State-by-State Scrapbook :: Alabama

by | Mar 11, 2013 | , | 2 Comments

“Our official state bird’s name, 
history does glorify.
The uniforms of the Civil War soldiers, 
Yellowhammer is our Y.”
  ~ Y is for Yellowhammer: An Alabama Alphabet

.: Alabama by Captain :.

.: Alabama 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.

You can also find the Alabama Fried Pies that the girls made for this state here!  


Our Little School Room

by | Mar 8, 2013 | , , | 34 Comments

Over the past few years I’ve continually tried to rearrange our small little school room to make it work for our family, and the sometimes overwhelming amount of school books we’ve collected over the years.  The last time I gave you a tour was back in 2009.   It was still pretty crowded and cramped, but we made it work.  The only problem was the table in the middle always seemed to collect piles of “stuff” and would make the room look so messy all the time.  I also had a very difficult time maneuvering around the table when I was pregnant… There just wasn’t much space left over.  Last year I finally moved the table to under the window, between the two windows, which you can sort of see in this picture,  but it still looked funny. Since we needed all the extra chairs for our dining room table (yes, we have two very different sets of chairs at the moment, but at least we have chairs for everyone!) I finally just removed the table from the room and left an open area on the floor to pile all the stuff for the children to play games, assemble puzzles, and read books.   Anyways, last Saturday I finally spent some time cleaning, decluttering, and organizing this room!  
One day last week, when my mom stopped by, I asked her for a few suggestions.  (I had a few big boxes and baskets of books all with no where to go, in addition to lots of other stuff that needed to be sorted and put away.  I’m sorry I didn’t take a before picture to share with you all.  I should have, but it really was rather embarrassing.)   Anyways, she suggested that I push the desks together, under the window, to allow room for another bookcase near my desk.  I had never considered that because there is a book case on the end of Rascal’s desk, and the floor vent is directly under the window.  She said that if I switched the desks, putting Rascal’s on the right and Captain’s on the left it would work, and sure enough it did!   Not only does it look so much better, their desks are so much more functional!  (In the past Rascal couldn’t open his bottom drawer because it was blocked by the computer plug, and Captain couldn’t use the keyboard space, due to the little shelves on the back wall.)   
I also moved the printer back to the school room (from inside my closet) and placed it on Captain’s desk!  Now when I want to print at night I can do so without upsetting my husband! 😉    My old iMac is set up on Captain’s desk for the oldest four children to use for Math, and the CD player is on Rascal’s desk for audio books and the three oldest to use for their spelling – Phonetic Zoo.   
On the back wall I have a stack of shoe shelves/closet organizers that we have been using as extra shelving.   The children each have their own shelf on which they keep their Timeline Books, Special Artwork Boxes, State Scrapbooks, and art supplies.  On the bottom/floor I have a couple tubs with extra crayons and safari toob figures.  
In the past I kept the rest of the art supplies on top of these shelves, but I moved some to the small curved book shelves to make room for our Puzzles (in a case similar to this one) and stacking blocks! 
Our puzzles include a set of four Schylling Wooden Puzzles (the school bus, the fire truck, the cow, and the duck), various Lauri Puzzles, a shapes puzzle, US puzzle, and a barnyard puzzle.  We have a few others that don’t fit on the case which I placed on top of some books on the bookcase.  

I love wooden stacking toys!  They are so pretty and the kids have so much fun playing with them!  On this shelf you can see the Little Flower Wooden Stacker, a set of Stacking Birds, the Stone Cave,  Rainbow, Fire, Water Waves, and a little wooden Peacock from last year’s family Easter Basket.

To the left of the shelves is our basket of puppets!   We have a couple large puppets (Ziggy the Zebra to go along with All About Reading and a fun Gray Squirrel) the rest are small Folkmanis finger puppets.  My children have discovered these in their Easter baskets and Christmas stockings in the past.  They are all so cute!

I purchased the book shelves from my parents neighbors years ago when they moved.   The corner shelf is huge, and had to be placed in the room through the window, but I really love these shelves!  I’m able to fit so much on them!   I had been using the corner shelves for various seasonal things, but since I needed the room for books I packed all of that stuff up and rearranged everything!  
The children each have their own Martha Stewart Magazine File Box (I purchased more with a teacher’s 50% off all Martha Stewart coupon in the fall!) to hold their Lap Books.  They also each have a Black Closetmaid Fabric Drawer for their current school books.   

This past week, during our study of the past Popes, I hung up our old Pope Chart on the back of the door.   It only lists through Pope John Paul II, but the children have loved looking through all the popes pictures and reading a little about each of them. 
Also just inside the door, hanging on the wall is our Alphabet of Saints Dolls (there is a matching poster  on the wall, up above and to the right) , and to the left of those, on top of the shelf, is Rose’s Wooden Fairy Tale Village.   It’s another set of toys that comes down when she wants to play with it, and then gets put back up when she is done.  🙂 
I’ve given you a little peek at the calendar I have hanging on the wall behind the door before…  It is  where we store any current Lap Book Mini-Books in clear ziplock bags until we are ready to assemble the actual Lap Book.  
Underneath the calendar I have our Geo Safari USA Search hanging on the wall.  It apparently decided to stop working this past year…  I was hoping new batteries was all it needed, but they didn’t seem to help.  Oh well.  🙁 
And that just leaves the other wall, where you find my desk.   I still need to do some work on this side of the room, sorting through the plastic bins of school and art supplies.  (One which came from my closet!) I’d like to eventually paint (or replace) the desk and then get one more bookshelf to place in the corner.  

On one of the shelves is a model ship my husband started building when we were dating (maybe someday he will have the time to finish it!) and on the other I have a few of our Pop-Up Books, safely out of the reach of the little ones:  Sounds of the Wild: Nighttime was a Christmas gift from my mom, The Sound of Music from Rose’s birthday, and Snow White which was a gift from a friend a few years ago!   They are all such awesome books!

I did end up getting a few more curtains to cover the opening/shelf above the hallway.   We actually had to move the intake for the heater to the other side so now there is a big silver pipe going through that area, along with all the various Christmas, Easter and other seasonal items that need to be stored.   

It’s nowhere near as organized and beautiful as some of the learning rooms I’ve seen online, but I’ve been able to make this small space work for us.  And after filling 3 bags of trash and 3 boxes/bags to donate, everything seems to have a place at the moment!  It has been so nice this past week to finally have an organized school room again!  Now to move on to my closet and the kids bedrooms…  I think I need a full week of Saturdays! 😉 

{this moment}

by | Mar 8, 2013 | , , , | 5 Comments

“Somebody rode his wheely bug into the (recently cleaned and organized) schoolroom and found a couple of his books immediately.”

From Instagram/Facebook, because it was just too cute to not record on the blog!  

Papal Lap Book Unit Two: The Holy Fathers, Past and Present

by | Mar 7, 2013 | | 18 Comments

As we continue The Primacy of Peter :: A Papal Unit Study and Lap Book, we moved on from our first unit about St. Peter, The First Pope last week and began our second unit based on all of the Holy Fathers, Past and Present, of the Roman Catholic Church!  Beginning with Saint Peter the Apostle and first Pope, and ending with Pope Benedict XVI the 265th Pope, who is now the Pope Emeritus.

What a blessing it was to have high speed internet and watch (via EWTN online) the Holy Father, during his last hours as our Pope on February 28th, say goodbye, leave the Vatican as the bells rang during Lent, give his final blessing from the balcony at Castle Gondolfo, and then watch the doors close and the guards leave their post…   I didn’t expect to cry, but I did, and Bud clapped along with all the crowds!

Here is a peek at our extra studies this past week as we continue working on our Papal Lap Books:  
Unit Two: The Holy Fathers, Past and Present

Read:

Family Read Aloud

Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI had me completely confused when it arrived in the mail…  I took the dust cover off and tried to put it on “correctly” but it didn’t work.  I finally figured it out when I opened the “front” cover…   I’ve never read a book from the back to the front, but the boys sure found it intriguing!

Create More Lap Book Mini-Books:

Who is the Pope?

For this mini-book I read “The Bishop of Rome” (pages 112-113 My Catholic Faith) while the children colored and assembled their mini-books.

Some Special Popes

For this Tab Book the children studied five different popes beginning with St. Peter and ending with Pope Benedict, and looked through the complete List of Popes.    We learned how St. Gregory the Great invented Gregorian Chant and called himself “Servant of the Servants of God.”  We learned about St. Leo the XIII who wrote the St. Michael the Archangel Prayer.  And we also learned about Pope Pius X, the Pope of the Eucharist.

In addition to the original blank book I created, I created a couple additional books for my younger children.  The first has traceable text and a reduced size coloring page for them to color for each of the Popes!   You can download my document here:  Some Special Popes – Coloring/Quotes (Note:  you will need to print the coloring pages at a reduced size to paste into the provided spaces.  The coloring pages are from other websites and copyrighted.) 

Here are the links to the various coloring pages we used for our mini-book:

Rose was so excited she started jumping up and down when I gave her the book to color.  

We read some short stories about each of the Popes.  For those who don’t have access to these saints stories at home, here are a few online sources:

My husband also helped create a “Fill-in-the-blank” version of this book as well, for some of our children.   I uploaded it here: Some Special Popes Fill in the Blank

Amazing Pope Facts

The children also started  working on their Amazing Facts mini-books.   These were inspired by the short chapter in the ebook Who is the Pope?   Here is also an interesting article with A Few Fun Facts about Popes in History.   Some of the topics I suggested to the children included:  

  • Which Pope was the Pope the longest?
  • Which Pope was the Pope the shortest? 
  • What happened in 1978? Answer: 1978: The Year of The Three Popes (I found this especially interesting since I was born in January of 1978!)  😉 
  • What is meant by the infallibility of the Catholic Church?

We also read the section from My Catholic Faith on Infallibility of the Church, which I think is Amazing!

Question: What is meant by the infallibility of the Catholic Church?
Answer: By the infallibility of the Catholic Church is meant that the Church, by the special assistance of the Holy Ghost, cannot err when it teaches or believes a doctrine of faith and morals.

Question: Has the Church in fact proved itself infallible?
Answer: It is a historical fact that the Catholic Church, from the twentieth century back to the first, has not once ceased to teach a doctrine on faith or morals previously held, and with the same interpretation; the Church has proved itself infallible.

My Catholic Faith goes on to explain:

  1. It is a historical fact that not one Pope, whatever he was in his private life, has ever taught error.
  2. True, some high rulers of the Church have gravely sinned. Nevertheless, enemies of the Church have exaggerated even the lack of impeccability. In the long line of Popes the vast majority led virtuous lives. Many of them are honored as Saints and martyrs. The enemies of the Church can bring charges against only five or six Popes: Most of the charges are calumnies or exaggerations. But even if the charges were true, they prove nothing against infallibility.  (Of the Sovereign Pontiffs that have succeeded Peter, 84 are canonized Saints, of whom 32 were martyrs. However holy the Pope, he regularly goes to confession to a priest. No Pope ever considers himself above the laws of the Church and of God.)
  3. The Church cannot change its teachings on faith and morals. But it may restate the doctrines more clearly and completely. Year after year the Church proclaims the same unchanging doctrines. Her doctrines need no reform, for they are of Divine origin, the work of the Incarnate God.  (No Pope or general Council in almost two thousand years has annulled or revoked a single decree of faith or morals enacted by a previous Pope or Council. This is history.)

Additional Activities:

Saints Who Were Popes

I pulled out our copy of Can You Find Saints? : Introducing Your Child to Holy Men and Women and had the little ones search for various Saints Who Were Popes including St. Gregory the Great who “developed a special way of singing praises to God called Gregorian Chant.”

Research the Pope’s Coat of Arms

Color Blessed John Paul II’s Coat of Arms
Color Pope Benedict XVI’s Coat of Arms and info
Study “What is a Coat of Arms?” and look up our own family Coat of Arms.

Add Pope Benedict to Timeline

When we were discussing Pope Benedict XVI this past week, and that he was had been Pope for 8 years, Chiquita wanted to know if he was elected Pope before or after she was born.   I remember very clearly the day Pope Benedict XVI was elected, and watching the white smoke (via a webcam) coming from the Sistine Chapel, but most of the rest of that year (pre-blogging days with 4 babies age 4 and under) is a blur… 

Apparently she was born the very next day!   And, yes, I do remember that day very clearly after all… I just never connected it with the election of the new Pope the day before.   In my defense, she was three weeks early, and not “due” until May 7th. I suppose she didn’t want to miss out on all the excitement! 

Rascal choose to add illustrations to his timeline for both the date Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation on February 11, 2013, and another for his last day as Pope on February 28, 2013. 
Now we are moving on to our next unit all about The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church!  To go along with this unit I just finished downloading Monica’s Guess Who?! The Cardinals game!   I’ve come down with a bad cold/cough and seem to have developed a sinus infection, so this next unit might be slow going… 
I’ve also created another Novena book option which can be downloaded at Scribd.

Our Lent & Easter Book Baskets

by | Mar 5, 2013 | , , | 26 Comments

I’ve had a number of emails recently asking if I could post an updated book list for Lent and Easter, similar to my Advent & Christmas Booklist.   Even though we don’t have nearly as many books for this Liturgical season, our collection has continued to grow over the past 12 years.  I haven’t had a chance to go through and highlight our favorites, but at least this gives you a little closer peek at what is in our book baskets.   
Update:  I went through the list with the kids and we highlighted some of our favorites in bold and added an *asterisk.   

.:  Planning Books & Daily Reading :.


New Catholic Picture Bible (Lent – for with Jesus Tree) 



.: Lenten Picture Books :.




Children’s Stations of the Cross by Susan Andrews Brindle




Jesus by Brian Wildsmith

*Little Colt’s Palm Sunday by Michelle Medlock Adams
The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith

*The Easter Story illustrated by Gennady Spirin

The Story of Easter by Aileen Fisher

Petook by Caryll Houselander

Amon’s Adventure: A Family Story for Easter


.: Easter Picture Books :. 

*The Easter Cave by Carol Wedeven 

*The Jesus Garden: An Easter Legend by Antoinette Bosco

*Easter in the Garden by Pamela Kennedy

 A Tale for Easter by Tasha Tudor

 The Birds’ Gift: A Ukranian Easter Story by Eric A. Kimmel

*The Easter Swallows by Vicki Howie

The Story of the Easter Robin by Dandi Daley Mackall

*Easter by Fiona French (Be sure to get the Ignatius Press version and not the one “with words from the King James Bible)


Simon and the Easter Miracle: A Traditional Tale for Easter by Mary Joslin

The First Easter Bunny by Frrich Lewandowski

 The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs

 Happy Easter Day! by Wendy Watson

 The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Marjorie Flack

 Easter by Miriam Nerlove

*The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous

 The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown

Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day by Carol Benoist & Cathy Gilmore

*Easter Eggs for Anya: A Ukranian Celebration of New Life in Christ by Virginia Kroll

*Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco

.: Board Books for Baby :. 








I will continue adding to this list as our collection grows!  

Papal Lap Book Unit One: St. Peter, The First Pope

by | Feb 28, 2013 | , , | 18 Comments

Thank you all so very much for your enthusiastic support for my Papal Lap Book!   You all are the best, and I am so touched by all of your kind comments and generosity to my family!   Since I spent so much time on the computer over the weekend I’ve had a little catching up to do around our home, in addition to trying to keep up with our school week, so I am once again extremely behind with answering emails.  If you are still waiting for a response from me, do know that I usually do receive all the emails that have been sent (on occasion some disappear to my spam folder, but I am making an effort to check it frequently) and read and appreciate each and every one.  However, even though I try, it is often impossible for me to respond to them all.  So thank you again, and to those who have asked questions I will either email you soon, or try and make a point of trying to blog about those topics sometime in the future.  🙂

Anyways, back to the Lap Book!  That brief study-guide/outline I shared in my last post (to go along with the Lap Book) was created very late Sunday night (or rather early Monday morning)  and was thrown together rather quickly since I wanted to finish up the post to share with you all.   I broke it into 5 “Units” (my original document read days, due to lack of sleep) based on the order in which I thought I would have my children complete the mini-books.

Since last Friday, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, we have been working on our first unit: St. Peter, The First Pope.  The boys were gone most of Friday, but the girls had started working on their St. Peter’s Basilica Pop-up Books that day, and we read St. Peter’s Story.  We continued this theme over the past few days.

To answer some questions I’ve been receiving I thought it might be helpful to some of you to share how my children have been completing this Unit Study and the progress we have been making. Plus I would like to document it here anyways.  I am hoping to blog a little about what we accomplish during each of the units.   


 (Remember, there is no “right” way to do this… Unit studies can be as simple or elaborate as you choose to make them, and just because something works well for my family, doesn’t mean it will for yours!  Sometimes we put together a Lap Book in an afternoon, other times we spend weeks.  My guess is we will spend the next two weeks completing this unit study and Lap Book, adding in additional reading, crafts and activities.)

Unit One :: St. Peter, The First Pope

Read:
Family Read Aloud:

Younger Children:

Older Children:


 Other Reading:

  • St. Peter page A Holy Card Prayer Book
  • I think I’m going to send the little kids on a scavenger hunt to see how many of our Saint Books in which they can find Saint Peter! 😉 

Explore:

Copywork: 

NOTE:  I have created a second collection on Scribd where I will upload any additional documents I create to go along with our Papal Unit Study.   I just added this traceable quote for younger children.


Begin Creating Lap Book Mini-Books:

  • Write a Paragraph about St. Peter, for Some Special Popes, based on one of the reading assignments.  (I’m creating a fill-in the blank for Chiquita and a reduced sized coloring picture for the two youngest.  Twinkle Toes wrote a paragraph based on a picture book, Rascal used the reading selection from My Catholic Faith, and I assigned Captain three paragraphs from the CCC (You can download my document here.). 
  • Create St. Peter’s Basilica Pop-Up Book and add cover picture.
  • Write a Paragraph about St. Peter’s Basilica.
A Beautiful Day at St. Peter’s Basilica by Captain

Lightning Strikes St. Peter’s by Rascal   (He cracks me up! I figured one of my boys would try and figure a way to create a pop-out lightning strike…) 
After the Storm by Twinkle Toes

by Chiquita 

by Snuggles

PURPLE! by Rose (I would have guessed pink…)

Additional Activities:

  • Enjoyed “The Barque of Peter” Banana Boats with a Fishers of Men Snack for lunch one afternoon… 

  • And added St. Peter, The First Pope to the History Through the Ages Record of Time.  (FYI:  Yes, this is a rather expensive timeline, but it is awesome!  Each of our school age children have their own treasured copy that they will continue to add to throughout their education.  It will be such a fun keepsake for them.   I’ve posted more about these here and here.) 
by Twinkle Toes
By Chiquita and Captain
A few of the children still have a little writing to finish up, but tomorrow, we will begin our second unit on Our Holy Fathers – Past and Present, as we say goodbye to our dear Pope Benedict XVI on his last day…  We will miss you dear Holy Father, so very much!  We will continue to pray for you, and we are so very thankful for that last gift you recently sent our way!

The Primacy of Peter: A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

by | Feb 25, 2013 | , , , | 175 Comments

The Primacy of Peter: A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

UPDATE: YOU CAN FIND 2025 EDITION HERE

Could you tell from my last post how excited I am about this Lap Book/Unit Study?  As I was printing the pages for my daughters' Lent Lap Books last week I started thinking how nice it would be to create a Papal Lap Book right now, during this special historic time in our Church.   I mentioned it to my husband and quickly dismissed the idea since a quick google search didn't reveal much in the way of Lap Book resources and it would "take way too much work."   However, it seemed that perhaps the Holy Spirit was prompting me to create this, since the very next day - the feast of the Chair of St. Peter - I had an unusual amount of "free time."   I started with the cover and then the mini-books just started falling into place.  I ended up spending most of the weekend finishing my documents and compiling a sample to share with you all.  I am really looking forward to completing this unit study with my children, teaching them even more about our beautiful Catholic faith, the Primacy of Peter, and the Papal office!

Lap Book Supplies

Here is a list of the supplies I used for creating our Papal Lap Book:

  • Yellow File Folder - I usually purchase file folders in assorted colors by the case made by Smead or Staples so I always have them on hand. However, here is another link to a smaller pack - they are two tone, but it does include purple for your Lenten Lap Book! 😉 
  • White Card Stock and Paper - 4 pieces per lap book, 2 to attach to the book, 1 on which to print the flag cover, and 1 more on which to print the St. Peter's Basilica Pop-Up. 
  • Scissors
  • Glue Stick
  • Tape
  • Red Ribbon - This is used to tie shut the "Who is the Pope?" mini-book.
  • Optional: Red Paper and/or Card Stock (or color of choice) - We used red paper to accent "What Happens When A Pope Dies?", and red card stock for our "Amazing Pope Facts," "Selceting a New Pope," and "Some Special Popes."  

Download All Papal Lap Book Documents

(5/7/2025 - Link above should now take you to Dropbox to download the files, instead of the previous Scribd.)

UPDATE: YOU CAN FIND 2025 EDITION HERE

Donate through Paypal Here or Venmo Here

Note: Thank you to everyone who has generously offered to pay me for the use of my documents and the time spent creating this Lap Book! My husband has been encouraging me to sell the Lap Book printables, but I know that there are many other families, like our own, struggling to keep up each month... I wanted to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to use this with their families if they would like to do so. Let's just say it is a gift of service and form of almsgiving for me this Lent, especially since we are not able to give very much financially at the moment.  However, if some of you still feel inspired to perhaps "buy me a coffee" or send "some alms" our direction, to help cover blog hosting fees, I've included a paypal link below.  I would be more than grateful and will put the funds towards filling our children's Easter Baskets this year! And everyone else, please just offer a prayer for my family!   Thank you, and may God reward you! 

Here is a summary of the Documents Included with links to each individual document:

*All documents are printed on white paper, except where noted.

"Vatican City Flag Cover Page"(print on card stock) ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Hierarchy of the Catholic Church" Flap Book with Definitions ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Novena for Pope Benedict XVI" Layer Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"The Primacy of Peter" Copywork ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Where does the Pope live?" Trifold Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Who is the Pope?" Accordion Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"What happens when a pope dies?" Simple Fold Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Vocabulary" Flap Book with Definitions ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Amazing Pope Facts" Four Simple Fold Books ... updated link to Dropbox.

"St. Peter's Basilica" Pop-up Book (print on card stock) ... updated link to Dropbox.

"St. Peter Pop-Up Cover Picture" ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Where Does the Conclave take Place?" Shutterflap Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"What are the chief powers of the Pope?" Trifold Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Prayers for our Holy Father" Pocket ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Prayers for our Holy Father" Prayer Cards  ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Selecting A New Pope" Tab Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Some Special Popes" Tab Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

Here is also my brief study-guide/outline for completing this Unit Study & Lap Book. ... updated link to Dropbox.

Pictures and Updates from our Unit Study:

Papal Lap Book Unit One: St. Peter, The First Pope
Papal Lap Book Unit Two: The Holy Fathers, Past and Present
Papal Lap Book Unit Three: The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
7 Quick Takes :: Habemus Papam!

Additional Documents to go along with our Unit Study can be found here.  

(5/7/2025 - Find them all at Dropbox here.)

I will continue adding them as (and if) I create new ones:

"The Primacy of Peter" Copywork - Traceable version for younger children ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Conclave" Layer Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Some Special Popes" Tab Book with room for coloring pages and traceable quotes ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Some Special Popes" Tab Book with Fill-in-the-Blanks ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Adopt A Cardinal" My younger children will be using this instead of the Novena Layer Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"What happens when a pope dies?" Simple Fold Book with Fill-in-the-Blanks ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Selecting A New Pope" Tab Book with Fill-in-the-Blanks ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Symbols and Garments" Layer Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Important Roles During the Conclave" Flap Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Habemus Papam Franciscum" Tab Book ... updated link to Dropbox.

"Who is Pope Francis?" Octagon Accordion Book  ... updated link to Dropbox.

Cover

 

For those that are new to creating Lap Books, you can watch a brief tutorial here on how to fold the file folder for a Basic Lap Book.

Since I wanted the cover of my book to look like the flag of Vatican City I then glued a piece of White Card Stock to the outside of the right yellow flap.

I then cut out the Vatican City Flag (shaped like the Country) and glued the yellow side to the left yellow flap as shown in the pictures.

Since the White Card Stock is slightly shorter in length than the file folder I then trimmed the edges, so it lined up nicely.



I also added a second piece of White Card Stock to the Center of the Lap Book to create an Extension Page.   To do so tape both sides of the white card stock to the top center of the yellow file folder.

View of Inside of Folder - Completely Opened
View of Outside of Folder - Completely Opened 
Now that the actual Lap Book is assembled, 
let's move on to all the Mini Books! 
 
 
 
.: First View - Behind Left Cover Flap :. 

Left Flap:

  • "Hierarchy of the Catholic Church" Flap Book with Definitions

 Left Side of White Cover Flap:

  • "Novena for Pope Benedict XVI" Layer Book (This is an optional mini book for those who are praying the novena.) 
 
When you open the Left flap of the Lap book, the first thing you see is the optional Novena for Pope Benedict Layer Book glued to the White Cover Page (which is hidden behind the left yellow flap when the Lap Book is closed).   This is an optional mini-book for those who have been praying the Novena.

Hierarchy of the Catholic Church and Vocabulary 


On the Left you see the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church Flap Book with Definitions taken from "My Catholic Faith." (Online link to The Hierarchy.)   You can use the definitions I have provided, pasting them in or having the child copy them, or you can have them research and write their own.  

.: Second View - Behind Right Cover Flap :. 

White Center Extension:

  • "The Primacy of Peter" Copywork
  • "Where does the Pope live?" Trifold Book *Note: I originally intended this to be on the next page/swapped with "What Are the Chief Powers of the Pope" but mixed them up when assembling.  It doesn't really matter, but I do think it goes better with the books on the other page.
  • "Who is the Pope?" Accordion Book
  • "What happens when a pope dies?" Simple Fold Book

Right Page/Flap: 

  • "Vocabulary" Flap Book with Definitions (see above picture)
  • "Amazing Pope Facts" Four Simple Fold Books, attached to red card stock 
 
The Primacy of Peter
Copy Matthew 16:18-19 from the Bible. 
 
 Where does the Pope live?
Copy or research and write your own text in the middle of this trifold book. 
 
Who is the Pope?
This accordion book takes a little bit of assembly as shown, gluing each strip together before folding and adding it to the Lap Book.  Wrap the book with a red ribbon before glueing it into place.  This will keep the book closed when it is not in use.   
I've included a spot for the children to record the name of our next Pope and the date he is selected. 

What Happens When A Pope Dies?


To assemble this book I cut out the white basic fold mini-book and glued it to a piece of red copy paper.   I then glued the cover picture (which I went back and changed from red and black to just black and white, as you can see).   The children will need to research this topic and write a paragraph in their own words explaining what happens when a Pope dies.  (Did you know in the past they would strike the Pope on the head with a hammer three times, to make sure he was dead?!)

Amazing Pope Facts
Fill these mini-books with various facts about past Popes of your choice. 
 
 
.: Third View - Back of Center Flap :. 

Back of White Center Extension:

  • "St. Peter's Basilica" Pop-up Book (printed on cardstock) with "St. Peter Pop-Up Cover Picture"
  • "Where Does the Conclave take Place?" Shutterflap Book
  • "What are the chief powers of the Pope?" Trifold Book   *Note: I originally intended this to be on the previous page/swapped with "Where does the Pope live" but mixed them up when assembling.  It doesn't really matter, but I do think it goes better with the books on the other page.
  • "Prayers for our Holy Father" Pocket
  • "Prayers for our Holy Father" Prayer Cards 
 
St. Peter's Basilica
I love this Pop Up Book and so do the kids!  They had so much fun creating them on Friday!   They are pretty easy to assemble, but I did take a few pictures for you all... 

Where Does the Conclave take Place?
I did include a few pictures of the inside of the Sistine Chapel on this mini book.  The younger children can copy or paste in the text provided, and my older children will be required to write a little about the Sistine Chapel.
 
What are the chief powers of the Pope?
 
These answers came from "My Catholic Faith." Feel free to use them, or write in answers from the source of your choice.  

Prayers for our Holy Father Pocket and Prayer Cards
 Assemble and use the pocket provided to store these prayer cards or additional cards of your choice. 
 

.: Center of File Folder :. 

Center of File Folder, behind white extension flap:

  • "Selecting A New Pope" Tab Book
  • "Some Special Popes" Tab Book
 
 Selecting A New Pope
Research these topics and write a paragraph on each to include in this book.  
(I may make a "fill in the blank" for my younger children, and if I do I will upload that document as well. UPDATE:  Links added above for fill-in-the-blank books) 
 
Some Special Popes


I chose some (of many!) special popes for my children to research and write about for their Lap Books. They will each be asked to write a paragraph about St. Peter the First Pope, a paragraph about Pope Gregory the Great and the invention of Gregorian Chant, a paragraph about Pope Leo the XIII and how he wrote the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel (or they can copy the St. Michael prayer in Latin since they are working on memorizing it this year), a paragraph about Pope Pius X and how he lowered the age for children to receive their First Holy Communion, and either a summary about one of our many books about Pope Benedict (or a favorite quote or memory).

 
 
 

Back Cover

I'm still trying to decide what we will attach to the back cover.  At this point I am leaning towards a coloring picture or an illustration, though it might be a perfect spot to put something about our new Papa once he is announced!

In the meantime here are a couple coloring page options and I will continue adding more as I find them:

Full View of Opened Lap Book

This is just one example of how this Lap Book could be assembled.  You can attach more Extensions, or create a Double Lap Book if you need more space, or for younger children you might just create the Basic Lap Book and include some of your favorite mini books.  It's up to you!

Our Books and Other Resources

St. Peter, The First Pope

Holy Fathers: Past and Present

On the Papacy

Note: My husband grew up reading My Catholic Faith and introduced me to this book.  I love it!  If you don't already have it order a copy! You can find My Catholic Faith Online here!  We will be reading the chapters on The Primacy of Peter, The Bishop of Rome, The Hierarchy, Powers of the Pope, and The Papal Elections (scroll to bottom of page).

Updated to add: Our Holy Father the Pope: The Papacy from St. Peter to the Present

Fun Fiction Chapter Books

Websites and Other Links

Additional Craft and Game Ideas

Coloring Pages

Recipes

And don't forget to Adopt a Cardinal!   

All of my children asked to choose their own.  We printed out pictures of each of their adopted cardinals and they plan to pray for them each day, that the Holy Spirit will guide them during the Conclave, and then add them to their Lap Books following the election! 

If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comment box and I will do my best to answer them as I have the time.  If any of you do end up using the Lap Book with your children and post pictures, I'd love to see them!

We most humbly entreat Thee, O Lord, that Thy boundless goodness may grant as bishop to the most holy Roman Church one who shall ever be both pleasing to Thee, by his loving zeal in our regard, and, by his beneficent rule, deeply revered by Thy people to the glory of Thy name. 

7 Quick Takes on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

by | Feb 23, 2013 | , , | 20 Comments

— 1 —

It’s a Friday during Lent and we gave up sweets, which means we didn’t make any special treats for today’s Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. However, that doesn’t mean we haven’t done anything special for this feast day, during this very significant time for our Holy Mother Church as we wonder who will be sitting in the “Chair of St. Peter” soon. So, I thought today would be the perfect day to begin our Papal Unit Study!

— 2 —


Here is a sneak peek at the Lap Book I’m creating for my children to complete and assemble!

Yep, this is what I’ve been working on all afternoon, instead of exercising or working on my next Catholic Digest submission…  What? Me procrastinate?!  Never! 😉  
— 3 —

I’m so excited with how it’s turning out! Isn’t the cover perfect? I made a sample for the kids, and will let them each create their own. I used a yellow file folder and a piece of white card stock to create the base, and then attached the Vatican flag in the shape of the country! (Did you know that Vatican City is really a country?) I glued just the yellow of the flag to the yellow file folder, overlapping the rest onto the white. I haven’t figured out how many additional flaps it will need, since I am still creating the mini-books, so I’ll just add those later.

— 4 —

I’m even more excited about the St. Peter’s Basilica Pop-up Book! (It was inspired by the Erie Canal Mini-Book from the boys Early 19th Century Lap Book, and I was so thrilled to figure out how to make it work for St. Peter’s!) You can see my rough draft in the picture above along with the final printed version. The kids will be able to color the basilica and the background (the sky) before assembling it and adding their description.

— 5 —

I’ve displayed some of our “Pope” themed picture books which we will be reading over the next few weeks beginning with St. Peter’s Story and Saint Peter the Apostle today. I’ll be sure to include a list of all our books when I post the Lap Book (if anyone is interested in using it too?) but in the meantime I have them listed in the sidebar. In addition to reading lots of great books, I’m drawing from My Catholic Faith and some online websites (like this one – thanks, Charlotte, for the link!)

— 6 —

We broke out these fun books too!  My boys loved reading them and I thought they (or at least the first one) might make a fun read aloud over the next couple weeks.   You can find them here:   Lost in Peter’s Tomb, Break-In at the Basilica, Curse of the Coins, and Secrets of Siena.   My boys originally received these in their Easter baskets, if I remember correctly…

— 7 —

As for me… I’m currently reading, and loving, Lent with Pope Benedict XVI a little bit each day.
“Let it not be said, or thought, that this ministry of Peter finishes with his life on earth. That which is given as the support of a Church which is to last forever, can never be taken away. Peter will live in his successors; Peter will speak, in his Chair, to the end of time.”  ~ Jacques Bossuet
For additional Quick Takes visit Conversion Diary. Thanks for hosting Jen! 

{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: Lenten Days

by | Feb 22, 2013 | , , , , | 9 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}
and the beginning of the girl’s Lent Lap Books… 
(I’m still working on our usual wall calendar… I’m running a little behind this year. Anyone else?) 
{happy}
I’m very happy that, despite Lent starting (way too) early this year, it is finally starting to look like the Lenten season in our home.  The children have changed the vestments to purple in the school room, and our Jesus Tree is hanging on the wall.   
{funny}
I always feel funny when I take a self-portrait of just myself, unless I’m pregnant, or have one of my other children in the picture too.  An even funnier sight, however, was me stumbling out of the Church after the Deacon put the Ashes on my forehead.  He pretty much showered me in them, filling my eyes and then leaving a long black streak across my face while he was trying to wipe them off.  As the altar girls began giggling he apologized.  Haven’t had that happen before!  Through the ashes I was still able to find my way to the restroom to wash out my eyes and dust off my nose and cheeks before returning to Mass.   I should have taken a picture of that!
{real}
I love my helpers!  The big kids are taking turns reading the little ones the bible stories each day before they hang the ornaments on our Jesus Tree.
 
 
As much as “we” try to read a story a day, there are still some days that we need to do a little “catching up” and read two stories (or more).  This actually ends up being a good thing, since each of the little ones gets to hang their own ornament! 😉 

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.
Our Little School Room

Our Little School Room

by | Mar 8, 2013 | , , | 34 Comments

Over the past few years I've continually tried to rearrange our small little school room to make it work for our family, and the sometimes overwhelming amount of school books we've collected over the years.  The last time I gave you a tour was back in 2009....

Our Lent & Easter Book Baskets

Our Lent & Easter Book Baskets

by | Mar 5, 2013 | , , | 26 Comments

I've had a number of emails recently asking if I could post an updated book list for Lent and Easter, similar to my Advent & Christmas Booklist.   Even though we don't have nearly as many books for this Liturgical season, our collection has continued to grow...

Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


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A Little About Me

Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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