Welcome to CRECHE!
CRECHE was established in 1999 by a small group of Catholic homeschooling families to help support the efforts of parents as primary educators, to teach their children at home. We've not only grown in numbers, but have also grown in our Catholic faith, realizing that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Faithful to the Catholic Magesterium guided by the Pope and the bishops in union with him, we unabashedly promote homeschooling as an intellectually and spiritually rewarding alternative to traditional educational methods. Open to homeschooling or non-homeschooling families in the Fox Valley/western suburbs of Chicago, CRECHE provides activities that encourage friendship and vibrant family life, striving to help members grow as disciples, bringing Christ to the world.
The TORCH Mission Statement for Home Education
"Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators. This role in education is so important that only with difficulty can it be supplied where it is lacking. Parents are the ones who must create a family atmosphere animated by love and respect for God and man, in which the well-rounded personal and social education of children is fostered. Hence the family is the first school of the social virtues that every society needs." (Gravissium Educationis #3)
Saint John Baptist de la Salle Teacher's Prayer
I want to teach my students how
To live this life on earth.
To face its struggles and its strife
And to improve their worth.
Not just the lesson in a book
Or how the rivers flow,
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go.
To understand eternal truth
and know right from wrong,
And gather all the beauty
Of a flower and a song.
For if I help the world to grow
In wisdom and in grace,
Then I shall feel that I have won
And I have filled my place.
And so I ask Your guidance, God,
That I may do my part
For character and confidence
And happiness of heart.
Something to think about...
Saint Gregory the Great (Pope and Doctor of the Church) said,
"Perhaps it is not after all so difficult for a man to part with his possessions, but it is certainly most difficult for him to part with himself. To renounce what one has is a minor thing; but to renounce what one is, that is asking a lot."
In what way do you have to renounce yourself to teach your children more effectively, to be the mother and teacher God created you to be? In this way, are we growing smaller so that He can grow larger in our lives?