This is a little bit late, but after a discussion with a friend asking for Lenten suggestions for her kids to do; I realize that its never to late to start things in Lent. The important thing is that we try! So I thought I would share this beautiful free printable that kids can use this Lent from Ponder in my Heart. Each year they have a new colour in calendar so here is the one for 2018, my boys are enjoying it and I hope your kids will too .
Art and beautiful both sooth and inspire the soul. As we love crafts I wanted to share this Inspiring Quote Canvas we made. With the start of the new school year and it being the first year I would be homeschooling my daughter; I wanted to come up with a nice way to start the school year. A way that would both help inspire her and create a nice work space and that could also be easily changed as the year progresses. Thus the Inspiring Quote Canvas Project was born. Being an artist and a child whom loves to create this was a great project to start the year.
We began by visiting a few websites. After a quick google search I selected three different pages to share with here on quotes: inspiring quotes for kids, inspiring christian quotes and lovely scriptural quotes. After visiting the sites my daughter picked the quote that she felt most drawn to – that inspired her. She then typed the quote out in word, adjusted the font and size to something she liked and printed it. She painted her canvas, once it was dry she glued on her quote and then finished the project by decorating with stickers.
This project is both inexpensive and versatile: all the supplies were already in our home or came from the dollar store (including the canvas and stand). The best part is that as the liturgical year changes, feast days come up or she needs new inspiration – the canvas is removable. We can just use a new 5×7 canvas and create a brand new beautiful masterpiece – which we can display on her work area to inspire her daily or move to our dinner table to inspire us all at a tea party or family meal together!
For some printable Mother Teresa Quotes to help get you start you can view my previous free printable Mother Teresa Quote Posting or you could visit my previous Inspiring Quotes and Scripture Post to help you find some inspiration to make your own Inspiring Canvas!
The ideas are endless. Please feel free to comment with any creative ideas you come up with. Have fun and get inspired!
I will be attending a Advent Ladies Potluck this week, besides bringing a dish to share, we were each asked to bring a gift with an inspiring quote to exchange. At first I thought I would make a nice tea mug with quote but after not being able to find the right markers to make the mug, I came up with a new idea. Instead I created a sheet of quotes by Mother Teresa. The sheet has 10 inspiring quotes by Mother Teresa and prints out on either business card paper or regular paper. I have included this Mother Teresa quotes page here for you to print as you like. I placed these quotes in the mug as well as a picture of Mother Teresa with one of my favorite quotes. I hope you can enjoy these quotes too!
Some of the quotes included are:
I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. Mother Teresa
Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. – Mother Teresa
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin. – Mother Teresa
Spread the love of God through your life but only use words when necessary. – Mother Teresa
A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. She gives most who gives with joy. – Mother Teresa
I selected Mother Teresa as I was working on a different project the same day. Last Christmas Day we found out that we lost our baby, I was 10 weeks pregnant and it was very sad news. I was hosting Christmas that day. On that day my mother presented me with a beautiful gift, it was a hand drawn picture of Mother Teresa that my mother had commissioned an artist to draw for me. As soon as I saw the image two quotes came to mind:
I slept and dreamt that Life was Joy. I awoke and saw that
Life was Service. I acted and behold, Service was Joy! – R. Tagore
Give, but give until it hurts. -Mother Teresa
I decided in that moment that I would choose to live my life in service to others during these dark days in my life. I would look for each blessing I had and I would find my Joy in the Lord. It was very fitting as we named our baby Joy Faustina and in the very difficult days that followed (I miscarried for over two months with many emergency room trips). I learnt that true Joy comes from the Lord – no matter what is happening you can always find Joy if you pray, trust, and rest in the Lord.
The second important thing I learnt was that I had never given enough of myself to my community – to my friends in need – sure I might have offered help or brought a meal, but was that really all I could offer someone in a time of need. I learnt that to really love our neighbours you need to give, give till it hurts. Every small act of love or kindness some one did for my family during this time was such a blessing and it helped me carry on. But now that I know better when a friend is in need I will do all that I can – even if I am busy, tired, short on money or stressed – it matters not because their needs exceed my needs in that moment. As the body of Christ we are many parts and if we all work together in service to others and we help carry each others burdens with love – even the darkest times can be made lighter. Love in contagious, service shows our love, service truly brings joy and since God is love!
Here is the image that now hangs on my wall as a reminder of our beautiful Joy and that is we really want to love we must give, give our ourselves, our resources, our time, our prayer – but GIVE and keep giving till it hurts in service and love on a daily basis!
I just wanted to share some inspiring scriptures and quotes that have really helped to encourage me and inspire me during difficult times! These can be found mostly on pinterest!
“oh God, I thank You, ’cause You bring me to my knees
What are some of your favourite scriptures or quotes ? Please share them in the comments below:)
With Divine Mercy Sunday approaching – I found two great Divine Mercy Resources for children that I just had to share.
The first is this lovely free Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids video from EWTN
The second is this great Divine Mercy Chaplet craft from Rosary Mom that you can use to help teach your children the Chaplet. She adapted the Chaplet Craft from Making Music Praying Twice – Chaplet Lacing Craft so that it included the Eternal Father Prayer. But the Template at Making Music Praying Twice is lovely, you can just print the Simple Pattern and write the Eternal Father Prayer onto it and then print out the Pattern with Written Words and you have a complete chaplet.
How to make an easy Divine Mercy Chaplet
Divine Mercy Craft and Activities
St. Faustina Daily Email Reflections from her Diary
Today we celebrate the feast of our Lady of the Rosary. The month of October is traditionally celebrated as the month of the Holy Rosary! So the craft below is perfect to use any day in the month of October or May or anytime you wish to help your child learn how to pray the rosary.
My son has really taken to the rosary during the past few weeks. He is happy to pray the rosary where ever he might be – in the car, in bed, etc. But he keeps forgetting which prayers to say on which beads. So I thought we could make this craft to put on the wall beside his bed so that he can look at it when he forgets what comes next and start to learn it by heart. I have been eagerly waiting to use these beautiful images of The Virgin Mary from Around the World since the first time I saw them at Shining Light Dolls! So I was very excited we finally were able to use them today!
What you will need:
Teach your child to walk in the ways of the Lord and they shall not depart. We can hear this hundreds of times in our lives. But how do we actually do it.
Teaching our Children to love and fear the Lord is essential;
Teaching them they have a Father who loves and adores them is important!
Helping them to have a personal and deep relationship with Christ is critical.
So how can we as parents, strive to guide their beautiful souls –to have a personal relationship with their heavenly Father from preschooler – through teen years to mature adults?
Well the journey there like any, has many routes to get to the final destination. But one sure way to help your child get to their ultimate goal heaven – is to give them an internal GPS if you will… Engrave something so deep in their heart; that they hear the right directions. Even though they might not always choose to follow them, they can always make a U-turn and like any good GPS program – you can be sure “Your going the Wrong Way” will be blaring somewhere in the roots of their hearts – (if they decide to take the wrong or long route – the GPS will help them find the right roads back to their original destination). Hopefully they will choose to take the right path – but ultimately – God gave our children free will – just like he gave us. So let’s hide it in their hearts – so no matter where they go in this life – they will always know the way or the way back! Just what is it that we want to hide there? The WORD! Scripture – God’s beautiful gift of the word!
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you Psalm 119:11
Scripture is something I have come to love and appreciate more fully over that past few years. So when I wanted to start sharing scriptural memorization with my children – like any good sanguine (link to temperaments) – I jumped right in – but I have learnt along the way – although there are many scriptural verse websites and resources out there. Not all of them are written or geared if you will at young children. Let’s be honest a three year old can’t recite:
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
If it takes over two minutes to explain the text we have already lost them. So began my journey or quest if you will to find a fun, creative and interesting way to bring the word to life for my little ones (who were five, three and under one at the time). I wanted them to be able to recall scripture in times of strife, sorrow, joy – for it to be a tool for them to carry with them throughout their lives where ever they went. So the light and love of our Lord would always be with them.
So I created this blog posting in hopes to share what I have learnt and what I learn along the way!
Tips, Tricks and Ideas for Helping Make Scripture Memorization work with kids!
1. Everyone loves a reward!
My first great tip came from reading The Duggars: 20 and Counting!. In their book I read that they reinforce their younger kids with a candy when they can recite a scripture verse! Yes positive reinforcement – works! So find a reward that works for your family – a chocolate chip, sticker, lollipop, cookie, hug, etc (working with your Child’s Love Language would yield the best results)
2. Did Somebody say Routine!
As a sanguine it is really easy and exciting for me to start new ideas – but follow- through can be hard long term. But like anything if we want to be successful – we need to form a habit – we need to build a routine. So choosing the right style and time that will work for your family is essential. We find that right after breakfast or dinner works well for us. This way we can get the verse in once or twice that day. My 6 year old can actually recite it back by them. Of course life has a way of changing so we mix it up if needed. During the summer we might only get to the verse once or twice during the week. Lately we have been trying to do it with night prayers.
Some families we know do the same verse everyday for a week; others just do a verse once or twice a week on a set day. Do what works for your family – remember something if always better than nothing.
3. Keep it Fun – add a Gesture!
Keeping it fun and interesting for a three year old is essential – so we added hand gestures and movements. We do this as best we can to keep it fun and reinforce the scripture for easier memorization. Some verses are easier than others such as: You shall love the Lord your God. But the kids really enjoy helping to come up with the actions and showing them back to you! Especially when it involves things like jumping for joy.
4. Bringing it Home:
Bringing it home – don’t ask them to memorize something they don’t understand – engage them – ask them what do you think this scripture means? What is God trying to tell us? Use it as a teachable moment and clarify their answers. Most importantly offer a simple explanation i.e. –God loves us so much that he wants us to …
5. If you fall off the horse:
If you fall of the horse just get right back on again – if you forgot to do to the memorization for a few days, don’t get discouraged just try again – your perseverance will be rewarded! It might mean that you need to change when or how often you are doing your scripture verse.
6. Write it out/Print it out/Display it!
Have a special place to display your scripture verses. Have the older child read it or have them write it and decorate a q-card with it and display it 
on a picture frame in your kitchen window, tape it to a vase and have it in the centre of your table, post it on your fridge, etc! Get everyone involved and have the verse available to re-read throughout the day to help reinforce it. We actually painted our broom closet door in the kitchen and made it a chalkboard so now we can display our memory verses and see them anytime we need to! (This also gave me enough room to add my own scripture verse to learn too)
Other ideas – write the verses out on sticky notes – stick them in your child`s lunch, on the bathroom mirror, in the car, on their pillow, on their desk.
7. Teaching
When they are young just teach them the word, once they are older teach them the reference to the quote. So they can recall the book in the bible to look it up – it won’t be hard to add the book because they will already know the verse! When they are older it is easier to get them to memorize the reference to the scripture as they are old enough to understand the context and can appreciate why it is helpful to know where to find it. i.e. – 1 John 3:7 doesn’t mean too much to my three year old but “God loves you” certainly does
8. Live it out!
Lead by example, show your memorization knowledge – let them test you – let them see you read the bible. Actions speak louder than words – St. Francis said “Preach always and if necessary use words!”
9. Quality not quantity!
It’s not about the quantity but the quality – revisit the same scripture verses if you think they are applicable to a situation your family is going through or if you think the little ones need to re-learn it. Follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance, be flexible!
10. Share the word regularly!
Share the word regularly at bedtime, meal times or whatever time works best for your family. Read your children bible stories – everyday if you can – form them in the word. We try to include at least one bible story a day at bedtime. Purchase some high quality attractive bible story books or devotionals that capture your young ones attention– Here are some Bible Story Books for Children that I highly recommend that my children love!
I invite you to join in and start today to hide the word in your child`s heart! It only takes a few minutes but it will last a life time!
A wonderful verse to start with is a very special one – every Jewish Child use to have to know this by heart:
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 Translation: NASV
Another one if the greatest commandment:
He answered, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.
And you must love your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 10:27 Translation ISV
Here are some fun free Scripture Resources:
Wonderful Websites to Help with Scripture Memorization with Children:
A few years ago my husband thought it would be great to make a Guess Who version using Saints – the idea was written out but there it stayed. Recently we discovered that someone else not only had the same idea but brought it to beautiful fruition! I hope your family enjoys this free printable – Family Guess Who – by Equipping Catholic Families!
Ever wanted a great resource of wonderful saint images you can print and use as cards, for crafts, cupcakes, stories and more! Well find it all now at happsaints! This wonderful websites is sure to bring a smile to anyone face! They also sell shirts, mugs and more – find the perfect gift for 1st communions, Christmas, birthdays and more!
This year for Lent I thought I’d like to do the Way of the Cross with my daughter in a more detailed way. Last year I used a black and white copy of the stations of the cross form Catholic Art Work. I want to do something appropriate for children so I decided on purchasing and using the Glory Stories: Passion of Christ – Way of the Cross CD from Holy Heros.
To accompany the CD, I also bought Holy Heros – The Road to Calvary Colouring book, so my daughter could have the visuals to go along with
the CD. This set looks great, looking forward to do this with my daughter this Lent. I will also be giving these to my godsons too.
Description of the Way of the Cross CD from Holy Hero’s Website: “Mesmerizing way for our children to learn about and pray the Stations of the Cross. Children hear other children leading the prayers and offering short meditations and resolutions which match their own lives and connect them to Christ: obedience, telling the truth, trying again and again, making sacrifices for the ones they love, and more. Each station is described with sound effects which inspire the imagination as if you are there…and parents will learn something at the same time! English and Spanish on the same CD.”
Click here to visit Happy Saints.