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.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

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 

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

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! 


If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

First Friday Link-Up

I'm so excited about our first First Friday link-up! I can't wait to see the links ya'll have to share! I thought I would go ahead and share some of my links that will be handy for the month of May (a month dedicated to Mary).

May Altar

Putting together a May altar for Mary

Queenship of Mary Links (great for May crownings!)

Crown Mary with flowers craft

Planning guide for May Crownings 

Q is for Queen (faux Mary Stained Glass Craft)

Hand and Footprint Queen Mary Craft

May Crowning Ideas

Religious May Day Basket Ideas

Grotto Crafts and Activities

Rice Krispy Treat Grotto for Mary

Grotto Craft for Our Lady

Our Lady of Fatima

(feast coming up May 13)

Miracle of the Sun Spinners

Fatima celebration ideas for kids

Other Marian Ideas for Kids

Make a Mary Garden

Paper Mary Statues and Printable Prayer Cards

Tons of fun Mary printables for kids!

Make Immaculate Heart T-shirts

Food ideas for Marian feast days

Our Lady and the Ladybug Crafts

Marian Art Project for older kids

Mother's Day

Spiritual bouquets for Mom

<a href="http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/05/catholic-link-up-first-friday-every.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="First Friday Link Up" width="180" src="http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj427/bunnydeau/sacredheart3.jpg" /></a><br />
Ok, now it's your turn! What links do you have to share with everyone this month? Read the link-up rules, then join in on the fun!. :-)

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Mary Craft for May Crownings

Catholic ABC's Week: 26
Letter of the week: V
Theme: Virgin Mary
Saint of the Week: St. Veronica
Craft: May Crowning Craft

It's been awhile since I've had a Preschool curriculum post, but I had to take some time off for Easter. I can only handle so much at once! ;-) We're getting close to the end of the alphabet, and that means coming up with stuff for the "weird letters", which I have been putting off. I'll admit that I would have rather done "Vestments" or "Vatican" for the letter V, but our preschool co-op has been doing "Virgin Mary" for years and this craft was designed by Denise who used to teach my class before me.


Supplies needed to Complete this Craft:
Printed out picture of Mary
Fun foam
Scissors
Sharpie Marker
Foam Stickers (optional)
Fake flowers on wire (look in the wedding section of your craft store)

Cut your foam sheets into a long rectangle with a hole for a door knob. You can actually buy pre-made door hanger foam things from the Dollar Tree 3 for $1 if you'd rather not cut them yourself. Print out Mary pictures for the kids, and trace around the outside with a sharpie. (This gives them a good line to cut on). Have them cut and glue Mary onto the foam, then take the wire flowers and poke them through the foam around Mary's head to crown her with flowers. Decorate with additional foam stickers, and write "Virgin Mary" on with a sharpie.

This is a craft that won't crowd your refrigerator, or your counter space because when kids are done with these, they can hang them on their door and always have Mary around!

Grab Bag Ideas for the Letter V: (be sure to check out the Classroom Script for directions on using the grab bag.) St. Veronica holy card, violet, velvet, toy van, vanilla, vegetables, vitamins, valentine, vaseline, picture of Vatican City, veil, vest.

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

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.

On a totally different topic, I have a guest post on Many Little Blessings today about First Communion cards at the Dollar Tree! If you'd like to browse the cards with me, click on over! :-)


If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

How to Plan a May Crowning for Kids

Planning a Marian Coronation is not as hard as you might think, and a May crowing ceremony is a great way to recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth! I'll start with the basics. The month of May is dedicated to Mary. It's traditional to have a May crowning on May 1 (also known as May Day) but you can do it any time during May.

The Essentials- A Mary Statue and a Crown

First, figure out what Mary statue you are going to be crowning. You can try calling your parish to arrange a crowning of the Mary statue there. You can also crown your own Mary statue in your garden, or even a little plastic statue inside-  just make sure you have or make a crown that will fit your particular statue. It's traditional to crown Mary with flowers of some kind. If you're looking for ideas on crafting a crown, check my May Crowning post from last year. Take the statue's placement into consideration when planning. If you're crowning the Mary statue at your church, you may need a step ladder to reach her head. If you're crowning a Mary statue at home, you may want to put together a simple May Altar.

Bring Flowers for Mary

You can ask all the families attending the May Crowning to bring flowers for Mary. These can be hand picked, store bought, or artificial- no pressure. Alternately, you could provide flowers there and give one to each child to offer to Our Lady. These flowers will be placed at Mary's feet. You can check out the Marian symbolism of different flowers here, but anything works, and you certainly can't go wrong with Our Lady's color- blue!

Plan for Procession

Usually there is a procession with the crown before it is placed on Mary's head. You can line up all the kids, and sing a song while you process with the crown. (For song ideas, scroll down). The children can all carry flowers to be placed at Mary's feet as they reach the statue. You can either provide a vase for these flowers, or just lay them individually at Mary's feet.

Prayers for May Crowning

After you've crowned Mary, it would be great to say some prayers! The Hail Mary and the Hail, Holy Queen would both be good choices. You could also pray a decade of the rosary depending on the age of the kids at the crowning.

May Crowning Songs- Marian Hymns

Who doesn't love to sing a Mary song? There are so many great choices! There's actually a song called Bring Flowers of the Rarest (Queen of May) and another called Tis the Month of Our Mother. Some other favorites include Hail Holy Queen, Immaculate Mary (Ave Maria), or Hail Mary (Gentle Woman).

Fun Food for your May Crowning

Check out these ideas for fun food you can serve for any Marian feast day! You could also try making some cute crown shaped snacks of some kind, like crown shaped cakes or these May Crowning cookies from Family at the Foot of the Cross. You could also make some fun edible rosaries! :-)

Crafts for your May Crowning- Extra Fun!

If you're looking for craft ideas for your May crowning, boy have you come to the right place! You can make Mary, Queen of Heaven Suncatchers, make my Hand and Footprint Queen Mary Craft, make a Paper Mary Statue, or check out this assortment of fun Mary Printables for kids!

May Crowning Dress

It's traditional for girls to wear their First Communion or Easter dresses for the May crowning, and for the boys to wear their Sunday best as well. You may or may not choose not to have the kids dress up for a casual May crowning at your home. 

Resources for a May Crowning with a Mass

If you're looking to plan a whole May crowning mass, Catholic Teacher Resources has an amazing printable May crowning layout for you! I also found a lovely May Crowning proposal from Little Flowers Girl's Club that you can send to your priest to have a May crowning during mass, along with plans.

You can find more resources for planning your May Crowning at the Catholic Toolbox, and at Catechist's Journey. 

I attended my first May Crowning last year with our preschool co-op. We're having another May Crowning with our preschool next week, and I was thinking about having a home May crowning here on Mother's day!
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Free Mary Printables for Kids

Here's a round up of Marian Printables. There's still some time in May (Our Lady's Month) to have fun with these, but really Mary stuff is fun year round ;-)

Check out these Mary Feast Days Coloring Sheets
from Friends of Jesus and Mary! There are 2 pages.

I love this Printable Mary Paper Doll!
Also from Friends of Jesus and Mary.

There are also 3 pages of coloring pages telling the
Story of Mary's Life at Friends of Jesus and Mary.

Here's and Adorable Printable Hail Mary page.

Actually, the Hail Mary Sheet is only one of
22 different Printable Mary Activities there!

You can print this Hail Mary Sheet from
The Catholic Toolbox. Scroll down to "Hail Mary Coloring".
I love the way this sheet breaks down the prayer for kids!

These free pintables will make everyone happy- until you drain your ink cartridge, that is!

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

St. Joan of Arc Coloring Page

St. Joan of Arc's feast day is on May 30, which is this Sunday. I just had to share this coloring sheet with you because I think the coloring pages from Catholic Heritage Curricula are absolutely beautiful! They actually have a whole page of Free Curricula! :-)

St. Joan of Arc Coloring Sheets

Page 1, Page 2

Happy Coloring! :-)

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Food for Marian Feast Days

For any Mary feast day or occasion you're celebrating, you can't go wrong with blue- Our Lady's color! :-) Flowers are also a lovely choice for honoring Mary. So here are some ideas to help you out for the remainder of May (our Lady's month!). 

Head over to Savory Sweet Life for 

directions on piping these blue flower cupcakes.

Family at the Foot of the Cross made this

blue lemonade their May crowning. So cute!

Find the recipe for these buttery sprits cookies

on The Silicone Spatula.

Make blueberry muffins for Mary. Find a 

recipe on Boston Food & Wine.

I love the idea of this bunt cake with flowers. The cake itself is 

shaped like a crown, and then filled with flowers for Our Lady! 

I found this over on The Food Librarian.

Also, I just love these Mary cookies from Jamie Jo!

You can find them on Lord Make Me a Saint.

Here are some more blue foods to enjoy as eye candy ;-)
Click for directions on making the cupcakes, muffins, macaroons, or cake.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.