2022-2023 Catholic Sprouts Academic Planner

We weren’t planning on making a planner this year.

In fact, if you wrote to me sometime this Spring inquiring about a Catholic Sprouts planner, I likely replied that we were not going to be offering a planner, and that you should purchase one elsewhere. 

So, why did we change our mind and, in the end, make a planner?

The Parables.

Each night our family reads the daily Gospel reading and, in a very simple way, we strive to memorize and discuss one small part of that Gospel passage. 

As you likely know, there are whole sections of the Gospels where Jesus tells parable after parable and through both our family discussions and my own private meditation I began to marvel at the deep teachings found in these stories.

At first I was shocked to find so many lessons in the parables. These stories, afterall, were familiar and, I admit, a little boring, having heard them over and over since I was a child.

But, when we open up our hearts, we soon discover that Jesus’s words and lessons are profoundly and infinitely deep.

I read commentaries on the parables before picking up the Bible and once again reflecting on Christ’s words. Through this even more beautiful truths that directly spoke to my heart were revealed.

All this happened as the world, it seemed, was burning down around us.

The Abortion Debated.

The War in the Ukraine.

Mass Gender Confusion.

Political Back-Biting.

Soaring Inflation….

The whole world was crying out: Why is this happening? What can we believe? Is there Truth and where can I find it?

And one day in Eucharistic Adoration I felt deeply in my heart a need to reinvest in Christ as Teacher. To place Him and His powerful stories back at a place of importance in my life and the lives of my children.

I wanted to not only refocus on the parables myself, I wanted my children to carry Christ’s message with them all school year, focusing on one at a time and digging deeper into Jesus’s message.

And so, we created a planner around a simple, powerful study of the Parables.

Since I LIVE in my planner, and during the school year my kids do as well, I thought that this would be the PERFECT place to add a study of the parables.

The Academic Planner is 12 months, so we included a study of 12 Parables, one a month. 

Parables included are:

1. The Sower and the Seeds
2. The Good Samaritan
3. The Prodigal Son 
4. The Rich Man and Lazarus
5. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
6. The Sheep and the Goats
7. The Pearl of Great Price
8. The Laborers in the Vineyard
9. The House Built on Rock
10. The Parable of the Talents
11. The Ten Virgins
12. The Unforgiving Servant.

Although we include a Bible reference for the parable, we decided not to include the specific scripture passage because we want students to grab a Bible and find the verses themselves.

We also prayerfully reflected on what information about this parable would guide and encourage students in their own encounter with Jesus as Teacher. 

To explain further how we developed this study, here is the text from the first parable study in the planner which explores the Sower and the Seeds.

It is my hope that these parables do what Christ intended: teach powerful truths using objects, events and feelings we can relate to. For example, this parable explores the various things a seed needs to grow and uses those things to explain how God’s Holy Word takes root in our lives. Therefore, it is powerful to review the science of germination and through that come to understand Jesus’s meaning more completely.

Finally, I want to be clear that the planner itself is very simple.

If you are looking for a planner with a built in habit tracker, then this is not the planner for you. 

Here are examples of the monthly and weekly spreads. Please note that we did not include feast days, hoping instead that you use our fun Catholic Planner Stickers with this planner to mark those days.

Monthly Spread:

Weekly Spread:

For this reason, we are happy to offer a FREE SET OF CATHOLIC PLANNER STICKERS with each purchase of a planner both Tuesday July 26th and Wednesday July 27th.

You can make your purchase here:

Whether you use our planner or not, please know of our prayers for a very successful and joy-filled upcoming school year. 

Even though it often feels like the world is falling apart, God is still here, and He still desires to be our most important teacher.

In Christ Jesus

Nancy