Our Lent Lapbook

When I began homeschooling my second grader last fall, I was looking especially for hands-on learning experiences. She had spent the previous year in a good school, but there was so much emphasis on workbooks that by the end of the year, she refused to read, write or attempt even the simplest math problems. She is a very active kid that needs to move constantly! 

I stumbled upon the Homeschool Share website and discovered the wonderful world of lapbooks! Lapbooks are hands-on learning books created by kids, sometimes with mom or dad's help. The cutting, pasting, coloring and painting was perfect for my craft-loving daughter. She also liked all the movable parts within the lapbook (sometimes there are wheels to turn, or flaps to open, or games to play.) So we created a variety of lapbooks while reading Five-in-a-Row books like The Story of Ping, Madeline, Papa Piccolo, and Lentil.

Then we moved on to creating lapbooks for special occasions. To prepare for her First Reconciliation last December, I purchased and downloaded The Sacrament of Confession Faith Folder from Lindy Meyer. Lindy's downloadable kit contained all the files I needed to make a very nice lapbook.  I simply printed out the files (alternating color and white paper). Then, as we discussed topics like The Ten Commandments or the different types of sin, I had my daughter cut, paste and color the related lapbook item into her folder. 

As a big fan of lapbooks, I was thrilled when I learned about Evann's Lent Lapbook on her blog,  Homeschool Goodies and Xhonane lapbook on her from Familia Catolica.  I decided to borrow a few of their terrific ideas, plus add a few of my own, to create a lapbook that would not only teach her about Lent, but could also serve as a memory folder for my daughter to look back at when she's older.

Here are some photos of our lapbook:


Our lapbook covers (yes, I made one for myself, too!)




The inside of the lapbook

The inside of the flapbook contains our Lenten calendar, downloaded free from Lacy's Catholic Icing blog. 


The cover of the lapbook includes a coloring page image of Jesus carrying the cross and a title square that says "My Lent Lapbook 2011."  My daughter's also includes her Lent Journal (more about that in a minute.)

 



The left fold panel includes information about The Great Fast, which is what Orthodox Christians and Eastern Rite Catholics call Lent. I included this because my daughter was born in Russia, so I try to periodically share some of the customs and cultures of her birth country. This printable was downloaded from Jocelyn's blog, The Whole Trouble Is.

There is also a rectangle box that says "I prayed the Stations of the Cross."  Underneath it is a little envelope with small cut-out pictures of a crown of thorns. Whenever my daughter prays the Stations of the Cross, she gets to glue a crown of thorns into this box.  Thank you, Xhonane, from Familia Catolica, for this awesome idea!

The right panel

The right panel includes some of my own printables, including a list of our Lenten sacrifices and a "Today I prayed For..." log (we write down who we are praying for each day; it's my sneaky way of getting my hesitant writer to jot down a name or two!). There is also a journal to write down our thoughts during Lent. (My daughter pasted this to the outside of her flap.)
We have been using our lapbook since Ash Wednesday, and so far it is working quite nicely!  I think my daughter enjoys the slight change in our "starting school" ritual; it gives her a chance to look at the calendar in another way and build the habit of praying for someone special each day.

I have a couple of free downloads for you, if you would like to add them to your Lenten lapbook.

Click here for the "Lenten Journal" download, and here for the "Today I prayed for...." log.

Free Game for St. Joseph's Day

I was looking for something fun to add to my daughter's workboxes on St. Joseph's Day (March 19), and discovered "The Handy Carpenter Game" on That Resource Site.  It's a free printable; you simply add wooden craft sticks, a clean and empty soup can and a permanent marker.   I love the fact that it teaches addition in a fun way, especially since my daughter has been resisting her math work lately.  To find out more about the game and download it, click here.  The game is near the bottom of the page. 

That page also has many other printables for St. Joseph's Day, including a mini book on St. Joseph, notebooking pages, trading cards and more. 

Thank you to the great people at That Resource Site!

On our bookshelf: The Song of the Swallows

As I mentioned in my earlier entry about St. Joseph's Day altars,  I've been fascinated with the miracle that occurs every March 19 at San Juan Capistrano Mission in Southern California.  On that day, a large group of swallows return from their winter homes in Argentina and begin building their mud nests under the eaves of the church on this historic mission site.  Previously, they would arrive in large groups (sometimes described as a "cloud of swallows"), but due to development in the area, fewer are returning to the mission church. (So sad!)

I started telling my son about the miracle of the swallows when he was about 3 years old, and he asks me to re-tell it every year on St. Joseph's Day. One year, we found a perfect read-aloud book to match the story: The Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi.  It's a fictional story about a young boy named Juan who visits the mission and learns about the swallows from Julian, the mission's gardener. I especially love the book's simple illustrations, many which are in soothing pastel shades. The illustrations helped the book a Caldecott award in 1950.

Many libraries have a copy of this classic book, or you can pick up a copy of it from Powell's Books online. They have new and used copies starting at just $1.95.  Here is a link to the book on their website:  Song of the Swallows

If you are a homeschooler, check out Homeschoolshare for language arts, math, art and other activities you can do to accompany the book.

Praying the Stations with Kids: Part 2

Note: Last week, I shared some ideas on praying the Stations of the Cross with young children. Here are a few more ideas, reprinted from my article that was originally published on the Catholic social networking site 4Marks.

6. Make a game of it
I know that some people might not agree with this concept. It certainly isn’t right for every family. But I find that it works well with my daughter, who always needs to move a lot in order to absorb and understand things. I’ve set down some rules, however, to ensure that the game doesn’t become too boisterous and detract from the prayerful experience of the stations.

I purchased a beautiful set of prints from a Catholic bookstore. I put each print in different places around our house, then give my children hints on where they can find them. They must walk to the hinted location. When we have found the print, we discuss what we see in it, and what it means to us. Then we say an “Our Father,“ after which each child makes up a short prayer about the station. Sometimes we might sing a song, too. I will then give them a hint about the next location, and we will walk there and repeat the process. We do this as long as I can keep their attention. Some days we might only do four stations; other days we might be very lucky and do all fourteen!

On the 4Real Forums several years ago, there was a discussion about filling a shoebox with small items that represent each station. The children then take turns pulling the appropriate item out of the box before the station’s prayers are said. This link describes the items they use:

Others may opt to use the Resurrection Eggs, a set of 12 plastic eggs that contain little items symbolizing
Jesus’ passion and death. These are available from many Christian booksellers. 


7. Use votives while praying the Stations
Some families have successfully kept their child’s attention by using 14 votive candles. Begin in a room illuminated only by the 14 votives. A simple meditation or prayer is done for each station, after which a child extinguishes a candle. (Children love doing this!) The room is completely dark after the last station. This clever use of candles, light and darkness creates a lasting impression on children and adults!

For photos and more inspiration, check out Ruth's blog, Just Another Day in Paradise  or TracyC's Magnolia Cul-De-Sac.  (She has a wonderful way to display her stations of the cross prints, too!) CatholicCulture.org also has an informative article entitled Candelabrum for Stations of the Cross.


8. Break it up and do only a couple of stations each day.
Although it is best to pray all the stations in one sitting, this may not be realistic with young children. Instead, consider saying one or two stations each day. It could become part of your evening prayer time. You will then cover all station in about a week. By breaking the devotion into smaller pieces, your children will retain more, too.


9. Do the online Stations with your children.
Here is one way you can use technology to build your child’s faith! There are many online sites that offer virtual stations of the cross. Here are two that I have used with my children:

Passionist Missionaries Stations of the Cross for Children

AinglKiss' Stations of the Cross for Kids

When we discuss the Stations of the Cross in the atrium where I teach, I like to show actual pictures of the  Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.  You can find them here:


10. Provide things for your children to do during parish devotions.
You can still occasionally attend the traditional Stations devotion at your parish with your young children. Just try to be flexible and realize that you may not be able to stay for all fourteen stations. When I need to take my children with me, I bring a small cloth bag filled with appropriate and quiet things to keep them busy. My bag includes a Stations of the Cross coloring book and books. Here are some resources:

Loyola Press offers a free downloadable book on Stations of the Cross.

CatholicMom has a downloadable coloring book.  Some of the drawings are rather detailed so bring along colored pencils instead of crayons!

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church also has free Stations of the Cross coloring pages.

11. Use Prayer Gems
I developed a prayer tool for my daughter called Prayer Gems.  I'll be sharing photos and a description of them soon on this blog!  So please check back in a day or so for more information.

St. Joseph's Day altars

When I was in Catholic school, St. Joseph's Day was a big event. Our pastor's patron saint was Joseph, so the school always put together a special show in his honor. Each class would perform a song, skit, poem or prayer about St. Joseph.  It was held on the stage in our school's gym.  Besides our pastor, the non-teaching nuns in the parish's convent were invited, as were the parents.  After the morning performance, he would hand out little treats to the school children and we were given the rest of the day off.  (The best treat of all for a school child!)

In high school, my family visited the Mission at San Juan Capistrano in Southern California, and we learned about the miracle the returning swallows.  Each year, swallows would return in droves to San Juan Capistrano on March 19.  The fact that they all reappear on March 19 was amazing, since birds obviously don't carry calendars!

For these two reasons, the feast of St. Joseph has always held a special place in my heart. Last year, I learned about another tradition associated with this holiday:  St. Joseph's altars.

I understand that this tradition originates in Sicily, although my husband --whose heritage is half Sicilian and half Italian--was not familiar with it. (Sadly, I guess it's one of the customs his family left back in the old country so they could become more Americanized!) I guess it began in the Middle Ages. According to the CatholicCulture.org,  Sicily was suffering a drought and all of the crops were drying up and dying in the fields. The Sicilians prayed to St. Joseph, asking him to speak with God about bringing rain to the country. On March 19 (the feast of St. Joseph) it began to rain.  To thank St. Joseph for his help, the people filled a table with all of the different foods they had harvested, then donated those foods to the poor and hungry.

Over time, the tradition become more elaborate and the "St. Joseph tables" began including a variety of symbolic foods, including a bottle of wine to represent the Miracle at Cana, 12 fish to represent the apostles and bread shaped like chalices or crosses.

You can learn more about St. Joseph's altars by visiting the Virtual St. Joseph's Altar created by Evann Duplantier. Evann's ingenuous site also allows you to make virtual offerings to the table and to submit prayer requests for living or decreased family and friends. This year, my daughter and I will be making the 3D color, cut and paste altar which she has created and made available as a .pdf download from her website.  I'll try to post a photo of it after it's done.  In the meantime, check out Evann's Virtual St. Joseph's Altar!

Stations of the Cross Quiz

Here's a fun quiz to take, or share with your kids, on the Stations of the Cross.  Thank you to That Resource Site for kindly sharing this!  If you have never visited their website, please check it out.  They have many free printables for homeschoolers and catechists.  I especially like their Montessori-style "Articles of the Mass" cards and their Life of Christ Timeline for Children

Here's the quiz:

Courtesy of

http://www.thatresourcesite.com/

Sunday Snippets: A Catholic Carnival: March 6-13

I just discovered that RAnn of This That and The Other Thing hosts a "virtual get-together" of Catholic bloggers every Sunday. It's a chance to share some of our posts about "all things Catholic" during the last week.  I'm excited to participate in this get-together and "meet" some of the wonderfully talented and inspirational Catholic bloggers out there in cyberland!  I loved reading all of their posts and look forward to checking in every Sunday.

Here are my snippets from the previous week. 

- Super Quick Craft: Faux "Stained Glass" Saint Candle

- Praying the Stations of the Cross with Kids (Part I)

- Making a Sacrifice Crown of Thorns

- Our Prayer for Lent: The Litany of Humility (and a free downloadable prayer link)

Wishing everyone a blessed week!