Why do we homeschool? Don't like the public schools in your district? Can't afford the Catholic school? Or there is no Catholic school? Family togetherness? Better academics?

All are good reasons, but today, Ginny and Mary Ellen discuss why most of us need to start and keep homeschooling our children. If this were Star Trek, we would call it The Prime Directive.

Show Notes:

There are days when sainthood is not our first thought when we see our kids squabbling, being lazy, or sneaking a snack. How do we produce these saints in our homeschools?

• Use Catholic materials. Most homeschool materials seem wholesome, but wholesome is NOT the same as daily learning about the sacraments and the saints.
• Fill your home with prayer. Prayer doesn't have to be long, but it needs to be regular. As soon as they can talk, teach children a morning offering.
• Say grace before meals, short night prayers to their Guardian Angels, and a simple Act of Contrition.
• Fill your home with sacramentals. Statues in the garden and on the mantle; holy water fonts; crucifixes in the bedrooms
• Get the whole family involved in your parish church. Encourage your kids to join the choir, serve Mass, and even help clean up the pews after Mass.
• Make a big fuss over family sacraments—even in the extended family. Throw a party, invite people over.
• Make Pilgrimages. When you travel, visit a cathedral or some other holy site.
• Attend daily Mass when you can. Daily rosary: Pray the stations during Lent. Try to make a novena.

Catholic homeschooling families have a unique opportunity to produce saints for America, the world, and eternity. Do not let this chance go by! Homeschooling is worth your best efforts, to the very limit of your energy. How great will be your reward in heaven.

Thanks very much to Seton Home Study School for sponsoring our podcast. We would also like to thank our producer, Jason Loughry, our social media director, Beth Egan, and Jim Shanley, who do all our show notes and generally keep us on task.

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Isn’t it funny that one meal seems to take up 9/10ths of our brain daily? Dinner or meal planning is one of our most requested topics. We’ll answer these questions and more:

· What are easy meals?

· How do I plan for meals?

· How much should the children be helping?

Dinner is the big kahuna in terms of time, expense, and general stress but this will help:

8 Rules to Cook By to organize and streamline for healthy economical meals.

1. Meal Prep Plan: Having a set plan is a lifesaver. Mary Ellen prepares once-a-month, Ginny once a week. You decide which is best for your style.
2. Know what you are going to make by 10:00 a.m. so you can work on it in free moments during the day. Even better, if you know before school starts, make a slow cooker meal!
3. Double batch - When you make a meal, double the recipe and freeze one meal.
4. Make a Sunday sauce, turkey, or roast, and use it all week in different meals. Chicken can be enchiladas or quesadillas, beef can be shepherd's pie, sauce can be pizza or meatball heroes. A ham on Sunday becomes a ham, potato, and cheese casserole on Tuesday, and pea soup on Thursday.
5. Go to the library or online and look up some simple recipes—one-pan recipes, 30-minute recipes, and 5-ingredient recipes.
6. Allow for the occasional pizza/take-out night.
7. Put older children in charge of one meal a month. Teach them a specialty. Even younger kids can put together a salad or cut up veggies and dip. A big bonus is that kids are more likely to eat healthy foods if they or a sibling prepares them.
8. Spend one day a month prepping meals. I do this after one of my daughters has a baby. Stock the fridge with frozen homemade meals. It's even better if you can make this a family project.

Please share how you get dinner on the table and your favorite recipe on our Facebook page.

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Online conversations about how challenging homeschooling can include some version of, "They just don't listen to me," "They dawdle all day" or "They argue constantly."

If this sounds too familiar and is not what you expected from your homeschoolers, join Ginny and Mary Ellen in a crash-course in teaching good attitudes and better behavior. These lessons will last a lifetime.

Show Notes:

Often, homeschooling succeeds or fails based on student behavior. This can be the reason parents hesitate to homeschool or even stop homeschooling. Discipline can be tough to enforce, but it is not complicated to understand. Here are five simple ideas to get you started.

Step 1 – Start Early

+ Around 18 months: Some parents use sign language to communicate with babies this age.

+ As soon a baby understands you: Start instilling good habits; Put your diaper in the trash, please. Let's put your toys in the toy box.

+ 3 years-old: instill obedience as a virtue. Constantly repeat, "You have to obey Mommy right away." Reassure them, "You will never get in trouble if you obey Mommy."

Step 2 – Insist on Courtesy and Refinement at all times – from the start

+ Always use the magic words: “please”, “thank you”, “if it's not too much trouble.”

+ NEVER give something to a child who has not said, "Please."

+ Always recognize someone who has entered a room.

Step 3 – Have a Clear, Consistent Daily Schedule

+ Children do best when they know what is expected.

+ Same wake-up time and morning routine: brush teeth, get dressed, make bed, put PJs under the pillow, eat breakfast.

+ Schoolwork starts at the same early time every day.

Step 4 – Take Every Opportunity to instill virtue in your children

Use the words: “I expect you to be kind, generous, polite, and to put others first.”

Be honest: “It is a sin to show your temper, hit your brother, or throw things at people.”

Praise generously: “You cleaned the kitchen while I was shopping? That's terrific!”

Step 5 – Deal with Problems before they become big concerns.

Don't give out delayed or extended consequences because you'll forget!

Let consequences flow naturally from offenses. "No TV tonight, Billy. Remember you gave me a hard time getting started this morning. We have to have earlier bedtimes for a while until you get a handle on your mornings."

Summary: If you put in your time when the kids are little, things will go much easier as they get older. Not only for you – but for them. Self-discipline, courtesy, setting schedules, and virtue will help them in college, in professional life, and as they raise their own families

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