Kindergarten -At Home Lesson for Nov 1-13 (class Nov 14)

Dear Parents,
   Our first Faith Formation class went very well!  The kids all introduced themselves using their posters and everyone participated in the activities.  Here’s a recap of what we did:

• We reviewed God as Creator of the entire universe-including every person, even US
• We made bookmarks with “3 cords” of colored yarn to represent the Holy Trinity
• We used an apple and storybook to compare an apple to the 3 parts of God (Trinity)
• We introduced making the Sign of the Cross and made “buddies” to help us practice at home

   Our next class is 11/14 and we will be talking about God as our heavenly Father. We’ll talk about how we are all part of God’s family and how He would like us to act as kind, helpful and generous brothers and sisters to each other.  One of the greatest lessons we can teach our children is to have a generous spirit and sense of service to others around us. Thanksgiving time is the perfect time to highlight this. 
   We will also be discussing baptism and becoming part of God’s family.
   We will make a short visit to church to practice the Sign of the Cross with Holy Water (keep practicing at home!) and genuflecting at the pew.  We will also take a peek at St Mary’s baptismal font.
   We will share our “rock” stories, service stories, and baptism stories (see below) with each other.
   We will be working on a wall hanging project each time we gather (will include a symbol representing the part of God we learned about during that particular class).  At the end of the year they will bring these home.
    Please work on the following projects at home before class.  These involve 3 different and important types of service we can share with others… try to find examples in your life for the kids to get involved with.
 

1. Serving (helping) someone you know or love. There are so many ways to do this! (Examples: make cookies for a friend, rake neighbor’s leaves, send a card to a grandparent, help clean a sibling’s room, etc). Help the kids come up with their ideas!
2. Perform random acts of kindness. This means doing something loving for someone you don’t even know and not expecting “credit” for it. The kids brought home (from last class) a paper bag with a rock, paint, and brush inside. Help them think of an encouraging word or phrase to paint on the rock (with your help)! Examples:  TRY AGAIN! , GOD LOVES YOU, YOU CAN DO IT!  DON’T GIVE UP, LOOK FOR JOY). Place the rock where a stranger may find it and be uplifted--a park, under a tree, etc. I am sure the kids can come up with good ones! We will share what we wrote and where we put our rocks in class. As a family, look for other opportunities to perform random acts of kindness and talk about it
3. Serve (help) the underprivileged. There are many opportunities this time of year (and always) to help those in need. Help your child become actively involved in giving (examples:  go through toys and donate any items they no longer play with, donate children’s hats/mittens to “Christmas Outreach” program by dropping off in wooden box in Dougherty Hall entrance before December 5, donate non-perishable food to CCIA food pantry – collection box in entrance of Doughery Hall, purchase an item at Dollar Store and add to their collection box, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army red kettle, etc). Any type of giving to the needy is perfect! Explain to your child the importance of helping those less fortunate.
4. In class, we will be talking about baptism. Take a few minutes to tell your child about THEIR baptism… Where was it? Who was there? Who were the godparents? Did they sleep through it or cry? If possible, have your child bring in a small momento from their baptism, like a photo or special book, candle, etc. We will share stories with others in class. If your child hasn’t been baptized yet, that’s ok! Discuss someone else’s baptism...

   Thank you so much for your help and support of your child’s faith formation!
   Once again, we will be sending home a bag with some materials for the “homework” for December’s class. One item will be a “countdown to Advent” paper chain… every day a chain can be removed and it gives possible crafts or activities your family may want to consider.  Advent begins November 28, so you’ll want to pull that out at that time.
   There will also be a project for the kids to work on to help them start to learn the Hail Mary—this can be done closer to our December class-more details to follow well before then.

November at-home activity for ALL grade levels: We are hoping to spread some Thanksgiving cheer around our community and would love for you to help us with that. Before our November 14th in-person gathering, please create a Thanksgiving card that can be shared with someone that may need a little extra cheer this season. The design and cheerful/thankful message can be any you choose, but for safety's sake, we ask that the kids only sign their FIRST name inside the card. Bring the card(s) with you to our November 14th gathering and we will send them on to parishioners and/or community members on our prayer list, in living facilities, in the hospital, etc. Thank you for your help with this project! :)

Kindergarten-At Home Lesson for the week of October 9-17

One of the lessons we will be exploring in class on Sunday Oct 17 is the nature of God the Creator.

Please work on the following projects at home before class:

1. Take a walk around your home, yard, street or neighborhood. Together, point out all the wonderous things you see, hear and smell. Thank God for all these things-explaining that He created everything in the universe.
2. Make a poster (doesn’t have to be large or elaborate- use whatever materials you have on hand-a plain sheet of paper or side of a cardboard box works) of items you can think of that God created.  Bring this to class to share with the other kids. Examples- draw pictures of stars, moon, sun; glue on leaves, pebbles, small pine cones; or draw pictures of beautiful places you have been or seen
3. Discuss with your child that God created all people on Earth too, each one with special features and talents.  Explain that God knows every single person he created by name and loves us all. Help your child think of the special things God created in THEM.
4. Make another poster or sheet of paper with items or drawings that symbolize what makes them special and unique.  Bring to class – the kids will use these to introduce themselves to the class. Examples: blue eyes like my grandpa, big smile that helps me make people laugh, fast legs that help me be good at soccer, good at math or reading
5.  If possible, watch the following 4 minute video on God’s creation of the world. God’s Story: Creation-You Tube   
6. Parents:  See below the main items we will be covering in class. Ask questions about the projects and what they mean.  Thank You!  Hopefully the kids will be excited to share what they learned!

 

• Kids will introduce themselves and share their posters about God’s creation in THEM and in the universe around us
• We will discuss the concept of The Holy Trinity (God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).  We will make bookmarks to symbolize and remind us of the power of the Trinity.  Ask the kids what the colors and symbols mean (Gold + crown= God the Father, Purple+cross = God the Son, White+dove = Holy Spirit)
• We will learn to make the sign of the cross and discuss times to use (in church, prayers before bed or meals).  There will be a take home activity for the kids to use to practice making the sign of the cross.  Try practicing once a day (at meal or bedtime with a short prayer)
• We will visit entrance of church and practice with Holy Water!