Wishing You a Very Blessed Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Even though this year may be different than years past, I hope you all have a blessed time with the loved that can be there with you this year. May our memories of years past help us hold those that can't be with us close to our hearts. May we look forward to next year, when we can gather see those that can't be with us this year.

Dear God, please keep my family, friends, and loved ones safe. Please watch over them always, and let good health, happiness, and blessings fall upon them.  

Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Till Next Time,

Monique

 

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Sunday Inspiration~ November 21, 2021

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Till Next Time,

Monique

First Grade Religious Education (CCD)~ Week 9 Noah's Ark

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Hello again! Okay, I am finally catching up to the weeks for Sunday school. I have one more after this and then I am back on track for our weekly scheduled lessons.

Week 9 was all about Noah's Ark! This was a new lesson I added this year. A few years ago, I noticed a lot of the students didn't know the well-known Old Testament Bible stories, so I decided to add a few into our regular lessons. Of course, this year's class is well-versed in the story of Noah. I had a few of the kids help me tell the story!

Our Saint~ Saint Padre Pio

Padre Pio was a priest from Italy. I have a St. Joseph's Kids' Book about Padre Pio that I read to the kids. I have collected quite a few of these books over the years and love sharing them with my students. 

While reading the story, the kids colored their coloring page of Padre Pio. 

Padre Pio Coloring Page

Our Virtue~ Humility

Humility is being humble or being modest in one's abilities. Not being prideful.

Sometimes this can be hard to explain to little ones. So we focus on not bragging or boasting about our abilities to hurt someone else's feelings. 

 I ask them what they are good at. Then I ask what they are not good at. Of course, every year I have 1 or 2 students who say they are great at everything. So, we dig a little deeper. 

Can they sing? 

Can they dance? 

Are they awesome at math? 

Are they a good speller? 

Usually, this brings out some of the things they are not great at. We then go back to the things they excel at. So this year, I took one of their suggestions. One student was great at math, so I asked him what he would do if a friend was not great at math.

Would he brag about it? Make fun of his friend? Of course not he said.

My favorite quote this year was from a little girl..." Be happy when you do well, but don't brag about it!"

We then talked about how our gifts are from God. We all have strengths and weaknesses. If we are struggling, we should accept advice and help graciously. If we receive compliments, we should say thank you and be polite.  

As one little boy said, "We shouldn't get a big head like a balloon!"

Week 9 Lesson~ Noah's Ark

I was amazed by all the information the kids knew about Noah and the giant Ark he built!

I read the story with the help of my students. They were great at interacting and filling in the details. 

After the story, the kids had a fun time completing a Noah's Ark Maze.

After the maze, they worked on the Noah's Ark craft that I found online. The kids loved the rainbow,

A fun snack to go along with this lesson is animal crackers! The kids seem to have a fun time eating them and lining them up while pretending they are boarding the ark!

It was a busy class and it went by quickly. I love when they are eager and full of questions!

Have a great week!

Till Next Time,

Monique

First Grade Religious Education (CCD)~ Week 8 All Saint's Day Party

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Good Morning, dear friends. I hope you are having a wonderful week so far. I can't believe it is almost the end of November already and that Thanksgiving is next week.

I'm a few behind with our week of Sunday school, so week 8 actually happened around Halloween and All Saint's Day. 

This is a fun class! We encouraged the kids to dress up as their favorite saints. We had St. Michael, St. Philomena, St. Francis of Assissi, St. George, and St. Lydia to name a few. 

We have a party during class with fun games.

Just a few of the fun games we had were....

Pin the Shamrock on Saint Patrick

Saint Anthony's Lost and Found

Match the Saint and Their Symbol

Candy Guessing Game with the Saints  

Musical Chairs

Saint Parade through the Hall

We shared a few treats and a good time was had by all!

Have a wonderful week!

Till Next Time,

Monique

First Grade Religious Education (CCD)~ Week 7 Moses and the Ten Commandments

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Good Morning! I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Week 7 of Sunday school was all about Moses and the Ten Commandments. 

Our Saints~ Saints Monica and Saint Augustine

Saint Monica and Saint Augustine

Wikimedia Commons

I love sharing this story with my students. It shows them how much a mother's love can change things. Saint Monica loved her son and never gave up on him, even when he was living a life she was unhappy about. Through her devotion, constant prayers, and love she was able to help her Augustine find the right path. The path to Heaven. 

Saint Monica and Saint Augustine Coloring Page

Saint Monica and Saint Augustine Coloring Page 2

Saint Monica Coloring Page

Saint Augustine Coloring Page

The kids are always amazed at how Saint Monica followed Augustine when he moved away. Every year, I have at least 2 students who comment on how much she loved her son. 

Our Virtue~ Patience

Patience is when we accept delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. It's our ability to endure difficult times or circumstances. 

After helping the kids to see what patience is, I always ask when do they struggle with being patient.

Siblings are usually the number one struggle they face. Waiting in line has become a close second in the past few years.  

After we talk about our triggers, I ask for suggestions on how they can stay patient during difficult times. 

Count to 10

Say a Prayer (or two)

Breath in and out slowly

Walk away  to calm down

Hum or sing

I love hearing their suggestions. 

Week 7 Lesson~ Moses and the Ten Commandments

WOW! Moses is a busy lesson. I always start with the story of Moses as a Baby. 

I read the book, Alice in Bibleland The Story of Baby Moses.

After reading the story, I have the kids search the room for Baby Moses. I want them to find him just like the Pharaoh's daughter did. Before class, I hid a small baby (a Barbie baby) in the room. This is always a fun activity for the kids and it gets them up and moving. 

After the Baby search, we read about Moses and the Burning Bush. Following the story, we worked on our Moses and the Burning bush craft. I have the kids color a picture of Moses and then cut it out. I then have them glue to a piece of construction paper. For the bush, the kids trace their hand and then glue red, orange, and yellow pieces of tissue paper to the bush (hand). Here is a link to a similar craft. 

I completely forgot to snap a pic of one of the kid's pictures before they headed out. 

Next up is the story of Moses, the Pharaoh, and the 10 Plagues. I read this story from the Children's Bible.

10 Plagues Coloring Page

10 Plagues Worksheet 

10 Plagues Wheel 

We read about Moses freeing the Israelites, crossing the Red Sea, traveling through the desert for 40 years, and receiving the 10 Commandments from God. 

A fun activity I came across but didn't do with the kids was this fun craft about Moses parting the Red Sea. 

We went over each of the 10 Commandments and talked about how they help guide us down the right path. The 10 Commandments help us get closer to God and live a good life. They are a great help when figuring out if we are sinning or not. I explain them as rules to live by. 

Here are two great resources to help explain the 10 Commandments to younger kids. 

Ten Commandments Paper 1

Ten Commandments Paper 2 

10 Commandments Coloring Page (be sure to scroll down for it)

There are tons of great ideas for 10 Commandment crafts online. The only thing you have to make sure of is that they are the Catholic set. 

Here is a great set of 10 Commandment posters to help decorate your room. I have this set as well as the Hail Mary and the Stations of the Cross sets. I love the classic artwork. 

Have a great week!

Till Next Time,

Monique

Happy Homemaker Monday~ November 15, 2021

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Good morning, dear friends!  I missed last week, but I'm back. I hope you all have had a wonderful few weeks. It's been busy here and with Christmas right around the corner, I doubt it will slow down. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a busy one again. Saturday was Michael went hunting and got a deer. Last year, he didn't get one son he was thrilled to have some deer meat again, especially with the price of meat nowadays. Sunday, we had Mass and Sunday school. I swear it was a full moon. The kids were wild and the class was a little chaotic. I was ready for a break once class was over. My allergies have kicked in again. I think all the leaves are driving my eyes crazy. Sunday was Michael's birthday so we had that to celebrate. I can't believe he's 18 already. 

Enough about the weekend, let's get on with Happy Homemaker Monday. Be sure to drop in for a visit with Sandra, our beautiful hostess over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom!

The Weather~

Fall temps are here! It's a cold, blustery day here. The fall temps are here but we still are getting a day here and there of warmer temps. Crazy weather here. It has been a late fall. The leaves are still yellow and most of the trees have their leaves still. 

Monday~Mostly Sunny, 46* 

Tuesday~ Partly Cloudy, 51*

Wednesday~ Sunny, 64*

Thursday~ Scattered Showers, 69*

Friday~ Mostly Sunny, 43*

Saturday~ Partly Cloudy, 46*

Sunday~ Mostly Cloudy, 46*

It's getting down into the low 30s and mid-20s at night. It's rather cold in the morning when I let out the chickens.

What's for Breakfast~

Coffee, actually 2 cups of coffee.  

Looking Around the House~

I need to finish cleaning the house. The boys replaced our woodstove on Thursday, so I spent the day cleaning the family room. The dust and soot went everywhere. Our white kitties had dirty paws. I still need to clean the kitchen and dining room.

Next week, I plan on decorating for Christmas. It will be a busy week for sure. 

On the To-Do List This Week~ the usual stuff

Laundry

Clean the house

Finish organizing the sewing room

Finish Christmas shopping

Meal plan for the next 2 weeks

Catch up on some blog posts

Grade some schoolwork

Currently Reading~

I'm still reading  The Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat. This story is based on an incredible true story of courage and hope in World War II.

I just finished reading Cozy Christmas Crush: A Mercy Mountain Holiday by Becca Maxton. This was for a review. It was a quick read but a charming, Christmas love story.

What the Kids are Reading~

For US history, they are finishing up The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

On the TV~

Criminal Minds Season 10

Christmas movies

On the Menu this Week~

Monday~ Lasagne and Salad with gluten-free Black Forest Cake for Michael's birthday

Tuesday~ Creamy Italian Chicken and Pasta

Wedensday~ Turkey Stroganoff with egg noodles and green beans

Thrusday~ Chicken Marsala with Pasta

Friday~ Bonfire and Cookout

Saturday~ Gluten-free Chicken Pot Pie

Sunday~ Roast, potatoes, and carrots

I picked up a new cookbook at the library the last time I went and I love it! The recipes so far have been a hit with the family. I have had to make some adjustments to make them gluten-free, but it's a great starting point. I definitely will be adding it to my cookbook collection. It's called Hope's Table. It was written by Hope Helmuth and contains so many delicious-looking Mennonite recipes, as well as quite a few other recipes to enjoy.  I highly recommend checking it out. 

If I Have a Few Minutes to Myself, I Will~

Work on my Christmas tree skirt

Make my sister's Christmas present

Work on Christmas placemats

One of  My Simple Pleasures~

Curling up on the couch with a good book, a hot cup of tea, and my sweet Maddie girl.

Something Fun to Share~

I am HUGE Christmas fan. I am seeing so many new Christmas Items I would love to have. Hobby Lobby is my downfall.  I decorate before or right after Thanksgiving. I love how the Christmas decorations bring the house to life and it just feels so much homier. 

Scentsy has so many cute Christmas warmers this year and their Christmas scents are amazing. Their new Scents of the Season launches today. They smell amazing!

 You can check out our entire holiday line on my website!

From the Camera~

Inspirational Post, Quote, Bible Verse~

Praying For~

Our Country and leaders

The world and all the craziness that is going on in it right now

My first grade Sunday school class

My friends and family

Till Next Time,

Monique

Sunday Inspiration~ November 14, 2021

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Till Next Time,

Monique

First Grade Religious Education (CCD)~ Week 6 Adam, Eve, and Original Sin

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Good Morning, dear friends! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful week! 

This week we learned about Adam and Eve, the fall from grace, and original sin. It was a busy week!

Our Saints~ Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco 

This set of saints is always a hit with the children. First, they are kids. Second, the picture is a real picture, not a painting. This allows the kids to realize that they too can become saints and the saints are in fact, real people! Sometimes that is hard for little ones to grasp. 

We go over the story of Saint Jacinta, Saint Francisco, and Saint Lucia. We learn about the story of Fatima and the beautiful lady that appears to the three children. 

Coloring Page for Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco

A wonderful movie to watch with your little ones is The Day the Sun Danced: The True Story of Fatima

Check out Catholicicing.com for great activities to celebrate Our Lady of Fatima.

Our Virtue~ Honesty 

Honesty is telling the truth!

I have a cute story about a spider and a fly I read to teach about lies and trickery. A spider tricks a fly into climbing into his web, just like the devil tries to trick us. 

After the story, the children make a cute or scary spider to remind them of being honest. 

You can read more about this lesson here.

Week 6 Lesson~ Adam and Eve

We read the story of Adam and Eve. This is can be found in any children's Bible. 

Here are two of my favorite children's Bibles. 

The Beginner's Bible 

This one has colorful pictures and the stories are short which are perfect for a classroom setting, especially if you have a time constraint. 

The New Catholic Picture Bible

This one contains accurate Bible stories that go into more detail. 

I always like to include an apple snack during this lesson since the forbidden fruit is often referred to as an apple. 

We talk about Adam and Eve's sin and how it is called original sin. We discuss how we are all born with original sin, but the sacrament of Baptism takes away original sin. 

A fun craft I found online was a snake pipe cleaner craft. This is perfect for boys and girls. The boys love the snake idea and the girls like the beads used. Plus it has googly eyes!

You can find the craft here!

A fun game we play if the weather is nice out is Stop and Go (Red Light Green Light). We add use it to remind the kids to stop and think before they make a bad decision. Is it a sin? Is it good or bad?

Have a great week!

Till Next Time,

Monique

First Grade Religious Education (CCD)~ Week 5

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Good morning, dear friends! I hope you all had a very blessed Sunday and are having an awesome week.

This past Sunday in class we learned about God and the story of Creation.

Our Saint~ Saint Thomas Aquinas

I read a little bit about the life of Saint Thomas Aquinas from Saints for Younger Readers, Volume 1. 

While I read to them about Saint Thomas, the children worked on their coloring page of him.

Saint Thomas Aquinas Coloring Page 

Saint Thomas Aquinas Coloring Page #2

Saint Thomas Aquinas Page for Older Kids

A book for older kids to learn more about Saint Thomas Aquinas is Saint Thomas Aquinas by Raissa Maritain. It is geared for kids ages 8-12.  

We talked about how he was a hardworking student, how he was bullied by classmates, and how he was called the Dumb Ox. He worked hard and went on to become one of the Doctors of the Church. 

Our Virtue~ Studiousness  

Studiousness is the quality of being studious. The means enjoying and spending time studying or in simple terms being a good student. I related this to the kids in ways they could understand.

Being prepared to learn when they go to school

Studying when they have a test

Reading good books

Listening and paying attention to their teacher

Working on assignments to the best of their ability

Working hard even when things are difficult

Asking for help if they need it

Week 5 Lesson~ God is Our Father, The Story of Creation

The Creation of Adam in the Garden of Eden

Jan, the younger Brueghel

Source~wikigallery

This week was our diocese's Formation in Christain Chasity program. For 1st grade, this meant learning about God, how he loves us, and how we are made in his image. We go over the required material and then add on to it so that the children have a little bit of fun while learning too. 

We read the story of creation. There are so many options out there. You can choose to read the story from a children's Bible or a storybook. I found the kids enjoy, the Alice in Bibleland books. They are done in a sing-song way and the kids always enjoy them. I have had the collection for years. My kids enjoyed them and now I get to share them with new kids each year. 

We did a scavenger hunt of Who Made It? God or Man. I found this years ago and now I can't seem to locate it online to share. 

Basically, I place pictures around the room of certain objects. Some God made while others are man-made. A few of the items are pictures of things found in the church, like a statue of Mary. The kids go from picture to picture and write an M or a G depending on who made it. When they are done, we go over it as a class. 

The kids then worked on a fun coloring page with a letter search in. This is from an old textbook we had years ago. 

Other Fun Activities for Learning about the Story of Creation

7 Days of Creation matching Game from Arrows and Applesauce

Outdoor Creation Scavenger Hunt

Just doing a simple Pinterest or google search will supply any parent with tons of great ideas to help kids learn about the story of creation. The possibilities are endless. I see so many cute ideas, but we just don't have that much time in class!

Till Next Time,

Monique

Review~ The Giving Manger from WorthyKids

Disclaimer~ I received a COMPLEMENTARY copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

 

Good morning! I'm so excited to share with you a wonderful activity to add to your Advent traditions! 

The Giving Manger from WorthyKids is a wonderful way to bring the true meaning of Christmas into your family. It will help your family learn about the importance of giving during Advent and Christmas. 

The beautiful book and activity will help your family get back to the real meaning of Christmas. 

For this review, we received the box set.

Each box set contains everything you will need to start this beautiful tradition. 

The Giving Manger Picture Book

A heart-warming story with beautiful illustrations that bring to life the tradition of giving. The story helps get children excited about participating in this new tradition of giving back. The book has a hardback cover so it will last for years.

Wooden Manger

A simple wooden manger that should be placed in a visible spot in the house. This will help keep the idea of giving front and center.

Bundle of Straw

A piece of straw will be placed in the manger after the children perform an act of service. 

Baby Jesus

A simple swaddled Baby Jesus that will go in the manger on Christmas Eve after the manger is full of straw from all the acts of service the children will do during the Advent season. 

I love the idea behind The Giving Manger. 

It is a wonderful way to bring the real meaning of Christmas to your family.

I wish I would have had this when my kids were little. We made our own wooden manger out of popsicle sticks when the kids, This box set is so much cuter!

I love the idea of encouraging the children to work on little acts of service. 

We called them good deeds. It brings to life the true meaning of Christmas for children when we live in a world so focused on the commercial aspect of it. 

Since my kids were a little old to enjoy this. I have taken it in to use with my Sunday school class. We already have a good deeds jar to fill for the year. This tiny manger will be a wonderful way to encourage them to do more during the season of Advent. Too often, the season of Advent is overlooked. People focus on Christmas and think the season starts before or after Thanksgiving. Christmas actually doesn't start until Christmas Eve! I love helping my little ones learn about Advent and the importance of preparing for the Christmas season. 

This beautiful box set would make a wonderful gift for a family with young children. The family could start this tradition when the kids were little and continue to grow with it over the years. When my kids were little we had the tradition of searching for the traveling wisemen (instead of a certain elf that is so popular). That tradition was fun, but the giving manger is fun while encouraging children to have a giving heart. A giving heart is one way to encourage them to grow closer to Jesus and the kingdom of Heaven.  

And if you are worried about the straw getting lost or ruined, I figured replacement straw can be found at your local craft store or dollar store. Parents will be able to continue the tradition for years. 

Just a word of advice, keep Baby Jesus away from puppies. They tend to eat him. We've lost two Baby Jesus dolls over the years. One was eaten by the dog, the other went missing after a cat decided to steal him out of the manger! 

Life with kids and pets is never dull!

Learn more about The Giving Manger and Worthy Kid Books

Facebook

Instagram~ The Giving Manger

Instagram~ Worthy Kids Books

Pinterest

Want to see how families with young children used The Giving Manger?

Check out the rest of the reviews from The Review Crew!

Till Next Time,

Monique

Sunday Inspiration~ November 7, 2021

Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you. 

Till Next Time,

Monique

Georgia O'Keeffe Unit Study

Georgia O'Keeffe by Alfred Stieglitz 
1918

We recently studied about the artist Georgia O'Keeffe.

She is one of the most famous female American artists.

She created beautiful pictures of flowers and desert scenes. She is a great artist to study if you have boys and girls. She will appeal to both of them.

We read a variety of books to learn more about her and then created our own masterpieces.

Here are the books we used to learn about Georgia.

I found some wonderful worksheets over at Garden Of Praise.

They have a coloring page of the painting Light Iris, which you can print on cardstock so the kids can watercolor the picture.

They have a biography page, a word search, a word scramble, a crossword puzzle, and a test.

After learning about Georgia, we had fun creating some art!

Red Poppy

We created our own poppy by using scrapbooking paper and some glue.

Princess P's creation.

Lego Man's poppy.

And Mama's poppy

Georgia O'Keeffe

Jimson Weed, 1936

Jimson Weed

We used acrylic paint to recreate the Jimson Weed painting.

Mama's Jimson Weed

The kid's interpretation of the Jimson Weed.

Our artwork on display!

I hope you enjoy it!

Till Next Time,

Monique