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Today my two youngest daughters (ages 9 and 3) began another Culture of Life Studies Program called Pro-Life Prints. If you aren't familiar with Culture of Life Studies Program it's a fabulous, life-affirming resource that "strives to build a culture of life by helping students to understand the value of every human being and by inspiring a new generation of young people who will defend preborn children, respect all human beings from creation to death, and speak the truth with confidence in defense of the innocent."  Be sure to read more about the program, their reviews and program's components.

Pro-Life Prints comes as a digital download and includes everything you need (excluding art supplies) to make a beautiful and creative 12-page printable activity booklet.

• 4 lessons on the dignity of every person
• Instructor guide
• Discussion questions
• Complete handprint instructions
• Printable 13-page student book

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October is annually observed as Respect Life Month in Catholic Churches across the United States.

Of course, this does not mean that October is the only month to defend life.  Respecting all life, from conception to natural death, is imperative and necessary each and every day, no matter the calendar month.  We are blessed that there are wonderful ministries such as Life Chain Sunday, Priests for Life, 40 Days for Life and Culture of Life Studies Program that bring to light the beauty and dignity of each human life so that truth can be taught to thwart the lies and deceit of the "culture of death".

I was first introduced to the Culture of Life Studies Program from fellow bloggers.

So what is American Life League's Culture of Life Studies Program?

"With our culture waging open war against marriage, the family, preborn children, and the disabled, there has never been a greater need for an educational program that teaches students the truth about the value of all human beings, the sacredness of the sacrament of marriage, and the necessity of the family as the building block of society. American Life League’s Culture of Life Studies Program strives to build a culture of life by helping students to understand the value of every human being and by inspiring a new generation of young people who will defend preborn children, respect all human beings from creation to death, and speak the truth with confidence in defense of the innocent."

Last year my family and I enjoyed doing a "Ladybug Warriors" lesson as part of Culture of Life Studies Program.

Since October, Respect Life Month, is about here my children and I worked on another lesson titled The Beauty of the Developing Human Being: A Defend Life Lesson for Grades 7-8 this past week.  I was given this program in exchange for this review. Though the target age is Grades 7-8, I was able to adapt this lesson for my younger and older children so everyone of all ages can learn something valuable.

As a homeschool mom, I really liked how easy it was to teach this program and it's flexible enough to implement as much or as little as you want in a homeschool or traditional classroom setting.  The lessons can be spread out over four days (or four 50-minute class periods) to complete. We completed the poster activity in four days and we plan on continuing to use the links and many resources contained in the Instructor Guide throughout the month of October.

Each lesson has a warm-up activity which includes brief discussion questions, lecture and discussion with links to worksheets that students can fill out and then there is an activity for reinforcement which has printables of the different stages of life from conception to birth.  We have a family friend who is 6 weeks pregnant so this lesson was very relevant for our family and it was great to be able to discuss how the preborn baby grows and develops inside the womb of our family friend.  

Here are some photos of our family enjoying this beautiful, pro-life lesson:

I placed these posters in page protectors and placed them in the binder where I have the Instructor Guide.  That way, my children can always reference this lesson, their artwork and the wealth of information this program provides.

I extended the lesson and I showed my children the model of a 11-12 week old preborn baby with information about the baby's development.


Did you know that on Week 4 the baby's heart has begun to beat and eyes, ears and lungs begin to form?

Did you know on Week 8 every organ is present, but immature. The baby begins spontaneous movement and is the size of a thumb?

Did you know on Week 12 the baby frequently touches his face with his newly formed hands?

Do you know how wonderfully made you are and God knit you in your mother's womb? (Psalm 139)

We also read a few books about the beautiful miracle of life this week: 

The Miracle of Me 
Angel in the Waters
On the Night You Were Born


Here is an inside peek at Angel in the Waters (which is also a great break to read for the Feast Day of the Guardian Angels celebrated on October 2).


The Beauty of the Developing Human Being Defend Life Lesson created by Culture of Life Studies Progam is a meaningful and wonderful way to teach children in a homeschool or classroom setting the beauty and wonder of each unborn child and how loving and defending life brings much joy, peace and hope!

I have a Pinterest Pro-Life board called "L.I.F.E. = Life Is For Everyone" that I created awhile ago, where I have been collecting pro-life posts.  Please check it out and repin away to help spread the message of life to all the world!



I'll close with another prayer from Day 1 in the Instructor Guide:

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of life. 
Help us to always treasure the sacredness of every human being's life. 
We ask this through Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 

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Recently I came across Jessica's blog post at Shower of Roses and Nicole's blog post at Children of the Church in which they did a lesson on praying for the unborn and teaching the culture of life using the free "Ladybug Warriors" lesson created by Culture of Life Studies Program.

I was inspired to try this activity this past Sunday afternoon with my family since we didn't get to go to the March for Life this past Friday, January 22 like we did in 2011, 2012, and 2015.  Instead of being physically present at the March for Life this year, we prayed over the weekend for the end to abortion, the marchers' safety while traveling in the blizzard, and all those who are victims of abortion: the unborn, men, women, and all those effected by abortion in numerous ways.


I decided to make each of my children a booklet out of yellow file folders with the "Ladybug Warriors" lesson stapled to the inside.  I wanted each of my children to have a printout of the lesson so that if they ever wanted to do this activity again in the future with a friend they will have the lesson on hand.  Also, I thought they may remember the lesson better if they had a copy of it.
Then the cover of the folder is the ladybug craft included in the lesson.


I also had several pro-life bookmarks that I saved from a Teens for Life event with my older children so each of my children glued the bookmarks to the inside cover of the yellow folder with a prayer to end abortion from Priests for Life.


After I read from the suggested book, The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle, my children enjoyed making the ladybug craft using the templates in the lesson. There is also a printout of a woman carrying a baby in her womb that some of my children enjoyed coloring.  I also pulled from our bookshelves our big collection of Eric Carle books that I hope to read this week.  One of our favorite Eric Carle books that we especially enjoy for Lent (that starts very soon on February 10!) is Walter the Baker where we make pretzels after reading the book! 


After reading the book and doing the craft I read from the lesson about how the ladybug got its name.  My children and husband were surprised that sources say the ladybug got its name from the help of Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady.  In Europe during the Middle Ages insects were eating the farmers' crops so they asked Our Lady for help and soon after the crops were growing and thriving.  They then noticed that little red bugs with black spots, or "The Beetles of Our Lady" were eating the pesky insects that were ruining the crops.  The name was eventually shortened to Lady Beetle or ladybug. 


The lesson includes snack ideas and I also went on Pinterest to find an easy snack made with mini Babybel cheese (and I used Wilton Sparkle Gel  to make the dots on the red wax) and my children and I also made ladybugs with strawberries, blueberries, and mini chocolate chips on top of a cucumber slice.  


As suggested in the lesson, our family concluded this fun activity by saying a decade of the rosary, the greatest weapon as a "Ladybug Warrior".


Doing this easy, but meaningful lesson with my children reminded me of the ladybug cake that I made for my daughter on her first birthday!  She is now 15!  I don't think I knew back then the history of how the ladybug got its name so I'm thankful our family now knows how very special the ladybug is and to never stop being a "Ladybug Warrior" and supporting and praying for all life in all stages! 






I have a Pinterest Pro-Life board called "L.I.F.E. = Life Is For Everyone" that I created awhile ago, where I have been collecting pro-life posts.  Please check it out and repin away to help spread the message of life to all the world!

Yesterday was an exciting day for our family!  We all went to my 18 week baby checkup and got to see our little one on the big screen.  This was a first for all my children since with previous pregnancies, my husband was the only one that came with me to the appointments to see the baby.

Before I reveal our precious miracle, I wanted to share a little lesson I shared with my cupcakes last week knowing that they would be attending my ultrasound appointment soon.

Usually after dinner on a night when we don't have Scouts or soccer, we sit as a family and do a lesson from Family Formation.  I really enjoy these weekly lessons with our family and I think my cupcakes do too! All the lessons come in the mail monthly and have everything you need to teach them.

Last week, I did the lesson on the Sanctity of Life.  Our family always prays for the end to abortion daily and we have attended the March for Life in Washington, DC twice before. We talk about the great gift of life in our daily lives and my cupcakes love babies (especially their new sibling growing big and strong), but I wanted to sit our family down and continue our life conversations with a fun Family Formation activity.

Here are some pictures of our evenings lesson with a brief description:

"In “180” Comfort [the movie's producer] argues that Hitler  justified killing six millions Jews by saying that they weren’t “human,” and he  maintains that that’s what those who are pro-abortion do with babies in the womb." 

Do you have 30 minutes to watch this incredible movie? 

A brief article titled “180” Movie Producer Answers Angry Critics will give you a little bit of background about the movie and what the angry critics are saying about "180".  Click on the article's title to link to article and then I would encourage you to watch and share "180" below.  

 Mother Teresa Quotes:

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters"
And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign." (Mother Teresa -- "Notable and Quotable," Wall Street Journal, 2/25/94, p. A14)

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"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. "

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"Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child. From our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3,000 children from abortions. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents, and have grown up so full of love and joy!"

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February 1997 - National Prayer Breakfast in Washington attended by the President and the First Lady. "What is taking place in America," she said, "is a war against the child. And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another."

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"Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."

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"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."