12+ Ideas for Celebrating All Saints Day

Who is ready to learn and pray and party on All Saints Day this Sunday!  There are so many fun ways to celebrate this Solemnity.  I am enjoying discussing Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day with my students as we prepare this week.  I've gathered up some of the activities that we are doing (or have done in the past) that might help you celebrate with your kids as well.

1. Here's a new Happy All Saints Day coloring page: (Click on image for the file)

2. Litany of the Saints prayer cards:
We are using these for the first time this year, and my students really like them.  I took the general opening/closing for most litanies and put it on one side of the prayer cards.  On the other side they get to create their own "All Star" cast. Oh, and we'll be listening to this song this week as well.

These print four per page and are two sided. Click on the image below to go to the file:

3. We love this All Saints Day art project.  This year they will be on display at our whole parish All Saints Day celebration.  Click on the image to go to a post with step-by-step instructions and ideas:

4. If a whole art project won't be in the works this week, I have several Saints coloring pages you can use instead. The growing list of coloring pages can be found under this tab and then under the Saints heading.

 5. You could quickly make these easy Saint shrines.  This one features St. Joseph, but you could have each student pick a different Saint and then display them all together.  Click on the image for the post with details:

 6. Practice some writing skills and intercessory prayer with these All Saints and All Souls Day Letters.  Click on either image to go to the post:

 7. You could play this Beatitude and Modern Saints game, which is modeled after the idea of Old Maid, but introduces kids to facts about eight modern Saints and the Beatitude they exemplified.  And instead of the "Old Maid" card, there is a "Bad-Attitude" card in the mix.  (Get it? Be-attitude, bad-attitude...I know, groan.)  Click on the image to go to the post:

8. Here's a whole playlist of videos on YouTube about Saints or the Canonization process.  Click on the image to go to the post:

9. Tying All Hallows Eve in with All Saints and All Souls Day has been a part of my curriculum for several years.  This post has a mini coloring book and many coloring pages about those topics. Click on the image to go to the post:

In that post, there is an All Saints Day page with a list of great Saints who can be intercessors in kids lives.  I love to introduce them to new Saints and give them some heavenly heroes to look up to and be inspired by. They also love using the Saints Name Generator to learn about new Saints and chose patrons.  Click on the image to go to the post:

10. An easy and cool art project is to make giant Saint medal using tin foil and a coloring page of a Saint (or student drawing).  I always have the kids make Miraculous Medals like this during our St. Maximilian Kolbe unit, but this year I had several early finishers ask if they could make a Saint medal too.  Here we have St. Max:

Sts. George, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hubert, and Christopher:

And St. John Paul II. Click on any of those images to read about our Miraculous Medals and you can use the same technique for Saints.

11. This post gives you seven ideas for celebrating a Patron Saint Day (ours is St. Joseph) but many of the ideas would transfer to All Saints Day as well.  Click on the image to go to the post:

12.  We aren't actually doing this on All Saints Day, but this year my class is making a point to celebrate the specific patron Saints of each class with them throughout the school year.  So on St. Vincent de Paul's feast day, we sent 2nd Grade a card, and on St. John Paul II's feast day we sent one to 3rd grade, etc.  You wouldn't have to wait all year though- using a list of classroom Saints, have your class send each of them a card on All Saints Day.

So there you have it!  Tons of options, so don't let this great Solemnity pass you by! :)
How will you be celebrating All the Saints with the kids in your life?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Linking up with the Blessed Is She blog for the topic The Communion of Saints!

Immaculate Heart of Mary & Hail Holy Queen Prayer Cards

I've been working on creating prayer cards to help my students add to their arsenal of memorized prayers. I've created two different versions of a prayer card with an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on one side and the Hail Holy Queen prayer on the other.  Click on any of the pictures below for the printables:

You might also like my Immaculate Heart of Mary coloring pages which can be found here.

Sacred Heart of Jesus & Anima Christi Prayer Cards

I've been working on creating prayer cards to help my students add to their arsenal of memorized prayers. I've created two different versions of a prayer card with an image of the Sacred Heart on one side and the Anima Christi prayer on the other.  Click on any of the pictures below for the printables:

You might also like my Sacred Heart of Jesus Coloring pages which can be found here.

The Healing Ministry of Jesus [Bible Study for Kids]

This mini-book Bible Study for kids is intended to help teachers and parents invite kids to dwell in Scripture and develop an understanding of the life of Jesus.  Seven of Christ's healing miracles can be read and discussed, either all at once or in separate settings.  Questions to help mull over and draw connections along with space to jot down thoughts is provided.

You could use this study in many ways- group study and discussion, individual time in Scripture and prayer, or ever as more of a scavenger hunt and share approach.  I made these Bible Studies to use with my students specifically as a way to help them understand that Christ instituted and is the minister of the Sacraments.  The Jesus of the Bible is the same Jesus that desires to know and be known by them.  This group of miracles was selected because each connects so well to the Sacraments of Anointing of the Sick and Reconciliation.  The character of these events points to the truth that in His great mercy Christ wants us to be made well both in body and in soul, and that he set provision for His healing ministry to continue in the Church today.

Miracles include the healing of:
-A blind man
-A paralyzed man
-The Centurion's servant
-The woman with a hemorrhage
-A deaf man
-The ten lepers
-Lazarus

After reading each story, the kids are invited to consider three questions:
-How do you see the healing work of Jesus in this story?
-How did the person (or witnesses) react?
-What Bible verse sticks with you from this passage?

Click here for the four page printable: (Print two sided, cut horizontally, layer, fold vertically, staple.  Order doesn't really matter- with the exception of the cover- because the questions are the same for each miracle.)

You might also like this Kids' Bible Study on other (non healing) miracles of Jesus.

The Miracles of Jesus [Bible Study for Kids]

This mini-book Bible Study for kids is intended to help teachers and parents invite kids to dwell in Scripture and develop an understanding of the life of Jesus.  Seven of Christ's miracles can be read and discussed, either all at once or in separate settings.  Questions to help mull over and draw connections along with space to jot down thoughts is provided.

You could use this study in many ways- group study and discussion, individual time in Scripture and prayer, or ever as more of a scavenger hunt and share approach.  I made these Bible Studies to use with my students specifically as a way to help them understand that Christ instituted and is the minister of the Sacraments.  The Jesus of the Bible is the same Jesus that desires to know and be known by them.  This group of miracles was selected because each connects so well to the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  The miracle of the Transubstantiation is embedded in the character of these events from the life of Christ.

Miracles in the study include:
-Wedding at Cana
-Large catch of fish
-Walking on water
-Feeding of 5000
-Calming of the storm
-Transfiguration
-Resurrection

After reading each story, the kids are invited to consider three questions:
-How did people react to the miracle?
-What Bible verse sticks with you from this passage?
-How does this miracle connect with ways Jesus works in our lives and in the Church today?

All of these stories can point to a continuing message of the mercy of God, his desire to make His power known to us in ways we can understand, and the continuing of ministry of miracles through the Church and Her Sacraments.

Click here for the four page printable: (Print two sided, cut horizontally, layer, fold vertically, staple.  Order doesn't really matter- with the exception of the cover- because the questions are the same for each miracle.)

Come back on Wednesday for a second Bible Study focusing specifically on the healing ministry of Jesus.

7QT: All the Fall & Teaching About Halloween

Congrats to Kelly & Jen on seven years of Seven Quick Takes!  This is only the 27th time that I have written and linked up, but it is always a great place to find new blogs for reading and making connections.  Hop on over to This Ain't the Lyceum and check out the celebration!

Because it is oh-so-wonderful right now in central Illinois, I am going to write about all the things that I am loving about fall.  But I'm not talking your typical sweater-wearing-pumpkin-spice-drinking-bonfire-sitting kind of list.  (trust me, I love all those things, too.) This is more of a list of an unexpected pieces from the season that I relish.

[1] I love that this is the only time of the year I actually want to see the colors red, orange, and yellow in my home and wardrobe.  Colors I hate strongly dislike December-September become mainstays October-November.

[2] I have just about as many decorations for fall as I have for Christmas.  Five fall wreathes too much for one apartment?  Say it isn't so.

[3] Fall is my absolute favorite time to be a farm kid.  The beauty of farm ground during harvest and the celebration of the yield of another year's work can't be matched.

[4] On that note, I love the way that my dad smells in the fall when I hug him.  It is a unique combination of corn dust, motor oil, dirt, and a slight hint of moth balls.  It's the best.

[5] I love the bounty of the harvest season.  Especially now with the trends of farmers' markets, food co-ops, and farm to table restaurants, even those whose feet have always dwelled on concrete can appreciate and understand what a good and abundant time of year this is and remember with gratitude God's provision.

[6] The dropping temperatures give me cause to layer on the hoodies and stack up the quilts on my bed.  I prefer to sleep with the windows open as long as possible, and will let my apartment stay cold just for the fresh air and the excuse to drink another cup of coffee while wrapped up in a blanket.

[7] And finally, my number 7 favorite thing about fall right now is looking forward to teaching my fifth graders about Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls Day.  Honestly, a few years ago I would not be including Halloween in that mix.  But ever since Bonnie started planning stellar Catholic All Saints/Halloween parties and asked/helped me create some resources for teaching about Halloween, I have so enjoyed sharing with my students the truth behind the traditions.

If you have kiddos of your own or teach or are a catechist, please click on the image below for several free printables including a mini coloring book and several coloring pages about the Catholic-ness of Halloween, All Saints, All Souls, praying for the dead, heaven, hell, and purgatory, relics and more:

So what are some unexpected things that you are all about in the fall?  And don't forget to go visit Kelly for more Seven Quick Takes!

Sacred Heart of Jesus Coloring Pages

"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, 

Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. 

You are my refuge and my sanctuary." 

~ St. Gertrude the Great

In connection to the upcoming Year of Mercy, here are some printables to use for teaching and spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Click here for a coloring page with the picture, stained glass background, and "Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy on Us."

 

Click here for a coloring page with the Sacred Heart on a stained glass background

Click here for a coloring page with the picture and "Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy on Us."

Click here for a coloring page with just the Sacred Heart:

And you might also like these Immaculate Heart of Mary Coloring pages: