Religious education ideas for Catholic teachers, homeschoolers, and catechists- crafts, lessons, and printables on Sacraments, Scripture and Prayer.
Catholic Saint Banners are a great way for kids to learn about the Saints while having cute classroom decor to display in your classroom or church.
Have you considered art as a ministry? If a child is a gifted artist, it is important to encourage your child, here are five ways.
Your students will enjoy this engaging craft that allows them to reenact the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. The document comes complete with a list of all materials needed, a printable template, and step-by-step photos and directions to make it very easy to follow and create. Download Craft: The Ascension of Jesus
Last week I posted a quick tour of my classroom in this video on Instagram. The most common question I got was about the details on this Eucharist bulletin board. Lucky for you I took some process videos and made a shareable version! This bulletin board is the first thing you see when you come in my classroom door, so I like to take the time to make it something eye catching and meaningful. With the Eucharistic Revival beginning this year, it seemed like a great theme to run with for the beginning of the school year. This bulletin board is good sized at around 45"x45". First I'll give you the steps for this version, and then I have an easy to print one further down in the post. -Cover bulletin board with black paper. I didn't want a border to distract from the quote/rays, so just trimmed the edges carefully. -To make the Monstrance, I found a photo of a Monstrance that I liked online and projected it on my smartboard. With the touch sensitivity turned off, I taped a piece of kraft paper to the smartboard and "traced" the Monstrance with a black marker. It really was a rough trace- it doesn't have to be perfect. It will still look quite detailed from a distance, so don't go crazy trying to get every little line! -I then used some gold acrylic craft paint to add some highlights to the Monstrance. Again, not going for perfection, just some shiny details. Up close it is far from perfect, but on the bulletin board it looks great. -Cut a host out of white paper and attached to the Monstrance. Hung in the center of the bulletin board. -Lettered "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" on white paper and hung at the bottom, kind of like an altar cloth beneath the Monstrance. -Wrote out a series of Eucharistic quotes from Scripture and the Saints. (List included below). I wrote them with black marker on old adding machine tape, which was way easier than cutting paper. I did a little rough measuring to know how long the lengths of paper needed to be, and then chose the length of quote to fit. -Tucked the end of the rays of white paper under the edge of the Monstrance and had the radiate off the sides of the bulletin board. I now wish that I would have made them all about 2" longer so they all hung off the edge, symbolized the effects of the Eucharist in the world... but wasn't crazy enough to redo them. ;) You might be thinking, "That's nice Katie, but that is a whole lot of work for a bulletin board." So I also have a printable version for you! :) I made this one with bright paper just for something different, but you could do the exact same thing in black, white, and gold if you like. I don't have anything that can print on paper larger than 8.5"x11", so I printed this Monstrance image using the poster feature in Adobe Acrobat Reader. In the print dialogue, click on "Poster" and then change the tile size to something larger like 150% or 200%. It will print on several sheets of paper which you can trim and tape together to make it as large as you like! Here is mine on 4 sheets of regular paper: I then taped it together and roughly cut out. (No way am I cutting on all of those tiny lines! Just the general shape is enough!) I cut out a small white circle and glued on for the host. I have the "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" still at the bottom for balance, but it certainly could go on the top. The Eucharist quotes are printed on 8.5"x11" paper, so those rays are all 11" long. You could also print those on a larger scale if you were decorating a larger bulletin board. All together, this printable bulletin board sized in right at 3'x3.' It would look great on a door as well! Click here for the Monstrance Printable: 8.5"x11" size 11"x17" size Click here for the Eucharist Quotes 4 per page size (used for the rays in the bulletin board design) (this one also has the "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" title) 1 quote per page (great to rotate on a bulletin board) Along with the resources for the Eucharist that are already here on the blog (check under the "Sacraments" tab above) I plan to pull together and organize some new tools during this time of Eucharistic revival. I've saved 100s of videos to YouTube playlists over the years, and those playlists are getting quite long. So I started a few new sets that you might be interested in below. I teach 6th-8th grade, so most of these videos are things that I would consider using with them or my high school youth group. There are definitely some things for younger kids mixed in. As always with any video, please watch it first and make sure it is a good fit for your kids. I'll be adding more to these playlists as I continue to curate! Eucharist Video Playlist Eucharistic Saints Video Playlist (still working on adding to this one! Feel free to add some links in the comments!) Eucharistic Procession Playlist May a renewed love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament change our hearts and our world!
★ What is included ☆ Texts, banners and all the decoration pieces as per Image 1. All in 2 sizes, suitable for small and big bulletin board. ☆ Files as below format are included : ⋆ PDF in US Letter size, 8.5” x 11” ☆ Grey wood background as shown in the listing is not included. ☆ To open the files, you will be required to have a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. Please ensure your software is up to date to avoid compatibility issues. ★ Important Note ☆ Please note this is a digital item and no physical item will be shipped. ☆ Due to the digital nature of this product, no refunds, cancellations, returns or exchanges will be given. ★ Download Instruction ☆ Your files will be available for download once payment has been confirmed. You should also receive an email with a download link to your files. ★ Terms of Use ☆ All files are for personal or 1 classroom use only and cannot be used commercially or be resold/redistributed.
The Religion Teacher's Guide to Lesson Planning is a free eBook designed to help religious educators effectively plan their lessons.
In 1959, Friedensreich was a guest lecturer in Hamburg, Germany. For his presentation, the artist drew what he thought was the world...
A beautiful booklet to help explain the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Includes: The Trinity cover sheet The Triangle and the Trinity A Shamrock and the Trinity An Apple and the Trinity A Circle of Love is the Trinity The Trinity is... and Write a prayer to the Holy Trinity.
This is the home of the Catholic Friday how-to-draw! Each Friday, I post a new how to draw video especially for Catholic kids. I also always sneak a little Catholic learning in while they draw,
School has been back in swing for...three months now, and I am just now getting around to some of the back-to-school posts in my draft folder. I guess that goes to model what a teacher's fall usually looks like. I gave you a peek inside my classroom back in this post, and mentioned my faith corner, promising more details later. Well, it is later, so here are some ideas for creating a holy space in your Classroom/CCD Room/Youth Room/etc. (FYI- I know that not all CCD teachers are blessed to have a permanent location to set up something like this faith corner. Lot of programs have to use shared spaces and can't store items in the same place that they teach. I hope that the things that we use might inspire you as you set up your "mobile" classroom to find a few important items to make the space sacred for your students. And God love you for working in such a state of transition, because I don't know if I could do it!) Here is what our faith corner usually looks like: It includes a classroom set of Bibles: And another shelf with activities, our classroom Bible, prayer jar, and Mary statue. This is also our Saint of the Month Board. August/September was St. Maximilian Kolbe, who also happens to be our classroom Saint (click here for the Lit/Religion Unit I teach on him). October is St. Terese. I love these posters, which are through Pauline Books and Media. Facing the opposite way are shelves of our faith books. Lots on the Saints, liturgical seasons, Bible stories, etc. We also have a box here for our "Words of Faith" which is a vocab activity we do in each chapter of our religion book, featured books (often related to Saint feast days- you can see Take it to the Queen featured for August), and inspiring words (right now is a colored and framed version of this quote.) You'll also see my friends Fr. Juan Pablo and Sr. Mary Clara featured in this post. I also have a prayer kit that came with my Religion book series. Here is our classroom Bible, which the kids are free to use and look through, but is always left open on the top shelf in our Faith Corner. I tell the kids that a Bible should be lived in, and demonstrate by highlighting and labeling things that we talk about in class. We read the upcoming Sunday Gospel during the week and discuss it so that the kids are more prepared for Mass and can listen for the main message. I highlight the reading and label it with the date so that it can be easily found by the kids during the week. The nice thing is that after next year (my third year doing this in this particular Bible) it will be all set for the future because of the three year lectionary cycle. Score one for the organization of the Catholic Church. We also have our student Prayer jar on the top shelf in the Faith Corner. I wrote about the prayerful environment/classroom management tool that is our Prayer jar here. And of course, Our Lady. On that shelf, there are also baskets with themes like Scripture, Saints, Prayer, etc. They contain books, small games, etc. The kids are welcome to explore these baskets, and many use them for early finisher activities. I also store manipulatives/models from lessons here after we use them together so that they can get them out and see them again. On the shelf just above are some Catholic coloring pages and prayer starters. This old metal recipe box is our Saintly virtue box, which is a part of my classroom management system. In brief, the kids can receive rewards as a whole class or individually. When they earn an individual reward, they get to choose a saint card from this box. I am always restocking it with various saints, some cards that I have purchased, and others that have been donated to me. There are several ladies at church who save all of those free things that they get in the mail, and I make good use of them. The idea is that the students is being rewarded for showing virtue of some kind (we are working on what that means and how we live it out) and that the Saints are our models of virtue. They get to choose a Saint to remind them to keep making good choices. Hanging from the ceiling is this chain (made from giant paper clips.) The students all have a binder ring with a card that says "name is growing in Saintly Virtue." They get to attach their card, and will add many more throughout the year. They then get to take home their own kind of mini book/prayer wheel of the Saints that they have chosen. We also include other items for liturgical seasons, featured projects, prayers, etc. as they become important throughout the year. I hope that gives you some ideas for creating a faith filled space for your students. I'd love to hear how you have done it in your own classrooms!
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared as wind and fire (Tongues of Fire) This craft is meant to help remind children of those two symbols. This spinning pinwheel was a great party favor for our "Catholic Church Birthday Party". Plus, it's pinless so even little kids can have one! You will
The Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun is Oct. 13th. In honor of the occasion I wanted to share an art project which centers around this amazing miracle. I asked the kids to image what they think the "dancing" sun may have looked like to the people who were standing in the crowd on
Ring-a-Ring-o’Roses (charcoal, watercolor, click to enlarge) Woodland scene (1886, click to enlarge) Dear friends and readers, Forbes is the third woman I’ve chosen from this later Vict…
Check out this stained glass flame craft for learning about Pentecost. Exclusively written for Today's Catholic Teacher website.
Atmospheric, creepy, tense and utterly absorbing' Harriet Tyce 'Clean prose, subtle characters and intrigue to keep the pages turning' Mike McCormack 'Chilling' Christine Dwyer Hickey 'Exquisite' Jo Spain ___________________ Power. Jealousy. Desire. Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace... When Louisa arrives at Temple House, an elite catholic boarding school, she quickly finds herself drawn to sophisticated fellow pupil Victoria and their young bohemian art teacher, Mr Lavelle. The three of them form a bond that seems to offer an escape from the repressive regime of the nuns who run the cloistered school. Until Louisa and Mr Lavelle suddenly vanish. Years later, a journalist with a childhood connection to Louisa determines to resolve the mystery. Her search for the truth will uncover a tragic, mercurial tale of suppressed desire and long-buried secrets. It will shatter lives and lay a lost soul to rest. The Temple House Vanishing is a stunning, intensely atmospheric novel of unrequited longing, dark obsession and unintended consequences.
Kids will enjoy looking around their parish church for the items in this eye spy scavenger hunt. Simply have them look for the items and either color or check the box once discovered. Object include: Monstrance, Tabernacle, Crucifix, Stations of the Cross, Sanctuary Lamp, Stained Glass Window, Presider’s Chair, Baptismal Font, Organ, Hymnal, Alter, Statue,… Read More »Catholic Scavenger Hunt for Kids – Free Printable
***last updated April 2015*** Here is my personal, comprehensive list of excellent picture books that help nurture a love for the Catholic faith and Christianity in general. This is just my opinion, mind you. There are certainly other Catholic books out there but I have been pretty selective in highlighting only ones that I either have or would buy myself. You won't see ugly or inane books on this list; I don't think we should buy/read "twaddle" even if it comes packaged as a "saint story."No sense in dumbing down the beautiful! However, there are a couple compromises on this point... only because either the pictures or the text are in and of themselves absolutely worth your time. This used to be a post linking you to my Listmania lists on amazon.com but they limit you to 40 titles. :-) I also left out the entire St. Joseph Picture Books series (which admittedly do have their place, especially being thin, cheap and Mass-friendly), as well as most Christmas books since that genre is too big for my purposes here, another time maybe... I'm interested only in STORY picture books here, that happen to reinforce specifically Catholic/Christian values. I starred *books that are my own very special favorites. Either way, enjoy the list! Saints An Alphabet of Saints* Saints for Girls: A First Book for Little Catholic Girls Saints for Boys: A First Book for Little Catholic Boys Lives and Legends of the Saints Saints: Lives and Illuminations More Saints: Lives and Illuminations Mary Mary The Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe* Our Lady of Guadalupe The Life of Mary Mary: The Mother of Jesus The Lady in the Blue Cloak: Legends from the Texas Missions St. Francis Clare and Francis* Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy* Francis Woke Up Early St. Francis and the Proud Crow Wolf of Gubbio Saint Francis of Assisi Canticle of the Sun: Saint Francis of Assisi Brother Sun, Sister Moon* The Good Man of Assisi Brother Juniper* Saint Francis Joan of Arc Joan of Arc* Joan of Arc Joan of Arc St. Nicholas The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas* The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend A Special Place for Santa: A Legend for Our Time* The Legend of Saint Nicholas* St. Wenceslaus Good King Wenceslas Good King Wenceslas Stephen's Feast St. Valentine Saint Valentine* Saint Valentine St. Hildegard Hildegard's Gift The Secret World Of Hildegard St. Christopher Legend of Saint Christopher* Christopher: The Holy Giant St. George Saint George and the Dragon (more legend than fact, but still fun to read…) Saint George and the Dragon St. Benedict The Life of Saint Benedict The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica* St. Martin de Porres The Pied Piper of Peru Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert Martin's Mice St. Patrick Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland Patrick: Saint of Ireland* The Life of St. Patrick: Enlightener of the Irish St. Columba Across a Dark and Wild Sea Man Who Loved Books Other Irish Saints The Blackbird's Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland* The Ravens of Farne: A Tale of Saint Cuthbert The Life of Saint Brigid: Abbess of Kildare The Saint and his Bees (St. Modomnoc) Saint Ciaran: The Tale of a Saint of Ireland Misc. Saints A Saint and His Lion: The Story of Tekla of Ethiopia St. Jerome and the Lion Pascual and the Kitchen Angels* The Wonderful Life of Saint Sergius of Radonezh* Saint Brendan And The Voyage Before Columbus* Peter Claver, Patron Saint of Slaves/Pedro Claver, Santo Patrono de los Esclavos John Mary Vianney: The Holy Cure of Ars Bernadette: The Little Girl from Lourdes Lucia, Saint of Light The Little Friar Who Flew (St. Joseph of Cupertino) Saint Jude: A Friend in Hard Times Saint Felix and the Spider Mother Teresa Yes! The Life of Blessed Josemaria for Young Readers* Lolek - The Boy Who Became Pope John Paul II Roses in the Snow: A Tale of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Bible Stories Old Testament Creation Paradise Noah's Ark* Noah's Ark The Tower of Babel* Exodus* Sarah Laughs Moses: The Long Road to Freedom Moses The Angel and the Donkey* Jonah and the Whale* The Book of Jonah The Story Of Ruth The Story of the Call of Samuel Jacob and Esau Joseph Benjamin and the Silver Goblet* The Coat of Many Colors David and Goliath The Wisest Man in the World Kings and Queens of the Bible Old Testament Rhymes Queen Esther Saves Her People* The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale Daniel and the Lord of Lions The Lord is My Shepherd To Every Thing There Is A Season* New Testament The Nativity: Six Glorious Pop-Up Scenes* Jesus The Miracles of Jesus The Parables of Jesus Loaves & Fishes Parable of the Good Samaritan The Parable of the Vineyard The Parable of the Sower Parable of the Bridesmaids The Twelve Apostles The Easter Story* Easter The Thornbush St. Peter's Story St. Joseph's Story Love Is . . . The Way of the Cross: Holy Week, the Stations of the Cross, and the Resurrection Prayers/Faith The Saving Name of God the Son * The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith* Twice Yours I Believe: The Nicene Creed The Lord's Prayer This Little Prayer of Mine This Is What I Pray Today: Divine Hours Prayers For Children Prayer for a Child If Jesus Came to My House* If Jesus Came to My House (newer edition) A Child's Rule of Life Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion A Is for Altar, B Is for Bible Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present Manners in God's House: First Prayers and First Missal I Believe: The Creed, Confession and the Ten Commandments for Little Catholics Just For Today* Misc. Jacinta's Story Brother Hugo and the Bear* The Miracle of St. Nicholas* Brother Bartholomew and the Apple Grove The Clown of God* The Little Juggler* The Acrobat and the Angel The Monk Who Grew Prayer* The Little Rose of Sharon* The Princess and the Kiss: A Story of God's Gift of Purity The Squire and the Scroll Brother William's Year: A Monk at Westminster Abbey* Joseph's Hands* Sister Anne's Hands The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale Song of the Swallows Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat Max and Benedict: A Bird's Eye View of the Pope's Daily Life
Today we attended a Summer with the Saints in honor of St. John Vianney! Here are a few pictures from our morning: ~ Coloring Pictures ~ The children began the morning coloring pictures. I had offered to bring the coloring pages, and I planned to print the one that Illuminated Ink had available for the […]
Catholic Color by Mass Item Coloring Pages - the fun and engaging way to teach your students about the items we use during Mass. Because there are five versions included, this is perfect for little ones, young children and older children as well. Perfect for your Catholic school, religious education, or Sunday school classroom. Help your students identify the items they see in church with these awesome coloring pages. Click to try out a FREE SAMPLE!
Saw this lesson on Pinterest. Pretty cool idea! Had kids strike a profile pose. It could be them or just a drawing of a facial profile. We used colored markers for face and black markers for background. Everyone was successful. It was an easy fun 1 or 2 day lesson. Great idea for end of 9 weeks. 1969
You can learn your basic Catholic prayers while coloring with these 7 fun and detailed coloring pages. Use them for your kids or for a relaxing coloring...
Learn how to make over 25 cross crafts that are great for any age group! Use these ideas for Easter, Sunday school, VBS, and other religious events.
Religious education ideas for Catholic teachers, homeschoolers, and catechists- crafts, lessons, and printables on Sacraments, Scripture and Prayer.
4th grade artists are learning about the contemporary artist Heather Galler, Folk Art, and Landscapes. We created our own landscapes in the patterned style of Galler. We also considered our use of color and thought about how to create line, shape and color patterns. Download Heather Galler Slide Show Click Here!
If you are looking for Catholic crafts from A-Z for preschoolers, you've come to the right place! You will find the full list below of all the preschool crafts, A through Z! Click the links
I love the imagination of God! He is Awesome!!!!!! All of us were individually created by this amazing God with an unending creativity! Every one of us is so different! Our personalities, our appearances, the way we walk, the way we talk. The talents we have and the abilities which our wonderful God has given us are truly mind
Well it’s that time of year! The feast of the archangels, September 29, is just around the corner! If you are looking for a way to celebrate Michaelmas with your kids, you are going to
Eucharist craft idea that is perfect for teaching about Holy Communion or the Seven Sacraments. This craft connects our liturgy on earth to the heavenly liturgy.
The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Mass Worksheets help students meditate on the different parts and prayers of the Mass by making personal connections to what they say and do.
In this engaging lesson, students create a hand self-portrait that includes a core belief that describes who they are as a person and personal narrative..
This is a digital download product. This bundle of (26) 8.5 x 11 Catholic ABC coloring pages is a beautiful learning resource for the whole family! Perfect for keeping kiddos busy, for homeschooling, and for Catholic classrooms. The pages of this bundle may be printed multiple times per household or classroom, but if you wish to use this bundle for an additional household or classroom (as a gift, for example), please purchase an additional bundle. Personal use only. No part of this resource may be sold. Thank you! View more Catholic Downloads here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/justloveprints/?section_id=43252112 © Copyright 2020, Just Love Prints. No part of this resource may be duplicated without owner's consent.
Catholic Mass Lesson Ideas: Five activities about lessons, games, and activities that can be used to teach students and kids about the Catholic Mass.
