Children's faith formation
At-Home Faith Formation
Wondering what to do with your kids at home this week? Scroll down for movie suggestions, prayer ideas, crafts and games, liturgical year resources, Catholic freebies, links to homeschooling resources, and more!
***If you are currently enrolled in our faith formation programs, please read these letters:
- Week One- At-Home Faith Formation- Announcements, Tips, Resources (March 22nd)
- Week Two- At-Home Faith Formation Update (March 29th)
- Week Three- Important! At-Home Faith Formation Update (April 5th)
We will be updating this page every week on Wednesday!
Family Movie Pick of the Week: Guardian Angels
- Go to formed.org and get free access by using our parish code: JT85TX
- For savvy advice on making family night a success (even with toddlers and teens watching together) and more family movie suggestions, check out Kendra’s blog, “Catholic All Year.”
Prayer of the Week: St. Michael Prayer
- Do your kids have a place to pray at home? Catholic Icing has a great tutorial! I highly recommend letting your kids help gather materials and even letting them each create their altar in their bedroom.
- Katie Warner also has some great tips and pictures on her blog.
- Click here for more tips for teaching prayers to your kids and free prayer cards to print.
Living the Liturgy at Home!
Wednesday, April 29th - St. Catherine of Sienna
St. Catherine was the 23rd child in her family! From a young age, she had her heart set on serving God. She had a strong will- she even cut off her hair to make sure she would not have to marry! She also wrote very pointed letters to politicians and the pope letting them know her opinion and giving advice. Encourage your children to write to a politician or religious leader about an issue on their heart in honor of St. Catherine!
Thursday, April 30th - Pope St. Pius V
St. Pius V had the huge task of implementing the reforms of the council of Trent. These included founding seminarians so priests could be better formed, writing a new catechism, and founding the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) to begin offering classes for children. Look up our local seminary- Holy Trinity Seminary - with your children and talk about how young men prepare to become priests. If you know a seminarian, write a note encouraging him in his journey!
Friday, May 1st - St. Joseph the Worker
St. Joseph had one of the most important tasks every- caring for Jesus and Mary! Celebrate by making an altar cake- find a tutorial here!
Saturday, May 2nd - St. Athanasius
St. Athanasius spent his life defending the truth that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. He was exiled more than five times for standing up for what he knew was true! This is a great day to talk to your kids about how important it is to stand up for the truth, even if it makes us unpopular!
Sunday, May 3rd - Fourth Sunday of Easter
- Livestream Mass from St. Monica at 10:00 am on Facebook or YouTube
- Need help knowing how to do Mass at home? Check out this 7-minute video!
- MagnigiKid for today’s liturgy- click here!
- For older kids- print this Mass worksheet for them to fill out after watching Mass- click here!
Monday, May 4th - Blessed Michael Giedroyc
Blessed Michael was a dwarf who faced immense challenges growing up. Although school was hard for him, he excelled at metalwork and made beautiful sacred vessels for Mass. Design your chalices with paper, or decorate cupcakes with gummies and other candies to represent jewels!
Tuesday, May 5th - St. Hilary of Arles
St. Hilary was chosen to be Bishop when he was only 29 years old. He showed his love for his people by doing manual labor himself to earn money for the poor. Today, encourage your children to do an extra chore to earn money to donate to the poor or to donate something they truly like.
Wednesday, May 6th - Sts. Marian and James
Saints Marian and James were martyrs around the year 259. We know very little else about them. If you have older children, look up pictures of the coliseum and talk about persecution of Christianity in the early church.
With younger children, decorate red hearts with prayer intentions. Explain that these are saints who had a great love and pray constantly for us in heaven!
Crafts and Games for Catholic Kids!
- Lacy, at Catholic Icing, has compiled some great craft and ‘boredom buster’ ideas (disclaimer- some of the downloads are for purchase, but the majority are free).
- 14 fun family indoor games (no board- or screen- needed)
Catholic Freebies!
- Magnificat is offering free online editions to all during these times. They have amazing reflections and prayers to mark our day and bring peace to our homes.
- Sweet Little Ones has posted a great list of Free Resources during COVID-19 Quarantine {Especially for Catholics}
- The March edition of Magnifikid is free online!
- Holy Heroes will e-mail a daily Lenten activity or video that you can sign up for on their website… for free!
- Loyola Press has daily saint activities and lessons
Homeschooling Resources
- I highly recommend reading this article on Staying Sane While Working from Home with Kids!
- Mercy for Marthas has some fantastic and practical tips and resources… as well as a healthy dose of encouragement and common sense!
- CatholicMom.com has many articles, tips, and free resources