Cultivating pro-life values at home through the Culture of Life Studies Program

For nearly 12 years, American Life League’s Culture of Life Studies Program has served parents, teachers, and students by providing authentically Catholic pro-life materials for kids in pre-K-12th grade. What began as a small program has grown exponentially, and now our downloadable lesson booklets (most of which have an imprimatur and a nihil obstat) are in hundreds of schools and homeschools across the world.

It all started in 2014 when a group of educators and homeschool moms saw the need for Catholic pro-life education. They searched for a program that would teach children the sanctity of life from creation until death and that would uphold the value and dignity of all human beings. But nothing like that existed. So under the guidance of Judie Brown, president of American Life League—a Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to protecting the sanctity of life—they created one.

With a mission to “create a world in which God’s word is resolutely proclaimed and willingly embraced; the institutions of sacramental marriage and family are protected and fostered; and all human beings are treated with respect, dignity, and love from the moment of creation until death,” CLSP set out to establish something unique.

And it has succeeded.

As Judie Brown said, “The Culture of Life Studies Program provides the educational tools we need to teach our children to respect all human beings as a gift from God. When children are taught at a young age to understand that every human being’s life is a blessing, they grow up with the strength to defend others.”

Teaching pro-life values

I joined the program as executive editor shortly after it began. Now as its director and executive editor, I see the progress and the impact we have made, not only on today’s youth but on parents and teachers as well.

In a fun and engaging way, our age-appropriate lesson booklets, which range from one-day lessons to four-week unit studies, teach the fundamentals of Catholic pro-life values. Beginning with pre-K, we teach that all people are valuable. We help young students see the wonder of the preborn baby and the beauty of all members of the family—young and old. We teach them that people with disabilities are just as special and wonderful as they are, and we show them ways they can defend their peers and even people they may not know. Each lesson helps lay the foundation that our future lessons build upon.

We then begin introducing the saints, including Joseph, John Bosco, Maximilian Kolbe, Carlo Acutis, Ignatius, Thérèse of Lisieux, our Blessed Mother, and more, to give students holy role models. These lesson booklets provide concrete examples for students as they learn to emulate real people who served others, shine the light of Christ, and worked to change the culture.

Only as children grow do we talk about threats to life, such as euthanasia and abortion. We respect the innocence of each child and understand that these are sensitive topics. Yet we also know that they are topics we cannot shy away from. If we don’t talk to our children about these threats, the world will. And the world will not teach with morality in mind. Thus, when we do discuss these topics, as in all our booklets, we incorporate teachings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, from Bible stories, from the wisdom of subject-matter experts, and from Church tradition.

Knowing that not every parent or teacher has a background in theology or religion, we purposely create our lessons so that this expertise is not necessary. Because we provide all the instruction materials, anyone can teach from these lesson booklets. You simply need a willingness to share the love of God and the truths of the Catholic faith. Additionally, all of our booklets include discussion questions and answers, and if ever your kids ask a question that you cannot answer, we are just an email away to help!

While each day’s lesson lasts approximately 50 minutes, parents can break it down into two to three days if their schedule necessitates that. We build in flexibility to suit your needs to make pro-life education as easy as possible.

In addition, we firmly believe that incorporating fun, hands-on activities enhances the learning experience and helps kids internalize the truths found within the lessons. That is why, depending on the age it’s intended for, most of our booklets include arts and crafts projects to solidify the teaching or some kind of game, puzzle, or coloring page to drive the lesson home.

Building a culture of life

Our lessons are vital to children’s development, since we know that teens are bombarded by the culture of death. Booklets that teach them how to faithfully and unapologetically build a culture of life prepare them to defend their beliefs as they grow. When they start in small ways as elementary-age students and build upon this knowledge, they become better able to defend their pro-life beliefs.

As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children Catholic and pro-life values, for we are naturally our children’s first teachers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reinforces this truth and explains that “the home is well suited for education in the virtues.”

Indeed, our homes should be like the well-fortified castles of medieval times: impenetrable, safe, and armored. We do this by fortifying from within, by armoring our children with the truths of the faith, and by keeping the outside world from poisoning their minds.

If there’s one thing we have learned after twelve years of creating materials and helping parents and schools implement them, it is that our program is not only valuable but essential to homes and schools. Indeed, as Cardinal Raymond Burke said, “The Culture of Life Studies Program provides an excellent program to teach children, from their very earliest years through their teens, in an age-appropriate, consistent, and systematic way, to understand and embrace the culture of life.”

We have seen the effects of our pro-life education, and we know that students—and the culture—thrive when we teach respect for the sick, the elderly, and the born and preborn.

Jesus once told His disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

It is our job to get our children to heaven and to help them become saints. Their journey begins in the home, and it begins with quality education in Catholic pro-life truths.

• For more information or to download our lesson booklets, visit cultureoflifestudies.com.

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