by Sandi BellequeUse this Scripture Echo from Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 to teach students what Jesus says about giving alms, praying, and fasting. This is a good activity to prepare students for Lent.
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Feb 20
A Lenten Scripture Echo
by Sandi BellequeUse this Scripture Echo from Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 to teach students what Jesus says about giving alms, praying, and fasting. This is a good activity to prepare students for Lent.
Continue reading "A Lenten Scripture Echo" »
Feb 13
Prayer Table for the First Week of Lent
Lent begins on Wednesday, February 22. The Gospel proclaimed on the First Sunday
of Lent is about Jesus being tempted in
the desert. Place on your prayer table a
large bowl of sand with rocks and twigs in
it, creating a symbolic representation of
the desert. Use the color violet in your
prayer space. Violet is the liturgical
color for Lent.
Feb 10
A Lenten Cross for Your Classroom
Use two bare branches, one longer than the other, to make a cross. Attach a shorter beam across the longer one with a piece of violet yarn and display the cross in your learning space.Each class period during Lent, invite your learners into a brief examination of conscience. And then have each student tie a short piece of violet yarn or ribbon to the cross as a symbol of their repentance. For the first class after Easter, drape a white piece of cloth across the beam of the cross and explain that Jesus dies for our sins and how his joyous Resurrection is our promise of eternal life.
Feb 09
Teaching the Two Sides of Lent
by Lee DanescoLee Danesco uses this activity to both broaden her learners’ understanding of Lent and help them create an inspirational prayer corner for the Lenten season. All that's required is a few well-structured class discussions and a little independent artwork.
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Feb 08
The Lord's Prayer during Lent
A Collage Activity and Blessingby Jeanne Heiberg
This Lent, let the Lord’s Prayer guide you and your students into a deeper relationship with the Source of All Life as you invite God’s Kingdom of Heaven into your minds and hearts and the whole world.
Use the following outline with your students to make the Lord’s Prayer your Lenten guide. Discuss and pray each line. Then make collages that express each line, working with one line each week. Or, toward the end of Lent, take one class period to make the collages, letting each child visually express a different line to form the prayer together as a class.
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Feb 07
A Lent-Easter Wreath
by Veronica Glenn
A Lent-Easter wreath can help students
pray through Lent—the same way an Advent
wreath helps students pray through Advent—
and celebrate Easter.
The wreath has violet, rose, and red triangles,
and tree twigs on one side for Lent and bright
spring-colored blooms on the reverse side
for Easter.
Feb 06
Scrapbooking through Lent
by Lee DanescoHere's a creative and entertaining teaching
tool to present a serious and sacred season.
Just add your personal enthusiasm to this
guide and you can present a multi-week project
that will encourage learners to discover for
themselves some of the spiritual richness
of the centuries-old spiritual disciplines
of Lent.
Continue reading "Scrapbooking through Lent" »
Jan 23
Idea of the Month: January
Finding Secret Valentine Messages in the Bibleby Patricia Banner
Are you looking for a fun project for Valentine’s Day? Invite children to make valentine puzzles with secret messages from the Bible.
Catechist Patricia Banner uses these valentine puzzles to teach children how to find passages in the Bible. And here’s how she does it.
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Dec 30
Idea of the Month: December
Traveling Vocation Tote Bags
by Donna Stachulski
Vocation Tote Bags are the invention of DRE Donna Stachulski and are intended to increase vocation awareness at St. Linus Parish in Dearborn Heights, MI. Eight Vocation Tote Bags travel throughout the year to families of the children in the religious education program at St. Linus.
Dec 09
St. Juan Diego Wooden-Spoon Puppets
by Sr. Vivian Giulianelli, S.A.Make these charming wooden-spoon puppets with your students. The objective of this activity is to learn about Our Lady of Guadalupe (whose feast day is December 12) and St. Juan Diego (whose feast day is December 9) and to have students retell the story with their puppets. Continue reading "St. Juan Diego Wooden-Spoon Puppets" »
