I wanted to share this great book published by Sophia Institute Press called My Path to Heaven. It is a great to teach kids about their purpose in life, heaven and hell, how to discern and make decisions that will lead one closer to God, virtue versus sin, etc... It's based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. These are very deep topics but are crucial to laying strong Christian foundations in our children. This book does an excellent job at just that!
We have covered this book over a period of about six months, missing some weeks here and there as duty calls. But over time has evolved a Friday morning tradition in our homeschool where we gather around the kitchen table with some kind of treat and I read a book to the kids that's meant to nurture their interior life. Discussions and questions typically ensue. After we do "M&M Catechism" where we review current Catechism questions with an m&m reward. (Lots of jumping around and yelling "Me! Me! Me!" going on so I pick them for answers). It makes something that can be rather dull in itself a bit more appealing. And loving our Lord and learning the Catholic faith is the number one reason we homeschool and do this.
Here is the book:
Each chapter covers the main parts of an Ignatian retreat, for example:
And as you can see, each chapter (about two to three pages long) has a gloriously detailed image associated with the chapter's topic. I made copies of the picture for each child so that they could really look at it as I read. At the end, there are questions you could ask to review but I never did this because I didn't want it to seem "school-ish." Plus there were really enough (more than enough) questions and discussions that popped up as I read! The kids really enjoyed looking at the pictures and pointing things out, asking questions, or talking about things that related to it. Here's a close-up of what the drawings in the book are like. They're very well-drawn and convey the deepest truths in a very palatable and pleasing way to children.
I highly recommend this book for Catholic parents wishing to teach their children the deepest truths of our existence to give them a great foundation. What about you? Are you teaching your children the reason for their existence and purpose in life? The difference between vice and virtue? How to make decisions that lead them closer to God? Looking for a resource? Look no further and start here!
I also highly recommend Sophia Institute Press for children's books too.
Here's the next one we've started:
I'll have to let you know how it is when we finish!
+A.M.D.+
To Jesus through Mary