Counting Down Your Favorite Faith-Based Posts of 2014

Happy Epiphany!

Flashback to Epiphany 2014

Although we celebrated the liturgical Epiphany at Mass this morning, we decided to hold off celebrating with our usual GFCF feast day fun and themed-explorations until this Tuesday, the sixth

This will be tempting our children from our table again on Tuesday.

As I thinking about what to serve for this year's family Epiphany tea and which books, dramatic play props and other materials to have on hand this week, I got looking at old pictures and posts.  As I did so, I wondered if others ever look at my old posts for inspiration, too.  (Of course, I always do myself!)

A star in a blueberry sky...

To answer my question, I took a rare peak at my Google Analytics stats to see which faith-related posts were most viewed by readers in 2014.  Lo and behold, not a single one of them was one actually written in 2014.  

Nope.  

Your favorite faith-based posts seem to be oldies, but goodies:

Coming in at Number Five is...

Seven Sorrows of Mary 3-Part Cards (A Free Printable - Now Updated)

I am so glad the effort I put into making these Seven Sorrows of Mary cards and sharing 10 ways to use them is appreciated!  It takes me quite a while to put together cards like these, but is so worth it as my children and I enjoy art appreciation, faith studies and fun all at once with them!
 

 

Cards seem to have it, as taking the Number Four slot is...

If You Cannot Find It, Make Do: 3-Part Life of Mary Sequencing Cards 

Back in 2010, these were the first 3-part religious art cards I put together.  We still bring them out when celebrating Saint Mary.  They add tradition, fun, and, of course, faith-based art to our Marian celebrations.

Or maybe not.  Perhaps hands-on is happenings, since taking the Number Three spot is...

An Easy Way to Teach Young Children about Baptism

Since first exploring Baptism with this tray in 2013, I have shared similar ones with my children, with children in our Sensing the Saints mini co-op and with children in my daughters faith formation classes.  I love hands-on, Montessori-inspired faith learning! 
 

Now, it seems appropriate today that the Number Two spot is...

Last Minute Ideas for a GFCF Epiphany Feast Day Tea

Yesterday, when I was doing some cleaning and organizing, I took out a stack of orange paper.  Nina immediately grinned, asking, "Is that for our crowns?"  For it seems that making orange paper crowns has become an epiphany tradition here as have donut stables and food stars in a blueberry sky, which is what our Epiphany Tea meal has morphed to since its inception with star-shaped pancakes. 

  

However, taking the Number One spot, is a surprise for me...

 

The Parables of Jesus (The Sower): A Lesson for a Sensorimotor Preschool Experience

When I saw that the most popular faith-related post that was accessed last year was one that resulted from a copied-and-pasted lesson plan I wrote for a co-op three years ago, which had but one tiny image on it, no printables and, until tonight, no categories attached to it, I laughed.  

Lately, I have been wanting to find time to improve my blogging skills -- snazzy Pinterest-perfect images, strong key words, blah, blah, blah.  It seems, though, that just doing what I love to do (like teaching and planning!) and sharing about it might be what YOU most want.  That is good to know as I head into 2015!  

If there is anything specific that you'd like me to write about, create or share, feel free to let me now in a comment here or on the Training Happy Hearts Facebook page.

I pray your New Year has started brightly and that you not only follow the light as the Wise Men did, but let His light shine in and through you!