Wednesday, October 25, 2017

All Saints Day Activities for Children

All Saints Day Activities for Children
The resources found within this collection of All Saints Day activities can be used to celebrate the November 1st Solemnity, but many of these saints resources can be used all year round. Explore each of the websites and resources below for ideas to help you teach about Catholic saints in your classroom.



The Gospel reading for the Solemnity of All Saints features the Beatitudes. Feel free to use this collection of Beatitudes worksheets to prepare students for that reading.


Activities for All Saints Day

A Colossal Set of Resources on All Saints Day (Raising Little Saints Blog)
All Saints Day Resources (The Catholic Toolbox)
Saints Activities (Loyola Press)
All Saints Day Activities and Lesson Plans (Loyola Press)
Celebrating the Saints: 4 Ways to Be a Catholic Superhero (Catechist’s Journey)
Ideas for Helping Students Celebrate All Saints’ Day (Catechist.com)
The Ultimate All Saints Day Part Post (Paper Dali)
Catholic Saints Research Project (Ave Maria Press’s Engaging Faith Blog)
Ten Assignments for All Saints Week (Ave Maria Press’s Engaging Faith Blog)
Catholic Saints Birthday Project (The Religion Teacher)
All Saints Coloring Page (Catholic Playground)

All Saints Day Games

Saints Jeopardy (Catholic Youth Ministry Hub)
All Saints Day Scavenger Hunt (Shower of Roses)
All Saints Day Party Games (Catholic Icing)
Game Ideas for All Saints’ Day (Happy Saints)

Looking for More Activities to Teach about the Saints?

For additional resources and activity ideas, follow The Religion Teacher’s Saints Activities Pinterest board.


Saint-O-Lanterns


A common activity for families, in preparation for All Hallows' Eve, is carving Pumpkins. We have found this to be yet another wonderful opportunity to tie in our Catholic Faith. Each year our children look forward to choosing a pumpkin and carving their "Saint-O-Lantern!"

This year American Life League has also suggested carving Pro-Life Pumpkins! They have even shared a template for this beautiful carving:



The possibilities are endless! Even though I have shared links to some pictures in last years Hallowed Days: All Saints and All Souls Fair, I thought I would post them here too, and add to the collection!

Here are some of our own past Saint-O-Lanterns:

The Last Supper ~ St. Pius the X ~ The Birth of Christ

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

St. Peter's Basilica ~ Bernini Columns ~ The Bark of Peter


Here are a few more pictures, of other Saint-O-Lanterns that have been brought to our Home School Group's All Saints' Party in the past:



And here are a few more inspiring Saint-O-Lanterns found online:

Oh, and Donna at Island in the Grove also shares an excellent idea for converting any of your All Hallows' Eve Jack-O-Lanterns for the feast of All Saints'!

Now I am really anxious to get to the pumpkin patch and find our pumpkins!!


If anyone carves a Saint-O-Lantern this year, or has in the past, please leave a link (or email a picture) since I would love to add your own creations to this post!

Here are some of the new additions from this year!!
And here are a few more pictures that were submitted via email:

"Life" carved by C. & S. Nichols

The Immaculate Heart of Mary by LeXuan Culbreath

Our Lady by LeXuan Culbreath


All Saints Day Party Ideas

Before we get to talking about how we do our All Saints' Day Party, let me tell you about a cute new book that tells the story of Maggie and Max and how they go about getting ready for their party.  The reason I'm so excited about this is because it is illustrated by the same young lady who illustrated my book "A Plan for Joy in the Home"!  She is so talented and I'm excited for her to have this opportunity at such a young age.  Check out the book, I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Are you looking to have an All Saints' Day Party and don't know where to start? Maybe you've been to one before but would like some different ideas. Many Catholics like to have a Saints' party as an alternative to Halloween for their kids.
Our homeschool group has been having one for years. I can't tell you how much our kids looked forward to this. Once the party was over, they'd already  be talking about what Saint they would like to be for the next year's party!
I'll outline the events for the day here and hopefully that will give you some good ideas of how to structure your own event, or something new to add to your already existing party.

All Saints Day Party Procession

The first order of the day is the saint's procession.
All of the kids line up and process around the gym in their costumes while we all sing, you guessed it, "When the Saints Go Marching In". We go around the gym a couple of times so that parents get plenty of photo-ops.
all saints day party

Introductions, Rosary and Food

all saints day party
After that, each family goes up on stage and introduces themselves. Each child then announces which Saint they have dressed up as and then can give a one minute talk on their Saint.
Next, we pray a living rosary. One year one of our member families made a HUGE rosary out of pieces of wood and big wooden spools. It is big enough that each person can sit and hold one bead in their lap while we pray. This is one of the best parts of the day. The grace that is felt at this time is wonderful!
After the rosary is finished, we have a big pot-luck dinner. I love pot-lucks. No matter how many people we have, they always seem to work out. Even when it looks like there won't be enough food, we somehow always get by.
Every year each child decorates a paper bag with markers and stickers, puts their name on it and leaves it on a table for candy and treats to be put into it. Each family is asked to bring enough candy, holy cards, stickers, nickels, etc. for 100 kids.
One year, however, we did something different.
Instead of just putting the candy in the kids' bags, we had them do "souling". This was a neat tradition that was popular in various European countries back before Reformation times. I have read a handful of variations on how souling was done, so I'll just tell you what we did.
Each family put the names of deceased relatives and friends on slips of paper - one name per piece. The moms then sat in a line around the gym holding their pieces of paper and their candy. As the saints processed through the line, the mom would put a piece of paper and a piece of candy in each child's bag. The children were instructed that each time they ate a piece of candy, they had to pray for one of the people whose name they received.
Finally, as the adults set to cleaning up, the kids are engaged in various types of games and relay races. We also offer a few paper games such as "Name the Saint" where clues are given and you have to guess which saint they are referring to, and "Guess the Saint" where you have to look at a picture of a saint and guess who it is.
Overall, our All Saints' Day party is a great time and, as I said before, the kids love it. I hope your party is a success, too.

SOURCE

3 comments:

  1. A way to battle this diabolical culture

    ReplyDelete
  2. The information at the bottom of this page about All Saints Day parties has been stolen from my website. to read the original information, go to: https://www.catholic-homeschooling-resources.com/all-saints-day-party.html

    ReplyDelete