Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Claude Monet, The Painter Who Stopped the Trains by P. I. Malbie and illustrated by Jos Smith, 2010 Abrams Books for Young Readers.

The illustrator is the same wonderful one of the picture book on Mendel I mentioned a while back. This title tells the partly fictional story on how Monet came to accomplish his famous train paintings. We all enjoyed reading it, including my husband!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Building on Nature, The Life of Antoni Gaudi by Rachel Rodriguez, illustrated by Julie Paschkis, 2009 Henry Holt, 32 pages.

Like most art students and lovers, I have had mixed feelings about the architecture of Gaudi all my life. When our oldes son visited Barcelona and sent pictures of Gaudi buildings, I planned on learning more about him. Now I find this new and remarkable picture book telling children about a man who was perhaps little understood during his lifetime.

What I find in the warmly-illustrated pages is a likeable man! A devout Catholic, a lover of nature and of poverty, married to his life's hard work. Perhaps his art isn't traditional, in any shape or form, but there is a genuine aspect of Gaudi's work that one can't help being attracted to.

This picture book does a good job of bringing his life and work to young children and it is a fun read aloud, written in the present tense, in poetic lines. The author's note adds important biographical information including the fact that he was a very early recycler, using all sort of discarded materials in his buildings. A list of websites is also listed. I found this list of buildings with photos very useful!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Pippo the Fool, by Tracey E. Fern, illustrated by Pau Estrada 2009 Charlesbridge Publishing; 48 pages. ISBN: 1570916551

I heard this story long ago... most certainly from my story-telling aunt, who had the power to do exactly what this phenomenal books does: to turn real life stories into a delightful tale for children! But while my good auntie illustrated her stories with words in a way only she could do, this new publication is illustrated by lines and color in a way that will captivate young and old alike. One would be reminded of Tomie De Paola, but a Tomie de Paola turned-to-life with much more realistic, rich-in-detail full page spreads.

The story is one of big dreams, inventiveness, and great doses of courage and perseverance. Half a millennium ago in Florence, the great cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was all built, but for the dome... and a contest was announced for the building of an architectural feat never done before. Little Pippo, called the fool by the people, a goldsmith, dreamed of a plan... and had to undergo quite a bit to accomplish it!

Pictures books are such integral part of our family life... and books such as Pippo the Fool come to entertain, to educate and to delight. Hats off to writer and illustrator. Do not miss this gem!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Mozart, the Wonder Child, A Puppet Show in Three Acts by Diane Stanley, 2009 Harper Collins.

No need to introduce young Mozart or kids biographer extraordinaire Diane Stanley, but this brand new biography has a new twist: she wrote the whole book as a marionette play! The pictures look as if his whole life is a show, with characters suspended on strings. Expect the usual detail-rich, high level writing that comes with her wonderful biographies.

Another innovative aspect is the medium she chose for the paintings for this book: the 500-year old method of egg-tempera. On the interior of the back jacket she explains about this medium and directs readers to the Society of Tempera Painters at www.eggtempera.com. For this art teacher, this definitely sparks my curiosity... potential projects abound in my head!

Ana's Picture Book of the Week

Look! Seeing the Light in Art by Gillian Wolfe, 2006 Frances Lincoln's Children Books (UK), 45 pages

I found this quite accidentally when browsing the art shelves in the non-fiction children books section at our library system's main branch last week.

Mind you, I am always carting around mountains of books in huge, oversize bags, and I am thankful for strong, teen sons, and for downtown ballet and piano classes allowing me the time to browse at the library.

At the library, I try to throw in the bag only what looks promising, and I still end up bringing home volumes that go directly back into the return bag, almost unopened. So what I post here is truly the cream of the crop-- at least the cream of my own random crop!

Back to Wolfe's marvelous book: she is from the UK and has received awards for her art books for children. I would give her an award as well! (I have just requested the two other titles in this series from Inter Library Loan). I like the paintings she chooses to show her artistic points-- in this volume, the effect of light onto works of art-- and I like the language she uses to talk about them. The book is for children and yet it doesn't talk down or use patronizing language. Art should be talked about simply, clearly-- and she does just that, as she discusses the use of light in different aspects using 18 great works of art as examples. In fact, I am taking this book to take to my art students at co-op on Friday, and my teens at home approve!

The only negative thing I would say is that I would have chosen another of the many art works depicted in the book for the cover. Alas, that may be a very insignificant point, but it is one that could mean a lot to a visual person like me, who had to bet on the stunning art wok inside the book when the cover shows a very boring Picasso.

To close, another positive: Wolfe is not afraid to acknowledge that it is impossible to talk about art without discussing sacred art. Indeed her book opens with the gorgeous Conversion of Saint Paul by Caravaggio (so timely for the Year of Saint Paul!), and it closes with a discussion on "Heavenly Light", using Blessed Fra Angelico's version of Paradise from The Last Judgement.

What We're Working on Tonight....

A fun project/contest for an upcoming book by Mary G. being published by Hillside Education. Won't you give it a try too? Deadline is February 15.

From Mary G.:

Margot Davidson at Hillside Education has consented to publish the book I've written, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Home, and we're hoping to have it out this spring.

We'd like to use Michelangelo's Creation of Man image as the cover, but not the original. Would you ask your children under the age of 18, to do a sketch, drawing or painting of the Creation of Man? Ted Schluenderfritz, who will do the layout of the cover will choose the winner for the cover of the book. The winner will receive a free copy of the book and credit for being the artist.

We'd like the submissions by February 15th.

Here are the guidelines:

* anyone under the age of 18 can compete -- public, private, parochial or home-educated
* only hand-done work will be reviewed (no computer graphics allowed)
* the image should be scanned in at high res and sent to Margot at Hillside -- or you can send the original to Margot (Hillside Education, 475 Bidwell Hill Road, Lake Ariel, PA 18436) for her to scan
* the artist can draw all of the picture, or only God and Adam, or just the fingers touching ... whatever they'd like as long as it is clearly a representation of Michelangelo' s original
* any 2-d media may be used for this project -- collage, paint, pen-and-ink, colored pencil, whatever.

Art Project: Saint Paul Mosaic

I worked with four girls (3rd to 8th grade) once a week since July: we traced a picture of Saint Paul with pencil and then found magazine photos/colors to match.

Click on the image to see how we used all sorts of photos! Water down the glue and use it with a paintbrush, coating the back of each piece and then brushing a layer of that on top of each newly glued piece as well.




Cross posted on Ana's Journal: feel free to email me - anabragahenebry at gmail dot com - with any project questions!

Review: Fenestrae Fidei

Fenestrae Fidei, by Sean Fitzpatrick
2007, Hillside Education, 54 pages.

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M.A.

I am so excited to post a review on this new coloring book! My girls and I spent a great part of the last weekend working on these beautiful pictures to color! Sean Fitzpatrick, the artist, knows very well what gets young artists to want to grab those colored pencils...

The illustrations are fairly simple for young hands and yet a more experienced artist can have a lot of fun with it. Hillside Education's site offers the suggestion of brushing th finished pictures with vegetable oil for a stained glass effect, and we did that! These were colored by me, and by daughters age 12 and 8.

Fenestrae Fidei is a companion book to Catholic Mosaic, also by Hillside Education, yet may be perfectly well used alone. For each of the illustrations, which are depicted in calendar (and liturgical) year order, there is a brief explanatory paragraph.

If you want to do it with Catholic Mosaic, a great idea would be to occupy the readers with the coloring activity while the picture book is read aloud. (Catholic Mosaic is a compendium of study/activity guides on numerous Catholic-theme picture books one can find in the library).

Fenestrae Fidei (or, in English, Windows of Faith) comes in a spiral bound format, with a large black & white drawing on each page. There are lots of them, as Catholic Mosaic author Cay Gibson lists four picture books per month. The drawings are all in a stylized iconic style, varying somewhat in intensity of detail. And they are just beautiful!

I would have liked to see a heavier stock paper in the pages, but what we have been doing is scanning and printing copies for home use. This allows for several children, for instance, to work on the same pictures at any time. Hillside Publications allows for coying within one family, which is of course a wonderful advantage.

Fenestrae Fidei is a very Catholic book, reflecting events of the life of Our Lord, the tradition of our Church and the holiness of the saints.

Families today are fortunate to have a product such as this!

Available from Hillside Education.

Review: Who Carved the Mountain?

Who carved the Mountain? The Story of Mount Rushmore by Jean L. S Patrick, illustrated by Renee Graef, 2005, Mount Rushmore History Association, 32 pages, hardcover.

Our family was delighted to visit Mount Rushmore recently, along with several other Love2Learn families. Since we live in South Dakota, Mount Rushmore books have prominent and permanent diplays in our library system's many branches. Who Carved the Mountain saw the inside of our weekly library bag many times and became our favorite Mount Rushmore picture book. When I saw the warm, familiar cover at the Mount Rushmore gift shop's window, I could not resist it: I went inside resolutely and by the time I came out, our family was the proud owner of a copy of this beautifully illustrated volume!

Who Carved the Mountain features the many people associated with Mount Rushmore in attractive, friendly and educational double-spread pages. There are twelve of these, depicting Doane Robinson who first thought of the project, artist Borglum, the four presidents, the project's workers and more. Pictured in warm colors and rich in detail, they are also described in verse and on an interesting-tidbits-full sidebar. The text on each page is just enough, providing both brief enough descriptions and meaty enough content. The verses are told in a first person perspective:

The Pointer

I am the pointer
I make the marks on the mountain

First, I work in Borglum’s studio
I measured the models of our presidents
And I multiplied each number by twelve.

I loved the math, the complicated math.
The mouths would be eighteen feet wide!

Next I climbed Mount Rushmore.
With a pointing machine and a paintbrush
I marked measurements on the rock.

The workers knew exactly where to drill
Because I made the marks on the mountain.

Who drilled the holes in the mountain?

Each set of verses lead up to next person to be described: the stone carver, the "power man", the presidents, Borglum and his son--they are all there. The sidebars offer a biographical sketch and curious and interesting facts about each one.

Illustrator Renee Graef, known to Catholic homeschoolers as the Laura Ingalls' picture books illustrator who captured so well the original Garth Williams pictures, and from Melissa Wiley's books' covers, did a fabulous job bringing the feeling of the Black Hills to her illustrations, as well as the historical and complex technical details of the carving. Her portraits of the four presidents sitting by their desks are also warm, rich and just lovely to enjoy.

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M.A., and Nancy Gerdes

Available at your favorite bookseller.

Cross posted on Ana Braga-Henebry's Journal

Speaking of Geography Lists

I've finally put together the (still somewhat rough) companion site to my Architecture Unit Study from the Spring Issue of Heart and Mind Magazine. Most of it consists of links for studying individual buildings, organized chronologically by continent. Suggestions welcome there too.

The Architecture for Kids Blog

This too may end up on the love2learn.net site after we get that automated.

Review: Our Amazing Bridges

"Our Amazing Bridges", from Poof-Slinky.
Bridge-building kit, ages 8 and up.

This kit is a nice hands-on addition to a study of Roman history, architecture, or engineering. The kit provides all the materials need to build a Roman arch bridge, a suspension bridge, and a truss bridge.

The Roman Arch bridge starts with instructions for mixing your own voussoirs (the curved arch pieces) using the provided molds and casting compound. This was a little tricky and our first attempts came out too dry and crumbly. Fortunately there was enough material to cover a few mistakes, so we tried again. The second time we had good results (a real-life lesson in persistence) and building the bridge itself was a snap.

We also built the truss bridge, which as you can see from the photo was sturdy enough to support several little Matchbox cars.
The kids had fun painting the landscape base with the paints (included). We even filled the river bed with water for a nice touch of realism when the paint had dried.

We haven't finished the suspension bridge as we only have the two towers completed so far, but those went together fairly easily.

The kit includes: plastic landscape base, paints, glue, and brushes, bridge parts, casting compound, sandpaper (for smoothly the finished voussoirs), a 48-page architecture book that covers a bit of the history and engineering involved in bridge building, and easy-to-follow instructions.


Reviewed by M.E.S. (3/27/2007)
Available at Amazon and other online stores.

Review: Stations of the Cross Grotto Kit

Stations of the Cross Grotto Kit
Published by Illuminated Ink
Recommended for children age 10 and up, or for children 6 and up with close parental supervision and guidance.


Today, Ash Wednesday, the kids and I began a beautiful Lenten craft project: a Stations of the Cross Grotto kit from Illuminated Ink.

The kit contains all the materials needed to make all fourteen Stations, including full color artwork, colorful semi-precious stones (white Magnesite, purple Amethyst Quartz, pink Coral Quartz, and black Obsidian), wooden craft sticks, 3-D sticky dots, chenille pipe cleaners for hangers, station name plates and numbers, and Mod Podge and brushes. All that you need to provide is a scissors and regular craft glue, such as Elmer’s or Aleene’s.

As with all the Illuminated Ink kits that we’ve used, the instructions are excellent. This one has full color, step-by-step illustrations, in a very easy-to-follow layout with large print.

Unlike many of their kits, there is no coloring involved; you use the high quality, full color artwork that’s provided to cut out a total of three layers for the 3-D effect.

Primarily because of the precise cutting required (we tried both an Exacto knife and a good sharp scissors and both worked just fine), as well as the number of steps (46) to complete each grotto, the kit is recommended for ages 10 and up. We worked on the first three stations this morning; the 16- and 14- year olds had no problem with any of it, but the 6- and 9- year olds definitely needed help. Still, it was never so much that they became frustrated or wanted to quit.

The instructions state, in big bold letters, DON’T RUSH! Good advice. The five of us spent two hours to complete just three of the stations. It was time well-spent, however, as the finished stations are beautiful and will offer much opportunity for meditation. The work itself teaches patience, obedience (to the instructions!), and also provides some fine motor skills practice.

We can easily spend four more sessions like this morning’s in order to have the full set finished well before Good Friday. I want my children to know the stations by heart, and this project will definitely help.

For more information about Illuminated Ink products, see Elizabeth Yank’s review in this blog from last May.

UPDATE: We're picking up the pace: Today we completed four of the grottos in slightly less than two hours. The younger kids were able to do everything except the precision cutting by themselves. Progress! (2-23-07)

Reviewed by Mary-Eileen Swart (2-21-07)
Available from Illuminated Ink

Getty Games

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has some fun (and sometimes challenging!) art-related kid games on its website. Check it out here.

Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai

(cross-posted from The CIN Blog)

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is currently hosting an incredible collection of religious icons from the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine "in the shadow of Mount Sinai in Egypt."

This exhibition offers an unprecedented look at some of the oldest surviving icons from the Byzantine world, and provides rare insight into monastic life, past and present, at the remote Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine.

Lying in the shadow of Mount Sinai in Egypt, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine is the world's oldest continuously operating Christian monastery. Since the third century, monks have resided here, at the foot of the mountain where Moses is said to have encountered God. The present church and monastery walls were commissioned by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, who ruled over most of the Mediterranean region, including the Sinai peninsula, between 527 and 565.

Fifty-three objects have traveled from the monastery in Sinai for this exhibition. All were either commissioned by the monastery or received as gifts and have remained in the continuous care of generations of monks at Saint Catherine's.

Because of its geographic and political isolation from the Byzantine Empire, the monastery escaped the destruction of religious images that was sanctioned by Byzantine emperors during the period of Iconoclasm in the 700s and 800s. The veneration of icons continued uninterrupted at Sinai, and over the centuries the monastery both commissioned and received as gifts numerous icons, manuscripts, and liturgical objects.

Today, Saint Catherine's monastery is the world's largest repository of Byzantine icons. The works on display underscore the icon's central role in religious practice and introduce the public to the compelling history of Saint Catherine's.

View images and details on the Getty website.

Amy Welborn reports on an article regarding the exhibit.

The exhibit runs from November 14, 2006 - March 4, 2007

Review: Art Masters Enhance Religion

Art Masters Enhance Religion
Http://Members.aol.com/enhanceart
Parent's Booklet and various prints (see description)

If you are looking for an easy to use art appreciation program that uses beautiful artwork, then you will want to check out the Art Masters Enhance Religion program.

Created by the Enhance Company, this is a unique art appreciation course that can be integrated with any religion program or stand by itself. In addition to their K-8 Grade School Curriculum, the Enhance Company also produces a Home School Series. There are four grade levels.

The Primary program (Gr. K-2) includes a parent’s booklet plus twelve 11” x 14” prints. The theme is Penance and Holy Eucharist.

The Intermediate level (Gr. 3-5) includes a parent’s booklet plus twelve 11” x 14” prints, eight 5” x 8” laminated prints, and rosary booklet. The theme is the Ten Commandments and the Sacraments.

The Junior High level (Gr. 6-8) includes a parent’s booklet plus ten 11” x 14” prints and ten 5” x 8” laminated prints. The theme is Confirmation.

The Junior High/Senior High level (Gr. 6-12) includes a parent’s booklet plus forty-six 5” x 8” laminated prints. The theme is the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Because the 11” x 14” prints are large, they are ideal for “classroom display.” If you have always wondered what to put on that easel gathering dust, now you know! The quality of the large prints is outstanding. They are frameable. Most of the prints are of famous artists such as Michelangelo’s Pieta. There are, however, some lesser known artists because of the message the authors want to convey. For example, Nuner-Segura’s The Breaking of the Bread is used for First Communion. Many, but not all, of the smaller laminated prints are black and white. The authors of this program are looking for another source for affordable, small color prints.

What makes this program so wonderful is the background information and discussion questions. In the parent’s booklet, every print includes an easy to use, concise, one page write up that includes the theme, e.g. The Flight into Egypt; information about the artist, Giotto, when he lived, biographical information and other pertinent facts, such as the style of the painting or the school of art; the title of the painting and description of the painting; questions related to the aesthetics, e.g. Who does the Christ Child seem to be looking at in the picture?; Art Criticism Questions, e.g. How did the artist show movement?; and Projects. Read the Bible message (Matt. 2: 13-15). Discuss.

There is also an overview of the program in each parent booklet that explains general terms such as Art History, Aesthetics, Art Production, etc.

For many of us, we look at a painting or a work of art and we are at a loss as to what to discuss with our children. We know that we like a painting, yet we find it difficult to articulate our reasons why.

With the Art Masters Enhance Religion program, we are given the tools to begin a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of art through beautiful artwork, thoughtful discussion questions and related projects.

This religion program offers an integrated approach to religion and art, making life a little easier for mom. Although each grade level is geared to a particular grade level because of the typical religious topic at that age, this program could easily be adapted by any grade level. You don’t need to be an art critic to use this program. The material is all laid out for you. Except for the discussion questions, which work best with another adult, although the student could write out the answers, an older child could easily do this program independently.

Even if your school year becomes hectic and overwhelming with too many activities, too much curriculum, and too little time, you can still display these beautiful works of art and enjoy them as a whole family. Art doesn’t have to be something extra that never gets done. Art can also be appreciating fine works of art displayed in your own home.

Due to availability and price, the packages are subject to change. Please see the publisher for updated information.

Fun, Beautiful Crafts that Teach (and Games too!)

If you are looking for Catholic crafts that will keep on teaching long after they have been created, then you won’t want to miss Illuminated Ink craft projects. Illuminated Ink is a small publisher of lovely art projects your children will treasure.

While the majority of the items they produce are high quality, paper, cut, color, and assemble products with a Catholic theme, they also have a Woven Cross Kit (made with vellum “ribbons”), a Marian Grotto Kit (made with popsicle sticks, picture, and polished semi-precious gemstones), a few wooden items (e.g. Wooden Rosary Holder Kit with themes ranging from the Sacred Heart to Our Lady of Fatima), and Catholic games, such as Litany (a card game), as well as a few books from other publishers (A Treasure Chest of Catholic Traditions and Arms of Love). They also have a few miscellaneous items like Saint Symbol Stickers. These are the same symbols found in the Litany and Bingo game. Very affordable, all items are $20.00 and under and the majority are $10.00 or less.

For the projects that require coloring, a softer color pencil, such as Berol Prismacolor found in art supply stores (Timberdoodle also sells them), creates impressive results. They are much better than crayons or harder color pencils. You will not want to use anything else.

A sampling of attractive paper products for young children ages 3-5 and up includes a Catholic Bookmark Set, Heavenly Host Paper Angels Kit, Jesse Tree Ornament Kit, Marian Apparition Trading Cards, Spiritual Bouquet Card Kit and Precious Mary Paper Doll Set. A younger child will need adult help to create some parts of Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut’n Color, which is a 3-dimensional diorama storybook with movable characters when completed.

For older children and adults, there are some more complicated projects such as the Passion Play Cut’n Color Kit (A unique paper theater) and the Hidden Sanctuary Shadowbox Kit (Reminiscent of Victorian Shadow boxes, this kit is absolutely exquisite.).

Illuminated Ink Craft Kits
(listed in order of difficulty - for a complete product listing, please visit their website)

Saint Symbol Stickers Ages 3-Up

Saint Symbol Stickers could be used in a variety of ways from incentives or rewards on school workbook pages, or as fun accessories for a child’s stationary to liven up letters to a pen pal. They are great for boys or girls. A child could also make a mini saint book with a sticker per page and a short biography of the saint. The Saint Symbol Stickers could also be used for a history timeline. They could make saints days on a calendar. The possibilities are endless. What a great way to reinforce learning about the saints! Each package includes 80 ready-to-color saint symbol stickers representing 40 different saints. These are the same Saint symbols found in the games Litany and Bingo. Inexpensive and attractive, the Saint Symbol Stickers would make an ideal stocking stuffer.

Catholic Bookmark Kit Ages 3-Up

The Catholic Bookmark Kit includes 15 ready-to-color 3” by 8” durable card stock bookmarks with 5 different designs, including a Psalm verse, several clever sayings, such as Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE), or a Catholic quote (“The worst prison is a closed heart” by Pope John Paul II), all reminding children of the spiritual values of their faith. The artwork is bold, dramatic, fun, and professional looking. To make them last even longer, you may want to laminate them.

Marian Apparition trading Cards Ages 3-Up

The Marian Apparition Trading Cards set includes seven different lovely pictures of the Blessed Mother on the front, from Our Lady of Fatima to Our Lady of Knock and information about who, when, and why on the back. For example, for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Who is “Our Lady of Mt. Carmel appeared to Simon Stock.” When: July 16, 1251. Why: St. Alphonsus said, “The Most Holy Mother is pleased when her servants wear Her scapular as a mark that they have dedicated themselves to Her service, and are members of the Family of the Mother of God.” The cost of the trading cards is an unbelievable $1.00. They are approximately 3” x 4”. Beautiful artwork will make them fun to color.

Precious Mary Paper Doll Set Ages 5-Up

The Precious Mary Paper Doll Set comes with one 8” paper doll, Our Lady of the Kitchen, six attractive outfits (all with titles like Our Lady of the Smile, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, etc.), a stand to tape on the back and a prayer, all on card stock to color and cut. Once again, the artwork is lovely. Your daughter will enjoy playing with this charming paper doll for hours.

Jesse Tree Ornament Kit Ages 5-Up

The Jesse Tree Ornament Kit comes with 12 ready-to-assemble, 3-dimensional ornaments on card stock, instructions, Bible verses to find the corresponding story to each ornament, string, and sequins. As with the other projects, when completed, the child will have a beautiful art project, he or she will want to proudly display. Each finished ornament is approximately 3” x 3” x 2.” They also sell a wooden tree ornament that requires some assembly to display the ornaments on.

Spiritual Bouquet Card Kit Ages 5-Up

The Spiritual Bouquet Card Kit includes four pastel-colored lattice-work window cards (this card can be purchased individually) made of card stock, four green paper background sheets that go under the window to arrange flower stickers on, four paper card inserts with a cheerful rhyme, saying that this card is a spiritual bouquet, four sheets for the back of the card describing the Catholic symbolism of various flowers found on the card (Irises—Mary’s Sword of Sorrow or Geraniums—Gentle Virgin, etc.) along with words of encouragement, four envelopes, lots of flower, grass, and butterfly stickers, and pastel colored tiny metal brads to open the windows. Instructions are included. This easy to assemble project is quite beautiful when completed and would be a joy to give as a gift. But most importantly, the child is learning to give a spiritual gift of prayers along with this beautiful card.

First Communion Card Kit Thank You Cards Ages 5-Up

The First Communion Card Kit Thank You Cards come in packs of five, ten or twenty cards. Similar in design to the Spiritual Bouquet Cards, the front of the card has a lattice work window with a design underneath. This card is unique in that the kit includes pieces of colored cellophane for the window panes to create a stained glass effect. Inserts for under the window include the words “Thank You” along with an inspirational picture of wheat, grapes, and a host for the child to color. This insert works as both a backdrop for the window and a blank inside for the card. Once completed, the child will have a beautiful personal gift he or she can send as a thank you. Instructions, translucent vellum envelopes, and tiny metal brads to open the windows are also included.

Other card kit options include First Communion Card Kit Invitations. These also are available in packs of 5, 10, or 20. Two other seasonal card kits are Heaven ‘n Nature Christmas Card Kit and O Antiphon Christmas Card Kit.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut ‘n Color Book Ages 5-Up

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut ‘n Color is actually a 3-dimensional story book about Our Lady of Guadalupe. Once completed, this cut, color, and assemble kit creates a lovely storybook attached to an attractive diorama that children can use with the paper dolls to act out the story. A few parts will need some adult supervision. On the bottom of the “book” are pages of the story that you turn while the diorama remains in view. Each kit includes the book, scenery, church, and paper dolls of Juan Diego, the Bishop, and Our Lady of Guadalupe all on card stock with easy to follow instructions. A craft knife or X-acto knife is required. The picture on the cover does not give justice to how beautiful this project is. Once completed, your child will have an attractive diorama to play with and a story to read over and over again.

Wooden Rosary Holder Kit Ages 5-Up

The Wooden Rosary Holder Kit creates a lovely wooden plaque to hang your child’s rosary on. One of the few wooden projects, this kit includes a wood plaque and knob (to hold the rosary), stickers, an attractive picture to color, glitter glue, brush, and sealant. There are several pictures to choose from: Our Lady of Fatima, St. Joseph, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Sacred Heart of Jesus. Illustrated step-by-step instructions are included to ensure success. As with most products, this is more than just a fun kit. There is a short synopsis of the saint or apparition chosen. Once completed, your child will have a beautiful plaque he or she will want to proudly display, and at the same time, a special place to hang his or her rosary. No more lost or tangled rosary. With this beautiful plaque, your child will have a daily reminder of God’s great love. Approximate size is 3” x 5.”

Marian Grotto Kit Ages 6-Up

The Marian Grotto Kit allows your child to create his or her own lovely miniature grotto of the Blessed Mother from "popsicle" sticks, a picture of the Blessed Mother to color (you can choose Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Snows, or Our Lady of Lourdes) a Grotto background to color, polished semi-precious gemstones (Turquesite, Turritella Agate, Moss Agate and Yellow Jasper), a little booklet explaining what a Grotto is and a description of the Marian Apparition chosen, and illustrated step-by-step directions. The finished grotto can stand freely on a tabletop or be hung on a wall, and is approximately 7" tall.

Woven Cross Kit – Primary Ages 8-Up

Woven Cross Kit – Primary creates 3 beautiful woven crosses. Each kit comes with thin strips of vellum paper 3 ½” x 3” (The primary kit colors are green, purple, and black with gold accents), gold rhinestuds, red metal hearts, and step-by-step illustrated instructions. The quality and beauty of the materials makes this project especially striking. The project also comes in pastel colors.

Passion Play Cut 'n Color Kit Ages 8-Up

The 3-D Passion Play Cut ‘n Color Kit creates a spectacular miniature theater when completed. Each kit displays in a circle format four ready-to-color, 3-dimensional scenes (The Last Supper, The Agony in the Garden, The Crucifixion, and the Resurrection). Three are back to back on the bottom and one is perched on top. (You might like to display it on a lazy-susan in order to change between scenes). Easy-to-follow, step-by-step, illustrated instructions are provided to insure success. Once completed, children will have a beautiful theater to re-enact the events of Holy Week, beginning with the Last Supper through the Resurrection, along with numerous movable characters, and 3 mini-booklets (Biblical excerpts from The Agony in the Garden, The Crucifixion, and the Resurrection). Besides the miniature booklets, there are scriptural verses printed along the perimeter of each scene. Also along the top tier there are nine virtues: Joy, Peace, Faithfulness, self-control, etc. Finished size: 10" x 10" x 13 ½". Younger children will need some adult supervision.

Hidden Sanctuary Shadowbox Kit, Year of the Eucharist Ages: 12-Up
The Hidden Sanctuary Shadowbox Kit, Year of the Eucharist, is absolutely gorgeous. This kit (reminiscent of the Victorian style) opens to display a shadowbox in one window and an inspirational prayer in the opposite window. The shadowbox picture for the Year of the Eucharist is a beautiful 3D image of Our Lord holding the Eucharist with an angel kneeling in adoration. On other side, the Anima Christi prayer is displayed in the shape of a chalice on vellum paper. The Year of the Eucharist is one of several themes, including Nativity of the Lord, and Our Lady of the Rosary. Truly a hidden sanctuary, luxurious papers, Victorian-style picture, and inspirational prayer make this project especially exquisite and a keepsake to treasure. This kit is recommended for people with patience. The completed project measures 6” x 8.”

Illuminated Ink Games

Litany Simple Version: Ages 3-7 Alternative Version: 8-Up

Litany offers two versions to play this game of 80 saint symbol cards (40 pairs). In the easier version, the object of the game is to match like cards as in the card game concentration. After finding two matching cards, the player calls out, “St. . . . , pray for us.” In the version of the game for older children, the game is slightly more complicated. Each game comes with 80 saint symbol cards, instructions, and a saint symbol information booklet that includes the name of the saint, when he or she lived, whether the saint was a martyr, bishop, confessor, etc., the symbol of the saint and why that symbol is associated with that saint.

Saint Search Game Ages: 4-Up

The Saint Search Game is played in the same fashion as Bingo. After picking a saint token from the pile, instead of covering a number on a square, the player crowns the saint with a golden nimbus (token). The player to cover the first row, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, wins. An alternate version for longer play is to cover the whole card. Another method of play not mentioned is to cover just the four corners. The cards use the same 40 saints and symbols found in the Litany game. Since both symbols and names are used on the game cards and tokens, children do not need to be able to read in order to play the game. If an older child or adult is playing, they could read the information from the booklet while the children are covering their saints. Each game comes with 12 playing boards (5” x 6 ½” cards), 40 saint tokens, 200 golden nimbuses and a saint symbol information booklet (This is the same booklet as found in Litany.). For a new fun twist on Bingo that reminds children of the saints, the Saint Search Game is sure to be a hit.

The Bayeux Tapestries

If you are looking for an educational activity to the during your homeschool Easter break, here is an idea. On a recent trip to an Imax film theater, our family enjoyed a production entitled The Vikings: Journey to New Worlds. Sprinkled with the usual dose of revisionist history, it was nevertheless very interesting and well done. One fascinating segment was about the account of the work done in 1953 by an archaeologist couple from Norway, who carefully retraced Leif the Lucky's travels and finally found the ruins of his Vineland settlement in North America. The film is not yet available in DVD since it is still being shown in Imax theatres around the world. For more information on the film and showtime locations, go to the official website here.

The film relied on the amazing Bayeux tapestries to tell part of the story, embroidered 1000 years ago depicting the history of the Norman Conquest, the Battle of Hastings, and everything that happened from Saint King Edward the Confessor until William the Conqueror was crowned king of England. Searching on the web, I found a most interesting website from Reading, UK with an interactive set of the tapestries, scene by scene, with captions. A great resource for any curious student to revisit an important part of the History of Europe.

Ancient Church Discovered by Archaeologists

4th Century Christian Church discovered by Israeli Archaeologists

(and they thought all the good stuff was found long ago)