Rosary Resources

While we are nearing the end of the month of October, it is not too late to work in some month of the Rosary activities.  Back here I promised to share a few more ideas, and I am just now getting around to it :).

Let me tell you about  Holy Cross Family Ministries.  Love their materials, and they are very affordable and work for varying ages.

They have a great video called Think Good Thoughts, which talks about the origin of the Rosary and can help kids learn to pray the Rosary.

Inside the DVD case is an idea book with this great activity to go along with the DVD, and I have used it more times than I can count.

Gather a ball of yarn, plastic Easter eggs, and some small stones. 
-Pass out the stones, one for each student.  Teach about how peasants in early Christendom would gather 150 stones to carry in a pouch to remind them to pray the 150 Psalms like monks and nuns did in monasteries.   Later those 150 stones came to represent the 150 Hail Marys of the Rosary.  Eventually, they started tying 150 knots on a string, and then beads on a string, which we recognize as the Rosaries we see today. 
-When the students choose a stone, remind them that we come from the earth, too, and can remember that while we are here on earth, we will keep praying about the things we need.  The stones are easy to hold on to, and while we are holding them, we can think of something that we would like to pray for.
-Then pass out the Easter eggs.  The empty egg reminds us of the empty tomb on Easter morning, and the hope that we have because of Christ.  The kids can then put their stone (all their prayers) into the egg, wrapping them up in the hope of Christ.
-Then pass around the ball of yarn and have each child hold onto a piece.  They can open up the egg with the stone inside and snap it over the yarn so that the egg is attached.  The string represents how we are all connected as the Body of Christ.  With the Rosary, all our prayers are  wrapped up in the hope of Christ, and we can all pray for each other.

Holy Cross Family Ministries also has a great set of coloring books, complete with how to pray the Rosary, and coloring pages and activities for each mystery.

And best of all they can be reproduced for classroom use.  Music to my teacher ears.

Here is a shot of the catalog.  Remember how I said that there materials were affordable?  $8.95 for a DVD.  It can't get much better.  That is, until you see that the set of four coloring books are $7.95.  Totally worth it!

You can visit their store here.

Come back on Tuesday to see how I used their coloring pages to make a Rosary Lapbook!