One of the top reasons for families opting to homeschool is a desire to provide moral and religious instruction. This is true for many Catholic families, especially as some public schools become increasingly hostile to traditional Judeo-Christian values. Private Catholic schools may be a good alternative, but they are inaccessible or unaffordable for many.
Of course, there are many other reasons Catholic families may choose to homeschool. For some, it’s about enjoying more time as a family, taking a unique educational approach, or facilitating family extracurriculars like music or dance. But one of the primary reasons for many families is the opportunity to provide an authentically Catholic education that integrates the faith into daily family life and education. You do not have to opt for a specifically Catholic curriculum in order to have a Catholic homeschool. By incorporating the liturgical calendar, the cycle of feasts and times of preparation in the Church year, Catholic families can encourage a vibrant and living faith in the home. Getting started can seem intimidating, especially if you did not grow up observing the liturgical calendar. There are many rich resources available and simple ways to get started. Here are a few ideas:
Become Familiar with the Liturgical Calendar Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops publishes the calendar of the liturgical celebrations and daily readings. This calendar is based on the General Roman Calendar, promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI on February 14, 1969. Some Catholics with a devotion to the Extraordinary Form Latin Mass use an older calendar.
In its most basic outline, the modern calendar consists of five seasons: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, and Easter. Ordinary Time begins again after Pentecost. Before getting overwhelmed, simply becoming aware of when liturgical seasons begin and end can orient the domestic church. Going to Daily Mass may not be a commitment your family can manage among the demands of homeschooling. Many homeschooling families do, but if it puts a strain on the parents and kids, you might consider going to a weekday Mass once a week or setting aside a designated day of the month to attend. You can also pray the Liturgy of the Hours as a family once a day. All of these actions can offer reminders in the week about the liturgical season and help familiarize children with the changes throughout the year.
Provide Physical Reminders of Each Season The Catholic faith is one of “smells and bells,” as people like to say. There are colorful vestments, musical accompaniment to each season, candles and other visible reminders of our faith. Starting when kids are very young (even two- or three-years-old), we can cultivate awareness of the liturgical seasons by pointing out physical reminders in church like the changing colors of the priest’s vestments. We can also bring physical reminders into our own homes. Whether you use the dining room table or you have a dedicated family prayer space, having a place to put an Advent wreath can be a noticeable way to mark the beginning of each liturgical year.
If you read Around the Year with the Von Trapp Familyby Maria Von Trapp (yes, the same Maria Von Trapp who inspired The Sound of Music!), you’ll find complex instructions for a homemade, hanging Advent wreath constructed of evergreen boughs gathered from outside. Maybe that will work for your family, but you can keep it simple with a trip to the local craft store for some festive greenery, three purple candles, and one pink candle. That is all that is needed for a physical reminder of the new liturgical year and the time of preparation for the birth of Christ. From there, you can bring other physical reminders into the home, such as a crown of thorns for Lent and a Paschal candle for the Easter season.
Celebrate Family Name Days and Patron Saints When people think of liturgical living, what often comes to mind is the celebration of individual saints’ feast days. The good news is there are many. The other good news is you do not have to celebrate every single one in your home.
Where do you start? One way to begin is with the feast days connected to your family. If you or your kids were named after particular saints, marking the family calendar with their feast days and coming up with a way to make them special (however small!) is a good beginning. In order to celebrate a saint, learning more about where the saint lived and the history of world at that time can be helpful. There are many good books on popular saints. You can also look up podcasts about many popular saints. Saints Story for Kids is a short podcast suitable for children of all ages, and Saints Alive offers audio dramas that are a good fit for older school-aged students.
In addition to audio, there are many educational videos about the lives of the saints that can offer a low-stress way to learn more in your homeschool. Check if your parish has a subscription to Formed or another resource that offers a library of educational materials to draw from. Other important days you might commemorate each year include each family member’s baptism day, the patron saint of your parish or region, and other saints your family has a special devotion to. Catholic All Year is a long-running blog with an array of resources and ideas for bringing feast days alive. From suggestions for honoring saints with food that evokes their heritage and charism, look through the archives. For something tactile to enhance your celebrations, Catholic Family Crate has a series of free coloring pages you can download.
Homeschooling can be an opportunity to learn more about the liturgical year, not just through academic study but through fasts and feasts that bring our faith alive in our children’s hearts. What is your favorite way to practice liturgical living in your home?