Baptism + Water Stories in the Bible Art

We are working on reviewing the Sacraments of Initiation in my classroom, and our adding our collections of projects, notes, and art into our Fulton Sheen notebooks.  I've actually already blogged about how we notebook the Sacraments, so this is not a new activity for me...however, I was so impressed with the kids' art this year that I wanted to share a few more examples.

On our Baptism pages, we add a Baptismal certificate, a set of Baptismal promises, and a "stained glass" representation of a Bible story that connects with Baptism.  You can see directions for how we made this art project, as well as get printables for all of the other Baptism activities in this post.

So without further ado, check these out:

Here we have Noah's Ark as well as Moses parting the Red Sea: (I love the color in these two!)

Here we have baby Moses being placed in the Nile by his mother, and I think the perspectives used by these artists was very unique:

These stories were both firsts for me this year even though I have done this project with several classes now- Jonah & the big fish and Jesus with the Woman at the Well:

And this was also a new story this year- a representation of the miraculous catch of fish when Jesus called Peter:

I love the kids' talent and seeing how they can take the same project with the same instructions and make it their own.  After creating their art, they had to do a little quick journal writing on how that Bible story connects with the Sacrament of Baptism. (For inspiration before beginning this art project, we brainstormed as a class all of the Bible stories we could think of that had to do with water.  The kids then had to read that story before beginning their art project- it was a great way to get them diving into Scripture and involving their choice!)

You can see a completed notebook page here:

For more info on this activity, instructions, and printables, check out this original post.

Your Handwriting Matters

I am an advocate of handwriting. Handwriting is an undervalued art form, one that's meaning comes from a deeper layer than the words themselves.

When the topic comes up, I always encourage people to use their own handwriting instead of typing/printing/etc.  A sign in their home, a letter, captions in a scrapbook, a birthday invite, addressing wedding thank yous- all in your handwriting.  Many argue with me that their handwriting is messy, that writing is more time consuming, that they just don't like their handwriting.  I think that there is a lot more to it than that...and here are a few reasons why:

1.  Just to be clear, I am not just talking about neat, beautiful, or perfect handwriting.   I am not just talking about teaching "correct" handwriting to my 5th grade students.  I am certainly not just talking about my own handwriting.  I mean that I am an advocate of your handwriting, my handwriting, your children's handwriting- all handwriting. Neatness and penmanship have their place, but as I am writing this post I am thinking about the uniqueness of the way that you write, possible messiness and all.  Your natural handwriting is what others will remember.  When I encourage someone to handwrite something, they often say that it is just because I have great handwriting.  While I will admit that my writing isn't terrible, I certainly don't always like it.  Anytime we are close to something, we often are the first to see its flaws.  I don't typically love my own handwriting, but that doesn't mean that I am not going to use it.  Perfect is not a qualification for sharing a part of yourself. 

2.  Handwriting reveals personality.  I remember using these cheap handwriting analysis books in jr. high to analyze how the slant of my l's revealed that I was an optimist and the curve on the tail of my y's showed that I was an introvert.  I would not put a lot of stock into what official graphology says about you through your handwriting, but just remember on a personal level that your handwriting is a bit of, well, you.  Your personality is carried and emotions can be expressed through handwriting.  Despite the fact that the twenty two students in my classroom have almost all been taught by the same teachers, their handwriting is very unique and I can usually tell their papers apart easily even when they don't have names.  I can also tell when they were in a hurry, when they were confident, and when they were unsure.  I can see them in their writing.

3.  In a world that limits human interactions more and more, handwriting helps us continue to share a bit of ourselves with another.  It allows us to be Incarnational, to show that another is worthy of our time, and to help us see the person behind the communication that we share.  This can be a lot harder through type-written texts, emails, and letters.

4.  Handwriting is sentimental.  Even if you are the opposite of a pack rat, I bet you have a few notes or cards tucked away in a drawer.  You don't keep those cards for the pretty typeface "Happy Mother's Day" on the outside.  You keep it for the scrawled second grader's message printed in pencil on the inside.  Or you keep the note with the spidery cursive that was your grandfather's handwriting near the end of his life.  My dad has some of the worst handwriting I have ever seen (which is saying something as a middle school teacher).  However, the notes that he tapes on my mom's mirror in his terrible handwriting stay there for her to see and mean much more than anything he could have typed.  Being sentimental doesn't mean that we are attached to the object, but to the person behind the object, and it is a good reason to handwrite things that might mean more to someone else.

5.   Handwriting is a little piece of history.  As a genealogy nerd, I savor finding something handwritten by an ancestor. Handwriting is a missing piece of a person's story that can't be recreated after they are gone.  Much like a photograph, that handwriting is unique and important.  Finding original captions on the back of a picture, or a diary penned over time, or a note tucked in a box meant for a loved one from the past is like finding a unique treasure, one that I think we all can appreciate.

6.  Your handwriting is a witness to what you believe.  There is a reason that our signature is still (usually) required to be in our handwriting, even if it is created with a stylus and a digital screen instead of a pen and paper.  Adding your handwriting to something is like adding a stamp of approval, an acknowledgement that testifies to the content of what you are writing.

7.  Finally, handwriting is a connection between the words we live by and who we have been created to be.  "Keep my commandments and live.  Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye.  Bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart."  ~Proverbs 7:23



I challenge you to remember that your handwriting matters, that it means something to those around you, and that perfect isn't a requirement for something to be important.  Find ways to incorporate handwriting into your days, and learn to love that you share a bit of yourself with each stroke of the pen.

Like Apples of Gold

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold set in silver. " ~Proverbs 25:11

"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." ~Proverbs 31:26

Both of these Proverbs came up in a Bible study that I recently worked through on the book of James.  We were discussing the power of the tongue, and the influence our words can have on others.  As a teacher, I need to continually remind myself of the power that my tongue, in word and tone, has over the environment in my classroom.

In honor of Catholic Schools' Week (this week) and National Catholic Teacher Appreciation Day (Friday, January 30, 2015), I turned this doodle from Bible Study into a printable to remind you, no matter your occupation, of the influence your words can have on the world around you.

Click here for a full page printable:

Click here for half page printables, great for a card or to put in a frame:

The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Each month of the year, the Church recognizes a certain aspect of our faith and reminds us to celebrate it.  In January we celebrate the Most Holy Name of Jesus.  My 5th graders are responsible for composing and reading a prayer each morning over the intercom to start off our school day during January.  We use the theme of the Names of Jesus, and they run with that as a topic for Bible verses, specific prayers to that name of Jesus, the meaning of that name, etc.

Before they pick a name, we brainstorm all of the names of Jesus that we know.  This year, that brainstorm took the form of this poster:

The kids were then able to choose a name to use as they wrote their prayer.  It is amazing that the Son of God made himself all things for all people, and even allows us to know him by different names, just so that we can connect with him more fully.

This is a close up of the title that I put at the top of the poster.  I decided that it would be nice for the kids to have something to remind themselves of what we have learned this month, so I turned that into a black and white printable.

Now they can each color this page, and we will include the information that they researched about the name of Jesus that they chose, as well as the final prayer that they composed.  It will make a great addition to their religion notebook!

Click here for the printable:

You may also like this Names of Jesus project!

Catholic Schools' Week Thank You Card

In honor of Catholic Schools' Week, my students will be writing thank yous to those that have helped support them in their Catholic Education.  As a school, we always send mail to our Bishop, priests, community workers, etc.  I also would like my students to write thank yous to our principal, custodians, former teachers, cooks, etc. 

I made these cards for the kids to decorate and write in:

You can print just the front, or you can print them double sided with this Scripture verse and thank you banner on the inside:

Happy Catholic Schools' Week!

Catholic Schools Week 2015

January 25-31 marks this year's Catholic Schools' Week- a time to celebrate the mark that Catholic Schools have on students and families, past, present, and future.  One of my responsibilities for the coming week was to decorate the main bulletin board at the entrance of our school. 

The CSW logo was used last year, and the theme will also continue next year.  I saved this paper logo from last year, and while there are some visible folds from storage, I am glad that I didn't have to remake it!

Here was our 2014 CSW Bulletin Board:

To everyone involved in Catholic Education, Happy Catholic Schools' Week!

Seven Quick Takes: Me, In Bullet Points

Inspired by a Jones Design Company post this week, here are seven things that you may not know about me, in bullet points.  Not quite as in depth, and a lot more random, but here goes:

1.  Approximately 32% of the reason that I became a teacher is so that I can still buy school supplies each year.  That may not be true.  But it might.  I really love post-it notes, and new Sharpies, and don't even get me started on the perfectly sharpened Ticonderoga pencil.

2.  I am a complete and total introvert.  Some people have laughed and don't believe me when I tell them this, but it is very true.  Introverts are not necessarily shy all of the time, but are recharged by being alone, whereas extroverts are recharged by being with people.  I love you all, but people exhaust me- which makes my career choice of teaching and work at church interesting and challenging. At the time of writing this, I have been in my apartment for over 48 hours, by myself, (thanks to no-school-cold-weather-days), and it has been the best and most rejuvenating thing ever.

3.  I bite my nails.  Trust, me I know that it is gross and unprofessional and a good way to get sick.  I (and in my younger days, my mom) have tried many things to stop, but nothing has stuck.  I gave it up for Lent one year and did fairly well offering it up as a sacrifice.  My friend rewarded me with a manicure just before Easter, but about a week later they were chewed to the quick again. So now I just keep them painted all of the time in bright colors- it is much harder to chew on your nails when they are covered in dark blue nail polish.

4.  I entered the world of smart phones a couple of weeks ago.  I had resisted for quite a while, but it was time to upgrade from my little slide-out-keyboard-can't-receive-every-other-text-message clunker and come into the 2010's.  Honestly, one of the reasons why I had avoided getting a smart phone was an excuse to not be connected.  People expect you to be available all of the time...and, well, see #2.  However, I love technology and finding new ways to use it, so I have quite enjoyed having so many things at my fingertips.  And, I can always turn it off if necessary, right?

5.  If choosing, I would always pick a roadtrip over a plane ride.  I love vacations that have low planning, spontaneous stops, and unforeseen adventures.  Getting to your destination can be half the fun, and is a great opportunity to really get to know people.

6.  I am a genealogy nerd.  Well, I have been a genealogy nerd, and need to get back to putting some time in it.  It was kind of a weird hobby to have in high school and college...visiting tiny libraries to find family records, dragging my parents to distant family reunions just to meet other people who could share information, hand writing letters to people decades older than me who knew my family way-back-when.  I literally have had nightmares about loosing my family scrapbooks in a fire or seismic fissure or volcanic eruption.

7.  Speaking of nightmares, I have very vivid realistic dreams, and I usually remember them.  From being a Jew in Nazi controlled Germany, to witnessing a demonic possession, to random (untrue) happenings in the lives of people I know, I never know what I am going to dream next.  I don't usually hold on to the stories for too long each day unless they are really weird/scary/funny or I have someone to tell first thing in the morning.  My family got a few ear fulls during the two weeks we spent together over Christmas break.  Maybe I should write a book...

What are seven random things that describe you?

Thanks, Kelly for hosting!