Time to review the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Step One: Beautiful Monstrances. Mission: find gold things. Lots of them. Enough to allow for some creativity. I scoured Hobby Lobby and found some beautiful gold things, but ended up opting for the following because of price. Gold things, even the fake ones, are not cheap. Therefore, I had to be a little choosy. This craft ended up costing about 40 cents or so per student, so it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't typical for me. I purchased some gold tissue paper (cheap and a little goes a long way), gold curling ribbon from the wrapping aisle (I had real ribbon first and then realized my terrible expensive mistake), and gold metallic scrapbook paper. All of these things were cut into equal sized portions and then passed out to the kids. They got two pieces of scrapbook paper that were 4" x 6", a similar sized piece of tissue paper, and a length of ribbon, of which they could cut off more. In the picture, there is glitter, but we ended up not using any. I am not anti-glitter like some teachers, but we just didn't get around to it with this project. I then did a little more prep work for the Jesus element. Kids could totally do this, but I was trying to fit in this art project in a short amount of time, so prep was important. First. I folded a piece of heavy paper over about 1 1/2". I then used my 1 1/4' circle punch. Such a time saver, but of course, you could cut these by hand. I left a bit of space between the edge of the punch and the folded edge of the paper. By watching the underneath of the punch I was able to do this quickly. The result was a circle that actually opened up into two attached circles. I then pulled out some fabulous stickers that I think I found at Dollar Tree. God bless them for their $1 religious ed supplies. I also know that Autom has some similar Jesus stickers. I used a slightly smaller punch to create circles with Jesus on them that would fit inside of the white circle, like this: Here is a bucket of them ready to go for my class: And here it is inside my original white double circle. Next, I prepped sheets of black paper. I used 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock. To make my monstrance, I drew some pencil lines finding the midpoint for the top half of the paper. Not necessary, but helpful for a student that either needs some spacial guidance...or is a little OCD like me. I then drew a rough outline for the base of the monstrance on scratch paper. This is only half, which I then cut out and used as a stencil. I recommended this technique to the students, which saved on random unplanned cuts on the rationed gold paper. Here is my stencil: (fyi, it actually needed to be a bit longer, but it worked.) And here it is in gold with some ribbon wrapped around for depth: Then we talked a bit about symmetry. The kids were challenged to be creative, so I didn't show them anything after this step except the idea that if they started with a vertical line and a horizontal line and then kept splitting them in half, they would end up with a monstrance with balanced radial symmetry. Except, I probably did not say balanced radial symmetry. They are only 5th graders, after all! Starting with 8 pieces: Then add more in between: Add a few more and then some layers of concentric circles in the middle, and we are almost finished. We then glued on a white circle for the host and added a Jesus sticker on the inside, representing how Jesus is hidden in the Eucharist. Here is my final product: And here are some of the students': I know that you can't see them well, but they are all a little different, and I have gotten lots of comments from students from other classes who have peeked at them in the hallway and have said something like, "Jesus is inside there!" Yup, that he is. We then added the monstrance to our Sheen Notebooks, with a few other things about the Eucharist. Included is a notes page about Liturgical Vestments and items used at Mass. The sheet itself is not that exciting, but we used it for a review game. We also made this cool pop out altar and priest craft, which I will post more about later. Finally, I included a great quote about the Eucharist. "Man should tremble, the world should vibrate, all heaven should be deeply moved when the Son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priest." ~St. Francis of Assisi

Help your students understand the holiness of the Consecration and learn a short Eucharistic prayer (My Lord and My God) to say when the priest blesses the host and the wine. Includes coloring, tracing, and cut and paste.Half and quarter size pages included.

Here's a new Perler melting bead pattern! It's the Holy Eucharist, chalice and grapes. Download this pattern on our Download Shop! CLICK HERE They are great projects to keep kids busy!! Hope you are all having a great summer! God bless! ~Jen-Marie

I'm super excited and honored to be a new contributor for the Heart of the Revival, the newsletter of the National Eucharistic Revival. Beginning last year and continuing until 2025, the Bishops of the United States are calling us as a nation- as dioceses, parishes, and individuals- to renew our devotion to Jesus, Truly Present in the Holy Eucharist. I hope you've heard about it in your local area by now, but you might not know that they are building a website full of resources- great articles, videos, reflections, and now the beginning of a collection of activities for kids. :) My first contribution for the month of February was also a tribute to Pope Benedict XVI. Few kids will know much about him, but I think his recent death is a perfect opportunity to introduce them not only to his life, but to the legacies he leaves behind. One of those is his Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, which you can read in entirety here. Kiddos won't likely be picking up that text anytime soon, but I'm a big fan of bringing things to their level without watering them down- so I chose a few quotes about the love of God we experience in the Eucharist and turned them into coloring pages and little Valentine cards. You can read more about how to talk about these quotes with kids in the full blog post on the Eucharistic Revival website, and I encourage you to sign up for the Heart of the Revival Newsletter- you'll get updates on the latest posts each week. I'll be sharing a Eucharist themed kids activity at the beginning of each month. For now, here are links to the coloring pages in both English and Spanish! Click here for the coloring pages with Pope Benedict XVI quotes about the Eucharist: And click here for the same pages in Spanish: If you are looking for resources to help your kids get to know Pope Benedict, I'd recommend: Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion edited by Amy Welborn, Ignatius Press Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat by Jeanne Perego, Ignatius Press Be Saints! An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI by Amy Welborn, Ignatius Press Pope Benedict Biographical Activity Page from Catholic Paper Goods Pope Benedict Coloring Page from Catholic Paper Goods

This game is free, however it is only to be used for classroom and personal use. It may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit. Reproduction or retransmission of any materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, is not permitted. All graphics/images/clipart etc. used on all activities are not my own and are from various internet sources. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist File Folder Game- Students collect the most tokens by answering questions correctly about the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

growing our children in the light of the Lord!

"During a Holy Hour we grow more and more into His likeness." ~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Christ asked us if we "could not wait one hour with Him?". A Holy Hour is a dedicated response of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. I have been to lots of Holy Hours hosted by many different parishes that are set up for kids or advertised as family-friendly. Taking kids to Adoration can be intimidating for parents and teachers- the silence, the ritual, the importance- but I am a huge advocate of getting kids there in the Presence of our Lord. Here are some of my favorite things to see at a Holy Hour that is welcoming to children: Reverence- the beauty and truth of the Sacrament is not lost. We can bring children to this without watering it down. Proximity- kids are able to draw close to the Sanctuary and even pray on the floor in front of the steps or invited to sit in the very front pews. Breaking up the Silence- kids make noise, and that noise is ok. They also are not trained contemplatives, so expecting mental prayer for an hour isn't an option. Great Holy Hours for kids DO have silence, but also have appropriate Scripture readings, reflections from Saints,a decade or more of the Rosary, etc. Music- having a musician lead the songs for Exposition and Benediction is awesome, and then even better is to have them pepper the silence with a few songs that kids can sing along with. Singing is a powerful form of prayer. Teaching- having a priest that is comfortable with kids and their developmentally appropriate learning styles is awesome. I love when a priest talks to kids at their level and teaches them with words meant just for them, always pointing back to the True Presence of Jesus. I also like for kids to have resources available to help foster their prayer as appropriate. Children's Bibles, a journal, a Rosary devotional with images to meditate on, a book about a favorite Saint, children's books of prayer, etc. can enhance and not detract from this time of prayer. So on that note, I put together a few resources that I think could help kids both with the logistics of Adoration, as well as help them enter into prayer. First up, an 8-page Adoration booklet that could be taken into a Holy Hour. (We had this available at the Fulton Sheen Family Day last weekend). There is a page with some explanations/definitions: And a page with the words to Adoration Prayers/Songs: And a page with some Adoration info/questions: Then there is room for kids to actually use the book by writing or drawing what they would like to pray about. Matching the other ACTS prayer activities that I have created (see them here and here), the prayer prompts and Scripture verses lead the kids through four kinds of prayer: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication: It's a great little printable that would be an asset for prayer time with your own kiddos or a Holy Hour with a classroom or CCD Program. Click on the image below for the link: And, always one to want options, I have a couple of other printables too! This page could be perfect for repeat visits to Adoration (instead of printing a booklet for each time) and would be a great addition to a notebooking project or prayer journal. And adding to the collection of Fulton Sheen Coloring Pages, here is the matching art from the prayer pages with a favorite quote: I'd love to hear how you make Adoration fruitful (with one kid or thirty!) and what your favorite resources for fostering prayer are! Linking up with Blessed Is She's theme on the Power of Prayer. Check out the other posts by clicking on the image below:

free printables: IF YOU NEED TO CHANGE THE SIZE OF YOUR BOOKMARKS.... (i made them very large) ON THE PRINT SCREEN: shrink the percentage. they'll be smaller for you. if you can remember to say a Hail Mary prayer for me i would be so grateful! if you really want to pay money, send the money you would have sent me to to Cross Catholic Outreach this post will be added to & edited to as i have time to upload & create more. if you are a blog subscriber, it won't update you each edit, so you'll have to check back if you're looking for new stuff. if you're following along on facebook or instagram, you'll usually see new work as i go. CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE Bible Journal Color Your Own Bible Study Bookmarks 1 PDF CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE Bible Journal Color Your Own Bookmarks Scripture Journaling 2 PDF CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE SPRING WATERCOLOR STATIONERY Daughter of the King bookmarks PDF CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE BY ST. FRANCIS DE SALES CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE JOY OF THE LORD CHALKBOARD PDF JOY TO THE WORLD WINTER FOREST BOOKMARK CHRISTIAN STUDY TOOLS BOOKMARKS CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE AS WE FORGIVE ILLUMINATED BOOKMARKS CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE CLICK, PRINT, CUT, SHARE What is the Angelus? THY WILL BE DONE MINT & GRAY PDF THE WORLD IS THY SHIP PDF What is the Regina Coeli? BLUE WATERCOLOR PRAYER BOOKMARKS PINK WATERCOLOR PRAYER BOOKMARKS DIVINE MERCY FAUSTINA QUOTE BOOKMARKS PDF MOTHER TERESA CHILDREN FLOWERS Adoration Chapel United States Directory VINCE LOMBARDI BOOKMARKS IT IS WELL BOOKMARKS PDF BLUE FADE BOOKMARK SET GRAY FADE BOOKMARK SET EYES TO SEE LAZARUS PDF LIVE SIMPLY PDF QUICK PRINT LECTIO DIVINA PAINTED BOOKMARKS PDF TEN COMMANDMENTS BLUE WATERCOLOR TRUTH IS LIKE A LION AUGUSTINE BOOKMARKS DO WHAT MAKES YOU HOLY BOOKMARKS PDF GRAFFITI ORPHANS PDF SALT & LIGHT PDF PRINT ADORATION CHAPELS UNITED STATES DIRECTORY ADORATION DIRECTIONS & IDEAS BOOKLET PDF A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO ADORATION CATHERINE OF SIENA FIRE BOOKMARKS PDF COME HOLY SPIRIT BOOKMARKS TEN COMMANDMENTS TIE DYE WATERCOLOR WINTER THEME 10 COMMANDMENTS GREEN WINTER THEME COMMANDMENTS ten commandments bookmarks rainbow pdf Psalm 1:2New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) 2 Rather, the law of the Lord[a] is his joy; and on his law he meditates day and night. Print on cardstock, thick watercolor cardstock (my favorite), or laminate. if you don't have a laminating machine you can just pick up some sheets like this at your local store, or here on amazon. Self Adhesive Laminating Sheets Scotch Laminating Machine Scotch Laminating Pouches Blessed be the Holy Names of Jesus, Mary, & Joseph J+M+J

Today I thought I'd give an overview of the City of Jerusalem. I took plenty of photos during the training in Gilbert and I will display those photos as well as the three maps I put together. One is a control map and the other two are mute (without labels). It's nice to have it this way because when you are demonstrating how to use it, you take the buildings from the mute map on the left and place them on the mute map to the right. The children can leave it out when finished so that the next child can move it back again to the left. To do the City, I bought children's building blocks from Sears. I thought the finish and color was pretty and light. I used a jig saw to cut some of these small blocks in half and then glued them to others with wood glue. I learned that you have to go very very slowly while cutting in half, otherwise the wood goes out of control and can be dangerous. My husband bought me a little Drummel drill with different bits. It's small and fun to use - a real ladies' tool. Dentists use it as well, so you know it is used for tedious small areas. I used the Drummel drill to make groves on top of the castle and walls to look like the parapets in the photographs I found. The Drummel helped to make windows, stairs. and the opening of the tomb also. I Googled the City of Jerusalem and discovered that there are photographs of a miniature city in Jerusalem showing what it looked like in Jesus' time. I was amazed how beautiful, lavish, and white it was with golden trim. I used foam board which I bought at the dollar store and Staples for the map. I also got the yellow poster paper from Staples to trace the buildings for the map. I then cut out the shapes from the poster paper and glued them on to the foam board. I did the roads and waterways first. I would suggest using a paintbrush and paint to make the roads on the foam board. I used felt tip for the blue waterway and was sorry later because it didn't stand out as brightly as the paint. Researching photos online of Jerusalem were very helpful to me. I did a lot of research as well about the pools and the ancient staircase leading from the lower city to the upper city. I made a book on this information which has been very useful in my understanding and so I found I could explain things much more interestingly to the children. So I strongly suggest you do a lot of reading when doing this work. That's the joy of this work, you learn as you prepare the materials to teach. I bought heavy plastic at Walmart to cover the maps to protect them from damage. I taped them tight on the other side. They've held up well over the years without any fingerprints. This is St. Patrick's City of Jerusalem in Tucson. As you can see from the three different versions of the City, there are subtle differences. For example, St. Anne's uses poster board paper as does St. Patrick's for the maps. I used foam board. I like the fact that you can lift it up with some of the pieces intact in case you have to move it around the room. St. Anne's City is smaller than mine and St. Patrick's is larger. St. Anne's uses two small desks. St. Patrick's uses a larger table for display and I used a table the size of the foam board and made a smaller table to fit underneath for when we weren't using the City. I bought the squared legs from Lowe's and Home Depot and had them cut to the height I wanted. (At right St. Anne's City of Jerusalem) Finally, below I am attaching a closeup so you can see ours at St. Andrews in detail. For the tomb, I glued four blocks together. One was a half circle. With the Drummel, I drilled a hole in the front and made the surface very uneven to create a hilly look. I wanted very little color and only painted the pools, blue; the top of Herod's Palace, gold along with the golden doors; and the trees, green. My husband did the trees and the stair steps for me. I've never been able to gain that much control with the Drummel. I suppose if it had been left up to me to do them, I would have resorted to the Sculpy Clay for the trees, and left the stairs straight and drawn lines. The children really enjoy this work.

Our children have been involved in a program called " Catechesis of the Good Shepherd " for four years. (Everything is designed for little ...