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Tuesday, October 31, 2023

November Radiant Roundup

November, the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
It's the month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, a time that the Church Militant here on earth focuses our prayers on the Church Suffering. We also strive to orient our own gazes to Heaven, knowing that this life is only temporary. The days of Hallowtide- Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls- give us a perfect opportunity to teach kids about eternity and the hope that we have in Jesus. Here some activities for Hallowtide, as well as upcoming Saints' Feast Days and looking ahead to planning for Advent!

All Saints: November 1st
12+ Ideas for Celebrating Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls Day*
Saint Scavenger Hunt*
Digital Saint Scavenger Hunt
All Saints Day Art Project
Beatitudes and Modern Saints Card Game*
All Saints Day Info Coloring Page*
Happy All Saints Day Coloring Page*
All Saints Day Litany Prayer Cards*
Saintly Friends Bingo Game (and book recs for Saint Pairs)* (all ages)
Saints Q&A Activity Book (5th-8th)*
Saint Trading Card Classroom Reward System (K-8th)
12+ Ideas for Celebrating All Saints Day* (K-8th)
Saint Pennants* (all ages)
Saint Pennants in more sizes*

Two sets of clickable Saint Jeopardy, ready to play with a group or set up for an individual to test their knowledge. You can also make a copy and edit to add in your own favorite Saints!



All Souls: November 2nd
All Saints and All Souls Day Letters*
All Souls Day Prayer Cards (Eternal Rest Prayer)*
Memento Mori Printables*
All About Relics Activity Book (5th-8th)*
12+ Ideas for Celebrating Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls Day*

Memento Mori Visio Divina & Reflections
This slide show is intended for junior high and high schoolers to start a conversation on living each day with Heaven in mind, as well as praying for the dead. It included a recommended video, a set of art to use with Visio Divina, and a collection of Saint and Scripture quotes to use for discussion or journaling.
And here's a printable guide to the steps for Visio Divina the kids can use to help with discussion or a written reflection of the included art.

Photos to print here and awesome coloring pages from artist Fabiola Garza here.
My students used all of these tools, some books, and online research to create posters about these six holy men and women.



Solemnity of Christ the King: November 26th
Christ the King Music Playlist on YouTube
Feast of the Miraculous Medal: November 27th
St. Catherine Laboure: November 28th
Miraculous Medal Embroidery Pattern* and links to free resources

St. Andrew: November 30th




And in case you'd like to plan ahead, here are some links to help you have a peaceful and prayerful Advent!
Advent: 1st Sunday of Advent- December 3rd
What Advent Looks Like* Coloring Page
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany Ideas 2019
Advent Family Calendar (structure & activity ideas, includes an editable version)*
Weekly Advent Reflection Slides (Editable for Google Classroom)
Advent & Christmas Videos
Advent Music Playlist
Sacred Art Visio Divina for Advent (Digital Resources)
New Advent Resources
Printable Advent Wreath Candles*
Printable Advent Wreath Candles (Spanish)*
Printable Advent Wreath Candles (Dutch)*
Advent Traditions for Anyone and Everyone *
Advent Family Traditions*
Decorating for Advent
Advent Today
Favorite Advent Videos
Advent Trivia Jeopardy
Advent Prayer Ring*
Advent Prayer Cards for Each Sunday (Year C)*
Advent Weekly Reflections

New Liturgical Year Resources
The Liturgical Year Coloring Book*
Liturgical Year Calendar
Liturgical Year Printable & Colorable Calendar
Decorating for the Liturgical Year
Liturgical Year Board Game
Monthly Devotion Signs*
Ideas for Living the Liturgical Year in the Classroom*

Books for Advent


And if you haven't checked it out yet, now would be a great time to order my new book All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Wonder and Hope with Children so you have it in plenty of time for Advent! Read more about it (and all the special bonus printables) here:



You can find the links to the monthly Radiant Roundups here:

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November Books for Catholic Kids

November Catholic Kids Book List

Below are a few favorite titles that fit well with devotions and feast days this month! This list contains Amazon Affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. I'd also love to encourage you to shop directly with the publisher or with your local bookshop, or try to request these at your local library! I'm sure I've missed some books that would be great for this month, so feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments! You can find my giant list of Catholic Kid Books by topic here.

All Month- All Saints Day!
Cloud of Witnesses- Warner, Katie
You Were Born to Be a Saint, Kortnee Senn
Sleepytime Saints: A to Z- Michael and Marcy Kelleher
An Alphabet of Saints
Lily Lolek, Future Saint, Warner, Katie
Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times- Bausch, Megan
Picture Book of Saints- Lovasik, Fr. (and others in series)
Saints for Young Readers for Every Day- Wallace, Susan
Light of Heaven: A Children's Book of Saints, Adalee Hude
Light of Heaven, Saints Coloring Book, by Adalee Hude
Fools for Heaven, Stephanie Petters
Light of the Saints, Cory Heimann
In the Footsteps of the Saints (any in series)
Loyola Kids Book of Saints- Welborn, Amy
Saints and Their Stories- Giraldo, Maria Loretta
Saints Tell Their Stories- Mitchell, Paula
Our Friends in Heaven, Volume 1 & 2- The Daughters of St. Paul
Saints Around the World- Hunter-Kilmer, Meg
Heroes of Virtue- Sheridan, Robert
How to Be a Hero- Harrell, Julia
The Book of Saints and Heroes- Lang, Andrew
Ablaze: Stories of Daring Teen Saints- Swaim, Colleen
Radiate: More Stories of Daring Teen Saints- Swaim, Colleen
Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage
A Saint a Day: 365 True Stories of Faith and Heroism, Meredith Hines
The Saint Chronicles (Series)- Multiple Authors
Illustrated Lives of the Saints- Hoever, Hugo
Complaints of the Saints- Hill, Sr. Mary Lea
Encyclopedia of Saints- Bunson
In Caelo et in Terra: 365 Days with the Saints- The Daughters of St. Paul
Brilliant: 25 Catholic Scientists, Mathematicians, and Supersmart People- David Michael Warren and Jaclyn Warren
Pray for Us: 75 Saints who Sinned, Suffered, and Struggled on Their Way to Holiness, Meg Hunter-Kilmer (For older kids, contains more sensitive topics)


All Month- Black Catholic History Month
Fr. Augustus Tolton- Liturgical Training Press
Julia Greely- Secret Angel to the Poor, Maura Roan McKeegan
Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood, Michael Heinlein
Thea Bowman: We are Beloved, Karianna Frey
From Slave to Priest: The Inspirational Story of Fr. Augustus Tolton, Hemesath
Abba Moses, Andrew Votipka


11/2- All Souls Day
Heaven is a Wonderful Place
Today Someone I Loved Passed Away
Sometimes Life is Just Not Fair: Hope for Kids Through Grief and Loss

Saints & Feast Days
11/3- St. Martin de Porres
Mother Cabrini: Missionary to the World- Keyes
11/17- St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Saint Elizabeth's Three Crowns- Thompson
11/18- St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
11/23- St. Clement of Rome
The Miraculous Medal- Mary Fabyan Windeatt
11/28- St. Catherine Laboure
The Jesse Tree for Families- Colleen Pressprich
Jacob's Gift- Lucado, Max
The Crippled Lamb- Lucado, Max
Voices of Christmas- Grimes, Nikki
Aaron's Secret Message, Pfister, Marcus
The Fourth Wise Man- Summers, Susan
The Night the Saints Saved Christmas- Jagla, Gracie
Celebrate the Season; Twelve Short Stories for Advent and Christmas- Lynch, Diane M.
Sisters of the Last Straw #5: The Case of the Christmas Tree Capers, Karen Kelly Boyce
Christmas Around the Fire, Ryan N. S. Topping
The Jesse Tree Advent Journal, Lumen Ecclesiae Press
O Come, Emmanuel, Kendra Tierney
The Family of Jesus: A Jesse Tree Scripture Study, Michele Chronister
Tomorrow I Will Come, A Little Guide to the O Antiphons, Michele Chronister
Create. Destroy. Redeem. Advent Journal- LifeTeen
Joy to the World- Stefanick, Chris
Advent and Christmas One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, Katie Prejean McGrady & Tommy McGrady

If you haven't checked it out yet, now would be a great time to order my new book All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Wonder and Hope with Children so you have it in plenty of time for Advent! Read more about it (and all the special bonus printables) here:


Book Lists By Month:
Click on the images below for book lists organized by feast days and devotions for each month:
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Saint Jeopardy Games

Saint Jeopardy Games

Each slide show has over 35 Saint trivia questions, set up in Jeopardy (answer, then question style). You can used these as is and play with your students, have a kid click through individually to test their knowledge, or make a copy and customize with Saints of your choice. (Note, these were originally based on the Confirmation Saints from my last couple of classes of students, so they truly are random. And there will be a few repeats between the two games. ;) )

Click here for Set One:

Click here for Set Two:
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Black American Catholics on the Path to Sainthood

While February is recognized as Black History Month, November is specifically Black CATHOLIC History Month. It's a perfect time to learn the stories of Black Catholics from around the world, including the six Black Americans on the road to Sainthood.

Servant God Thea Bowman, Venerable Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Servant of God Julia Greely, and Venerable Mother Henriette DeLille all led remarkable lives centered on love of Christ and neighbor. To help my students get to know them better, I used this Black American Catholics Research Page to help them learn a few basics about their lives. 

I also printed the photos found here 
and used these awesome coloring pages from artist Fabiola Garza here.

And I pulled out these books in my classroom (Amazon affiliate links):

My students used all of these tools, books, and online research to create posters about these six holy men and women. They each chose one person to create a mini poster about, highlighting key info from their lives, and then sharing with their classmates. It was a quick but effective project that you are welcome to try in your own classroom!


You might also like:
Ven. Augustus Tolton: Eucharistic Witnesses* (two levels, also in Spanish)

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Memento Mori Visio Divina & Reflections

November is the month dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Whether during the month of November, around Halloween, or even during the Season of Lent, this Memento Mori collection of art can help us reflect on "remember your death."

This slide show is intended for junior high and high schoolers to start a conversation on living each day with Heaven in mind, as well as praying for the dead. It includes a recommended video, a set of art to use with Visio Divina, and a collection of Saint and Scripture quotes to use for discussion or journaling.

Click here for the slides:

 Memento Mori Visio Divina & Reflections

And here's a printable guide to the steps for Visio Divina the kids can use to help with discussion or a written reflection of the included art.

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Sunday, October 29, 2023

Eucharistic Witnesses: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

 I'm honored to be contributing to the Heart of the Revival, the newsletter and blog for the National Eucharistic Revival. I've written several articles and created activities for kids (like this Eucharistic Procession, Mass Offering Cards, Pilgrimage Passport, Pope Benedict XVI quotes, Art for Holy Week, and Bl. Carlo Acutis Activities). 

I've also been helping with a monthly series called American Eucharistic Witnesses. This collection highlights Americans whose lives have been changed by the gift of the Eucharistic. With a different expert author each month and an original woodcut print by the talented Connor Miller, I've been tasked with creating a version of this series for children. Each booklet contains a shorter bio and the art print on the front and back, and inside has some activities like a quote to color, a timeline to put in order, reflection questions, and short comprehension questions to answer. One booklet is for older children (I'd recommend 5th-8th grade) and another for younger children (I'd recommend 2nd-4th grade). The collection matches in structure and we'll finish the series with a final project to pull all the booklets together. 

Read the original article about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton here, and find the kids' activities below. (including in Spanish!)


St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Biography Activity for Older Kids in English



St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Biography Activity for Younger Kids in English


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