A Saint Mini-book Project with a Focus on the Doctors of the Church

If I showed you pictures of an astronaut, a dog and a waitress would you be able to name their patron saints?  If I asked you to name any four doctors of the Catholic Church could you do it quickly and without hesitation?   

I hope that you would have answered St. Joseph of Cupertino for astronauts, St. Roch for dogs, and St. Martha for the waitress,  but if you didn't then our All About the Saints Mini-Book Unit Study might be a fun project for you and your family or religious ed. or CCD classroom to complete together.

If you have never completed one of our Mini-Book Unit studies before you will find it to be a fun and engaging project for learners of all ages.  One year I did the study right along with my kiddos.  We had fun and I was surprised at just how creative we can be with only eight little pages per book.

There are five steps to the unit study:

1. Download the unit.   It is a zipped file and you will need to unzip it as it contains many files including the mini-books, instructions, listings of the Doctors of the Church, Keepsake memory pages and unit cover sheet.

2. Print out the individual files.  Instructions are given on the first page of the unit file. Books should be printed on regular paper. Memory pages are designed to be printed double-sided on cardstock but will work single-sided as well. We use cardstock so that when our little books are attached the pages will be sturdy.

3. Assemble the unit pages.  Bind memory pages using a comb binder, 3 ring binder, duo tang, or other binding of choice.

4. Create the mini-books. Have children create books through writing and/or drawing as they learn from resources from your own home, your parish library, the local library, the Internet, text books, videos, etc. about the highlighted saints. 

The printable mini-books in this unit study are prompted and require learners to research and fill in basic information about the featured saint including such things as when and where they lived, their patronage, special symbols, and when we may find their intercession necessary and helpful.
Feel free to let learners take real ownership of their projects by allowing them to make it as fancy as they like using coloured pencils, crayons or other art supplies. A good dictionary and thesaurus are great tools to give them as well as they encourage the use of new vocabulary and accurate spelling.

5. Attach the mini-books. Affix mini-books to the keepsake pages in their proper place. There is a designated spot for each book. In some units you are free to rearrange the order of the keepsake pages to meet your family's needs. Be sure to mark the date in as well as your learner is sure to come back to this finished project over and over.

Learn more about or download our All About the Saints Mini-Book project now.

Enjoy the fun!!

Blessings,

Kalei

Now You Can Celebrate the Saints All Week, Month or Even Year Long. . .

Help children develop good character and morals by learning about and studying the lives of the Holy Saints.

Learning about the saints is an excellent way to learn about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The resources below can help to enrich your child's understanding of these people who have encountered our Lord in many different ways. In a day and age when singers, stars, and sports people are considered role models by many youth, the study of our Catholic heroes is more important than ever.   

My Adventure with the Saints project is a fun way to get to know some new saints and review the lives of some already familiar ones. By using the letters of the alphabet as a guide, learners must choose at least one saint for each letter of the alphabet and describe their life. The description should contain the following information:

-Name
-When they lived (birth and death if known)
-Where they are noted from
-Symbol that would identify them in a work of art, statue or icon
-Patron saint info
-A portrait of the saint and their symbol(s) - either drawn or pasted in from other sources.

A progress sheet is also included to help children keep track of the tasks they have completed and goals that need to be met to complete the project.  To make it easier to get started, over sized alphabet letters are included in the project so that learners can cut them out and creatively incorporate them into the corresponding page.

Learners will also be asked to complete the 5Ws (and 1 H ) of Sainthood:

Who can become a Saint?

What does it take to become a saint?

When can one be declared a saint?

Where do saints fit in to the Communion of Saints?

Why would one want to become a saint?

How can you become more saint like?

This is a great project that can be used over the course of the year, a month, or however else you may choose to use it. This project could also be undertaken and split among siblings or students in a CCD Religious Education Class.

Find out more or download My Adventure with the Saints Project now.


Here are some samples that my then third grader did years ago.  She had loads of fun being creative while practicing her art and drawing skills, writing skills and developing research skills as well.

 

 

Blessings,

Kalei



One Colourful Way to Help Inspire Reading

It is a well known fact that colour affects our mood.  Brighter colours make us feel energetic and ready to take action.  Can we apply this theory to inspiring our children to read?  Yes.

They tell us not to judge a book by its cover, but unconsciously we all do that anyway.  We naturally want to interact with vibrant visual interests when given a choice. 

Our colourful reading log can help encourage readers to keep reading all year long by inviting them to keep track of all of the titles they read.

There are three easy steps to create this project.

Simple log sheet sample

1. Prepare the Log Sheets

Select the genre sheets that you want your child to focus on in their reading this year. With almost thirty different genres to choose from, there is bound to be something for your favourite reader. You may even want to introduce a new genre to them for them to explore as well.

Older learners may enjoy using the specialized literary genre focus sheets that not only serve as a spot to log their reads, but also as a review of the particular literary genre too.

Print out our coloured sheets either one per page as a single sided version or print them out double sided for a log that looks more like a traditional book.

Feel free to print out as many sheets as required for your child's reading needs.

2. Create the Covers

Select one of our colourful reading log covers to use and mark your log.  Current colour schemes include: aqua, green, orange, rose, and yellow.  Print out one and then fill in your child's name and grade or the calendar year. 

Hint:  We suggest using heavier bond paper or cover stock for your cover.



1" 3-ringed binder with clear overlay



3. Assemble the Log

There are a few ways that you can assemble this log. 

The first way to assemble this resource is for the slightly older learner who is comfortable using ringed-folders.  For fast durable assembly that allows you to quickly add additional sheets to your log, we suggest you use a vinyl 1" 3-Hole View Binder with clear overlay.

Slip the printed cover into the front overlay.  Order your selected log pages, punch with a three hole punch and insert into binder.

The second way to assemble this log is much simpler and designed for use over a smaller period of time.  Order the cover, then log sheets, and finally a blank piece of white paper.  Gather and staple all sheets on the left hand side of the page to mimic the placement of the holes in binder paper.  You could also three hole punch the pages and put them into a duo-tang.

The last way you could easily assemble this log is by using a comb or wire binding spine.  We have used this method for years.  It is one of the most polished ways to present this resource, however, you cannot easily add additional pages to specific genres if needed.

How to Use the Log

To use the log, simply have the kiddos read their selected books or parts of a book and note down their progress and accomplishments in their log under the appropriate genre sheet.  Parents could easily note down reads for younger children by noting either pages read or reading time.  A simple check mark in the box at the right proclaims they have completed the book, if it is a chapter book or a longer read. 

This colourful project serves as a great place not only to log books read, but to serve as a proof of learning tool, if required.

Click HERE to begin creating your log now.

Blessings,

Kalei

Give the Gift of Prayer. Printable Decade - A - Day Spiritual Bouquet is the Perfect gift for all!!

Beautiful but easy family craft combines prayer and tea and makes prayer a meaningful gift to others!!

A few years ago we created this craft to give to our pastor for Christmas.  We thought it was a wonderful gift as many pastors and priests are forgotten after the Masses are said and the final blessings are given.  We like to think of our pastor as our friend, our shepherd, and also as part of our family.  Daily prayer was good, but the children wanted a little extra special way to pray for him.  Thus our Decade-A-Day Gift of Prayer was created.  We have since reorganized this project so that it is easier to make, fits into a mailer envelope, and is a bit more polished.  See our photos below to see how it all works.

In this spiritual bouquet, the sender(s) will pray a single decade of the rosary daily for a selected person.  The recipient, in return, will relax with a cup of tea daily, spiritually recharging themselves knowing that others are praying for them.  As my pastor just recently reminded me, rest and relaxation are a very important part of our lives, even though we tend to forget to schedule them into our daily or weekly routine.

For this project you will need:

5 Pre-packaged tea bags

Scissors or Cutter

Exacto Knife

Glue stick or double-sided clear tape

Templates - download below
Stapler

Preparation for Tea Bags:

Cut out “t” shaped tea bag template on outer lines.  Write the date on the days you intend to pray for the recipient of the gift.  Fold all tea bag flaps toward the center with blank sides together. Glue or tape flaps into place. Let dry very well. Place one tea bag into prepared tea bag cover.

Preparation for Booklet:

Print out page templates. Cut in half.  Using an exacto knife carefully cut the black dotted lines. Fold each

template page on grey dotted lines with print side out.

Stack pages in order. Place the cover over the stack and staple on left side at the marks.

Affix the appropriate tea bag, in its prepared cover, into the slits in order by dates selected. You will notice that the graphics match the portion of the rosary said on specific day.  For example, the Nativity will be your first tea bag designated for Monday.  Tuesday will be one of the Sorrowful Mystery covers. Wednesday will be the bag with the Resurrection, Thursday the Last Supper, and Friday the other depiction representing the Sorrowful Mysteries.

This gift can be perfect for just about anyone.  How about remembering any of these nice folks who serve you throughout the year?

Your pastor or priest

Parents, grandparents, or other relatives

Godparents of your children

Your child's catechist or teacher

The Parish Secretary or custodian

Choir members in your church

Those who help you throughout the year - neighbours or friends

An elderly member of your parish

A recent widow or widower

Your physician, dentist, pharmacist or caregiver

Your veterinarian

There are three versions available.  Each one includes a special written introduction.  One version is sent from a single individual, one is sent from a family, and the last is blank space for you to do all of the writing. 

This is the text from the single version:

Today I thought of you and was so thankful to have you in my

life. You are so special to me that I wanted to give you the best

gift I could think of - prayer!!

I will pray for you for five days and dedicate a decade of the

rosary every day for you until a rosary has been completed.

So, relax with a cup of hot tea each day knowing that I am

praying in thanksgiving just for you. May God Bless you always!!

The family version is almost identical with the exception of a change in the pronouns.

We hope that you find this spiritual gift the perfect little something for that someone special.  The kids can help put it together and it doesn't cost very much to make at all.

Click Here to download the single version.

Click Here to download the family version.

Click Here to download the blank version.

Blessings,

That Resource Team



Christmas Recipe Pages are Perfect to Note Your Yummy Holiday Goodies

Recipe pages help preserve family holiday favourites and memories.
 
In our most recent post we shared a recipe for Christmas Play Clay. We thought that today we should remind you about our free Christmas Recipe pages as well.  These fun sheets are part of our Write a Family Recipe Book project. You can find them as well as pages for 22 other themes in two styles with tabs for easy reference. They are perfect to write in your own favourite family Christmas recipes. 

There are two versions for download.  The Junior version also has pages for you to affix a photo, magazine photo or drawing of your completed recipe or family memory.  The Senior version has simple lines and is tabbed. These pages help make a great family keepsake.

Click HERE to download the Christmas Recipe pages from our collection.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

Create a Festive and Easy Holiday Wreath With Your Children

Christmas wreath helps children be creative while reinforcing that God and His love for us eternal.

Advent and Christmas are very special times of year for Christians. Advent is our time of preparation for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Christmastide is a celebration of His arrival. Today we have a simple decorative project that you can use to celebrate either aspect of this season - Advent or Christmas. It's fun, easy and festive.

Please note:  the object of this wreath is to involve children in decorating for Christmas. The evergreen wreath symbolizes everlasting life that God gives us. The finished wreath need not be perfect or fit for a department store. Children can decorate the wreaths by sorting and developing a theme they like. Let them group and regroup ornaments already in your collection or have them create special masterpieces of their own using Melty Beads (like we did), paper cutouts, craft foam and glitter and glue.  We always try to keep fun at the forefront of any project.

WHAT YOU NEED

This project will require the following:

1 - 12" pine wreath (either faux or real varieties will work)

5-8 Christmas ornaments of one theme (either homemade or store bought is fine)

1m of ribbon or decorative cording for decoration

Wire Christmas ornament hangers, one for each ornament and a few to secure ribbons and other fun doodads you may have in your craft supplies.

1 - Over the door wreath hook, if placing on door

WHAT TO DO

Step 1: Gather, make or buy ornaments of one theme. To avoid a cluttered appearance, choose no more 6 large or 8 smaller ornaments. See Possible Wreath Themes below for ideas.

Step 2: Decide how you will attach your ribbon or cording.  You will either wrap it around or throughout the wreath or attached it prefab style.  If you are wrapping the wreath with ribbon or cording, do so now before putting on the ornaments.  If you are going to tie the ribbon into a bow and then attach it, then affix it to the wreath after the ornaments are put on.

Step 3: Using a wire ornament hook, attach each ornament to the front of the wreath. Secure well to prevent breakage. If you are decorating a door with your wreath, remember that some shaking will occur with the opening/closing movement, so be sure to secure everything on the wreath well.

Step 4: Hang on door using the over the door wreath hook or hang on wall using a picture frame hanger.

POSSIBLE WREATH THEMES

Here are some ideas to help you get started on possible themes.  Some of them are not traditional, but it is the wreath that is the symbol.  How we decorate it can be left to preference.  Think we're crazy?  Just take a look at your Hallmark, department, grocer or craft store.  You will see tons of different ideas that people suggest we purchase for our decorating needs.  Why not let the kids be creative or just regroup and reuse your favourites from your collection.

RELIGIOUS THEME IDEAS

Stars -  It shown brightly in the night sky to guide people to Christ's birth place.

Shepherds - They were among the first to hear of our Lord's birth.

Bells - They ring out to tell the good news of our Saviour's birth.

Crèche pieces - Nothing tells the Christmas story better than a Nativity scene. (See our version at left.)

Angels - The angel not only tells our Blessed Mother of what is to come, but they appear to the shepherds in the fields as well.

*If you celebrate St. Nicholas' feast day, you could also choose St. Nicholas as a wreath theme and then just leave it up for the entire season.

FUN SEASONAL THEME IDEAS

Coloured Doodads - small little craft doo-dads in all one colour - purple & pink for advent, red & green for Christmas, or stick with the traditional silver & gold if you .

All of a kind - Different sized jingle bells, bows, folded paper fans of Christmas wrapping paper, reindeer, gingerbread men or even a cultural item such as a Polynesian gourd.

Paper snowflakes of various shapes and sizes are always in style.

Children's choice or favourites - Any favourite selection of ornaments. Perhaps the child may select all ornaments made for a particular year or by a particular person over the years or around a learning theme they like science, cooking.  For example, the selection shown at the left are all things near and dear to one of our children who loves animals, plants, hugs, and presents. :)

Characters - all of one type of character from popular culture. They could include characters from cartoons, a book, TV or video series. Children can draw and cut out or create from craft clay their favourite characters from A Christmas Carol, the Mitten, Emit Otter's Jug Band Christmas, the Little House Series, works from Beatrix Potter, Peanuts®, Webkinz®, The NHL, Sesame Street or whomever. Get some fun, quality art and family time together while decorating for the holidays. This is a great way to incorporate a current unit study with the holiday as well.

LEARNING THEME IDEAS

The Saints - If you use time line figures or really like holy cards, you can create a few special paper ornament figures for a wreath all about different saints associated with Christmas or charity - St. Nicholas, St. Stephen, St. Elizabeth of Hungary for example.

Historical Figures - If you use time line figures, create a few special ones for a wreath all about Christmas during the Middle Ages or at the turn of the 20th century.

*Do not fear. Remember that the Wreath is the Christmas symbol not necessarily the things that go on it. By giving learners creative freedom, you invite more festive helpers, family bonding and memories to be created.

Let us slow down today and reflect on Revelations 22:12. 

God is eternal and so is His love for us as our evergreen wreath reminds us, but our real heartfelt desire today and everyday should be to have Him to say to us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." 

Blessings,

That Resource Team



Let's get ready for the coming of our Lord! New Chore Cards to Help Keep Your Learning Area and Home Organized During Advent and Everyday.

Chore cards let you decide on and delegate tasks for learners to prepare for Advent and help keep them organized and happy in their daily lives.

Advent is here!!  As we begin the season of Advent, we are advised to prepare our hearts, minds, and homes for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Many Christians "Christmas clean" and decorate their homes with Advent wreaths, hanging wreaths, Christmas trees, candles, a nativity scene and so forth.  But we must clean before we can decorate just as in the same way we must have reconciliation with our Lord for our sins before we can celebrate His arrival into our hearts.  Today's resource helps us to do just that, but not just for Advent and Christmas but all the year through.



Our Family Chore Caddy

 We've all heard it umpteen times before, children like structure and to feel included in family tasks.  By contributing time and energy to keeping their home, living space and learning area neat and clean, children learn to value their belongings, their learning materials, their books and so on.  Not sure about this notion?   Just think about how you feel when things are in such grave disarray in your home.  Do you feel like relaxing in it?  How about reading in that space or being creative and writing in a journal amongst the material chaos that eventually overwhelms every homeschool family at least a few times throughout the year?  And if you are like many homeschool families and have a large size family or run a full time family business out of your home, you know even more about the importance of staying organized.



There are many different approaches to delegating tasks for housekeeping and even learning tasks.  Today we offer a new set of chore cards.  Simply print out these colourful themed sheets, cut apart on lines, write out the chore and glue it onto an index card.  You could also decide to print these out on card stock and simply cut them apart resulting in a slightly smaller card.  We glue ours to index cards and sit them in a caddy or index card box.

A sample of a few of the chore cards in this new set

Here are a few ways to consider using these cards:

• Assign certain tasks to specific children.
• Write individual tasks on cards and have children randomly pick a specific number to complete for the day.  This is good for children or siblings who have about the same level of personal skills.
• Create a personalized stack for each child to do on a regular basis.  You could even assign certain graphics to a specific child or use coloured index cards for specific children.  They will always know which cards and tasks are theirs to complete.

You can find this new set of 14 different cleaning themed graphics for both boys and girls as well as the original set of 14 chore cards we previously created with fun themes in .pdf files ready to go for this busy holiday season.  This resource was originally part of our Climb a Ladder to Heaven family learning project.

Click HERE to find our new set of chore cards as well as our original set of chore cards.


Blessings,

That Resource Team

Thanksgiving Keepsake Recipe Sheets for Your Cookbook

Mama's Thanksgiving Turkey Cookbook Entry

 Help keep your recipes organized or preserve memories for the next generation of little chefs with this set of Thanksgiving themed recipe sheets.

Special meals are part of the festivity of many of our favourite holidays - Christmas, Easter, Birthdays and of course, Thanksgiving.  Handing down special recipes is a tradition in almost every part of the world whether it be for Thanksgiving or any meal that we should give thanks to be receiving.  In many families, preparing the food is an opportunity for fun, fellowship and building family bonds. Today's resource is a set of Thanksgiving themed keepsake recipe pages that coincide with our recipe project.  They can also be used separately in any binder style recipe book that you may already have in the works. 

One of our most popular projects we have created for homeschoolers is the Create Your Own Family Recipe Book.  You can see the entire project here.  Today's resource is a special addition which matches the same format and style of the current project.  You will find tabs on the ends and special pages that allow for pictures to be affixed.  This really is such a wonderful projects for families to create together.  We like to set aside time to work on this ever so often.  It allows the children to recall memories, learn new skills and practice writing neatly.  As my children cook things, we simply take pictures of the finished products and add them in.



Jr. Version Recipe Page Set



Sets are available in Jr. Versions (four pages and spaces to add in tools needed etc.) and Sr. Versions (three pages of lined, themed recipe sheets).  These differences in the versions allows for both young cooks and seasoned chefs to make use of our resources.

We hope you have fun creating yummy memories together.

Click Here to download the Jr. Version of the Thanksgiving Recipe Sheets.
Click Here to download the Sr. Version of the Thanksgiving Recipe Sheets.


Blessings,

That Resource Team

Family Prayer Project Helps Us Get Ready for November - The Month of the Holy Souls

Family prayer project helps us to remember that November is dedicated to the Church Expectant or Church Suffering.

Many years ago I bought a book at our parish mission from Tan Books.  It was tiny, cheap, and short so I figured I could finish reading it rather easily, so I bought it.  I was drawn to it by its title, "Read Me or Rue It" by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan.  How could I pass that by without wanting to know what was so important that one would give a book a title as strong as that?  It literally changed my life.  I began praying for the Holy Souls daily, learned about St. Gertrude and memorized the prayer our Lord shared with her.  The Holy Souls or Church Suffering have a very special place in my heart and our family prayer life.

Today I share one of my favourite prayer projects of the year.  It is called the Holy Souls Prayer Project.  This family project is designed to help children learn about love through praying for others especially those who can't help themselves.  One of the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy is to pray for the living and the dead. November is deemed the month dedicated to the Holy Souls. The poor souls in Purgatory need our help and you can be sure that they will remember us and pray for us in return as well. :)

This project is very simple.

Prayer Chart

Step 1: Print out the Prayer Chart to keep track of your family's prayers and the Holy Souls released through steadfast prayer throughout the month. This chart allows children to practice math skills as they see the great impact that their prayers have.  You may decided to use one chart per child or even one per family if that is easier. 

Click Here to download the Prayer Chart.

Prayer Sheets

 

Step 2: Pray the prayer dictated to St. Gertrude by our Lord Jesus Christ as often as possible throughout the month. St. Gertrude was told that each time this prayer is devoutly said, 1,000 souls are released from purgatory.  If not already committed to memory, you can print out the prayer to release the Holy Souls. You can print it out in a plain .PDF (2 per sheet) like at right or use Our Learning Card for the this prayer.

Click Here to download the prayer sheet pictured at right.
Click Here to download the Our Learning Card style prayer card.

Gift of Prayer Counters

Step 3: Pray daily and keep track of your prayers and souls for the entire month of November using the Holy Souls Prayer Chart for older learners and the Gift of Prayer Counters for younger learners. can cut out and affix the Gift of Prayer Counters to a door, wall, bulletin board or window frame to keep track of how many souls they have helped to Heaven.  It's that simple.

Click Here to download the Gift of Prayer Counters.

We have a few other resources that can help you in this project including prayer copywork and a saint mini-book to help learn about St. Gertrude.  Click the links to see those resources now.


Don't forget you can pray for the Holy Souls on any day, in any month as well so you can repeat this project as often as desired.

If you enjoyed this family project and would like to perhaps explore other family projects that we have click Here.

May God bless you and those you pray for.

Blessings,

Kalei - That Resource Team

Let Your Fall Decorations Call You to Prayer

Fall decorations remind us to pray for one another

Fall signals the beginning of the hustle and bustle that is to come over the next three months.  We count our blessings as we are usually already in need and calling for more things - more time, more talent, more treasure, more teaching.  We can easily feel overwhelmed by all the tasks that we set up for ourselves to accomplish.  There is so much to do, prepare for, buy, cook, create, teach . . . and . . . remember in prayer.  We created this easy and inexpensive family prayer project to help us and our family stay focused on God's will and not our own.  It is to remind us to offer our daily vocation, "All for You, Lord."

You will need:

• Washable tempera paint in fall colours - orange, green, red, yellow
• Sheets of white paper - the larger the better.  Newspaper end-rolls work well.
• Scissors
• Removable scotch or painters tape
• Washable black, fat marker
• Fat tipped gold marker

Apply paint in blobs to the paper.  Using falling leaves as inspiration, have children finger paint until the desired fall effect is reached.  Then let the paper dry very well.  Our project used two large table sized sheets of paper as pictured here. 

Using the black washable marker, trace your child's hands spread out as shown in the picture on the darkest parts of your picture.  This will represent a dried Maple leaf.  Trace hands with fingers close together on the lightest parts of your artwork to represent an Elm leaf. 

Cut apart leaves using scissors.  Children can easily do this part.  The more helpers you have, the faster the cutting goes.  Don't worry about perfection, it's about the fun and time spent together.

Next, think about the people in your life that have asked for prayers or are in need of prayers.  Think of the ill, the less fortunate, relatives, ministry workers, other homeschooling families, and don't forget your pastor and the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  Write one intention on each of the Elm leaves. 

Turn leaves over and affix tape loops to the back of the leaves.   

Place the dark, Maple leaves in place first on your wall.  We recommend using a very high traffic area such as your kitchen or your learning area.  Then place the Elm leaves with the golden intentions over top of the Maple leaves.

As you pass by or gather for meals, remember to pray for those golden intentions.  Keep these up until Advent and add additional leaves as needed.

Don't let the festivities and busy-ness of the up coming holidays and seasons change your family focus.  Keep it in your heart to focus on your vocation and simply offer - All for You, Lord!!

Blessings,

That Resource Team