Host a St. Juan Diego / Our Lady of Guadalupe Sensing the Saints Playdate (with FREE PRINTABLE Plans!)

Happy second Sunday of Advent!

As the feasts of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe near, I've been reminiscing about past celebrations and realized that I never shared here about a favorite one - a Sensing the Saints: St. Juan Diego & Our Lady of Guadalupe Learn-and-Play Date that we enjoyed with friends some years back.

 

Circle Time

Some of our group came straight from Mass and others came after Mass, so after everyone had gathered, I asked the children to come into a circle near an Our Lady of Guadalupe candle.

Then, I asked:

• Can anyone name a saint and an aspiration of Mary that were celebrating this week?  (Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe)
• Does anyone know which dates these celebrations fall on? (the 9th and the 12th)
• Can anyone find the dates of these feast days on the calendar?  (The young children then paged through calendar to find the date, chanting months, days and dates as we went.)

I then suggested that before we learned and shared more about these saints, we open our gathering with a prayer.  So, we prayed the Sign of the Cross and, then, read the prayer printed on our candle.

After praying, I drew attention to the different images of various picture books that were already set up on a table and asked  the children to share some things they knew or could guess about St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Then, I asked children if anyone knew where Juan Diego was from and had them find Mexico on a globe.

We also chatted about what saints are and how we are part of the Communion of Saints. 

Storytime

After that, we segued into reading The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I prefaced by asking children to listen for both miracles and virtues described. 

Throughout the reading, I paused periodically to discuss images, text and the children’s reactions, and, when the story concluded, I asked if anyone knew what a virtue is (a habit for good) and what virtues St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe demonstrated. (courage, faith, compassion, etc.)  I, then, asked the children how each might live such virtues themselves.


Choice Activities 

After storytime, it was onto choice activities, which included:

Make Our Ladies Roses, where children could make playdough roses, thereby getting tactile input, as well as exercising fine motor skills.

Enact the Story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, where children used scarves, plastic roses, a stool and other props to take on the characters of Juan Diego, Our Lady, the bishop, etc. to dramatize the story, thereby getting tactile, proprioceptive and vestibular input.

Make a Tilma, where children could craft a simple tilma.

Draw, Color and Notebook the Saints, where children could draw Our Lady of Guadalupe, color images of Juan Diego and Our Lady, or collaged notebooking pages about these saints using images and copywork prayers, thereby exercising fine motor skills.

Plant Roses on Tepeyac Hill, where children could “plant” plastic roses in coffee-scented playdough hills, thereby getting olfactory and tactile input, along with practicing fine motor skills.

Transfer the Roses, where children transfered water bead “roses” in a small cloth “tilma”, practicing fine motor skills.

Free Printable Plans

I hope some of our activities inspire your own.  In case you'd like to use all of them, I am sharing the FREE Sensing the Saints: St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe lesson plan I created, which has materials lists, objectives, assessments, etc. included.  Please feel free to download and use it in your own homes, co-ops, or classrooms and to point others to this post to do the same.

Have a most wonderful second week of Advent!  I'd love to hear how you play and learn about the saints.  Do leave a comment here or on our Facebook page.




St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Learn More About Our Lady of Guadalupe {A Video Review and Science Activity Ideas, Too}

If you are looking to deepen your understanding of Our Lady of Guadalupe, might I suggest getting ahold of a copy of an informative new DVD our family has been blessed to review?  It's called Guadalupe: The Miracle and the Message, and since my children watched it with me, my oldest, especially, has not stopped bringing up Our Lady and the miraculous image of her that appeared on Juan Diego's tilma in 1531.

The film, which is about an hour long, was produced by the Knights of Columbus and can be watched in either English or Spanish.  The English version is narrated by Jim Caviezal, but also contains many subtitled segments with Spanish-speaking commentators.  So, be prepared to read while you view.  It's well worth doing so, since the documentary is packed with information.

This trailer can give you a flavor of what to expect:




(Note:  Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones.  Should you click through them to make a purchase - any purchase - we may receive income at no extra cost to you as per our full disclosure.  Thank you.)

Don't Let the Subtitles Hold You Back from Making This a Family Video

The Kids Watching a Non-Subtitled Portion

When my children saw the DVD cover of Guadalupe: The Miracle and the Message sitting on our table the day after I had previewed the film, they asked to watch it.  I let them know it was not a kids' movie and had lots of parts we'd have to read together, but they said they wanted to see it anyway.  So, I went for it.  As I already mentioned, I am so glad that I did.  The film had a powerful impact on my oldest child, especially.

Of course, the general story of how Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, and, then, later, created a miracle with roses and a tilma is not new to any of my children, for we have been reading books, listening to a kids' CD, watching a DVD, enjoying feast day meals, and centering activities around Our Lady of Guadalupe for years.  What was new to us as we viewed Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message were details about the symbolism contained in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe as well as stories that corroborate how miraculous the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is. 

Spilled acid not destroying the image, the impact of a bomb not affecting it, paintings of other images on similar fabric decaying while the one on the 1531 tilma remains intact and vibrant... Such stories captured my son's interests.  Related details moved us all.  Most certainly, as my children and I viewed Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message we found it true to its title, and each of us came away with a deeper understanding of both the miracle and the message of Our Lady brought in 1531, which has continued to reverberate into the present day.

Part of that understanding stemmed from how well Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message connects the dots between history, culture, faith, and science. In the past, my children and I have touched on the life and culture of Aztecs and Spanish conquistadors, have read many children's books about Our Lady of Guadalupe, have enjoyed the animated children's DVD Juan Diego: Messenger of Guadalupe, and have briefly explored topics in science, such as the natural process of decomposition and the affects of acid on other things.  However, we had not assimilated these experiences in the context of the miraculous apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe before viewing Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message.  The video really helped us to do that.

Read What the Kids Thought

Nina Taking a Body Break to Imitate How the Pilgrims Go to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine

Luke, 10, has the following to say about the video:

It is an awesome video.  I think it's cool that the tilma survived through so much.  It's miraculous.  I think anyone would like this video, because it's super great.  Try giving it to people you know that are not Catholic and say, "This is a historical video, because it is.  It's historical and about God.  You an evangelize with it!"

Nina, 8, shared:

It was a good video.  I liked that they told details.  I thought it is was cool that, when there was an explosion, the glass covering the tilma did not explode.  It was a miracle.

I liked the video, but I think mostly grown ups would like it, not other kids because most of the time it was just people talking and talking and talking, sometimes in a different language.  So Mama read it to me.

Jack, 5, said:

I learned that when someone accidentally spilled acid on the tilma it did not destroy it.  It was a miracle...  (The movie) was just chatting, and chatting, and chatting, and chatting. (except for) the actor parts.  They acted out the Juan Diego thing, sacrifices, and the Aztecs.

As you can see, although my younger ones did not completely cotton to the subtitled documentary style of the film, they still took specific details away, and my oldest raves about the documentary and is ready to go evangelize with it.  After having viewed the film twice in one week myself, I can say that it blends narration, with dramatized scenes, with subtitled commentators well, offering a deeper understanding of Our Lady of Guadalupe than I previously had.

Learn More

I am thankful that a fellow Catholic blogger, Tracy, from A Slice of Smith Life, let me know about this review opportunity, because Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message has proven such a welcome addition to the resources we have in our home. Tracy, too, reviewed the video. 

Image Credit: Holy Heroes

Image Credit:  CCC of America

As my oldest child's experience has proven, viewing Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message after familiarizing yourself with the general story through resources geared to children can have a great impact.Truly, over the past few days, I have been impressed with how one viewing of Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message has deepened my son's (and my!) understanding of Our Lady of Guadalupe and has sparked continued conversation and inquiry.

Get Hands-On After Viewing

As a former classroom teacher, current home educator, and forever lover of hands-on learning, I have found myself brainstorming science activities that tie into my children and my viewing Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message. Please enjoy bringing my ideas to fruition:

Our Lady of Guadalupe's Shrine Instant Challenge:  Tied to the fact that Our Lady asked that a shrine be build on Tepyac Hill, on Saint Juan Diego's feast day, I came up with an engineering-based instant challenge that my family has enjoyed.  We will be doing a different, yet similar activity with friends on Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day.

Acid Test: All of my children have brought up the acid spill discussed in the video a number of times.  Thus, at some future point, I would like to explore the affects of acids and bases on color using purple cabbage and inspiration from Steve Spangler and the Sci Guys.

Fabrics and Primers: My oldest son has been very curious about why base coats are used on fabric prints and why the lack of a primer under the image of the tilma is "so important".  So, I would like to gather a variety of natural fiber materials and have the kids experiment with paint, ink pens, etc., seeing which media "bleeds" more and which processes prevent colors from running.

Decomposition:  The kids have been questioning which fabrics can and do decay quickly and which do not, so I foresee an experiment where we expose different fabrics and paper types to the elements and track the changes that occur.

I would love to hear what you think of this video as well as what activities you connect to learning about Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Please do share in a comment here or on our Training Happy Hearts Facebook page.  Happy Feast Day!

Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe with an Instant Challenge

Are you looking for a hands-on, creative way to engage your children for Saint Juan Diego or Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast days?  Maybe you'd like to try the instant challenge we enjoyed this morning. 

The challenge I designed made for a wonderful faith-engineering-sensory experience. 

It also included teamwork for Jack and Dad during a second round.
   

And spontaneous tests for strength against wind....
 

...as well as against earthquakes by Engineer Luke.
 

We'll definitely be doing more saint-connected instant challenges in the future.  Maybe you will, too.

If you'd like to get started now, just follow the plan below.

Challenge

Our Lady asked that a shrine be built.  Your task is to build a self-standing shrine on the base given.  Your shrine must have four sides, a cross, and a hanging image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

(All of my children chose to use four-sided pyramid shapes with crosses either hanging or standing in the middle.)

Time

You will have five minutes to build your shrine. 

(Or longer.  We did not set a limit, but technically instant challenges have one.)


Set Up

In the middle of the working space are marshmallows and spaghetti to share.  On your base tray is one piece of tape and an image of Our Lady.

(Set up can or course, be modified to suit your space.)


Procedure

Use the materials to build a shrine. You will be warned when you have one minute remaining and 30 seconds remaining.

In order for your shrine to receive a score, it must stand on the given base on its own for at least ten seconds.  No part may hang off the base and no person may touch or support the shrine.

(We chose not to time nor to score, but I included this portion of the challenge information for those who want to make it more official.)

Materials

• marshmallows
• spaghetti
• 1/2 inch of tape
• a small paper image of Our Lady of Guadalupe
• a base 

(We did not limit materials, but, of course, limiting the amount of marshmallows or spaghetti pieces each person or team may use can level this challenge up.  For the bases, we used the back sides small sturdy whiteboards.  You could simply tape a 12 x 12 inch square on a table though.)

 
Scoring

You will receive:

• 10 points for each clearly visible wall up to four walls
• 10 points for a visible cross
• 10 points for a hanging image or Our Lady up to 30 points for creative use of materials
• up to 10 points for teamwork (if working in teams)

(As I already said, our family chose not to score, but rather just to enjoy building time.  I'd love to hear what your family or students do.)

Recommended Resources

 

(Note:  Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones to Amazon, Holy Heroes, and CCC of America.  Should you click through one of these and make a purchase, we may receive small income at no extra cost to you.  Anything we make goes right back into things we share here.  Thanks!)


I created this Our Lady of Guadalupe Instant Challenge after the kids and I watched Guadalupe - The Miracle and the Message (which is currently 27%), read Our Lady of Guadalupe (which is currently 44%), enjoyed a symbolic-foods breakfast, chatted about how we might model ourselves after Juan Diego, and shared what things we know about Juan Diego, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the times they lived in.

We have enjoyed all of those resources and experiences, and the following ones, too, so far this year.  Should you like to know more about any particular one, simply click through the links for general information or comment here or on our Training Happy Hearts Facebook page with specific questions about our thoughts on them.
 

Image Credit: Holy Heroes

Image Credit:  CCC of America

How do you get hands-on with saint day celebrations?  Might spaghetti structures with crosses play into your next feast day plans?

Let Nina Teach You How to Make Play Dough Roses

This morning, my girl came to me and said, "Mommy, we haven't written at Nina Beth Creates in a long time.  Can we?"

I promised her we could and just kept my word.

When we pulled up Nina's blog, I was surprised to see that I have neglected to help her with it for six months and she was disappointed to see no one had visited it since then.  She asked me if I could help make sure someone knew she was posting again.  How could I say no?

Please visit Nina Beth Creates to learn how Nina, her brother and their friends made simple, beautiful play dough roses at a recent Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego gathering.  This simple, hands-on craft can be enjoyed by many ages of children just for fun, as a part of a sensory diet, in honor of Our Lady or Saint Therese, etc.  It would work well with polymer clay to make gifts for Mother's Day.

Thanks!

 What have your children been creating lately and how have you been honoring their requests?

Our GFCF Our Lady of Guadalupe Liturgical Tea

Ready for Our GFCF Our Lady of Guadalupe Tea

Last Wednesday, we enjoyed a liturgical tea honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Unlike last year, when we celebrated the feast day all throughout the entire day by enjoying sensory activities and a meager, but meaningful tea, this year, we saved most of our observances for the late afternoon and evening, which meant fewer activities, but more feasting.

That is not say we neglected the feast day until dusk.  Rather, we began the day by reading and discussing The Lady of Guadalupe.  Then, as we continued with our day's activities, we recalled parts of this story, as well as details from the Holy Heroes Saint Juan Diego Glory Story, which we had listened to this past Monday, and the Talking Eagle and the Lady of Roses book, which we had read on the Feast of St. Juan Diego, too.  We connected and applied ideas from these stories to our lives:  Patience.  Obedience.  Trust.  Faith.  Miracles.  Beauty.  They are all there.  And with them, so were some opportunities for prayer, connection and learning. 

In the late afternoon on Wednesday, the children colored pictures that I had printed out from the links on our Advent Alphabet plan.  Then, we decorated the table simply with a table cloth, the kids' coloring, a blue candle and two read alouds.

St. Juan Diego's Tilma: GFCF Tortiallas and Ham Roses

After that, Jack and Nina helped me roll nitrate/nitrite-free ham into roses with thanks to an idea shared by Alice at Cottage Blessing, I prepared the rest of the meal, we prayed and dug in.  On the menu were:

A Mushroom "Cloud" Radiating with Sweet Potato Fries "Light", in Honor of How The Lady Is Depicted as First Appearing to St. Juan Diego in The Lady of Guadalupe

 

A Chopped Avocado "Tepeyac Mountain" with a GFCF Mayo "Cloud" radiating with Egg Piece "Light"

A Spinach and Arugula Mt. Tepeyac with Dried Cranberry Roses

A Colored Image of Our Lady with Egg "Radiating Light" as the Image on St. Juan's Tilma

We also had bowls with the rest of the egg and tortilla bits.

The children loved the menu this year, admittedly as much for playing with as for eating.

Luke added stars to his tilma before eating it.

Nina made a dress for Our Lady.

And so it was, we enjoyed another Saints Day Liturgical Tea while honoring faith, family and our family food goals.  (Okay, maybe not the "economic" part of our food goals, since the nitrate/nitrate-free ham and the special GFCF tortillas are not the least expensive things one could eat!)  Not only that, but I now have another way to make stars...  Our Advent Alphabet "S" day and Feast of Epiphany Day could be filled with egg stars, summer squash stars, pineapple ring stars and, if I am feeling up to the mess, GFCF sugar cookie stars.

How do you combine faith, family and food to celebrate the Liturgical Year with your little ones?

 

(If you receive this post via email and cannot see the linky, be sure to actually click over to the blog to read browse the rich catalog of ideas there.)

 

Please note: Links to Amazon within this post and others are affiliate ones. Should you choose to click through one to make an Amazon purchase, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. This does not cost you anything, but is a choice we thank you for making. Anything we earn from Amazon goes straight back into training up our children and to much of what we share with you here. Thank you for supporting us in this way or through a PayPal donation if you feel so moved.  (See "Donation" button in the right column.)