For Parents To Teach To Their Children
Welcome to “Fall, 2021 Back to School” and to lovely weekly enrichment materials for families. Each year, families with children preparing for First Confession and First Holy Communion can find the Gospel Reading for the week, Prayers, and a corresponding art project to help your child comprehend the meaning of the passages from Holy Scripture.
I am Connie Goldin and I write about enrichment ideas for Catholic families, discussions about the weekly readings, and I provide art and homework activities for each week. I started this website in 2016, when I began to teach a kindergarten religious education class. I wanted parents to see what we did in class each week, so I started this website, which was designed by graphic artist, Kim N. Buckley, posted the readings, and featured the art of the children. The following year, I taught a second grade class, with a few third graders, to prepare the children for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. After that, I decided to keep writing, learning and creating fun art ideas for families. I was preparing second and third graders for FHC in my new church in Florida when classes came to a halt by the pandemic. The children ultimately were able to receive their First Holy Communion later that summer. We are able to have ZOOM meetings the following year and ended up able to celebrate First Holy Communion in church, with families, using social distancing and masks.
I am excited to prepare new material each week for the website, and hope that parents and children can learn and have fun exploring artistic ways to learn about God, Jesus, and stories of the Old Testament and the Gospel. Please feel free to communicate with me at conniegoldin@gmail.com. Let’s get started!
P.S. SundaySchoolUpdates.com is a labor of love. I do not receive any money or products, and I buy all the books and materials I use. My goal is to share beautiful information with families. It is a great joy!
CCC 2221 “The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.”
Source: scborromeo.org
Our Art Gallery
“He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak.”
Our Reading–“The Healing of a Deaf Man”
Source: Mark, Chapter 7:31-37 USCCB.org
“Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
‘Ephphatha!’— that is, ‘Be opened!’ —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
‘He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.'”
A Reading for Children
“GOD MADE US”
An Excerpt from The New Saint Joseph FIRST COMMUNION CATECHISM
Pages 7-8:
“…God made all things.”
“God made the earth and the sky.
God also made the sun.
God made the moon and the stars.
God made night and day.
God made rain and snow.
God made hills and mountains.
God made oceans and rivers.
God made the trees and flowers.
God made all animals, big and little.
God made the fishes in the water.
God made the birds in the sky.
God made the Angels.”
Our Prayers
1. The Sign of the Cross.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
2. The Lord’s Prayer, or Our Father. (Given to us by Jesus, when he taught followers how to pray.)
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
3. Glory Be to the Father
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
4. The Hail Mary.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
5. To the Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my guardian dear, To whom His love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
6. Grace Before Meals
Bless us O Lord and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Preceded and followed by the Sign of the Cross.)
7. The Apostles’ Creed.
I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Source: Catholic Kids
Our Art Project–Create a Cross Using What You Have At Home
It’s important to have a Cross in your home. The Cross is a symbol of Jesus Christ, being Christians, and to remember that Jesus died for us so that we could be free from sin. Invite your child (or children) to create a beautiful Cross for their rooms. If you have watercolors and watercolor paper, you can’t go wrong with these art tools. These are my most favorite supplies. Have fun with your kids!
Samples:
Our Sample Supplies
Suggested Homework Activities-Week One, September 5, 2021
Please help your child begin to memorize “The Lord’s Prayer” listed above. The goal is to be able to recite it from memory.