“A” is for Apples, Altar, St. Aloysius, and Archangels!
Snuggles colored this picture from My Book of Letters last school year (along with B-E)…
I pulled out the rest of the activity pages for the letter A…
… including An Apple Tree with Painted Apples for lowercase a…
… Adding the pictures that begin with “a”…
… circling All the A’s and then looking through a magazine (we used a Leaflet Catalog) for pictures that begin with a – like Advent Wreath, Angels, Archangels, Apples to Apples, Aaron, St. Augustine, St. Anne, and St. Anthony!
Snuggles apparently isn’t too crazy about Modeling Wax (maybe later in the year we will try again) but the Wikki Sticks were a huge hit!
Snuggles will be making an A, B… Seas Ocean Box this year! The first thing we did was find a box and cover it with construction paper. Since we had just finished learning about the different zones – the sunlit zone, the twillight zone, and the midnight zone – he insisted on using light blue, dark blue, and black paper!
Sea Life Alphabet Coloring Book
(and of course we had to rent Finding Nemo for our family movie night!)
Ten Red Apples
Rain Makes Applesauce
Apples to Oregon
Brother Bartholomew and the Apple Grove
Amazing Apples
All for Pie, Pie for All
How Do Apples Grow?
Pressing Apples
During our field trip to a “farm” earlier this week the kids picked apples and made Apple Cider! Snuggles especially loved turning the wheel on the Apple Press! (And how Appropriate for A week!)
Assemble Aircraft
I also had been saving a little aircraft lego set for Snuggles to Assemble…
(Bud always has a smile for his Momma! Oooh, I love him!!)
… with a very Attentive Audience!
A is for Angel
My Guardian Dear
Angels, Angels Everywhere
Angel in the Waters
Angels: God’s Messengers and Our Helpers
A is for Angel our Guardian so bright:
Say to him,
“Angel dear, help me do right.”
~ God’s Alphabet
A is for Always Ask
I had ordered a few 8.5″x11″ blank books from Rainbow Resource (Amazon has them too, just more expensive at the moment) and am using a few of them for the Alphabet Path. They contain 14 pages – 28 back and front – which is just perfect for the 26 letters of the Alphabet!
After gluing the cover page on, we laminated the cover with like we did for our “Wisdom of the Saints” Journals. We skipped the first page, front and back (saving it for a title page and index), adding Always Ask to page 3.
Since Snuggles was born on the feast of St. Aloysius, and since my Grandfather was named (middle name) after St. Aloysius, we decided to include it in his name as well! Our little Snuggles, with two middle names, has quite the long name – and he is very proud of it!
Note: I’ve actually been completely amazed at Snuggles interest in coloring! I really didn’t think he’d want to color much, but has really been enjoying it! Yay!!
) and St. Anthony (An Alphabet of Saints and S is for Saints) we also read about Saint Aloysius from A Picture Book of Saints.
2 cups pancake and waffle mix
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup instant oatmeal
1/2 cup sparkling cider
In a medium bowl, blend together all ingredients using a wire whisk. For thicker pancakes, allow batter to sit for 5 minutes. Cook on a hot griddle. Serve with Apple Cider Syrup.
Apple Cider Syrup
3/4 cup apple cider
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup (I used honey)
2 T butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and stir occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Serve warm.
Highlights from “Z” Week
*I wasn’t able to find all the pictures, or all the worksheets/coloring pages to take pictures of (they were on my desk until a week or so ago!), but here is what I have for Z Week – over 2 years later! 🙂
while listening to A Flower Fairy Alphabet
on CD.
, Wooden Pieces and on paper. I can’t seem to find the pictures from that, but here are some of the Zoo Animals they made out of Playdoh, which was a gift from a friend, and a very rare treat in our home! 😉 
Z Is for Zookeeper: A Zoo Alphabet
My Visit to the Zoo
Curious George Visits the Zoo
Coloring Pages and Extra Activities from Wild Animals Fun Kit
The girls also helped plan a birthday party for Snuggles with a “Zoo” themed cake!
.
and nesting blocks
. 
They were SO excited!Precious Moments & Blessings
I don’t have much time to spend online today, but wanted to pop in real quick to share a few pictures from this past Sunday night, when Bud figured out how to stand up on his own while holding on to a piece of furniture. He was so excited!
An Alphabet of Saints :: Painted Wooden Peg Dolls
Just over four years ago (in 2008) I started painting An Alphabet of Saints to go along with our first journey Along the Alphabet Path, inspired by the illustrations in An Alphabet of Catholic Saints… I started out with a handful of saints and then continued adding to our collection as the girls completed each letter of the Alphabet. I only made it half way through painting the very last doll, St. Zita, during Z week- before setting her aside as we began our major kitchen remodel and home addition in June of 2010.
Poor St. Zita has been sitting on that shelf ever since, constantly reminding me that I still haven’t posted about Z Week patiently waiting for her lovely hair, face, veil, cross necklace and broom to be completed.
I carefully cropped her out of that picture I posted the other day, but had a feeling it would trigger a few questions!
In addition to the Highlights from “Z” Week, I also haven’t posted about my awesome saint display…
Is it bad that I am displaying our sweet little collection of saints in a… ummmm…. Shot Glass Display?!?
I searched and searched for the perfect thing, before settling on an inexpensive “Black Shot Glass Curio which holds up to 36 Jiggers Saints!”
Despite it’s intended purpose, it really does work perfectly for our painted saint dolls! I found ours on ebay, and was able to find a few more that are currently available. (Though I think they are a little more expensive… I remember paying $20.00 including shipping for ours, but that was a couple years ago.)
So yesterday afternoon I finally dusted off St. Zita, pulled out my painting supplies, and finished painting her in less than 10 minutes while on the phone with my mom.
And just incase anyone would like to get started on their own 4 year project set of saints, here’s the link to my favorite source for the wooden peg dolls. Happy Painting!
Angel Art for A Week
One of the themes we studied Along the Alphabet Path during “A Week” was Angels! (Update: You can find all our Aa week Activities here!) With the feasts of Michaelmas, the Archangels, and the Holy Guardian Angels all coming up, I thought it would be fun to make Hand and Foot ARCH Angels as our craft! These could be made with either paper or finger paint, but I opted for less mess paper! 😉
Supplies:
- Construction Paper (Blue, White, Tan, and additional color of choice)
- Glue Stick
- Crayons or Markers
- Sparkly Chenille Stem
Directions:
Using white construction paper, trace around both of your hands (or have someone do this for you) to make the angel’s wings.
Next, trace around one of your feet (including the Arch) to make the shape for the angel’s body.
Cut out the foot and hand shapes, as well as a circle for the angel’s face. (We found a small round vase to use to trace the circle.) Arrange on your blue background construction paper and glue in place.
For the halo, cut a little piece of sparkly chenille and shape it into a halo. We poked a little hole in the paper, sticking the stem/end of the halo through the hole and taping it down on the back side of the paper. (That way it wouldn’t leave a line/bump on the angel’s face.) You could also use glittery yarn or glitter glue for the halo.
Using markers or crayons, add two eyes, a mouth, and hair (if desired).
Our little pre-schooler is also enjoying participating in some of the Alphabet Path fun! It’s hard to believe I was pregnant with her when the girls completed “A Week” and made their Rainbow Wool Angels.
Along the Alphabet Path {The Plan for 2012-2013}
Despite thinking that I might need to come up with a different theme/story this time (Woodland Creatures, Knights, etc) for a certain little five year old boy of ours, Snuggles was quite captivated by “Michael and Mrs. Applebee!” And how perfect that our family even happens to live “at the edge of a beautiful woods!” Perhaps we’ll just skip the “girly” flower fairy coloring pages this time and focus on our faith, the saints, and more. I just love how easy it is to modify the Alphabet Path to work for each child. There are so many fun ideas and options to choose from, it’s going to be such a fun year!
Since Snuggles just turned five during the summer, he is starting Kindergarten younger than any of our other children. (Captain did start at this age, but he really wasn’t ready and ended up repeating 2nd grade due to his Auditory Processing Challenges. And for Twinkle Toes, our other late summer baby, we “waited” until she had just turned 6 to officially call her a Kindergartner.) I’m not going to worry about whether or not we complete the Alphabet Path in one year or two – taking our time and spending two weeks on each letter, or more if necessary. If it takes us 3 years to get through K & 1st grade, no big deal. I’d rather this extra little guy of mine be the oldest in his class with a solid foundation, rather than one of the youngest struggling to keep up! (Not that it really matters, since we homeschool, but still…)
Anyhow, now that we are a couple weeks into our new school year, I’ve had time to figure out just what the Alphabet Path is going to look like for Snuggles! I’ve run across a few fun new additions that I am looking forward to sharing with you all.
In addition to his daily Religion, Math, and Language Arts, we will focus on one area of the Alphabet Path each afternoon:
- Monday :: Letter Introduction & Formation
- Tuesday :: A, B… Seas & Storybook Science
- Wednesday :: Arts & Crafts
- Thursday :: My Catholic Faith
- Friday (or on the weekend) :: A to Z Recipes
(Note: Most of these books were already on our bookshelves, with just a few new additions.)
Along the Alphabet Path Story Book by Elizabeth Foss
Various Saint Picture Books & Coloring Pages
I’m loving this little recipe box… For Aa week we made Ants in my Applesauce, and next week we will be making Blueberry Buckle! In addition to all the great recipes, each card also offers suggestions for servings and variations, plus fun facts. The letter tab at the top of each card works as a divider for any additional recipes you might want to add to the collection, using the 26 blank recipe cards which are provided, or your own.
You can find all of our posts for the Alphabet Path listed on this page. I’ll continue to add to the current label “Alphabet Path” for scrolling through everything. I also just filed all the posts from when the girls were learning along the Alphabet Path here: Alphabet Path (2009-2010) and will begin a new label for Snuggles: Alphabet Path (2012-2013). I’ll be back soon along after awhile to add all about Aa week!
Is anyone else learning Along the Alphabet Path this year?
Novena to Saint Thérèse
The feast day of St. Thérèse is coming up! Her feast is celebrated on the 1st of October (on the New Calendar) and on the 3rd of October (on the Traditional Calendar). Our family usually celebrates it on both dates, with the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels and our wedding anniversary on the day in between! The novena for her intercession can be prayed anytime, but we always love praying it (for nine days in a row) in anticipation of her feast, ending on the eve of the Feast (Sept 30th or Oct 2nd).
In the past I have always posted daily reminders here at Shower of Roses. You can find all those posts here and here. This year I wanted to suggest signing up for emailed daily reminders over at Pray More Novenas! All you have to do is click here and join the Novena!
I also thought I’d share the prayer from a beautiful book, Novena: The Power of Prayer, which I’ll be praying each day with our children:
Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, during your short life on earth you became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted abandonment to God. Now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, turn your eyes of mercy upon me, for I put my confidence in you.
Obtain for me the need to keep my heart and mind pure and clean like your own, and to abhor sincerely whatever may in any way tarnish the glorious virtue of purity, so dear to our Lord.
Most gracious Little Rose Queen, remember your promises of never letting any request made to you go unanswered, of sending down a shower of roses, and of coming down to earth to do good. Full of confidence in your power with the Sacred Heart, I implore your intercession in my behalf and beg of you to obtain the request I so ardently desire.
Holy little Theresa, remember your promise to do good upon the earth and shower down your roses on those who invoke you. Obtain for me from God the graces I hope for from his infinite goodness. Let me feel the powers of your prayers in every need. Give me consolation in all the bitterness of this life, and especially at the hour of death, that I may be worthy to share eternal happiness with you in heaven. Amen.
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Indiana
“Y is for yellow, a mellow yellow
during Indiana’s autumn harvest,
when corn and soy crops are at their best.“
*I’m skipping ahead to the state that the kids all completed last week. I never did get around to posting the rest over the summer. Hopefully soon!
My favorite part of the boys’ State-by-State Scrapbooks has ended up being their illustrations. (Even though those same detailed illustrations are the reason it takes them so long to complete each state.) This was their own addition to our original plans… We started with just coloring the worksheets I gave them, then started adding stickers to a few of the first states, and then they started adding their illustrations. Now they like to see how much they can cram into the two pages! 😉
.: Indiana by Captain :.
: Indiana by Rascal :.
*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.
State-by-State Baking :: Indiana Bread Pudding
I’m quite behind on posting about our State-by-State Studies… Instead of trying to catch up, I’m going to just jump ahead to Indiana – the state we studied last week, before moving on to Mississippi this week. Eventually I will try go back and add the posts for Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Louisiana.
3 cups day-old bread, cubed (about 5 slices)
1/2 cup raisins
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
ice cream, optional
1 . Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Using a paper towel, grease the baking dish with the butter or shortening.
2. Put the bread cubes and raisins in the baking dish and toss to mix.
Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of St. Matthew
It has been so long since I’ve put together one of these posts! This past week I noticed that I didn’t have any ideas in the archives here or over at Catholic Cuisine for the feast of St. Matthew, and it’s been on my mind ever since. My husband is still out of town, and the baby happens to be asleep at the moment, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and ideas with you all. I hope you have a very happy feast day (and happy birthday to my mom)!
September 21st
Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist
Patron: Accountants; bankers; bookkeepers; customs officers; security guards; stock brokers; tax collectors; Salerno, Italy.
Symbols: Angel holding a pen or inkwell; bag of coins; loose coins; halberd; inkwell; king; lance; man holding money; man holding money box and/or glasses; money bag; money box; purse; spear; sword; winged man; young man; book; man sitting at a desk.
excerpt from Saints for Young People for Every Day of the Year
Matthew was a tax-collector in the city of Capharnaum, where Jesus was living. He was a Jew but he was working for the Romans, who had conquered the Jews. For this reason, his countrymen disliked him. They would not have anything to do with these “publicans”, as tax collectors like Matthew were called.
But Jesus did not feel that way about Matthew. One day, He saw him sitting in his office and He said, “Follow Me.” At once, Matthew got up and left his money and his position to follow Our Lord, Who seemed so holy and king-like. He gave a big supper for Jesus and invited other Publicans like himself to meet Jesus and listen to Him teach. When some people criticized Our Lord for eating with sinners, Jesus answered, “They who are well do not need the doctor; the sick do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners to repentance.”
When Jesus went back to Heaven, St. Matthew stayed in Palestine for some time to preach about Our Lord. He also wrote his Gospel, which is the story of Jesus and what He taught. In his Gospel, St. Matthew showed his countrymen that Jesus is the Messias whom the Prophets had said would come to save us.
After preaching the Gospel to many people, St. Matthew ended his life as a glorious martyr for the Faith.
If my parents ask me to do something, I will obey promptly, without asking them any questions or giving any excuses.
Picture Books
The Apostles of Jesus by Father Lovasik
Great Men of the New Testament by Rev. Jude Winkler
Food Suggestions
From My Nameday: Come for Dessert: “Dessert and decorations. The traditional book cake inscribed with the words “Verbum Dei manet in aeternum” (God’s Word lasts forever) would teach children that the Gospel of the inspired evangelist will continue forever upon the earth. Gold coins are suitable for Matthew’s feast or for his cake decoration. The coins are really discs of chocolate wrapped in gold foil; they can be found at almost any candy store.”
I thought Silver Dollar Pancakes would be fun and easy, plus they tie in perfectly to the “coin” theme since these pancakes got their name for being the same size as a silver dollar. I posted our “St. Matthew’s Silver Dollar Pancakes” over at Catholic Cuisine.
Gold Chocolate Coins are another perfect treat for this feast day! You can just share a bag of the coins with your family, insert chocolate coins into a cake (like I did for our Twelfth Night Rum Cake), or even top your favorite cupcakes with a chocolate coin.
Tuck a bag of Gold Chocolate Coins or maybe a Payday Candy Bar into your husband’s or child’s lunch box with the prayer to St. Matthew attached.
St. Matthew is symbolized by a “money box or purse.” These St. Nicholas Purse Cookies would also make an fun and yummy treat for this feast day!
Since St. Matthew also wrote on of the books in the bible, you could make our Fig Newton “Bible Cookies.” (They also look really cute with little bookmark’s added.)
Coloring Pages
St. Matthew the Tax Collector
colored by Captain
St. Matthew the Evangelist
colored by Rascal
Matthew (by Catholic Artworks, for those that own the CDs)
colored by Twinkle Toes
Extra Activities
Church Windows would be a fun game to play on this feast day! In this game, players repair and build church windows depicting the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each card is a pane and each window is made of 3 panes – head, middle and feet. 2-4 players can all play together and it is recommended for ages 6 & up.
Catholic Culture also offers a few additional suggestions, including: “Do something for the needy: money for missions, donations of clothing or toys, canned goods drive, etc.”
Read or Listen to some of the Gospel of Matthew on the Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible. (We’ll be doing this on our long drive to town.)
Copywork
A CHILD’S GOSPEL NIGHT PRAYER
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless the bed that I lie on.
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels there aspread,
Two to foot and two to head,
And four to carry me when I’m dead.
I go by sea, I go by land;
The Lord made me with His right hand.
Prayer to St. Matthew
God of mercy, You chose a tax collector, St. Matthew, to share the dignity of the apostles. By his example and prayers, help us to follow Christ and remain faithful in Your service. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
St. Matthew the Apostle, Pray for Us!
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