Enjoy and All Saints Day Picnic and Party

 Are you looking for an outdoor way to enjoy All Saints Day with friends?

Last year, I shared plans for our All Saints Day Picnic and Party. 

Those plans came to fruition with a fun, faith-centered gathering - something we hope to repeat this year.

If you would like to do similarly, here are some snapshots and notes to inspire you.

Plan and Set Up Simply for an All Saints Day Potluck and Party 

Planning was simple for our party. I simply followed the 4 Steps to an All Saints Day Picnic and Party that I shared last year, putting word out to our local Catholic homeschooling group on Facebook and creating an event so people could RSVP and share.

I offered some costume ideas, and had my kids come up with their own:

St. Dorothy - a maid.

St. Maurice (I think it was. He always tries to find one with a sword, and I cannot recall which one he was, to be honest.)

And, Saint José Luis Sánchez del Río!

Then, the day before the event, I reminded people with a message that said, "Looking forward to seeing all... with or without costumes as you desire and with picnic dishes or drinks to share, and, if you feel creative, a saint-related game or activity."

I also printed out and laminated some food signs, game signs, and prayers, gathered some game supplies, and got some food together.

This made set up at the party a breeze.

I was able to quickly put a tablecloth and food on a picnic table, put an easel up with a prize basket next to it and get an obstacle course together in very little time, so the party could begin.

Chat, Pray, and Play with Inspiration from the Saints

As people arrived, they dropped off their food to share, greeted one another, set out blankets and portable chairs, and, then, shortly after, gathered together to chatted about the significance of the day.

Because we knew we had some people arriving late, we talked a bit about the day, prayed grace, and prayed an All Saints Day prayer:

Prayer for All Saints Day 

Dear God, thank you for the example of the Saints.  I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven. Please help me follow their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ. Please help me to conform myself to Your image, seeking Your will in all things, as the Saints did. Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, to Your glory, and to the service of my neighbors. Amen.

Then, the kids and grown ups dug into Saint-Inspired eats...

which included St. Dorothy's Apples and Noodles...

Sts. Isadore and St. Maria's Stew...

St. Bernadette's Sticks...

and Saint Charles Borromeo Hot Spiced Apple Cider and St. Juan Diego's Mexican Hot Cocoa.

 

While the children ate...

...we began a game of Saint Pictionary.

For the game, I had a stack of picture books of saints and had a child open to a random page. Using the image on the page - and sometimes an idea or two from me...

... the child sketched the saint, symbols of the saint, stories about the saint, or what the saint was patron to get others to guess the saint...

...whoever guessed correctly chose a prize and took the next turn.

While playing, kids continued to help themselves to our saint-inspired eats.

Pray the Litany of the Saints

Once our late-comers had arrived, I asked different children and family to lead us in each of the sections of the Mini-Lintany of Saints.

So beautiful to pray together with children leading!

Enjoy an All Saints Obstacle Course and More

Then, it was game time!

Some children kept playing the pictionary game.

Others got together to put together "Boxes of Joy".

In honor of St. Nicholas, one mom had five boxes that families brought various items to fill so that children in other parts of the world might enjoy them.

We also had an All Saints Obstacle Course that children took turns at, picking a prize upon completion.

For the course, children Pivoted like St. Paul (using our Twist and Shape board, though a Simply Fit Board or a Sit-n-Spin would work just as well).

Then, they ran and grabbed some fake flowers...

...and climbed a piece of playground equipment where they showered flowers from Heaven like St. Therese.

After that, they put on "armor", took up a banner and sword, and  St. Joan of Arc and journeyed like St. Joan of Arc.

Dropping the the armor, play sword, and pool noodle banner, they, then, Leapt like St. John the Baptist by jumping over hurdles made with plant stakes and pool noodles. (You can see those in this picture.)

Turning back toward the starting/finishing line, the children then Balanced St. Augustine's Books by walking on a small homemade balance beam with a book atop their heads.

Finally, they Finished the Race like All Saints by running back to the starting line.

Back at the starting/finish line, kids were able to pick a prize. (I had older children help distribute prizes from the basket.)

Children of all ages - and even some parents - enjoyed the obstacle course!

Serve with Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

At the close of our party, we added a community service component by giving kids bags and having them do a Saint Kateri, Patroness of the Environment, Clean Up Scavenger Hunt using a free printable which I had prepared - thereby leaving the park better than we found it!

We closed with prayers and encouragement to continue living well as the Saints Militant, as we aimed to be Saints Triumphant and increased our prayers for the Saints Penitent.

Final clean up was then a breeze - and all went away with smiles, having enjoyed our time together celebrating All Saints Day.

I pray that this year, we are able to enjoy another All Saints Picnic  and Party and that you might enjoy your All Saints Day a bit more with inspiration from this sharing

Saints Triumphant, pray for us.

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!