Monday, September 2, 2024

September Radiant Roundup

 

Seven Sorrows of Mary
It's the month of the Sorrowful Mother, a reminder to all of us that the Saints- including the Mother of God- know sorrow and suffering. We can follow in their example of uniting our own sorrows to the wood of the Cross.



St. Teresa of Calcutta: September 5th
Mother Teresa*- Decorations, bulletin board, signs, folder covers, etc. (featuring my favorite bulletin board border ever, as pictured above ;) )

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: September 8th
Lovely Lady Marian Bulletin Board (could be used for decor for a Marian Birthday Party!)
Favorite Marian Songs a playlist (all ages)

Most Holy Name of Mary: September 12th
Blessed Virgin Mary Digital Scavenger Hunt (5th & up- Includes investigating titles of Mary)
Marian Typology Cards* (5th & up) (One of my favorite resources I've ever made! I probably need to go back and do a redesign, but the info is solid and kids love the "scavenger hunt" of seeing how the Mother of God was foretold in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament with Mary.)

Exaltation of the Holy Cross: September 14th
The Stations of the Cross aren't just for Lent! This is a perfect feast day to remember and thank Jesus for the gift of our salvation, won on the Cross.

Our Lady of Sorrows: September 15th

St. Matthew: September 21st 

St. Padre Pio: September 23rd

St. Vincent de Paul: September 27th
Honor St. Vincent's work with the poor by learning about the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Choose a few to put into practice!
Corporal Works of Mercy* (Coloring Pages and Mini Books- K-6th)
Spiritual Works of Mercy* (Coloring Pages and Mini Books- K-6th)

Our Lady, Star of the Sea: September 27th

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots: September 28th


St. Jerome: September 30th
Celebrate St. Jerome's work compiling and translating the Bible by spending some time in Sacred Scripture!
Structure of the Bible Printables* (4th & up)
Lectio Divina Journaling Prompts for Kids* (Pre & up)
Lectio Divina Graphic Organizers* (4th & up)
Lectio Divina Book Marks* (6th & up)

September Books for Catholic Kids

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!

You can find the links to the monthly Radiant Roundups here:

September Books for Catholic Kids


  September Catholic Kids Book List

Below are a few favorite titles that fit well with devotions and feast days this month! This list contains Amazon Affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. I'd also love to encourage you to shop directly with the publisher or with your local bookshop, or try to request these at your local library! I'm sure I've missed some books that would be great for this month, so feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments! You can find my giant list of Catholic Kid Books by topic here.

The Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Through the Year with Mary- Bogner, Katherine (whole chapter on the Seven Sorrows, and a month of readings connected to the devotion)

Feast Days this Month
Also a good day to pray the Stations of the Cross! Check out a whole collection here.

9/15- Our Lady of Sorrows

9/17- St. Hildegard of Bingen

9/18- St. Joseph of Cupertino

9/21- St. Matthew


9/27- Our Lady, Star of the Sea

These fictional chapter books feature little mice running a school and convent under the floorboards of G.K. Chesterton's home- and the imaginative religious order is named Sisters of Our Lady Star of the Sea. :) Could be a fun read to celebrate the feast day!

9/28- St. Lorenzo Ruiz
9/28- Our Lady, Undoer of Knots
Through the Year with Mary- Bogner, Katherine (chapter on Our Lady, Undoer of Knots)

9/29- The Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Rafael


Book Lists By Month:
Click on the images below for book lists organized by feast days and devotions for each month:

Monthly Devotion Signs

A follower recently reached out with a question regarding the headers I use for my monthly roundup posts. She's been using them as a bulletin board header to feature the monthly devotion, which I thought was a brilliant idea- and I'm sorry that I had offered them sooner in an easier to print format!

So here are two sets of monthly devotion signs, one in full color and one on a white background to save printer ink. :)

Click here for the monthly devotion signs on a colored background:

Click here for the monthly devotion signs on a white background:

You may also like these simple, text only signs: (available in both cursive and manuscript)

Mother Teresa Crossword Puzzle

 St. Teresa of Calcutta's feast day is September 5th. I shared a little about her life with my students with a short article and some video clips, followed by challenging them to complete a crossword with facts about her life.

I would recommend using this article from My Catholic Kids. (this is what I had my students read, and where I pulled the facts for the crossword puzzle)

A few videos that your students/kids might enjoy are here, here, and here.

Click here for a crossword puzzle covering details from Mother Teresa's life:


And click here if you'd like a key for the crossword!

And you might like some of the other Mother Teresa ideas in this post:

Friday, August 2, 2024

Best Year Ever Saint Yearbook Bulletin Board


I enjoy coming up with bright new decor for my classroom door at the beginning of the school year. This summer I thought of an idea to create a yearbook page, complete with superlatives and quotes and "class of" graduation years- but with the Saints! It was fun to think about which Saints might have been voted "most likely to succeed" or "class clown" or "cutest couple." I tried to come up with descriptions that hinted a little at the biography of each person, hopefully catching my students' interest and leading them to want to know more!


I had the 24x36" poster printed at my local office store for about $25 with a coupon. (Make sure you open and download the pdf file of the poster- the image itself in this post is a much lower resolution and will not print at that size!)


If you don't want to pay to have a large poster printed, you can choose the "poster" setting under "page sizes and handling" in the print dialogue for Adobe Acrobat, which allows you to print the whole thing on multiple 8.5x11" pages and tape them together. Or I also made a version that is black and white and prints easily, including all of the Saints, a title, and the quote. And there is a matching activity page where student can create their own yearbook entry, perfect for getting to know them in the first days of school. 

Click here for the full color 24x36" poster:

Click here for a black and white version on 8.5x11" paper. This one you can easily print on your own and either trim and make a bulletin board or line up side by side to create a look similar to the large poster:

Click here for a black and white version of the quote:

Click here for a set of "Class of..." signs- these would be fun for your bulletin board or for back-to-school pics!


Click here for a "Best Year Ever" sign that prints on 8.5x11 in black and white, perfect to use at the top of a bulletin board:


Click here for a student page where they can create their own yearbook entry- perfect for a get to know you activity!

And if you are setting up your classroom, you might also like these other bulletin board posts: