Wowza!
What with Easter, and certain weeks without children's litrugy, it has been AGES since the blog was updated. Sorry about that. And sorry for the delay on this post in particular. [Gillian] finished exams yesterday, and is now playing catch-up with many neglected parts of life.
To start off, I chose to focus on this week's gospel (John 10: 27-30) for the children't liturgy activity. While I was prepping for the liturgy I was scrounging around on the internet for craft and activity ideas. I started with trusty catholicmom.com, followed by catholicicing.com, but a lot of their activities for this Sunday were based off of the first reading, the story of Paul and Barnabas spreading the word of God, being welcomed by the Gentiles, but rejected by the Jews.
I don't know if it's a good thing that I keep thinking: "This reading/concept seems to difficult for the kids. Let's find something easier." There is a very fine tightrope I walk: I often want to challenge the kids, and get them thinking about why they come to church, and what they can get out of church. But I also have to remember that some of them are three years old and will most certainly not understand a word I am saying.
My thoughts on the activity I chose for this week are... well, I don't have many thoughts it. Personally, I think the kids have most likely done several activities based on the Good Shepherd, and this one probably wasn't anything extremely special. That tightrope I walk has an added level of difficulty: finding pizazz, making the activity memorable.
That being said, here is the rundown from the week:
I don't know if it's a good thing that I keep thinking: "This reading/concept seems to difficult for the kids. Let's find something easier." There is a very fine tightrope I walk: I often want to challenge the kids, and get them thinking about why they come to church, and what they can get out of church. But I also have to remember that some of them are three years old and will most certainly not understand a word I am saying.
My thoughts on the activity I chose for this week are... well, I don't have many thoughts it. Personally, I think the kids have most likely done several activities based on the Good Shepherd, and this one probably wasn't anything extremely special. That tightrope I walk has an added level of difficulty: finding pizazz, making the activity memorable.
That being said, here is the rundown from the week:
Supplies
- standard 8"x11" printer paper
- pencil crayons, markers, etc.
- glue sticks
- scissors
Instructions
First off, you will need this link. There are some brief explanations about the logisitcs of the colouring sheet on that site, as this activity isn't that complex. The gist of it is that you will need to print off two colouring sheets per person, one with a page that looks like this:
Followed by a second page that looks like this:
"Jesus is the Good Shepherd"
was originally written at the top of the second page, but I thought "the kids are going to cut it out anyways" and didn't want to waste the ink. Instead I whipped up a quick Word document titled "Jesus is the Good Shepherd!", and added that to the sheet the kids were going to keep.
Just to add some depth, I told the children that they were free to write as few or as many things as they wanted to under the heading:
How can I answer Jesus' call?
and have posted a picture of one child's reflections. If you can't read them, it says:
Just to add some depth, I told the children that they were free to write as few or as many things as they wanted to under the heading:
How can I answer Jesus' call?
and have posted a picture of one child's reflections. If you can't read them, it says:
1. Saying please.
2. Being there for others.
3. Being a friend.
2. Being there for others.
3. Being a friend.
Reflections
Timingwise, this activity was near perfect. What with there being lots to colour, as well as some complex cutting and gluing, it timed out great, especially for kids in the 4-6 year-old range. I knew that some of the older kids would finish quicker, and so brought a supplement activity (see the maze above), which the children enjoyed.
All in all, I would consider this activity a success.
All in all, I would consider this activity a success.