Lent

40 Ideas for 40 Days – Lenten Activities: Salt Dough Crown of Thorns

Today’s activity – a Salt Dough Crown of Thorns – can be found in many places on the Internet, I am drawing from a  couple of Web sites: Ten Kids and a Dog and Three Sided Wheel (which has an excellent tutorial) Basically, you make a salt dough and then roll out the dough into 3 long rolls/ropes. Next, you braid the rolls/ropes and shape it into a circle. Add toothpicks (loosely) to represent the thorns, asking forgiveness […]

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Advent

Catechists in Action – Dan Ward Segment 6

In this segment of Catechists in Action, 7th grade catechist Dan Ward continues to work with his students to prepare them for Christmas. Watch as Dan… invites his students to take 3 minutes to think of what they need to do to prepare for Jesus’ coming invites volunteers to share their ideas shares an idea of how he and his family are going to prepare for Christmas httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2SlSHFTlvs

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Lenten Activities

It’s Not Too Early to Start Thinking LENT!

Believe it or not, LENT is only 4 weeks away! With that in mind, I’m happy to once again provide you with a number of Lenten resources right here on my blog, beginning with the popular 40 Crosses Lenten Calendar idea created by my friend Victor Valdez, a DRE in Mountain View, CA. Thank you, Victor, for sharing this idea with us. With help from some folks here at Loyola Press, we’ve updated the calendar for […]

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Advent

Catechists In Action #3 – Dan Talks About Advent/Christmas Preparations and the Sacrament of Reconciliation

In this segment of Catechists in Action, we watch as 7th grade catechist Dan Ward talks with his students about preparing for Christmas and the coming of Christ and about preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation the following week. Watch for the following as Dan: multi-tasks: teaching while also distributing materials pauses and shushes students when they get innattentive gives the students a writing activity to do but creates a sense of urgency by […]

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Christmas

A Nativity Play According to Luke

Click here for a Nativity Play that was sent to me by Karen from Elizabeth, Illinois, who writes: Hi Joe, If anyone needs a “bomb proof” script for the Nativity Play, a children’s production, for this year, please pass along the attached file. It’s based on the Gospel of St. Luke, this year’s cycle. It also starts right at the Prologue, a unique tool used by Luke. We’ve taken selected readings from Chapter 1, then continue […]

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Lent

Holy Week Activity – Looking for Clues in the Good Friday Passion

Here’s what I’ll be doing this evening with my 4th graders: After our opening prayer, I’ll have my aide, Daneen, take those students who have yet to finish their final assessment into the neighboring room so that they can complete the test. Meanwhile, I’ll meet with each of the students who have completed their test to go over their results with them. As I’m meeting with them individually, I’ll have them work on a Holy […]

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Liturgical Seasons & Feasts

A Word That Will Rouse Them

May this line from the First Reading for Palm Sunday inspire us as catechists as we enter this HolyWeek and beyond! The Lord has given me a well-trained tongue, that I may know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. (Isaiah 50:4) Lord, grant that we may speak a word that will rouse all who we teach!

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Liturgical Seasons & Feasts

Chronic Hope

As we head into this weekend and prepare to celebrate the 5th Sunday of Lent, I wanted to share a message of hope with you. It comes from a blog called Chronic Hope and I found it very inspiring. I’ll let the author of the blog speak for herself. Check it out and have a great weekend!  Chronic Hope

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Stations of the Cross

Living Stations

This past Monday, the 4th graders put on the Living Stations of the Cross and they did a wonderful job. I was very impressed with how prayerful and mature they were…the whole experience was done with great reverence.  Here’s a pic and then an invitation from a catechist named Ron to view their Living Stations in a picture gallery, station-by-station. Thanks Ron! All, Click the link below, if you’d like to see Station-by-Station scenes of […]

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Lent

The Seven Last Words of Christ – A Blackline Master

One of the activities in my 40 Ideas for 40 Days of Lent, 2011, is an exercise on the Seven Last Words of Christ. Since I am once again only going to have about half of my students present this Monday (because of Living Stations rehearsals), I thought it would be nice to have them work on a Lenten activity related to the suffering and death of Jesus that is portrayed in the Living Stations. […]