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Head off on a nature hunt with the kids today, and create self-portraits with all the goodies you collect! Great art activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

A hard to capture church due to the reduced urban space around it.

Continuing my series on crafts related to the Creed... (for the rest, check out the "I Believe" activities under the Sharing the Faith tab above) Highlighting the Four Marks of the Church found at the end of the Nicene Creed, I made this craft as a vehicle for dicussing how the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Here are some topics I would teach as I made this with kids: -One= Christ founded one Church. It was never his plan for us to break into smaller groups with differing beliefs. When He comes again, we will all be united as one. -Holy= The Church is the spotless Bride of Christ, good and holy, even though it is made up of broken and fallen people. When He comes again, the Church will enter Heaven as His Holy Bride. -Catholic= The Church is universal. Our faith is for all people of all cultures of all times. When He comes again, we will see how all encompassing the Church really is. -Apostolic= The Church is founded on the teachings of the Apostles, and continues to follow their authority today through their successors the Bishops. We are blessed to have leadership in our time by those given authority from Christ. -The Church is not a building, but is the people. We are the Church, and we make up the Body of Christ. -We believe all of these things as we say the Nicene Creed- "I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church." So, for the craft, you will need a copy of the printable (link at the bottom of the post) and one piece of black construction paper for each kid, as well as various colored scraps of paper, glue, scissors, and a circle punch if you have one. First mission: color the pieces on the printable. I chose to leave the church and "Our Church Is..." white to represent it being the spotless Bride of Christ. Then cut them out. Second mission: cut open the doors on the solid lines and fold on the dotted lines. A little trick for kids having trouble-fold the church in half length ways and clip on the line. Then open it back up and cut the rest. Here is what it looks like after that step- Third mission: lay the church in the center of the black paper and trace the opening with a white crayon. (I love finding a purpose for the neglected white crayon in my Crayola box :) ) Fourth mission: Cut or punch out circle of various colors. This is step you could do ahead of time to speed things up if you are crafting with a large group. Glue the circles inside the white rectangle. Glue the church on over the circles without gluing down the doors. Then glue on the rest of the words like this: Fifth mission: glue the "We are the Church!" and the Ephesians verse on the inside of the doors. This is to remind the kids that we, all of the people of God, are the Church, and we are one body. Sixth mission: Go share it with somebody! Here is the link to the printable:

Hoy se consagra en Valledupar la nueva catedral del Santo Ecce Homo. Con una capacidad para 4000 personas se convierte en la más grande de Colombia. Ojalá y se traduzca en abundantes bendiciones para este pueblo que tanto las necesita.

Download this photo by Luis Quintero for free on Pexels

Explore rivende's 1955 photos on Flickr!

1) Welcome: 2) Songs: Start the Story Hour with the learning our names song. Go around the circle or table and introduce each child. Here is a cute little song to reinforce the idea of stars in the sky: (sing like Twinkle Twinkle) Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the night. Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are. Twinkle twinkle little star How I wonder what you are God has put you in the sky And sometimes I wonder why But it’s good t shine up there You remind me of God's Care. 3) Prayer... Ask God to work the Holy Spirit in our hearts to give us the faith to move mountains. 4) Theme: Remind the children of the theme of the unit: God works among his covenant people to prepare the world for the Savior. Hebrews 12:1&2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us… look to Jesus.” Today we are going to hear a story about Abraham. Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children, but God promised to make their descendants as many as the stars in the sky. How would God do this? Abraham had to trust in God. 5) Bible Story: Today’s Story is "Abraham" . Read pages 33-38 (R 37-42) from the Read and Learn Bible (Scholastic). 6) Text: Today’s Text is: Genesis 15:5 "...Look towards the heaven, and number the starts, if you are able to number them... So shall your descendants be." 7) Crafts: Number the stars... Here is a simple craft that small children love to do. Give each child a sheet of black or dark blue constructions paper for the "sky." Provide lots of star stickers and allow the kids to put as many stars in the sky as they like. Then, challenge the children to count the stars! Or you can use the coloring page below, and do the same idea... lots and lots of stars. Most dollar stores sell packs of about 500 star stickers in gold, silver, red and blue. Worth every penny. If you have a star punch, you could punch out stars from colored paper, for some variety. 8) Closing Prayer... say the Lord's Prayer together with the children. 9) Going Home: Sing the closing together. Then, check to see if all the children have collected their crafts and coloring sheets before they go home. Say goodbye and tell them that you enjoyed learning about God together and were happy to have them today! You were, weren’t you? 10) Optional Coloring Pages: check out www.coloring.ws/abraham.htm for some free coloring pages

Days of Creation printables offer an engaging way to teach children about the biblical story of how the world was created. By using these printables, you can make the learning process interactive and memorable.

A cardboard cut-out model template for the Ark of the Covenant (from Exodus 25:10-22). PDF version (142 KB)

Use the Naaman's Leprosy is Healed Coloring Page as a fun activity for your next children's sermon.

Get ready to journey back in time with these 20 Moses coloring pages, free for you to download and print! With this series, you can experience the biblical tales of courage, faith, and leadership from Moses as you add your own colors to these beautifully designed pages.

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Our school has an Outdoor Learning Committee that I am a part of. We all feel very strongly that the environment where the children play outside is just as important as the environment inside our school. We have worked hard to make our playground an area where the kids can run, exercise explore and yes...learn! Outside play plays an important role in children's development! They are working gross motor muscles and getting must needed exercise. They learn how to solve problems such as when social disagreements arise. They learn empathy as they help friends who get hurt. They learn to take risks and see where their limits are and feel empowered as they take those risks and succeed. They create games and role play. They learn science concepts as they discover things in nature and learn to look closer and ask questions about what they see as they discover new things. They learn kindness as they try to save an insect in danger or nurture a plant. They are literally learning about life and life skills as they play outside, so we knew the environment needed to support that. We had an area that we were having some problems with in the middle of our asphalt area. We wanted to turn it into something all of the kids could explore and benefit from and decided to create a Barefoot Sensory Path. We came up with a design and my husband figured out how to make it so that it would be sturdy and last. Our amazing PTO gave us funds to purchase the materials and we had fun shopping at Lowes for items that would provide the sensory experiences we were hoping for. Our team came in on a Saturday and went to work. Our maintenance team had dug the area down four inches so that it would be even with the asphalt. We put down a layer of paver sand, and then the 4x4's. We glued some materials to 2x2 pieces of plywood. The sections were all 2x2. We filled the sections with paver base and tamped it solid. My son even came and helped! Here is the finished frame. Of course, we had to test it out! Here is the finished path!! We were so excited for the kids to try it! It was a huge success!! The kids absolutely loved walking on it with bare feet, crawling on it and feeling with their hands and even laying in it enjoying the warmth radiating from it from being in the sun. Another new area we created was an area to create roads, ramps, etc. using scrap wood, cars, signs and other loose parts. This lovely lady below had the vision for this area! We also added an area to really work those gross motor muscles. Mr. Doyle created a boundary to keep it all contained to one area. We filled it with stumps, logs, and large branches. The kids have created obstacle courses and love lifting these up to show how strong they are! They jump, balance and create here. They collaborate and problem solve. They use both critical and creative thinking skills. This is a great area to develop 21st Century Learning Skills as they play! For our nature lovers, we have an area with plants for them to explore and observe. Some are edible such as peppermint and fennel. We have cone flowers, milkweed, irises, sunflowers and more. This area is a great place to explore and observe insects also! Here are some other things on our playground where they can let lose and have fun! Our playground is still a work in progress! We have many more ideas that we want to implement some day! One step at a time!

In this DIY Bulletin Board Makeover, you'll learn how to cover an ordinary corkboard in upholstery fabric and accent ribbon for a bold, beautiful new look.

Children have different learning styles- some learn through listening, some through seeing, some through music, and some through movement. Even with specific strengths like these, I think we can agree that all children benefit from skills learned through doing, practicing, modeling, and acting out- in essence, through play. Even though my students are 10 and 11, this is no less true for them as it is for their younger peers. As I tweak things in my classroom over the summer and make room through growth in student centered instruction plans, I am on the look out for Catholic resources that allow for hands-on interaction and learning. Meeting all of my expectations, I have fallen in love with these Mass play sets from Wee Believers. Part of the Wee Discover series of faith filled toys, the My Little Church Magnet Set* and My Pop Out Mass Kit* have both received a Seal of Ecclesiastical Approval and are wonderful faith centered toys that help kids play, pray, and learn. The Wee Believers Sr. Mary Clara and Fr. Juan Pablo dolls and Vocation books were among some of my first purchases as a new DRE years ago and they remain a favorite addition to my Faith Corner in our classroom, so I am excited to add these to our collection of resources. After trying out these play sets (lots of pictures and details below), I can easily see how these could become a favorite toy for kids at home. I wanted to think about some practical classroom adaptations as to how these sets could also be used as a resource in Catholic schools and CCD programs. I love how they are child friendly while still being uniquely Catholic, accurate, and beautifully made. Here are a few ideas: For Younger Students (5-8 years old): Practice setting up the church or altar for Mass (maybe limiting the number of Mass articles at the beginning) Playing Mass by moving the priest/people/Mass articles for each main part of the liturgy Pray the parts of the Mass alone or with a "congregation" using a Mass book like this or this. (affiliate links) Practice the steps and prayers during Mass, especially in preparation for receiving First Holy Communion Work on memorizing and using the correct names for the Mass articles and their use For Older Students (9-11 years old): Practice correctly setting up the church and altar Know the names of each Mass article and their purpose Match objects to name cards Understand the difference between setting up for Mass or Adoration or another liturgical celebration Note differences inside the church during various liturgical seasons Talk through the Mass parts and movement of people and things in the church Discuss prayers and responses from Mass and Adoration and their meanings Tour church Sacristy or invite a Sacristan or Priest to join the class and show the students the parish's real Mass articles I plan to use both of these sets in my classroom with some of the the above ideas during our Sacrament unit on the Eucharist. They'll work great along with other content activities for stations as well as enrichment and choice work. Wee Believers even offers lots of matching printables and activities for free download on their website here. Here are some close up views of these two play sets along with what I like about each: First up, the My Little Church Magnet Set- It comes with a tri-fold magnetic church interior, 38 magnetic pieces, and an instructional booklet: The church tri-fold stands on its own and the magnets can be arranged in tons of different ways: Different magnets feature the priest sitting and standing (and facing backwards for Latin Mass) as well as different colored chasubles. It includes Mass articles: And Sanctuary furniture: And people for the congregation: I love this little booklet that has pictures that match the magnets and great explanations about the Mass articles and their uses. All the pieces of the magnetic set stick easily to the trifold board even when standing (no sliding!) and even with the pieces in place, it still folds easily for storage. Everything fits perfectly in the clear storage pouch so no little magnets are lost for next time. Next up, the Pop Out Mass Kit: It comes with a heavy weight "altar", 14 Mass articles, and an explanation/set up sheet: I popped out all the pieces and am super impressed with the heavy cardboard and sturdy stands that can be removed easily for storage and then reused again and again: The set comes with an info sheet with instructions for how to set up for Mass: And Adoration: I really like how each item is clearly labeled on the back: The other side of the info sheet also has matching pictures and short descriptions of the purpose and use of each item. I'll definitely be laminating this sheet for longevity and keeping it with the set for student use: All of the pieces easily store back in the clear storage case, or they fit well in shoe box sized container which is how I'll store them in my classroom, eliminating the need to un-assemble and assemble each time. While for younger children this set would be great for pretending and playing Mass, for my intermediate students this set will be very useful for emphasizing the names and purposes of Mass articles. Instead of using just pictures, the students have the advantage of touching and interacting with the objects first, and then could use the same objects for an assessment. I could definitely see setting up a table like this where the student have to match each number with the name of the Mass article and what it is used for, either on a recording sheet or using vocab cards. I really love both the My Little Church Magnet Set and My Pop Out Mass Kit and know that they will make a great addition to my Sacrament focused curriculum. My students will benefit from the hands-on method of these learning toys and the examples and explanations they can relate to. I know that they would be a wonderful toy for any Catholic kid- whether at home or in a classroom. Have you ever tried these products or other play Mass sets? How have you used them with your children or students? *Wee Believers provided me with a free set of My Little Church and My Pop Out Mass Kit in exchange for an honest review. I only recommend things that I have used and love, and these opinions are entirely my own.

¿Te has encontrado alguna vez en medio de dificultades terribles?, Quizá te has visto en alguna situación en la que no podías hacer nada, i...

This free, printable color by number page, based on Joshua 4:1-16, can remind children that God will discipline sin, but He delivers from sin when we repent. It can be used in a homeschool setting, one-on-one, or in a classroom setting like Sunday School.

Watercolor print of Christ holding a lamb 5x7 or 8x10 Professionally printed on high quality matte paper *This is only a print. Frame NOT included. Link for DIGITAL PRINT only listing is here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1011828307/christ-lamb-of-god-watercolor-digital

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 READ Read Mark 2:1-12 with your family. WATCH Watch one or both of the videos below created just for kids. The first one is great for toddlers and the second touches on concepts that are good for pre-k to elementary age. https://youtu.be/8cmppSIQUX4 https://youtu.be

What is the ultimate purpose of a church platform or stage? Is it to inspire? Entertain? Challenge? Or dare we ask…has its role in our worship become “marginally outdated”? As…

Some crafts open our eyes to a point in the story we sometimes forget to really examine. This little scene shows Jesus finding the yet to be healed invalid by the pool. It opens us to questions about the other ill people who witnessed this encounter, to questions about how the pool was seen […]

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As dez fotografias selecionadas são referências seminais de alguns momentos icônicos da história.

En honor a esta leyenda, un capitel de la plaza de los Mercanti, cerca del Duomo, representa a una cerdita peluda a medias. Simboliza la ternura escondida de una ciudad que, aun siendo caldero de muchas culturas, no ha perdido nunca su identidad profundamente italiana .