Maureen Wittmann

I'm so excited about my friend Maureen's new book from Ecce Homo Press. Maureen is a kindred spirit in the "living books" department and I know that this book will be a favorite on my shelf and have recommended it to friends who are interested in the way our family homeschools.

For the Love of Literature is a project Maureen has been working on for years and it's designed especially for Catholic homeschool parents. It's a well-organized guide to using real books - biographies, historical fiction, beautiful picture books, etc. to study any subject area of interest. The book lists are extensive and up-to-date (meaning that she only included books that are currently in print) which means, among other things, that this could be an extremely useful resource for using your library well. We've even found it to be a useful source of junior non-fiction titles to suggest for our library for purchase. Extensive book lists are included for the following subjects: Art and Music Appreciation, Math, History, Science and "Books about books".

In addition to the book lists are explanations of numerous possible ways to make a living-books curriculum work for your family. You'll find chapters on "Using Your Library", "Building a Home Library", "Reading Aloud", "Classical Education", "Charlotte Mason" and "How to Create a Literature Unit Study."… (más)

The Catholic Homeschool Companion in Review
Have you ever thought of doing a book review of the Bible? Surely not, because once you got past “It’s the inspired, infallible Word of God,” how would you then describe it? It’s history; it’s poetry; it’s law. It’s about Our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s about a faithful shepherd boy overcoming a giant. It’s about a reluctant prophet being swallowed by a whale. And you’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what the Bible is about.

I got excited when I thought of sharing with you, my readers and friends, The Catholic Homeschool Companion, Selected and Edited by Maureen Wittmann and Rachel Mackson. But what pops into my head now is that “Fools rush in where angels dare not tread.” How do you review a book that is an entire library? It's about Catholic homeschooling, but how else would I describe it? It’s stories; it’s inspiration; it’s advice. It’s about an inspiring woman who homeschools her children while suffering from a serious illness. It’s about managing our homes while we homeschool. It’s about homeschool graduates who are happy young adults. But we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what this book is about.

As a homeschooling Mom of twenty-plus years, who has read every magazine, catalog, and website that I could get my hands on, I have found something new that is just chock-full of inspiration and encouragement. Each of the articles in this book is written with the depth and beauty of a “good book”, only shorter. You can pick it up, read an article, go back to your work, and read another article another time. The many articles are very readable, written by Catholic homeschool mothers, fathers, students and graduates…just for you.… (más)