Free printable Catholic Christian Advent calendars, Advent wreaths, Christmas crafts

Advent is the Catholic Christian season leading up to Christmas. In the weeks before Christmas, Catholics practice Advent values pf prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Each week focuses on hope, expectation and joy. Here are free printable advent calendars for kids to make, to guide Christmas devotions Free printable Catholic Christian Advent calendars, Advent wreaths, Christmas crafts

Our Lady of Guadalupe Advent Activities for Kids

Dec. 12 marks the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Catholic Church. It dates to back to 1531 when Catholics believe the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to an Aztec peasant named Juan Diego (now Bl. Juan Diego) at a hill called Tepeyac in Mexico City. Here are activities to help parents teach children about this Catholic holiday and its part in Mexican heritage. Activities include historical lesson plans, information on miracles attributed to Our Lady's image, plus crafts, recipes, games and activities to explore. read more

Free Printable Thanksgiving Activities and Lesson Plans

As a former homeschool family, we celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday as a natural lead-in to Advent. Thanksgiving activities connect well with Advent virtues of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I recently came across a website that is one of the most comprehensive and helpful internet resources that I've seen in five years writing online. If you need free printable Thanksgiving lesson plans, crafts, activities, recipes, games and resources, read on... read on

Free Printable 'Stone Soup' Crafts, Games, Activities, Lessons

The legend of "Stone Soup" is timeless. With it's focus on sharing and generosity, itt's the perfect Advent book. "Stone Soup" has been retold many times, notably by Marcia Brown, Ann McGovern and Jon J. Muth. Stone Soup is sacred text in preschool and elementary classrooms. If you are teaching Stone Soup, here are free printable activities. As an educator and homeschooler, I've used "Stone Soup" over the years. read more

Free Printable Medieval Middle Ages Crafts, Coloring Pages

Some Advent observances date back to medieval times. I read Ellis Peters' "Brother Cadfael" and Susannah Gregory's "Mathew Bartholomew" books as well as some individual books set in the Middle Ages. All of them mention advent. With that in mind, here are free printable Medieval crafts, including castle, bailey, keep and chapel. I have a penchant for history, especially of the medieval period. I'm sure that my idea of the Middle Ages is pretty romanticized, but I can't help thrilling to words like dovecote, kirtle and merlon. If you share my predilection, here are free printable coloring pages from the medieval period. Social studies and history teachers might use these images in lessons on the period. Catholic home school students might use them in church history classes. I suggest assigning students to create a notebook of data, images, maps, timelines, diagrams and pictorial artifacts from the period. Read on

Free Printable Jesse Tree Advent Devotional Craft Tips

"And a shoot shall spring forth from the stump of Jesse: a branch out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1. This Biblical passage from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah foretells a new branch in the family tree of King David. Jesse was the father of David. David was the king of Israel during her Golden Age. After Solomon, David's son died, the kingdom fell to quarreling and heathen practices. The two kingdoms finally split and ultimately were carried off into slavery by a succession of eastern rulers from Assyria, Babylon, Medea and Persia.

David's lineage from Jesse is said to have withered or died. Isaiah refers to the family tree as a stump (great imagery). But we are also promised a new branch which will bring new life to the old dead tree. Many Christians us The Jesse Tree during Advent to guide their devotions. The Jesse Tree traces the lineage of Jesus through Jesse. It was also called the Adam and Eve tree and was decorated with apples and white wafers to remind us of the Host used in the Eucharist. The Jesse or Chrisom Tree as it is also called, is often confused with the Christmas tree. An evergreen is generally used and is decorates with ornaments that represent different people and stories in the life and family of Emmanuel or Jesus.

You can make your own Jesse Tree easily for use in your home, Church, catechism or Sunday School. Here's how.  read on

Free Printable Saints Party Games, Saints Scavenger Hunt, Bible Riddle Games

Written for All Saints Day, these free printable games could be used for Advent and birthday parties for Jesus. I've written several variations of an All Saints Scavenger Hunt and Bible Character Riddle Game. Print these clues for your All Saints Party. This can be as easy or as complicated as you'd like. One way is to request adult All Saints party goers to dress as certain saints. Each child is given a list of clues or riddles about the saint. When the child thinks that he can match the clue to the saint, he asks the person representing the saint. If he is correct, the saint signs his scavenger hunt game. This game is best played with 10-15 saints represented. Read on read on

Free Printable Feast of the Immaculate Conception Activities: Lessons and Crafts

Free Printable Feast of the Immaculate Conception Activities: Lessons and Crafts December 8 marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is one of six recognized Holy Days in the liturgical calendar. Here are free printable activities and lessons to celebrate this feast day. I've gone through all the noted Catholic websites and linked this article to children's liturgy activities that explore the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother. read more

Free Printable Advent Calendar Craft Activities

Free Printable Advent Countdown Calendar Craft Activities Looking for a cute Advent countdown to Christmas calendar? Here is a complete free printable advent countdown calendar activity featuring teddy bears labeled from 1-25. This Christmas countdown craft can be adapted in many ways for religious and secular advent calendars. read on

Free Printable Liturgical Calendars for Catholic Advent

Free Printable Catholic Liturgical Calendars and Activities I've been a Catholic mom for 23 years and was a homeschooling parent for 10 years. I received lots of great tutelage from Catholic mommies before me who said, "start your Advent preparations immediately after All Saints Day (November 1). It's an early and long advent for 2011, beginning on November 27, right after Thanksgiving. Along with Advent, we Catholics also have revised mass texts to get used to. Inspired by the proactive thinking of those who went before, here are free printable Catholic goodies to help you prepare for Advent, a little early. My most oft-requested printable is Catholic liturgical calendars. Here are links for those calendars. read on

Free Printable Feast of the Immaculate Conception Coloring Pages, Lessons, Activities

December 8 marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It falls during advent, a lesser penitential season of the Catholic church. The Immaculate Conception is one of six recognized Holy Days in the Catholic and Orthodox liturgical calendars. When Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, she called herself  the "Immaculate Conception." That dogma was being debated in the Vatican. It seemed impossible that an uneducated girl such as Bernadette would have understood or even known about the term. Mary claimed the title and called us to address her as such. This why we call it the Immaculate Heart of Mary (she's also called simply the Immaculata).  Here are free printable lesson plans and activities to celebrate this feast day. read more

Free Printable Advent Calendar--Homemade, Cheap, Easy

You can purchase a ready-made advent calendar to count down the days until Christmas. But how about making your own? Use this easy, green, diy advent calender craft project and personalize for religious or non-religious holiday activities. Great for home school families as it makes good math and telling time lesson plans. read more

Free Printable Jesse Tree Crafts for Advent

Free Printable Jesse Tree Advent Devotions Craft History, tradition, devotional use of the Jesse Tree to trace the lineage of Our Lord and prepare for his coming. Craft project instructions included on how to make your own easy, diy Jesse Tree. Check out my free printable Jesse Tree ornaments listed in the side bar of this blog. Read More

Free Printable Christmas Cards, Winter Holiday, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa Cards

Free Printable Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas Color Your Own Greeting Cards We're so fortunate to have many rich and varied holiday traditions and cultural observances in which to participate: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah. Here are free printable Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah color your own greeting cards to share. free printable holiday greeting cards

Free Printable Rosary Coloring Pages, Blessed Virgin Mary Crafts for Advent

Free Printable Rosary and Blessed Virgin Mary Coloring Pages and  Devotional Activities In May we Catholics and Orthodox celebrate our Blessed Mother Mary. Our Lady shows us to pray the rosary; the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. Here are free printable coloring pages and devotional activities of Mary, and the rosary. free printable Blessed Virgin Mary coloring

Free Printable Christian Christmas Crafts for Advent

Free Printable Christian Christmas and Bible Story Coloring Pages
Looking for free printable Christian and religious Christmas and Bible story coloring pages? Papa Jan has hundreds of holiday and religious coloring pages, including fifty Bible story coloring pages and Christian Christmas coloring pages. free printable bible coloring pages

Free Printable Advent Coloring Book

Hello again, I decided to get back on this Advent blog a little early because it never hurts to get ahead on this most wondrous of seasons. And we do our Christmas shopping early, so why not be thinking about Advent a little early? A word of advice to home school families and Catholic families- I planned my home school curriculum according to weeks of school and I followed the liturgical calendar. The first Sunday in Advent is December 2, 2012. Time flies and soon it's All Saints Day (and Catholic new year) before you know it. Be prepared. That's what Advent is all about. Here's a free printable Advent coloring book to get you started. 

Free Pritntable Christmas Cookies Recipes with Catholic Christian Object Lessons

Our Family Advent and Christmas Cookie Recipes
Advent was our favorite season when our family was homeschooling. We did holiday math, advent writing, Christmas social studies, winter science. Everything about Advent and Christmas is a teachable moment. Here are Advent and Christmas cookie recipes with holiday object lessons. Read More

Catholic Blogs for Home school families

This is my self-chosen patron saint, Teresa of Avila. I admire and love this doctor of the church and founder of the discalced Carmelites tremendously. I dedicate this blog to her. Thank you for joining me for Advent season. I usually don't publish on this blog until September. May the Lord bless you in this Christmastide and through the entire liturgical year. For more about Catholicism, faith, Holy Days, Sacraments, saints, Jesus, Our Lady, please visit me at Catholic Activities. For lenten devotions, please visit my Lent Activities blog. Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam.

Free Printable Advent Games, Crafts, Lessons, Activities

Free Printable Advent Games, Crafts and Activities Advent 2012 will began Sunday, December 2. For four weeks, catholic, Orthodox and Coptic Christians (and some protestant churches) follow this lesser penitential season. We prepare our hearts for the coming (Advent) of Jesus. Here are free printable Advent coloring, puzzles, crafts, calendars, wreaths and activities to celebrate the season. free printable advent games