Little Cut-n-Paste Rebus to Learn About the Angels and the First Sin

Answer Key Sample

When I ask my CCD classes what is the first sin ever committed, more often than not I am told about the original sin of Adam and Eve in the garden and eating the forbidden fruit.  Although I am always happy that children know the story of our first parents' disobedience to God, I know that I have my work cut out for me in  teaching the truth about the first sin ever committed. 

The need for the distinct explanation of the first sin ever committed and the first sin ever committed on earth may arise in your religious education class or home catechises session too.  To help explain this in a tactile and inviting way for younger learners, I have created a cut -n-paste rebus about the angels and the first sin.

This activity is fun, simple and fast to complete so it can be a quick perfect addition to your lessons at home or in the classroom.  Simply cut out the pieces, read the story together and paste in the pieces where they match in the story.  St. Michael is depicted as a warrior angel with a bow and Lucifer is depicted as a plain angelic figure - as he would have been originally.  This provides a great opportunity to talk about how sin can change us spiritually and even physically.

Scrambled letter clues are given for each piece, CCC passages are noted and an answer key is provided.

Find the Angels and the First Sin Rebus as well as other resources to teach about sin and forgiveness in our collection now.

Blessings,
Kalei

Resource Run Down for the Liturgical Week Featuring St. Vincent de Paul, the Transcendent Trio and St. Jerome

Another busy liturgical week is here and we have lots to point out and share with our kiddos and yours too!  So, here is our liturgical run down for this week:

Tuesday, Sept.27 - Saint Vincent de Paul
Saint Vincent de Paul is the founder of the Congregation of the Missions (Vincentians) as well as the co-founder of the Daughters of Charity.  The son of a French peasant, he was ordained in 1600 and devoted his life to acts of charity.

Download an 12 page set of Notebooking pages on Saint Vincent de Paul from our notebooking page or download a Saint biography learning card on St. Vincent de Paul from our saint biography learning card collection.


Wednesday,  Sept. 28 - Saint Wenceslaus
You may have heard of St. Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia in the 10th century, from the Christmas carol written by John Mason Neale and published in 1853.  Wenceslaus was raised in the faith by his grandmother although his mother and brother were opposed to Christianity.  He intended on having his son take his thrown and rule with his strong beliefs in Christianity but his brother plotted against him and killed him in an ambush while the good king was on his way to Holy Mass. 

For a great learning activity:  go over the lyrics or sing the carol - which is usually sung on Dec.26th for the feast of St. Stephen, who is mentioned in the lyrics.  It gives us such a great insight into the heart of this noble saint. Here is our printable version of the lyrical story of St. Wenceslaus.


Thursday, Sept. 29 - The Transcendent Trio (Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael)
This special trio of arch angels are part of the group of seven archangels who stand before God.  They are recognized and venerated in both the Christian and Jewish Faith.  This special day was once called Michaelmas in honour of St. Michael, but now this day celebrates this well known trio who are well known to intercede and protect human beings on earth.

Find out more about them and see our list of printable Resources for the Transcendent Trio.



Friday, Sept. 30th - Saint Jerome Feast Day
We love Saint Jerome in our home.  Most know that St. Jerome is responsible for us having the Bible today.  You can learn lots about St. Jerome and his accomplishments with our resources.
Learn about this great saint with a Little Lesson packet on St. Jerome.  And then check out our fun printable Resources on Saint Jerome including a mini-book, notebooking pages and more.

Have a great week!

Blessings,
Kalei

Organize Your Learning Day in a Fun Hands-on Way

Help children keep track of what's coming up next in their learning day with these cute and very functional subject labels.

Use these labels to set-up a loose (or tight) learning schedule. Simply print out pages, cut apart subject cards on the lines and order according to the day's tasks. Laminate for more durability and to re-use daily.  You can affix to poster board, bulletin board or simply use low-tack painter's tape on a wall and grid out the day for each child. As children gain more organizational experience, have them order their day according to their preferences. 

Pictured at left is our 3rd grader's schedule for a day on our bulletin board. After laminating the pieces I used an over sized hole punch and simply hung the labels on push-pins.  When subjects are completed, our kiddo simply turns them over as a sign of accomplishment.  It is amazing how much more gets accomplished when children feel a bit more control over their learning. It doesn't need to be perfect, just fun!

The picture at right is how we previously used the labels last last year on the wall with blue low-tack painter's tape and blue mack-tack.  It is super-simple and leaves no markings on the wall either.

Our subject label set includes these study areas:   math, spelling, reading, phonics, literature, vocabulary, art, music, history, geography, mapping, religion, Bible, home skills, virtue study, P.E., writing, science, nature study, English, French, Latin, foreign language, computer.)

Get our Printable Academic Subject Labels now.

Blessings,

Kalei

Resources to Celebrate and Learn About St. Padre Pio

September 23rd is the Feast Day of St. Padre Pio. 
This modern day saint not only bore the sign of our Lord in the stigmata, but he also had the gift of reading hearts as well as could bilocate or be in two places at once.

To help you introduce this saint to your children, Religious Ed. or  CCD class, we have put together some resources in our most popular items including free printable St. Padre Pio trading cards, St. Padre Pio notebooking sheets, copywork sheets featuring one of St. Padre Pio's famous quotes, Saint Biography learning cards and more. 

As with the majority of our resources, they can be used with resources you may already have on hand or can easily locate at your church library or online.

Padre Pio Trading Cards - 4 per sheet

Take a peek now to help your kiddos learn about St. Padre Pio.
Blessings,
Kalei

Happy First Day of Fall

Fall is here!  Can you believe it? 

What are you doing to celebrate the first day of autumn with your kiddos?  Do you decorate your home in some way?  Perhaps you bake something with apples or cook with corn?  What are we going to do?

We are going on a nature walk!

Nature walks are a great way to explore both the big and little aspects of nature.  About a week ago one of our kiddos put in her bid for a nature walk to see how many leaves had already fallen or trees had begun changing their color around the neighborhood.  So, we will take a walk, bring home souvenirs, I am supposing, and mount them in our nature notebook.

 I like to use our bright little nature notebook sheets that have all kinds of different themes.  The pages are unlined to allow for mounting leaves, petals and any other treasures.  And, of course,  there is lots of space for drawings, doodles or photos.  You could even graph the type and numbers of leaves that you find.  We invite you to begin fall with a little nature loving fun too!

Download our Nature Notebooking sheets now.

Blessings,
Kalei

It's Time to Be Positive and Spread a Little Sunshine

As the school year is now in full swing for us, there are lots of things going on.  Many are overwhelmed with schedules, reading lists, and finding just the right thing to help teach something that the kiddos just can't seem to grasp yet.  So, inspired by Linky Party being thrown by Jennifer over at Rowdy in the First Grade, I thought that it would be a good time for me to focus on some positive things!



So here are some of our no fail, always bring a smile to the kiddos' faces, printable resources.

1. Aesop's Fables Montessori Cards
Kids love Aesop's Fables and these little cards help children to recall stories and remember the moral from each one.  They are fun to use to play games of recall or if using two sets, they are great for go fish as well as concentration matching games as well.




2. Sweet Shop Candy Problem Solving Game
Oh, I can't tell you the fun that we have had with this game over the years!  Using paper candy pieces, kids solve clues to make purchases at the Sweet Shop Candy store.  Although money denominations are not used in the pricing, each candy is assigned a value, which players must use to solve problems.

3.  Animal Themed Word Searches Based on Word Families
We thought our children might like to have a change in the way they learned their phonics, spelling and vocabulary words. We also thought that your learners might like to have some fun too! We created simple word search puzzles for each phonetic word family and linked it to an animal.

4. Science Detective Sheets
Kids love learning about animals and these sheets have long been a favourite with our kids and classrooms.  We've heard from teachers who enjoy using these simple sheets to help their students children learn and explore about animals and plants too.


I hope these resources bring fun and smiles to your kiddos too! :)



Blessings,
Kalei

Is it Possible to Cook Up a Book Report?

If you say the words 'book report' to children, you are usually met with drones and sighs. Many learners are not strong readers, but want to enjoy books. So how can we help those children love to read for a specific purpose without feeling overwhelmed by the process of picking apart a book?

A Tip from the Chef

Just as the book The Jumbo Cookbook by Judi Gillies and Jennifer Glossop aims to help develop chefs from the very beginning introducing the art of cooking, cooking terms, useful utensils, safety procedures and even menu planning, our recipe book report and recipe book report writing paper helps to develop confident readers and writers.

Now I can't take credit for the recipe book report idea as I have seen numerous versions of this idea online, but I did want to give it my own flair making it very visually appealing and easy for children to understand and complete.

By reading the "recipe sheet," readers will be inspired to think about concepts such as the plot, characters, and favourite portions of the story. It also reminds them about the core things every good book report needs: title, author, publisher, etc. The stylized writing paper provides a fun and authentic feeling to the recipe book report. Just as the cookbook above has been a big favourite with one of my girls (especially the corn chowder recipe), this writing resource has been a hit with my children as well as other homeschooling families over the years.

Visit our Book Report page to download our Recipe Book Report or other favorite book report helps. 

Blessings,
Kalei

Learn About What Makes God Perfect using our newly added F3 Folder Lesson

F3 Folder on the Perfections of God

Some of you have been really enjoying our F3 Folder Lessons that are simple fun and, like everything else, FREE for you to download and use in your homeschool or CCD classes.  These little flip, flap and fold (F3) lessons are homeschool and classroom friendly.  Although some have asked if they are just like lapbooks, we say that they are similar but with three distinct differences. 

1.  Each of our F3 Folder lessons comes with some basic lesson sheets that are glued into the file folder to not only provide text for learning, but also shows you where to put the little paper pieces that are included in the file.  Each spot is clearly labelled to make things more convenient for you.

2.  Our F3 Folders have a limited number of pieces, usually between 6-8, to make the lesson text and materials more meaningful as the focus is on the lesson itself and not making the pieces.  Pieces are designed to be made as the lesson is taught.

3.  Lastly, our F3 Folders are designed to fit into a 3-ringed binder for easy storage.  They don't require any special folds, but rather just a bit of trimming.  Some projects require a double (two folders) and they still fit into the 3-ringed binders.  Great for classroom, co-op or homeschool use.

We have just added our Perfections of God F3 Folder lesson to our collection.  This single folder project comes with two main sheets and eight pieces.  The lesson focuses on the perfections of God and answers these questions:  Is God Perfect?  What makes Him perfect?  How can we get to know God?  The monstrance is highlighted as well as an introduction to the Theology of the Body (TOB), and writing prompts to reflect on virtuous living.  Lots of opportunity for discussion and scripture study.  Expect to focus on these perfections:

God is All Knowing

God is All Present

God is Almighty

God is Eternal

God is All Merciful

God is All Good

Learn more about or download this F3 Folder on the Perfections of God now.

Watch our how-to video below to see what homeschoolers and catechists are making a joyful noise about.  I hope you are enjoying the folders.  Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or suggestions for other topics you'd like to see covered.

Blessings,
Kalei

Resources for a Busy Liturgical Week - Our Lady of Sorrows, Exaltation of the Holy Cross and More

As I was looking at the liturgical calendar for the coming week, I realized how many things were coming up that I wanted to call attention to them not only to my own family, but to our online family as well, considering that we have resources for many of the coming events.

Here are the liturgical highlights for this coming week and a few resources to go with them.


Monday, Sept. 12 - Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Instituted by Pope Innocent XI in the 17th Century, this feast honours the Blessed Virgin Mary for her exalted role in salvation.  Her name is one is one of honour, piety and charity.

Resources for the Blessed Virgin Mary



Tuesday, Sept. 13 - Feast Day of Saint John Chrysostom
Born in Antioch in 347, this uncompromising saint was dubbed the 'Golden Mouth' in tribute to his powerful preaching.  He is a patron saint of preachers. 

Download an 8 page My Book Mini-book about St. John Chrysostom or other saints.
St. John Chrysostom is also featured in our F3 Flip, Flap & Fold Folder to Teach About Creation.



Wednesday, Sept. 14 - Exaltation of the Holy Cross
This beautiful liturgical feast celebrates the dedication of the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 as well as Christ's Victory over death.

Celebrate this occasion with a Little Lesson on the Triumph of the Cross (includes also the feast of the Archangels) featuring lovely text, classic artwork and a bit of Latin fun as well.



Thursday, Sept. 15 - Our Lady of Sorrows
Once known as the 'Seven Sorrows of Mary,' this feast was instituted in 1668 out of devotion to Mary by the Servite Friars.  Pope Pius VII extended it to whole Western Church in 1814.  The seven sorrows are:

1. Simeon's prophecy at the Presentation of Jesus in the temple
2. The Flight into Egypt
3. The disappearance of the boy Jesus in Jerusalem
4. The road to Calvary
5. The Crucifixion
6. The removal from the cross
7. The Entombment

Help kiddos learn about Our Lady of Sorrows with a Little Lesson on Our Lady of Sorrows and then for even more learning fun try our F3 Piece on Our Lady of Sorrows.  By combining the pieces, the coloring sheet, and extras from these two resources and creating a simple single prepared F3 folder, you could have a nice catechism lesson.

Hope this helps you plan and enjoy a lovely liturgical week.

Blessings,
Kalei

Quick Computer tech lesson

 Hi all, this is Daryl (Kalei's husband) I've just had a "Computer Tech" question posed to me by my Mother and thought maybe I should post the results here in case anyone else has wondered the same thing.

Her question was;
"Where you sign into FB with your e mail & password, HOW do I delete one/some I don't want there?"

The answer to the question is;

In Internet Explorer, click on your "Tools" menu then find "Internet Options"
Next, click the "Content" tab. You should see a window similar to below.

Next, click the "Settings" tab. (Shown below) if you no longer want any of your usernames and passwords stored, be sure these fields are left blank.

Click "OK", then click "Apply" on the Internet Options window and you're done!

Why Study Latin and Sweet Latin Posters for Young Learners

Learning a second language is always a difficult task.  It can be made easier for children when study is begun very early in life.  It then becomes a second nature. 

Latin is a classic language.  Although it is considered dead since it is not conversationally spoken and new modern vocabulary, it is still  well worth learning for the following reasons:

Latin is a beautiful way to participate in traditional Christian worship and prayer.

It helps to build vocabulary in other languages since many modern languages are rooted in Latin.  This can help learners succeed in college entrance exams and standardized tests.

There is a wealth of books, texts and music available to those who know and read the Latin language.

And lastly, as my pastor shared with my children and I, the nice thing about Latin study is eventually you know it will come to an end because it is a dead language.

Ah, yes, keeping the goal in site is a wonderful thing.  We began studying Latin a few years ago because one of my children could not, would not learn reading through the phonics method.  This same child began reading entire books quite well even months before her third birthday.  She was a whole language learner and a sight reader.  Latin seemed a perfect way to learn new words and avoid the tears that studying phonics brought to our home on a daily basis.

As another of my children begins studying Latin formally, I thought that I would liven things up to create a warmer learning style that this child needs.  Thus, I created some very colorful and inviting Latin posters.  Now other professional folks may want posters to be set up a bit differently, but this seems to work very well in our home. 

I hope that you find these useful in some way.

Visit our Latin Posters page now to download any of the bright and fun single sheet posters we have to offer.

Blessings,
Kalei

More Catholic Scientists - Little Lesson on Dr. Alois Alzheimer

I am so happy that we are able to offer resources for older learners through the generosity, energy and talent of others.  The latest Little Lessons on science by Shell of Thinking Love, No Twaddle blog have been well received and have been very thought provoking.  So, here is another Little Lesson focused on another Catholic scientist.

Learn about Alois Alzheimer the gentle neurologist with the latest little science lesson.  Expect that you will walk away after this lesson with a better understanding of  Dr. Alzheimer as well as the disease for which he did extensive study and was eventually named after him.

As Dr. Alzheimer was a leader in the humane and proper care of those with mental illness and organic disability, this lesson will also provide a great opportunity to talk about the idea of free will as it pertains to the Catechism as well as introduce the work of St. Thomas Aquinas in terms of drawing the line between madness and badness. 

Although not an easy topic to cover, this lesson is a great starting point.  There are ten pages in the file which include a ready to go text, opportunities for discussion and four very well done notebooking sheets.  Explore a lesson that will help you begin  to see how well you your faith and how to apply it to your thinking in our very modern and complicated world.

Thank you so much, Shell, for sharing this lesson with us.  Please keep Shell and her family in your prayers for all of the generosity and energy she shares with homeschooling families everywhere.

Learn more about science by using the Little Lesson on Science -  Dr. Alzheimer, the Gentle Neurologist.

Blessings,
Kalei

Resources to Help Organize Your Learning Year

If you haven't yet explored our calendar page, now might be a good time.  We have updated our at-a-glance yearly calendar, our angel themed calendar, and the bright weather themed calendar to help younger children with tracking the weather among others. If you enjoy bright colours, then our thematic calendar may be just what you are looking for with a simple layout and a background that changes monthly.  Lastly we offer a newly designed calendar which celebrates the liturgical year.  This is a great addition to your learners three ringed binder or learning log.  You can find all of these calendars and more on our predated printable calendars page.

View our Printable Predated Calendars page. 

A quick word on our weather calendar and additional go along resources: 

If you need or want your kiddos to track the weather this coming year or even for the summer, then you may want to take a peek at our weather calendar, cut out pieces to glue on it and our weather worksheets for junior or senior learners.  Weather you are simply looking out the window, using a thermometer, or using a digital weather gauge to see God's glory in action, our printable resources can come in handy.  The picture at the right shows the calendar on the bottom with stickers glued on.  The page at the top is from our incentive page collection.

Visit our Weather Resource page.

View our Collection of Incentive Pages.

 

If you are looking for other organizing helps such as an assessment log to store grades or marks, vendor sheets to help with ordering and comparison shopping from curriculum catalogs or colourful attendance sheets, then perhaps we can help with those needs as well. 

Visit our  Free Planning Sheets for Homeschoolers and Educators resource page.

We hope these free printable organizing sheets help make your job of preparing for your next learning year easier and quicker.

Want to keep up with even more of our resource additions?  Why not join us on Facebook! 

Blessings,

Kalei - That Resource Team