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This week I have a simple maze to illustrate the water that was in Jacob’s well. When St. Photini went to find it she was given something much greater.
Click here for the pdf.
St. Mary of Egypt.
My time ran out, so all I have is a coloring page with a little text adapted from a post on Fr. Stephen Freeman’s blog. The life of St. Mary of Egypt is so amazing, and could be done in church school in several ways. I have an idea for a game and also a craft using magnets, but some of my ideas will just have to wait for next year. Isn’t it great to go through Lent and to celebrate the resurrection every year.
Click here for the coloring page.
You could have the kids glue sand on the landscape to show that St Mary went to the desert to pray.
Well, for this Sunday which is the 4th Sunday, we are sadly skipping over the great St. John of the Ladder which could be a fun lesson, but we get to teach the Annunciation. This feast is always on March 25th, perfectly 9 months before our celebration of the nativity of Christ.
This is a coloring craft to cut out and set up as puppets using a glue stick and a couple of brads.
Instructions:
- Cut out the images on the thick outline.
- Place a bit of glue on the far edge of the tab on Mary, and wrap it around to make it a stand.
- Fold her feet up and let her stand.
- Connect the wings to Archangel Gabriel and glue him onto a wooden craft stick.
- Have the kids tell the story of the Annunciation using the puppets.
- Check here for more info on the story.
Click here for a simple coloring page.
Revealing to you the pre-eternal counsel, Gabriel came and stood before you, O Maiden, and in greeting said: “Rejoice, earth that has not been sown! Rejoice, burning bush that remains unconsumed! Rejoice, unsearchable depth! Rejoice, bridge that leads to Heaven! Rejoice, ladder raised on high that Jacob saw! Rejoice, divine jar of manna! Rejoice, deliverance from the curse! Rejoice, restoration of Adam; the Lord is with you!”
From the Vesperal Stichera of the Vigil of the Annunciation
Several months ago a friend handed me Boys Adrift which took me a while to read but has changed the way I react and interact with my boys. At the end of the book, the author recommends Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv which also has change the way I interact with all my kids and also with nature. Here is the third link in this chain: Richard Louv continually references John Muir‘s writings. I just finished listening to Librivox’s free audio version of The Story of My Boyhood and Youth which I adore on so many levels. All of these books deserve a thorough blog post, but my time is too limited to spill out all that I learned. I beseech you to read these books if you have kids or are interested in the future.
In the very last chapter John Muir (who later became a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt and worked to make Yosemite a national park) speaks of a machine he invented for use in college:
I invented a desk in which the books I had to study were arranged in order at the beginning of each term. I also made a bed which set me on my feet every morning at the hour determined on, and in dark winter mornings just as the bed set me on the floor it lighted a lamp. Then, after the minutes allowed for dressing had elapsed, a click was heard and the first book to be studied was pushed up from a rack below the top of the desk, thrown open, and allowed to remain there the number of minutes required. Then the machinery closed the book and allowed it to drop back into its stall, then moved the rack forward and threw up the next in order, and so on, all the day being divided according to the times of recitation, and time required and allotted to each study. Besides this, I thought it would be a fine thing in the summer-time when the sun rose early, to dispense with the clock-controlled bed machinery, and make use of sunbeams instead. This I did simply by taking a lens out of my small spy-glass, fixing it on a frame on the sill of my bedroom window, and pointing it to the sunrise; the sunbeams focused on a thread burned it through, allowing the bed machinery to put me on my feet. When I wished to arise at any given time after sunrise, I had only to turn the pivoted frame that held the lens the requisite number of degrees or minutes. Thus I took Emerson’s advice and hitched my dumping-wagon bed to a star.
Pictured below is his clock-desk.
I love it. He was a true steampunk naturalist.
Today we read a kids’ version of Beowulf. When the boys found out that Grendel’s mother was sad for her slain son, they both critiqued Beowulf’s actions and wished that the monster could have been treated more gently. They wanted Grendel to be given a chance to become friendly and live a long life in peace with King Hrothgar’s warriors. Their reaction and logic blew me away. I found myself unable to defend Beowulf. My boys are ages 5 and 6, and their desire for peace and rehabilitation was not what I had expected. I can tell that they have been listening to my instructions for gentleness rather than the old “eye for an eye” approach in our dealings with each other.
Recently I have been doing some graphic/illustration work for a software company in Chicago. The first iPhone/iTouch app we made is now in the store. It is a fun timer for kids, babysitters and parents. It is called TimeZup! Check it out here. We have been using it with Miles who can watch the time go by as he sits in “time out”. It also helps kids prepare for a change in activities. There are 4 voices to choose from, and at certain intervals the character will say how much time is left. The pirate is the favorite so far.
It is only 99cents, so please check it out and tell your friends. I am planning on putting some coloring pages on the website for download also. If your kids color them, please let me know. I would love to see their beautiful artwork.
Cute! Miss manners would be proud. Find it here.
