On Smart Parenting.com.ph: How to Teach Your Kids about Holy Week and Easter

I'm so blessed and honored that I am able to spread God's message of love through what I do as a writer. I started out contributing to Smart Parenting, a local parenting website here in the Philippines, because I primarily wanted to earn extra money to augment our missionary family's monthly income. Little did I know, God had and still has another plan for me as one of the more regular contributing writers to the site. (I used to contribute under two names, i.e. Teachermama Tina and Tina Santiago-Rodriguez. Starting this year though, my editor asked me to choose just one, so I stuck to Tina Santiago-Rodriguez).

Image from the Smart Parenting website

One of the biggest blessings of writing for Smart Parenting is being able to write about things close to my heart, like my faith, homeschooling, breastfeeding, intentional parenting and other subjects. One of my latest articles on Smart Parenting really blessed me in a special way, because I was able to "kill two birds with one stone," as they say — because of the research I had to do for the article (about how to teach your kids about Holy Week), I was able to come up with ideas for our own family's Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

Image source here.

I'm sharing the link to that article here, i.e. "Ways to Teach Your Kids about Holy Week," in the hope that it will be of help to you and your family. :) May you have a blessed, beautiful Holy Week and Easter ahead! :)

P.S. Oh, and to those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, or part of my Facebook groups, or followers of my Facebook page and Twitter feeds, THANKS OH SO MUCH for praying for my sister and Baby Pia, the latest addition to our family — our "miracle baby," conceived after almost 11 years of waiting, through St. Pio of Petrelcina's intercession. :) (I wrote about that here.) We are truly blessed because of you all! :) God bless you and yours abundantly!

Freebie Friday: Stations of the Cross Coloring Booklet from Catholicmom.com (and a request for prayers!)

It's already the third day of Lent and I'm so far behind on the preparations for our Lenten activities for the kids! :( Huhuhu!

Thankfully though, there are oodles of free Lenten resources online that I can just print off on my parents' printer (we're still saving up for our own - pls. do pray with us that we can purchase one by May or June!).

One of these is Catholicmom.com's Station of the Cross coloring booklet. You can find the link here.

Or you can click on the image above to get the link.

I hope this year, Tim (and Rysse, who is frustratingly-yet-amusingly in a "I don't want to pray, don't like Jesus because He died" phase, LOL!) will learn to appreciate the wonderful things Jesus has done for all of us through "simple" things and activities like these.

I find some consolation in a recent conversation I had with Tim, when he said that he loved his cousin, Ate Gabby, more than his sister (I didn't know what to say, it seemed logical to me since he and Gabby play together more often and are closer in age). Right after he'd said that, he said, "But I love God the most, He's the most important, right, Mama?"

*Sighs* Keep praying for us, please? Though statements like the one above make me go, "Another reason I love homeschooling, Lord!," lately, I've been having a hard time with our "schooling," and, to be honest, have even inquired at a few progressive preschools for the next school year (which, in the Philippines, starts in June). So I/we really need your prayers! :)

Thanks, everyone and have a happy, holy Lent!

+ AMDG +
Tina

Freebie Friday: {Facebook Freebie} 100-Indoor Activities for Kids E-book

It's been a long while since I posted about any freebies, though I have come across quite a few freebies over the past few months, which I hope I can still find time to post about later on! (Sorry about that - been having erratic daily schedules for months now, LOL!)

Anyway, I've recently discovered the blog Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling, which has lots of freebies and printables in itself. The latest one is a free e-book entitled "100-Indoor Activities for Kids!"

Image from holyspiritledhomeschooling.net

To avail of the e-book, like the blog's Facebook page first here. On the left-hand side you should be able to see a tab that says “Free eBook!!!”  Click on that tab to download your free eBook. (It's easy to do, just follow the instructions, I already got my copy!)


Hope this helps you all! ;-) God bless! 

Remembering St. Cecilia in our own little way

Yesterday, November 22, was the Feast Day of St. Cecilia. It was a Tuesday, so I had to report to the office. (Although my dream to be a fulltime, stay-at-home mom is not financially feasible for us at this time, I am still blessed to have a work-at-home arrangement that requires me to go to the office at least 2x a week - thanks to my dear elders at Couples for Christ, who are so supportive).

St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians

So anyway, I left some activities for Tim and Rysse to do with their Ate* (yes, we have a helper now!). She has been a HUGE help and blessing, so yes, I'm not the "do-everything-by-myself-supermom" you may think I am! Still, I am AMAZED at the many homeschool moms out there who keep their homes, teach their kids and blog/work on the side WITHOUT any help whatsoever - hats off to you!

Back to the reason for this post. Hehe! I wanted Tim (and Rysse) to celebrate even in a simple way, St. Cecilia's special day. So what did we do before our regular storytime / booktime?

Play "Guess What Musical Instrument"!

Helping Your Child To Love Reading

*Note: This article is a re-post from Babycenter.com.ph. Remember, a love for LEARNING begins with a love for reading ;-) Take advantage of the long weekend (here in the Philippines) - spend some time reading books to your kids! ;-)

Image from weheartbooks.com

Helping your child to love reading

• Use books to bond
• Set up a ritual
• Choose appropriate books
• Repeat, repeat, repeat
• Ham it up
• Follow her interests
• Go to the library
• Turn on the tape
• Don't make books a reward
• Dealing with a wriggler
• Make storytelling a part of life
• Point out words everywhere
• Talk
• Demonstrate your own love of books

There are lots of fun ways to help your little one learn to love books and stories. And, surprisingly, not all of them involve sitting down with an actual book. 

Use books to bond 

It's not all about reading the words. At this age, it's more about enjoying the interaction with Mom or Dad. When your child sits in your lap as you read aloud, she doesn't just enjoy books, she also enjoys the security of your undivided attention. 

Set up a ritual 

A regular reading time establishes a calming routine young children love -- that's why the bedtime story is a time-honored tradition. But don't forget that many other daily events also provide good reading opportunities. Once in a while try establishing a new ritual with a breakfast story, a bathtime story, a just-home-from-nursery story or even an "on the potty" story. Some toddlers (and older children) who are heavy sleepers are much better able to face the day when their parents "read them awake" rather than hustle them out of bed. 

Choose appropriate books 

Toddlers love board books, bath books and pop-up books -- any type they can hold easily and manipulate themselves. They love stories accompanied by bright, clear realistic pictures. And, of course, they love rhymes. That's not to say your 2-year-old won't appreciate the stories her big brother chooses -- who knows, Harry Potter may end up being her favorite book! Just make sure she has access to simpler books as well. 

Preparing for our "official" first field trip - “Beatus: Embracing the Holiness of John Paul II" Exhibit

I was so psyched when my friend and officemate Ate Alma (who also happens to be a food blogger) told me about this ongoing exhibit at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, featuring Blessed John Paul II. Entitled “Beatus: Embracing the Holiness of John Paul II" it features photos and certain relics of the late Pope, probably one of the most well-loved Popes of all time!


The exhibit opened on October 9 and will run until October 21 at the Gateway Mall Activity Area. Organized by the Diocese of Cubao and the Smart Araneta Center, it is part of the preparation for the celebration of the FIRST Feast Day of Blessed John Paul on October 22. 

Ideas for celebrating "Michaelmas" - Feast Day of St. Michael and all the Archangels (Sept 29)

The Feast Day of all the Archangels - St. Michael, also known as "Michaelmas," falls on September 29. Two other archangels, Gabriel and Raphael, are also honored on this day. (To know more about "Michaelmas" please go to the articles on these sites: Women for Faith and Family, Catholic Culture, Catholic.org)

For ideas on activities, crafts and the like, check out my favorite Catholic crafty homeschool mom Lacy's suggestions, which I am re-posting below:
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Michaelmas comes every year on September 29. It is the feast day of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and well- basically the Archangels :-) When getting ready to celebrate Michaelmas with your kids, think "tough angels". Because that's what archangels are. Save your "fluffy angel" ideas for the feast of Guardian Angels in October.

I love this Angel Mobile Craft from Bountiful Blessings.

If you're not crafts enough to cut the pieces out like she did,

Charlotte has a Printable Page of these Kitchen Angels.

Suggested Activities for the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross (Sept 14) and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept 15)

Check out these great activities for two of the GREAT* Feast Days in September posted on the ROCKERs page:
http://rockersph.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/ideas-for-the-triumph-of-the-holy-cross-sept-14-and-our-lady-of-sorrows-sept-15/

*Why are they GREAT in my book?! Well, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross reminds us all about the POWER of JESUS' SAVING WORK on the Cross, while the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows invites us to unite ourselves with Mama Mary in prayer and compassion for the world. :-) Hope you and your families enjoy celebrating these days!

Activities for other special Catholic events in September, especially Mama Mary's birthday

Besides the Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa, there are a couple of other memorable events coming up this September, namely Mama Mary's birthday (or Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) on September 8, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14 and The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. Exciting huh?! ;-) 


Let's take a look at what two of my favorite Catholic mommy bloggers have posted with regard to ideas and activities for celebrating these feast days:


First of all, may I just say that Lacy is really one of my favorite Catholic mommy bloggers?!! She is so blessed with creativity and resourcefulness, and I always refer to her blog for crafts and activities that highlight the beauty of the Catholic faith. Here is her compilation of ideas (from other amazing Catholic moms!) for celebrating Mama Mary's birthday:

So the most obvious idea for celebrating this feast day is to make a birthday cake for Mary. Anything blue is a great idea since that's Mary's traditional color.

Ideas for September 5: Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa

I have JUST decided to include some activities for Blessed Mother Teresa's Feast day for our first day of homeschooling. Did a search on Google and here's what I plan to use: (wish us luck! haha! Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for us!)

Activities from Paper Dali (like this cute coloring sheet below!)

Coloring Pages from 4Real (scroll down to September 5)

Watch videos:
Mother Teresa of Calcutta cartoon for children


For me (hehe!): Mother Teresa on God's mercy and forgiveness

Wordless Wednesday

What Kids Should Know About Easter

Easter is THE most important time of the year for us Christians, even more important than Christmas. Sadly though, many people, Catholics and Christians included, often forget about this, and get lost in the hype of Easter egg hunts and chocolate bunnies. Personally, we do not claim to be the perfect Catholic parents, but we hope and pray that our kids will grow up to treasure the wonders and miracles of the Resurrected Lord, and believe in the enduring, saving power of the Cross.

This Easter Sunday, and the succeeding 49 days of Easter after it, may we who are in the ministry of raising up and teaching children (parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, KFC facilitators, kids ministers, big brothers and sisters, etc etc) remember to teach our kids that Easter is all about the Lamb, not the rabbit (the customs of which incidentally, is rooted in pagan traditions). 

Here are a few links to help you understand more about why JESUS is the reason for this great and blessed season, and how you can teach your kids about it:

From the Bible Conversation blog: "Is Believing in the Easter Bunny and Jesus the Same?" http://bibleconversation.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/is-believing-in-the-easter-bunny-and-jesus-the-same/

From Grant's Graceland: 

Top Ten Reasons Why Jesus is WAY BETTER Than the Easter Bunny! http://www.grantsgraceland.org/topten/tp0301.html

From Catholic Icing: Religious Easter Ideas For Kids (It's not TOO LATE to do this, Easter lasts for 50 days you know!) http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/04/religious-easter-ideas-for-kids.html

Feel free to share! May the Risen LORD always be in our hearts this Easter and beyond! A blessed, beautiful, bountiful Easter to all!

Rysse "helping " Tim prepare their Resurrection Eggs (idea taken from Catholic Icing)

Tim concentrating on the Resurrection Eggs

The finished product!

Preparing the Last Supper Craft (from Catholic Icing) for Holy Thursday

A cool Catholic way to practice kids' scissors skills

Retelling the Resurrection Story with Catholic Icing's easy-to-do Resurrection Set (Tim can't get enough of it, he keeps asking us to retell it!)

Kids and their Resurrection Set (May your patron saints Timothy and Therese guide you!)

Happy to hear the story of Jesus rising from the dead

(Oops.. forgot this one!) The Last Supper/Holy Thursday craft by Tim and Mama ♥

Lenten Activities For Preschoolers PLUS Holy Week Crafts We Plan To Do

Sharing with you this article I wrote for the Smart Parenting Philippines' website (they published it rather late in my opinion.. hehehe... but still.. I hope this helps you!). Also, I'm posting the links to the Holy Week crafts from Catholic Icing that we are going to do.. I am still gathering materials, but I hope we could start doing them tomorrow, Holy Wednesday. Have a blessed Holy Week everyone! :-) Remember.. JESUS is the reason for Easter, not the Easter Bunny! :-) *winks*


Lenten Activities For Preschoolers


Lent is the best time to introduce your little ones to the joy of Easter and how to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.  They may not fully understand the concepts of fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving, but it’s never too early to teach our kids about these things. 

For a more meaningful Lent for you and your little ones, try the following activities:

1.    Prepare a “Sacrifice Storage Area”. 
Ask your child to choose something that he would like to give up for Lent and let him keep it inside a special box or other container that can act as a “Sacrifice Storage Area.”  He may choose a favourite book or toy or DVD. Set a good example for him by also choosing something that you will be putting in the “Sacrifice Box.” 

As much as possible, get other members of the family to do the same as well, no matter what their ages. Explain that we make sacrifices during Lent as a sign of our love for God, and to learn to appreciate the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

On Easter Sunday, prepare a simple but meaningful ceremony where each member of the family gets to take out their “sacrificial item” from the Storage Area and say a Thanksgiving prayer.

2.    Make an Offering Box.
Using a makeshift “alkansya”, our family sets aside money during Lent which we will be offering on Easter Sunday to a charitable institution of our choice (most probably, it will be Bo Sanchez’s Grace To Be Born Maternity Home and Nursery, which caters especially to pregnant mothers in crisis).

Making an offering box is a great way to teach your kids about sharing your resources and material blessings with others. Tell your child that instead of spending excessively on things that you don’t need in the first place, donating money will help others in need. 

Tim and his offering box

It would also be good to note that teaching our children acts of generosity is something we should do not only during Lent, but all throughout the year.


3.    Make a Lenten Cross.
This easy-to-do craft will give you an opportunity to teach your children about prayer and thankfulness. This idea is taken from the Domestic Church website and is a fun way to get your preschooler to practice her scissor skills under your supervision. 

First, draw cross patterns on a cardboard then have your kids cut them out.  Make sure you have enough space on the cross for pictures.  Next, let the children cut out small pictures from magazines, old brochures and other glossy printed material of things that they are thankful for and glue them on the cross.  Talk to them about the images on the pictures that they have glued on the cross and encourage them to be grateful for all the good things you have in your life. 

Teach your kids about the Power of the Cross and the Love of the Savior!

You may want to display their Lenten cross crafts in a prominent part of your home, like on the fridge or the kids’ room as a reminder to pray and be thankful for all He has given us.

4.    Make a Spiritual Bouquet of Prayer Petal Flowers.

This is another great idea from Domestic Church, and is a creative way to build your children’s devotion to the Rosary, one decade at a time! 

Using colorful paper, cut out a series of flower petals, stems and leaves for each person taking part in the Rosary. There should be one stem (representing the Mystery), ten petals (representing the Hail Marys), one little circle or centre for each flower (representing the Our Father) and one leaf (representing the Glory Be).

As you pray, glue the “flower parts” that correspond to the prayer until you complete one flower. 

When you do this daily and all the decades are said, you and your kids will end up with a wonderful collection of flowers – a spiritual bouquet of prayer petal flowers. You could offer the prayers each day for a specific person or group, and give them the completed flowers as a colourful and meaningful gift.


5.    Learn about the Stations of the Cross.
The Stations of the Cross is another beautiful devotion that we can teach to our children. It is a good way for them to learn about the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection. There are many resources available online for teaching the Stations to your kids. Here are several useful links to help you get started:

Online Stations of the Cross for Kids and Families
Family Stations of the Cross from Domestic-Church.com
An article from the Passionists on Teaching the Stations of the Cross to Children
Multimedia Stations of the Cross for Children from Loyola Press

The most important thing to remember about these Lenten activities is that they will have greater significance when parents do them together with their kids. Find time together with your kids and make your bonding moments even more meaningful by enriching your family life AND faith all at the same time.

And now for the links from Catholic Icing (and linkys from other blogs/sites featured there) ! :-)


We plan to do these: (I am hoping to do all of them! Quite ambitious for a disorganized mama like me, but with God all things are possible, right?!)


Holy Thursday - Last Supper Craft, Praying Hands Craft and Washing of the Feet

Good Friday - Stations of the Cross Coloring Activity and Loyola Press' Stations of the Cross for Kids


Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday - Resurrection Eggs, Easter Countdown Calendar, Printable Resurrection Set

Thank the LORD for moms like Lacy who are SO gifted creatively and SO hardworking in putting up posts like these! Super helpful for clueless Teacher Mamas like me! :-) hehehe. Here's to a blessed blessed Holy Week and an even more blessed Easter everyone! :-)

Free Jesse Tree Advent Devotional Book!

Check out this great freebie by clicking on the image or link below it! A great resource for homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike! :)

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/11/free-jesse-tree-advent-devotional-book/

Instant Craft/Activity Time With Tim :)

The other day, Tim woke up from his nap, saying that he wanted to dress up like a butterfly (though stressing that he was a boy butterfly! haha), and that he wanted me to dress up like a squirrel. I told him we didn't have any butterfly wings for him, but then divine inspiration got hold of me and so I said "Let's make some!"

All we used were some materials I found here at home:

1. A used cardboard folder
2. Some paint
3. A pair of scissors (Tim knows now that he can only use these when an adult is around, praise GOD!)
4. A stapler

Here's the result of our instant craft time. Not exactly a masterpiece, but we both enjoyed, and Tim had a blast being a "butterboy"! (butterfly boy) LOL.
It only took us about 10 minutes to do this. I drew the outline of the wings, helped Tim cut them out, and let him decorate them with paint. Then we stapled the wings to some left-over folder paper. The "flap" at the top part can be folded down and then you just slip it into the back of one's shirt. VOILA! Instant butterfly wings!

Incidentally it's been raining a lot here lately and so one rainy day when Tim couldn't go out to play, I thought of doing something different. He was bugging me to let him watch TV so I decided to try one of these activities I saw in this book (365 TV-free Activities for Toddlers by Di Hodges) - COIN-CLEANING! Tim totally enjoyed it! (Though I did let him watch his educational DVDs for a while afterwards! Grrr... Oh well... At least I know he's learning SOMETHING from what he watches! At least I sincerely hope he does! *winks*)



Now I'm excited to try more activities from this great resource! (I got it cheap too, only 100 pesos!) Praise GOD! :)