Join us as we journey along in training up our children (and ourselves!) to live fully, love deeply and learn passionately, with faith that promises (and delivers!) truly happy hearts.
Happy Feast of St. Andrew. For years now, our St. Andrew Christmas Novena bookmarks have helped my children and I try to stay on track with praying the St. Andrew Christmas Novena from November 30 through Christmas. Thus, we will be breaking our bookmarks out again this year.
To help my children keep their writing neat with a model and lines, I thought I might find a pre-made copywork printable online, but I had no luck doing so, Thus, I made my own and am sharing the FREE printable with you!
The set includes ones cursive model...
... one print model...
and several blank lined sheets...
That way, my children and yours can choose to practice printing, cursive, or both, plus have room for overflow copywork in case they write with especially large or spaced out words.
I pray our children benefit from this copywork and from the prayer they will be praying with it throughout Advent.
For your child's ease, be sure to fill in his or her special intentions on the blank portion of the model before copywork commences.
It can also be time to connect with your kids by playing another drama game that can tie into Liturgical Year. Today let me share with you a twist on the competitive improv game.
How to Play Big Fish, Small Fish, Be Fishers of Men
The game Big, Fish, Small Fish, Be Fishers of Men requires no props or preparation. You simply need a group of people in a circle.
To play:
1. Sit or stand in a circle.
2. Tell everyone you are going to teach three cues needed for the game. For the first, hold your hands very close together with palms facing each other as if you are going to clap and say, "big fish". Ask everyone to repeat your action. Then, turn to the right and pass the phrase and action to the next person who will do the same to the next, until the phrase comes back to you. (Note how your words and action do not match. That is part of the fun of the game. The game requires you to wake your brain up because of the incongruency between saying"big fish" but having your hands close together as if demonstrating the size of a small fish.)
3. For the second cue hold your hands, palms in as if you are going to clap, about chest width apart, and say, "small fish". Have everyone repeat your action. Then, turn to your left and pass the phrase and action along until it circles back to you.
4. For the third cue, act as if you are throwing a net across the circle towards someone and say, "Be a fisher of men." Ask everyone to reply, "Amen." To practice this cue, have the person who you "threw" the net to throw it to someone else saying, "Be a fisher of men," and having everyone else respond, "Amen".
5. Explain that to play, you will pass the "big fish" phrase and action to the right, and the next player has three choices: (1) keep on passing to the right, (2) turn to the left to pass the "small fish" phrase and action, or (3) toss play to someone on the other side of the circle by looking straight at them and throwing a net while saying "Be a fisher of men." If the player chooses to keep passing right, play continues as such until someone says the opposite fish to change the direction of play or until someone casts the net across the circle.
6. At any point, if someone delays too long before passing a cue, gives the wrong action with a phrase, or passes to the wrong direction, that person is out.
To get a visual of the straight up Big Fish, Small Fish drama game that this simple liturgical year adaptation comes from, take a look at this video.
Then, just remember, that, instead of casting play with the word, "tadpole", in the St. Andrew feast day version, you cast with "be a fisher of men" and everyone responds "Amen". (You may wish to explain that the word we use to end prayers - Amen - means "so be it" and that the word is derived from foreign words that mean to agree with, affirm, emphasize, or approve of what has been said. Thus, in our game, we are thinking about how Jesus called on St. Andrew to be a fisher of men, and how He calls us to follow him and work to save soul, and we are affirming that call.)
What Concepts and Skills Does This Liturgical Year Drama Game Reinforce?
Because your hands and your words don't match up when you play Big Fish, Small Fish, Be a Fisher of Men, the game makes a fantastic wake-up-the-brain game.
Some skills this game develops are:
listening & reacting
concentration
timing
following the cues of others.
Of course, it also ties in with the whole concept of St. Andrew being a fisherman that God called to be a fisher of men, which, in turn, lends itself nicely to further discussion and study about how we might become fishers of men.
If you'd like food for thought before chatting with children about being fishers of men, look here:
Also remember that November 30, the feast of St. Andrew, is the traditional day to begin praying the St. Andrew Christmas Novena.
After playing Big Fish, Small Fish, Be a Fisher of Men, consider what your intention might be for this year's Christmas Novena and begin praying it.
The St. Andrew Christmas Novena
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment inn which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires,[here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ and of His blessed Mother. Amen.
We humbly implore your majesty, O Lord, that, just as the blessed Apostle Andrew was for your Church a preacher and pastor, so he may be for us a constant intercessor before you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Then, last year, at this time, I was so busy living Advent that I never got around to sharing how the children and I had brought my idea to life as what we dubbed our Works of Mercy Wise Men. {Disclosure: Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones. If you click through one and make a purchase, we may receive small compensation at no extra cost to you Anything we make goes straight back into training happy hearts and sharing about it here.}
On the first day of Advent, the children found our Tales of Glory Wise Men in this vignette:
Then, together, we chatted about why the real wise men traveled, who they were going to see, what Jesus was said to be
(a king), what we typically do for kings (serve them), and what kind of
king Jesus was (a servant king).
The children and I, then, continued on to talk about how we can model after Jesus in general (by serving and
living works of mercy) and, how we might do so specifically using the supplies our wise men were found with (perhaps making pictures or cards in the style of the illustrations in the book to bring joy to another). I explained that, throughout Advent, the children
might find our kings anywhere in the house with picture books and more and that, whenever they did, if they felt inspired to, they could pause our day to serve someone else. They loved the idea, and, with it, our Works of Mercy Wise men were inaugurated in keeping with the Year of Mercy focus we'd begun with and our Works of Mercy club and Advent-turned-Works of Mercy-chain.
Throughout the rest of Advent, my children discovered our Works of Mercy Wise Men in different vignettes, and, then, after reading whatever book the wise men were on or near, they "chatted" with the wise men about suggestions for a work or mercy (or simple kindness) we could offer.
It was so much fun to see the children's imaginations ignite as they "conversed" with the wise men. It was equally delightful to hear what Works of Mercy the children came up with after "sharing secrets" with the wise men and cuddling to read together with me.
Some days, the acts of mercy the children decided on were simple ones, such offering prayers for the living or the dead. Other days, they were more involved, such as making extra laminated prayer bookmarks to gift others or taking special trips to the store for supplies to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, or clothe the naked. Still other days, the works of mercy the children came up with brought us together with neighbors, such as "visiting the imprisoned" (elderly neighbors who cannot get out much and enjoy company.) Always, with inspiration from picture books and "conversations" with our Works of Mercy wise men, the children and I found ourselves better preparing our hearts for the coming of Jesus.
The Tradition Continues
Making the Works of Mercy Wise Men a new tradition in our home offered much fruit last year, and, thus, even though I have been seeking to simplify a bit this year, our Wise Men are back.
The vignettes the Works of Mercy Wise Men become a part of this year are uber-simple. Often times, just a book and a quickly jotted phrase or sentence. Still, the children look forward to finding the wise men daily, to reading together whatever story the wise men are with, and to deciding on a way we can love and serve others that day (or soon thereafter.)
Likewise, I look forward to how heartwarming it is to witness my children brainstorming kindnesses and carrying them out. 8 Books and 16+ Ideas to Get You Started
If
you'd like to get started with Works of Mercy Wise Men for the rest of
Advent, or, perhaps, between Christmas and Epiphany, here are some
simple book-and-service ideas to inspire you and yours. The first idea for each book is what I had in mind - but did not share aloud - and the second is what my children came up with on their own. Not all of the ideas are
literal Works of Mercy, but each helps children exercise
virtues as they act with love and kindness.
~1~
Pair the book If He Had Not Come - or any alternate title that brings to mind the reason for the season - with a small sign that says those exact words "the reason for the season".
My Idea: Think about how we can live the season with the real reason for it in mind and how we might share that reason with others. Then, act on it!
The Children's Act of Kindness: The
children, then, decided to pray with the words the boy in the book
prayed with and, also, to pray for the living and the dead by praying an
additional prayer for babies.
~2~
Pair Merry Christmas, Strega Nona - or any picture book that highlights holiday preparation or surprises - with a foam question mark, hand-written question mark, cleaning supplies,or cooking supplies.
My Idea: Discuss practical ways we get ready for Christmas and come up with a way that we might help another prepare or that we might plan a big surprise for someone who could use a lift.
The Children's Act of Kindness: Ask Mom - who has been extra-tired - to get in bed and, then, make and serve her breakfast.
~3~
Pair the story "Rosemary's Secret Friend" inCatholic Children's Treasure Box, Book 19 - or any book that highlights conversations with God - with a paper, plush, foam, or wooden heart.
My Idea: Chat about how we can keep Jesus in our hearts and share him with others and act on one of our ideas.
The Children's Act of Kindness:The children asked to pause our day to pray in our hearts to Jesus. They decided to include prayers of thanksgiving and petition for Daddy since it is his birthday.
~4~
Pair the St Andrew pages of Jesus Loved Them and Lives and Legends of the Saints
- or a Bible Story about the miracle of the loaves and fish, or any
picture book about St. Andrew - with the three wise men "fishing".
My Idea: Discuss how St. Andrew left the fishing industry to become a "fisher of men" and think of a simple way we can "fish men" today. Act on that idea.
The Children's Acts of Kindness: The children decided we should purchase five loaves of bread and three cans of fish to donate and enjoyed placing some of our donated items in the donation bin for our local St. Vincent de Paul organization.
They also decided to "quietly evangelize" by praying our usual Eternal Rest prayers when passing cemeteries and offering grace before a meal when we were hosting a friend in our minivan and home.
~5~
Pair The Littlest Angel with an empty box, a small bag, or just a small angel figurine.
My Idea: Consider what precious little items we have to gift forward.
The Children's Act of Kindness: Since we were not slated to go out all day, the children decided to offer extra acts of kindness and service to one another throughout the day.
~6~
Pair The Friendly Beastsor any other book that includes creatures in the manger giving things to Baby Jesus with bird seed (which is what is in that black bin in the picture) or some other animal feed.
My Idea: Discuss how each creature in the book offers the Christ Child what they can and how we might offer God's creatures what we can. Maybe make bird or squirrel feeders or donate to an animal hospital or shelter. The Children's Act of Kindness: The children want to make ornaments to decorate a tree for the birds, but would like to wait until it snows to so so.
~7~
Pair The Small One with a note that says, "What (or Who) needs a good home?", with an empty box or bag, or with some outsized clothes or neglected toys.
My Idea: Gift forward some toys, clothes, or other items that we do not need anymore.
The Children's Act of Kindness: The children have noticed that the turtle we are headstarting does not seem to be growing, so they decided we need to look into why and do something about it. We opted to begin by buying a new type of food for the turtle.
~8~
Pair Who Is Coming to Our House with a question that asks how we could welcome an unexpected guest, with supplies to make a welcoming display, or with supplies to make baked goods or a tea tray to welcome guests with.
My Idea: Chat about how we can prepare our home to welcome unexpected visitors. Perhaps put something welcoming on the door or in the front entryway and ensure there are snacks and drinks to offer. Or, work on clearing and cleaning the front rooms.
The Children's Act of Kindness: The children decided to work extra on cleaning the house in the coming week. 'Tis the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Service) Season
As you can see, we have been keeping our Works of Mercy Wise Men initiative mostly small in scale this year. This is purposeful on my part.
Other goals and commitments for this season prevent me from creating fancy, fun vignettes daily. And, truly, although such vignettes would add to the merriment of the season, they are not necessary for children to enjoy and be inspired to serve.
Likewise, just as the Wise Men made a great, long journey one small step at a time, I decided at the beginning of this season that I wanted to stress how we can journey towards Jesus one small choice at a time. Focusing on small, simple ways that we can love and serve others on a daily - sometimes minute-to-minute basis - strengthens us. All those small choices add up, building habits in virtue.
Of course, magnanimous gestures and larger scale service projects hold great merit and are important to make time for. However, small, simple, practical efforts and prayers can create a positive impact, too.
Might you add a Works of Mercy Wise Men tradition to your family's Advent or Epiphany journey, getting closer to Jesus one small step at a time, too?
{Disclosure: Some of the links which follow are affiliate ones. Should you click through them and make a purchase we may receive small
income at no extra cost to you. Anything we earn goes straight back
into training happy hearts and sharing about it here. Thank you.}
We'll also be reading the St. Andrew portion of one or more of the following books (many of which are currently available for a penny used on Amazon).
Then, we'll see what unfolds as we learn and play during the S.K.I.L.L. T.I.M.E. + portion of our day and beyond.
As inspiration for the day, I have been revisiting what we did last year and thought you might be inspired by it, too.
Among our regular life and learning activities, we included these St. Andrew-inspired ones: S - Spell and Write Words
Even though my children are all at different levels with their spelling, they enjoy doing spelling challenges together, so one of the activities we did was to "write" "Saint Andrew" with our printed alphabet letters on the floor and, then, to see how many words we could each create by rearranging the letters. Within 12 minutes (for the twelve apostles), we each recorded as many words as we could and, then, compared them.
K - Keep Reading to Yourself
My oldest, an independent reader, read some of the books listed above to himself. My younger children read some simple Bible story books and fish-themed books with help.
I - Illustrate and Write
I gave the children the choice of creating their own Learn to Draw Saints Saint Andrew or coloring free printables offered at Catholic Playground. Then, they glued images onto cardstock as the beginning of St. Andrew scrapbook pages that they fleshed out with brief narrations and whatever decoration they wanted to add.
L - Listen to Reading
We read from the books listed at the top of this post. L -Learn and Play with One Another Using Language Arts
We passed around a figurine representing St. Andrew from our Galilee Boat Playset and shared facts we knew about him. Then, we passed the figurine around again and shared how we, too, might be "fishers of men".
T - Think, Read and Write About Math
The children created story problems related to St. Andrew and challenged each other with them.
I - Investigate and Problem Solve with Math
Since St. Andrew was a fisherman, we used tangram pieces from our Tangram Race Game to make various fish shapes.
I also had the children take all the fish and sea life puzzle pieces we have from old wooden puzzles and work together to find different ways to sort and classify them.
M - Master Math Skills Together
We then each took 12 puzzle pieces (to represent the 12 apostles) and, together, created an addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problem a quickly as we could.
We also played Go Fish.
E - Exercise Math Skills on My Own
The children spent 12 minutes individually creating as any equations as they could that equaled 12 using our puzzle pieces as manipulatives.
+ Extra Learning and Exploration
P.E.: We went to a local pool and brought bathtub fish to help us practice our swimming while being "fishermen" like St. Andrew.
Mercy and Virtue: After finding our Works of Mercy Wise men, my children decided to add extra bread and fish to our grocery list so they could donate it to our local pantry.
Geography: We located the area St. Andrew was from on a map.
Montessori-Inspired: We did not revisit our Montessori-inspired mini-fish unit of old last year, but those with littles might want to check it out for themed ideas that could tie into this day for the fisherman become fisher of men.
As always, I pray that the sharing I offer here blesses your family's life and learning.
I'd also love to hear about your
favorite Saint Andrew resources, prayers, and ideas. Links to
descriptions of your devotions, studies and celebrations are most
welcome.
