High engagement, well made, quality content resources are a dream come true for teachers of all kinds, but unfortunately they sometimes can be hard to come by in Religious Education. When it comes to something as important as the Church Liturgical Year, it's crucial to both instruct about the Seasons as well as participate in them. We use our Liturgical Coloring Book and Liturgical Calendars throughout the year in my classroom, but I'm excited to share with you another awesome way to work on knowledge about the Church Year with your students.
*I was provided with a free copy of Feast Day! The Liturgical Board Game in exchange for an honest review. I only recommend things that I have used and love, and these opinions are entirely my own.
This fall while speaking at a conference in Georgia, I fortunate enough to also participate in the day and chose to attend a workshop about teaching the Liturgical Year. This workshop was a little different than the typical speaker/presentation you expect because it involved playing an awesome new board game called Feast Day!, which all the adult participants (catechists, DREs, and teachers) loved. After talking with the creator of the game, I knew I had to share it with my students (and you, dear readers!), so I brought home a copy to try.
Before I tell you more about the game, let me give you the solid feedback of my 5th graders. A small group was playing (they were playing with eight kids, using partner play- the game is traditionally set up for 2-4 players). When it was time to clean up, they all actively groaned and asked if they could just have a few more minutes. This isn't super surprising behavior from ten-year-olds, but it is surprising when the game they are playing is actually a learning game about the faith, the place they were heading next was PE, which is their favorite time of the day! They told me that they loved that they knew most of the questions (or at least could work together to figure it out) and that they were always finding new symbols all over the game board to talk about.
Feast Day! takes its players through the entire Liturgical Year with 52 game spaces for the 52 Sundays of the year matched to corresponding Seasonal colors. The path also features important Feast Days throughout the year, such as All Saints Day, Pentecost, etc. As players move through the year starting in Advent, they advance Sundays by rolling dice and then have the chance to collect Feast Day! cards for each season. Extra cards can be collected on Feast Day! spots.
The cards contain important facts about the Life of Christ and teachings of the Church that are woven through the Liturgical Year. They are filled with information that is not watered down, but is also attainable for younger learners or those new to the faith. I could also totally see pulling just the cards out to use for fun trivia or a quick review.
The board game (and all the materials) is professionally printed with original illustrations of the Church year, Life of Christ, Bible stories, and Saints. The images themselves could lend to great conversations and connections. I loved how the symbols of the four Gospel writers frames each corner of the board, showing the Liturgical Year is wrapped in Scripture from beginning to end.
I'm so glad that I was introduced to Feast Day!- I know it is going to become a staple in my classroom. It would be a great fit in a CCD class as well, and certainly could be played together as a family. We need more products like this in Religious Education to help us pass on the faith in a fun and relevant way! You can see more info and reviews or order your own copy of Feast Day! here.
