How to Honor Mary in Our Homeschool
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In this post, I will share how to honor Mary in our homeschool in the month of May!
I will explain why May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Catholics’ devotion to Mary.
Let’s dive right in!
Table of Contents
Why is May called the month of Mary?
The Catholic Church has declared a special devotion for each month. The entire month of May is set aside to honor Our Blessed Mother. This is easy to remember because Mother’s Day always falls in may and Mary is the ultimate mother to all of us!
A few years ago, I realized that my earthly mother would never be able to live up to my expectations. Similarly, I myself as a mother can never live up to my own children’s expectations and I certainly will never be perfect (on this earth)!
At this time, I realized that Mary is to play the role of the perfect mother to us all. I started to develop a deep relationship with her and appreciate my own mother more despite her faults. In addition, I felt relieved of the pressure to be a “perfect” mother and always look to Mary as the example of the type of mother I should be.
Catholic Devotion to Mary
Many people wrongly believe that Catholics worship Mary. This is simply not the case.
As the Mother of God, we honor her.
Think of it like this: if someone compliments your mother’s cooking or her kindness you would feel very happy and honored to be her child! The same goes for Mary. It pleases her Son very much when we honor her – especially when we honor her as our mother. She carried the Son of God in her womb. She was His first tabernacle, and she raised Him with St. Joseph. They taught Him how to pray in their humble home of Nazareth.
When we pray the Hail Mary or the Rosary, we are asking Mary to pray for us sinners! We are asking Our Bless Mother to intercede for us to her Son.
Christ is happy when we honor His beautiful Blessed Mother! Now, let’s discuss how to honor Mary in our Homeschool and in all we do!
How to Honor Mary in our Homeschool in the Month of May
There are many fun, easy, and beautiful ways to honor Mary in our homeschool in May! Here, I will break down how we can honor her in each of the following subjects:
- Religion
- History
- Geography
- Music
- Science
- Art
How to Honor Mary in our Homeschool: Religion
Attend Mass, Adoration, and Read Sacred Scripture
During the month of May, we can make time to attend Mass and ask for Mary’s intercession during Mass. You can also point out to the children that the priest may be wearing blue. Blue is a color often associated with Mary, and represents purity, peace, royalty, and the sky. You and your family could also dress in blue throughout the month of May to honor Mary!
We can also attend Holy Hours and Adoration and pray the rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
Of course, we can read Sacred Scripture to our children all during the month of May. Remember, any time you read scripture you are also studying history! The New Testament is a historical ancient history account.
Here are links to all of the must read stories from scripture about Mary:
The Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-28)
The Visitation (Luke 1:39-45)
The Nativity (Luke 2:1-14)
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:22-38)
Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)
The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12)
The Crucifixion (John 19: 25-27)
Pentecost (Acts 1:13-14)
Book of Revelation (Revelation 12:1)
Pray the Rosary
Learn other special Marian prayers
Here are some other traditional Marian prayers that you may wish to pray with your children, especially in May:
The Hail Mary, the Memorare, the Magnificat, the Litany of Loreto, the Regina Caeli (during the Easter season), and the Angelus (during the rest of the year).
Plan a Family Consecration to Mary
May is a great time to plan a family consecration to Mary if you haven’t ever done so.
This post explains the history of the devotion and includes resources for completing it. The entire consecration takes 33 days, so you will need to choose a day to start it. You will end the consecration on a Marian feast. Many Marian feast days occur throughout the year, so you can choose a convenient start and end date for your family using the chart provided in the link. For example, if you wish to end your consecration on May 31st (the Feast of the Visitation), you need to start the consecration on April 28th.
Here is a great resource for completing a Consecration with young children.
Holy Heroes has a free Marian Consecration Family Adventure. You can sign up to be notified when they are running the next one.
Celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of May 31st
The Feast of the Visitation celebrates Mary’s visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth. Mary and St. Elizabeth were both pregnant during this meeting. Mary traveled to help her cousin in the final days before St. Elizabeth gave birth to St. John the Baptist.
St. John the Baptist leapt in St. Elizabeth’s womb when Mary greeted St. Elizabeth because St. John was overjoyed to greet his cousin, Jesus, in Mary’s womb.
You can attend Mass on this beautiful feast day (wearing blue!), and perhaps host a Marian Tea party to celebrate afterwards.
How to Honor Mary in our Homeschool: History and Geography
In my opinion, it works well to study history and geography together! You can invest in a good atlas for your homeschool and always refer to it to see where different historical events happened. A globe is also nice to have a visual of the locations of different events.
Learn About Famous Marian Shrines
In the month of May, you can learn about the locations and histories of different Marian Shrines such as:
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico, 1531)
- Our Lady of Lourdes (France, 1858)
- Our Lady of Champion (United States, 1859) and the miracle of the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871
- Our Lady of Knock (Ireland, 1879)
- Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal, 1917)
- Our Lady of Akita (Japan, 1973)
- Our Lady of Kibeho (Rwanda, 1980s)
Take virtual tours of the shrines that your children are interested in. Learn about the culture and history of the town or country where the shrine is located. Consider hosting a dinner made of food from that particular region!
Celebrate Our Lady of Fatima's Feast Day on May 13th
While you learn about Our Lady of Fatima, celebrate her feast day on May 13th! May 13th is the first day that Our Lady appeared to 3 shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.
You can use this opportunity to learn about World Wars I and II and the geography of Europe.
A tea party for Our Lady of Fatima is appropriate!
How to Honor Mary in our Homeschool: Music
Learn Traditional Marian Hymns
Learn about and sing the appropriate traditional Marian hymn for the season! If you are reading this during Easter, the Regina Caeli is traditionally sung until Pentecost.
- Alma Redemptoris Mater: Sung from the first Sunday of Advent to Candlemas (February 2nd)
- Ave Regina Caelorum: Sung from Candlemas until the Easter Vigil
- Regina Caeli: Sung from the Easter Vigil to Pentecost
- Salve Regina: Sung from the day after Pentecost to the say before the first Sunday in Advent
How to Honor Mary in our Homeschool: Science
Mary Garden Ideas
May is the perfect time to make a Mary Garden or spruce up your Mary Garden. You can make this garden based on the amount of space and resources that your have. Learn about the different flowers that represent Mary, and which ones will grow best in your yard.
My friend, Jen, at www.evatoave.com, has a great post to walk you through creating your own Mary Garden.
Learn about St. Joseph and the Easter Lily
I have a free and enjoyable Easter Lily Science Lesson for your family to enjoy! You will also learn about Mary’s spouse, St. Joseph. This science lesson is perfect to honor Mary in the month of May in your homeschool.
How to Honor Mary in our Homeschool: Art
When doing art in our homeschool, I love liturgical, seasonal crafts that can be used or displayed for specific times and purposes. Here are some art projects to honor Mary in May.
Make a Rosary
The simple, 1 decade pipe cleaner rosary is a classic. All you need is a pipe cleaner and 11 pony beads (1 color for the Our Father bead and 10 in a different color for the Hail Mary beads). Have you children ask a priest to bless their homemade rosaries! These would also make sweet gifts for a mom, grandmother, aunt, or godmother for Mother’s Day.
Mary Paperdoll, DIY Marian Grottos, and more
These traditional Mary paper dolls from Dumb Ox Publications are so sweet! In fact, all of the Marian resources from Dumb Ox look awesome. Look at these cool Marian Grottos!
Other Ways to Honor Mary in May
Participate in a Catholic Crowning of Mary
Some parishes host May Crownings on Mother’s Day in honor of Mary and all mothers.
You could also host one at home after sprucing up or creating your Mary Garden!
Send a Gift or Note to a Mom who has Experienced Infant or Pregnancy Loss
Mary is the perfect intercessor for anyone who has lost a child. The time around Mother’s Day can be painful for moms in this situation, so why not honor them and their unborn child with a special gift and note.
I love how this book specifically mentions Mary greeting the child in the womb before she makes her journey to God.
Pray a Spiritual Bouquet for Someone for Mother's Day
Spiritual bouquets always make beautiful and thoughtful gifts.
We love this card and sticker pack from Holy Heroes to make a card to send to the recipient!
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