Engaging Your Littlest Learners Series: Part 2
Do you want to Build a Snowman? Our second activity in our series of Engaging our Littlest Learners is building an indoor snowman. This winter activity is a fun way for children to strengthen their observation and fine motor skills and have fun with the season of winter at the same time. Playdough can be store bought or homemade. First, look outside. What does the child notice? This is winter. What does winter look like? Observe the trees. I wonder…how do trees look in winter instead of spring or summer or fall? Second, invite the child to gather sticks for making arms for a...
Read MoreLove…the Foundation for Education
A few years ago, I was introduced to the concept of “philoxenia” and it has since shaped and directed the way my heart embraces my vocation as a wife and mother. If you’re not familiar with this concept, it’s a Greek word that is translated literally as “love of the stranger,” but encompasses a depth far beyond its literal meaning. Philoxenia is to welcome a guest, a stranger, into one’s home, or more appropriately, one’s life. It’s a deep sense of hospitality and of creating a loving friendship with guests that enter into your life. In the ancient Greek culture, philoxenia...
Read MoreEngaging Your Littlest Learners Series
You read our tips on starting an in-depth, Socratic-style discussion with your teens and decided to give it a whirl. Meanwhile, you’ve got a two year old in the bathroom diligently unwinding an entire roll of toilet paper. Today, we’re sharing the first in a series of tips called Engaging Your Littlest Learners—easy ways to keep little ones happy while the big ones do school work, using items you’ve probably already got on hand! This month, students in Regina Mater’s Little Kingdom (ages 0-3 years old) are practicing the use of tongs to move “snowballs.” Snowballs in...
Read MoreCan Socrates Sit with your Family at the Dinner Table?
One of the great delights of being present with our children as they get older is to witness the deepening of their intellect. Almost overnight, they seem able to articulate thoughts more eloquently and make connections between ideas on their own. In the adolescent years, this maturing of the mind begins to shine. How gratifying it is to converse with our emerging adults about Big Ideas! With a well-fed imagination, our teens are able and eager to Compare diverse pieces of literature. Draw meaningful lessons from history. Find the relevance of old ideas in their own modern...
Read MoreA Good Start to the Day: A Morning Offering
Children awake before the alarm clock, get dressed, make the bed, eat breakfast, find socks, feed the dog, get backpack, pack water bottle, turn off lights, get in car, then get out of car to change baby’s diaper, and return to car. In all of the busyness of the morning, putting a spiritual practice in place takes… well, discipline. Raising children at home and teaching children in school provides many opportunities to establish routines that help them do better academically ,ensuring their schedules and curriculum plans include the best activities for their growth and well being. Often,...
Read MoreTop 20 Ways of Instilling Truth, Beauty, and Goodness
What is the moral imagination? In this video, Dr DeAnn Stuart shares the importance parents have in building their morals through storytelling. A parent’s reflection: My spiritual director coined a catchy phrase that I find myself thinking often through the day: “holy families don’t just happen.” The implications behind that phrase are profound. Holiness, particularly in this culture, is not something we stumble into accidentally, but rather an intentionality of seeking Truth, Beauty, and Goodness that is woven into and forms every aspect of our lives. It is the willful...
Read MoreRegina Mater
Regina Mater is an educational community of Catholic families based in in Austin, Texas. We provide classroom instruction, curriculum guidance, family celebrations of the liturgical year, and theological formation for parents. Join us on GoodReads
17 membersThis is a group for Regina Mater families to share their summer reading selections along with rev...
