What age works best for Little Flowers?

I thought I'd share this email with you all just in case some of you may have the same question:

Hi,

I was wondering if you could help me with a question. . . Upon looking at the Little Flowers manuals, one gets the impression that they are geared toward older girls, who are able to read and especially write.  However, the pictures on your website show mostly younger girls and the program is advertised as being for ages 5 and up.  Therefore, in our area, the girls start at 5 and are done with the program by age 8 or 9.  In my opinion, they end up missing out on most of the activities in the member's manuals because they are not ready for them yet.  Can you offer any insight? 

Yes, you can start the program at age 5 with the simple tasks...memorizing the Bible verse (the music helps) etc. The program, though, was initially created for a number of ages in the same group. Remember that it came from Catholic homeschooling families who get together and may have ten girls ages 5 and up so the program could be adjusted to meet all the ages. And, when the girls who were five years old have finished the three or four wreaths of study, the group would begin with Wreath I again. This way, the older girls who did get a lot of the study of the virtues help teach the younger ones and the ones that have yearning to begin Little Flowers since they were 2 or 3 years old can now begin.

 

So the paradigm has shifted a bit as the program has been adopted by Catholic schools and religious education classes. But because the program is run at the local level, it can be adjusted to fit the needs of the local group. Some schools use Wreath I in K-2; Wreath 2 in 3-4; Wreath 3 in 5-6 and Wreath 4 or the new Hospitality Program for the older girls. Anyway you want to implement the program is fine. If you only have younger girls and you want to spend three months on one virtue to make sure the children get it, that is fine, too. If you want to just give the younger girls merit certificates instead of badges that they may earn when they are older, that is fine, also. In short, there is no one way to implement the program. It can be adjusted to fit the your particular needs.

 

Hope this helps!

Keep praying....It works

We can get weary, can't we?  Weary of the laundry, the meals, the cleaning, the life we are being asked to live.  Weary of prayer as well.

I know because I am very weary.  Our youngest (17 mos.)  is suffering from a mild cold which has resulted in his waking every night/morning around 2:30 a.m. with a cough.  He finds the most comfort in my arms or in our bed (he sleeps in a crib in our room).  I'm not against him being in either spot but he's a squirmer.  He ends up being the cross bar in an "H" he creates between Matt and I or resting up on our heads!!  Amazing isn't it, that these little bodies are most comfortable if we are miserable??  And how sharp can one small pair of elbows be??

So, my sleep has been less than stellar lately and I am tired.  That fatigue has rolled into everything - how I am schooling the kids, how I am cleaning the house and how I am praying.

But these days are actually when I need to pray more.  Pray for the patience that has evaporated along with a good night's sleep.  Pray for the grace to endure a long day w/ a husband gone for most of it.  Pray for the strength to endure.

When you find you don't want to pray is the time you need to pray the most.  One reason why I love the memorized prayer of the Catholic faith and the small powerful exhortations of "Jesus have pity on me a sinner."

Keep praying.  Keep praying.  Keep praying.

Pink shirts

I just got a call from an upset customer who bought a child size pink shirt thinking it would be a polo shirt. I just want to clarify that the adult shirts are polo shirts and the children's shirts are 100% heavy duty cotton T-SHIRTS. The reason for this is that we couldn't find the children's sizes in azalea pink colored polo shirts in the wholesale market. If you know of any that are reasonably priced that we can buy in bulk, I'd love to hear from you (EcceHomoPr@aol.com). Thanks! Joan

Prayers for John, Joan and Family

I don't know how many folks are actually reading this blog but I will send out a request that we all begin seeking a miracle through our patroness, St. Therese, for a healing for John, peace and strength for the entire family.  May she watch over this holy, remarkable family with Jesus' peace and healing.

Dear Joan - how I wish I was closer......

Prayers !

I know that many of you had your Little Flowers praying for my son, John, last fall. John was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was causing a build-up of fluid in the brain and causing eye damage. He was fitted with a permanent shunt and his eye sight began to improve (thanks to your prayers through his name sake: John Paul the Great!)

We just found out last week that the tumor has grown by 40% over the last few months. We will either start chemo or radiation next week. It will be a rough few months for John and the rest of the family. 

Of course, these are little bumps in our family apostolate that we really need prayers and patience. Please allow extra time for your order to arrive. We've shipped 800 packages since August and we do our best to get them out in a timely fashion. But as in your house, the family comes first, so your patience is greatly appreciated.

God bless! Joan Stromberg Ecce Homo Press

LF - religion class, scouting, what is it??

I received a message from Sherri who was asking about LF.  She was wondering if our girls like it and if it was more like religion class or scouting....

I thought answering here was best - hope she is reading :-)....

Sherri - the answer to all of your questions is YES!!  Yes, our daughters like it.  I could be quippy and say that is why there is so many of them but is more due to the commitment of the great moms whose own enthusiasm and talents make each group a success - in their own way.

And yes, it is a bit like a religion class in that the girls will learn about their faith but it is more like scouting (minus the camping which is not required but that is another story for another time).  

When LF first began I was seeking a place for my girls (now 20 and 18 y.o.) to be with other Catholic girls, have fun, make crafts, do skits, and much more that - I wanted them to be in place where their faith was celebrated and not ignored.  Where being Catholic was a cause for joy not embarrassment and not prejudice or condemnation.  

So, LF can be whatever you want it to be - more like a religion class if your girls need that or more like scouting if you would like that without cookies to sell :-)!

There are avenues to reach out to their families, church and community and a new program called Honor Badges (coming in 2009) will let them learn and earn about such things as running a household, impacting the world through the media.  It is an exciting program (I think) and while it is geared towards older girls (12 and up) your daughter's early years as a LF will get her ready to transform the world for Christ when she is older.

Dear St. Therese

On this your feast day, I would like once again to offer you the work of the Little Flowers' here on earth.  Please, take it all as your own.  Watch over all of the Little Flower's around the world - the young ladies, their mothers and their families.  Watch over us as we strive to honor you and our faith.  May all of us bring light and joy to our world as we try to plant seeds of virtue that will grow into flowers of glory around the throne of God, Jesus and the Blessed Mother.

Watch over me, especially, please dear patron.  May I never do anything that would bring dishonor to your name or our beloved Church.  Continue to send down flowers of grace upon all we do as we try to bring your little way in our lives.

Please continue to pray for us.  In Jesus' name, Amen