Adopting

We’re getting closer to a new little Scribbler joining our family.  After 10 years of infertility and three miscarriages, we are so ready for another little one.  We’re in the middle of our homestudy process, which will hopefully be finished in another month or so.  After that, we’ll be able to take a placement!!!

If, of course, we’ve found a way to finance it.  We’re doing better than we were, because Congress has passed the tax credit in the amount of $10,000.  So if we can come up with the funds on the front end, we’ll get $10K of it back on the back end.  The Auditor and I are looking into loan programs, but they are few and far between and the options aren’t great.

We’re trying to keep a positive outlook and rest assured that God will provide!

You can follow our adoption journey here: http://www.burrowsadopt.blogspot.com/  If you or anyone you know is interested in helping us cover the fees, please feel free to share the link!

Thankful November

It’s Thankful November, ladies and gentlemen!  Today, on the one year House-iversary of the Auditor and I offically dropping anchor on a permanent address, I would like to list the top most 30 things I am thankful for, in no particular order!

1. white chocolate peppermint M and M’s  (seriously, they’re delish!)

2. Little Scribbler, and her straightforward, black and white view of the world

3. The Auditor, who works hard every day to make sure we have everything we need, plus a little.

4. The Casa de Scribbler– a humble, 3 bedroom abode, in which we hold 14% equity!

5. Our neighborhood full of good kids for LIttle Scribbler to play with.

6. Croftie, one of two felinous members of the Scribbler family, who is currently warming my feet while I type this.

7. Social media to entertain me all day :)

8. Central heat and indoor plumbing.

9. That we can afford to buy Little Scribbler a new bike for Christmas, and that she is the kind of kid with a really short wishlist.

10. That I have this opportunity to be a mama, when by all biological rights, I should not.

11. ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas and Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas programming.  I like cheesy holiday movies starring B and C list actors.

12. A freezer full of food to cook for the holidays.

13. The fact that LIttle Scribbler is dying to be my “Assistant Turkey Chef” this Thursday.

14. Christmas lights and the way they make me happy– the bigger the better!  I likes ‘em tacky!

15. A more peaceful holiday schedule this year.  Last year’s was a bit insane.

16. Our parish and faith community.

17.  Friends, new and old.

18. My thriftiness– we very rarely buy anything brand-new, which has really helped us squeak through the lean years. 

19. As of this afternoon, Little Scribbler can read whole sentences.

20. I can cut and color my own hair and the result is actually passable.  Referencing number 18, you can understand that I HATE to spend money on haircuts.

21. LIttle Scribbler loves me, and says so, frequently.

22. Most of my holiday shopping is already completed, resulting in my ability to actually slow down and enjoy this holiday season!

23. Little Scribbler is doing much better at school.

24. We may actually be able to adopt a second child, if we can pull together some loose ends.

25. Stove Top Stuffing.  Need I say more?!

26. Little Scribbler is interested in learning about God.

27. I have an awesome group of friends I’ve met through church.

28. Aside from chronic pudginess, I am healthy.

29. I married someone with a decent sense of humor.

30.  God loves me!

Little Scribbler, on Communion

In mass, this past Sunday.

*bells ring*

Little Scribbler:  “Now it’s Jesus-bread, right?”

FaithfulScribbler: “Yes.  Now it’s the body of Jesus.”

Little Scribbler:  “He lives in the tabernacle, right?”

FaithfulScribbler:  “Yup.  And He also lives in your heart.”

Little Scribbler:  “Then you eat the bread and He lives in your tummy, too!”

Live Tweeting Election Night!

The Faithful Scribbler will be tweeting throughout tonight as the polls close and votes roll in.  Follow me on twitter at faithfulscribbl and let’s chat while we watch and wait!

Mass Tips– Faithful Scribbler Style!

Ok, I’ve been googling around and found that everybody and their brother has created a list of “tried and true tips for taking kids to mass”.  I’m going to tell you that more than half of them wouldn’t work with Little Scribbler.  I know.  I’ve tried.

‘Sit in the front row’, they said.  ‘The kids will be interested and watch’, they said.  Anybody remember Little Scribbler’s front row forward roll of Ash Wednesday 2009?  Yeah.  Don’t sit in the front row.  Sit in the back.  On the end.  Don’t move to the middle when others try to join your pew– get up and make them slide into the middle instead.  Trust me on this one– egress routes are invaluable.

So anyway, if you’ve got a kid that’s tricky (you know who you are!), feel free to try out some of the following tips.  Many of them are adapted for sensory kids– if you’ve GOT a sensory kid, you know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t have a sensory kid, well, you can google it or search through some of my previous posts :)  Some tips may not be appropriate for typically developing children.

My philosophy about kids at mass is this:  They are entitled to be there, even if they can’t get their acts together.  They need to learn, about a million things, about mass.  For young children, I think we should be thinking about them “collecting” good “Mass Behaviors”, one at a time.  Genuflecting respectfully– that’s one mass behavior.  Making the sign of the cross– another mass behavior.  Sitting quietly during the readings– yet ANOTHER mass behavior.  You’re not going to collect them all at once, and you’re not going to collect them in chronological order.  Build on the skills your child has, one tidbit at a time.  Praise him where he does well.

—————————————————————————————————

1. Teach your child to participate in the physical parts of the mass– genuflecting, handshakes, etc– no matter if they’re only 2 years old.  If really young, they may just be going through the motion for the first few years, but that’s ok.  (Don’t forget to go back and explain WHY we genuflect, when they’re developmentally ready to understand!). The goal is form a good, simple habit, that is easy to do successfully.  Little Scribbler always appreciated when we acknowledged her genuflect in those early years.  It was a small accomplishment for her.  The motion of genuflecting will become a habit– a ‘church behavior’, to add to their growing repetoire of Church Behaviors.  You’ll be surprised the flourish and sincerity young children sometimes invest in their genuflect!  Going through the motions, phsyically, is a GREAT jumping off point for kids who aren’t able to be successful in other areas….thing, ‘sitting quietly’, for example.

2. Teach your child some of the mass prayers at home.  Little Scribbler frequently tunes out during mass, but I’ll never forget the moment she heard the Our Father.  All of the sudden she was saying the words along with the congregation and then she looked at me.  “HEY!  I KNOW this one!”  Delighted!  It never occurred to her that what we do at home is related to what we do at mass.  She’s just not a lineaer thinker that way.

2a. Don’t expect kids to tune in a pay attention to the whole mass at too early an age.  YES you should have high expectations for their behavior, but for their participation, temper your expectations with their age and ability.  Now, I know that many of you are going to disagree with me– particularly those amongst you with typically developing children– but hear me out on this one.  Expect your children to be respectful in the house of the Lord.  Expect them to engage at an age appropriate or developmentally appropriate level– but start small.  Start with saying the parts of the mass that they know.  Or maybe with standing, sitting, kneeling when the congregation is doing it.  If you’ve got a REALLY tricky kiddo, start with sitting upright for the whole hour!  (more on that later!)  Once you get one GOOD “Mass Behavior” under your belt, build on it with another one.    Accumulate behaviors in the same way you accumulate skills in a classroom– one at a time.  You’ll find yourself less frustrated, but you’ll still be teaching your child in a proactive way.

3. Does your kiddo slide all around the pew like a wet fish?  Start with this one rule– “You are NEVER allowed to lay down on the pew.  It is disrespectful”.  If you can keep your child from really stretching out and getting the flailing started, consider it a victory for YOU.  Little Scribbler is never, and has NEVER been (at any age) allowed to lay down on a pew.  Neither is she allowed to sit on the floor.  She may sit, she may stand, or she may kneel.  I do not yet expect her to do as the congregation is doing– we have a little way to go before that is expected of her.  But she is expected to sit upright and respectfully in God’s house.  We went through a heck of a time with this, between ages 2 and 4, but we made it through!  There were plenty of times I had to take her out.  I STILL occasionally have to take her out!  So how can you help yourself acccomplish this?

3b. Cuddle Time!  This one isnt limited to special needs kiddos.  Mass has always been a special time for Little Scribbler and I to sit together and cuddle.  She needs some sort of physical stimulation to sit still, so I typically have her sit cuddled on my lap and bounce her– sometimes gently, sometimes not so gently, provided she stay quiet, because it’s not romper room after all!– while we either listen, or I explain what is happening.  She has internalized SO MUCH of what is happening at mass with this cuddle time!  The deep pressure of the cuddle and the bouncing of my knees help her to tune in an focus on the words being spoken– either by me or by the priest.  This is not unlike a bumpy cushion or sensory ball being used in place of a chair in a special ed classroom.  The theory is that when the physical and proprioceptive senses are satisfied, it is easier for her auditory sense to “tune in”.  This goes for the standing portions of the mass as well.  Although LS is almost 6 years old, and about 48 pounds, either The Auditor or I pick her up during many “standing” parts of the mass.  As she ages, and learns more, and acquires those good “Church Behaviors”, this is lessening.  She’s forming, albeit slowly, the habits of standing on her own.  If you take nothing away from this blog post– take this tip!

4. Quiet distractables.  Lots of mass tip lists will include something about quiet distractable items for young children.  Many people recommend having a “mass bag”, with special toys and books that are quiet, for mass time only.  This a great idea– but when do you phase it out?  The Auditor and I really struggled over the years with what is appropriate in mass for kids of different ages, and then we changed our mindset from “age” to “ability”.  The fact is, sometimes older kids are not able to sit quietly.  This is not a reflection of their behavior or their parents, but simply a reflection of the way God wired them!  LS has autism.  Her nervous system does not allow her body to rest unless she is sleeping, hence the bouncing and deep pressure cuddling aforementioned.  So we know she can not, on her own, sit still, even at almost six years old.  Well, what CAN she do?  She can sit quietly for extended periods of time.  I know this, because she does it at home, when she is drawing.  Part of her is sitll moving (her hands), but her mouth and most of her body are quiet.  So we go to mass every week with a fresh notebook and a pen.  For probably half the mass, LS sits, cross legged, in her seat and draws.   Want to know what blows us away?  She draws the mass!

Not always, but frequently, Little Scribbler draws the priest at the altar.  She draws Jesus on the cross (or “lower case t”, as she calls it).  She draws the backs of the heads of people sitting in front of her.  She draws stick figures lining up for Communion.

I will tell you that a lot of people have made a lot of snide comments about Little Scribbler being too old to draw during mass.  (POO ON YOU, red haired lady who’s name I don’t know, and all your redheaded children too, for loudly pointing us out as an example of what NOT to do in mass!  Mine might be drawing, but yours are hitting each other– so THERE! HA!)  A big part of the problem is that Little Scribbler’s disabilities are “hidden”, meaning, you can not tell by her physical features that she has autism, nor that she has sensory processing disorder, nor that she is trying as hard as she can to be cooperative!  You gotta be prepared for some snarkiness, which is really sad to experience in a church, but it is what it is.  If you can tough it out without getting angry, well, then you’re a stronger person than I am, because I usually explode all over my poor clueless husband as soon as we get into the car! :)

For a lot of sensory kids, another great quiet distractible might be a “fidgit” item.  Modeling beeswax words GREAT for this!  If you don’t already know, a “fidgit” item is frequently used in special ed classrooms.  It’s an item that children can manipulate with their hands, without having to look at it or engage with it (which is what makes it different than a toy, although sometimes toys are GREAT fidgits).  Little Scribbler has a squishy rubber fish that she frequently takes to mass.  She can squish it while she’s listening.  Her nervous system gets the satisfaction of physical stimuli, but she’s not engaging in imaginative play with it.  If she were, it would be a toy, and I would argue, not appropriate for her at this stage of her ability.

So long story short– use quiet distractables past the toddler years, if you think they might help your child be successful.

5. Using the Bathroom.  If you can get to mass early enough, use the potty first thing when you arrive. That being said, your kid is going to, at some point, ask you to go to the bathroom.  If your kid is anything like LS and her little classroom buddy, they will wail about their need to relieve themselves any time they’re feeling the need for a change of scenery– which is about 100 times a day.   I recommend picking a time during the mass that it is OK for your child to use the bathroom.  Personally, I pick the Offeratory.  Now, I have not TOLD LIttle Scribbler that she may use the bathroom during the offeratory, but I know in my head that Offeratory time is, in my opinion, the best time for me to take LS to the potty.  We go when we get there.  If she’s especially wiggly, or if she asks me to go, ONLY at the Offeratory will I take her.  Sometimes a quick trip to the potty is all she needs to settle back down afterwards (whether or not she actually did anything while we were in there).  If you’re sitting towards the back (on the end, which you may recall I recommend anyway!), it’s no problem to occasionally take your kiddo to the bathroom.

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You know, the point of all these “tips” is not just to get your kid through mass without incident.  Yes, it’s better for your sanity if you dont have to drag a screaming five year old out of mass, but it’s not really teaching your kid anything.  That’s probably the main reason I don’t advocate snacks for older special needs kids in mass.  Yeah, you might make it through the whole hour quietly, but all you’ve ended up doing is pacifying– not teaching them anything.  So often, we, The Parent Of Children Who Are Difficult In Public, fall in to that trap!  But it IS a trap– because there’s no progression forward.  No acquisition of new skills.  No magical moment of change.

I DO think that for differently abled kids, you sometimes need to take the slow, circuitous route to learning. You’ll get there eventually– just not at the same speed, nor in the same linear fashion, that others will.  We are definitely on a slow, circuitous route at the Casa de Scribbler.  If you’d asked me three years ago how we were doing I’d have melted down all over you in a puddle of stinking desperation!  I didn’t know then that insisting Little Scribble sit up in the pew would pay off– it just felt disrespectful to allow her to lay down.  I didnt know that her tantrums would EVER end.  I certainly didnt know that there would ever be a time she would say the Our Father along with the congregation, of her own volition!

We’re at the point now we’re Little Scribbler tunes in for genuflecting, the greeting, most of the singing, the Our Father, the sign of peace, the bells ringing to signify that “now it’s Jesus-bread” (her words), etc.  She occasionally kneels when people are kneeling.  Three years ago she was doing forward rolls on the pew on Ash Wednesday.  Two years ago she was still crawling under neath the pew in front of us any time I let my guard down.  (Bonus Tip– the quickest way to force a flailing child to stand up?  Shove your finger in their armpit while you’re pulling them up.  They’ll put their feet down faster than you can ask them to do it!  They’re not gonna be happy about it though, so prepare to be embarassed if they’re verbal enough to call you out on it :)  As you may remember, I don’t advocate spanking, particularly a differently abled child, but a well placed armpit-jab to stop a mass meltdown is something I’m not ashamed to say I’ve done.  Use it sparingly– like ONLY during mass.)

I hope you’ve found at least SOME of this helpful!  Please feel free to post your own tips or perspective in the comments section of this post.  I’m always looking for new things to try!

Catholic Voting

Below you will find a letter from my pastor, to the congregation, as it appears in our local church bulletin.  (With a little digging, you can find out which prish the Scribblers attend, if you’re interested, which I’m sure you’re not!).

Election season is upon us, here in the US, and as Catholics, there are certain issues that are simply non-negotiable.  Please take a moment to pause and consider carefully your options.

**The Faithful Scribbler does not endorse any particular candidate, however, she does personally abhor any party or candidate in favor of the practice of abortion.  This reprehensible practice must be erradicated from our society.  The best way to do so is to love and educate those in favor of it, and to use your votes very very carefully, during this and all election seasons.

 

Dear Parishioners,

As we approach the election, please consider these words

of Archbishop Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore and a former

Priest and Auxiliary Bishop of Washington. Here is the

first part of a homily he gave on October 14

 

th at the

Basilica in Baltimore:

On this beautiful autumn Sunday in which the Scripture

readings speak to us about the wisdom of God, we have

gathered from near and far on pilgrimage to this august

basilica, dedicated to Mary, the Immaculate Mother of

God, the Seat of Wisdom. With Mary’s loving

encouragement, we have come together to pray to the

Holy Spirit for an outpouring of divine wisdom and for

prudence, that we may have the understanding, the

creativity and the courage to defend the God-given gifts of

life and liberty in the context of our times. For some time

now, both life and liberty have been under assault by an

overarching, Godless secularism, replete with power and

money, but sadly lacking in wisdom, both human and

divine: a secularism that relentlessly seeks to marginalize

the place of faith in our society. In rejecting the wisdom of

religious faith, in seeking to contain and diminish it,

secularism has, at the same time, foolishly devalued

human life. When man and woman are no longer

perceived to be created in the image of God, then, sooner

or later, their lives and their liberties become dispensable.

Asserting its power over what reason, science and faith

tell us about the humanity of the unborn child, secular

culture for the past 40 years has assailed innocent human

life through abortion, made legal by the infamous 1973

Supreme Court decision

 

Roe v. Wade, a decision which

Justice Byron White called “an exercise of raw judicial

power.” Since then, over 50 million unborn children have

lost their lives through abortion, and now the secularist

assault on human life threatens the chronically and

terminally ill and the frail elderly by the promotion of

laws in various states to legalize physician-assisted

suicide. Human life is further undermined by the

dismantling of the most fundamental unit of society, the

family, by seeking to upend marriage as a God-given

institution that is

 

unique for a reason, namely, as a

relationship of love between one man and one woman

whereby children are welcomed into the world and

nurtured. All these things have been done in the name of

freedom of choice, the “right to choose.” It was said that

those who want an abortion should have the right to do so

and that such a choice would not affect those who

conscientiously object to abortion. But now that is

changing, and the HHS preventive-services rule is a

harbinger for that change. Increasingly, anti-life and antifamily

rules are being imposed on people of faith. Our

“right to choose”—our right to choose to practice the faith

we profess—a right guaranteed by the First Amendment—

seems to mean little or nothing to many who wield power.

As all of us know, the U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services issued a rule that will require most

private and religious employers to fund and facilitate

abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations and contraception

against their convictions if they engage in hiring or offer

services deemed by the government to be “secular.”

Indeed, many of the secularist threats to religious liberty

seem to hinge on the Church’s teaching with regard to the

sanctity of human life—whether it’s the Church’s teaching

on the immorality of abortion or the obligation of couples

to be open to the gift of new human life or marriage as

between one man and one woman as

 

the unique

relationship that begets new human life and is meant to

be the matrix in which it is nurtured.

Please keep these issues in mind as you cast your ballots

on November 6

 

th. As Catholics, we are to be a leaven to

our culture. In defending Life, Religious Liberty, and

Marriage, we can be that leaven.

God bless,

 

Fr. LaHood

Franken-Storm

Ok ok, the nickname is lame-o.

But for the mid-Atlantic, an area generally unprepared to deal with severe weather, the threat of Franken-Storm is real!

And people here are FREAKING OUT.  Safeway is out of water.  The clerk told me neighbor to stop back by and 5am tomorrow morning and she MIGHT be able to get a few gallons.  Batteries?  Yeah, you’re not getting batteries anywhere around here.  Home Depot gave away free sand-bags on Friday and were completely out within two hours.  The Target in my neighborhood is even sold out of camping stoves and flashlights.  The Auditor and I have plenty of candles, but are trying to pick up spare lighter from somewhere, just in case.  Thankfully, we already have a camping stove, a few cylindars of propane and a lot of canned food.  Our main concern is that it’s going to be 40 degrees and our heat won’t work if the power goes out.  But that being said, we can heat water on the camping stove and we have enough blankets that we’ll ride it out and be just fine.

This past summer storms are proof positive that many people in this are will NOT ride it out just fine.  Last summer brought this are two severe storm systems, complete with tornadoes that left many homeless, and a few dead.  Please remember the people who will suffer in your prayers!

Stay dry, fellow Mid-Atlanticers!

Signing off for possibly a few days, if the power goes out.

~Faithful Scribbler

An Open Letter To Parents, From the Faithful Scribbler

Dear Parents,

Please stop talking about how smart your child is.  Please stop bragging to anyone who will listen (and many who’d rather not!) about how Justin knew his colors at 3 months and was reading the Wall Street Journal at 12!  Please don’t bore me with the details of how to teach your toddler long division before they are potty trained.  I’m really not that interested.

I’ve worked with thousands of children in the last 15 years– as a teacher, as a summer camp director, and as a healthcare professional.  I hate to break it to you, Mom, but although Justin may be reading Chaucer before bed, he hits when he’s angry and eats his boogers when he’s bored….or when he’s boogery…or hungry…or it’s a day of the week ending in ‘y’.

Justin is average, at best.  I’m so sorry to dash your illusions!  I know you were thinking that having a “smart” child means you’re a great parent.  I know you were measuring your success rate by his test scores, and the speed at which he is hitting classic developmental milestones.  I know you feel validated that he’s being tested for the ‘gifted’ program at school.

HOWEVER.

IF little Justin IS in fact “smart”….let’s say, for the sake of argument he’s a GENIUS (which, frankly, is unlikely), does that make him GOOD?

Does it make him kind?

Generous?

Honest?

Obedient?

Faithful?

Does he have self-discipline?  A heart for serving others?  Is he a good sport?  Is he fair?  Does he love or know the Lord?

Wouldn’t you rather answer “yes” to these questions, regardless of those test scores?!  Let’s not forget– ‘smart’ is not a measure of character!

Please take some time to re-evaluate why you care so much about ‘smart’.  Is it the culture of Baby Einstein videos?  Something about your personal values?  Something society tells you is most important?  Stop and ponder for a moment… what if little Justin WASN’T so “smart”?

What if little Justin didn’t walk until he was two years old?  What if he never walked at all!?

What if Justin couldn’t speak until he was three?

What if he was still strugging with learning his colors in kindergarten, or couldn’t learn to read until third grade?

What if?!  Would Justin be less of a person?  Would you love him, and celebrate the miracle of his life, LESS?  Would you be embarassed at the playground, with nothing to brag about?  Would you be disappointed?

I am a special needs parent.  My child didn’t walk until she was two years old.  My child didn’t speak until three and half years of age, and even now, at age 5, her language is sometimes unintelligible.  Although her IQ is average to high, she is struggling to learn to read.  She can not sit still in class.  She can not control her emotions and has a hard time in gym class becuase she does not understand games with multiple rules.  When the gym teacher says “knock down the other team’s bowling pin”, she does not understand why the other team keeps getting in her way, preventing her from doing as he’s asked.

Is she smart?  Who can say?  The truth is I don’t really care.  I want her to work to her potential, whatever that may be, because I want her to be determined, tenacious, and committed, not because the test score validates her…or me for that matter!  I want to raise a child who is honest, fair, faithful, generous, truthful, humble and kind.  I can honestly tell you we’re not there yet.  She is some of those things, and some of those things need work.  She’s in kindergarten, after all!

Today in gym class, Little Scribbler and her two buddies from the special ed kindergarten were having a hard time understanding the rules of Steal the Bacon.  They participate with a general ed kindergarten during art, music, and PE.  Little Scribbler also joins the general ed kindergarten for Math and Reading.  She and her buddies don’t understand Steal the Bacon.  They break the rules.  Other “smart” children yell at them and belittle them for not understanding.  They get indignant that LS and her buddies stepped across the center line of the gym.  They are angry that their team didn’t win, because LS and her buddies don’t understand.  These kids.  These ‘smart’ kids.

And then, in the middle of 45 screaming five year olds, a little girl in a white hair bow steps across the line, from her side of the gym to LS’s side of the gym.  She picks up four balls, and hands one each to LS and her buddies.  She shows them how to play.  They cross the line again.  She retrieves the balls, guides them back to where they belong, and repeats her explaination.  It goes on for 20 minutes.

THAT is a child who’s mother should be bragging.  That child is kind, self-donative, patient, compassionate and loving.  That is a child who can’t stand to see other children suffering, even in this small way, and takes matters into her own hands.  That child has character worth bragging about.  I wonder who that child will grow up to be.  I bet she’ll be someone I’d want to know.

Food for thought.

Sincerely,

The Faithful Scribbler

Adventures of the Little Scribbler

LS:  “Mama.  What day it is?”

FS: “Thursday.”

LS:  “What number?”

FS: “25″

LS: “its Thursday, 25 of Octember, 2012.  Next year it will be Thursday 25 of Octember 2013.”

FS:  “Well actually, next year the 25th will be on a Friday.  And it’s Oct-O-ber.”

LS:  “Oct EMMMMM ber”.

FS:  “Oct- O-ber…like Octo-pus.  OOOOO, OOOOO, OctOOOOOber.”

LS:  “Oct EMMMMMMM ber”.

I hope she never learns to say it right.  It’s cuter this way :)  While we’re on the subject, I know that a lot of speech therapists are getting or have gotten a LOT of money to help teach the Little Scribbler to speak in the conventional way…..but don’t tell them I prefer her sentence patterns as they are.

For the record, I blame Dr. Seuss for both issues….

Teaching Kindergarteners The Catholic Origins of Halloween.

For my next trick, and in honor of the Year of Faith, I will attempt to teach the kindergarten CCD class about the Catholic origins of Halloween.  I would just like to throw out there that it is REALLY hard to teach anything of substance to children who can not yet read.

So I would like to follow my typical lesson format, and include a story, a project to take home, and a hands on lesson.  We also break for snack in the middle, so that kills five to ten minutes of my hour.

So far, my plans look like this (but not necessarily in this order):

Kids Arrive

Opening prayer in the church (practice genuflecting and the sign of the cross)

Father R comes to class as a special guest to talk about being a priest and what that entails.

Q and A with Father R.

Lesson:  Catholic Halloween

Snack break

Story

Project– Catholic Symbols pumpkin carving.  (crosses, fish and/or the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for which I found an awesome template online).

 

So I still need to develop a hands on lesson, and find a related story to read.  Tomorrow is my research day– ideas welcome!