When I was younger the Articles of Faith were a huge part of Primary. On a Stake level, we had a Super Star fireside once a year that recognized all those that memorized all 13 Articles of Faith. I remember that it was a big focus and all of my friends memorized all 13 and …
So much Twitter love from my post about my walls this year. Y’all know how to make a girl feel good! I don’t have my lesson plans ready, and am not entirely sure what I’m doing on…
Grade 6 students finally finished their sunflowers last week. This is a fun and relatively easy project that all students can find success with. I find most 'glue lines on black paper' projects are great for all levels and abilities of students. Chalk pastels are very forgiving and easy to work with, so I tend to start out with these types of projects at the beginning of the year to help build my students' confidence in Art. I out some real and fake sunflowers on display for students to look at. I wanted them to really see what an actual sunflower really looks like, as opposed to what they think a sunflower looks like (ie: a circle with triangles all the way around). We looked at the various sunflower paintings created by Van Gogh and discussed what makes them unique. We discussed his color sense and how his 'trademark' colors of blues and yellows were inspired by his time living in Provence. Using a white or light colored pencil, students drew their sunflower on large black paper. I encouraged them to draw large and fill the page, even going off the page. my sample drawing Then, using Elmers clear glue (my favorite type of glue for these projects as it dries black and shiny), slowly trace all over the pencil lines. You can also use regular white glue. Let these dry on a flat surface overnight. The glue will end up drying flat, not really a raised line like you'll get with the thicker white glue. Then color the sunflowers using chalk pastels. I demonstrated to the kids how to use white, as well as darker shades of oranges and browns, to create shading and more realistic looking petals. Save at least 5 minutes time at the end of class for clean-up because chalk pastels are messssssyyyy!!
This was a collaborative project I did with one of the Science teachers at my school. He was teaching his kids about food chains and wa...
I have a super talented Art teacher colleague at my school who teaches the youngest students: Kindergarten and Grade 1. She always has fabulous art projects and I wanted to share some of her Halloween
Exploring life and art through the lens of my faith. Art journaling transforms our words and thoughts into images.
Forgiveness “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” – Matthew 6:14 Adding onto my character series, I am focusing on teaching kids about forgiveness through this parable of the lost son craft. The “Parable of the Lost Son” is also called the “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” and it...Read More
Hello friends! I think this can only be described as a splendid coffee fail!! I’ve been encouraged to try different milks in my coffee (think less dairy) so I did!…
If you want to learn how to pray, or if you want to grow in your faith and prayer life--try the simple ACTS prayer structure! I'm sharing how the ACTS prayer structure helps me in my personal daily prayer time, and I hope it blesses you!
We started lesson 14, Isaac, the Son of Promise, by talking about the promises God had made to Abraham. (You can read about Lesson 13 here.) We then had a brief discussion about how sometimes we have to wait to receive the things promised to us. Perhaps we are promised a holiday or a special […]
This leaf walk watercolor art activity is the perfect combination of outdoor play and art! Such a fun activity!
How do we keep the sacraments simple-yet-not-simplistic? Joe Paprocki, author of "Living the Sacraments," shares some thoughts.
A COUPLE of days ago, I was moved to republish An Invincible Faith in Jesus. It is a reflection on the beautiful words to Servant of God Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970). Then this morning, my colleague Peter Bannister found this incredible prophecy from Fr. Dolindo given by Our Lady in 1921. What makes it
This paper pinwheel craft is a fun paper craft to do in the spring months. Learn how to make this cute craft project, and teach the kids.
The end of summer looms during these final days of August. Even though the calendar has yet to mark the beginning of fall, for many it has arrived. School ...
Use the Follow Jesus By Helping Others Coloring Page as a fun activity for your next children's sermon.
To help my students learn about the 12 Apostles of Jesus, I created a mini accordion book. On each page, they glued the picture and name of each apostle until we had all 12 included. We gave some facts about each Apostle and then listened to a cute song to help with learning the names. ... Read More about Learning about the 12 Apostles
This year for YW in Excellence we decided to go with a Superhero theme. We liked how it coordinated with the “Be Strong and of a good courage” mutual theme and also went a long with the “For strength of youth.” Each girl will be wearing a cape in a value color. We are lucky …
At Laurel Canyon, one of the most successful ways we've found to help our children and grandchildren get the most out of our assemblies are My Worship Notes. Two versions are always available in our f
Two Wednesday nights a month, I have the privilege of teaching the 2nd and 3rd graders at my church. I look forward to these moments I am given with the kids. I usually spend a few hours preparing a lesson, and praying about what I will say to them. This week we were reading in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We were discussing spiritual gifts and the fact that we are all part of one body in Christ. "God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful." 1 Corinthians 12: 4-7 (The Message) To illustrate this point, I had the kids work with play dough while I read through the chapter in the Bible. I find the kids listen so much better if their hands are busy with a simple task. I use play dough a lot when we are reading in the Bible. It also helps illustrate the point even further. Before I began reading, I assigned a different body part to each child. While I read, they designed and perfected their part. When we finished, we discussed how each part is very special, but is missing something when it is off by itself. The parts couldn't accomplish much all alone. You couldn't tell the foot to go tell someone about Jesus. The foot doesn't have a mouth to speak. You can't tell a head to go somewhere, it needs the neck and other parts to move it there. Each part is important and necessary to achieve God's plan. The body parts aren't as useful alone, BUT when we all put our parts together, it makes one body, just like we are one in Christ. We all bring different things to the world, but our goal is the same. We need each other. We each have different spiritual gifts that God has given us. They work best together, not separate. Together we can accomplish a lot for God. To illustrate the point a little further to the kids, I put together a worksheet for them to fill out. I did not draw the boy and girl. I found them on Google images. This is not their typical paper they fill out in class. It's going to require some research and help from other members in the church. It's homework they must bring back next week! There are arrows pointing to all different parts of the body. For each arrow, they must find someone in the church who fills that part. The kid's not only need the person's signature on the arrow; they also need to write down what that person's spiritual gift is. God has given each of us a gift to be used for Him. It's a treasure that must be found. "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." 1 Corinthians 12:7 I challenged the kids to talk with several different ages of people in the church. If they can bring back their worksheet completely filled in, that's 15 extra names, then I will give them a surprise. I encouraged the kids to figure out what part of the body they represent in our church too. They could be the feet, bringing the good news about Jesus to others, teaching what they know. They could be the nose, sniffing out good vs. evil. Having discernment is very important. They could be the hands, serving people who have needs. They could be the knees, bending down praying for others to be healed. The list of parts goes on and on... To help the kids figure out their own gift, I printed out several copies of a Spiritual Gifts Test I found online. The kids had a lot of fun ranking the questions from 1 to 5. Even the ones who didn't like tests, responded well to this survey. I did need to help a few kids add up their scores, but several could do it on their own. They were so excited after taking the test to see what gift God had given them. After the kids figured out their gift, they each took turns writing their signature and gift on their classmates worksheet. I believe it was a very eye opening experience for the kids. We all need each other, and we are all equally important to God. It doesn't matter if you are an adult, or if you are a kid. God gives gifts to each and every one of us. There are no gifts that are better than the others. "If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness. You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it." 1 Corinthians 12:26-27
This is a matching worksheet for the Eucharist Sacrament or Mass lesson. Check out my Bingo cards which can be used with the Eucharist Sacrament lesson. Includes: Worksheet Answer Key
This Puppy Ears Card is an adorable card that is easy to make and a delight to open! Kids will love making and giving this fun card.
In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...
Even a yogi does things that aren’t “YouAligned.” We forget to meditate and enjoy that second, or third, glass of wine. Get ready to laugh!
Texting is such a huge part of all relationships these days. Communication is always going to be an important aspect of any relationship. And texting just happens to be emerging as the most common and most widely used form of communication aside from actual face-to-face conversations that are done in…
Whether you are doing a homeschool preschool program or are a teacher in a preschool, having a plan is essential. Every year, I begin with an outline for what I plan to teach throughout the school year. I created this resourceful, editable preschool curriculum to keep organized and easily change what I teach from year
My mom gave these adorable (and useful) little treat bags to her Primary class awhile back. We have loved watching the views and pins grow...
