For Parents to Teach to Their Children
Our Art Gallery
The Twelve Apostles Represented by Crosses and Suns
“The First Pope”
One day Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Source: Lessons from Pope Francis for Children page 4
“After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and began sharing the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection with everyone he met. Just as Jesus said, Peter became the leader of the church.” Source: Lessons from Pope Francis for Children page 4
Our Readings
Source: USCCB.org “The Parable of the Sower” Matthew, chapter 13:1-9
“On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
‘A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.’”
For Children
“Jesus gathered all of his disciples around him. He named twelve apostles to preach the gospel and gave them the power to cast out demons and heal the sick. These twelve were: Peter, his brother Andrew, James, his brother John, Philip, Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot.” My First Communion Bible By Sarah Laurell and Fr. Benedict Groeschek, C.F.R., Page 22
The following books have lovely stories about Jesus “calling his disciples.” The books are arranged starting with books for the youngest children and ending with books for older children.
The Catholic Bible for Children
Catholic Book of Bible Stories
The Children’s Illustrated Bible
The Catholic Children’s Bible (I think this is excellent for children 12 and older.)
The Didache Bible Read Matthew, chapter 4:18-22 “Jesus Calls the First Disciples”
Our Writing Project
Reinforce the statement from Jesus to Peter, “…upon this rock I will build my Church.” by using clean flat river rocks as a canvas for Sharpies, stickers, and tempera paint. This child chose to write the phrase, “God is love.” Children enjoy, and learn from, this fun craft.
Click to read how to paint rocks with kids.
Our Prayer
This charming poem or prayer is very old and I couldn’t find written music to accompany it.
Children can easily learn this as a special prayer for the Holy Family, and to reflect on the “Sacred Heart” and “Immaculate Heart.”
“For Catholic Children: Page 103”
“Heart of Jesus, I adore Thee,
Heart of Mary, I implore Thee,
Heart of Joseph, pure and just–
In these hearts, I put my trust.”
Source: Hymnary.org
Our Art Project
This is a fun and simple painting project that takes about 15 minutes, total. The twelve Apostles are represented by the twelve blue crosses or yellow suns, which are drawn onto the watercolor paper before liquid watercolor is applied. Begin with rubbing a white wax crayon or watercolor pastel crayon as desired onto the paper. Next, add the crosses or other chosen design, i.e. hearts or flowers, etc. Then use a dry brush, dipped into liquid, and drag the paint across the paper, over the crayon markings. The crayon resists the liquid and leaves a nice “rustic” looking pattern. Here are the materials I use, below:
