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I never heard of  St. Rocco (aka: St. Roch) till a few years ago when my sister-in-law (May she rest in peace.) asked me to fix and repaint an old broken statue she found at a yard sale. She and I had no idea who the saint was, but after a bit of digging on the world-wide-web we discovered it was St. Rocco.   I had to make an ornament for him, because I can’t think of St. Rocco without thinking of my dearly departed sister-in-law. I hope and pray she finally got to meet St. Rocco in person! 🙂  St. Rocco, was known for his love of others and the way he helped those who where sick during the plague. He eventually became ill himself and secluded himself outside of town so he wouldn’t be a burden on anyone. Legend says that a dog delivered bread to him each day till he was well again.  Read more about him HERE and HERE . His feast day is Aug. 16 – the anniversary of his death in prison. St. Roch’s ornament depicts a dog and a loaf of bread. This was very easy to make and just too cute! The dog is just three ovals: one larger light brown oval and two smaller dark brown ovals. The light brown oval has two smaller black dots for eyes and one larger black dot for the nose. These dots were made with a permanent sharpie marker. The bread is an oval that was a little more flat on one of the long sides. We used a brown sharpie marker to add an edge all the way around and a few slashes in the top. These were glued onto a light blue background. What a cute puppy! 🙂St. Rocco, pray for us! Have a blessed weekend, everyone! ~JenMarie

St. Patrick’s Day is only a week away!! This feast day is often filled with non-Catholic images like leprechauns and pots of gold. I wanted to create a few cards that could help share the TRUE meaning of this special day – SAINT PATRICK’S feast day! These cards would be perfect to send to friends, classmates, relatives, and grandparents! You may like to send them anonymously to the elderly, shut-ins, or your secret prayer partner, too! I’m offering two different PDF files: One has 6 different pre-colored cards The other has two black and white cards, which can be colored. Download These St. Patrick Cards Here: These cards can be used as flat mini cards or larger folded cards. Just download the files and print out the pages of your choice – as many as you need. It’s best to print them on photo paper or stock paper. (If you are printing the black and white cards to color be sure to use non-shiny paper.) Then cut out the cards. There are 6 mini cards on a page or two folded cards on a page. Write your special message on the back of the mini cards or on the inside of the folded cards .You could also use these as decorations in your home or classroom. Glue them on green paper, shamrock cutouts, and more! They could also be handed out and used as bookmarks. Have a blessed day! ~JenMarie

I’m now offering a pack of 8 reproducible pages for you to use when you teach about the 50 States. If you use these for teaching about all of the 50 states you should end-up with a whole binder full of information!  Each set of pages can be printed off 50 or more times so you have one set for each state. (Print out as many as you need for one class or family.)  The cool and unusual part about these pages is that they are done with a Catholic twist. Download Below: Download these USA Notebooking Pages Here: Here is a page-by-page description of the set, so you can better understand what these pages are about: The Cover The cover page includes a map of the United States and each state’s name is written on the map. This can be used as a reference page while the kids learn the location and spelling of the states. General Information About the State – Page 1 The first page of this set is meant to be used for each and every state. You will need to print a new page for each state you learn. The page asks for general information about the state: The capital, the population, the crops grown in the state, the state bird and tree, etc. This information is common information which can be found in may state books including these: **************** Click on the images to read more about these books. This printable page includes short prayers for the state. It also has Catholic images which accompany the topic of learning. Map It! – Page 2 This next page is also meant to be used for each state. The child should add the abbreviation or name of all the states which they have learned up to that particular school day. They can use the cover page to help them if you like. It also has an empty flag so they can draw or add an image of the state’s flag. The extra area on the bottom of the page is for the child to draw a general outline of the state. Feel free to have them add other geographical information to the image they draw. Famous People and Historical Events – Page 3 The “Famous People and Historical Events” pages are used to help the child remember what people or events are relevant to each state.  These can be filled out throughout the school year or whenever you discover or learn about a famous person who lived in this state, or when you learn about a historical event that occurred in the state. This page may not be large enough for some states because you will find an abundance of information, or it may be barely filled for other states, but feel free to copy as many as you need. Places Made by God – Page 4 This page focuses on the places made by God. These areas would include the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forest, a desert, a natural bridge, a waterfall, a cave, a lake, a volcano, a mountain peak, or any other natural beauty made by God! The child can draw a picture of the area or find a photo of the area and paste it in the image box on the page. Then they can write a short description of the natural beauty. Famous Catholic Churches and Shrines – Page 5 This page is one for you to fill in as you work through the school year. There are not a lot of famous churches and shrines in the USA, but you might be surprised at how many there are! I went to my Facebook followers for help to find some Catholic shrines and churches and they all gave wonderful suggestions. (Thank you for the help!) Several ladies recommended a great website called “ Catholic Places ” which has at least one famous church or shrine per state! You definitely need to see that website! It’s a goldmine for Catholic tourists or if you want to take a pilgrimage! Famous Places Made by Man – Page 6   Page 6 is just like page 4, except it’s meant to focus on manmade items and areas rather than ones by God. The child can find a manmade sight and draw a picture or find an image to add to the box. Then they can write a short paragraph about it. If I could go anywhere I’d go… – Page 7 This page is the final wrap-up page. This is meant to starch the mind of the child so he/she can dream of where they would love to visit. Then they can write about where they would go and why they would go there. It also has a few other prompts to give them a chance to image! Extra Writing – Page 8  This page is just an extra page to use when your child wants to add extra care and attention to one of the topics you are learning about. For example, if they want to write more about the Grand Canyon then this is an extra page to write more information. They can also draw more pictures or add more photos.  How to use these pages in your school day: Work to your child’s speed and understanding, but I recommend (for an average 4th -6th grade child) that you do one page a day and finish a state a week. For example, you could do page one (general information) on Monday and page two (Map It) on Tuesday. Then fill out some information on page 3 (Famous People and Events) on Wednesday. On Thursday you could work on pages 4 and 5 (God’s Awesome Sights and Famous Shrines and Churches).  On Friday you could complete Page 6 (Man Made Sights). NOTE: If you are looking for something quicker and easier, just do the first two pages for each state. I used this set for my 5th graders, but my 2nd grader only used the first two pages and skipped the other pages. My kids and I completed these pages using these two books HERE and HERE . We did get a little help from the internet on the famous shrines and we needed help discovering some “Sights made by God” or “Sights Made by Man”. If you are interested in using this printable set with your kids, I have it available above! God bless you all and have a joy-fulled day! ~JenMarie

Looking for a good Catholic coloring page for St. Patrick’s day? Here is a list of some St. Patrick’s Day coloring pages! Download this Clover Coloring Page Here: Download this St. Patrick Coloring Page Here: Download this Cute St. Patrick Coloring Page Here: Have a blessed day! ~JenMarie

On a snowy morning, we made snowmen indoors! 🙂 Yes, it was a fun day of making snowmen and it was all centered around the idea of the Trinity! I heard several years ago that a snowman can be a great way to teach kids about the Trinity, and my kids always respond well it this idea. So while making our snowmen we talked about the Blessed Trinity and the Sign of the Cross.  You will need: printable page (Download below) crayons or colored pencils scissors glue – we used a glue stick tape – if you have a zealous little one who cuts off the tabs! Download Trinity Snowman Activity Here: Color his hat, scarf, and nose on the second page. You may also like to color the sky/background, as well as the Trinity symbols on the Trinity snowman page.  Cut out the parts to the snowman on the second page. Be sure to cut out the tabs along with the snowman parts.   Add glue to the back of the tabs and attach the parts to the Trinity Snowman. If a child cuts off the tabs you can use tape to add the snowman parts to the Trinity snowman. This will form a lift-flap so the child can read the names of the Trinity underneath.  Outside the snowman Inside the snowman May God (all 3 in 1) bless you with joy! ~JenMarie

Here is a fun and simple craft I made with my kids on a snowy day. We discussed the Holy Trinity and we also talked about the Sign of the Cross. We used the snowman as a symbol of the Trinity. The snowman is three part in one person, like the Blessed Trinity. I also tried to add a little bit of symbolism to the snowman: Top ball: crown – symbol for God the father Middle ball: red scarf – Red for Jesus blood Bottom ball: pure white – symbol of a white dove (Holy Spirit) Download printable Instructions below. To make this craft you will need: 3 white styrofoam balls – we used:1.9 inch (48mm)1.4 inch (35mm)0.9 inch (22mm) 4 inch strip of red felt 2 inch strip of yellow felt 2 round toothpicks orange marker black sharpie marker scissors white glue — if needed or desired Download the Snowman Printable Instructions Here: Cut your red felt strip so it looks like a scarf. We added fringes to the ends. We cut the yellow felt to make a crown. My kids thought the crown was cute! 🙂 Flatten the bottom of the largest ball. No need to cut it, just press on it to flatten it. You can push it onto a table top to help flatten it, too. This will allow the snowman to stand. Using a toothpick connect the balls together. We used half a toothpick between each of the balls. If the child makes the hole to big (often because of wiggling it or because of multiple attempts) You can add a bit of white glue to the hole to help keep it together. After all the parts are together, sit him on a table and press down on his head and stomach so all the parts are better pressed together and feel more stable. Use an orange marker to add color to the tip of a toothpick. Break off the tip and use it to make the snowman’s nose. Use a black sharpie maker to make the eyes and mouth. This may need to be done by an adult, depending on the age of the child. While holding down the head of the snowman – so it doesn’t fall off – wrap the scarf around his neck. If you desire you can glue the scarf down, but the styrofoam often just holds it anyway.  Then, add the crown, you may still need to hold down his head while adding the crown. We displayed our snowmen on our table for a few days! Aren’t they cute! The kids also ate some white/vanilla cotton candy for a fun snowman treat! 🙂 It was some great crafting and learning fun! May God (all 3 in 1) bless you with joy! ~Jen-Marie

The feast of the Immaculate Conception is on Dec. 8th – nine months before Our Lady’s Birthday (Sept 8th). This is a celebration of the day God created Mary’s Immaculate Soul! Our Lady of Lourdes introduced herself to Bernadette as ”The Immaculate Conception”, but what does ”The Immaculate Conception” mean? It means that Mary NEVER had a sin on her soul. It means that when St. Anne conceived Mary, she was created without the stain of original sin on her soul. God prepared Mary’s soul to be worthy of being the Mother of God. Mary, the Immaculate Conception, is often called the ”New Eve”, because she was created without sin just as Eve was. But unlike Eve, Mary was willing to follow and trust God throughout her life. Sadly, Eve choose to sin later in life. Because Mary chose to never sin, Jesus was able to be born and later died to save us from our sins! Because ”The Immaculate Conception” chose to remain sinless and because she said ”Yes” to God, we are all able to enter heaven! Here is a liturgical ornament for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It depicts St. Anne pregnant with Mary. Mary is symbolized through her Immaculate Heart. To make this you will need: pink felt light blue felt black felt red felt yellow felt white felt tan or peach felt gray felt orange fine-point permanent marker yellow fine-point permanent marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger First, cut out the parts like those above. You can add the orange marker outline to the halo now if you wish. Note: St. Anne’s hands are missing from the above picture. Glue down St. Anne’s body. Don’t glue the top part of her body till you have added her arms in the proper spot. Glue down the arms and then finish gluing the upper part of her body. Add her hands to the arms. Now add her halo and then her head.  Next add her gray hair. Now, add her belly and veil.  Now, add the Immaculate Heart of Mary to her belly.  If you haven’t already added the marked parts, do that now. Add orange to the halo. We also added a few yellow dots to the flowers on the Immaculate Heart. These are hard to see in the picture, and this step is not necessary.  Finally, cut off the extra background and add the threaded loop to the top so it can be hung up.  There you have it! 🙂 Our Lady Immaculate, pray for us. May God bless you all with His joy. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. John of Damascuc (Damascene) has a long and interesting story, but I’ll keep it short: He was taught by a monk and became very knowledgeable on the faith. He often wrote about many various topics of the faith. In particular, he wrote 3 publications on holy images and the respect that they should be given. He also wrote music. Some of his songs are used in the Mass today. His feast day is Dec. 4th (new) and March 27th (traditional). Read more about him HERE and HERE . We have included three symbols on St. John’s ornament. A music note, a scroll, and a ”holy image”. These are all symbols of his writings. To create this you will need: light blue felt dark brown felt off-white felt black felt a variety of different colored markers to draw the image  OR cut out a religious image to add to this ornament instead of drawing one. black sharpie marker scissors ( these kind work well) glue (hot glue, felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like this or this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger Cut out the parts like those above. We used a black marker to add dots to the sheet/scroll – to make it look like writing. Draw your saint/Blessed Mother image on a rectangle piece of off-white felt. If you don’t want to draw an image just find a small, suitable, image to use and glue it onto the light blue background. You can add clear Mod-Podge over top to make it more protected.   After gluing down the image, add the 4 brown felt pieces to form a frame. Then, add the music note and written sheet/scroll. We curled ours on the end to look more like a scroll, but that’s not necessary to do.  After every thing is glued onto the light blue background, cut off the extra background around the three symbols. Add the threaded loop to the top to hang it up. That’s it! St. John of Damascus, pray for us. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

St. Catherine of Laboure’s feast day is traditionally celebrated on November 28th and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is on November 27th. So I thought I’d just make one ornament for both. Read about St. Catherine HERE . This may look like an intimidating ornament if you don’t feel you can draw well, and if that’s true for you I encourage you to use real Miraculous Medals and sew them onto the felt instead of using the gray felt and drawing the image of the medal.  To make this ornament you will need: light blue felt pink felt yellow felt green felt gray felt – or real miraculous medal(s) a black sharpie permanent marker scissors  (these  kind work well) glue (hot glue,  felt glue ,  or tacky glue – like  this  or  this ) thread and needle for the looped hanger First, cut out the parts like those above. With a black marker, draw an image of the Miraculous Medal on the gray felt shapes. OR use real medals. Glue down your medal-image parts, or sew on your Miraculous Medal(s) onto the blue background. Glue on the flowers, flower centers, and leaves. Cut out around the medals and flowers to remove the extra background. Now, add a threaded loop to the top so it can be hung up. St. Catherine and Our Lady, pray for us! May God bless you all with joy. ~JenMarie and Elizabeth

Many months ago I stumbled onto an article that I knew I needed to remember for this time a year! The article was originally published in Mail Online  and tells of a mystery giver that scattered hundreds of pebbles which had baby Jesus hand painted on them. The anonymous artist said he “simply wanted to bring joy and the real message of Christmas to people.” I thought this was the coolest idea, so this year I did something similar with my kids! Obviously they don’t have the ability to hand-paint baby Jesus on the stones, so I made an image of the baby Jesus and added 45 of them on a printable page. I printed the page off and the kids did the rest! It was fun and easy project for them to do. 🙂 If you want to do this too, you will need: flat river stones (we bought a few bags at the dollar store) mod-podge printable sheet (download below) paintbrush Download This Baby Jesus Page Here: First cut out the images of Jesus. Lightly brush the back of the image with mod-podge and place it onto the stone. Press it down to help remove any air bubbles or ceases. Now paint over top the image. Be sure to cover the entire image. Also paint over the edges of the picture and around the picture. This will help seal it so the image is protected from the weather. NOTE: This is NOT waterproof, but it does help a lot! You could buy waterproof sealer, too! Now let them dry.  Once they are dry they are ready to use! How to use these Jesus pebbles: Secretly, place them around your town! Place them on window sills, porches, sidewalks, steps, street furniture, or anywhere a passerby can find them. Place them around your house or party room before your Christmas party! Your guest will delight in seeing these little baby Jesus stones. At your Christmas party play a hid-n-seek game. Simply hid them and let the kids try to find them! Teachers: place them around your classroom or school for the kids to find. Youth groups can make and place these throughout town, church, the mall, etc. Give them as Christmas gifts! I’m sure there are countless ways to use these to remind others of the true meaning of Christmas, Do you have another idea or way you plan to use these? God bless you all this Advent Season! ~JenMarie

I mentioned in a post last week that Jonathan and I are working on an ebook to teach children about the Divine Mercy. Well, today I’m thrilled to tell you that it’s now available for you to purchase! This 36-page ebook is packed full of information to help you teach your kids about St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy! Aside from all the pages which include information about the history and meaning of the Divine Mercy, you will also find crafts and activity pages! The book‘s topics include: St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy (Life Summary) A Summary of the ABC’s of Mercy A – Ask for Mercy Why do I need mercy? St. Faustina and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy How do I ask for mercy? Learning the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy – Mini Book Activity Praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet – Instruction Sheet B – Be Merciful How are we called to be merciful? Jesus told us through St. Faustina (to be merciful) Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy – 3 Types of Mercy Unscramble the Works of Mercy Activity C – Complete Trust Trust Your Heavenly Father Just as Jesus Did Jesus’ Agony in the Garden Activity Jesus Told St. Faustina About Trust Prayer for Trust Jesus Banner The ABC’s of Mercy – Recap Page About the Divine Mercy Image Divine Mercy Coloring Page Divine Mercy Stand-Up Image Create a Divine Mercy Picture From Felt (Including Liturgical Ornament and Banner) All these pages are black and white so they are gentle on your printer’s ink. The cover and the last page have color, but these two pages can be printed in grayscale with no problems. This file is for purchase in our shop. Click Here to visit our shop and purchase it! We recommend this book be used with children ages 10 and up because of the reading material which is included in it. However, children under the age of 10 can enjoy the art activities and some of the simpler topics. Feel free to include your younger children in the discussions and add your own explanations to help make this information appropriate for their level of learning. Our family printed the ebook pages out and added them to a three-ring binder (one for each child). Most of the pages stayed together in the binder but some of the crafts the kids made to decorate our home. I’ve also included the patterns for the Divine Mercy Liturgical Ornament. The ebook also has a larger pattern so you can create a banner to hang in your home. In the processes of creating this ebook Jonathan and I have really deepened our understanding of the Divine Mercy and it taught us how necessary it is for us, our family, and our society.  We have enjoyed our time working together and we are pleased with the ebook and how it turned out. We hope you learn and grow from this book as well. This file is for purchase in our shop. Click Here to visit our shop and purchase it! Have a blessed day! ~JenMarie

Many Catholic families try to say a Rosary daily during Lent. I know that was how our family started saying a daily Rosary. It was a great way to begin a good habit! But one of the hardest things to do while saying a family Rosary is keeping young children quiet and happy while you pray. I’ve tried many different ways to keep my kids interested and involved. I’ve posted a list of ideas HERE and I’ve also created Rosary Sheets and Rosary Mats . We even made a Giant Pro-Life Rosary ! All were great ideas, but, as all things do, they can get old and the little ones begin to get wiggly again! So here is another attempt to keep them happy! 🙂 I created Lacing Rosaries! These are just right to keep little ones happy, involved, and interested! To create these you will need: the download (available for purchase HERE ) your printer stock/heavy paper laminator and 4 laminating sheets Note: the laminating step is not necessary, but without laminate, the lacing holes will break very easily. scissors hole punch yarn, shoestrings, thin ribbon, or other strings to use for lacing This file is for purchase in our shop. Click Here to visit our shop and purchase it! First, print the downloads onto heavy paper. Then cut them out. Next, use a hole punch to punch out the “Hail Mary” and “Our Father” lacing holes. We only punched the holes on the outer edge of the circle, not the ones between the crucifix and the Mary heart-center. Now laminate each sheet. Next, cut them out again and hole-punch them again. Leave about 1/4 inch (or more) of laminate all the way around the outer edge of the circle. This helps to keep the laminate from peeling apart. Cutting and hole punching 2 times may seem redundant, but they seal better if you do this step before and again after the laminating. It will help them hold up longer to the lacing and unlacing. Now they are ready to use! These are a great Rosary if you can’t say a Rosary all the way through in one sitting – you’ll never lose your spot!! Also, it may be a good idea to lace the Rosaries in one use and unlace them the next time you use them! Save the trouble of unlacing them after each use! It seemed to work best if the kids used one lace per decade. Attach the laces to the Our Father beads and then the child can start from there. They’ll lace with one string till they get to the next Our Father and then they can use a new string. The PDF includes:  Joyful Mysteries  Luminous Mysteries  Sorrowful Mysteries  Glorious Mysteries  All 4 on 1 Rosary Sheet (If you don’t want to make all 4 – just make 1!) This file is for purchase in our shop. Click Here to visit our shop and purchase it! I hope you and your little ones enjoy them! ~JenMarie