Immaculate Heart of Mary

We made two crafts for this feast day, an Immaculate Heart from felt, and another from colored card stock.  Here are the supplies we bought.

For the cloth heart, I cut two hearts from a rectangle of red felt (one for each of my children).  I showed my seven year old how to sew on a button, and then she sewed white flower shaped buttons in a row on the heart.  This is her very first sewing project, and she is eager to do more.  I am also hoping to show her how to crochet this summer.  I don’t remember exactly, but I was about her age when I learned to sew, crochet, and embroider.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted on our progress.

My three year old made her heart using some white adhesive buttons I found in flower shapes and with flower outlines.  I didn’t know self adhesive craft buttons existed, but they worked great.  I sewed some pieces of orange yarn at the top of each heart to represent the flames (this was a little too difficult for my beginning sewer, but older children may be able to do it).

I’m surprised they turned out so well, and they were so easy to make.  I think it would also be easy to make the Sacred Heart by braiding brown yarn and sewing it on.  In fact, there are many possible ways to do this project, such as making an Immaculate Heart pillow, attaching cloth or sewn roses, embroidering the flowers or crown of thorns, etc.

While we were working, I told my children about Mary’s pure heart, full of love for God and Jesus, always focused on showing others how to love God by example.

We also created another version of this craft, using colored card stock, rose stencils, and paint to create a paper heart.  We cut the flames out of orange card stock.

After we finished, we placed our Immaculate Hearts on our tabletop shrine for Mary.  If you saw how we created this shrine last month, you’ll notice the pink flowers that we used then are now in a little basket.

In 2013 I am linking with: Tea with Saint Anne, For the Kids Friday, Kids Get Crafty, Weekly Kids Co-op

In 2012 I linked with: The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Extraordinary Ideas for Ordinary Time, Catholic Bloggers Network, First Friday, Faith Formation in Young Children, My Favorite Things, Tactile Tuesday

Corpus Christi

This Sunday, the Church celebrates The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi.  As we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us, this is a time to help children understand the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Even though we memorialize the Last Supper every week at mass, the familiarity of the words can prevent us from truly understanding them.  Jesus said, “This is my body . . . this is my blood,” creating a new covenant between God and man.

One of the best ways to show children that Jesus is present in the Eucharist is to take them to adoration.  I attend with my children from time to time, more regularly in the summer, reminding them that we are praying in the presence of Jesus while we are there.  We always go to kneel in front of the altar before we leave, to give Jesus the respect He deserves.  I think this is particularly important when my daughters have been restless, noisy, or running around during adoration.

If you have access to a children’s adoration program, I highly recommend that you attend with your family.  You can read about our experience at children’s adoration, and our activities for the Feast of Corpus Christi last year at this post.

Last August, while we were learning about Saint Clare, we made monstrances out of food as a fun learning activity.  Saint Claire is often pictured with a monstrance because she carried the Eucharist to the gates of her abbey when they were under attack; she requested protection and the invaders passed them by.  You could make monstrances for Corpus Christi too.

My Catholic Moms group made the base of their monstrances using a graham cracker, but we were absent that week and made ours at home with a half slice of bread.  Use a round slice of cheese for the top.

I prepared slices of fruit and bell pepper to use as the monstrance decorations (we ate everything for lunch after we were done).  The more variety you offer, the more creativity your children can express in their design.

Here are a couple of monstrances my daughters made; they avoided using the bell pepper because they did not want to eat it.

 

I also like that this activity creates a parallel between the Eucharist as holy sustenance and the edible monstrance as nutritive sustenance.  This is a good way to demonstrate how Jesus feeds our spirit, like food feeds our body.

If you are looking for more body and blood activities, there is a wonderful craft that teaches about Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist designed by my friend Jennifer at
Catholic Inspired. 

I wrote about that craft and some great coloring pages of Jesus in the Eucharist from the Eucharistic Youth Movement at this post.  Hop over to find the links. 

Or, see how to paint a monstrance here.

In 2013 I am linking with: New Evangelists Monthly

In 2012 I linked with: Extraordinary Ideas for Ordinary Time, Catholic Bloggers Network, First Friday, Faith Formation in Young Children

Suncreen Regulations Delayed and a Link up

Most of us have started to spend some serious time in the sun, so it is time for this year’s post about safer sunscreens.  You may have heard the latest sunscreen news, that the new FDA regulations meant to help consumers looking for safer and more effective sunscreen products have been delayed until the end of the year.  This means that many products on shelves right now are making false claims on their labels about being “waterproof,” “sweatproof,” or having “sunblock” properties.  These claims are meaningless because there are no standards to define these qualities.

Even worse, 75% of the products contain ingredients that are toxic, known carcinogens, and/or hormone disrupters.  Seriously, you need to be careful about which sunscreens you buy.  Every year, the Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy agency, publishes a guide to sunscreen ingredients, and a list of brands that are deemed the safest as well as those that are labeled “worst offenders.”  

Courtesy of the Environmental Working Group

You can access their sunscreen database here and look up your brand.  By the way, when you search by brand and type of sunscreen, that company’s products are listed in order of best to worst for safety and effectiveness.

Last year, I posted about the new regulations and discussed my choices for safer sunscreen products, as well as information about the toxic ingredients in many cosmetic products, not just sunscreens.  Read last year’s post to learn about these topics and the reasons for my sunscreen choices.

We will begin our summer using the same sunscreen products as last year: two made by W. S.Badger Co. I use Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen For Face & Body 2.9 oz (87 ml) cream and Badger All Natural, All Season Face Stick, Sunscreen, SPF 30, Unscented .65 oz (18.4 g).  These products both rank high in the safety category in the EWG’s database, so when we run out, I’ll look for them again.  If I find something else that is safe and works well, I’ll be sure to let you know about it.

In the meantime, spend your time in the sun safely: cover up and put a safer sunscreen product on your family.

FYI: if you click on the sunscreen links above, or the image in the “Products Mentioned” window in the right sidebar, you will open a window to the Amazon website.

Also, it is time to announce another link up that is part of the Liturgical Calendar Link up Party organized by Xhonané at Familia Católica.  The Immaculate Heart of Mary Link up is hosted by the bloggers at Evangelización Católica.  Please hop over to see what others have posted about this feast.  Yesterday, we bought the materials we need to make a craft of the Immaculate Heart, so check back in a week or so to read about it.

This post is linked to the Catholic BloggersNetwork Round up in their new Random category.  Remember to go visit the other links there and vote with your mouse for this month’s Big Clicks Award.