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The Little Crown (TLC) is a parent-led Catholic homeschooling group and a ministry of St. Roch Church (334 Main St, Oxford, MA 01540). Membership is open to all practicing Catholic families from any parish.Donate Today to Help Educate Our Children
Registration for 2025 Fall Semester is CLOSED
2026 Spring Semester Info COMING SOON!
For families interested in being connected to other Catholic homeschooling families in the greater Worcester area (whether or not you plan to do co-op), please join the TLC email list to stay informed!
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The Little Crown Homeschoolers
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MissionTo support and encourage faithful Catholic families who are homeschooling (or intend to homeschool) their children.
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Purpose
- To assist each other in educating our children to be strong in the practice and knowledge of the Catholic faith as taught by the Magisterium in union with the Holy Father
- To strengthen families to truly embrace being “the domestic church"
- To foster Christ-centered community where all members (students and parents alike) are encouraged to grow in holiness
- To cultivate virtuous social interactions and friendships among all members
- To integrate teachings about the Catholic faith into shared learning experiences
- To provide opportunities for homeschooling parents to share their talents and expertise
- To offer a space for families, especially those with young children, to build connections with other homeschooling families
- To assist each other in educating our children to be strong in the practice and knowledge of the Catholic faith as taught by the Magisterium in union with the Holy Father
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Membership Requirements
- Practicing Catholic striving to live a holy life
- See FAQs for further explanation as to why participating families are required to be practicing Catholics.
- One parent from each family is required to remain on site and serve in at least one capacity
- Complete the three parish/diocesan safety requirements
- CORI background check
- Safe Environment Training
- Completed online through the Diocese Office of Healing and Prevention
- If you’ve already completed this for another reason through the Diocese, you will not need to complete it again.
- Code of Ministerial Conduct
- Read and acknowledge online through the Diocese Office of Healing and Prevention
- Complete online application during enrollment period (fall semester enrollment May 16 - July 11)
- Commit to attend all scheduled co-op dates, providing excused exceptions for illness, family emergency, new baby, pre-planned vacation, and other unavoidable absences.
- Practicing Catholic striving to live a holy life
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Profession of Faith & BeliefsAll members should have a clear understanding and a firm belief and agreement with:
- The Nicene Creed
- Bishop McManus’ Diocesan Policy Regarding Sexuality and Sexual Identity. Please read the policy in one of the following formats:
- Official PDF letter
- Online version
- Background article from Bishop McManus “Particular Law on Sexual Identity”
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Participant AgesClasses will be offered for infants to children up to twelve years old. Classrooms will be split with multi-age groupings. Parents can use their discretion to move a child to a different room based on his/her learning and social needs.
While the community will not strictly follow the Montessori method, we plan to split the classrooms using the standard Montessori multi-age groupings:- Infants: Birth – 18 months
- Mothers can babywear infants if/when they are teaching in another classroom.
- Toddlers: 15 months – 3 years
- Early Childhood: 2.5 – 6 years
- Lower Elementary: 6 – 9 years
- Upper Elementary: 9 – 12 years (or combined Lower and Upper Elementary, 6 – 12 years)
Participating families who also have children over the age of twelve are welcome to bring these children along, and they can use a designated quiet space to do schoolwork or to socialize with other older sibling students. - Infants: Birth – 18 months
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2025 Fall Semester
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Meeting Day & Time
Mondays 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
*Optional but encouraged attendance to Mass at 8:30am and lunch at 11:45am
Calendar
The 2025 fall semester will include 12 meetings from 9/15 through 12/15, plus orientation on 9/8 (see calendar below).
Proposed Schedule
9:15 a.m. Doors open
9:30 - 9:40 Opening (prayer and announcements)
9:45 - 10:25 1st Class
10:25 - 10:45 Snack and Saint Stories
10:45 - 11:25 2nd Class
11:25 - 11:30 Closing (prayer and goodbyes)
**Optional community lunch 11:45-12:45**
Infants and Toddler classes will remain in the same designated rooms for the entire co-op time. Depending on the number of participants and room setups, we will determine if we will rotate teachers/parents to each classroom or rotate students to different classrooms (for Early Childhood and older).Field Trips
We plan to coordinate a few optional field trips each semester, most likely on Fridays. Possible field trips include:- Museum of Family Prayer - Family-friendly Catholic museum with immersive, interactive, exhibits located in Easton, MA
- EcoTarium - Science and nature museum located in Worcester, MA
- Southwick Zoo - New England's Largest Zoo in Mendon, MA
- Shrines in MA, CT, or RI
- Apple picking - Various local farm options
- Open to other suggestions
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Fees$30 per family per semester (non-refundable and due upon acceptance)
*Potential for additional requests to “give what you can” for celebrations, activity materials, etc.
This can be paid online through the St. Roch website via registration or mailed/handed in via check.
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How to Join
- Read all sections of this webpage and all associated links to ensure we are a good fit for your family.
- Complete online application during enrollment period.
- Registration for 2025 Fall Semester is CLOSED. For families interested in the Spring 2026 semester or learning more about the community, please join the TLC email list.
- Upon acceptance, pay applicable fees.
- Complete three parish/diocesan safety requirements at least 2 weeks before the start of the semester.
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Contact InformationPlease email Gina Hamwey if you have additional questions.
Join the TLC email list to stay informed!
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FAQs
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"The Little Crown" is a reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary. By naming our co-op in honor of Mary, we hope to encourage families to place their entire educational missions under her maternal care and guidance. Mary always points to Jesus. A Marian name doesn’t distract us from Christ—it magnifies Him.
The Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a lesser known prayer devotion that was popular in the 17th century. This devotion is often prayed with specific chaplet beads. It honors the 12 privileges or "crowns" of Mary, derived from her virtues and privileges as Queen of Heaven. It's also sometimes called the "Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception" or the "Crown of Twelve Stars," referencing Revelation 12:1:“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.”
The devotion was especially promoted by St. Louis de Montfort, a strong advocate of Marian devotion.
The Little Crown chaplet consists of one Our Father and four Hail Marys prayed three times, making a total of 12 Hail Marys—one for each star in her crown. These three repetitions were seen as honoring Mary’s “Three Crowns" of Excellence, Power, and Goodness.
Learn more about this devotion here.
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While we do not intend for classes to be solely about our Catholic faith, we do plan to highlight liturgical seasons and feast days, recite common prayers together, and weave Catholic truths into our classes.
We plan to have topics for each semester that all ages will follow, with activities and lessons tailored to the specific age ranges of each classroom.
For example in the 2025 fall semester, we plan to have a theme called "The Human Body: God’s Amazing Design." With appropriate activities and lessons, we will study the body’s systems and how God made them to work together perfectly to keep us alive and healthy. Toddlers and Early Childhood classes will learn basic body parts through songs and crafts, while Lower and Upper Elementary classes will create life-size drawings of their own bodies by the end of the semester.
Once families are committed and registered for a semester, participating parents will meet virtually ~2 months before the start of the semester to brainstorm who wants to/is able to teach.
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Most participating parents will serve in the role of teacher in this co-op at some point. It would be presumptuous to assume that a non-Catholic would be familiar with the teachings of the Church, and it would be unfair to expect a non-Catholic to be able to adhere to and pass on Church teachings and beliefs to students. For this reason, participating families are required to be practicing Catholics. For those seeking to become Catholic or those returning to the Catholic faith after time away from practicing, please reach out and we will connect you with our pastor to discuss next steps for involvement.
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Children participating in the Early Childhood (2.5-6 years) and above classrooms should be potty trained and wearing underwear. He/she should be able to...
- Communicate to the classroom parent/teacher that he/she needs to go to the bathroom before they need to go
- Alert him/herself to stop what he/she is doing, to go and use the bathroom
- Pull down his/her clothes and get them back up without assistance
- Wipe him/herself after using the toilet
- Get on/off the toilet by him/herself
- A training toilet seat will be available.
- Wash and dry hands
- A step stool will be available.
- Postpone going if they must wait for someone who is in the bathroom
We understand that even potty trained children occasionally have accidents, but these should be unusual incidents and should happen infrequently.
If you have a child in the Infant and Toddler classroom and you have volunteered to lead/teach in an older classroom, you must indicate your preference on how the Infant/Toddler classroom parent/teacher should handle wet and soiled diapers (ex- alert parent vs teacher can change diaper).
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