Saint Nicholas of Myra was a bishop in the fourth century. His life and legends inspired many family traditions around Christmas time including Santa Claus and hanging stockings. Teach your kids about the life and legend of the real Saint Nicholas with some of these activities and printable worksheets. Saint Nicholas Biography and Reflection Questions…
Holidays
Feast of the Holy Family Activities
Merry Christmas! Here are some activities to help you teach about and celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in your lesson plans. Feast of the Holy Family Activities and Crafts Feast of the Holy Family Printable (Sadlier) Activities for the Feast of the Holy Family (Catholic Culture) Feast of…
Video: Easter Meaning (Why Is Easter Called Easter?)
Why is Easter Called Easter? In this short video you will come to a better understanding of the origin and meaning of the word “Easter.” First, it is important to understand that in most languages other than English and German, the root word for the season of Easter is actually Pasch as in Paschal or…
Divine Mercy Lesson Plan and Activities
Give your students a great spiritual gift this year. Introduce them to the devotion to Divine Mercy with this lesson and activities. The Divine Mercy devotion originated with a polish nun, St. Faustian Kowalski, who had visits from Christ in the 1930s. She wrote down her conversations with Jesus in a diary, which included a…
“Holiday Hints” Christmas Game
This is a guest post by Mary Kate Warner of Christianity Cove. Have a blessed Advent and merry Christmas! This Christmas game will help students learn the key elements of the Christmas/Nativity Story. Game Materials Post-It Notes (one note per student) Scotch Tape Thick Black Marker Christmas Game Overview A student will have a note…
Valentine’s Day Object Lesson: Making Jesus Our Valentine
It is my pleasure to welcome Mary-Kate Warner as a guest at The Religion Teacher today. She writes for a website that shares Sunday School lessons, activities, and games mostly for Protestant churches. Although I think we should also focus on Saint Valentine on Valentines Day, I love the way Mary-Kate creatively and boldly shows…
Using Printables to Create a Personalized Advent Calendar
One of the most popular activities in religious education classrooms during the season of Advent is updating and using Advent calendars to prepare for Christmas. Advent calendars come in many different variations. Like the Jesse Tree, Advent calendars can become daily opportunities to focus each day on the preparation for Advent. The Advent calendars are…
Advent Activities
Now Available: The Religion Teacher’s Advent Activity Pack and Jesse Tree Kit. The Internet is loaded with advent activities of all sorts and kids. Check out the following links to help guide your way. Here are some general advent activity hubs on the web. These pages have other great resources to check out: USCCB Advent…
Feast of the Epiphany Lesson Plan & Activities
Background to the Feast of the Epiphany The Epiphany is celebrated on the Sunday between January 2nd and 8th while the actual feast day occurs on January 6th (twelve days after Christmas). In many European countries the Epiphany, rather than Christmas (Feast of the Nativity), is the day of gift-giving. The Epiphany is in commemoration…
Teacher’s Reading List Ideas for Christmas Break
Christmas break is a great time to step back away from teaching and enjoy your time off. You may be looking for some good books to read or maybe you are looking to use some gift certificates from your students before you lose them. The following books rocked my socks off in 2009 and if…