Looking Back at 2016: Our Most Popular Posts

The other day, someone asked me what our most popular posts written in 2015 were.  As a person who does not spend much time looking at nor analyzing blog stats, I had no idea, so I did a bit of research to find out.  And, here's what I discovered:  faith posts are popular!  Among our Top Twenty posts written in 2015 were 10 reviews and giveaways.  The rest were all faith-related posts.  Today, I thought I would share a list of those posts since the new calendar year is a perfect time to gather ideas for celebrating faith

As you scroll through this list of Top 10 Faith Posts from 2015, perhaps you'll find an idea you missed before that might enrich your own family's faith journey in the coming year.  Or, maybe you'll rediscover something that you noted before and would like to revisit.  Whatever you find, I pray that inspiration here helps you and yours to continue to make live and grow in faith in 2016.  Happy New Year! 

~10~

3 All Saints Day Game Challenges {with FREE PRINTABLE!}

 

All Saints Day game challenges are NOT just for All Saints Day.  You might like to use these saint-related challenges (and the other nine we shared about through links within the post) as you learn about the saints throughout the year.

~9~

Celebrate St. Brigid with Simple Stories and Notebooking

 

Studying about the saints is a key focus for us in learning about faith and virtues, and, since food, fun, and quality picture books speak to my children, the "language" we use for exploring the saints typically includes a bit of each.  Our celebration of St. Brigid was a prime example of how we approach some saint day studies.  Whether your looking to celebrate St. Brigid, of just to get some general ideas for approaching saint day observances in hands-on ways with your kids, this post might be worth a peek.

~8~

A Simple, Fun Faith Craft for Kids: Prayer Rocks

 

Sometimes simple is best!  So seems to be the case with the prayer rocks post that came in as our eighth most popular faith-post of 2015.  Both the idea and its presentation are quick and easy.  You can glance over the post and begin making prayer rocks in no time at all.  Enjoy.

~7~

Want a Perfect Picture Book Study for Martin Luther King, Jr. and Valentine's Day?

 

For years,  I have thought about creating a blog or e-book based on ideas I have for centering sensory activities and academic study around picture books, particularly faith-based ones.  However, since home and homeschool require my focus right now, time for writing must be kept in balance and, thus, such a project must wait.  That said, sometimes I cannot help but to put together some of my picture book-inspired ideas to share forward.  Such was the case with a favorite February read.

~6~

Get Your Free Epiphany-Themed Printable Phonics Game!

 

As the somewhat fuzzy picture for Number Seven on this countdown proves, I am hardly tech-savvy or a blog pro.  I do know, however, that most who are say every post should have a strong pinnable image.  Thus, when I saw what came in as our Number Six most popular faith post and discovered that the post did not even have a decent pinnable image, I was tempted to take the time to add one.  My two guiding words for 2016 stopped me from doing so though.  For there is only so much time to share forward today and the post obviously includes enough to make it worthwhile to some as it is.  Perhaps you and yours will enjoy the free printable Epiphany-themed phonics game there over the next couple days.

~5~

What a Weekend for Celebrating Faith!

 

We started this blog as a place to chronicle our journey as a home educating family and, at one time, included regular "what's been happening" type posts. In more recent years, we have gotten away from such sharing, but sometimes cannot help but to put together a picture-laden post that gives a glimpse of where we've been and what we've been doing.  That is exactly the kind of post Number Five is -- one filled with photographs and memories of a weekend rich in celebrating our faith.

 

~4~

A Simple Seasonal Craft: A Paper Plate Lily Pencil Toppers How-To

 

Whether studying Saint Joseph, tying into Easter, or simply looking for an inexpensive and easy craft for kids to enjoy, this paper plate lily pencil topper how-to may be just what you need.  Plenty of pictures will help you create your own lilies with ease!

~3~

The 5-Finger Daily Examen

 

Somehow, we got out of the habit of using our 5-finger examen here, so, just the other day, the kids and I relocated the hand-shape prayer cards we made during a St. Ignatius Feast Day celebration this past summer.  What simple, yet meaningful model or reflective prayer they guide us through.  Perhaps you and yours would like to add the model to your daily prayer routines, too.

 

~2~

Get A Free Printable Saint Geography Notebooking Page!

Of course, printables are always popular, and, as I saw our Number Two post, I realized that I need to update our printables index page, since our popular Free Printable Saint Geography Notebooking Page has yet to be listed on it it.  Until that task is done, you can find the printable linked here, where you will also find links the pages that inspired the notebooking page I created.

 

~1~

Of Snow and a Free Printable 2015 Daily Planner for Lent

Before researching our most popular posts of 2015, I never would have guessed that the most-viewed faith post from 2015 would be a printable planning sheet I made for Lent last year, but, indeed, it is.  Since we are not done celebrating Christmas yet, maybe you'd like to bookmark this Lent printable to begin using next month.  For, yes, Lent is coming quickly.  It begins on February 10.

 

We hope you've enjoyed taking a look back at our most popular sharing from 2015 (sans review and giveaway posts).  If you like what you’ve seen, we would be delighted if you'd continue reading into 2016.  We are grateful for the opportunity to share here and thank you for each and every time you choose to read a post yourself, share this blog with your friends, or take the time to comment on a post here or at our Facebook page.  Truly, we get excited over your feedback, so please never hesitate to make a suggestion, share a thought, or put forth a request!

We also invite you to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.

Happy 2016!

2 All Saints Day Craft Challenges and a Physical One {with FREE PRINTABLE Challenge Sheets}

Whoo hoo!  I am managing to follow up on 3 All Saints Day Game Challenges with a FREE PRINTABLE and 3 More All Saints Day Party ideas with FREE PRINTABLE Game Challenge Sheets with another  three of the 15 challenges that I prepared for children who attended our Little Way Home Educators All Saints Day party last year. 

Unfortunately, I only have one kids-in-action shots of these three activities since two of them were placed at a table quite far from where I was managing more active games.  However, few "cute kids" photos does not mean you cannot benefit from having the FREE PRINTABLE challenge sheets and hearing how the activities were set up and went, so here goes...

(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.) 

All fifteen challenges were made to be used in conjunction with the saint images, prayers and facts found in Prayers to My Favorite Saints (St. Joseph Picture Books), a beautiful, inexpensive softcover book that typically sells for $1.50 or less.  However, whether you have a copy of the book or not, the challenges can easily be put together using the FREE PRINTABLE challenge sheets I am sharing and minimal supplies and prep time. 
 

 
I hope you enjoy today's set of games:  Make St. John the Baptist's Sheep, Make St. Maria Goretti's Lilies, and Cross a River like St. Christopher.


Make St. John the Baptist's Sheep

I knew we had some tactile, craft-lovers coming to our party, so this activity was more of a sensory-art project for them than an actual game.  Basically, children had to use their fine motor skills and imaginations to create sheep, since St. John the Baptist, who is a patron saint to sheep, baptized many, including "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world".


Set up consisted of putting out the challenge sheet, some black paper, scissors, cotton balls, light colored crayons, glue in small cups, and a few pre-cut black hand shapes.  The idea was for young children to trace their hands on the black paper and, then, glue cotton balls to it, so their thumb shape would become a sheep's head and their finger shapes a sheep's legs.  Meanwhile, older children could take the challenge anywhere they wished to, creating 2-d or 3-d sheep designs of their choice.I purposely made the challenge sheet general, not stating the actual materials, so that in future years I could rotate all manner of supplies through a station like this: clothes pins, cotton, and markers or paper plates, black paper, and recycled packing peanuts... You come up with the supplies and the children come up with ideas for using it!

Having sensory-based craft challenges like this proved a draw for a good number of the children at our party!

Make St. Maria Goretti's Lilies

In honor of the young martyr who lived a life of purity and kindness, and is said to have appeared to a man in his dream to give him white lilies, thereby acting as a catalyst for the man's conversion, this challenge was another craft challenge station at which children made paper lilies.

Set up was simple: challenge sheet, white paper, scissors, green chenille stems, and color sticks.

Again, I did not state on the challenge sheet exactly what the lilies were to be made with so that in future years we could rotate through different supplies: paper plates, paper, and pencils, or glue and felt, or playdough and wire stems, or... Time and imagination will tell.

The lilies the kids made were like the handprint ones described in our How Can Picture Books + Crafts Inspire Kindess and Service? post.

With paper plates and some other basic supplies, they could have made one like those described in our A Simple Seasonal Craft: A Paper Plate Lily Pencil Toppers How-To post.

Cross a River like St. Christopher

I managed to get ONE picture of this game once the "river" had receded a bit.  (Next time I might weight it or tape it down.)

Set up was simple: a baskets with two babydolls in it, a blue sheet to represent the ocean, and the challenge sheet. 

The challenge equally simple - balance the babydoll on a shoulder while while walking across the river and back.  This ease of play was purposeful.  I wanted even our youngest children to feel successful at a challenge that required full-body movement.  Older children could make the challenge a bit more interesting by racing without slipping on the "river" or dropping the baby!

As with the other games in this set, I left flexibility on the game challenge sheet description, so I can adapt the challenge to be more difficult or sensory-based if I wish to in the future.  How?  By changing out the "river".  Think blue balls in a ball pit, blue streamers hanging down for a deep river, etc.  Always, imagination and flexibility based upon the ages, skills, and sensory needs of participants that may be coming is key to planning!


So, there you have it.  Three more challenges for your next All Saints Day party!  Alongside more traditional game challenges, skill-based challenges and open-ended building challenges, the three shared here  made for an ideal mix of activities for the children at our party last year.  I hope one, or all of them, may suit the children you may celebrate All Saints Day with this year!


More Games and Free Printable 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!

If you missed the next three, check out 3 More All Saints Day Party ideas with FREE PRINTABLE Game Challenge Sheets.

As far as the final six challenges in this series go, I cannot promise I will have them posted before All Saints Day this year, since my children's activities schedule is quite busy over the next two days.  However, I will share them eventually.  I promise!  So, do check back to find some more skills-based and movement-based challenges yet to come!

Which saints would you like to see game challenges for?  I have six more coming here and am happy to create more by request!