Advent

We are at the season of Advent.
Advent is a special time set aside by the Church to prepare.
We are preparing for the Birth of Our Lord Jesus.
When we go for Holy Mass - we will see how we prepare with the rest our Community through Mass and other traditions.
In our Parish we also have the lighting of the Advent Wreath.
The Advent Wreath is only of the many traditions we follow.
We too can anticipate, prepare for Jesus in various ways in our own homes.

During Advent, we will find that the Priests wear Purple Vestments during Mass.
The Priests wear Purple because it is also a time for Adults to fast and pray in preparation of Jesus' Birth and to remind us, little ones to keep in in mind that  Jesus is waiting to be born in our homes and our hearts.



NOTE: The following is for information only and the children are not required to learn  it. It will be  nice, however,  to make the Christmas Tradition come alive in our families by trying at least some of the below:



At home, we can ask our parents to make an Advent wreath for us.

ADVENT WREATH: 

An Advent wreath is made up of a wreath and has 4 candles.
There are 3 Purple Candles & 1 Rose or Pink Colour Candle.
We light one Candle every week.
The light of the Candle represents the Light of Christ.
On the first Sunday of Advent the Wreath is Blessed. (This can be done at home with a Simple Prayer)
Then every every day - one candle is lit on correspondence with the week of Advent we are in.
There are many prayers and hymns that you can look up and make personal for your family.

A simple and easy tway to make a paper Advent  Wreath

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/mpaperadvent.htm

How to make an Advent Wreath: 

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=954

ADVENT CALENDAR

An Advent Calendar is a Special  Calendar made to count the days to Christmas . Children will especially enjoy this tradition as it will help build up their excitement to Christmas. 

There are many different creative ways to make an Advent Calendar - they can either have pockets opening to something or windows that show something. 

The pockets or windows generally open up to a Verse or Thought or a small prayer or even Christmas Images  leading up to Christmas. 

Here are some links for free printable Advent Calendars  or ideas to make your own:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/madvent-tree.htm

http://www.sermons4kids.com/santa_advent_calendar.htm

http://www.craftinterrupted.com/2010/11/advent-countdowns.html

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/advent_calendar.htm




Wishing you a Blessed Season!!

Sharing With Friends

AIM:   To encourage the Christian Virtue of Sharing in little children. 

When we make new friends, we also like to share our things with them like our toys, colors,our lunch at school and even maybe a pencil.Even though some of us don't like to share our things,as good Christians we should practice good manners and courtesy towards each other.

Teacher: How many of you made new friends last class?
(All hands go up).
Teacher: What do you like to do with your new friends?
(some of them raise their hands to answer and they answer play with their friends, help them with homework and share their things with them).
Teacher:Who is our best friend? that one friend who never fights with us and even talks to us when we are angry or sad?
(All the children shout in a chorus saying JESUS).

Small Story: 

Perry Porcupine had no friends.People were all afraid of him.He was very sad. Fury Fred came by. "Oh, my! what beautiful needles! May I have two? I want to make a sweater."

"Take my needles!" Perry said. "And will you be my friend?"
Furry Fred hopped up to Perry. "Sure! I like you! I'll be your friend."
Like Fury Fred, We need friends.

Song: 

Sharing, if we would all keep sharing, 

Sharing all the things we have, 

Oh what joy, what peace and contentment , 

If we would keep sharing all we have. 

(Repeat above again)

Activity/ Handout: 

Jesus , Our Friend

Jesus Christ was truly God. He was also truly man. He thought with a human mind, acted with a human will and loved with a human heart. 

Jesus, the Son of God, wants to be our FRIEND.

Action song:

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins

(Point to sky, then towards yourself and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards
(Both thumbs pointing towards chest,towards the front,towards the sky and then towards the floor)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards
(Both thumbs pointing towards chest,towards the front,towards the sky and then towards the floor)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins
(Point to sky and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Take a step forward then backwards then towards the right and then towards the left)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

I am forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Take a step forward then backwards then towards the right and then towards the left)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins
(Point to sky and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards, forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Repeat all the actions together)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

(Repeat many times and faster).

Hello - to new friends.

AIM:   To encourage social development in young children.

Friends.

We all need friends. Children need them even more!!
Especially when they come to a new environment like a Classroom , making friends helps them break the ice and cheer up! It also makes class more interesting & fun!!

One of our first classes was

"Hello to New Friends" 

A friend is someone who accepts you just the way you are, believes in you and encourages you. Someone who is trustworthy, who never forsakes you, who forgives your mistakes, who enjoys being with you, and who makes you laugh.

We started off by introducing ourselves and teaching kids the importance of friends.

Teacher: How many of y ou have friends? 

(Lots of hands go up) 

Teacher: How many of you have Best Friends? 

(Hands go up) 

Teacher: How many of you love making New friends?   

(Hands go up) 

Teacher: So, how do we make a friend? 

(Silence) 

Then the teachers have a little activity with the help of volunteers and basically teach the kids to say "Hello" and introduce themselves. 

We then proceeded to explain to the kids who a friend really is. 

Kids were encouraged to learn the names of other kids in class. 

As an activity we gave them handouts to fill and paste it on their notebooks. 
It was more of a checklist. 

Following this we encouraged kids to think of a Friend - who has all the best qualities and more. 


With a little prodding our young geniuses came up with the Correct Answers on their own: 

JESUS!!

Yes, Jesus can be our Very Best Friends and He Loves to talk to us. 
Prayer is one of the nicest things because the second we say a small "Hello" / "what's up Jesus? " Our Best Friend Jesus is ready and around to talk to us!!!

Action Song: 

Jesus Loves me: 

Jesus Loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
He is great and we are small. 

Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so!!!

Action Songs for little ones:)

Children are absolutely adorable!They are always so eager to please - a smile and appreciation goes a long way with these little ones.

Having said that keeping them attentive and interested is a different story.

I have noticed that most 5 year olds get fidgety really soon and we need to keep them constantly engaged.

As teachers, we constantly try and make things as interesting for them as possible. More often than not , i use small props for them to "touch" and "feel" and get the whole class involved in a little "action".
We get rewarded with their million dollar smiles at the end of our exercises.

Some of these exercises than can be universally used irrespective of the Lesson being taught are action songs.

An all time favourite is : "Lord's Army", this Song is an instant hit - with boys and girls alike- i would say the boys love it even more since at this age all of them aspire to be Pilots/ Soldiers etc.

The Lyrics go as follows:

"Lord's Army"

 I may never march in the Infantry,  

(an elaborate march - chest forward, head looking ahead, swinging arms etc.)

Ride in the cavalry,  

 (pretend you're riding a horse)

Shoot the artillery.  
 (pretend you have gun, and point all around)

I may never zoom o'er the enemy,   
(show zooming action of a jet in motion with one hand)

But I'm in the Lord's Army.  
 (point one finger up to God)

I'm in the Lord's Army, yes, sir!  
 (salute)

I'm in the Lord's Army, yes, sir!
 (salute)

I may never march in the Infantry,

Ride in the cavalry,

Shoot the artillery.

I may never zoom o'er the enemy,

But I'm in the Lord's Army, (yes, sir!) 

The "yes, sir" is almost a shout in my class. 

This Action Song fulfills its purpose wonderfully in my class room. :)