Over the past few years I have had a number of friends suggest that I try and come up with a way for little girls all over, that don’t have a group of their own, to “join” my Little Flowers Girl’s Club group. Last year I thought about attempting this, but, with finishing up our major remodel and getting a late start for the year, I just wasn’t able to pull it off. This year I am a little more prepared, and think that it might doable. So, here are my thoughts…
Be a Little Flower – I will share my “plans” for Wreath IV in advance (ideally by next week, if I can finish them by then), and any moms/daughters that would like to “join” us are more than welcome! Whether you would like to do everything that we do at our meetings (Prayer, Coloring Page, Craft, Notebook Page, Lesson, Lap Book Activity for Wreath IV only, and Snack) or just a few of those things, you are more than welcome to participate at home. It will be up to each mom to purchase the craft supplies and print the various documents/coloring sheets for your own daughters – I’ll provide all my documents and any links.
Note: My group will be completing Wreath IV, which focuses on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you’d like to start with any of the other Wreath’s you can find all my past plans in the archives, as well as separated by the labels for Wreath I, Wreath II, Wreath III and Wreath IV. Our past meetings can be modified in whichever way works best for you – you don’t need to do exactly the same thing in order to participate in this online group.
Share Your Work – I will post a link up after each of our meetings is held for you to add a link to a blog post with pictures from your own meeting. It would be great fun for the girls to browse through the various blog posts and see all the pictures. (There are only 7 meetings for Wreath IV and we will be having our monthly meetings in Sep, Oct, Nov, early Dec, Mar, Apr, May, and a Tea Party to finish the year, date TBA. For those that are doing this at home with just your own girls, perhaps a Mom/Daughter outing to a local Tea House would be a fun way to finish the year!)
Note: I will post the link up along with the post from our local meeting, leaving it “open” for a two week period to allow everyone time to add their links. Since Wreath IV only has 7 meetings (compared to 9 in the other three wreaths, we will be taking off Jan and Feb… I am due January 1st after all, so this will work out perfectly!
Develop Friendships – To encourage an even greater sense of connection to the overall “group,” I would be willing to coordinate pen-pals for any of the girls that are interested. Once I have a list of all the girls – both from my own local group and those that join us online – I will try and match those that are closest in age together, as well as which Wreath they are completing if possible.
Materials/Supplies – The girls in my group each have a Hot Pink Binder to store their Notebook Pages (these were purchased at WalMart for around $2 each), as well as homemade Tote Bags and T-Shirts. These, of course, are all optional. I highly suggest the purchase of a Patch for the Wreath you choose, Blue Sash, and Member’s Guide for each girl. You can purchase these from either the publisher, Ecce Homo Press, or from Sacred Heart Books and Gifts. My girls also have the supplemental Art & Activity Books and Memory Verse CDs as well.
I’d love any feedback or ideas from any of you that might be interested in something like this for your daughters!
In the meantime, I had better get back to finishing the plans for this year… Our first meeting will be next week!
Oh my how I wish my girls were old enough! My girls are 23 months and 2 months 🙂 I will have to remember all this stuff in a few years so I can do these wonderful activities with them! Thank you so much for the work you do to make this available to others out there. What a wonderful resource for teaching our children about our faith in such a fun way!
You are truly amazing. I have three boys and no girls. Makes me want a girl so very badly. Maybe this one is a girl? I'm thinking I'll grab the neighbors girls and steal them for a few hours 😉
Oh Jessica, you are truly amazing -you know i have told our Bishop you are my spiritual Godmother in the Church-and this might just be what my girls need too,to "get to know" little catholic girls around the world -how much fun !
Please be gentle with yourself and know that we will all understand if you need to wait a week or two ,or make thing just little easier on you self (as if you ever do that….:) ) So, all i need to do know is to figure out how to make a safe blog for us to join;LOL.
Thank you my sweet fare away friend, God bless you.
Love
Emma in Norway
To Anonymous above: Blue knights! WE are doing both this year for the first time. My dear friend from South Florida started her own Little Flowers when we joined a Catholic homeschool group a few years ago, and it was such a beautiful little group. We had such an awesome time! She is now in a group in Dallas Texas. Sadly we don't have one anymore, but…
We plan to start a small group for both boys and girls at our parish this year, after much persistence! lol! =) The Little Flower guided my heart and stubbornness in the right direction.
Jessica, people sometimes ask me how I do it with 5! I don't know how you do it with your family. You have all the creativity to share to all of us moms online. I tell people all the time it's due to God's shining grace and patience, along with the insomnia. BUT…How do you do it even in pregnancy? You are a blessing to many moms like myself who are in the daily family love trenches of our Domestic Church along the everyday homeschooling and extracurricular activities. Many blessings to you,your family and your baby in your tummy. God bless!
Anon ~ My boys will be doing Year 3 of Blue Knights this year at home with their Dad, we just haven't started yet! It would be fun to do a link up for Blue Knights as well for all the boys that don't belong to a local group!
Jackie ~ God's Grace! I struggle just as much as any other mother! It does get a little easier, in some ways, as our children start to get a little older.
Emma ~ Can you get on Facebook? Since posting this morning, I started thinking that a Secret/Private Facebook group might be a great option for sharing, for all those that don't have a blog!
Lovely idea. I'm actually working on packaging my LF crafts for shipment. I'll be starting with a small test group this year. I'll be certain to continue to share your posts/links.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
Lena
Oh, I think we might have to join – thank you for the invitation. We had a little flowers group last year during our First Friday meetings – but it was at a church and we only had an hour – very difficult to do all I wanted to do… The Holy Spirit is perfect for us this year.
Thank you
Karen
Oh, our girls are so excited to hear this. We have 7 daughters and the ages go from 12-1. I will wait till you are ready for us to sign up this year and send you a email with the names and ages of each girl.
Now it's time to order all of our goodies!!
Thanks so much:) Let me know if I can help in anyway.
Blessings,
Pamela
I am very interested! A private group via facebook or a private blog would be great. And my girls would be thrilled to have pen-pals!
K
PLease keep me posted if you hear anymore about an online "Blue Knights" club! I would love to sign my boys up! Wish I had a daughter!
God bless your efforts!!!
I have a son who is just the right age for Blue Knights and we would love to participate if something comes together for that! I'll take notes on the Little Flowers Girls Club for our daughter. Since she is still in the womb we'll have to wait a bit but it's never too early to ask for the prayers for a daughter to be filled with the Holy Spirit:o) Thanks always for all the heart you put into faith and family. You are just a delight and I love learning from you!!! Thanks to our gracious Lord for you!
Lena ~ What a great idea! I hope it works out well for you!
Pamela ~ The group is written for girls ages 5 and up, though my 2nd daughter was younger when she joined. She really didn't learn much that first year, but she did still enjoy being "involved." I plan to wait until our youngest daughter is 5 before starting her "officially." I think your girls will love it!
Karen ~ It would be hard to complete much in just an hour! I'm glad something like this might work out for you.
K ~ I am leaning towards the private group on Facebook, in addition to a link up each month for those that would like to share a post. It would be a great way to share ideas and pictures!
Alecia and Anon ~ I've been thinking a bit more about Blue Knights throughout the day today… I already have the member's guides and patches for my boys for this coming year, and it will be great to complete them at home. I suppose it wouldn't be too much harder to organize the same sort of things (a monthly link up, facebook group, and pen pals between the "members") for the boys, in addition to the girls. I just won't be able to pre-share any plans, etc. However, I *LOVE* the layout of the Blue Knights books, including the Leaders Guides. Everything is planned out very well in those books. Plus, my husband and I would like our boys focusing more on activities when possible instead of crafts… For example, the first saint for Book 3 of Blue Knights is St. Peter… Instead of having the boys make a "fishing pole" craft, I'd love for their dad actually take them fishing. And of course, make them some cute Fishing themed cupcakes for a snack! 😉
LOVE this idea! My girls will love linking up! Bud would like to continue BK with your boys in this way – how fun!!
Elm ~ Thought you might like this idea! 😉 I actually almost emailed you earlier to ask for your thoughts… We sure miss you guys!!
Sounds great, Jessica! Thanks for being open to growing your group online 🙂 I'm not sure about the link-up or facebook part, but I'm sure my girls will love being Little Flowers!
Pam ~ That would just be a way for those that want to share pictures to do so… and completely optional! 🙂
We would be very interested! What a beautiful idea. Thank you so much. We'll be joining you from sunny California!
Being pen pals would be super-fun, too. My girls would love it.
Although my blog has all but disappeared with my entrance back into the working world, my daughter and I read your blog daily (it's one of 2 that we read). She would LOVE to be part of this LF group! Facebook would MOST definitely be the best option for us.
She is joinging JCDA this year but we've been unable to find a viable LF group for her to join. I've thought MANY times about starting our own but it seems so many of her classmates attend Girl Scouts and aren't interested in making time for something else. 🙁
Thank you SO much for willingly giving of self to reach so many. We are blessed indeed!
What a wonderful, generous idea!!! What age do you suggest is the youngest for a girl to begin Little Flowers? I love your ideas, but my daughter will only be turning three in December. Thank you!
Christie
[email protected]
It has been a busy day here today, but I will try and put together some sort of sign up, and post it soon, along with the Lap Book Plans and other ideas for our first Wreath IV Meeting next week.
Christie! So nice to hear from you!! So glad something like this might work out well for your daughter. 🙂
Christine ~ Three is pretty young… My "Chiquita" was only 3 (turning 4) when she started, and even she was too young. The program is written for ages 5 and up. So really Kindergarten is the perfect time to start.
This will be great!! So excited to do this with my girls and hopeing a couple other homeschool girls will join us. I need to order our materials. Did you ever use or do you recommend purchasing the Craft Companion Book, Virtue Stories, or Memory Verse Cards??? Thanks so much!
I did purchase the Craft Companion books, but didn't really end up using the ideas out of them…
The Memory Cards are great! I have them for the first 3 Wreaths, and plan to make our own for Wreath 4 since they aren't made/sold yet.
The Virtue Stories Book is new, and wasn't available back when my girls did Wreath I. I purchased it this year and look forward to reading the stories as they apply, or when we begin Wreath I again in the future.
Jessica this sounds so wonderful and I think that my 3 girls would love to join in. I am a regular reader of your blog and have enjoyed reading about your Little Flowers. can I ask how long your meetings usually go for? Also I am presuming that we would need a Facebook account to access the private site?
Nikki
Sounds like fun! My oldest daughter will be turning 5 this week, so she's the perfect age to start something like this. I don't blog, so Facebook would be a good option for us. Thanks for arranging this option!
Our meetings are usually 2 hours long. Then my girls spend some time throughout the following month, before the next meeting, completing some of the assignments in the Member's Guide.
Since most of the girls in my group were pretty young when we started, I have never required them to complete all the assignments to earn their patch for each virtue, but I do have a "treasure chest" that they can pick prizes out of, depending on how many they do finish! 🙂
Thanks! One more question….What is the oldest age you would recommend for starting Wreath 1??
My daughter just turned 12 – would she be too old for this? We're living in Japan (husband is in the military) and I think this is something she may enjoy. Thank you SO much for your links and inspiration. My husband was raised Catholic, but I'm a convert and your blog helps so very much as I slowly incorporate ideas of how to live our faith daily while homeschooling! It's one of the only places I visit daily. 🙂 Thanks again!~Charity
Sarah ~ I think that would really depend on the girl… My local group is open to girls that are ages 5-12. But that doesn't mean that girls older than 12 wouldn't be interested in participating in Little Flowers.
My 7-year-old daughter and I would love to participate in this. There is no group locally so we are doing it on our own (we haven't started yet) with two other friends from their school. We're starting Wreath I.
And I have a 9 year old who would benefit immensely from the Blue Knights!
Oh Jessica, this would be such a blessing! I was a leader of a LF group for the first time last year. We moved over the summer and no longer have a group. My two daughters would love to participate.
Thank you for your kindness is sharing your ideas. I was ALWAYS coming to your blog for crafts, etc.. for our group. 🙂