Keep "Hallow" in Halloween!

Definition of Hallow: Hallow is a word usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate".[1]  The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.[2] In modern English usage, the noun hallow appears mostly in compounds in Halloween and Hallowmas. Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is a shortened form of All Hallow Even, meaning "All Hallow's Eve" or "All Saints' Eve".[3] Hallowmas, the day after Halloween, is shortened from Hallow's mass, and is also known as "All Hallow's Day" or "All Saints' Day".[4]

We're used to hearing the phrase "Keep Christ in Christmas". Well, I'm having a rally call for a new phrase- "Keep Hallow in Halloween!" :-) When you hear the word "Halloween", no doubt that visions of Jack-O-Lanters dance in your head.

So here's a way to keep hallow in Halloween while carving your pumpkin this year. Carve your Jack-O-Lantern face keeping the pieces in tact, and then return them to their original "holes". Also put the pumpkin guts into a freezer bag and put them back inside the pumpkin. Now you're ready to go! Pray this Pumpkin Prayer as you remove the pieces of the pumpkin. (This can be done at home or in your CCD class).

Pumpkin Prayer:

Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about you and the world you created. (Take off the top of the pumpkin.)
Remove the things in my life that don’t please you, including my seeds of doubt. (Pull out the bag of seeds.)
Open my eyes and help me to see your ways. (Remove the eyes.)
Open my ears and help me to hear your voice, so I may learn how you want me to live. (Remove the ears.)
I’m sorry for the times I’ve turned up my nose at the things you want me to do. (Remove the nose.)
Let everything I say please you, and help me spread your word to others. (Remove the mouth.)
Lord, help me show your light to others through the things I do. (Place a candle inside and light it. Then turn off the lights)
Amen.

A great song to go with the carving activity would be "Open My Eyes, Lord". After you light the pumpkin, sing "This Little Light of Mine" with the lights off while you look at your bright shining pumpkin!

I put this together using several sources including this Jack-O-Lantern CCD lesson, and this facebook status I saw:

Being a good person is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all of the yucky stuff -- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a bright new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see!

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4 Tips To Teach Kids How To Make the Sign of the Cross

When I was volunteering at Vacation Bible School over the Summer, my station met in the church, so we taught each group that came through how to genuflect and make the sign of the cross before entering. I was SHOCKED at how many kids (up through 5th grade!) could not do these basic things correctly! We had to re-cap with each group every day that week before entering. It seriously blew my mind!

Now, I wouldn't expect that the children of a Catholic Icing reader couldn't make the sign of the cross correctly ;-)... but maybe some of you are teaching CCD this year or have a preschooler and would like to start with the basics.

1. Use a mirror! They had this mirror in Lydia's preschool class last year. Tape pictures of the sign of the cross around the edge and let the kids see themselves as they practice.

You can use this sign of the cross coloring page
for the pictures- it's free to print!

2. Use a sticker! Kids often get mixed up with which hand to use. That is easily corrected! Just put a cross sticker on your child's right hand. Tell her that this is her right hand- the hand we use to make the sign of the cross.

3. Do it backwards. I found that when standing in front of a group of kids, teaching them to genuflect and make the sign of the cross, it really helped to do it backwards with my left hand. This way I was a mirror image of them. (This is tip I gleaned from doing exercise videos. It's so much easier that they do it backwards for you!) Alternately, you can stand in front of the group and face the same way as them to help.

4. Make a craft! You knew I was going to suggest a craft, right? I'm actually planning on making this with my kids this afternoon- a sign of the cross necklace! Isn't this great?!

Do you have more tips or know of fun activities to teach kids the sign of the cross? As always, feel free to share your links in the comments! :-)


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Make a Giant Rosary with Kids

Since it's officially "pool noodle season" I thought I would re-run this post for making pool noodle rosaries (which was originally written last Summer). Have fun! :-)

My daughter and I made a giant rosary out of pool noodles! This project is so much fun, such a great counting exercise, and a really good way to get kids excited about the rosary- plus, you can make it with just $3! Here's my daughter with our completed rosary.

For making your own, you can pick up most of what you need at the Dollar Tree.

Supplies Needed:

• 2 Pool Noodles of different colors. (One for the "Hail Mary" beads, and one for the "Our Fathers". Using a third color for the cross is optional). I used 1 pool noodle that was flower shaped, and one that was not.
• Clothes line (or any small rope)
• Scissors
• Bread knife (or other serrated knife)
• Cool Glue Gun

First, take the pool noodle that you selected for the Hail Mary's and slice it into thin beads. You will need 53 total.

The pool noodle you have selected for the Our Father's should be sliced about twice as thick as the others. You will need a total of 6 of these.

Now you're ready to start stringing! String 10 small beads, 1 large bead, 10 small beads, 1 large bead, 10 small beads, 1 large bead, 10 small beads, 1 large bead, and then 10 more small beads. It should look something like this:

For the rosary center, you can use a slice of a 3rd color of a pool noodle, or an extra Our Father bead. Poke holes in both sides with scissors, and bring your clothes line through.

Tie the two ends together tightly, and trim one side off.

Make another hole with scissors in the bottom of the rosary center, and bring the clothes line through like so:

Next, string on one Our Father, 3 Hail Mary's, and one more Our Father.

Now it's time to make the cross. Start with 2 pieces of pool noodle, one the length you want your cross to be, and the other slightly shorter.

Make 2 cuts half way through the pool noodle. The cuts should be as far apart from each other as your pool noodle is wide.

Cut between the 2 cuts to connect them and remove a chunk.

Repeat with your other cross section. 

Fit the 2 pieces together like lincon logs to complete your cross. You can stick them together with your cool glue gun. (A glue gun that is too hot will melt the pool noodle).

Make a hole in the top of your cross, string the clothes line through, and make the completing knot.

Ta Da! Giant Rosary!

These are so much fun, and I have some future plans for ours (especially during "R" week this school year). My daughter was really proud of it!

If you think this is a cool project, but you're planning on doing it later in the year, you might want to go ahead and get some pool noodles now because you can't find them when it's not Summer time. More importantly, if you make one, send me pictures! ;-) Happy Catholic Crafting!

As always, use caution when working with children, and never give them an inappropriate toy for their age. I can't imagine that these are safe in pools, so use with caution. Watch for choking hazards. Don't give children knives or hot glue guns. Safety first!
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Easy Rosary Craft for Kids

Catholic ABC's Week: 23 
Letter of the week: R
Theme: Rosary
Saint of the Week: St. Rose of Lima
Craft: Easy Rosary

This one decade rosary craft is super easy for kids of all ages! This would be a great Catholic craft for CCD class, or any occasion really. This week we made it because we're learning about rosaries with the letter "R".

Materials Needed to Make This Rosary Craft:

• Pipe Cleaners
• Pony Beads
• Scissors

I got all of my supplies at the Dollar Tree, so this craft costs only $2 and makes about a million one decade rosaries. :-)

Start by having your kids string 10 beads of their choice onto a pipe cleaner. (If you're trying to conserve materials for a large number, half a pipe cleaner will work). This is super easy for everyone, especially small children, because pipe cleaners are stiff so the stringing is easy.

 

Bring the pipe cleaner around in a circle and twist it shut.

String on one more bead for the "Our Father".

Cut off the extra piece and twist it around to make

the cross. Trim with scissors where needed.

These were super fun and easy to make. Chances are, your children will want to make several! :-) I love the one we shaped into a heart! 

Grab Bag Ideas for the Letter R: (be sure to check out the Classroom Script for directions on using the grab bag.) Rosary, Rabbit, Race car, Raisins, Rock, Rag, Rainbow, Rat, Rattle, Receipt, Rectangle, something Red, Rhino, Reindeer, Ring, Rocket, Ruler, Rooster, Rope, Rose.

For More Resources, check out the Catholic Toolbox lesson plans for the Letter Rr. (Her Rr lesson is on the Red Sea.)

Related Posts:

Start Kids on the Rosary

Rosary Snack and tons of ideas!

Huge rosary craft for children

Advanced Rosary craft for older children or adults

Fun Edible Rosaries for kids

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.

Also, please keep voting for Catholic Icing! Everyone can vote once a day until Mardi Gras, and I'm still about 200 votes behind! Thank you!!! :-)
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Frame a Prayer with Children

Catholic ABC's Week: 21
Letter of the week: P
Theme: Prayer
Saint of the Week: St. Peter
Craft: Prayer Craft

I was really torn about what the focus for "P" week should be, but ultimately decided on "prayer" because it's so important, and such a basic concept. :-) This is a craft Lydia made at our preschool co-op, and it has been a great tool to encourage us to pray together.

Materials Needed to Complete This Craft:

• Jumbo Craft Sticks
• Paint and/or other decorations
• Printed off prayer of your choice
• String 
• Glue

Start by gluing the Jumbo Craft Sticks in a square for your frame. Decorate as desired with paint, stickers, glitter glue, or anything else you'd like! Tie on a string for hanging, and then glue the prayer onto the back of the frame.

 (back)

Hang this up somewhere in your home to help you and your child remember to pray daily. Ours hangs on our china cabinet. Ya, we're classy like that. ;-)

Here are some other crafts you can find here on my blog that would also be great for the letter P:

Make a prayer book with kids. (I love this craft!)

Craft some Priest peg dolls.

And of course the Edible Papal Flag I ran on Monday.

Grab Bag Ideas for the Letter P: (be sure to check out the Classroom Script for directions on using the grab bag.) Peanut, Papal flag, Priest, Prayer card, St. Peter holy card or statue, plate, pen, pencil, pecan, parrot, my little pony, ponytail holder, popsicle stick, post-it note, potato, potato head, pretzel, princess, puppet, purse, puzzle.

For More Resources, check out the Catholic Toolbox lesson plans for the Letter Cc. (Her Pp lesson is on "Plagues")

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.

PS. Please keep voting for Catholic Icing! Your computer can vote once a day! :-) Thank you so much!!!

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