Here's that Wonderful Prayer Again as a Bookmark Image

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Last week, I shared a beautiful prayer by a holy princess, Mme. Elizabeth, daughter of a king, and sister of Louis XVI that I read in Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers.

Since I read the prayer, I have been wanting to pray it daily, but did not always have the words handy. So, I just made a quick bookmark image to help me - because I read something or another daily!

I am sharing the image here in case you want to print, laminate, and use it, too!

You should be able to right click the image to save it and print it in any size you wish.

Hope it blessed you.

Also, if you have not read Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers by Rev. P. Lejeuna, I I cannot encourage you enough to do so!

I shared links for here for different ways to access print, audio, e-book, free, and paid versions of the book.

May it inspire you to live God's will for your life well!

As Requested...Get Your FREE Act of Faith Copywork Set

Have a request? 

I am happy to help out if I can.

I had posted a link to the free Memorare copywork set that I made in a Catholic Charlotte Mason-Inspired, Relaxed & Eclectic Homeschoolers group I am in, and a friend and blog reader asked if I take requests and would create an Act of Faith copywork set.

Absolutely!

Here it is - for her and for anyone else who might be blessed by it during these times when affirming our faith seems even more important than ever.

As with most of my free copywork sets, the Act of Faith copywork set includes a cursive model:

A print model:

And a blank line sheet:

That way, your children can choose to practice their printing, cursive, or both.

Also, as usual, to help children remember to "ground" their letters, there is a double thick line at the bottom of each line on the blank sheet.  Plus, there are spaces between words on the model to prompt them to leave spaces between words as they copy.

I pray that this simple Act of Faith copywork set blesses your and yours.

If you have other requests, jut let me know.

You can find more free, printable prayer copywork here!

May your day be blessed and your faith be strong!

Get a FREE Printable Christ the King Novena Set!

Get a free printable set.

Okay.  I admit it.  I have never been good a praying novenas, and, therefore, my children are not either.  Yet, I know that praying novenas can be a beautiful way of imitating the Lord's command of the Apostles when hey prayed for nine days in anticipation of he coming o the Holy Spirit, can help connect us to the liturgical year, and can focus us on the powerful act of praying and trusting in God.

Thus, even though I have missed Days 1 and 2 of the Christ the King Novena, which leads up to movable feast day being celebrated in the Church next Sunday, I thought I would begin the Novena anyway - simply doubling up on prayers for two days.

As a prayer aid, I also thought I would take the time to make simple Christ the King Novena copywork set to offer my children this week.  I am sharing them here in case your children can benefit from them, too.

This FREE printable Christ the King Novena set contains on copy of the novena prayer in print, one in cursive, and blank lined sheets with images, too.

To pray the novena, recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be and the Novena Prayer.You might also enjoy our:

• Last-Minute Ideas for a Christ the King Feast Day Tea

• Celebrating Christ the King Day with Stories, Symbolic Eats, and Starting Our Advent Chain

We so enjoyed celebrating Christ the King with books and symbolic eats.

• A GFCF, Plant-Strong Christ the King Liturgical Tea

Christ is King of Our Hearts, so my baby wore this crown at our simple family tea.

O Lord our God, You alone are the Most Holy King and Ruler of all nations. We pray to You, Lord, in the great expectation of receiving from You, O Divine King, mercy, peace, justice and all good things. Protect, O Lord our King, our families and the land of our birth. Guard us we pray Most Faithful One. Protect us from our enemies and from Your Just Judgment.Forgive us, O Sovereign King, our sins against you.Jesus, You are a King of Mercy.We have deserved Your Just Judgment Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us. We trust in Your Great Mercy. O most awe-inspiring King, we bow before You and pray; May Your Reign, Your Kingdom, be recognized on earth. Amen.

Pivot like St. Paul - An All Saints Day Party Game {Free Printable}

Get a FREE PRINTABLE Challenge Sheet!

{Some links which follow are affiliate links.}

What happens when a local store has a Twist and Shape balance exercise board on deep discount as you're planning games for an all Saints Day party?  

You brainstorm a new game for your twist-loving kids!

This year, we'll be adding Pivot like St. Paul to our collection of All Saints Day challenge games by placing a challenge sheet alongside our balance board, a book, and a play sword and having the children twist and turn away for 25 counts each - if they can - to remember St. Paul and the date we celebrate the feast of his conversion (January 25).

My kids are already having fun testing the game, and I'd guess your children might like the game, too.  Thus, I am sharing a free printable challenge sheet set - with one game sheet that mentions picking up a board and a book (which are two symbols of St. Paul) and one that does not. 

NOTE: If you don't have a Twist and Shape board, a Simply Fit Board, a Sit-n-Spin, or any device that a child can spin on could work..

If you'd like other game ideas, there are plenty more here:

Find them here.

The Final 3 All Saints Day Game Challenges

3 All Saints Day Game Challenges

3 More All Saints Day Party Ideas

2 All Saints Day Craft Challenges and a Physical One

3 Skills-Based Game Challenges for All Saints Day

Enjoy your All Saints Day!

St. Paul, pray for us.

Get a FREE St. Anthony of Padua Nature Scavenger Hunt Printable!

What do you do when a feast day, a desire for some exercise, and warm, beautiful weather coincide?  Why, you go for a saint-inspired nature walk,of course!

Or, so that is what our family did for Saint Anthony of Padua's feast day.  Modeling after an idea from Shower of Roses, I created a St. Anthony's Nature Scavenger Hunt to be used at a local conservation area.  Then, as soon as my husband got home from work, our family headed out for a simple picnic dinner and nature walk.

 
We started out our saint celebration with prayer, reading about St. Anthony, and chatting.

Then, we took cameras, pencils, and scavenger hunt sheets in hand and set off to find "lost" nature items, creating quick sketches of each item we found.

I know it is late to share our simple St. Anthony's Nature Scavenger Hunt sheet for this year.  However, in case you'd like to download it and use in in years to come, I am sharing it anyway.

Enjoy our a free printable copy of it!

Plan Ahead for St. John the Baptist's feast day on June 24thThis week, I was hoping to make the St. John the Baptist outdoor feast day celebration we had with friends last year an annual event, but schedules just are not working out to do so.  Still, I may resurrect some of the food and fun we enjoyed last year on a smaller scale for just my family.  If you'd like to borrow ideas, too, be sure to check out all the details at John the Baptist's Life in Food and Water Balloon Games? You Bet!

Which upcoming saint days will you be celebrating outdoors?

Get Your FREE PRINTABLE 12 Days of Christmas Daily Devotional

Merry Christmas!  I pray the start to your Christmas season was filled with all things blessed and beautiful yesterday.  Ours was!  Our joyful anticipation and eager preparations paid off.

As a part of that preparation I whipped up a 12 Days of Christmas Daily Devotional for my children and I to use nightly until January 6th in order to teach/review catechism.

(Note:  An affiliate link to Amazon follows.  Should you click through it too purchase anything, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you as per our disclosure.  Thank you.)

My plan is that now that we're done reading scripture and  Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent each night beside our Advent wreath before hanging an ornament on our Jesse Tree, we will begin reading one page of this devotional each night before hanging a hand-made 12 Days of Christmas ornament on our Christmas tree.

(Yes, I did another ornament swap shortly before Christmas.  I will share pictures of all the handmade ornaments I received another day.) 

The children and I, admittedly, missed kicking off our new tradition of reading by the light of our "Jesus candle" and hanging a corresponding ornament on our tree last night, because we got home from our extended family Christmas so late.  So, we shall begin tonight.  Perhaps you would like to as well.  Just download our FREE PRINTABLE 12 Days of Christmas Devotional and go!  And,  if you'd like a little background on the tradition of the 12 days and catechism, see Catholic Culture, which was one of the many resources I turned to when pulling our devotional together.

Also, please be aware that I made our 12 Days of Christmas devotional in the midst of Christmas preparation hoopla, so there may be a few typos or whatnot that I did not catch.  Forgive me for these and enjoy the devotional in the spirit of sharing it is given with.  Also, please, if you do note any errors, be kind enough to pop back by here or onto our Facebook page to let me know ,so I can correct them.  Thanks!
 

 

Wishing you the best, blessed Christmas season!

3 More All Saints Day Party ideas with FREE PRINTABLE Game Challenge Sheets

Have you been checking back faithfully since Sunday when I shared 3 All Saints Day Game Challenges with a FREE PRINTABLE ,and said I have 12 more ideas to share as the week continued?  If so, please forgive me for not posting any more game challenges before now.  The day-to-day of lessons, chores, tutoring, and more has kept me from writing as much as I had hope to do so this week.  However, since I do not want to disappoint you, here are three more ideas!

(Note: Among the links below provided for your convenience are affiliate ones.  As is stated in our full disclosure, if you click on one and make a purchase, we may receive compensation.) 

Just like the game challenges I shared the other day, the ones I am sharing today were inspired by Prayers to My Favorite Saints (St. Joseph Picture Books), a beautiful, inexpensive softcover book that typically sells for $1.50 or less and contains:

• full-page color images
• original prayers about 15 saints
• simple facts and information about each of its featured saints.

 

 
With or without a copy of this book, you can easily enjoy Throw the Snakes Out like Saint Patrick,  Build with Saint Joseph, and Journey like Saint Joan of Arc by printing out my FREE PRINTABLE game sheets and gathering a few supplies.  All of the games in today's set lend themselves to quick and easy set up.
Throw the Snakes Out like Saint Patrick

The only photo I got of this game at last year's party, I know, is not of the best quality, but it does offer you a clear idea of how the game worked.  Basically, children tested their vestibular sense and throwing arm while balancing on an exercise ball "island" and throwing a stuffed snake as far as they could down an open space in the gym.  Younger children sat so as to rest their feet on the ground.  Older children, and younger ones who wanted more challenge, attempted to throw the stuffed snake a distance without putting their feet down to stabilize themselves -- a great core muscle work out!

Set up consisted simply of placing an exercise ball and stuffed snake next to a chair with the game sheet taped to it.  I also put some masking tape marks on the floor to give the children target lines to aim at.  You could use the same set up or substitute other objects for the island and snake. The game challenge sheet leaves which actual items are used as :island" and "snake" open.

Build with Saint Joseph

I set up a "kiddie corner" for our youngest friends and any child who needed a quiet moment.  One of the activities there was simply a bin of Lincoln Logs with a game challenge sheet nearby. 

To set up I quickly placed the open bin on a blanket in a corner of our All Saints Day party space.  Here, I discovered both younger and older children truly appreciated the opportunity to build and play in relative quiet.

Since challenge sheet for this activity does not state the building material used, any construction toy or supplies could be substituted for the Lincoln Logs.
Journey like Saint Joan of Arc

Prep for this game challenge took the longest, but was hardly difficult.  I simply made banners out of a paper flags taped to a carboard tubes, grabbed some of the carboard shields my children had made before, gathered our Dollar Tree plastic armor, asked to borrow Grammy's Stick Horses, and tossed some plastic knights in a bag.

Once in our party space, to set up, I placed the banners, shields, breastplates, and Stick Horses, near a chair with the game challenge sheet taped to it.  A short distance away, I placed another chair with plastic knights on it. 

The children, then, suited up for battle and raced each other by galloping around the far chair, weapon in hand.  What fun they had doing this!  It really helped some release energy while encouraging others to shake off sluggishness.Free Printable Game Challenge Sheets

As I said in 3 All Saints Day Game Challenges with FREE PRINTABLE Game Challenge Sheets, on each challenge sheet, I included a title for the game, a saint image from Wikimedia common (some of which my own children later used for picture study), a brief fact about the saint, and a short description of the challenge.  Since I have no laminator, I placed the sheets in page protectors to keep them from getting wrinkled or ripped as the children made their way through each station at the party.

Children were encouraged to pair up as they went around from station to station so that strong readers were with developing readers, which enabled all the children to play the games with little adult help.  This method worked well for us.  Perhaps it can for you, too.  Enjoy using our game challenge sheets!

If you missed the first three game challenge sheets and explanations, find them at 3 All Saints Day Game Challenges {with FREE PRINTABLE!}

I hope to share at least three of the remaining nine games that I created over the course of the next few days, so please keep checking back! 

Do you have a particular saint you'd like a game challenge for?  Let me know the name of the saint and I will see what I can come up with!

Go Egging This Easter Season with A Free Printable!

Do you want to continue to spread Easter season cheer? Did you miss egging before Easter Sunday?  Or, can you just not get enough egging fun this year?

Then do we have something for you!

Because we had so much fun egging on Spy Wednesday, using the You've Been Egged printable that we created a few years ago, we decided to create a similar one to be used after Easter Sunday throughout the Easter season.  Please enjoy our Post-Easter Sunday You've Been Egged printable!

Now is the perfect time to pick up plastic Easter eggs on sale and, then, to use them to spread Easter season cheer.

Egging is Easy!

To egg, simply:

1. Print out a You've Been Egged sheet.
2. Fill 11 of 12 eggs with treats.
3. Grab some tape and an empty egg carton.
4. Go to the home you want to egg.
5. Tape the You've Been Egged sheet to a door or post.
6. Put the empty egg carton under it.
7. Hide the eggs.

And, of course, don't get caught.

Our Favorite Egg Stuffers

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To stuff our egg, we prefer to use non-edible treats, like coins, small toys and stickers.  We also LOVE allergen-free, packaged goodies like YumEarth Organic Candy Drops. 

These tasty little drops pack a lot of flavor in yummy wrapped candies that easily fits inside any plastic egg.  Better still they are gluten free, peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, egg free, shellfish free, soy free, wheat free, corn free and organic!  So, we do not have to worry about harming our friends who have allergies and intolerances.

If you'd like to try YumEarth Organic Candy Drops, you can find them at Amazon, at health stores or at regular grocery stores.  We have also found them in stock at discount stores, like the Marshalls and TJ Maxx ones in our area, too!  When we find them there, we stock up, because not only do we love these hard candies for Eater egg stuffing, but we also love them, and the similar YumEarth Organic Lollipops, as an occasional Sunday treat.

Egging Earlier This Season

This year, when we went egging on Spy Wednesday, we did so in broad daylight.  We thought we'd timed our egging excursion perfectly, until we realized that people were home at some of the houses we planned to egg.  The surprise was on us then!  But, we did not let it stop the fun.

Instead, I put a piece of tape on our egging printable and grabbed an empty carton as the the kids split the dozen eggs between them.  Then, we opened the doors of our getaway van and giggled our way quietly about our friends' yards.  While I ran up to place the printable and carton on the door, the kids dashed around, giggling quietly to hide eggs.  We left the van doors open for a fast getaway and attempted to out of view of house windows.

Not a single family caught us in the act!  (And I only snapped a few pictures so I wouldn't get caught due to shutterbug habits.)

It was definitely challenging to be sneaky smile sharers in broad daylight with some families home, but we did it and we had so much fun as we did.  My daring little trio was filled with excitement and giggles while prepping the eggs, when hiding them and, then, when seeing thank you notes to anonymous "bunnies" pop up on friends' Facebook pages.

Luke declared, "We have to tell everyone about egging so more people will do it.  Then, no one will know who actually eggs them."  His wish is my doing.  Consider yourself both told about egging and encouraged to spread the fun!  Just print out the You've Been Egged note and go.

Happy Egging and Happy Easter Season!