Our Lady Queen of Peace Homeschool

St. Faustina/Mercy Little Flower lesson plans

Download plans here:

Download St. Faustina_Mercy 9_09

Our Lady of Guadalupe Lesson Plans for Little Flowers

Way back in 2006 (it's hard to remember what life was like back then...I had a 10 yr old, 8 year old, 6 year old, 4 year old and an almost 2 year old...)Life was busy.  What an appropriate time to discuss Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and the unborn!  I had decided to have a lesson about OLOG because the saint I had originally chosen (St. Maria Goretti) had a life story a bit too intense/mature for our younger little flower girls.  :)

I came across the lesson plans I used when I was cleaning out old files recently.  :)

Here it is:

Download Little Flowers OLOG plans

and a brief bio I sketched together:

Download OLOGuadalupe bio

and the Diary of an Unborn Child:

Download Diary of an unborn child 1

Beautiful Lasting Crafts for Little Flowers Girls' Club

Download Littleflowercrafts

Click on the link for online sources for crafts for LFGC.  :)

Little Flowers Presentation on St. Frances Cabrini/Industry

Daffodil--Industry

 "In the same way, faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17

Industriousness is work! Work is something that many frown at, but is necessary. List some of the jobs you do around the house. Work is most pleasing to God when it is done well and done with a cheerful heart. What are some ways we can work for the Church? (Church cleaning!) Work is most pleasing to God when it is done well and done with a cheerful heart. How do your mothers work? What do they do? (Raise the family, run the house!)

Your father's job is to work to provide for you, your brothers and sisters and your mother. What kind of work did St. Joseph do to support the Holy Family? (He was a carpenter.) Pope John Paul II was described as one of the hardest-working Popes ever! His health was very poor and he suffered Our current pope, Benedict, works tirelessly for the Church, as well.  Let's say a "Hail Mary" for him!

Saint St. Frances Cabrini (aka: Mother Cabrini)

 --Read from Lives of Saints --founded orphanages, helped the poor, taught children, went to many cities founding other religious houses, orphanages, hospitals and schools! Over 60 institutions!

 --Because of all her hard work for Italian Americans, she became a citizen of the US and was the first American to become a saint (1946)

Little Flowers Presentation on St. Mary of Bethany/Eutrapelia

Little Flowers

October 5, 2007

St. Mary, sister of Lazarus

Virtue: Eutrapelia

Flower: Dandelion

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31

Read Luke 10:38-42—Why is Mary a good example of eutrapelia (modest relaxation)?

A Eutrapelia night for the whole family—make a fun meal, watch a movie together. What are other ways to spend time relaxing as a family?

God has placed certain good things in our path--certain “refreshments” and we should not be afraid to enjoy them. St. Francis (whose feast day was yesterday) had a favorite cookie that one of his devoted followers would make for him whenever he asked. He knew how to enjoy this favorite food!

What are ways that we can help others to practice this virtue? Help mom around the house, play quietly so she can have some time to relax/pray/chat with a friend. Sometimes, moms and dads and other grown-ups can forget how to have fun—that is your job to help them remember to have fun and joy throughout the day.. How can you do that? You can also remind your parents to “slow down” and play a game or read you a book—especially if they have been busy—this is time that you can both cherish together. Celebrating feast days, name days, baptism days—these are all ways to have fun as a family and bring our faith alive and draw us closer to God!

Any ideas why the dandelion is our flower for this month? Well, it is thought by many to be a weed, but how many times have you enjoyed picking these pretty wildflowers and giving them to Mom? And what happens to them when they dry out? They become puffballs and are blown to the winds with wishes attached—what fun!

Read If Jesus Came to My House.

St. Mary:

She took time to restore herself at the foot of Jesus! If Jesus came to your house, would you want to do dishes and hide in the kitchen or would you want to restore yourself and be in His holy presence?

Craft:  Make an icon of St. Mary (prismacolors, black/white line drawing of icon of St. Mary, wooden plaques, gold paint)

Little Flowers Wreath 2: Justice/Bl. Mary of the Incarnation

Little Flowers

June 1, 2007

Justice – Bl. Mary of the Incarnation

Opening prayer

Bl. Mary of the Incarnation

--Color sheet

--read from Saints for Young Readers and LF book

Discuss virtue

Justice—consists in firmly and constantly giving to God and neighbor their due—being “just” and “fair” at all times.

—read about the Golden Rule from Bible for Young Catholics.

Tie in how Bl. Mary illustrates this virtue

Craft—part 1: Golden rulers—choose virtues and write them on ruler side that is already painted. Flip ruler over and paint and let dry

Snack

Craft—part2:

When rulers have dried, write the golden rule on the ruler. Then get beads and thread through pipe cleaner, twist shut—now ready to hang.

Clean up

Closing prayer

Little Flowers Presentation on St. Bridget of Sweden/Truthfulness

Little Flowers

Sept. 6, 2002

Virtue:  Truthfulness

How many of you can rollerblade?  How many can ride a bike?  You had to practice in order to do these things, didn’t you?  The same is true for virtues--which are good holy habits.  I bet you had a good teacher to show you how to ride your bike or skate--maybe your mom or dad or older brother or sister...  Our good Father in Heaven gives us many teachers experienced in virtue--Our Blessed Mother, Mary and the saints.  We can look to them for examples.  AND, we have our own personal coach in our Guardian Angel.    Today we are going to learn about the virtue of Truthfulness-- telling the truth; being honest.  It also means being real or true.  For instance, being a Roman Catholic is true!  Another example of truthfulness occurs in our friendships with others--honesty is the best policy.  IN the eighth commandment, God tells us “ Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  What does this mean?   We should not tell lies.  In other words, be truthful in all you do and say.

Craft for Virtue:  Handout black scratch paper.  Tell the girls that the sheet of paper

is a lie and they are to reveal the truth.

Now, St. Bridget, was a very good example of the virtue of truthfulness.  

Saint:  Bridget of Sweden

Show pictures of Saint.

Hand out and color picture of St. Bridget.

Read:

St. Bridget was a daughter of a prince of Sweden and was born exactly 700 years ago in the year 1302.  Her parents were very pious and holy.  She lost her mother soon after birth and was raised by an aunt.  She could not speak before the age of three, but as soon as she spoke, she began praising God. 

When Bridget was 10 years old, she was touched by a priest talking about the Passion of Our Lord--when he was crucified for our sins.  The following night she had a dream that she saw Our Lord, Jesus, nailed to the cross and all covered with blood and wounds.  At the same time she heard Jesus’ voice saying:  “Look upon Me, My daughter.”  Bridget said, “O Dear Lord, who has treated you so cruelly?”  Jesus answered, “Those who hate Me and spurn/reject My love for them.”  That mysterious vison left so deep an impression on St. Bridget that, from then on, everyday for the rest of her life,  she meditated and prayed on the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which drove her to tears and made her very, very sad.

When she was 15, she was married to a prince named Ulf and they had eight children.   One of her daughters became St. Catherine of Sweden!

St. Bridget also got to go to the court of the King of Sweden and be a “lady in waiting” to the Queen.  She tried to show the king and queen how to live a good Christian life  because they were not leading holy lives.  She always spoke the truth in love to them because she wanted them to become holy, too.  

After her husband died, she became a nun!  She founded her own order, the Order of the Most Holy Savior, the Bridgettines.  

From the revelations  given to St. Bridget by Jesus, we learn about the TRUTHS of our faith--how sin caused Jesus to suffer on the cross and die.   By practicing the virtue of truthfulness in what we say and what we do, we make Jesus happy.  We can love Him, serve Him and then be happy with Him  in Heaven! 

Craft:  Mary’s birthday Crown.  Make a crown and decorate it with colorful stickers to celebrate the birth of Our Blessed Mother (Sept. 8)    Can wear crown or use it to decorate the top of a birthday cake!

If time permits, 

Games:  

Maze handout

Who am I? 

Little Flowers Lesson Plan: Faith and St. Catherine of Siena

Below is the lesson plan I typed up for my presentation this past Tuesday at our new Little Flowers Group. Rose (6) is enjoying this new group.  It meets once monthly in the evenings and mothers stay with their girls (which works well for Rose who is a mama's girl).  I have had a daughter in Little Flowers for eight years and this was the first time I got St. Catherine to teach!  I was very grateful to learn more about this saint and be able to share it with the littles.  This group is just for five and six year olds, so I had to simplify things a bit, but I had fun and I think they did too.  I hope to post a picture of the craft soon.  My digital camera is broken, though. :(

   

An icon of St. Catherine--she is holding a small model of a church which symbolizes the Catholic Church and the One True Faith.

 

Little Flowers Girls' Club

September 16, 2008

Saint:  St. Catherine of Siena

Virtue:  Faith

Flower:  The Sunflower

Scripture Quote:  Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.”

Color Picture of St. Catherine.  Finish picture after prayers while I teach.

Opening Prayers

--Our Father

--Hail Mary

--Glory Be

--Prayer to St. Therese of the Child Jesus:  

“St. Therese, you who are called the Little Flower, pray that I may always live as a good child of God.  May I always do the little things of life extra well for the love of God.  St. Therese, you love flowers and you wanted to give to Jesus the flowers of many, many souls.  Now that you are in heaven, let fall upon earth a shower of roses by your prayers.  Bring many more souls to Jesus.  Pray to the Mother of God for us that she will smile on her children here on earth.  Amen.”

Faith:

Read Jesus' own words on faith from the Gospel of Luke 17:5-6: 

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied. 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.'"

Read from Catholic Book of Bible Stories:  The Faith of the Centurion

A mustard seed is very, very tiny. (Pass out a yellow mustard seed to each child). But once planted and watered, it grows into a huge tree. Jesus said a little faith can have wonderful results.  

 Who did the Centurion have faith in? God. And is there anything God can't do? No.  Can Jesus do anything we ask of Him? Absolutely.  So when we doubt, we are doubting God's ability. We must trust in God—that is what faith is.  Always Trusting even when it is hard.    It is the same with God!

The most important way you can show your faith is by obeying your mommy and daddy.  God gave Moses what?  The Ten Commandments!  By obeying the 4th Commandment:    “Honor your mother and father” you are showing that you love God and Jesus is very happy with you!  Is this always easy?  NO!  Sometimes we might want to continue playing when Mommy asks us to stop for dinner or clean up.  But by obeying quickly, we please God and our parents.

Other ways to show our faith?

-- Pray the Rosary

--Go to Mass every Sunday and Holy days

--Daily Mass if possible

--Pray for moms and babies

--Say Grace even when eating out—the sign of the cross is a prayer that shows others you are Catholic and proud of your faith!

--Ask for more examples from the girls...

Saint Catherine:

Read Story from Sixty Saints for Girls by Joan Windham and show different pictures of St. Catherine from saints books.

After story, discuss specifically St. Catherine's virtues—especially faith and obedience.  (The story does most of the work).

Sunflower:

From Fr. Lasance in 1906:  

“There is a flower that is very special.  It turns constantly to the sun, following it in its course; on this account it is called the sunflower.  Our faith may be compared to this flower, since it's gaze is ever fixed above, and turned toward the glorious sun of divine truth.”

Craft:  

Mosaic Votive Candle Holders with St. Catherine's image and the words, “St. Catherine, Pray for us.”  I chose a candle craft because the flame of a candle is symbolic of our faith and prayers lifted to God, especially when lit before a holy image.

Snack

Closing Prayer:

Angel of God

An Act of Faith:  O My God, I believe the truths that the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because You have made them known.

List of Virtues for Little Flowers' Girls Club

Little Flowers Girls' Club

A Garden of Virtues

Wreath I

Faith, Hope, Love of God, Love of Our Neighbor, Obedience, Piety, Humility, Industry, and Truthfulness.

Wreath II

Mercy, Courage, Joy, Generosity, Prudence, Wisdom, Justice, Loyalty, and Perseverance

Wreath III

Eutrapelia, Friendliness, Initiative, Orderliness, Self-Control, Responsibility, Patience, Cheerfulness, and Fortitude

Wreath IV

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord.