munchkins on the path: Christmas Letters

About Me

Elizabeth in Wisconsin: Mom to seven munchkins, ranging in age from 16 down to 1—and wife to one brainy and handsome patent lawyer. As a homeschooling mom, I keep busy teaching my growing brood, changing diapers, giving kisses, refereeing ever-erupting sibling spats, lookin' oh-so-sporty in my twelve-passenger van, and trying to be at least three places at once during those crazy after-school hours. In my "free time," I help run a homeschool support group, and I volunteer for political campaigns to help the good guys. (Yes, there are a few.) Catch me on a zany day, and you may find me a wee bit frazzled. Catch me most days, and I'll bore you to tears telling you how much I love being home with our kids and having the privilege of teaching them daily. It's all good. For those who ask if I miss practicing law, the answer is a resounding "no." I can't top what I'm doing now. My passions: My Catholic faith, adoption, home education, fitness, weight training, nutrition (paleo/real food), gardening, and reading (too much non-fiction; not enough fiction).

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A good education is the next best thing to a pushy mother.

- Charles Schultz

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Elizabeth Leone

Followers

Frost, On the Path Less Traveled...

"The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life." - St. Thomas Aquinas

Our Family Sites

Our Adoption Blog
The Best Lawyer (my hubby)
Our Daughter's Site
Restored Traditions (my parents)

Curriculum and Resources We Enjoy

Religion

Baltimore Catechism (K-12)
St. Joseph Picture Books (K-3)
Seton Religion (K-8)
Fr. Laux Series (9-12)
My Catholic Faith Delivered (9-12)
Beginning Apologetics (9-12)
The Great Adventure (Catholic Bible study)

Math

A Beka Math Texts (we use for K-5)
Teaching Textbooks (we use for grades 6-8, maybe high school)
Saxon Math (Algebra - Calculus)
Art Reed's Tutorial DVDs (to complement Saxon)
Living Math Books (math supplement)
Flashmaster (drill, all levels)
Fastt Math (drill, all levels)
Math Tutor DVDs and Online Courses (all levels)

Phonics & Reading

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Little Angel Readers
Bob Books
CHC Readers
American Cardinal Readers
Catholic National Readers
Explode the Code phonics workbooks
MCP Phonics workbooks

Handwriting & Keyboarding

Writing Our Catholic Faith
Donna Young Penmanship Pages
Seton Handwriting workbooks
Memoria Press Handwriting
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

Spelling

All About Spelling
Spelling Workout
Phonetic Zoo
Megawords

Grammar & Composition

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
A Beka Grammar & Composition series
Classical Writing
Wordsmith Writing
Teaching the Research Paper
Teaching the Essay
One Year Novel
WriteGuide

Vocabulary

Vocabulary from Classical Roots

Poetry & Memorization

The Harp & the Laurel Wreath

Latin & Greek

Minimus Latin
Memoria Press Latin (Prima, Christiana, Henle)
Lively Latin
Elementary Greek

Science

CHC Science (1-3)
Science Fusion (1-8)
R.E.A.L. Science (1-8)
Noeo Science (1-8)
Harcourt Science (3-8)
Science Shepherd (9-10)
Spectrum Chemistry (10-12)
Kinetic Physics (11-12)

History

Story of the World (1-4)
Connecting with History (1-12)
Homeschool Journey History Portfolios (1-8)
Reading Your Way Through History (1-12)
Drive Thru History (supplement for 7-8)
Catholic Schools History Textbook Project (5-12)

Wisconsin History

Badger History series (4)
Wisconsin History Highlights (4)

Government & Civics

The Land of Fair Play (7th-8th)
Uncle Eric Books (7th-12th)
Declaration Statesmanship (9th-12th)
Teen Pact (7th-12th)
Naturalization Test (all ages)

Geography & Cartography

Map Essentials (Nat'l Geo) workbooks (K-6)
Geography Matters resources (K-12)
Maps, Charts & Graphs (1-8)
Runkle Geography (7-8)
Why Greenland is an Island, Australia is Not, and Japan is Up for Grabs

Music

Classical Music in 52 Easy Lessons
Music Masters CDs for Music Appreciation
Sing Your Way to the Classics
Lester Family Singing CDs
Classical Kids
David Ott Music

Art

Artistic Pursuits
Ginger Himes drawing and painting videos
Seton Art History program
Various Sister Wendy art history materials

Logic & Critical Thinking

Prufrock logic & analogies materials
The Fallacy Detective & The Thinking Toolbox
Critical Thinking Co. logic and analogies materials
Memoria Press logic materials

Home Ec & Life Skills

St. Martha's Apron Strings home ec ideas
Life Prep

Health

Seton Health

Miscellaneous

Five in a Row

CurrClick (various resources for various grades)

Rod & Staff Preschool Workbooks (good for little ones wanting to "do school" with older siblings)

What Your ____ Grader Needs to Know (1-6)

Curriculum Especially Helpful for Struggling Learners

Reading, Spelling, Writing

PAF Language Arts — Orton-Gillingham based program geared to dyslexics

A Workbook for Dyslexics — as a supplement to a complete, intensive Orton-Gillingham -based program.

Megawords — direct instruction for decoding, spelling, and understanding multisyllabic words

Explode the Code — pure phonics

Beyond the Code — comprehension and reasoning

Dyslexia Connect — online tutoring; frees me up to teach the other kids, and gives him valuable one-on-one.

Math

Khan Academy — Good math program supplement. Makes math very visual.

Fastt Math — remediates math facts with artificial intelligence.

Rocket Math — Math drill, in small bits, to aid in memorization

Munchkin Math videos — excellent visual and auditory reinforcement for children who struggle with math memory and concepts

Longevity Publishing — math materials that provide fact tricks and drill for students whose memory deficits are holding them back from learning math.

Audio Memory math cds — you always remember what you sing!

Addition the Fun Way • Times Tables the Fun Way — Love this concept. Still trying to figure out if it works for us.

On Homeschooling

By Sun and Candlelight
Catholic Geography
Family-Centered Life
Gray Family Circus
Here in the Bonny Glen
Joyful Noise 7
Life With Small Blessings
Love 2 Learn
Maureen Wittman
Minnesota Mom
My Thoughtful Spot
Real Learning
Starry Sky Ranch
Studeo
Why Homeschool?

On Friends and Family

Homework - my inspiration, Meredith
Mary Grace
Love Letter to My Kids - my pal, Kim
Party of Nine - my friend who moved away, Kris
Summer On My Mind
Trinity Acres

On Dyslexia

Does My Child Have Dyslexia?

On Large Families

Big Family Tips
http://ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com
Large Family Logistics
Large Family Mothering
Mega Families
Mommy Life
Owlhaven

On Cooking, Meal Planning, & Health

A Year of Slow Cooking
Baby Steps to Better Health
Bless Us O Lord
Catholic Cuisine
Cheeseslave
Clean Eating
Cooking Traditional Foods
Eat This (Gluten-Free & Whole Foods)
Elana's Pantry
Everyday Food Storage
Family Food in Feast and Feria
Feed the Freezer
Food Renegade
Freezer Food Friday
Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Kitchen Comforts
Kitchen Link Freezer Recipes
Kitchen Scoop
Make Ahead Meals
Menus for Moms
Nourishing Meals: The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
Nourishing Our Children
Real Food Challenge - 28 Days of February (archived)
Real Food Fast
Smitten Kitchen
Sweetness in the Kitchen

On Homemaking & Domestic Skills

A Number of Things
For Reluctant Entertainers
Home Sanctuary
Marilyn Moll
Montessori by Hand

On Organization & Frugality

Get Organized Now!
Organized Christmas
Organized Mom

On Catholicism and Morality

Conversion Diary: Confessions of a Former Atheist
Living Catholicism
Mary's Anawim
Secondhand Smoke
Tutorial on the Latin Mass
Whispers in the Loggia

Helpful Sites for Parents

Mommy Speech Therapy

Seasonal Resources We Love

Christmas

Lego Nativity Scene
St. Nicholas for Kids
Norad Santa
North Pole for Kids

Blog Archive

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November (3)

Labels

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abortion (2)
accident (3)
adele (2)
adoption (36)
all saints day (3)
andrew (161)
animals (5)
anna marie (133)
anniversary (1)
announcement (1)
art (3)
articles (1)
athletics (4)
badgers (2)
baptism (3)
basement (1)
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bill (1)
birthday (4)
birthdays (29)
blizzard (3)
blocks (2)
blogging (4)
boston (1)
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boys (8)
braces (1)
bucky (1)
canning (2)
catholic (12)
chickens (7)
christmas (23)
christmas eve (2)
christmas gifts (1)
claudia (5)
cliff (1)
confirmation (2)
cooking (3)
cousins (1)
crafts (2)
cross country (4)
cub scouts (9)
cute sayings (6)
dad (2)
dance (3)
daniels (3)
deer (1)
deer hunting (1)
diet (1)
dog (1)
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education (9)
elizabeth (81)
exercise (1)
faith (14)
fall (2)
family (114)
family life (49)
father-daughter dance (3)
feast days (1)
field trips (3)
first communion (2)
fitness (1)
food (15)
football (5)
fr. rick (1)
frassati runners (2)
friends (5)
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gardening (4)
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health (2)
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history (1)
hobby farming (2)
holidays (32)
homeschooling (54)
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ice (2)
illness (2)
imaginative play (3)
injuries (1)
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kids (62)
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leones (3)
life (1)
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valentines day (1)
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video (1)
voice (1)
volleyball (2)
weather (8)
weird (2)
whitewater (6)
William (157)
winter (10)
wisconsin (2)
words of wisdom (1)
work (2)

On the Liturgical Year

Catholic Culture
Domestic Church
Faith-Filled Days
Family Food for Feast and Feria
Family in Feast and Feria
Fish Eaters - Liturgical Customs
Living Catholicism
O Night Divine
St. Nicholas Center
Women for Faith & Family