Sunday, June 30, 2024

July Radiant Roundup

Happy July! We somehow find ourselves in the middle of the summer! If you are looking for some ways to learn, pray, and celebrate with your kids this month, here are a few ideas!


July: The Month of the Most Precious Blood
Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Use any of these activities to celebrate the gift of His Most Precious Blood, especially during the beginning of the Eucharistic Revival called for by the USCCB:
Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity Coloring Page Cursive*
Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity Coloring Page Manuscript*
Seeing Jesus in the Eucharist- Monstrance Art Project*
Reviewing the Eucharist Notebook Activity
Teaching About the Mass Activity Sheets* (2nd-8th)
Peg Doll Saints, church, and Mass Kit (Pre-4th)
Make Your Own Mini Mass Kit (Pre-4th)
Adoration with Kids Printables* (K-8th)
Favorite Books about the Mass (All Ages)
Order of the Mass Activity Cards* (4th-8th)
Using the Multiple Intelligences to Teach about the Mass* (all ages)
Mass Reflection Page Graphic Organizer* (2nd grade and up)
Mass Reflection Slides (all ages)



American Saints
As we celebrate the birthday of our country on July 4th, we can look to those who have gone before us as examples of holiness, asking their prayers for our nation.
American Saints At Home VBS (all ages) Tons of resources highlighting 14 holy men and women from the United States, with both printables and digital resources. (This is actually one of my very favorite collections I've made for the blog! Originally from the summer of 2020 when we were all looking for resources to use at home, I really think that we have a lot to learn from these incredible people- and TONS of them have July Feast Days!)

American Saints Research Project (6th-8th grade) Google Slides project, great for the classroom!

American Eucharistic Witnesses (2nd-8th) Created for the National Eucharistic Revival, this series contains thirteen biographies of holy men and women from America. There are matching activities in two levels of difficulty, as well as matching versions in Spanish.


St. Junipero Serra: July 1st

St. Thomas: July 3rd

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati: July 4th 
Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati* Coloring pages and bulletin board

Venerable Augustus Tolton: July 9th (unofficial feast day)
My favorite graphic novel about his life is in this post!

St. Veronica: July 12th

Bl. Carlos Manuel Cecilio: July 13th
St. Kateri Tekakwitha: July 14th


Our Lady of Mt. Carmel: July 16th


St. Mary Magdalene: July 22nd
St. James the Greater: July 25th

Bl. Stanley Rother: July 28th

Bl. Solanus Casey: July 30th

St. Ignatius of Loyola: July 31st
AMDG Bulletin Board* (St. Ignatius of Loyola's motto)


Click here for a list of great books for Catholic kids for the feast days throughout the month of July.
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Friday, June 28, 2024

July Books for Catholic Kids

July 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.


Feast Days this Month

7/4- Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

7/9- Ven. Augustus Tolton (Anniversary of Death)

7/9- Ven. Rose Hawthorn (Anniversary of Death)

7/11- St. Benedict

7/12- Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin

7/14- St. Kateri Tekakwitha
7/20- St. Jerome Emiliani

7/22- St. Mary Magdalene

7/24- St. Charbel

7/25- St. Christopher
7/26- Sts. Joachim and Anne

7/28- St. Samson

7/28- Bl. Stanley Rother

7/30- Bl. Solanus Casey

7/31- St. Ignatius of Loyola


Holy Men and Women of America:
While not on the liturgical calendar, the month of July is a time for patriotic celebrations in the United States of America. What a great month to read about some of these American Saints! (or Blesseds, Venerables, and Servants of God!)

Bl. Stanley Rother

Book Lists By Month:
Click on the images below for book lists organized by feast days and devotions for each month:
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Thursday, June 6, 2024

Eucharistic Witnesses: Servant of God Antonio Inija

I'm honored to be contributing to the Heart of the Revival, the newsletter and blog for the National Eucharistic Revival. I've written several articles and created activities for kids (like this Eucharistic Procession, Mass Offering Cards, Pilgrimage Passport, Pope Benedict XVI quotes, Art for Holy Week, and Bl. Carlo Acutis Activities). 

I've also been helping with a monthly series called American Eucharistic Witnesses. This collection highlights Americans whose lives have been changed by the gift of the Eucharistic. With a different expert author each month and an original woodcut print by the talented Connor Miller, I've been tasked with creating a version of this series for children. Each booklet contains a shorter bio and the art print on the front and back, and inside has some activities like a quote to color, a timeline to put in order, reflection questions, and short comprehension questions to answer. One booklet is for older children (I'd recommend 5th-8th grade) and another for younger children (I'd recommend 2nd-4th grade). The collection matches in structure and we'll finish the series with a final project to pull all the booklets together. 

Read the original article about Servant of God Antonio Inija here, and find the kids' activities below. (including in Spanish!)


Servant of God Antonio Inija Biography Activity for Older Kids in English

Servant of God Antonio Inija Biography Activity for Older Kids in Spanish



Servant of God Antonio Inija Biography Activity for Younger Kids in English

Servant of God Antonio Inija Biography Activity for Younger Kids in Spanish

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Corpus Christi Block Print


This block print was my project on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi! I'm happy to share a printable version with you, free for you to print and display in your home. 

You can watch a summary video of the carving and printing process here. 

“O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble himself like this and hide under the form of a little bread, for our salvation.” ~St. Francis of Assisi

Click here for the free pdf printable of this block print. Both the plain gold chalice and host as well as the version with the red florals are included. (Please remember that these art prints are for personal use only- meaning that you can print a copy for your home or classroom, but they cannot be reproduced, printed in bulk, distributed, used as a pattern/image on another product, or sold in any way. Thank you for honoring the proper use of the resources I offer!)

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Favorite Books for Lent, Holy Week, & Easter


Lent, Holy Week, & Easter Book List for Catholic Kids
Here's an updated list of books for Catholic kids to read and pray with during the seasons of Lent, the Sacred Triduum, and Easter!

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 topic, so feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments! You can find my giant list of Catholic Kid Books by topic here.

Lent Books

(While not specifically about Lent, these books are perfect for the season of prayer, fasting, and giving)

Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross Books For Kids- Post with twelve options and lots of detail!
Walking with Jesus to Calvary: Stations of the Cross for Children- Burrin, Angela
The Stations of the Cross for Children Written by Jerry Windley-Daoust and illustrated by Vicki Shuck
15-Minute Stations of the Cross For Kids Written by Jared Dees and illustrated by Ezekiel Saucedo
The Way of the Cross Written by Juliette Levivier and illustrated by Anne Gravier
Stations of the Cross For Kids by Regina Doman, illustrated by Chris Lewis

Holy Week Stories


Easter Stories


Pentecost
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Favorite Books for Advent & Christmas


Advent & Christmas Book List for Catholic Kids
Here's an updated list of books for Catholic kids to read and pray with during the seasons of Advent & Christmas!

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 topic, 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 Season of Advent
The Jesse Tree
Advent Devotionals

O Antiphons: December 17th-24th

The Christmas Season 
The First Christmas

Christmas Fiction

New Liturgical Year



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Favorite Books for Catholic Kids (Giant Growing List!)

I've been sharing about Catholic books since the very beginning of this blog, and have been working hard over the past several years to collect and curate lists of great Catholic books for children. Those lists keep growing, and I'm doing my best to keep them updated and organized for you! This is the most complete "master list" on my blog, but you might prefer the shorter lists organized by topic or by month. You can find those linked below, or on this book list page. 

A few notes:
-Some of these books I've inherited, a lot I have purchased, and some were sent to me by the author/publisher, but all of them are books I have used/gifted/recommended in my classroom or as a DRE. I'm only sharing with you what I like and use.
-This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. That means that if you click through and purchase something, I will receive 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!
-By recommending these books, I am not saying they are perfect.  Their quality is somewhat dependent on the age and interests of the kids reading them as well as the support and background knowledge they have.  As always, you should preview and make the decision as to what is best for your kids or classroom (possibly thinking about some of the qualities I talk about in this post).
-Obviously there are tons of books that you could find Catholic themes within (virtue, symbolism, etc.) but these are books with explicit Catholic content and I've sorted them into a "genres" below.
-These lists are roughly organized from youngest interest level to oldest.  They are also far from complete and I invite you to chime in with your favorites in the comments.  Feel free to book mark this post as I will come back and continue to add to it!
-As this list grows, it can be hard to find things! I use this list and the keyboard shortcut CTRL + F (or Command + F on a Mac) to search on the page all the time! You can do the same with a key word to help you find a certain topic or Saint.


The Bible
Overall Scripture:

Old Testament:

New Testament:
Through the Year with Jesus- Bogner, Katherine
The Gospel for Little Ones- Roche, Maite
Jesus, Savior of the World, Marlyn Evangelina Monge
Seek and Find: The Life of Jesus- Geert de Sutter

The Holy Spirit
Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit in the Early Church:


Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Tomie de Paola
Compendium of Marian Devotions- Fr. Ed Broom

Saints (Individual)
(Organized alphabetically, not by age) (Blog post here)

B
C




(St. Charles Lwanga and Companions) The Saint Chronicles Collection 3



D


E

(Elizabeth Ann Seton) The Saint Chronicles Collection 1

(Elizabeth of Hungary) Roses in the Snow- Jackson, Dessi

F

G
H



I
(Ignatius of Loyola) The Saint Chronicles Collection 5



J

(St. Jerome Emiliani) The Saint Chronicles Collection 1









K


L




M





N

O

P



Q

R


S





T



U

V
W

X

Y

Z




Saints (Collection)
(Organized from youngest readers to oldest)
Cloud of Witnesses- Warner, Katie
Picture Book of Saints- Lovasik, Fr. (and others in series)


Prayer
Memorized Prayers:

How to Pray and Types of Prayer:


Journals and Devotionals:
Be Yourself! Journal for Catholic Girls, Amy Brooks
Family and Communal Prayer:

The O Antiphons
The First Christmas
Christmas Fiction

 


Lent/Easter


Stations of the Cross Books For Kids- Post with twelve options and lots of detail!
Walking with Jesus to Calvary: Stations of the Cross for Children- Burrin, Angela
The Stations of the Cross for Children Written by Jerry Windley-Daoust and illustrated by Vicki Shuck
15-Minute Stations of the Cross For Kids Written by Jared Dees and illustrated by Ezekiel Saucedo
The Way of the Cross Written by Juliette Levivier and illustrated by Anne Gravier
Stations of the Cross For Kids by Regina Doman, illustrated by Chris Lewis

Sacraments
All:

Baptism:
Chosen! Jenna Guizar
The Sacraments in Action (Includes Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation)

Confirmation:
The Sacraments in Action (Includes Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation)

Eucharist:
The Sacraments in Action (Includes Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation)

Reconciliation:

Anointing of the Sick:

Holy Orders:

Matrimony:



Church Teachings/Q&A
Kiddie Cat- Warner, Katie

Vocations

Pro-Life/Human Dignity


Activity Books

Short Stories/Picture Books
Before Austen Comes Aesop: The Children's Great Books and How to Experience Them- Blomquist, Cheri (great guide for discerning reading the great books with your children)
Novels/Chapter Books
The Phantom of the Colosseum, Sophie de Mullenheim



What are some of your favorite Catholic books for kids? Feel free to add them in comments or reply with an email!
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