Ascension of Jesus Crafts for Kids

Ascension Thursday is coming up fast! Last year, I posted cute food ideas for celebrating the ascension. My suggestion for this year? Use a craft as a learning tool for teaching your kids what the ascension is all about! Luckily I have several crafts on display for you to choose from:

Exhibit A: Adorable Ascension craft from Oriental Trading!

Ok, how cute is this ascension craft? You pull the string, and Jesus disappears into the blue paper cup "sky". What a great idea! Ya, you could order the kits from Oriental Trading company... if I had posted this in enough time for you to do so. Ahem. BUT, I'm quite sure that Catholic Icing readers are crafty enough to figure out how to buy their own blue paper cups and cotton balls. I think you could use my printable Risen Jesus for this craft as long as you got big cups (like the plastic solo cups, which totally come in blue).

Exhibit B: Easy Ascension Thursday Centerpiece

In last year's Ascension post, I featured an adorable centerpiece idea. This year I'm planning a simpler verions of it myself. I'm going to fill a wine glass with cotton ball "clouds" and turn it upside down, setting the Risen Jesus from my Printable Resurrection set on top. Ta-da- Ascending Jesus!

Exhibit C: An Ascension Craft from 10 Kids and a Dog.

Not only does this look like a fun craft, but it certainly makes for a striking visual when it's all strung up above your dinner table! Find directions for making this ascension craft here.

If you're looking for a simpler way to celebrate Ascension Thursday with your family this year, try printing a beautiful Ascension coloring page from St. John's for free!

Also, be sure to check out the Catholic Toolbox for lesson plans with tons of ideas and links for the Ascension of Jesus! (Have I ever told ya'll how much I love The Catholic Toolbox? Well, let me tell ya- I LOVE The Catholic Toolbox!) 

I had a rockin' idea for an ascension craft, but our stomach bug has really slowed me down around here. Oh, well- maybe next year! Happy (almost) Ascension Thursday!

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Make a Mini Mary Garden with Kids

This week the kids and I made some Mary garden terrariums! Not only was this super fun, but it opens the door to discussing evaporation, plants, roots, and honoring Mary.

I want to start out by saying that I'm not a garden expert, nor am I an expert on terrarium making. I read all about making terrariums with kids here, and it had a lot of great information! For all I know you're going to tell me that I let my kids plant poison ivy in their terrariums (although I certainly hope not).

We made our terrariums using apple sauce jars because, well... my kids eat tons of apple sauce. Pickle jars would have been better because they have a wider mouth for arranging the plants. My kids could fit their hands into the jars, but I couldn't. I was able to use a stick to help arrange things.

We put some potting soil in the bottom, and planted some inpatients. I'm sure the inpatients weren't the best choice because they grow too big, but I had them on hand so that's what we used.

Then we walked around the yard and I let them select some other things for their terrariums- plants, rocks, whatever. I think you could even add some bugs if you wanted.

We also added some moss.

The moss was great because it can go in front of your Mary statue without being tall and covering her up.

We used Mary statues from old nativity sets- you know- the ones you don't set out at Christmas anymore because you have so many, but don't get rid of because, well, who gets rid of nativity sets? You can piece out old St. Joseph statues for mini St. Joseph altars, too. :-)

I actually had some trouble finding Mary statues that were skinny enough to fit into the narrow jar openings, so make sure you test your Mary statue before you begin. My kids were able to help me place my Mary statue in my jar since my hand didn't fit. It was nice for them to get to help me for a change! ;-)

Once you're all finished, water your mini Mary garden and put on the lid! Terrariums are great because they water themselves! This is a huge plus to me, because I do NOT have a green thumb. Remembering to water house plants around here is just never going to happen. Look how happy Lydia is with her mini Mary garden!

By the way, these terrariums are the most challenging craft I have ever had to photograph for this blog!

We are proudly displaying our mini Mary gardens on a shelf on our porch. We practically live on our porch this time of year! If you'd like to make something really classy for display, you can try making terrariums in apothecary jars.

Fortunately, the shelf is tall enough keep them out of Violet's reach. :-)

This was a super fun outdoor activity that my kids absolutely loved, and I'll admit that I had a lot of fun with this one, too. Plus, it's super cheap if you just use plants from around your yard. Now, if only I could spruce up my real Mary garden....

Toldja I don't have a green thumb. ;-)

Plus, my poor Mary statue needs to be glued back together again. Again.

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Saint Xavier Spoon Craft

Catholic ABC's Week: 28
Letter of the week: X
Theme: St. Xavier
Saint of the Week: St. Xavier
Craft: Spoon Saint Xavier
 

You can get wooden craft spoons at your local craft store. These are simple to make, and a lot of fun!

 

How to Make a St. Xavier Spoon Saint

Start with a wooden craft spoon. Have the kids use markers to add a face and hair- googly eyes are fun for this project! Cut the clothes out of black construction paper and attach with glue. You can cut little ovals for hands out of construction paper or a manila file folder. Tie a little piece of twine, embroidery floss, or yarn around his waist, and give him a pipe cleaner cross. (Better yet, salvage a little crucifix from an old broken rosary.) We finished off this craft with an "X" sticker from our foam alphabet stickers.

We watched Francis Xavier and the Samurai's Lost Treasure DVD which was a lot of fun! This is a cute movie, and full of adventure (read- great for little boys!). Some of the movies made by this company (CCC of America) are a little scary for small kids, and I don't love all of them, but this one I recommend without reservations. While these movies aren't "Disney quality", they are pretty good. If you don't want to buy it without seeing it first, you can rent it from Pius Media, and coupon code BVM1 will give 50% off your first month's subscription with them. Yay!! :-)

In this movie, St. Francis Xavier saves a child from a tiger, deters pirates, and is protected by God from a pit of hungry alligators! The black pom pom ball is our "black pearl". This was a really fun movie to make crafts for! So we made a spoon craft alligator, tiger, and pirate as well!

Tiger Spoon Craft
Color with orange marker, add face with black marker, cut out construction paper ears with black marker details, and wind with a piece of black embroidery foss for the stripes.

Alligator Spoon Craft
Color spoon green with marker, and glue on googly eyes. Use zig zag scissors to cut out teeth and stripes, then attach with glue.

Pirate Spoon Craft
Draw on beard with a brown marker, then add googly eyes. fold a hat using black construction paper, and glue on his head. Use a red marker to add stripes to his shirt.

We were really into this one (my kids being excited about the movie and all) so then we crafted an alligator out of a clothes pin. This was really fun! We colored him with a marker, and used 2 sideways green pony beads to hold the googly eyes on top of his head. Again with the zig zag scissors for his teeth, and we folded some construction paper accordion style to glue on his back. You can make the alligator open and close his mouth by pinching the clothes pin, but God protects St. Francis Xavier from being attacked! ;-)

Have fun learning about St. Xavier and the letter X! :-)

Grab Bag Ideas for the Letter X: (be sure to check out the Classroom Script for directions on using the grab bag.) picture of an X-ray, Xylophone, foX, boX, crucifiX, waX, the number siX, plastic aX, toolboX.

For More Resources, check out the Catholic Toolbox lesson plans for the Letter Xx. (Her Xx lesson is on Xerxes.)

Catholic ABC's runs here at Catholic Icing every Wednesday with the new letter of the week. You can find the details of the program here.

Linking this post up at Tatertots & Jello.


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How to Choose Flowers for Your Mary Garden

I always thought that Mary gardens were just a garden that included a Mary statue. (Although you don't even need a Mary statue- check out these ideas for making a statueless Mary garden). Beyond the statue, there are certain kinds of flowers that go into the gardens that symbolize different aspects of Mary! There are literally hundreds (depending on your climate zone, etc) but being a beginner myself, I've put together a "beginner's list" of symbolic flowers for your Mary garden.

Marigolds are a very popular choice because there are 

legends associated with marigolds adorning Mary's garments. 

It's also said that marigolds are named for the 

"Golden Virgin Mary".

Blue and white flowers are very popular choices 

for Mary gardens because those are her colors! :-)

Roses are other good choice. They are associated with the rosary,

and are often depicted with Mary in artwork.

Rosemary has a legend associated with Mary's flight to Egypt.

It is said that she stopped to rest under a rosemary bush and spread

her cloak on it to dry- Then the blossoms changed from white to blue!

Another popular choice- the Madonna Lily.

They symbolize purity and virginity.

Anne from Under her Starry Mantel has a beautiful post

on the different types of flowers that go into a Mary garden

and what they symbolize. Well done, Anne!

If you're still looking for more ideas, check this site
for more Marian flower symbols. Hapy Mary gardening! :-)

Related Posts:

Our Lady and the Ladybug

Mary Garden Crafts and Ideas 

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Toss Your Nets to the Other Side {Teaching tools for kids}

So we're still learning about tossing our nets to the other side. Here's a craft that goes with the bible story.

This craft is mostly pre-cut-out fun foam stickers on foam board. The little "net" (which is a piece of touile used to wrap wedding favors) sticks on with velcro and is removable. The little fishermen are also removable, and just stick into the slit in the boat. You gotta love interactive crafts! ;-)

Also, here's a great song that you can use to tech your children about the toss your nets to the other side bible story!

Toss Your Nets to the Other Side Song for Kids
(To the tune of 10 Little Indians)

Peter James and John in a sailboat,
Peter James and John in a sailboat,
Peter James and John in a sailboat,

Couldn't catch any fish!

Jesus appeared on the beach,
Jesus appeared on the beach,
Jesus appeared on the beach,
and told the apostles this:

"Cast your nets to the other side"
"Cast your nets to the other side"
"Cast your nets to the other side"
so the apostles did.

Now their nets were full of fish,
Now their nets were full of fish,
Now their nets were full of fish,
and they recognized the Lord!

This would be a great song for at home, for a CCD class, or a Sunday school class to teach this bible story to kids. My kids love it!

Remember the toss-your-nets snack that we made earlier this week with goldfish crackers? {You can find the directions here}

My kids also love this apostles play set! It's a great toy to go along with this bible story, and I like to keep ours in the "church toy bag". You can order your own Galilee Boat with Apostles Play Set here.

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Toss Your Nets to the Other Side {Snack Idea}

We've still been focusing on the Stations of the Resurrection (14 things that happened from the resurrection to Pentecost). Station number 10 is: Jesus Appears by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-14). Are you familiar with this story? In Jesus' 3rd appearance after His death, the some of the apostles have been fishing, but they can't catch any fish. Jesus tells them to toss their nets to the other side of the boat, and their nets are so full of fish they can't even pull them in! That's when they recognize Him as the Lord!

Inspired by Tiffany's snack, we made our own "Toss your nets to the other side" treat. :-)

These are very yummy- the perfect mix between salty and sweet!

See our "nets"? :-)

Ingredients Needed:

• Snyders window pane pretzels
• Hershey's Kisses
• Goldfish Crackers

How to Make Hershey Kiss Pretzels:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Place Pretzels on a cookie sheet
• Place one unwrapped kiss on each pretzel
• Place in oven for 1-2 minutes until kisses look shiny
• Remove from oven and press on goldfish crackers
• Place in refrigerator to speed the cooling process

The most time consuming part of this is unwrapping the kisses, which is actually a great job for little hands. (This still requires supervision unless you want it to become a job for little mouths as well).

When I took a picture of these Hershey Kiss wrappers, Lydia said "Mommy, you're taking a picture of garbage!". She's only 5. I didn't think she was going to figure out I was a weirdo until she was a teenager. 

Classroom Variation

If you'd like to do this as an activity snack for vacation bible school or Sunday school, try this. Give the kids some pretzels, goldfish crackers, and blue icing. Then let them "catch" their own fish while you tell them the story. No oven required. :-)

When Family at the Foot of the Cross made a similar snack, they actually counted out 153 goldfish crackers because that's how many fish the apostles caught. Sounds like a fun counting activity to me, and a great way to learn a bible story!

You can find more fish crafts and activities for kids here.

So I have this obsession with buying unique dishes at thrift stores, and I bought this blue plate for $1 because it read very "Starry Night" to me, and I'm a total van Gogh freak. Isn't it the perfect plate for this cute goldfish snack?!

... and my husband thought I didn't 'need' this plate. ;-)

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Hail Holy Queen Lyrics and Guitar Chords

Being May and all, I've been playing some Mary hymns on the guitar, and wanted to share some of the chords with you. I only dabble in guitar, so these chords are super easy to play. These Hail Holy Queen chords are for beginners. If I can play it, you can play it. Trust me. ;-)

Printable Haily Holy Queen Guitar Chords

Printable Haily Holy Queen Lyrics

HAIL HOLY QUEEN

(Intro)  G  Em D  G

G                           D            G       C  G  D  G
Hail holy queen enthroned above, O Ma-ri-a
G                                 D        G     C  G  D  G
Hail mother of mercy and of love, O Ma-ri-a
G             Em   D              G            Em     D
Triumph all ye cherubim, sing with us ye seraphim
G                  Em        C             G
Heaven and earth resound the hymn
G   Em  C  D    G  Em      D  G
Sal-ve, Sal-ve, Sal-ve Re-gi-na


G                                   D         G      C  G  D  G
Our life our sweetness here below, O Ma-ri-a
G                             D        G       C  G  D  G
Our hope in sorrow and in woe, O Ma-ri-a
G             Em   D              G            Em     D
Triumph all ye cherubim, sing with us ye seraphim
G                  Em        C             G
Heaven and earth resound the hymn
G   Em  C  D    G  Em      D  G
Sal-ve, Sal-ve, Sal-ve Re-gi-na


To thee we cry poor sons of Eve, O Maria
To thee we sigh, we mourn, we breathe, O Maria
Triumph...

Turn then most gracious advocate, O Maria
Toward us thine eyes compassionate, O Maria
Triumph....

The cause of joy to men below, O Maria
The Spring through which all graces flow, O Maria
Angels all your praises bring,
Earth and heaven with us sing,
All creation echoing
Salve, Salve, Salve Regina!

I know it's really frustrating when I'm searching for Catholic guitar chords online, and I can't find them, so hopefully this will help some folks out. ;-) Happy May! 


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