A Mother Crowned

One week after celebrating Mary's Assumption, the Church honors her Queenship. The two feasts belong together: the mother assumed into heaven is crowned there, not as a distant monarch but as a mother whose reign is intercession. For homeschool families standing at the threshold of a new school year, this is a fitting week to place your plans, your children, and your worries under her care. Queens in the line of David held a particular office: the queen mother, who brought the petitions of the people to the king. Mary holds that office still. As you sharpen pencils and print schedules this week, consider consecrating the school year to her, perhaps with a simple family Memorare before the first day's lessons.

"A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (Revelation 12:1)

Time to register for fall testing

If you have a high schooler, this is the week to call your local public high school. Homeschool students register for the PSAT and AP exams through their base campus, and schools are finalizing their orders now.

PSAT: Sophomores can sit for practice; juniors take it as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Call the counseling office at your zoned high school to ask about test dates and how to register as a homeschool student.

AP exams: Homeschoolers may sit for any AP exam their base high school offers. Ask now, since ordering deadlines come earlier than you'd expect.

SAT, ACT, and CLT: These register directly online rather than through your base campus, and fall test dates fill quickly. Seniors applying this fall should lock in a date now; juniors may want a fall baseline test to guide spring prep.

National Honor Society: Testing well this fall? Check the updated score requirements on the NHS page and submit any scores that fit the parameters.

The Spiders of Late Summer

If you've walked into an invisible web on the porch this week, you've met Houston's late-summer orb weavers. August is their season: garden spiders (the big black-and-yellow Argiope with the zigzag "writing" in her web) and spiny-backed orb weavers are suddenly everywhere, fully grown and spinning. Find a web in the morning while the dew clings to it and have your children sketch its structure, then check back over several days; they'll discover that orb weavers rebuild nightly, eating the old silk and spinning fresh. iNaturalist (Apple or Android) makes quick work of identifying which of Houston's dozen-plus orb weaver species has moved in.

Upcoming in Houston

HCPL Homeschool Curriculum Swap @ Barbara Bush Branch | Shop days Thursday–Friday, August 20–21 | 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | Barbara Bush Branch Library, Cypress | Free | Browse gently used homeschool curriculum at the library's bi-annual swap and find new materials for the year ahead

Hunter Education Field Course — James B. Harrison Foundation | Friday, August 29 | 8200 FM 1994, Richmond | Complete the online course first, then attend the field day | Texas Hunter Education certification for safe and responsible hunting

Family Overnight at the Museum — HMNS | Friday, September 11 | Ages 6–12 with chaperones | Sleep among the exhibits, hands-on activities, live chemistry demo, planetarium show, and after-hours scavenger hunt

Ceramic Holy Water Font Workshop | Thursdays, September 11 and 18 | 6:00 p.m. | Cantona Homestead, Tomball | $75 | Join Julie Schulte of the Sacred Heart Artists Guild for a prayerful two-part evening workshop: handbuild your own ceramic holy water font, then return to glaze it | Only 15 spots

Breakthrough Junior Challenge | Ages 13–18 | Create a 2-minute video explaining a concept in physics, math, or life sciences | $250,000 college scholarship for the winner | No fancy tools needed, just a phone and curiosity | A creative STEM challenge to kick off the school year | Submissions due September 15

St. Chrysostom Oratorial Society | Catholic speech, debate, apologetics, and leadership for ages 8–18 | Two groups: ages 8–12 (15 spots) and ages 13–18 (15 spots) | Meetings begin September 18 | 12 sessions | Registration now open | Forming young Catholics in truth, rhetoric, and discipleship

Cluny Media: 20% Off | Save 20% on any order of 4+ books with code AUG20 | Cluny publishes beautiful, affordable editions of Catholic literary classics, from saints and theologians to the great Catholic novelists

Cygnus Test Prep

Testing season is here, and knowing which exams fit your student's college plans matters as much as the prep itself. Cygnus Test Prep, one of our newest partners, guides high schoolers through the PSAT, SAT, and ACT with personalized coaching, and offers every CHECH family a free consultation to map out a testing plan. CHECH members also receive 15% off test prep services. Start with the College Entrance Exams page in the member portal, which now includes grade-by-grade high school timelines and a growing library of testing resources. Find this partner and more on our partners page.