Simple Liturgical Calendars: Both Color and Block & White

The order of the seasons of the liturgical year tells the story of Jesus’s life, death, and Resurrection. The Lenten season gives us forty days to prepare for the Sacred Triduum, which celebrates three events: the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus.

In the liturgical year, every season of preparation is followed by a season of celebration, so after Lent, we will celebrate the season of Easter, rejoicing for fifty days that Jesus is risen from the dead.

Want to help your kids understand the rhythms of the Liturgical Year? You can find this freebie simple Liturgical Calendar here, in both full color and as a black and white coloring page. It’s perfect to hang next to your family calendar or stick in the cover of your planner. 

These resources were made in cooperation with Shari Van Vranken of Catholic Paper Goods using artwork from our new book! Shari has also made a year specific Liturgical Calendar if you'd like one that is dated to this liturgical year, or she also has it available as a poster!

Discover even more in our new book All About Lent & Holy Week! You can find it at The St. Paul Center here or on Amazon here, or we'd love for you to ask for it at your local Catholic book store. It's also available as an ebook in both places if that's more your style! 

And you can find all of the free resources linked in this post:

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)

Design-an-Advent-Chasuble!

Can you believe that we are only a few short weeks from the start of Advent? One of the first things that kids notice about the changing Liturgical Seasons is the color that their priest is wearing at Mass. Soon his vestments will switch from green to purple (and pink)! 

Inspired by this page in our new book, Shari Van Vranken and I decided to give kids the chance to design their own chasuble for the upcoming Advent Season!

My niece and a couple of my nephews designed a few samples for us, and I think that they did a great job!

You can print the Advent Chasuble coloring page (linked at the bottom of the post). Have your kids (or you!) design and color a new vestment for the Advent Season using Advent colors and symbols. Then, you can give your chasuble design to your parish priest and tell him how excited you are for Advent!

 If you'd like to share your chasuble on Instagram, make sure to tag @katherine.bogner and @catholicpapergoods in your post and we'll share them too!

Click here to print the Advent chasuble pages:

And make sure you get your copy of All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Hope & Wonder with Children soon so that you are ready for Advent!

You can find it at The St. Paul Center here or on Amazon here. It's also available as an ebook in both places if that's more your style!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

February Radiant Roundup

Happy February! We welcome in the month of the Holy Family during this short chunk of Ordinary Time. Here are some resources to enrich your home or classroom this month, including a look ahead at Lent, which begins on March 2nd!

Resources with a * mean that they contain free printables (or shareable digital files).

Month of the Holy Family:

Holy Family Coloring Page*
Holy Family Hearts Coloring Pages and Prayer Cards*
Holy Family Hearts Embroidery Pattern*
50 Ways to Pray with Your Kids in 5 Minutes or Less*
Ten Ways to Encourage Parent Involvement*

The Presentation: February 2nd

Simeon and Anna Coloring Page*

Joseph, Lover of Poverty Print (Two Turtledoves)* (Scroll to the bottom)

St. Abigail (St. Gobnait): February 11th
St. Abigail coloring pages*

St. Valentine: February 14th
Saintly Friends Bingo Game*
Psalm 26:4 Coloring Page*
Proverbs 17:17 Coloring Page** 
Owl Love Valentine's Exchange Bag 
Holy Family Hearts Coloring Pages and Cards* 

Sacred Heart of Jesus Coloring Pages* 

Sacred Heart of Jesus and Anima Christi Prayer Cards*

Lent:

While Lent begins on March 2nd this year, I know many of you will be planning ahead!

Lent: Ideas for 40 Days* (Round-up Post of Links)

Lent Looks Different (Classroom decorations)
What Lent Looks Like* Coloring Page/Printable
What the Triduum Looks Like* Coloring Page/Printable
Lent: Pray, Fast, Give Foldable* (Also in Spanish)
Lenten Prayer Challenge Board* (Also editable)
Holy Week Family Retreat & Journal* (In English, Spanish, and French, and with an editable schedule)

Books for Lent and Holy Week for Kids and Adults
Stations of the Cross Sunset & Silhouette art project
Practical Ideas for Lenten Acts of Mercy using the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy *
Lent Notes Foldable*
Lent Word Cloud*
Using the Stations of Cross as Inspiration for Acts of Charity Foldable*
Connecting the Passover and the Passion*- A Youth Bible Study
Give Up & Take Up*: Lent Youth Group Lesson, Videos, and Resources
Paschal Candle Craft for Kids
The Sound of Lent: A Lent Playlist
Videos for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter: A playlist
Passion & Resurrections Peg Doll Set
Lent Youth Group Resources
Lenten Art Gallery Walk & Visio Divina

Lent Family Weekly Plan*- Sunday Gospels and Fasting/Giving using the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy (editable)

Preorder Bonuses for "Through the Year with Jesus"!

***UPDATE 2/7/21- Since the book is now available, I'm "closing" the preorder bonuses and have contacted the winner of the free workshop. However, you can access the free printables as tools to use alongside the book here!

Ok, you all are blowing me away with support for my new book! Thank you so much for all of your kind messages and encouragement. In case you missed it, Through the Year with Jesus: Gospel Readings and Reflections for Children will be out soon and is available to order at the St. Paul Center and on Amazon. You can read more details about the content and see a few endorsements here. If you've  already ordered and want to skip ahead, you can fill out the Preorder Bonus Form here. ;)

If you know much about new books, you know that preorders really matter, especially for a new author. And this year where normal speaking gigs and conferences and workshops are still unlikely, your early support is such a powerful way to help see this book shared. As a thank you, I've been creating a set of special preorder bonuses for you to use alongside the book or just throughout the Liturgical Year in your home or classroom. They are pretty open ended and I am already thinking of ways I'd like to use them myself! The printables are all available as pdfs in a Google Drive folder, so they are easy to access, download and print however you like. A preview of those resources can be seen below.

And as a special bonus, I'll also be randomly picking one person who preorders to win a free virtual talk or workshop with me! We've all gotten more used to doing things virtually, so why not take advantage of that and let me speak to your teachers, catechists, Bible study, or moms' group. We'll work together to choose a good time and the right topic for your group.  (***Update- for entries to be considered for the free workshop giveaway, they must be entered by 2/6/21!)

The rest of the preorder bonuses are available for everyone!

Some of the items included in the Preorder Bonus Printables Folder include:

-Liturgical Season Planning Pages

-Journaling pages to support praying with Scripture (for both older and younger kids)

-Liturgical Year Journal "cover" in three color choices

-Liturgical Year Journal tabs

-Jesus & the Children Coloring Page

-Jesus & the Children Watercolor

-Lectio Divina prayer guides (small cards and full page)

-Liturgical Wheel watercolor

I love how these Liturgical Season Planning Pages turned out.  I think they could help you anchor each Season with a printable to set up ways you plan to pray, serve, sacrifice, and celebrate, as well as lists of prayer intentions and inspirational quotes. Perfect to hang on the fridge or with your calendar or to add to a journal, and could be completed individually by kids or together as a family.

This Liturgical Wheel Watercolor printable is something great to hang up or add to a journal:

These journal printables are super flexible and could help you and/or your kids set up a journal following the Liturgical Year themes. Pretty "endpaper" cover options, tabs for the seasons, and journaling pages for both older and younger kids are included. I also added a Google Slides version for those of you that might want to use it digitally with a classroom:

This coloring page is from my sketch that was used as inspiration for the book cover:

And here's a little watercolor version too:

If you have preordered, you can fill out the form here.  Access to the printables will be shared in the Confirmation message, so don't miss that link! If someone preordered for you as a gift, you are welcome to still fill this out, or if you ordered multiple copies to give to others, you can share the printables with them. I appreciate your honesty as this seems to be the simplest way to manage getting you the bonuses asap and still allow me to attend to real life. ;) Again, thank you for your support and excitement for the book! I can't wait to see it at work in your homes and classrooms! (***Update- for entries to be considered for the free workshop giveaway, they must be entered by 2/6/21!)

Happy New Year- My Book Is Ready for Preorder!

Merry Christmas, friends! I hope that you are experiencing a beautiful Christmas season and are filled with the hope of Christ as you look into the coming new year. I wanted to pop up a quick post to share two exciting announcements about my book- a cover reveal, and preorder information!

Through the Year with Jesus: Gospel Readings and Reflections for Children from Emmaus Road Publishing should be out in mid February and can now be preordered at the St. Paul Center and on Amazon. 

I'll be sharing more in the coming weeks, including freebies to go along with the book, special pre-order bonuses (update- get them here!), and giveaways, but for now I'll leave you with the back cover description of the book, and a few kind words from those that have already read it. Feel free to drop any questions in the comment box. I'm so, so thrilled to be able to share this resource for homes and classrooms with you!

~ ~ ~

From the back cover:

The liturgical year invites us to walk with Jesus through the most wonderful story ever told: the Gospel. In Through the Year with Jesus: Gospel Readings and Reflections for Children, catechist and popular blogger Katherine Bogner reveals the rich mystery of the seasons we celebrate in the Church.

With Gospel readings for each week of the liturgical year, along with tools for reflection, discussion, and prayer, Through the Year with Jesus offers endless opportunities for discovering who Jesus is and better understanding Catholic teaching about his life and mission.

• Promote prayer and conversation about the life of Christ with children through
• Weekly readings from the Gospels
• Lectio Divina prompts to nurture personal prayer or journaling
• Sacred art to accompany the Gospel reading
• Stories of saints and many rich Catholic traditions for the liturgical year

The easy-to-use format of Through the Year with Jesus helps adults lead children to an intimate encounter with the heart of Jesus through the rhythm of the liturgical year and the powerful words of Scripture.

"Katherine Bogner hits a liturgical living home run with this devotional for children…. This book is an excellent, all-in-one way to bring the stories of Jesus and his family and his friends and his life into a home or classroom in a way that kids of all ages can connect with at their own levels. Grownups are sure to find their own faith deepened as well." Kendra Tierney, Author of The Catholic All Year Compendium

"If you've been looking for a way to engage your family or classroom in meaningful conversations throughout the liturgical year here is your answer. Buy this book!" Bonnie Engstrom, Author of 61 Minutes to a Miracle

"Through the Year with Jesus not only has beautiful Scripture readings and reflections on the Gospels, it is also an invaluable guide to help parents, teachers, and catechists learn how to pray through the Bible with their children—and how to teach them to pray and live God's Word." Katie Warner, Catholic Children's Book Author, FirstFaithTreasury.com

"Lectio Divina (and Visio Divina)are the hidden gems of prayer in the Catholic Church. With this book, Katherine Bogner brings these devotions to life for children, teachers, and parents. I am certain her guidance here will lead many young people into an encounter with Jesus Christ." Jared Dees, Founder of TheReligionTeacher.com and Author of Christ in the Classroom

Sacred Heart At-Home VBS {Includes an editable option and all resources are free!}

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so I could think of no better theme as I planned activities to share with you for your families and students. With life still not back to normal, I know many people are missing out on VBS and Totus Tuus and want to support their kids' faith over the summer. Cue the best I could do to create an at-home VBS. ;)

This resource is set up with a lot of the elements of a VBS (prayer, music, snacks, crafts) but with tons of options so it can work for a wide range of ages. I also pulled A LOT of resources- more than anyone would really use -but I wanted there to be variety and choice. All of the activities are FREE so hopefully this project is easily accessible and shareable, even on a school or parish level. 

For each column, there is an idea for:

-Prayer

-Bible verse

-Saint who loved the Sacred Heart

-Video

-Activity/Craft

-Snack/Food

-Bonus Resources (usually additional crafts or videos)

-Links for Parents or Older Siblings (to help parents feel equipped to teach their kids along the way, and to help older kids participate)

I created two different calendar options. One has a traditional Monday-Friday format, so there would be a lot of activities for each day. The second option uses the five weeks of June and spreads out ideas over the whole month. (And technically there is a third option, because I'm also giving you an editable version you can tailor to the needs of your group). All of the plans end with an enthronement of the Sacred Heart and Sacred Heart Party, which kids can do with this printable Sacred Heart Statue:

Almost every suggestion has an link to a printable, YouTube Video, recipe, etc. including the prayers and a quote for each of the Saints. I think these would be great to hang or display during the VSB, or they also can be cut apart and stapled into little prayer books:

This whole plan is completely free and available for you to email out to your friends, parish, class, school, etc. I always appreciate when people include a link back to the blog so people can find more resources, but the schedule is especially designed to be easy to share as a pdf in a bulk email, school communication system, or parish bulletin. Please share! I'm always honored to be able to help, but especially now when we can't minister to our communities in the same ways we are used to. Click below to open all the resources!

Please join me in praying and asking Jesus' Sacred Heart to have mercy on us, and on the whole world. 

***These docs are also linked directly in the schedule, but I wanted to share them here too in case you only plan to use the statue and prayers ;)

Click here to print the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue:

 And banner:

These Sacred Heart Prayers can be used throughout the week or month, and can either be cut out and displayed, or cut and stapled into a mini book.

These Sacred Heart Saint Quotes are from the five featured Saints as well a couple bonuses. They can also be displayed through the week or made into a mini book.

Sacred Heart At-Home VBS 5 Day Guide: Click here for the pdf version of the guide with all the links and info on one page for a Monday-Friday schedule:

Sacred Heart At-Home VBS 5 Week Guide: Or click here for the pdf version of the guide with all the links and info on one page spread out over the five weeks in June:

Editable Google Slides Version: And if you'd like to edit the guide, I've made a version in Google Slides (same info and links, design is slightly different and spread over two pages). Directions are included for how to make a copy or download the slides to edit.

Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Ideas!

The Solemnity of Christ the King and the end of the Liturgical Year is this weekend! But every end also means a new beginning, and this beginning brings Advent.  I LOVE Advent.  The preparing, the waiting, the hope, the peaceful promise.

Here are some ideas for you to use with your kiddos to keep and celebrate the season of Advent.  Click on any of the images to take you to the resource or post:


Looking for music to keep you in the season?  Check out this Advent Song Playlist:

And videos are always a great addition in the classroom:

Learn about the New Liturgical Year with this Liturgical Year Coloring Book:

Or just use the What Advent Looks Like printable:

And this is my favorite Liturgical Year Calendar: (you can see this year's collection in the Telos Art & Design shop here)

Check out the Advent section in this book recommendations post:

I'm using this Advent "Count Up" at school this year:

I was sent the bundle from Catholic All Year to review, and it is awesome! There are medallions for all the Sundays, Saint feast days, special family days, and regular days in the seasons of Advent and Christmas. I used it to create a calendar, but it also can be used by adding one medallion each day leading up to Christmas. There is a great booklet with short explanations of the feast days to share each day as you hang them up, and it also comes with a set of quotes, signs for the display, and a "straw for Baby Jesus" activity. One download gets you both black and white and color version, and Kendra has it on sale for $10 (vs. $25) right now!

Make plans for decorating for the Liturgical Year:

Use these resources for Advent:

Use the stamps and printable stickers in my Etsy Shop:
(Digital printables are available now, Advent Wreath and Nativity stamps will be back the weekend after Thanksgiving with special sales!)

Try some new Advent Traditions: (with printable info sheets)

Printable Advent Candles for an Advent Wreath:

Also available in Spanish:

Wandering Wise Men: 
An alternate activity to Elf on the Shelf, I used the Wise Men from our classroom Nativity to emphasize the waiting and preparing and seeking that is required of us during Advent.  Click on the images to go to the posts with 15 different ideas.

   

Pray and color the O Antiphons:

Seeking our Savior: An Advent Detective Journey based on Scripture, showing how Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Christ.  Printable coloring book, Scripture cards, mini craft projects, and a leaders guide.

Also available in Spanish:

Make a Peg Doll Nativity:

 Advent Jeopardy Trivia games here and here.

 Party Like a Saint- A December-Saint-Themed Advent Party with crafts and games.

What if they had email?  Youth Group Advent lesson idea putting the Christmas story in a new perspective.

 A Stocking For Jesus: Activities to go along with the book, including some Advent printables.

Nativity Photo Booth, putting all of those Nativity play costumes and props to good use!

Advent Prayer Ring- Great for Youth Groups or Bible Studies:

My Gift- An Epiphany Readers' Theater:

Make these Epiphany Home Blessing Kits: (updated for 2020)

How will you be keeping Advent this year?