Photo by Pat McCord

As a convert, I’ve always been drawn to the Mass—its rituals, its words and its mystery. When my oldest turned ten, the parish sent us an invitation and encouraged us to attend altar server training. To be honest, I hadn’t really given it much thought until then. But, the idea of him participating in something as intimate as the Mass preparation intrigued me. We signed him up, and his response?

“No.”

My response?

“Give it a year. After that, you never have to serve again.”

That was three years ago and he’s still happily participating in the altar server ministry much to my surprise and joy. Here’s why I think every kid, including yours, should be an altar server.

It’s one less kid in the pew.

Hey, I’m nothing if not practical. We have five children, so when our oldest serves it cuts down on the crazy factor. I’m certain the people in the pew behind us are appreciative. The bonus is it requires us to plan ahead so we arrive to Mass 20 minutes early. I find that we’re actually more prepared on the days he serves. Crazy, I know.

You’re fostering a future vocation.

According to a recent study, 75% of the 2012 class of  Ordinands (seminarians) were altar servers. It’s no coincidence that when your children fall in love with the Mass, they fall deeper in love with God.

Whether your children choose a religious vocation or one of married life, the affect of experiencing the Mass in a personal way can only help to further their faith life in the very best of ways. You can read the full report from the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the USCCB, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). It’s fascinating stuff.

Community with peers.

It’s become something of the “cool” factor among my son and his friends. They enjoy serving together. My son often drops by the altar server room before Mass just to see if they need an extra set of hands. He’s gotten to be friends with other boys and girls outside his peer group, our parish’s seminarian serving his pastoral year and our priests and deacons. We are called to live in community and I can’t think of a more positive bunch than that one.

Respect and understanding of the Mass.

In the early days, we struggled just to keep our son quiet in the pew. As he grew into a school-aged child, he was present but still very unaware and uninterested in the Mass. We tried it all—MagnifiKid subscription, books about Mass, pointing out key moments during the liturgy—all with mild success. It wasn’t until he began serving that we saw almost an immediate shift in his approach to the Mass.

Just a few weeks ago, after the priest’s homily, my son turned to me and said, “Is it me or are Fr. Ron’s homilies getting better and better every week?” One, I was impressed that he was actually listening and two, even more impressed that he cared enough to share that sentiment. I have no doubt his observation was a direct result of his time spent on the altar.

An opportunity for leadership.

When our son first began serving, he started by shadowing other altar servers. You could see his anxious nerves! Our priest was so kind and patient as he learned the ropes. Now, I see my son mentoring younger servers. I see him taking pride in making sure the Mass goes smoothly. I see him smiling on the altar as the priest gives him a word of encouragement. I see a fine young man learning to be a leader by example.

Lest you think we’re all piety and service over here, I’d like to share this parting story about our altar server experience. Just a few weeks into serving, my son came up to me and said, “Mom, I really love serving. It’s awesome.” That’s about the time I started to feel super proud of my parenting skills. After all, it was at the suggestion of his dad and I that he participate in the ministry. When I asked him why he loved it so much, I prepared myself to hear how wonderful the Mass now was for him. How humbling it was to hear this:

“It’s so much quieter up on the altar. There’s no one to fight with up there.”

Come to think of it, that just might be reason #6.

Kathryn is the mom of five, ages 12 to 3, and pleasantly surprised her oldest is still an altar server. When she’s not corralling kids, refereeing fights, organizing life, planning parties, designing client work or making dinner, she can be found at her personal blog, Team Whitaker. You can also connect with her on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

5 Reasons Your Child Should Be an Altar Server is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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Now that I have my own home, I do the same thing.  What’s a bathroom mirror without a great quote or prayer?  What’s the space above the light switch without a thoughtful word of reminder?  What’s a refrigerator door without a prayer?  We have little “signs” all over our home.

Truly, this is one of those little things that was weaved into the fabric of my upbringing that I love so much and is now something my own children have come to expect and enjoy.  I think these signs are a perfect, gentle reminder to stay on track.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the ordinary tasks of each day that sometimes we need a prompt to remind us to turn our thoughts to Heaven, to be a little more focused on loving the people around us, and to build good habits of faith, manners, and living.

Here are a few examples of signs in my home.  They change with the seasons of our life.

Posted on or near each bedroom door and over the light switch in our kitchen is a single word: GENTLENESS.  As a mother I am reminded that Mary must have been the gentlest of mothers.  I want so much to emulate this beautiful response when I interact with my own children, husband, and the people around me.  By practicing gentleness I am also teaching my children how to be gentle with each other.

I recently added two new words: PRAY and LOVE.  The boys always have big plans for what they will do when they grow-up.  Top on their list is rescuing the world from one thing or another!  When they share their plans I usually ask them, “What are the two most powerful things you can do to change the world?”  They know the answer, “Pray and Love.”


Another sign is posted on our refrigerator.  It is our morning offering.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, for the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, and for the conversion of all sinners.  Amen.

Just below our morning offering is the obituary for my uncle.  It is a reminder to pray for the repose of his soul and the souls of all the departed.

Currently we have a calendar posted on our kitchen wall with various feast days.  The calendar itself is a rich sign and a reminder to help our family feel the rhythm of the Church year throughout the week.

In our first bathroom a prayer is posted on the mirror.  It is a prayer I said in college at the start of several classes and I absolutely love the truthfulness of the words.  It is humbling and focuses my thoughts.

Grant me the grace, O Merciful God, to desire ardently all that is pleasing to thee, to examine it prudently, and to acknowledge it truthfully.

In the boys’ bedroom the signs change more often than other places in our home.  Periodically my husband or I surprise the boys with a letter posted on their wall.  We’ll sneak in before we head to bed and post it just below their light switch.  They love, love, love this!  “Mommy, will you surprise us with a letter so we see it when we wake up in the morning?!”  These letters are our way of sharing how much a special moment in the day meant to us, how much we love them, and how much we are looking forward to spending the day with them. 

Now, this is where the signs get more interesting.  My children sometimes post notes for my husband and me.  They sneak in our room and post them on the back side of our door or slide them under the door.  I can’t bring myself to take them down sometimes.  The latest one, from months ago, is a list of things to do the morning we were going to replace the tube in my son’s bike tire.  He was so excited and wanted to make sure everyone knew exactly how the morning should go!  My favorite part of that list is #5: “Daddy.  Wake up unearly.”  It has “love” written all over it.

The first sign I see each morning and the last sign I see before I go to bed is a quote from Padre Pio.

“No pilgrim soul can worthily love God.  But when a soul does everything possible and trusts in divine mercy, why would Jesus reject such a spirit?  Has he not commanded us to love God according to our strength?  If you have given and consecrated everything to God, why be afraid?”

And sometimes the signs are merely thought-provoking and not at all profound.  Posted on my garage door: “Trash Out (Tues!)” 

None of us is perfect.  As mothers I think we can be especially hard on ourselves, “Am I doing this mothering thing right?  Am I failing my kids?  I really blew it today!” The list goes on.  But we have to remember to pick ourselves back up and keep going.  That’s the message of the signs in my home. They are little pep talks to ward off discouragement.  They are gentle reminders to love.  They are nudges to do my very best in the midst of the ordinary moments of each day.

Sarah enjoys writing about what inspires her in the ordinary moments of her day.  Her thoughts can be found at The Happy, Resourceful Home. 

Signs in My Home is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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What better way to celebrate May than with a Mary garden!

Having a Mary garden is a very simply way to honor the Blessed Mother, it’s easy to do with children and can enhance our own devotion to Mary as well. It’s not difficult to do and pretty self explanatory. The most important part of the Mary garden are the flowers. What legends and stories do they tell us about Our Beautiful Mother? How are flowers themselves symbols for us of her love and her life? What steps should we take as we start a Mary garden?

Start your Mary Garden with these 7 steps:

1. Choose the perfect place for your Mary garden.

Mary gardens can be located anywhere. And they can be any size. There isn’t a right or wrong location as long as it can be a place of prayer, reflection, and enjoyment. You may, however, want to consider if the area is shaded or sunny as it may influence the kinds of plants you will have. I chose a small corner of my back yard. Later I will place a bench for sitting in front of it where I can pray or just take some time out.

This is the way my garden looked just after turning over the soil.

2. Prepare the soil.

You want to do this to insure the success of your garden. Some places just have terrible soil and even with reasonable care plants just can’t make it. I like to use box gardens which I can fill with my own soil mix. But for my Mary garden this year I decided just to turn my soil over add plenty soil mix.

3. Find a statue of the Blessed Mother or another image to center your garden around.

Keep this simple and inexpensive. I am sure that the Blessed Mother would want it that way. It’s not a Mary garden without some image or reminder of Mary in addition to the flowers themselves. It can be as simple as a laminated holy card. How about painting Mary’s image on a large stone. The possibilities are endless!

I found this statue at a local hardware store very inexpensive.

4. Choose plants for your Mary garden.

Several plants have links to Mary by their names or through the history of devotions to Mary and church tradition. There are literally limitless possibilities because Mary gardens are an expression one’s personal devotion to the the Blessed Mother. There really isn’t a right or wrong as long as it is meaningful for you and enhances your prayer life. I have chosen to highlight the flowers that were easiest for me to find and purchase and that suited my location best.

You can make your own list of Mary flowers and take some time to read the legends associated with the different flowers and their meanings! One of my favorites is that when Mary cried at the foot of the cross her tears turned to flowers. Mary’s Tears is the devotional name for Lily of the Valley. Marigold or Mary’s gold was offered by early Christians instead of coins. Other flowers are known as Mary’s praise (petunias), Our Lady’s gloves (foxglove), Our Lady’s shoes (fallen spurs from the columbine are said to look like her shoes) and there are many more.

Roses the  “queen of flowers”  have long been associated with Mary.

Rosemary…It’s in the name.

Marigold means Mary’s gold. Early Christians offered Mary these instead of coins.

Sweet Alyssum has a wonderful fragrance. Cross shapes flowers remind of our Lord’s cross.

Lily of the Valley is also known as Our Lady’s Tears. This flower has fragrance and tolerates shade.

Impatiens are also called Mother’s Love because of their constant blooms. Also good for some shade.

Bleeding Hearts for Mary’s heart which was pierced. Also tolerates shade.

I chose hyacinth for it’s color, fragrance and star shaped flower.

5. Plan placement for each plant in the garden.

I chose the flowers above for starting my Mary garden because they are familiar favorites. I also chose them based on the conditions. Shade loving ones for the shaded part of my garden and then I placed those that require full sun in the sunny corner. You should also consider the height that your flowers and herbs will grow.You don’t want some to be in the way of others. Place tallest plants in back and small ones in front.

6. Purchase and begin planting your Mary flowers.

Now that you know what you will by, what they mean for you, and where you should place them you can begin planting. This is the easy and fun part.

7. Add meaningful/prayerful accents.

I plan to add seven stepping stones in my garden, one for each of Mary’s 7 joys as in the Franciscan Crown Rosary. They are the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, Finding our Lord in the Temple, the Resurrection, and The Assumption and Crowning of Our Blessed Mother in Heaven.  But I suggest just adding anything that is meaningful to you. Here are some possibilities:

• Painted rocks that represent an aspect of faith. For example..the fruits of the spirit.
• Garden stones, pinwheels, or other item to represent your prayer requests. Add and remove as requested and granted.
• Add decorative ladybugs to your garden. These are easy to paint from round stones! Or add real ones for that mater. Do you know they get their name because after farmers had prayed for their crops “Our Lady’s Beetles” came and ate all the pests that were destroying the crops. And that’s why we now call them lady bugs having originated from Our Lady’s Bugs.
  

  Lady bugs get their name from being Mary’s help to farmers, once called Our Lady’s bugs.

• Add items that relate to Mary by her many names. We are adding a large clam shell and other shells because Mary is known as the Star of the Sea. What other names can you and your children thin of for Mary? Have them choose items to adorn the garden to represent those names.
• Add a bench to sit on for prayer and meditation.

These are just a few of the things you can do with your Mary garden. It’s so very easy to set it up in a way that reflects your own devotion to Mary. May  Our Blessed Mother wrap you in her lovely mantle and bless you through your garden this year!

Stephanie is a military spouse and writes on her personal blog, Harrington Harmonies, where she shares her experiences with homeschooling, faith and military family life. She enjoys cooking, gardening, art and singing with her husband Brian of 21 years. She and Brian also sing together and share their Catholic music on the blog. Follow on Facebook, Pinterest , Twitter, and Google+.

How to Start a Mary Garden in 7 Easy Steps is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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This year is kind of a sad one for me;  it’s the first year since my daughters were born that I probably won’t be attending the annual Mother-Daughter Banquet with my grandmother in the town where I grew up.   I am due to have a new baby next month and driving 3 hours and chasing around my 5 and (especially the) 2 year old and then trying to get them to settle down for bed in a strange place just sounds like too much for me this year.

I remember attending the Mother-Daughter Banquets with my grandmother as a child.   We didn’t really get very fancy for church, but I remember that I wore my best dress and went out for what felt like a fancy night out with the other women and daughters in our parish.  Growing up in a small, close-knit Polish town, it was not uncommon to have generations of women in attendance.   After my daughters were born, we frequently had 4 generations, which is more the exception than the rule these days as families become more spread out.

Put on by my home parish’s Daughters of Isabella chapter with dinner served by the Knight’s chapter, I remember it seemed like a fancy event.   Tablecloths and corsages complete with Marian hymns in, you guessed it, Polish.   To this day, hearing those old tunes sung in Polish brings tears to my eyes.   There is also a small procession where the girls march around with flowers depositing them in front of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Practically a free event (I believe last year, entry was approximately $2 per person), the main meat dish was cooked by the men and sides & desserts were all contributed by members, potluck style.   There were door prizes (the table centerpieces which varied from year to year), as well as prizes for oldest, youngest, longest married, farthest traveled and such.  In recent years, there has been an auction of sorts – basically, you purchase tickets (very low cost) and stuff the box in front of the basket you want to win.   There is also a children’s contest of guess how many candies are in the jar and a 50/50 raffle.

While the mother-daughter banquet is nothing that will ever be on Pinterest, it provided an incredible way for our family to live our faith and show value for our Mother Mary and our mothers on earth.  It saddens me to think that there won’t be many years to share this piece of my history with my girls.  But I’m glad that I have pictures to show that it existed for at least a short time.

Does your parish have a mother-daughter banquet?   What is yours like?

Jen is a Catholic wife and mother to two little girls whose nose can usually be found buried in a book, learning once all the work is done.  Or sometimes, even when it’s not!  You can always find Jen blogging about the big 5 — God & Catholicism, taking care of yourself, serving your spouse and children and managing the home.   She can be found blogging at Happy Little Homemaker and on most of the social media sites including Google+.

Mother-Daughter Banquets: A Reflection is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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Pentecost is upon us, once again early this year! This celebration is truly the beginning of our lives in the Spirit, the third member of our Blessed Trinity. However, in our marriage, the biggest obstacle of building a relationship with the Holy Spirit is recognizing it!

With two preschoolers in the house, the concept of the Holy Spirit can be a bit nebulous and daunting to explain. We have found that the easiest way for them to learn is by our recognizing and audibly acknowledging what we call “Spirit Moments”. We used to call these, “God-incidences” or coincidences that could only be divinely inspired, but as we have grown in depth of faith, we realize that these everyday moments and movements are of our Guide, the Spirit.

Here are some of the ways we recognize the Spirit and acknowledge it:

1. When we open a window and the breeze rushes in, we say “Come Holy Spirit!” with a big smile and deep breath. – Scripture passage
2. When we recognize a divine moment such as a special message or gift, or even just a small miracle like being on time or running late which means avoiding a bad situation, we are always sure to say, “That’s the Spirit for you!”
3. When we find ourselves in time of discernment or society challenge we make sure that our prayers reach out to our Divine Guide, the Spirit. “Holy Spirit, help us to see the clear path to the ways and Word of our Lord.”

Here are some fun activities that help our young kiddos experience the Spirit and begin to form the foundation of an understanding of the Spirit. Feel free to print these and reuse them!

Fruits of the Spirit Activity (for littles) - Laminate both sheets (or don’t) and cut out oranges. Invite young people to match the words and actions and explain why. Invite them to think of or act out their own actions. Use the definitions below to help with your explanations.

Gifts of the Spirit Action Game (for biggers) – We use this as a type of charades game. You can choose if words can be used or not, but work individually or as partners to create demonstrations of the Gifts and have the others in the family guess. Each person gets one guess…just listing the 7 isn’t allowed!

• Wisdom (Recognize strengths and weaknesses and deepen our experience of God),
• Understanding (to keep an open mind as we seek faith and truth),
• Counsel (to make right judgments through prayer and reflection and helping others to do the same),
• Fortitude (to have courage to share the faith in word and deed),
• Knowledge (to learn God’s plan for us),
• Piety (Love, to recognize God’s generosity and treat all others and creation as gifts from God),
• Awe (Fear of the Lord, to give glory and praise to our God who is sometimes no more than a mystery to the human person)

Popcorn Prayer and Popcorn Prayer Table Tents (for all) – One of our favorites before family movie night! I didn’t write this, but I did adapt it. This additional link is to a great resource for making family movie night a bit more faith-filled without having to focus only on faith-based movies. Modern movies organized by the liturgical year with reflections and questions for discussion!

Amberly Boerschinger is wife, mother and spiritual teacher. She works part time for a local parish and also facilitates a wide variety of classes and events on Catholic women’s spirituality and the Catholic spiritual traditions through the Diocese of Green Bay, Department of New Evangelization. She recently rekindled her love for film with a viewing of the international film, The Hedgehog and a cheap seats viewing of the newest rendition of Les Miserables, complete with snacks of course!

photo credit for stained glass window

How to Help Children Recognize the Holy Spirit in Their Lives is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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I think it’s difficult to find quality Catholic children’s films.  ’Quality’ can have so many meanings when it comes to media for children, but for me it means beautiful animation, engaging music, and rock solid Catholic content.  It’s hard to find all three of those qualities in one film.

As we traveled home from celebrating Christmas, we popped in Forgiven.  Why not pass the time with some entertainment and see if the movies are any good?

We were not disappointed.  Within the first several minutes my husband and I both looked at each other and raised our eyebrows.  I verbalized what we were thinking, “Wow!  These have some amazing content!  I can’t believe how much Catholic teaching they are fitting into one film.  It’s really engaging . . . and the music is good too!”

Since then my children have watched all four movies; Let’s Pray!, The Rosary, Forgiven, and The Bread of Life.  There is a fifth movie, Born Into The Kingdom, that looks good as well.  They sing the songs and tell me all about what they learned from Brother Francis.  Sometimes during the day one of my boys, ages 4 and 6, will offer that what we are talking about relates to something he saw on a Brother Francis movie.  I especially like The Bread of Life film.  It has a soothing feel to it and does an amazing job of explaining the Church’s beautiful teaching on the Eucharist.

Overall, these are great movies for entertainment purposes, as well as wonderful catechesis for younger children (and adults listening in!)  They would make a good gift for a special occasion or feast day for a godchild or family.  No matter the occasion, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you purchase one or all of these films.

Sarah is happily married and the mother of four.  She writes at The Happy, Resourceful Home.

Brother Francis Film Review is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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Printable Topic: A downloadable page of nine activities for your Catholic family to do together during May 2013

Note: This download is free for personal or classroom use. It cannot be sold, published, or hosted on other websites. If you want to pass along the printable though, please feel free to share a link to this post (not directly to the printable) with others. Thanks!

Download the Ten May Activities for Catholic Families Printable

(If you are having clarity issues with the printable, please right click on the image and choose “Save Link As” and download the document to your computer. Then, open it from your computer, rather than through your web browser’s PDF plugin, which can sometimes cause some blurriness or other issues.)

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Have you seen Angie’s new activity and worksheet packet about Holy Communion and Reconciliation? If you have a child preparing for those sacraments or other elementary aged child already receiving them, you might enjoy the packet!

Angie is a nerdy, domestically challenged wife and homeschooling Mom sharing about her family’s life and lessons learned at Many Little Blessings. She is also the founder of Catholic Mothers Online and The Homeschool Classroom.

10 May Activities for Catholic Families {Free Printable} is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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Invitation

The most important thing about praying with children is that you are open and inviting. Even though I was raised Catholic, it was unfortunate that we never really prayed at home as a family. I guess for my parents prayer was a personal thing.  Therefore praying openly with others, even my spouse when we first got married, was something I had to work on.

If you don’t already, I encourage you to invite your children to pray with you. Most children will happily follow your lead but sometimes with teens, special needs or a strong willed child there can be a reluctance to pray. In that case, keep it positive, require respect, and pray for your child’s heart to become more open.

Example

Pray the Rosary with your spouse or an older child in front of your younger kids. When they see you doing it they will likely follow. Allow them to join in if they are interested. Allow them to “drop off” when they are tired.

Make the amount of time you’re praying with your smallest kids appropriate for them developmentally. I never understood why as parents we would ever need to drill our children on their basic prayers- like it’s something they should know for a test. If we simply pray every day often with them, over time children will naturally learn their prayers. It doesn’t need to be something they get quizzed on, rather it should be something they are exposed to and a natural part of their life.  Example is the best way to pray with your children.

Instruction

Mary is so wise to provide us with such a simple and repetitive prayer. When prayed regularly there is no need to “teach” the basic prayers. Children will pick the prayers up over time. What you will want to teach are the Mysteries of the Rosary. In doing so you are guiding your children through the lives of Jesus and Mary in the Gospel. Provide pictures of the mysteries if possible. A good age to start working on familiarization with the mysteries is once they know how to say the Rosary. Then they can go from recitation into meditation in the middle and high school years and into their adulthood.

Atmosphere

Make the amount of time your praying with your smallest children appropriate and give them tools for relating to the prayer on their own level. There are numerous coloring book and pages available. Provide them with large rosary beads so it’s easy for them to handle. In the beginning they’ll just be holding their Rosary just to hold it. Later, slowly over time you can explain “this is for a Hail Mary” and so on. Light a candle or play music. Whatever sets the atmosphere is important for bringing the Rosary into your daily life.

Incorporate

You may feel like there is no time for the Rosary because it takes too long. It actually takes only about 15 min. which is about the average attention span. But if it seems too difficult then break it down.You don’t have to say the whole 5 decades. Sometimes the idea of saying  an entire Rosary at first is a bit hard. The key to praying the Rosary is incorporating it into your life. St. Paul tell us to “pray unceasing”. ( 1 Thessalonians 5: 17)

Here are some practical ideas for bringing the Rosary into your daily life:

• Pray while on a nature hike together. Thank God for nature.
• Go to Eucharistic Adoration and pray the Rosary; you don’t need to stay the whole holy hour with children. Even a ten minute visit is so beneficial.
• Make rosary crafts and projects.
• Pray the rosary while working. My favorite is during supper clean up time. We all pray while we clean up and there is no talking. This helps facilitate us all working together. It helps me and is about the exact amount of time to say 5 decades.
• Pray in car while going to sports and other activities. This is a great way for a busy family to pray together.
• Pray just a decade with your kids before bedtime and focus on a different mystery each night.
• Use good CD ‘s and DVD ‘s. There are so many out there.
• Draw and pray. If your kids are artistic have them draw the mystery as you are praying together. Create a rosary journal.

These are only a few ideas for praying the Rosary with kids. You can be very creative and fun with kids so the possibilities are endless.

Stephanie can be found writing at Harrington Harmonies.

How to Pray the Rosary with Children is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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About this time every year I get that itch. I start poring over mail-order catalogs, and the garden center at Lowe’s becomes a near occasion to sin. I love digging and planting, watching shoots spring up and morph into flowers and fruit-bearing plants.

Last spring, though, I was completely overwhelmed by caring for a three-month-old and his three older siblings. I wrote off gardening altogether in 2012–and it was just as well, since we ended up in the worst drought in fifty years.

But this year, I think it’s time to introduce my children to the garden. Here are ten reasons why:

1. Work ethic. When I was a kid, we had a huge garden, and we froze or canned most of our own vegetables. I loathed the two hours a day I was required to spend in the garden on summer mornings, but it’s borne much fruit in adulthood.
2. Structure. Whenever the kids are home the “I’m bored” mantra makes its appearance. In my house they start whining for a movie early in the day. But if we put a structure in place, it makes the days smoother.
3. Sense of accomplishment. Seeing the result of our own efforts is a lesson kids need.
4. Better food. Anything we grow for our own consumption is a known quantity. We’ll know what chemicals we are (or aren’t) exposing ourselves to.
5. They need it. The book Last Child in the Woods made it ponderously, overwhelmingly, beyond-argument clear that we are wired to be out in creation, physically in contact with the world, not tied to smart phones and computers and game consoles. Our bodies, our minds and our emotions work better when we interact with nature.
6. Appreciation for beauty. It’s easy not to notice the beauty lying all around. Nothing gets you paying attention more than being      involved yourself.
7. Learn to recognize God’s hand at work in creation. ‘Nuff said.
8. Stewardship of Creation. “Green” is a big topic these days, but it’s not just a secular issue. Part of our call as Christians is to be stewards of the earth. If our children invest themselves in the natural world, they’re more likely to realize they have a responsibility to it that goes beyond the garden and beyond childhood, from driving habits to consumption habits.
9. Learning to partner with God in bringing life into the world. You can’t just throw seeds anywhere; you have to plant judiciously: a dogwood will scald in full sun and a rose won’t bloom at all in the shade. If we’re to be successful, we have to work with what God put in place. This has implications for teaching about the way we “plant” life in adulthood, too.
10. I need to see the world through my children’s eyes. I see the world differently when I experience it as they do: something new, and exciting, and holy.

What lessons have you or your kids learned by digging down and getting your hands dirty?

Kathleen writes at her personal blog, So Much To Say, So Little Time, about life at the intersection of faith, family and the written word. She is convinced that every issue touches every other, and that faith must be at the heart of them all.

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This week’s activity…

Type of Download or Activity: Crossword puzzle

Text: Holy Communion themed clues as well as some First Communion questions (which should be easy for children who have already done their First Communion as well)

Directions: Fill in words down and across using the clues given.  If you (or the person doing the puzzle) needs help with the words, I have provided a word bank at the bottom of the page.  (To make it harder, you can cut the word bank off before giving it to someone).  There is a solution to the puzzle on the second page.

Important Note: This download is free for personal or classroom use. It cannot be sold, published, or hosted on any other websites. If you want to pass along the printable though, please feel free to share a link to this post (not directly to the printable) with others. Thanks so much!

If you need more First Communion printables, be sure to check out the Holy Communion and Reconciliation Worksheet and Activity Packet.

Download the Holy Communion Crossword Puzzle

(Important: If you are having clarity issues with the printable or if the first page appears to be blank, please right click on the image and choose “Save Link As” and download the document to your computer. Then, open it from your computer, rather than through your web browser’s PDF plugin, which can sometimes cause some blurriness or other issues.)

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Thank you again to our printable sponsor, Personal Creations.  Although they have a site full of personalized items, these links take you directly to their beautiful First Communion gifts.

A personalized gift can speak volumes about the time and care that you have put into selecting a gift for that special First Communicant.  I know that my oldest son treasures the Bible that he received for First Communion that had his name engraved on the front, especially since it was from his Great Grandmother who passed away just one week later.  If you need to buy any First Communion gifts this year, definitely take a few minutes to check out Personal Creations.

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Angie is a nerdy, domestically challenged wife and homeschooling Mom sharing about her family’s life and lessons learned at Many Little Blessings. She is also the founder of Catholic Mothers Online and The Homeschool Classroom.

Holy Communion Crossword Puzzle {Perfect Puzzle for First Communion} is a post from: Catholic Mothers Online
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