Updated Holy Week Printable & Links

Happy Palm Sunday!

I updated the Holy Week printables that I shared last year.  Click the picture below to access a free Holy Week minibook and blank Holy Week Planning Calendar. (UPDATED 2016)

Looking for activities to fill up your blank calendar?  Look no further!  I've compiled a list of resources and ideas below!

Holy Week:

Holy Week Printables @ Teaching Heart


Holy Week Meditation Journal @ Kids and Glitter


Holy Week Box @ It's An Always...Always Kind of Love


Holy Week Activities Post 1 and Post 2 @ Eyes on Heaven


Holy Week Day by Day @ Eyes on Heaven


Holy Week Mobile @ Drawn 2B Creative

Housecleaning Tradition @ Catholic Culture


Animated Passion Trilogy


Holy Week in Handprints @ Catholic Icing


Jerusalem Lesson and Godly Play @ Catholic Icing


Holy Week Lesson Plan @ The Catholic Toolbox


Peg Doll Holy Week Calendar @ Catholic Missionary Family


Holy Week 3-part or Sequencing @ Tired, Needs Sleep

General Triduum:

Triduum Bracelet @ Loyola Press


Triduum Notebooking Page @ Sadlier


Triduum Links @ The Catholic Toolbox


Triduum Craft @ Catholic Inspired


Triduum Coloring Page @ Look to Him and Be Radiant

Holy Thursday: 

Last Supper Craft @ Catholic Icing


Holy Thursday Learning Pack @ Eyes on Heaven


Watch Prince of Egypt to understand the Passover.


Last Supper Notebooking Page @ Catholic Icing


Unleavened Bread Recipe @ Catholic Icing


Passover Themed Snack @ Family in Feast and Feria

Good Friday:

Pray the Stations of the Cross.  (We use the Happy Saints version).


Begin Divine Mercy Novena.


Good Friday Nature Walk @ The Unlikely Homeschool


Good Friday Crafts @ Catholic Inspired


Good Friday Schedule and Printable Activities @ Eyes on Heaven


Watercolor Crucifix Craft @ Do Small Things With Love


Crown of Thorns Snack @ Free-N-Fun Easter


Crucifixion Notebooking Page @ Catholic Icing


Printable Resurrection Eggs @ Teaching Heart

Holy Saturday

Easter Story Cookies @ Catholic Icing


Lenten Supper @ Shower of Roses

Thanks for reading!

Check out my Holy Week board for more ideas:
Follow Andrea's board Catholic Kids: Holy Week on Pinterest.

8 Quick Ways to Celebrate the Annunciation

The Solemnity of the Annunciation is the day we celebrate the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of Jesus.  It is always nine months ahead of Christmas, on March 25th.  Though it is not a Holy Day of Obligation, there are so many wonderful ways to celebrate this special day!

Food
1. Eat Waffles!  It is a tradition in Sweeden to eat waffles on this day, owing to the fact that "Vaffelsdagen" (Waffle Day) and "Varfrudagen" (Lady Day) sound so similar.  (Source).

2.  Enjoy a Mary ParFIAT.  Enjoy a blueberry yogurt parfait for breakfast or a snack and make sure that your children understand what the colors of the various elements mean.

Coloring & Crafts
3. Print and color - probably the easiest way to celebrate this special day!
Family Feast and Feria - 4 different coloring pages
St. Anne's Helper

4. Create a Marian triptych.

Prayers
5. Pray the Joyful Mysteries

6. Pray the Angelus.

Songs
7. There is nothing I love more than a good Mary song!  Sing some of your favorite Marian Hymns in honor of our Blessed Mother.  My favorites are Sing of Mary, Hail Mary - Gentle Woman, and Holy is His Name.

Art Appreciation
8. There are so many beautiful paintings and works of art that showcase this amazing moment in Jesus' life.  Some of my favorites are listed below.  Find your favorite piece and discuss it with your children.
The Annunciation by Maurice Denis
Annunciation by J. Kirk Richards
The Annunciation by Frederic James Shields

For more great ideas, check out these awesome posts:
12 Simple Ways to Celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation
Spiritual Adoption of the Unborn
Celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation
8 Activities for the Feast of the Annunciation
Kids Don't Forget a Thing Like Waffles for Dinner
Feast of the Annunciation
On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord


Thanks for reading!

Puzzle Checklist: How to Turn Completing Schoolwork into a Game

Do you have a younger homeschooled child who moans and groans when it comes to finishing schoolwork?  Perhaps your child has problems staying on task, or perhaps just wants to know when they can finally be done so they can go play outside!

Once upon a time I had a laminated visual checklist hanging on the classroom wall with pictures of our subjects along with little checkboxes which we would check as we worked through them.  My little type-A daughter inherited my love of checklists so this setup worked very well for her.  When I started teaching my son last year, however, he could absolutely care less.  I knew I had to find something else to help him get through his work.

I ran across this great classroom completion chart a couple of years ago, and finally decided to implement my own version at the end of last year with my kids.  I was amazed at how well it worked!  It gives a great visual of how many subjects they have left in a fun, engaging way. 

Want to make your own?  It is so easy!  Print and laminate a picture of your child's choosing.  Cut it into as many pieces as you have subjects for.  Ours are for our "core subjects".  This year Rafael has 4 main subjects (phonics, handwriting, math, grammar) so we cut his puzzle into 4 pieces.  Add magnets to the back and you are done!  We use workboxes so I put each puzzle piece into the corresponding workbox drawer.  They get to put up each puzzle piece onto our whiteboard after we finish each subject.

Thanks for reading!