Did You Miss Any of our Top 10 Faith Post in 2020?

Happy 2021!  I hope your year has started with many blessings.

Ours sure has. Some challenges, too, of course. But, many blessings as well.

One such blessing is the promise of the year ahead and all the opportunities there may be to live, learn, and celebrate our faith - and to share some of what we do here in case it helps you.

The other day, as I was looking back in order to plan forward for upcoming liturgical living, I realized I had never checked in to see what my most popular sharings of 2020 were.

Upon doing so, I quickly saw that among our most-visited posts were a combination of faith-related and review /giveaway ones. That made total sense, since, again in 2020, that is mostly what I found time to share.

In case you missed any of the Top 10 Faith Posts from 2020 - or just want to revisit a favorite post for inspiration or its free printable, I collected a linked list here for you.

I pray that as you scroll through our Top 10 Faith Posts, you will find inspiration to continue to live and grow in faith with your family in 2021. 

Top 10 Faith Posts of 2020

~10~

Perhaps the Lenten art, music, and poetry ideas that I prepared and shared for our AMP club last year can help you as you plan forward for this year's Lent.

~9~

We enjoyed celebrating St. Angela of Merici on Jnuary 27 with easy eats and conversation. 

Now is a good time to put simple eats on your grocery list in preparation for celebrating St. Angela of Merici this year!

~8~

Free printable copywork and journaling sets are helpful on saint days and any day.

If you missed our one for St. Bonaventure, get it here.

~7~

Celebrating Mama Mary and gardening are both worthwhile endeavors. Combining the two can be a fruitful delight. Perhaps, you might consider making an edible Mini-Mary Garden this year.

~6~

Pizza toasts are popular eats in my home. Retelling the story of the Passion as we make them makes them into liturgical living eats. Perhaps you'd like to do the same this Lent.

~5~

I got a message requesting the creating of an Act of Faith Copywork set and was happy to create and share one. 

Now, this year, my kids will be using this free handwriting printable to help prepare for their confirmation. Maybe yours can, too.

~4~

Saint Valentine's day will be here before we know it. Perhaps you' enjoy going on the same Nature Scavenger Hunt we did. Get a free printable hunt sheet.

~3~

Our Lady never lets us down. 

Help your children learn the short Memorare prayer so they can fly to her whenever there's a need!

~2~

It surprised me to discover that my request to join me in praying for wayward children became such a popular post. 

It broke my parenting heart to be in a position to make such a request, and I continue to appreciate and offer prayers to St. Augustine, St. Monica, and St. Ambrose on behalf of my child, myself and you and yours, if you need them, too.

I am confident our prayers are heard and, in the end, all will be well!

~1~

Prayer is such a vital part of life - formulaic and spontaneous.

It appears many appreciated the free Apostles Creed prayer copywork set I made. I pray that using it helped your children grow in handwriting skills and succinct, solid understanding of our faith!

If there are other Catholic prayers, quotes, or material you'd like me to create and share as free printable copywork and journaling sets, just ask. I am always happy to help as I can!

In fact, please never be shy about making any requests for content you'd like to see here! Like many folks who share online, I have more ideas in my head than focus and time to share about them all. So, I like to tailor what we share about here to what you'd most like to see. I can only do that if you let us know.

Please leave a comment here, let me know via social media, or just tell me next time you see me (since some followers here actually know me in real life, too!)  We love feedback! 

Oh, and if you'd like to browse past Top 10 collections, find them here.

May God bless you a yours 2021 unfolds.

Top 10 Faith Posts of 2016

Are you looking for ways to teach and celebrate faith-related ideas with your children in 2017?  Perhaps scrolling through our Top 10 Faith Posts from 2016 will inspire you.

Recently, I realized that again in 2016, the Top 20 most popular posts were here at Training Happy Hearts were split almost 50-50 between reviews and giveaways and faith-related posts.  Thus, today, I thought I would share our Top 10 Faith Posts of 2016 s that you might discover inspiration that you may have previously missed or enjoy revisiting an idea that you'd like to try out in 2017.

I pray that as you scroll through our Top 10 Faith Posts from 2016 you are inspired to continue to live and grow in faith in 2017.  

~1~

Paint a Marian Peg Doll

Whether you are a novice or an old pro, painting peg dolls can be fun for all ages.  Find fabulous designs to inspire your own Marian peg dolls among the ones that local friends and I created.

~2~

Check Out Our Beautiful New Lenten Learning Tool!

Why stop at peg dolls when wooden eggs are so much to decorate as well?  My first forays into woodburning were fun as I participated in a local Lenten Resurrection Eggs swap.  You can find close ups of each egg and brief explanations of their symbolism at  this post.

~3~

Make D.I.Y. Stations of the Cross Prayer and Sequencing Sticks

Paint sticks, paint, laminated printouts, scissors, and velcro were what we used to make DIY Stations of the Cross Prayer and Sequencing Sticks last Lenten season.  Find details of how we made them, as well as other ideas and resources for teaching and praying the Stations of the Cross at this post.

~4~

10 Ways to Begin Advent

We do love celebrating Advent and Lent in big ways and small here. Plan ahead to next Advent with inspiration from 10 Ways we celebrate.

~5~

How We Plan to Celebrate the Canonization of Mother Teresa + a SKILL TIME Round Up!

Sometimes, we like to build most of our lessons and activities around liturgical celebrations.  Whether you're looking for a single quick idea to celebrate Saint Theresa of Calcutta this coming year or would like a while bunch, you may find what you're looking for here.

~6~

Go on a Doors of Mercy Pilgrimage

The window for going on a Doors of Mercy pilgrimage may have passed, but the need for mercy and the blessings of pilgrimages seems ever-present.  Perhaps 2017 could be your year for seeking sacraments during pilgrimages.

~7~

Begin a Works of Mercy Wise Men Tradition with 16+ Picture Book-Inspired Service Acts

Whether you'd like to begin a fun new tradition that marries picture books and acts of kindness next Advent or are looking for simple inspiration for Works of Mercy throughout Ordinary Time, perhaps this post can help.

~8~

Plans to Honor Our Lady of Sorrows through Art, Music, and a Poet-Tea

Lots of folks seemed to like the plans I shared for an Our Lady of Sorrows Poet-Tea.  In case you did not see how those plans played out, feel free to pop by this post:

 

~9~

Enjoy Saint Padre Pio S.K.I.L.L. T.I.M.E. + (and a FREE Copywork Printable!)

Bookmark this post for September if you'd like a free copywork printable to help celebrate Saint padre Pio's feast day!  You'll find plenty more learning ideas there, too.

~10~

8 Sensory Smart Ways to Celebrate St. Anthony of Padua

In recent years, I have moved away from posting so much about SPD, but it seems some of you still appreciate sensory-smart ideas like the ones I shared related to St. Anthony of Padua.  I wonder if you also noted the FREE St. Anthony of Padua Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable I shared, too.

 

  We'd love to hear which posts YOU liked best in 2016 and what you'd like to see us focus on sharing more of in 2017.  As you might guess, there are always more things happening than we have time to write about, and we'd love to tailor what we share to what you'd like to read.  So, please don't be shy with requests and suggestions.  

May God bless you a your 2017 unfolds.

Looking Back at 2016: Our Most Popular Posts

The other day, someone asked me what our most popular posts written in 2015 were.  As a person who does not spend much time looking at nor analyzing blog stats, I had no idea, so I did a bit of research to find out.  And, here's what I discovered:  faith posts are popular!  Among our Top Twenty posts written in 2015 were 10 reviews and giveaways.  The rest were all faith-related posts.  Today, I thought I would share a list of those posts since the new calendar year is a perfect time to gather ideas for celebrating faith

As you scroll through this list of Top 10 Faith Posts from 2015, perhaps you'll find an idea you missed before that might enrich your own family's faith journey in the coming year.  Or, maybe you'll rediscover something that you noted before and would like to revisit.  Whatever you find, I pray that inspiration here helps you and yours to continue to make live and grow in faith in 2016.  Happy New Year! 

~10~

3 All Saints Day Game Challenges {with FREE PRINTABLE!}

 

All Saints Day game challenges are NOT just for All Saints Day.  You might like to use these saint-related challenges (and the other nine we shared about through links within the post) as you learn about the saints throughout the year.

~9~

Celebrate St. Brigid with Simple Stories and Notebooking

 

Studying about the saints is a key focus for us in learning about faith and virtues, and, since food, fun, and quality picture books speak to my children, the "language" we use for exploring the saints typically includes a bit of each.  Our celebration of St. Brigid was a prime example of how we approach some saint day studies.  Whether your looking to celebrate St. Brigid, of just to get some general ideas for approaching saint day observances in hands-on ways with your kids, this post might be worth a peek.

~8~

A Simple, Fun Faith Craft for Kids: Prayer Rocks

 

Sometimes simple is best!  So seems to be the case with the prayer rocks post that came in as our eighth most popular faith-post of 2015.  Both the idea and its presentation are quick and easy.  You can glance over the post and begin making prayer rocks in no time at all.  Enjoy.

~7~

Want a Perfect Picture Book Study for Martin Luther King, Jr. and Valentine's Day?

 

For years,  I have thought about creating a blog or e-book based on ideas I have for centering sensory activities and academic study around picture books, particularly faith-based ones.  However, since home and homeschool require my focus right now, time for writing must be kept in balance and, thus, such a project must wait.  That said, sometimes I cannot help but to put together some of my picture book-inspired ideas to share forward.  Such was the case with a favorite February read.

~6~

Get Your Free Epiphany-Themed Printable Phonics Game!

 

As the somewhat fuzzy picture for Number Seven on this countdown proves, I am hardly tech-savvy or a blog pro.  I do know, however, that most who are say every post should have a strong pinnable image.  Thus, when I saw what came in as our Number Six most popular faith post and discovered that the post did not even have a decent pinnable image, I was tempted to take the time to add one.  My two guiding words for 2016 stopped me from doing so though.  For there is only so much time to share forward today and the post obviously includes enough to make it worthwhile to some as it is.  Perhaps you and yours will enjoy the free printable Epiphany-themed phonics game there over the next couple days.

~5~

What a Weekend for Celebrating Faith!

 

We started this blog as a place to chronicle our journey as a home educating family and, at one time, included regular "what's been happening" type posts. In more recent years, we have gotten away from such sharing, but sometimes cannot help but to put together a picture-laden post that gives a glimpse of where we've been and what we've been doing.  That is exactly the kind of post Number Five is -- one filled with photographs and memories of a weekend rich in celebrating our faith.

 

~4~

A Simple Seasonal Craft: A Paper Plate Lily Pencil Toppers How-To

 

Whether studying Saint Joseph, tying into Easter, or simply looking for an inexpensive and easy craft for kids to enjoy, this paper plate lily pencil topper how-to may be just what you need.  Plenty of pictures will help you create your own lilies with ease!

~3~

The 5-Finger Daily Examen

 

Somehow, we got out of the habit of using our 5-finger examen here, so, just the other day, the kids and I relocated the hand-shape prayer cards we made during a St. Ignatius Feast Day celebration this past summer.  What simple, yet meaningful model or reflective prayer they guide us through.  Perhaps you and yours would like to add the model to your daily prayer routines, too.

 

~2~

Get A Free Printable Saint Geography Notebooking Page!

Of course, printables are always popular, and, as I saw our Number Two post, I realized that I need to update our printables index page, since our popular Free Printable Saint Geography Notebooking Page has yet to be listed on it it.  Until that task is done, you can find the printable linked here, where you will also find links the pages that inspired the notebooking page I created.

 

~1~

Of Snow and a Free Printable 2015 Daily Planner for Lent

Before researching our most popular posts of 2015, I never would have guessed that the most-viewed faith post from 2015 would be a printable planning sheet I made for Lent last year, but, indeed, it is.  Since we are not done celebrating Christmas yet, maybe you'd like to bookmark this Lent printable to begin using next month.  For, yes, Lent is coming quickly.  It begins on February 10.

 

We hope you've enjoyed taking a look back at our most popular sharing from 2015 (sans review and giveaway posts).  If you like what you’ve seen, we would be delighted if you'd continue reading into 2016.  We are grateful for the opportunity to share here and thank you for each and every time you choose to read a post yourself, share this blog with your friends, or take the time to comment on a post here or at our Facebook page.  Truly, we get excited over your feedback, so please never hesitate to make a suggestion, share a thought, or put forth a request!

We also invite you to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.

Happy 2016!

Counting Down Your Favorite Faith-Based Posts of 2014

Happy Epiphany!

Flashback to Epiphany 2014

Although we celebrated the liturgical Epiphany at Mass this morning, we decided to hold off celebrating with our usual GFCF feast day fun and themed-explorations until this Tuesday, the sixth

This will be tempting our children from our table again on Tuesday.

As I thinking about what to serve for this year's family Epiphany tea and which books, dramatic play props and other materials to have on hand this week, I got looking at old pictures and posts.  As I did so, I wondered if others ever look at my old posts for inspiration, too.  (Of course, I always do myself!)

A star in a blueberry sky...

To answer my question, I took a rare peak at my Google Analytics stats to see which faith-related posts were most viewed by readers in 2014.  Lo and behold, not a single one of them was one actually written in 2014.  

Nope.  

Your favorite faith-based posts seem to be oldies, but goodies:

Coming in at Number Five is...

Seven Sorrows of Mary 3-Part Cards (A Free Printable - Now Updated)

I am so glad the effort I put into making these Seven Sorrows of Mary cards and sharing 10 ways to use them is appreciated!  It takes me quite a while to put together cards like these, but is so worth it as my children and I enjoy art appreciation, faith studies and fun all at once with them!
 

 

Cards seem to have it, as taking the Number Four slot is...

If You Cannot Find It, Make Do: 3-Part Life of Mary Sequencing Cards 

Back in 2010, these were the first 3-part religious art cards I put together.  We still bring them out when celebrating Saint Mary.  They add tradition, fun, and, of course, faith-based art to our Marian celebrations.

Or maybe not.  Perhaps hands-on is happenings, since taking the Number Three spot is...

An Easy Way to Teach Young Children about Baptism

Since first exploring Baptism with this tray in 2013, I have shared similar ones with my children, with children in our Sensing the Saints mini co-op and with children in my daughters faith formation classes.  I love hands-on, Montessori-inspired faith learning! 
 

Now, it seems appropriate today that the Number Two spot is...

Last Minute Ideas for a GFCF Epiphany Feast Day Tea

Yesterday, when I was doing some cleaning and organizing, I took out a stack of orange paper.  Nina immediately grinned, asking, "Is that for our crowns?"  For it seems that making orange paper crowns has become an epiphany tradition here as have donut stables and food stars in a blueberry sky, which is what our Epiphany Tea meal has morphed to since its inception with star-shaped pancakes. 

  

However, taking the Number One spot, is a surprise for me...

 

The Parables of Jesus (The Sower): A Lesson for a Sensorimotor Preschool Experience

When I saw that the most popular faith-related post that was accessed last year was one that resulted from a copied-and-pasted lesson plan I wrote for a co-op three years ago, which had but one tiny image on it, no printables and, until tonight, no categories attached to it, I laughed.  

Lately, I have been wanting to find time to improve my blogging skills -- snazzy Pinterest-perfect images, strong key words, blah, blah, blah.  It seems, though, that just doing what I love to do (like teaching and planning!) and sharing about it might be what YOU most want.  That is good to know as I head into 2015!  

If there is anything specific that you'd like me to write about, create or share, feel free to let me now in a comment here or on the Training Happy Hearts Facebook page.

I pray your New Year has started brightly and that you not only follow the light as the Wise Men did, but let His light shine in and through you!

5 Easy How-To's and Activities from Upside Down Homeschooling

Have you heard of Upside Down Homeschooling?  It's a faith-based multi-author site run by heather Bowen which I write for once a month, usually sharing how-to's and quick-and-easy ideas, such as:

Prepare for Fall: Host an Activity Bag Swap This Summer

 

 Top 3 Places to Look for Free Summer Fun and Learning

 

 

Easy Steps to Starting a Nature-Based Co-op or Club

6 Sensory Smart Ideas for Celebrating St. Joseph

 

 My New Favorite Way to Use Learning Cards

 

Of course, if you have requests or suggestions about things you'd like me to share about here or at Upside Down Homeschooling, just ask!

Have You Popped Over to UpsideDown Homeschooling?

I have.

In fact, as I got to know UpsideDown Homeschooling's Heather through Facebook and her blog, I began to feel a bit connected with her.  Thus, when she put out a call for contributors for her blog, I wanted to answer quickly: Yes!

I did not, though,  Instead, I prayed over it.

I had just wrapped up another blogging commitment that I had had at Catholic Mother's Online, which ended when Angie decided to make that blog go static.  I had recently reduced my commitment to two other places I share at: Signature Moms and at Special-ism.  I  was trying to increase my focus on homeschooling, improve my abilities at homekeeping, balance my commitments to paid work and attend to sundry other things that moms like me manage as a part of our call.  So, how could it be prudent to answer Heather's call?  

I may have wanted to, but was I supposed to.

Yep.  I prayed.

And, fairly quickly, I sensed an answer:  The details will work out with prayer and trust.  God has laid it on my heart to increase the energy I spend encouraging and ministering to other Christian homeschool wives and moms (and being encouraged myself!)  That is what UpsideDown homeschooling is all about.

So it was that I answered Heather's call and she, in turn, chose me to be a part of the team.

I am excited to see how God uses this new opportunity in my life and in the lives of those I come to know and to share with.

I'll continue to see you here weekly and look forward to sharing with you -- and other readers -- at UpsideDown Homeschooling monthly!

If you ever have specific requests or questions you'd like me to write about here or there, just let me know!