Letter R projects for the ABC Book

As we continue to slowly creep through the alphabet (yeah, we started letter R a loooooong time ago-like sometime back in April, but then Easter and sick happened, so....) , we have finally finished our letter R projects.  I used to post each one at a time, but it seems to me more helpful to have all the projects for each letter in one post, so now I wait till we are done and the only post that is separate is the Saint for each letter.

1. R is for Rabbit

Cut out a little rabbit shape, we crumbled a little tissue paper for a tail, and the grass adds some fun texture for the little ones.  I did the cutting of the grass for my 3 year old and she just "fluffed" it to make it look like grass, but my almost-5-year-old did the cutting and fluffing herself.  They both did all their gluing.  

2. R is for Robot

This project was great to enrich the kids on their shape identification as well as let them be creative. I showed them a few pictures on the internet of what a robot is, gave them cutouts of various sized shapes and let them be creative.  Both the 5 and 3 year old did a great job and I was impressed with their finished products-100% them. 

3. R is for Rose

We have done this rose project using romaine lettuce bottoms before , but I wanted to do something we hadn't done yet, so I used an idea I'd seen on Pinterest.  

You simply use glue to make the outline of the rose and let it dry, then use water colors to paint.  Above is my 3 years olds.  My almost-5-year-old did not want to touch the glue lines when she painted (she's learning about trying to stay in the lines in her coloring books these days), so her rose had a whole different (but also beautiful) effect.  I love them both. 

 

 

4. R is for Rain

The girls both loved the last project so much, we added a similar one for "rain".

And they keep asking to do more of this kind of painting (success!)

5. R is for Rosary

This is not the first Rosary project we've done either, but I wanted one that was unique and new for the girls to add to their ABC book, so we made up a new idea, but you could also do our rosary constellation project or this Our Lady of the Rosary project for "R is for Rosary".  

We made a "shape rosary" using various shapes for the Hail Mary beads in each decade and for the Our Father/Glory Be beads in between decades.  We had fun saying our shape rosaries, decorating them, and working on color and shape recognition at the same time.  And of course, it was all a lovely prayer-holding hands with Mary-learning about her Son, Jesus.  

Roses for St. Rose

I have always been partial to St. Rose of Lima (duh, I mean, look at my name).  She was called Isabel at birth, but was given the nickname Rose because of her rosy beauty as a baby.  The nickname stuck as St. Rose grew in age and beauty.  She was a lovely woman inside and out, though she often wished she was ugly because she had given her heart to Jesus and wished to be sought after by Him alone.

It is said that when she spoke about Jesus, her eyes sparkled and face glowed with the joy welling up inside her.  That is exactly what I want in my life.  I want to love Christ so much that it cannot be contained inside me and has to spill out onto others.

the Project

Our project today was one that we've done before with a few small added elements.  Simply, use the bottom of a head of romaine lettuce to stamp roses onto paper.  Add green leaves with a paintbrush.

We spent some times mixing paints to make the perfect colors for our roses.  We began by mixing white in with some colors to make them pale.  After stamping the initial pale layer of roses, the girls went back and added some rose stamps in a more bold color to create a lovely layered painting with a bit more depth to it.

Elise's masterpiece

Kayla's first masterpiece

and her second

I'm working not just to be distracted by Pinterest, but to be inspired and motivated by it, so here is another lovely pin I found that pretty much sums up what St. Rose was all about.  See the pin here and follow me on Pinterest!  And I'll make it easy and just post it here too....

LOVE this.  

St. Rose of Lima, pray for us! 

May Crowning

Traditionally a statue or picture of Mary is honored with a special May crowning ceremony on May 1st to begin a special month long devotion to Our Lady.  May is dedicated to the Blessed Mother and we take special care to honor her and pray for her intercession as Jesus' mother, our Theotokos, and also as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

We do not have a statue of Mary (yet) for our home, so we used a picture instead and made a crown (see yesterday's post here) to decorate a space near the painting.  We refreshed yesterday's multi-colored roses with some bright pink roses today, and will continue to replace them with fresh new roses throughout the month with assorted roses from our yard.  You could, of course, always just pick up some fake flowers if you don't want to worry about wilting flowers.

Later (when the hubby gets home) we will say a decade of the Rosary, sing some songs about Mary, and the girls will wear their fancy Easter dresses.

We plan to say Rosary by our special Mary picture everyday in May.  The girls and I started off our celebration with a Hail Mary earlier.

If you really want to get some awesome resources for May crowning visit Catholic Icing .  She has written several blog posts on the subject over the years.  We are still working on our traditions and celebration around here.

St. Catherine of Siena

Well, we can either look at this post as being a day late for St. Catherine's feast day (April 29) or we can look at it as being nearly a YEAR EARLY for her feast day.  I will, of course, go with the latter.

St. Catherine is really an amazing Saint.  She had 24 brothers and sisters!  Both the hubby and I come from (what I thought were) rather large families,but St. Catherine's family makes both our families seem tiny in comparison.   She received her first vision of Jesus at age 5 and made a vow of chastity at 7.  She wished to be a nun and refused to marry against her wishes.  Eventually she became a Dominican nun and though she had almost no formal schooling, she became a Doctor of the Church with her great wisdom and inspired writings.  She even begged the Pope who was in Avignon at the time to return to his rightful place in Rome and he listened.

She is the patroness of Italy, miscarriages, nurses, illness, people ridiculed for their piety, firefighters, and against sexual temptation.  We prayed especially for all those under her patronage especially the firefighter and nurse in our family, all of our Italian ancestors, and our family members and close friends who have miscarried.  There is a beautiful prayer for mothers who have miscarried that I found here

 Check out this neat site for some symbols of St. Catherine and some pictures.  For our project today we will use the symbols of the crown of thorns, roses, and the lily.

Crown of thorns with roses:

It is said that in a vision, Catherine was offered two crowns: a golden crown or one made of thorns.  She chose the crown of thorns.

You can construct a crown of thorns several different ways.  I found a neat construction paper crown done by Catholicinspired here.   I also found a more durable crown of thorns made by Catholic Sistas here.

I decided to just make a crown out of the abundant rose bushes flourishing in our yard currently.  That way, I could add some of the roses from them to add in more symbolism and make the centerpiece a little more lovely as well as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice.  This crown could also be used during Lent (just the thorny part) or for May crowning (see tomorrow's post)

Paper Calla Lilies:

Most people opt for the hand print lily in the more traditional fashion shown in this blog post from Little Lovables, but I chose instead to make my lilies the Calla variety.  Same basic concept though, just a little different looking end product.  White squares instead of white hand prints.

"Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire."  -St. Catherine of Siena

The Cross and Resurrection

“And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here.”

-St. Augustine

Even with Easter coming on the early side this year, we were still able to celebrate this great feast with some lovely spring weather.  In the last few weeks of Lent, it really felt like I was in that desert--isolated, abandoned, and wondering if the Resurrection was really coming.  Suffice it to say that we've had a lot going on around here.  And I'm sure many of you can relate. 

But, what didn't fit with all the stress was the beautiful spring weather we were getting.  Each day I'd wake up anxious, only to find the sun bursting through clouds and buds on trees and bushes in the yard.  

And suddenly it was Good Friday.  The day that screams suffering and death more than any other day of the year.  The day that Christ died and the world was wrapped in a painful silence.  And I was ready to suffer with Jesus.  Wouldn't you know that Good Friday was one of the most beautiful spring days of all?  Sun shining, birds singing, and all our rose bushes blooming everywhere we look.  

I was reminded of the stop we made in Auschwitz many years ago.  The experience was incredible.  Upon arrival you are greeted with a blanket of silence that just settles over you, knowing the horror that took place here.  But that day, too, was spilling over with an abundance of sunshine and new life.  And I felt like God was reminding me that despite the suffering and pain we face in this world, He can always make good things- new things! - spring forth!  

Matt Maher's song says it so well--

"Oh death! Where is your sting?

Oh hell! Where is your victory?

Oh Church! Come stand in the light!

Our God is not dead, he's alive! he's alive!"

     

Christ is Risen!

The entire song is filled with incredible insights and Truth!

The irony is that Easter morning dawned rainy and overcast.  I was a bit disappointed.  It seems unfair that the day of Christ's death should be so beautiful while the day of his rising was so dull.  But then it occurred to me that without the rain, there is no new life.  We need the rain just as much as we need the sunshine.  And the flowers bloom rain or shine.

I struggle everyday to be an 'Easter person' as Pope John Paul II says, but I am really trying to embrace my crosses instead of simply carrying them.  The difference between Simon of Cyrene and Christ that fateful day was that Simon was forced to carry the cross.  Christ clung to his cross, hugged it, embraced it for love of us.  If we want to be witnesses for Christ, we have to carry our crosses like we mean it- like they mean something.

“But he who dares not grasp the thorn 

Should never crave the rose.” 

― Anne Brontë

There is no Resurrection without the cross, and there is no cross without the Resurrection.

So let us boldly live Saint John Paul II's words, "We are an Easter people.  Hallelujah is our song!"

                            

Love Has Come!

*April 2, 2015 update*
Linking-up with BlessedIsShe and the #Bissisterhood today.
The theme is The Cross.

Mystical Rose

I love the title of Mary, Mystical Rose. 

 At this website I found the really lovely old poem which I borrowed for this post

Poem to the Virgin Mary: Mystical Rose with Prayer 

Mystical Rose

THERE is no rose of such virtue 

As is the rose that bear Jesu: 

Alleluia.

For in this rose containéd was 

Heaven and earth in little space: 

Res Miranda.

By that rose we may well see 

There be one God in Persons Three: 

Pares forma.

The angels sang, the shepherds too: 

Gloria in Excelsis Deo: 

Gaudeamus.

Leave we all this worldly mirth 

And follow we this joyful birth: 

Transeamus.

By an unknown Medieval Author

Res Miranda, thing to be marvelled at. Pares forma, equal in nature. Gaudeamus, let us rejoice. Transeamus, let us go hence.

Did I mention I love poetry?  Did I mention I love Jesus' Mom?

I am really thankful that she was such a great Mother.