A New Way to Teach About Creation

Creation is one of those topics that everybody wants to explore, but most don't want to dive into head first.  Fears of questions about dinosaurs, did we really come from slime, and how can God create out of nothing, can overwhelm anyone who is not prepared. 

So, to help you prepare to effectively and authentically to teach about creation to your children or CCD class, we have put together an F3 (Flip, Flap. Fold) Folder on Creation.  This is our first complete double folder lapbook style project.   The folder is easy to make and the printables are easy to implement in a classroom or homeschool setting.

Expect to explore the questions: What did God Create? Why did He create it? and How did He create it?  This inviting double F3 Folder focuses on teaching young Catholics about creation, introduces the Theology of the Body, ponders the uniqueness of our soul, reconfirms that we are precious to God, highlights St. Joseph, and explains the antependium.  This F3 Folder on creation includes just about everything you need except the prepared blank double folder and a Bible. An answer key is also included.

Find out more about how to make and use this resource by watching our video below.

Learn more about or download our F3 Folder to Teach About Creation now.

Feel free to drop us a comment about this or any other resource on the blog.  Your two cents worth may be just what inspires someone else.

Blessings,
Kalei

New Dino Fun Printable Resources including Montessori Cards

New resources help children learn about some of the largest animals that God ever created.

Inspired by our latest Faith lesson on creation and the Little Lessons on science from Michelle Scott over at Thinking Love, No Twaddle, our youngest became interested in dinosaurs.  So to help in this study we created some printable resources that we hope your learners will enjoy using as much as ours do.  Today we offer the Dino-detective Science Sheet and a set of 24 dinosaur Montessori cards.

The Dino science worksheet (pictured at left) offers learners the opportunity to explore the details of the dinosaur of their choice.  Learners will be asked to find out such information as the meaning of their selected Dino's name, their size, eating habits and where have fossils of this animal been found in the world.  There is also a spot for a picture to be drawn or pasted in.  These detective style sheets are always a favourite with our children.  You can see other detective sheets we have available here.

The other resource offered today is set of 24 Montessori Cards depicting some lesser known dinosaurs and prehistoric animals that children may want to get to know.   These cards are perfect for laminating and game play.  The images are in colour and very engaging.

We have a few more fun Dino resources to share this week so stop in again soon or better yet subscribe to our feed so that you don't miss them. 

Click Here to download our Dino Detective Sheet.

Click Here to download our Dino Montessori Card Set.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

Faith Lesson on Creation - Includes Acitivity & Poster, New Game and Matching F3 Piece



Who Made This? game

God is . . . The Creator

Today we offer a fun filled lesson on Creation as it is described in the book of Genesis in the Bible.  This lesson has three parts:

1. Finding out what your children already know about Creation

2. Sharing the account of Creation from the Bible

3. Recalling the facts and details

Begin the lesson by finding out what your learners already know about Creation. 

This is a perfect time for a family or class discussion.  This can take as much or as little time as needed.  You want to find out what the children already think about how the world got to be in existence.  Ask for the details that they can recall about this colossal event.

Share that God created the world out of nothing.  Explain that God created the world and everything good in it as it is one of His perfections (All Powerful) and also that He made everything to work in a most perfect way together as part of another one of His perfections (all Wise).  To help children figure out what God created and what man has made, play this very short but engaging game called, "Who Made This".  This game uses actual photographs of things and asks children to categorize who made it.  Each of the cards is numbered and an answer key is provided for quick reference.  Many important things are included in the pictures that children confuse as God created vs. man made like the rosary, the church, chalice, etc..  I have used it in a group and it worked perfectly.  You can always create two sets and have the game played in separate groups.  There are a total of 32 cards.


Share the account of Creation from the Bible.

Download and build your Ladder of Creation poster before the lesson.  Simply print it out, fold and overlap the pieces, and tape together to create a five foot colour poster.  The ladder is noted with numbers to represent the different days of Creation.  Hang your ladder on the wall, bulletin board or door.  Print out and cut apart the Creation Ladder Word Pieces to go along with this activity.

Read out loud the account of Creation from the Bible or use an easier version that you may have or your DRE can recommend.  Have children tape the corresponding piece onto the ladder as they hear it mentioned in the account. If you are working with more than a few children, as in a CCD class, simply divide out the word pieces evenly amongst the children.  An answer card is included for quick reference.

Recall and solidify the facts.
Using our F3 piece to correspond with this lesson, learners cut and paste two pieces together to create a single flap that asks them to recall what happens on each day of creation.  The piece matches the theme of the lesson and can easily be added to their Catechism F3 Folder.  Instructions are provided on the piece.

Click Here to download the Who Made This? game.

Click Here to download the Ladder of Creation poster.

Click Here to download the Ladder of Creation word pieces.

Click Here to download the Ladder of Creation F3 piece.

I hope this lesson helps make your learning time more enjoyable.

Blessings,

Kalei - That Resource Team

New Printable Friend Cards

Help learners grasp, in a very tangible way, how God created each person to be special and unique

God made each person unique and special in their own way.  Sometimes it is difficult to illustrate to children about God's gift of diversity when you have just a few learners in your homeschool, co-op, or CCD class.  Thinking in terms of curriculum, subjects like math or social studies many times will ask learners to interview or poll ten or more people to ask simple questions like what kind of pet do you own, how many brothers do you have, etc.  It isn't always feasible in a scheduled homeschool day to call or contact five or six people to ask what their favourite food or colour might be.  So we came up with Friend Cards in an effort to meet the need for lots of learning friends in your homeschool.

Simply download the friends that you want, print out the files, and fill in the cards.  Any age could use these resources.  They are fun to complete and leave lots to the imagination.  Friends are available in over 15 different options with five different backgrounds.  We have even provided a set of friends for learners to colour in themselves or draw one of their own choosing.  A photo of a real friend could be pasted onto the card as well.  Each set is available in Can/UK English or USA English.

Parents may choose to fill out the cards themselves and present it to their children completed to provide information needed to complete specific assignments.  There is ample space to add additional information to each card.

 

CCD USE:  As an additional activity to illustrate God's creation of man to have unique features, distinctions, and free will, these cards can prove to be a useful tool.  To use this resource in a CCD class or co-op setting, you could ask each child to fill out a card and then compare the information about each student on the board or chart paper.  This allows children to see how each person can be similar or different.  As an alternative for a really small class, you could have each child fill out a card for themselves and their best friend to have more participants and then simply compare and contrast the data.  This is also a great ice breaker activity for beginning of the year class meetings.


We hope you find these cards useful in some way.  They have come in handy for our family a few times already.


Click Here to visit our printable Friend Cards resource page.


Blessings,

That Resource Team

Set #2 - History of Early Man - Children of Adam

Learning more about Early Man

Here is the next set of pages in the History of Early Man resources that Michelle over at Thinking Love, No Twaddle. has been sharing with us.

This set, Children of Adam, continues on from the first set. This family discussion type lesson set includes historical reading, go along online links for further exploration of topics, art and picture study, as well as introduces readers to our Holy Father of the past, Pius XII and his work, Humani Generis. So much here and lots to learn. This is a multi-age lesson but older readers will find much to think about and ponder here.

(More sample pages)

Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle!

Click Here to download this history resource, Children of Adam



Blessings,

That Resource Team

What is a Soul? F3 Piece

What makes you special?  Your soul of course! :)

Today we offer a little F3 piece for boys and girls to help them learn about the beauty of their soul and what it provides for us now and forever.  It illustrates how we are all indeed created in God's image.  I have used this in my CCD class and with my own children and it has been very effective.  It doesn't require too much writing but does involve cutting and pasting.

Some very simple truths about our soul are presented in this piece based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 355,371-373).

• You can’t see your soul, but it is what gives you life!
• Your soul lives forever and never dies.
• Your soul gives you Free Will.

I aim to create pieces and resources that also show where in the CCC or Bible I have found the lesson info.  The CCC reference is also on the F3 piece itself.  This piece is very appealing for those who like lapbooking but find it too hard, time consuming, or just like to dabble in it from time to time.

To use this resource, simply print out, cut apart according to accompanying directions, assemble and fill in.  This can be glued into a religion notebook, current project, lapbook, or folder.  This piece also asks the children to think of things they can do because they have a soul.  Possible answers could include:  love, dance, sing, speak, feel emotions, or even make choices.  There is piece for boys as well as for girls.

Click Here to download our What is a soul? F3 Catechism piece. 

We will be sharing more CCC resources shortly so stop by often as we try to highlight or offer something new each day.  If you know of other Catholic families or catechists who could benefit from our resources please help us reach them by sharing our blog and website with them.  We have a selection of buttons for our website or an exclusive button for our blog.  Loving God by serving others is what this ministry is all about.

Blessings,

Kalei - That Resource Team

Learn about early Humanoids and other Apes

A shared resource to help introduce and teach about early Humanoids and other apes.

Today we offer a 10 page read-along resource packet created by Michelle over at Thinking Love No Twaddle that covers early humanoid or human like development and other ape like ancestors.  Many parents are uncomfortable dealing with this subject.  Some have not decided whether they want to teach using a young earth, creationist, or old earth timeline.  Michelle offers one option and covers it quite well.  You will even learn about Blessed Nicholas Steno.  Don't know who he was?  We didn't either...lol..That's the beauty of homeschooling, you can learn right along with your children.

This read aloud offers text, pictures, a few fill-ins, maps, and a comfortable tone as you read.  This introduction to this topic is just one in a series that will eventually be shared by Michelle.  We are so thankful that she is willing to share her talents with us all.

Click Here to download this history lesson.


Blessings,


That Resource Team

June 18 - Animal Matching Game with God as Creator

Animal Silhouette Fun

We liked the animal silhouettes that we featured the other day so much that we made a card game to go with it.  It is very simple and easy to play for many different ages. Simply identify the animal in the silhouette and match it to its name. 

This can be done using a Go Fish style of play, Concentration style for one to two players or a variation of Old Maid called Great Creator.  Great Creator is like playing Old Maid except that God in His goodness created all of the things pictured and we want to be with Him. The person who is left with the Great Creator card in the end is the winner.

 

Sample sets

Print out file (heavier bond paper is better or laminate pieces), cut apart and play.

Click Here to download our Animal Matching Game.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

June 15 - What am I? Creation Themed Wall Calendar

Creation Themed Oversized Monthly Wall Calendar

We have just added a brand new monthly oversized wall calendar to our collection. This one is a bit different as it is black and white, can be used for any month of the year, and is interactive. The theme is the creation of animals. God created all of the animals, and it was good. How well can you identify His creations? This calendar uses black and white silhouettes of animals and asks you to name each one. There is a different one for each day of the month. We have also included an answer sheet for anyone who may be needing a little help. :) The border graphics are also in black and white and feature Bible passages on Creation as well.  One passage speaks on animals, the other on the creation of man.

We thought we would try something a bit different this time around - something so simple, but yet so fun and spiritual.

Simply print out sheets, cut apart, and apply to your template. If you have never used one of our calendars before, visit our calendar page from the link at left to see a sample as well as our entire collection.

Click Here to download our Creation themed Oversized Monthly Calendar.

Blessings,


That Resource Team

June 9 - Learning Cards for the 7 Days of Creation and the Garden of Eden

New Learning Cards to Learn or Narrate About the 7 Days of Creation

As part of our science lesson this week, the children learned about creation vs. evolution.  These cards were created to help the kids recall the days of creation in a narrative style.  Each card provides a cute clip art reminder of the events on one side and a space for the Genesis passage numerals and narration.  Children could do a number of things on the lines.  Here are just a few suggestions:

• Copy the passage or a portion of the passage directly from the Bible
• Narrate what they remember from the passage for the specified day
• Copy one sentence from the passage beautifully
• Find and list all of the nouns from each passage
• Find and list all of the adjectives from each passage
• Select a phrase to explain - Made in Our Image or According to its kind for example
• List favourite words from the passage
• List new words from the passage - expanse, firmament, herb etc.

The lines are fairly close together so don't be afraid to let younger children skip lines to provide more writing space.  These cards are always a big hit because they are not intimidating like a large full page of binder paper could be.  These cards are perfect for home Bible study or CCD classes.

Click Here to download our 7 Days of Creation Learning Card Set.

Tomorrow we will have a tangible resource to help young learners use the Bible properly.  It is great as a stand alone piece or used in a Bible lapbook unit study.  We have used them successfully in our CCD class.

Blessings,

That Resource Team