Canadian Catholic Culture of Life

The Canadian Catholic Culture of Life

A program of unit studies that provide a background of Canadian Catholic history and social studies  to help us become acquainted with the saintly men and women who worked tirelessly to develop this country and its culture.

Each study will have four components: Canadian (however some resources are not Canadian for universal themes): OR Catholic (teaching of our faith) OR Culture (music, art, literature) OR Life (pro-life.) Due to the lack of Canadian resources for each theme, we will do our best to supplement.

These studies can be used for individuals, families or home school groups.   Each theme has different levels of study involved, so all the members of your family or home school group  can learn at the same time!

There are many “threads” woven into this program.  They include:

• basic units of our society- family, parish/town, diocese/province, universal church/country and their hierarchies
• Our Lady’s titles and approved apparitions- Mother of God, Knock, Fatima,  Lourdes, Guadalupe, Good Success, Miraculous Medal, Salette
•  Devotions and their history- Rosary, Brown Scapular, First Saturdays, Divine Mercy Chaplet, First Fridays
• Canadian Pilgrimage Sites and their history
• Justice and Mercy- how we can live out our faith through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in today’s society
• Saintly Canadians- St. Andre Bessette, Vanier and Leger families, Canadian Martyrs, Joseph Chiwatenhwa, St. Kateri Tekakawitha and others who helped  shape Canadian history
• Canadian missions- each one has been started by an individual or couple here in Canada
• Vocation awareness- learn about the different types of orders and movements in the Church and their famous saints
• Sacraments-each unit will delve into a sacrament- for those preparing for First Communion, Penance or Confirmation, it is best to check with your parish about its requirements.
• in upcoming units 5-8, learn about aboriginal history, exploration, and the  history and evangelization of Canada according to the different age levels.
• traditions within the Church and Canada but also in your family- see how the practice of these traditions help shape and strengthen the faith
• Canadian artists such as William Kurelek and Michael O’Brien
• Beatitudes-learn to live the Sermon on the Mount

You may decide to use only one or two of the “threads” as part of your religious studies or social studies.  Or you may decide to use the unit as a springboard to more in-depth research on any topic.  There is no limit to what can be learned!

Lesson Plans Book contains:

Lessons for four levels- Primary (K-3), Elementary (3-6), Middle School (7-8), and High School (9 & up). As much as possible, the different levels cover the same them as their own level of ability.  Some can be combined. Use whatever levels are appropriate for your children.

Each week is divided into Culture Studies and Social Studies.  These two avenues can be done consecutively or concurrently as your homeschooling schedule allows.

As the social studies often require standards according to the province, we recommend that you look at our website www.bluemantle.ca   These Canadian textbooks are primarily from secular companies, but hopefully they will meet your province’s standards. If you find anything that is not suitable, please let me know.

Included in the high school level of social studies are study programs from www.formed.org If you have a parish that has a subscription or your homeschooling group can get one together, this website is highly recommended for its study programs, movies, books and audio.

Music and Art Education

For music, we recommend that you visit the Canadian website- http://www.adventus.com/musiq-homeschool/   for their home school products.  Because they have many online benefits, it is better for you to buy from them directly. The advantages of learning to play the piano extend to all avenues of learning as it develops the brain.  Your child will learn about composers as he or she plays their music, thus developing music appreciation.

For more information on why music should be an essential component of your child’s education, see http://iew.com/sites/default/files/article/fileattachment/music_not_nice_plain.pdf

For art education, we will be studying one or more Canadian artists in each unit. For a more complete art education, please consider the Seton art programs  at each grade or the Art Pacs.

Resources can be found on the Blue Mantle website.  You may want to supplement with a map of Canada, or your favourite Canadian novels.  If you find any good resources, let us know!

The goal of these unit studies is to help us learn about our awesome Catholic faith, how to apply it to our daily lives, and to recognize Our Lady of Canada’s role in shaping our beautiful country!

The copyright extends to the family members only.

May the Lord bless you in your journey through Canadian Catholic history!