Adoration with Kids [printables!]

"During a Holy Hour we grow more and more into His likeness."

~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Christ asked us if we "could not wait one hour with Him?".  A Holy Hour is a dedicated response of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  I have been to lots of Holy Hours hosted by many different parishes that are set up for kids or advertised as family-friendly.  Taking kids to Adoration can be intimidating for parents and teachers- the silence, the ritual, the importance- but I am a huge advocate of getting kids there in the Presence of our Lord. 

Here are some of my favorite things to see at a Holy Hour that is welcoming to children:

1. Reverence- the beauty and truth of the Sacrament is not lost.  We can bring children to this without watering it down.
2. Proximity- kids are able to draw close to the Sanctuary and even pray on the floor in front of the steps or invited to sit in the very front pews.
3. Breaking up the Silence- kids make noise, and that noise is ok.  They also are not trained contemplatives, so expecting mental prayer for an hour isn't an option.  Great Holy Hours for kids DO have silence, but also have appropriate Scripture readings, reflections from Saints,a decade or more of the Rosary, etc.
4. Music- having a musician lead the songs for Exposition and Benediction is awesome, and then even better is to have them pepper the silence with a few songs that kids can sing along with.  Singing is a powerful form of prayer.
5. Teaching- having a priest that is comfortable with kids and their developmentally appropriate learning styles is awesome.  I love when a priest talks to kids at their level and teaches them with words meant just for them, always pointing back to the True Presence of Jesus.

I also like for kids to have resources available to help foster their prayer as appropriate.  Children's Bibles, a journal, a Rosary devotional with images to meditate on, a book about a favorite Saint, children's books of prayer, etc. can enhance and not detract from this time of prayer.  So on that note, I put together a few resources that I think could help kids both with the logistics of Adoration, as well as help them enter into prayer.

First up, an 8-page Adoration booklet that could be taken into a Holy Hour.  (We had this available at the Fulton Sheen Family Day last weekend).

There is a page with some explanations/definitions:

And a page with the words to Adoration Prayers/Songs:

And a page with some Adoration info/questions:

Then there is room for kids to actually use the book by writing or drawing what they would like to pray about.  Matching the other ACTS prayer activities that I have created (see them here and here), the prayer prompts and Scripture verses lead the kids through four kinds of prayer: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication:

It's a great little printable that would be an asset for prayer time with your own kiddos or a Holy Hour with a classroom or CCD Program.  Click on the image below for the link:

And, always one to want options, I have a couple of other printables too! 

This page could be perfect for repeat visits to Adoration (instead of printing a booklet for each time) and would be a great addition to a notebooking project or prayer journal.

And adding to the collection of Fulton Sheen Coloring Pages, here is the matching art from the prayer pages with a favorite quote:

I'd love to hear how you make Adoration fruitful (with one kid or thirty!) and what your favorite resources for fostering prayer are!

Linking up with Blessed Is She's theme on the Power of Prayer.  Check out the other posts by clicking on the image below: