May is the month that the Church dedicates to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that month, we are asked to meditate on Our Lady, her immaculate heart, and the love she has for God.

For this special month, we invite you to use our resources to bring a reminder of the Mother of God to the forefront of your learning time and family life.

We have selected some of our favorite resources that teach about or have been inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is something different to use for each day of the month of May.

Illustrate good morals and virtuous behavior with our fine feathered friend, Johnny Crow.

Teaching children about virtues can be a difficult thing unless you use positive and negative examples as a base. We can find Biblical examples in the book of Proverbs and Jesus, himself, gave us examples in His own life and the parables He taught as well. But what about using examples outside of the Bible.

Examples can very often be found in the books children read, especially if they are classic stories such as In Johnny Crow's Garden by L. Leslie Brooke. Here is how we used the actions of one simple little bird to teach about the Works of Mercy.

Big Books help children cultivate narration skills and enjoy writing.

Families who use either the Classical Learning style or the Charlotte Mason (CM) style of learning, which require the pondering, understanding, and narration of literary works, will love these easy to make keepsake pieces and proof of learning.

This resource is the next step from our My Books Mini-Books as it progresses chapter by chapter through a work, provides more space for writing as well as a space for illustration, and usually have an additional fun element to prompt thought. In many titles, we have also included a check-off progress sheet for older learners (or mom and dad) to help track reading schedules and completion since we did not put a space for the date completed on the books themselves.

Works have been selected because we have read them in our own family. Most are in the Public Domain while a few others are older, but still do not qualify for Public Domain status. As we read more books, we will add more to our list. As we read more books, we will add more to our list.

It is very easy and inexpensive to make these writing books.

God is . . . The Creator

We offer a fun-filled lesson on Creation as it is described in the book of Genesis in the Bible to be used in your CCD or Faith formation class or in your own little homeschool.

This lesson has three parts:
1. Finding out what your children already know about Creation.
2. Sharing the account of Creation from the Bible
3. Recalling the facts and details

Begin the lesson by finding out what your learners already know about Creation.
This is a perfect time for a family or class discussion. This can take as much or as little time as needed. You want to find out what the children already think about how the world got to be in existence. Ask for the details that they can recall about this colossal event.

Resources to help children learn about St. Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska and how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska is best known as the mystic nun whom our Lord, Jesus, appeared to and revealed the image of the Divine Mercy and asked that it be venerated. The devotion to the Divine Mercy and the spreading of this devotion the world over became the centre of her religious life as our Lord requested this himself in his apparitions to her. In her short life of only 33 years, she was a shining example of a faithful servant in love with her Lord.

Pope John Paul II, in his papacy, declared the first Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, in which the devotion to the Divine Mercy is recalled and prayed in the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. Jesus dictated the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to Sister Faustina in Vilnius in 1935. He also shared the special promises attached to devoutly praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet - even if only once in one's life.

To pray the chaplet of the Divine Mercy:

Using the beads of the Rosary: