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1 The Little Women Hospitality Program Year Two By Anne Milligan Callaghan illustrations by Julia Fahy

2 Table of Contents Introduction/Letter to Parents 4 Nuts and Bolts of the Program (Coordinator Notes) 8 Intro to Parents (Practical Part) 11 Prayer for Families 12 Letter to Hostess 13 Format for Each Lesson 15 Calendar of Supplies Girls will need Each Month 16 Magnificat Prayer for Meeting 17 Letter to the Little Women 18 September: Cleaning a Bathroom/Laundry 21 October: Appreciation for the Elderly 35 November: Personal Hygiene/Modesty & Fashion 45 December: Tradition 53 January: Art & Beauty 67 February: Decorating/Organizing 83 March: Public Speaking 97 April: Gardening/Creating a Mary Garden 105 May: Friendship/ Planning June Picnic 119 June: Book Club/Old Fashioned Picnic 137 7

3 Prayer for the Family: To welcome our Lord into your Home Dear Sacred heart of Jesus, we renew our pledge of love and loyalty to you. Keep us always close to your loving heart and to the most Pure Heart of your Mother. May we love one another more and more each day, forgiving each other s faults as you forgive us our sins. Teach us how to see you in those we meet outside our homes. Please help us to keep our love for you strong by frequent Mass and Communion. Thank you, dear Jesus, King and Friend of our family for all the blessings of today. Protect us during this day and night, and help us all to get to heaven. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom Come. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for our family. St. Joseph, friend of the Sacred Heart, Protect our family. Our guardian angels and patron saints, pray for us. 12

4 Format for each Lesson- 2-2 ½ hours ( including snack) Time to Begin: Sit in a comfortable area for prayers and book discussion, away from the area that has been set up for the practical part of the lesson. Opening Prayer: Welcome girls and begin by praying The Magnificat: 5 minutes Holy Inspiration: Read to girls: 5 minutes Holy Aspiration: Remind them to say it throughout the month Read Literature Section and Discussion: 15 minutes Assemble for Lesson in designated place: Please remind the girls to be courteous to each other as they proceed in, no running! Hostess: Explain the skill and virtue of the month and demonstrate the skill: minutes. Practice Skill: Follow directions for this section: time will vary, about 1 hour (read ahead to see if you think it will take you longer) Conclusion: Do any other directions in particular lesson. Read through the take-home sheet with the girls, if time allows. Encourage them to get together and have fun with the ideas in this sheet so they can make the skill a habit. Inform the girls of any materials they will need for the next meeting. Closing Prayer: Give thanks to all the saints and holy women who have helped us today. May we all grow ourselves into holy, little women. Snack: 15 minutes (if time allows) Departure 15

5 Calendar of Supplies Girls Need to Bring Always bring your binder and Student Companion book 1. September - How to Clean a Bathroom/ Laundry N/A 2. October - Respect for Life/Elderly Bring some old family photos including grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. (photocopy them and bring copies so nothing happens to the real ones). Bring picture of family crest and card or paper with one famous person in history or famous lady with a list of clues as to who it was. Don t show the card to anyone, it s for a game. 3. November - Personal Hygiene/Fashion bring your own mascara for makeup demonstration (if allowed by parents). Bring a hair brush and any hair rubber bands, barettes, etc. 4. December - Tradition Bring your family traditional Christmas dish from your culture and a dish from your assigned country. Dress up for the Christmas Party, Sunday style. 5. January - Art and Beauty Bring two packages polymer or other sculpting clay (if instructed to your hostess) and sculpting stick. 6. February - Decorating a Room Bring a box approximately the size of a book packing box (11.5 x 15 x 10 inches). Cut out two sides of the box to use as a diarama of the room you re decorating. Bring scissors, glue, patterned paper, carpenter s square, colored pencils, decorative coordinating scrapbook paper. You may want to label your scissors with your name so they won t be misplaced. Also, bring a photo of place in nature that you like with color (hostess may ask for specific supplies, check with her). Put them all in your box as an easy carrier. Also bring any leftover jewelry boxes and empty thread spools. 7. March - Public Speaking Dress in a skirt for this meeting; it is a more formal endeavor. Write and bring a speech about yourself organized into a five paragraph essay format focusing on three things in your life, stages or parts of your life. Examples of things you could include: funny events, hobbies, things about your family, places you like to go, sports you enjoy or anything that you want to tell more about yourself. Must be 3-5 minutes, no longer. Practice it at home before your meeting to make yourself familiar with it and work on expressions and hand motions. Assignments should be given out by hostess ahead of time. There should be ten speeches (or less, depending on club size), one joke/riddle teller (3-5 minutes), one questioner (no prep), one improv questioner 8. April - Gardening/ Creating a Mary Garden Please note: opposite from last month, you should wear clothes that can get messy. Check with your hostess if you need to bring anything or if there is a fee for stepping stone kit. If your hostess chooses the steppting stones as your project, then bring your own special jewels, mini-mosaic tiles, rhinestones, river rocks, marbles or other things like a rock or decorative items that want to put into your mold of your stepping stone. 9. May - Friendship/ Preparing for Picnic N/A 10. Late May/or June - Old-Fashioned Picnic and Races Your dish for the party. Review your menu. Read Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott before the meeting. Dress in party attire an old fashioned time period outfit. Bring pie if entering the contest. 16

6 Prayer for the Year to Start Each Meeting The Magnificat My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden, For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm: He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen 17

7 Personal Letter to the Girls Before Beginning Year 2: Hello my Little Women, I wanted to write to you and tell you how proud I am of you for the skills you have worked so hard to learn and practice in real life. Often you may study something in school and then forget it when you get home or get together with your friends, but this program is different. Remember it is a life skills program, which means things you are learning are to be used in real life. Reality TV and realistic-looking 3-D movies are very popular these days, but guess what? It s still entertainment and not real. These skills you are learning are real. They are what life is all about, to serve others in this world as a daughter of God. We do these things sometimes because we want to, sometimes because we enjoy them, sometimes because we have to, but always because we want to give glory to God, because this is how we show our love for Him. It takes many a long time to see this; you can learn this now. Don t just do these things because they are the right thing to do, or because you want to please someone. Do them because they do give glory to God. And you know what? It makes it easy. It is in the little things, the details and little trials, that you will become real women. You will grow into women through little things because this is where the real love exists in this your true hospitality will be rooted. Our Lord told us that a mustard seed can grow into one of the biggest trees in the world. This was not just a parable but truth. The mustard seed is the little thing you do lovingly to serve others and to give glory to your Father. With effort and willingness to try, you will show the love to Our Lord that He showed to us simple and unrequited love. I am not the only one who wants to talk with you, though. In addition you should listen to the words of that person who inspired so much of this program: Louisa May Alcott. She wrote such beautiful and simple wisdom in her stories, that the more you listen or read, the more you will grow and learn from her. I myself have most of her books on my MP3 player, and put them on in the car for all of us to enjoy. Each time I go through Little Women, I learn more. It s like a spiritual book, but set in the world. This is what we are called to do. We don t want to appear churchy, or we will not attract those who need us most. The world needs you, each and every one of you, and although I cannot name each of you here, Our Lord can, and I send up a prayer for you now as I write this to inspire you as He has inspired me. Be yourself, develop your talents, have fun, dive into the literature suggested, take a chance on art, decorating and other skills; strive for excellence in everything you do. This is your calling in this life, and if you do this in faith, you will be an example to others and people will see your cheerfulness, your spirit of service, your attractive demeanor, your knowledge of culture, art, tradition and your fashion and modesty. They will see all this and say, I want what she has. This will lead them to Christ much more than if you preach the Gospel to them because they will see that you are real. Your sincerity will overwhelm them because it is something that has been lost by so many in the noise and business of the world. Don t try too hard, just be natural and everything else will come. Each and every character in Little Women can teach you this. Study this great piece of literature this year, go to it as a friend. Hear Marmee s sage advice and remember that, through your own striving this year for personal virtue and development, you will be a step closer to your goal. Through your efforts, you will bring others on your journey whether you know it or not. Just as Laurie watched so longingly from his window across the way, so too do others seek your friendship. Extend your hand and welcome them. I welcome you to this exciting adventure this year as you learn about personal virtues and cultural loves that are part of becoming a lady. Always remember that life is not perfect and you are striving just to improve. It won t happen all at once, it won t happen all this year, it will take a lifetime. You need to make the effort and expand your horizons and try things you never have. Look at the take-home sheets and do a little more this year. You will feed your heart, your 18

8 mind and your soul. Don t just try to fi nish like an assignment, do it as a challenge, a way to grow. Do them to develop yourself in the way you use your free time. Try to form habits this year to use your time better. You may fail, you may struggle, but ultimately, you will learn and grow from it. This is progress. This is growing up. You have your family, faith and friends to surround you with love and support you as you try. By next year, society will be waiting. Just think of what is around the corner. On a last note, girls, please remember this year to build on what you have learned last year. It is a year to improve. We will not reach perfection in this world but we want to strive to improve, a little habit here or a cheerful smile there. You will grow in the little things, never forget this. Remember each month to practice your correspondence and write your hostess a thank-you note. It is a little gesture, but means a lot; you are showing you understand and appreciate all the work, care and love she put into preparing your lesson, teaching it and making it fun for you and your friends. It doesn t have to be long, just a thoughtful thank-you. In this small way, you will be growing already. Thank you, girls, for all your care and efforts to make yourself better, more virtuous, a better friend and daughter. We need your fun, energetic spirit to bring back to Our Lord all His children. May God bless and Keep you, Mrs. Callaghan 19