Scenes from a Children's Simon of Cyrene Play

Late this afternoon, my children were able to join others in a brief play that kicked off our parish collaborative's three-day Lenten mission.  The play was an original one beautifully written, directed, and narrated by a talented parishioner.

Since my children and I only heard about the opportunity to join after the initial rehearsal, we came to the church early today to get up to speed on what the kids would do.
 

Luke was a bit surprised when he was asked to stand in for Simon of Cyrene, who would be absent.

Jack piped up that he'd like to be Simon, but once he saw how big and heavy the cross was, he rescinded his comment.

 
So it was that we settled on roles and went to find some costumes to be the littlest Roman soldier:

 ... a woman in the crowd...

...and Simon of Cyrene.

 

The children and I had some laughs while getting their costumes on.

 Then, it was time to welcome people to Jerusalem.
 

Jack stood guard at the gate.

While Nina joyfully waited (even if Jerusalem at that time was hardly joyful.)

 

After everyone was seated, the wait came to an end.

The guard had to leave his post to go move Jesus along.

Not long after, amidst words from the narrator and song from the choir loft, Simon of Cyrene was pressed into service.
 

And so the play was performed with the author narrating it as the children simply acted out the narration and a man sung from the choir loft.

 
 

I would love to post some images of the whole cast in action, but as I did not get permission to do so from everyone, I can only post snapshots of my crew.  I hope you've enjoyed them and, perhaps, are inspired to do something similar at your own parish or co-op.

I'd love to hear about Lenten and Easter children plays you and yours have participated in.  Links to favorite scripts and resources are welcome, too.

Begin a Children's Adoration Hour (More than Once if Need Be!)

Several years ago, a Catholic homeschool group I was in approached a local priest about leading a monthly series of formal Holy Hours for children.  He kindly agreed and the initiative kicked off. 

Although I am a "cradle Catholic", I was new to such experiences and was grateful to the organizing mom and agreeable priest for introducing my children and I to children's Adoration.  Unfortunately, though, the introduction was short-lived.
 
You Never Know if You Don't Try...
 If I recall correctly, the format used for the first Holy Hours my children and I experienced was that of the World Apostolate of Fatima.  This format offered a beautiful, formal, and traditional Holy Hour approach, which worked best for families with older (or more sedate!) children.

During the Holy Hours, the presiding priest stayed on the altar, leading the service and offering a thoughtful homily.  The children sat in pews with their families, ideally, listening, praying, adoring, and taking turns leading decades of the rosary.  In reality, though, some children (like mine!) tried to escape the pews, got super wiggly, and, at times, even needed to be taken to the back of the church.

Luckily for we moms with "busy children", the mom who organized the Holy Hours also invited everyone to enjoy a snack, a meaningful, hands-on activity and some fellowship after the prayer time each month.  It was the snack and the engaging additional activities that helped me keep my children coming back each month.  For, in all honesty, at my children's young ages and with their wiggly ways, they just did not get much out of the Holy Hour portion of the monthly initiative.

I dare say, the same was true for some other children, because, unfortunately, attendance at the monthly Holy Hours began to dwindle, and, before too many months passed, the initiative ceased.

Although managing my children at the Holy Hours was often a challenge, I was sad to see the program peter out.  I had hoped that in experiencing it on a regular basis, and in witnessing the example of older children, my children would come to love Adoration.

Going It Alone

With no group option for children's adoration, I began making time for my husband or me to take our children to adoration on our own.  Our efforts to do so were not always met with welcome by our children, but, eventually, were met with a genuine plea of, "I want to go to Adoration." 

Unfortunately, due to changes in work schedules, my husband and I allowed something not-so-great to happen:  new work hours did not match well with Adoration chapel hours in the next town over, so, as much as I hate to admit it, we stopped prioritizing getting ourselves to adoration regularly.

Granted, we did get to the chapel occasionally, and I was able to participate in occasional Holy Hours at our parish, but as our own weekly commitments to Adoration weakened, so did our children's experience of frequent, fruitful quiet time with Jesus.

Renewing Regularity through a Group Children's Adoration Hour

About a year and a half ago, after a new local Catholic homeschooling group began, another mom and I began chatting about our desire for a regular group adoration hour.  I told her about a website I had found, Children of Hope, and she agreed that the format it described seemed like an appropriate one for our children, formal, yet interactive and with opportunities for children to move, also something we could lead on our own, or that could be led by a priest if we were blessed enough to find one who could offer our group his time. 

Thus, my friend and I began praying over beginning a children's adoration hour and, sensing it was meant to happen, began making inquiries.  I reached out to some priests I know, but their churches did not have regular Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and their schedules were unable to accommodate exposing the Holy Eucharist for our group.  My friend reached out to some she knows and got permission for us to bring a group of children to an existing adoration time.  However, she was told that it must be a completely silent adoration.  We did not feel our children were ready for that.

So, another mom got permission for our group to gather for a private hour of Adoration, where we could speak some and guide the children, at a church near her.  Unfortunately, the hour was quite an early one and the location a bit far for many in our group. 

With so many roadblocks, my friend and began to wonder if our idea of a group children's adoration hour was really "meant" to happen.  Unsure, we stopped pursuing it actively and just left it to prayer and the Spirit's work.

Well, the Spirit did work!  About a month ago, a priest that my friend had contacted some time back got in touch with her, told her a new Adoration chapel had been built at his parish, and that he would welcome our group.

Wow!  We were thrilled!

My friend immediately got word out and a surprisingly amount of families from our group signed up for the first children's hour.  Then... snow!  Inches and inches of snow. A blizzard buried our plans.

Doubt crept in, but did not last. We decided to have my friend ask the priest if we could simply reschedule for another day this month.  He said, "of course."  She got word out, and four families ended up joining in for our group's first children's Adoration hour.

It went beautifully!

The wonderful parish priest met us in the chapel and led our group in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.  Before praying each decade, he led the children in a discussion which engaged all but the youngest of our children.  (And, as moms of crawling children tried to corral their wee ones, the priest simply smiled and said, "Let them be."  It was so beautiful witness the mix of formal prayer, yet the encouragement of free movement for those young children that truly needed it!)

Then, when the priest had to leave us to attend to parish business, we invited all the children to move from pews to the space in front of the altar.  There, we began a modified version of the sample format for children's adoration as described at Children of Hope.  My favorite parts of that experience was witnessing the children earnestly praying in silence for a few moments, as well as hearing them share prayer intentions with one another.  Children praying, in silence and aloud, while visiting Jesus is simply precious.

After our Adoration time concluded, we moved to a meeting room to enjoy some liturgical year activities.

Because our initial meet up day fell close to Candlemas, two of our activities were making candles and prayer cards based on the Presentation of Jesus.   

Because our rescheduled meet up day fell close to Our Lady of Lourdes feast day, we also had children make candles and paper mosaic grottoes of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The children were also given an opportunity to revisit a game we played at our last All Saints day party and to bless themselves with Holy Water from Lourdes.

As our meeting time concluded, the priest was able to come back to see us and kindly blessed our candles.
 

Then, we concluded with a group prayer.

Start Your Own Children's Adoration HourWhat a wonderful experience our recent children's adoration hour and liturgical year celebration was!  I look forward to meeting again next month and encourage others to start similar initiatives.

You can find many resources for children's adoration hours at:

• Children of Hope
• Children of the Eucharist
• Guided Children's Adoration

I am sure there are more sites and sources out there for children's adoration, too.  If you know of a great one, please do share about in a comment.

Get Hands-On with U.S. Elections {A Home School on the Woods Lap-Pak Review}

 

When you have children that spend part of their self-directed playtime creating mock elections complete with campaign speeches and debates, you know the time is right to learn more about real-life history and politics.  HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections by Home School in the Woods has made doing just that so easy!  
 

The U.S. Elections Lap-Pak, which my children and I have been excited to review, offers a complete self-contained study that allows families to break the big topic of elections down into easy-to-understand pieces, coming away with a clearer mental picture of the history and process of U.S. Elections as well as a fun physical reminder for review or show-and-tell.

Who is the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak for? 

The U.S. Elections Lap-Pak is geared for students at a grade 3-8 level, however, in our home, we used it as a family study for my children (ages 5, 8 and 10) and me.  For, yes, this mama, who could have cared less about history and politics in her own school years, has come to love both alongside her children, and this lap-pak has had me learning, too!  

 

I'd recommend the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak to:

• families who interested in history and politics that are looking for a study they can do together.

• older elementary, middle-school, high-school, or even adult students who wish to study on their own about how the American election process developed and how it currently works.

• visual learners who like reading and illustrations.

• auditory learners that can benefit from approximately 60 minutes of narrated MP3's.

• kinesthetic learners who appreciate cutting, pasting, coloring, and lift-the-flap/interactive paper manipulatives.

I would not recommend the product to anyone that likes to open-and-go with absolutely no prep, nor to anyone who does not have access to a printer or the inclination to print many pages.  For, unless you just want to learn and enjoy from part of the product - such as the audio files - you will need to do quite a lot of printing,  cutting, assembly, etc.  (Doing so is well worth it in my opinion!  The unit study is quite complete and the end-product makes a fabulous trigger for remembering what you've learned.)

What exactly is the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak and what special supplies, if any, do you need?

In a nutshell, the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak is a unit-study about the United States presidential elections that will take you briefly through the establishment of the American government and then through a variety of aspects of a presidential campaign and election process.  The version I received came as a digital download ($18.95), however the product also comes in a CD version ($19.95).



Regardless of which version of the product you get, key information for the unit study is provided through a 24-page booklet and correlating MP3 audios.  The booklet can be printed as half-page, double-sided booklet like this:

Or, it can be printed as a full-page text. 

The text of the booklet is also narrated on the aforementioned MP3 audios.  Thus, whether you are a visual learner or an auditory one, key information is equally accessible.

Using only the text/audio provided, you can complete 21 "paper manipulative" activities that result in the creation of a lapbook that looks like this:



Or, like my family, you can simply attach the fabulously designed and illustrated mini-books to 3-hole punched card stock to make an interactive notebook.

Your lapbook or notebook can then be used as a reminder of your studies.

In creating your mini-books, you will find yourself cutting, gluing, coloring, writing, researching and more.  To access the information for the booklets, you will, of course, need a computer with internet connection.  To print the project templates you will also need a printer and lots of ink.  Other supplies you will find handy are:

However, do not let the things you may not have at home from this list dissuade you from trying this lap-pak.  My children and I have managed just fine without an exacto knife or dedicated cutting surface.  Thrifty creative families can easily adapt the projects to accommodate available supplies.

When might you use this lap-pak?

Of course, with the upcoming presidential election, now is a prime time to enjoy the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak.  However, any time you want to learn about the development and process of U.S. elections could work just as well.

Because the unit is self-contained and broken down into small projects, it can work well as:

• a brief 15-30 minute lesson one or two times a week over a full term

• an intensive study with one or more brief sections per sitting

• a co-op class

Where can you find more information?


Home School in the Woods offers loads of sample pictures, an audio-sample, and even a scope and sequence on their website.

One hundred Schoolhouse Review Crew families also offer more photos and insights about the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak.


You can also find Home School in the Woods on social media at:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Homeschoolinthewoods/posts
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods  @HSintheWoods #HSReviews #HistoryUnitStudies #HomeschoolHistory

Why did we choose the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak and how have we liked it?


As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, my kids enjoy playing election and politics during their free time.  They have also been involved with support of local candidates in the past, have accompanied my husband and me on prior local and national election days, and have recently taken to watching political debates with me online.  Further, we have been studying U.S. history and geography this year.  So, the opportunity to review the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak seemed perfectly timed to my children's interests, our family's study, and our nation's current events. 

Upon receiving a link to download our copy of the product, I did so with ease.  It came in a rather large zip file which I unzipped and saved onto our family computer.  Folders inside the unzipped file contain images, pdfs, MP3's and a start menu that make everything easy-peasy to access, understand, and print.

So, after printing out the booklet and some of the first mini-book templates, the kids and I sat down, and, by their request, listened to the beginning of the MP3.  Then, we got to work on the mini-books as we talked about what we'd heard on the MP3.

At first, I was hoping to encourage my children to write through the use of the lapbook, but my gentle push for the to do so began taking away from the fun and learning inherent in the study.  So, as we continued on with the study, I opted to have the kids use pre-printed portions from the template as opposed to lined-space ones.  Handwriting and free-writing activities can come from another part of our learning at this time.  The kids prefer to listen, chat, color, and assemble with this study, so that is what we've been doing.

On busy weeks, we do but one booklet.  On less busy ones we do three, or even four.  Always, I tend to do a quick oral review, using the physical mini-books we have made to prompt discussion.  Then, we move on to new parts of the study per the kids' eager promptings.

We have also taken a stack of books out of our local library based on the list of recommended resources that comes in the unit material.  These books are not necessary to complete the 21 mini-book projects for the lapbook/notebook, but since all of my children and I love read-togethers, and my oldest likes to devour books on his own, we have opted not to knock the gift-horse of well-recommended books in the mouth.

Further, we have extended our U.S. Elections Lap-Pak studies by viewing related animated song clips that I watched as a child on television and now enjoy with my kids on youtube. 

Plus, we have connected our studies to field trips, such as one we went on just this past weekend to a mansion that was once owned by a prominent relatively local family whose members have been connected to a number of presidents and have also served in the House of Representatives and Senate.  While we were on a tour of the mansion, it was awesome to witness how our lap-pak studies are helping the kids put pieces of history, politics, and even just vocabulary together.  The questions they asked on the tour and the comments they made were spot on.  Even the tour guide mentioned to me when I bumped into him after the tour how impressed he was with my children's knowledge and interest.  Love that!

So, obviously, I think HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-on History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections is a timely, worthwhile way to spend time learning together.  My kids seem to as well.

My daughter, eight, has said:

I will begin with what I did not like:  the writing.  Now, here is what I did like: the coloring, the man speaking, and making little booklets and the tree... Also,  I did not know that there were fancy names like "anarchy" with the "rule of one", "rule of many", "rule of few"...

 

My youngest, at five, had this to say: 

I like the drawing and coloring.  We are learning about elections.

  

My oldest, at ten, who had a headache and fever the night I asked him for commentary about the lap-pak as I prepped to write this review said:

I do no like that I am sick so I cannot do it right now.  I like that there are things to color in and so much to learn about.  I have learned that our government is ruled by three branches, that there are things called justices hat serve for a lifetime, and more.  I cannot wait to finish it!

I agree with my son.  I look forward to completing the lap-pak together, too.  However, I am purposefully taking it slow so as to be sure the kids retain knowledge from each section of the study we explore together before rushing forward and also so we can time parts of the study "perfectly" with how unfolding presidential elections in the news.  I just love how Home School in the Woods has made it easy to learn history, politics, and current events all at once.

What resources are you using to learn about elections and might the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak direct or enhance your studies?  I'd say, "Yes!"

Lest You Think Life Is Ideal...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bah!  Hardly.

Today was not the happiest of days here.  In fact, it was one of those disheartening days that I typically do not share about publicly online since, years ago, God laid it on my heart to use this blog and my Facebook page as places to share mostly things that are encouraging, educational, inspiring, or heartwarming.

So why share something different today?

Because I sense that doing so may actually be encouraging to someone.  For, I bet there is someone out there reading this right now in the midst of "one of those days".  I would guess there is someone who knows that life is blessed, yet still feels distressed.  I dare say there may be someone who has plenty to sing praises about, yet feels too out of tune to do anything but wallow and wail today.

Well, let me tell you.  You are not alone.

Things in my life - and in lots of folks' lives - may look pretty ideal, but, let me assure you, they are very, very real.  Even when nothing tragic happens, little "straws" build up and, out of the blue, break "Mama Camel's" back.

You get to bed too late one night and just want to sleep in the next day, but, then, a child who has wet one bed without you knowing it crawls in beside you and wakes you up by wetting your bed.. and you!

You shower, strip the bed, throw the linens in the laundry, and opt to use the early wake up time to read devotionals and pray.  But, then, your whole crew of kids, who also went to bed too late the night before, wake up and start squabbling.  At that point, you discover the other bed that was wet during the night.  Super.  More laundry to do on the one day a week that you attempt to take a break from most work and chores.

Not to be too chagrined, you carry on with the morning, offering the children supplies to make Valentines. 

Later, you begin to make your family a Valentine breakfast, eager to start the communal part of the day off with smiles.  As you do, you are hopeful that the day will turn out to be a joy-filled relaxing one.  You'll enjoy the Valentine's breakfast you are preparing, then, the family will be off to Mass, where one child will serve on the altar, while another sings in the choir, and a third gets Mom-and-Dad time in a pew.  Then, there will be more fun food at lunch, plus plenty of time for family read alouds, maybe some games, a cuddly movie...  You know, good old-fashioned, happy togetherness.  

An ideal day awaits.

Or not.

When you ask the children to get dressed, one child begins to act out.  Meanwhile, as you prep breakfast, you go to clear the dishes that someone left in the sink, only to realize that the dishwasher is full, but, thankfully, clean.  You glance at the clock and realize that there is no time to empty the dishwasher, get the sink cleared, finish making breakfast, and get food into bellies in time to get family to Mass.  Further, not only does no one seem motivated to help you set the table, but the child who was acting out when told to get dressed is now continuing to carry on, "needing" your help with something while another "needs" your attention for something else...

You speak aloud that you are doing your part and need others to do theirs.  You begin to list what needs to be done, what you have and will do, and what others might take responsibility for.  You, fail, however to keep your list related to just the moment at hand, and worse, you fail to speak with a calming, cheerful, encouraging voice as that one child ratchets up the getting dressed nonsense.

At that point, your husband snaps at you, unhappy with your "litany".  His negative words are among the first he has spoken to you that day. 

And so the devil makes his entrance, slowly, steadily, into the day...

Breakfast becomes a farce: heart-shaped pancakes and handmade Valentines juxtaposed with Dad's quiet disdain and Mom's tear-brimmed eyes as a child, who at the moment acts more grown up than parents, attempts to brighten everyone's moods.  You begin to pray inside your head that you can hold your tears back and that Mass will be heartening and healing.
You continue to do so on the way to Mass, but emotion is too strong.  The silent tears begin to flow and the more you try to stop them, the more they come.

Nothing dramatic has gone wrong.  Just little things.  Just life.  But sometimes those little things hit hard and a day dissolves into a sadness so great that even Mass and one child's loving encouragement cannot help the hurt.

As the day continues, a headache complicates heartache. 

Little things begin to go right, but other little things continue to go wrong.  The latter get magnified by the devil's ceaseless niggling.

You know what is happening, yet, for some reason today, you cannot turn the tide.  Tears keep coming forth.

You beat yourself up for being ridiculous.  You remind yourself that have a warm home to protect you on a frigid day.  Festive foods grace your table.  Your family is all there and healthy.  Yet, alas, you still feel sorrow-filled.

Lent.  It is here.   

Mercy and grace.  They are, too.   Sometimes they are even spoken to you through a child who asks you not to cry, lets you know you are loved, and tells you, "Today is over.  Tomorrow will be new."

That it will.

But, before this day ends completely, I share this snippet of reality.  I do so not to blaze something gloomy it into annals of memory, but to be authentic and to affirm that while things may often seem ideal in other people's worlds, it is likely they are not.

None of us is perfect.  No day is either.

We are called to live the fabulous and the flaw-filled equally.  We are asked to carry crosses and, although sometimes, we do so with oh so little fortitude and seeming grace, grace still abounds.

Even on days when the goodness and glory of life gets overshadowed by mountains of silly little things - or even horrendous big things - one thing remains eternal.  LOVE.

You may not feel it.  You may not embrace it.  You may not express it, nor receive it well on a given day, but it is always there.

Praise be to God that even when so little seems ideal, love IS real.

Whether today was a happy Valentine's Day or not for you, may you never forget that you are loved.  I offer prayers for you right now.  Honestly.  I am going to bed praying for anyone and everyone whose day was less than ideal.  You are loved.

Check Out Our Beautiful New Lenten Learning Tool!

As I prepare for Lent this week, I am excited by a new Lenten learning tool we'll be using this year:  Our Lenten Resurrection Eggs!

These eggs entered our home last week as the culmination of a local swap I participated in, which was inspired by Sarah, from Frugal Fun for Boys and her DIY Resurrection Eggs.  (I offered a How-To last week based on my experience.)

For our swap, each participating mom was asked to use paint, Sharpies, or a woodburning tool to create 13 eggs of a single design.  These eggs were then swapped for a set of 12 eggs to take home.  (The 13th egg each of us made went to a full set to be donated to a local Mom in need.)

Moms were also asked to paint the backs of their eggs.  Don't you just love how the collection of colors came out?

And, are you wondering why one egg is missing?  My children did, too.  So, I explained the truth to them:  Unfortunately, on the day of our swap, one mom was sick, so we are still waiting on our Day Four egg.  Until we get it, we can use the empty space as a reminder to pray for her and her family.

We will also put a list of who made which egg to keep in our egg box so we can remember to pray specifically for each of the families that participated in the swap as a part of our Lenten commitment to spend extra time in daily prayer.  (We did this same thing thing with our Jesse Tree and 12 Days of Christmas ornaments with much success.  The children loved recalling who made each swap item and offering special prayers for the families of the moms who made them.)

Want to See Our Eggs Up Close?

As I examined our eggs after receiving them, I loved the perfection of their imperfections.  Each egg is unique and beautiful on its own, and made even better as a part of a full collection.  See:

#1 A Palm Branch = People welcomed Jesus with palm branches during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 

#2 Bread and Wine = Jesus and the apostles gathered for the Last Supper and the institution of The Lord’s Supper.

#3 Lamb = Jesus became our Passover Lamb.
 

#4 Money Bag = Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. (This one has yet to come, because one mom was sick.)

#5 Sword = Judas led an angry mob of Jewish leaders to Jesus in the garden, and Peter cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave. Jesus healed the ear.

#6 Crown of Thorns = A crown of thorns was placed on Jesus' head.
 

 
#7 Nails = Jesus was nailed to the cross.

#8 Garment = The Jews cast lots for Jesus’ clothes, which fulfilled prophecy.

#9 Cross = Jesus was crucified.
 

#10 The Temple Veil =The veil was torn in two from top to bottom at Jesus’ death.

#11 Three Crosses = Two criminals were crucified next to Jesus.

 #12 The Empty Tomb = He is risen!

How Will We Use Them?

Throughout the Lenten season, our new Resurrection Eggs will be out as a decoration and hands-on tool.  On Ash Wednesday, I plan to use the eggs to prompt my children in a spontaneous retelling of the Easter Story.  After that, we'll use them as a reminder to pray for some of our local friends as well as for other intentions.  And, besides that, we'll use them however the children decide to do so, which, no doubt, will include keeping a young friend of ours entertained.

(A friend of mine took this picture of her son as he played with the eggs on the day I received them.  So cute!)

However we use our eggs, I know they will dovetail beautifully with past hands-on tools we've used during this season, which include:

 

Sensory Smart Holy Week/Resurrection Eggs

(Note: Some links in this post are affiliate ones.  If you click through them to make any purchase, we may receive compensation.)

Ready-Made Resurrection eggs

  Hands-On Holy Week Art

Yes, our new Lenten Resurrection Eggs will be a welcome addition to some of our other family Lenten activities!  I am grateful to have participated in the swap.

What tools and traditions help you and the children in your life observe Lent?