lay out. While waiting to do this review, I left the book laying in the living room and found a few of my kids picking it up to read themselves.

Totally Catholic is broken down into 39 chapters, each of which attempts to answer one question from the Catechism.  The chapters range from What is the Trinity and What is the Communion of Saints to How did Jesus Teach and Why is Mary Special.  While answering these questions, each chapter also provides short prayers, scripture links, and brainstorming ideas to help you live out your faith in your everyday life.  A Catholic VIP is also featured in each chapter, sharing a short biography of a different saint in every chapter. This biographies do not go in depth about the saint but provide enough information to encourage the reader to learn more on their own.

I would recommend this book for children in the 8 to 12 year-old age range. Although younger children may be able to read the book or be drawn in by the pictures and layout, there is so much information in the book that they may become overwhelmed.  Older children may find this book to be a starting point in a search for more information.  This book will definitely be useful for our family in the next few years for use with our middle and younger children.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Totally Catholic:A Catechism for Kids and Their Pa. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papalYear of Faith.

Umbert the Unborn - A Womb With a View

If you read many of the popular Catholic newspapers and magazines, you have probably stumbled upon a little comic strip by Gary Cangemi.  This comic showcases the life of Umbert, an adorable little babe still residing in the best digs ever: his mother's womb.  I've enjoyed reading the comic when I've seen it so I was happy to see that a collection was available in book form.

Inside this book, you find not only a wonderful selection of comics but also on every page you'll find little snippets of random pregnancy related facts.  Some explain fetal development, others are concerning abortion facts, and some are just interesting pregnancy related quotes from various sources (I saw one from Mel Gibson and one relating to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey"). Although certainly politically relevant, the overall tone of these comics is light-hearted and enjoyable.

What is the best thing I can say about this book? Shortly after it arrived, it went missing in the house.  After days of looking, I still could not find it. It eventually surfaced in the basement bedroom where the teen boys had taken it to read.  I don't know about your kids, but finding anything in the basement bedroom often requires an excavation team so I'm not surprised I couldn't find it.  And I was thrilled that the boys liked the book enough to claim it as their own.

Umbert the Unborn passes muster as a family friendly delightful book for some light hearted enjoyment and occasional fact pondering.  Just maybe we should start a campaign to leave these books behind in places where folks congregate who need to rethink their stance on all things in the realm of the unborn child.  I truly believe a book of this nature has the power to change at least a few hearts.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Umbert the Unborn - A Womb with a View. The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your seasonal needs such as First Communion gifts as well as ideas and gifts for the special papal Year of Faith.

CycleProGo-Fertility Charting

I've now had the chance to use three different computer based fertility charting programs.  Since I shared the previous experience with you, I wanted to share this one as well. But first I have to admit that I may be a bit biased in my opinion.  This particular program is put out by the folks at the Couple to Couple League.  Alan and I have been trained in the use of CCL's sympto-thermal based NFP for almost thirteen years.  We have been teaching the method for at least eleven years (I can't remember for sure, I only know that Sean was one when we went to one of the weekend training sessions).  We currently teach CCL classes several times a year and promote the benefits of this method through occasional talks at marriage prep programs a few times a year as well.  So, yes, I am more comfortable with the CCL methodology than I am with other forms of natural family planning or fertility awareness. However, this does not mean that I believe one system of NFP is superior than another or will work for each individual in the same way.  I have and will continue to refer folks to teachers of other methods when doing so is in the best interest of that individual because my goal is to support the overall health and well-being of each couple, not to promote one particular methodology.

CycleProGo is a mobile version of the CyclePro Fertility Charting Software that has been available from CCLI for several years.  As a teaching couple, Alan and I were given to opportunity to use the program before it has been made available to the general public so I guess you could say we are part of that group helping to work all the final kinks out of the system.

What do I love? It's available on Alan's iPod and my Kindle as well as our computers with just one account.  Everything updates at the same time so we can both see any changes entered in by the other person.  It's on the web so my little ones can't take a pen to a paper chart or run off with it on me.  No, that has never happened around here or anything.  The charts you see in the program are exactly like the ones you see in your book of charts so there is nothing new to adjust to.  The program allows you to make changes if you disagree with the chart interpretations and allows you to easily share your chart with your friends or teaching couple for those times when you need another set of eyes to help explain what you are seeing.  Very important to me is that fact that CycleProGo tells you what rules/system they are using to interpret your chart and even allows you to choose which rules to follow.  This is very important to me because only you as a couple know which rules are most appropriate for your unique circumstances.  When I have a serious reason to postpone a pregnancy, I am not comfortable relying on a system that does not share with me how it reaches its conclusions.

I will admit that the program allows you to enter so much information that it was at first a little hard to figure out exactly where everything should go.  It took me about a week to really figure out where everything was within the program.  This was just spending 5 or 10 minutes a day playing around with the program.  I am now much more comfortable with the lay-out of the system and no longer have that problem.  There are spaces to track ovulation tests, mucus observations, basal temperatures, fertility monitor results, medications, illness, weight, and other information. You can also enter information about your previous cycles so that the program is able to use your most up to date information originally recorded elsewhere.  But the program works even if you only enter a few pieces of information.

A big negative to me would be the price. At $5 a month or $35 a year, I must admit that I would not use this program if I did not have access to it for free as an instructor.  Our budget is tight and I just can't justify spending even $5 a month for something that I can do for free using pencil and paper or for free using one of the other free programs out there.  I realize that $5 does not seem like much but sometimes every penny counts and this is one of those items that would simply not make the cut for us because there are so many other options available.

Overall I have to give a positive review to this fertility tracking app.  It gives you just enough help while at the same time allowing you the freedom to make your own changes.  It makes it easy for a couple with a crazy schedule to share fertility information when they can't get together during the day to talk face to face. And will be available for use on all of your devices including windows, mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle products.

For more information and the latest updates, go to CCLI's website or facebook page.

* Although I was given free access to the CycleProGo app, I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: Courageous Faith

The story of one of our newest saints is told in the book Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: Courageous Faith. This book is the latest installment in the Encounter the Saints Series which is written for children in the 8 to 12-year-old range.

The story of Kateri Tekakwitha is shared in this book starting from her birth and ending with her death at age twenty-four.  You learn of the early hardships faced by Kateri when her entire family died in a smallpox epidemic, her struggles to hide her faith from her tribe, and the constant mistreatment she suffered at the hands of her relatives once she declared her Christian faith publicly. You travel with her as she secretly escapes her village to live in safety with those who share her beliefs.

This story is told in a way which engages a young reader without being so intense as to go over their heads.  By sharing Kateri's struggles and faith, you are challenged to live your own faith more completely.

I love this series includes a glossary of unfamiliar terms in the back of the book. I know my own children are often reluctant to admit when they have stumbled upon a new word in a book. Having the glossary right at their finger tips will allow them to look up the new words without having to ask for help. I was also happy to see the Native American names used in the story sounded out phonetically the first time they appeared in the story.  The names were pronounced much differently than I would have guessed.

Overall I found Saint Kateri Tekakwitha:  Couragous Faith to be an enjoyable story that I am looking forward to sharing with my middle children.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: Courageous Faith. The Catholic Company is the best resource for gifts for every Sacrament celebration, such as First Communion gifts and Baptism gifts, as well as a great selection of limited-time Year of Faith gifts and resources.

Catholic Reluctantly

When your kids hit the preteen and teen years, it can be a struggle to find books that both interest the kids and are acceptable from a parental view point.  I'll readily admit that we often encourage the kids to just skip right over the young adult section of the library because so many of the books marketed towards kids of this age are full of inappropriate themes or promote immoral attitudes. I wish this problem could be solved by simply pulling out many of the books published by Christian authors for youth, but many of those books are lacking in any real substance or story.  Far too many Christian books seem to focus on pushing a message to the detriment of the story itself.  Needless to say, this sort of book makes it very hard to keep teens interested in actually reading something. In my attempt to find a new series of books that I could have around for my boys, I picked up a copy of Catholic Reluctantly: John Paul 2 High Book 1.

As the title suggests, this book is the first in a series of books aimed at Catholic youth.  The series is written by a team of young Catholic authors.  The story focuses on a small group of teens who attend start up Catholic school together. Each of the students comes from a different background and carries their own issues into the school with them.

I loved that no two kids was truly alike. However, I was a bit put off by the overuse of the stereotypical. From the super geeky homeschooled kid to slightly dumb jock, every high school stereotype was represented in the book.  I'll admit that made the story a bit hard for me to swallow.  Once I got past that, my overall impression of the book was favorable.

This is a book that I would recommend for teen readers without hesitation.  I do plan to get the other books in the series for our kids.  However, I would not call this an incredibly suspenseful or challenging read.  A decent book to have available for young readers but not what I would call classic level literature.

In an attempt to make sure the book got a truly accurate review, I asked Sean (my thirteen-year-old) to read it.  His father interviewed him about the book and you can hear his opinion of the book here.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Catholic Reluctantly: John Paul 2 High Book 1. The Catholic Company has great gift ideas for all seasons of the liturgical year, be sure to check out their Advent selection and Catholic Christmas Gifts.

A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy

A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy by Sarah A. Reinhard arrived on our doorstep somewhere in the second half of my pregnancy.  I will admit that I was a little skeptical that there would be much new in the book for me given that I was currently smack dab in the middle of my eleventh pregnancy.  I was surprised to find that there were things for even a seasoned Mom to glean from this book.

First, this book is not full of the nitty gritty physical and medical aspects of what is going on when you are pregnant.  If that is the kind of book you are looking for, this one is not for you.  Second, this is not a book that you will sit down and read in large chunks. This is a book meant to be taken in slowly in small pieces over time. Unless it arrives in your home when you are already most of the way through your pregnancy. Then you just might find yourself reading the entire thing at once.

What this book is a spiritual guide to the path you travel when expecting a new baby. Each chapter covers a week of your pregnancy.  Your experiences are covered from a faith based or emotional perspective. Each chapter ends with a short prayer that is relavent to that phase of your pregnancy.

I'll admit that a few weeks after our little Isabel died, I saw this book laying on my bedroom floor and found myself reaching for it.  Yes, that seems a little strange to some folks I suppose.  But I had remembered seeing something in the book on stillbirth so I found myself sitting on the floor paging through the book looking for something that might help me sort out the mess in my mind.  Although the  topic was covered very briefly, it did help me to realize that the path we are currently walking is not one we are traveling alone.  I suppose my one complaint was that the topic was touched on so briefly that I felt a need to read more.  I know folks do not like to dwell on the possibility of losing a baby rather than bringing one home but when it happens, you need something to lean on without leaving the house.

One particular section of the book that spoke to me the first time I read it was the reminder to pray for our husbands.  Alan often reminds me that it's incredibly hard for him to connect to the baby during pregnancy or to watch the times I'm in pain for some reason or another.  There is something about a pregnancy that can leave a husband feeling incredibly helpless.  Our last pregnancy was full of so many minor bumps in the road that I know Alan was feeling particularly helpless this time around.  The reminder to focus on praying for him and the burdens he carries was particularly needed.

If we are blessed with another pregnancy, I hope to be able to say that I was able to spend time each week reading this book and praying my way through each week.  But until that time, I hope to recommend this book to other expectant mothers, both first time moms and those of the more seasoned variety.  We can all use the reminder provided that each chance to carry a new life is the greatest gift and miracle that will ever touch your life.

Saint Catherine Laboure and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Marianne Lorraine Trouve has written a new book for the Encounter the Saints Series covering the life of Saint Catherine Laboure.  As with the other books in this series, this biography is written at a level that is perfect for children in the 8-10 year-old range.  The story is told in fairly simple terms while managing to give a decent amount of detail.  A glossary is also included in the back of the book to explain terms in the book that may be new to the reader.

I found this book to be a quick simple read. The story was engaging without being overwhelming.  Even though it is written for youth, I found that there were a few details in the story that were new to me.  This book is a wonderful way to introduce your child to the story behind the miraculous medal.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Saint Catherine Labouré . The Catholic Company is the best resource for all your family Advent activities and supplies this year, such as Advent wreaths and calendars for kids, as well as Christmas decorations such as nativity scene sets and religious Christmas gifts for the whole family.

Bible Adventures and Activities

There are a ton of children's bibles and books designed to help your young children understand bible stories on their level.  So why exactly makes the book Bible Adventures and Activities stand out from the crowd?

This book has the typical bible stories written in a child friendly manner.  Each story is covered in just enough depth to give the meaning without being overwhelming.  The stories are also accompanied by colorful attractive pictures.  In this way, the book is pretty much the same as most other children's bible story books I have read with my children.

The big difference is that after the bible stories, Bible Adventures and Activities includes puzzles and activities to review the story.  These activities include mazes, matching activities, word searches, and other fun reviews.  These activities are perfect for a 5-8 year-old child and provide a painless, easy way to reinforce the stories.  They also require no parent prep time (a big plus when you want something that you can just grab and go) and all are covered in the answer key in the back.

If you are looking for a fresh way to expose your children to some of your favorite bible stories, this book will easily fit the bill. 

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Bible Adventures & Activities. The Catholic Company is also a great online store for all your Catholic gift needs, such as baby baptism and christening gifts. You can also find a wide selection of Catholic Bible Studies for both parish groups and individuals, as well as a variety of other Catholic Bible study resources.

The Catholics Next Door

I recently had a chance to read the book The Catholics Next Door by Greg and Jennifer Willits.  This book is an often humorous and always honest look into the lives of one fairly normal everyday Catholic family.

The Catholics Next Door is written in what I found to be a conversational style.  Some parts are written by Jennifer and some by Greg.  Each section is labeled to tell you exactly who is speaking to you but I will admit that because they switched back and forth so often, it was a tad distracting.  I love the idea of hearing the perspective of both spouses but do wish that they had chosen to allow each spouse to speak for a longer period of time.  Changing voices every few paragraphs was at times a bit annoying.

I loved seeing the reality of another family struggling to simply do the best they can to live out their faith in a culture that is openly hostile to anyone attempting to do so.  While we may not share all of the same experiences, I found that I could often relate to the issues the family was facing.  The honesty shown as they grew in their faith and were challenged to move beyond what they had found so comfortable for so long was refreshing.  I much prefer hearing from people who admit that living their beliefs is a bigger challenge and struggle than they wanted than always being given a candy coated version of things.  In other words, this couple admits that doing everything they have been called to do as Catholics is not always sunshine and rainbows.  That kind of honesty brings a smile to my face.

This is the perfect book to tuck into your bag to read while waiting for the kids to get out of classes or running errands.  It gives you things to think about but is not so heavy handed that you need a long stretch of time to sit down and read it.  I hope you'll add The Catholics Next Door to your end of summer reading list.  It just might give you a bit of food for thought on how you are choosing to live out your own calling as a Catholic family.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Catholics Next Door. The Catholic Company is also a great online store for all your Catholic gift needs, such as baby baptism and christening gifts. You can also find a wide selection of Catholic Bible Studies for both parish groups and individuals, as well as a variety of other Catholic Bible study resources.