Possible Prayer Services or Activities for this Advent Season

Transcription

1 (Special Edition) Religion Teacher s Helper for Advent Possible Prayer Services or Activities for this Advent Season Children s Daily Prayer, (your principal should have this resource) Gathering Around an Advent wreath for prayer, p.109 Prayer Service for Advent, pp Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, (Monday, Dec. 8, 2008), pp Classroom Prayer Services for the Days of Advent and Lent by Gwen Costello (in the Religion section of the Teacher Reference section of your school library or in the CRC) Give Us Advent Hearts, pp. 6-7 Making Advent Choices, pp. 8-9 Showing Our Joy, pp Prayer Services for Young Children by Gayle Schreiber ((in the Religion section of the Teacher Reference section of your school library or in the CRC) Advent is a Time for Waiting, p.22 We Prepare our Hearts for Christmas, p. 24 Christmas will soon be here, p.26 We Celebrate Jesus Birthday, p. 28 Mentor Texts and Lessons The Christmas Candle The Nativity: Mary Remembers Consider borrowing Religion Resources From the CRC Our Year With God: A Child s Introduction to Catholic Holy Days and the Liturgical Year by Natalie Kadela (in the Religion section of the Teacher Reference section of your school library or in the CRC) This resource has colouring pages, prayers and explanations about Advent, the Feast of Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), and Christmas. It is a super resource for primary and junior teachers. Contact Mary LaCroix after doing your own Athena Search to see what resources are available for Advent/Christmas from the NCDSB Catholic Resource Center. Here are just a few examples: Videos: A Christmas for Little Children: A Sing Along Celebration of Jesus Birth (JK/SK/Gr.1) The BedBug Bible Gang Christmas Show (JK/SK/Gr.1) Go Look in the Manger (P/J) The Candy Maker s Christmas (P/J) The Story of the Selfish Giant (P/J) The Story of the Nativity (P/J)

2 Available Listening Kits: (Primary) This is the Stable Follow the Star Fiction and Non Fiction Books The Story of Baby Jesus Christmas in the Holy Land Saviour is Born Teacher Resources Books Advent & Lent Activities for Children Camels, Carols, Crosses & Crowns My Favourite Advent & Christmas Activity Book Advent Prayers Whenever you light the Advent Wreath and this ritual action should be embraced daily during this beautiful season of light, this prayer could be used. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2a) Lord God, You promise to send us joy beyond all telling. Let your blessing come upon us as we wait for you promised Light to dispel the darkness of our minds and hearts. Send your peace into the world, and may the fire of your love fill our hearts and make us one with you and with each other. We ask this through the Great Light, Jesus Christ, who enlightens and encourages us always. Amen. Primary Advent Prayer Jesus, You are the light of the world. As we prepare to receive you into our hearts this Christmas, help us share your light with one another, with everyone we meet and with the whole world. Amen

3 Blessing over your class manger/crèche Dearest Jesus, Bless this crib that we have prepared in honour of your birth as a human being. During these next days, we will prepare a place for you in our hearts. Help each of us to make this a special time of waiting and wondering as we go about our plans to celebrate Christmas. Amen. Blessing over a Christmas Tree Jesus, This tree reminds us that you are the tree of life and the light of the world. Bless this tree we have decorated to honour and celebrate your birthday. Help us remember that Christmas is a time of love and joy. Let this tree remind us to share your live with others, especially those who may not feel joy at this time. Amen (the above prayers were taken from Advent and Lent Activities for Children- Camels, Carols, Crosses and Crowns by Sheila Keilly,and Sheila Geraghty, Twenty-third Publications, 1997) Making Advent Resolutions During Advent, we can help our students prepare for Jesus coming making them realize that they need to get their hearts ready to welcome the Son of God. One way is to encourage our students to write out promises or resolutions. They can be decorated by hand or typed on the computer. Below, are some resolution-like sentence-starters that you may want to use with students who are struggling with their own idea. I will clean my at least once a. I will show kindness to my in this way:. I will help my parents do without complaining. I will try to be cheerful, especially when I feel. I will remember to compliment a sibling or friend at least once a. I will say an extra prayer every day at this time:. I will show my love by. I will try not to. This idea may be adapted. Highlight one resolution that everyone in the class will work towards. When a student achieves it, allow him or her to put a sticker on a simple construction paper Christmas tree. As the resolutions are met, your class tree will become more decorated.

4 O God, during this Advent season, help me prepare for the coming of your Son. May I remember to show kindness to those around me. Fill my heart with love for you. Amen Jesus, when you came you brought peace to the world. Show me how to love my brothers, sisters, and friends. May I always be a sign of your peace. Amen Dear Lord, Advent is a season of joy. Help me serve you always with a happy heart. Amen Heavenly Father, when you sent your Son to our world, everyone rejoiced in hope. During the Advent and Christmas Seasons, renew my hope in you. Amen

5 Literacy Links Writing About Family Holiday Traditions. Use the paragraph below in Shared Reading. After it is read several times, brainstorm examples of the family Christmas traditions your students keep. List them for future reference. Next, draw or write aloud your own favourite tradition. This drawing step allows some students the extra time to plan, sequence and add detail. The next day, review your family tradition. Perhaps model revisions or editing. Let your students talk with a partner about the family tradition they will share. Have them begin their drawing. Some may begin to write their own paragraph. This activity might culminate in a lovely class book or hallway display. Holiday traditions are ways a family celebrates the season every year. They include: how you worship, things you do, places and people you visit, the ways that your house is decorated, foods that are prepared, pastries that are baked, songs that are sung. Some traditions may be the very same things that grandparents did years and years ago. Family traditions are important because they help you feel special. They give you warm and cozy feelings and great memories of Christmas time. Writing an Advent Diamonte One noun Two adjectives Three gerunds (ing verbs) Four nouns or a four word phrase Three gerunds (ing verbs) Two adjectives One noun (A Structured 7 Line Poem) Advent hopeful, joyful waiting, sharing, caring flickering pink and purple candles praying, helping, bringing bright, peaceful Wreath Retelling the Nativity Story in a Different Voice There are many versions of the nativity story. The one that is most familiar to us is actually a blending of the narratives from the three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (there is no nativity in John s Gospel). The Junior Mentor Text for this month, The Nativity: Mary Remembers shares the Nativity story from Mary s perspective. A beautiful picture book like Listen, Said the Donkey by Jean Little or The Christmas Sheep and Other Stories by Avril Rowlands can be shared with your students as a read aloud to reinforce the writing trait of voice to your students. Have the students cooperatively write from the point of view of one of the Nativity story characters: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Anna, Simeon, King Herod, the Angels, the animals in the manger. Reader s Theatre Script The Baker s Dozen, A Saint Nicholas tale told by Aaron Shepard For other stories about St. Nicholas, visit:

6 Integrating Art and Advent CD Case Stained Glass Windows Use a clear CD case as the frame for a stained glass candle. If the colours of the stained glass are kept to tones of pink and purple it will represent Advent beautifully. Specially purchased paints can be used that will adhere to the plastic and a puffy black paint can be used to outline the candle or black construction paper squares that fit into the CD case can be used in the traditional way of cutting away and filling with tissue paper. Once done, all the cases can be glued together to form an impressive display that can be brought out year after year. Since it takes controlled fine motor skills when the students are cutting away the negative space with scissors or exacto knives, this is probably more of an intermediate activity. A Textured, Found Art Nativity Scene Have your students bring in scrap material/felt, wall paper, yarn, popsicle sticks, sandpaper, glitter, foam shapes, pipe cleaners, tin foil, etc. On 12 X 18 blue construction paper, have the students form the stable out of popsicle sticks and glue them in place. Encourage the use of silhouettes for Mary and Joseph made from the scrap material or wall paper. The manger can more be made from cutting popsicle sticks or sand paper. Let the student s creativity dictate the detail. Sculpture Clay recipe 2 cups baking soda 1 cup cornstarch 1½ cups water Mix the baking soda and cornstarch in a saucepan. Slowly stir in 1-1 ½ cups of cold water until the mixture is smooth. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until the mixture is stiff. Put onto a cookie sheet and cool. When the dough is cool, knead it until pliable. You can tint it with food colouring. Left over dough can be stored in plastic bags or plastic containers. This dough can now be used for several art related lessons: Shape the dough into the figures of the Nativity scene. Use a picture from a Christmas book as a guide. Paint and decorate old shoe boxes or cereal boxes to become the manger. Roll out the dough at the Word Study centre and have the students create Advent/Christmas related words that have been introduced. For more Art and Advent ideas, visit: - great primary ideas - angel art idea - Chrismons combine the words monogram and Christ. They are symbols that represent Christ and make beautiful tree ornaments.

7 O Antiphons Cryptoquip Since the 700s (A.D), the O Antiphons have become very popular. One is sung each day in the liturgy on the last seven days before Christmas. They are called O Antiphons because each verse begins with O. Each one includes a greeting to Christ, using one of his biblical names. Each antiphon speaks of our great longing for God. Decipher the cryptoquip below to find out how each O Antiphon begins. Clues 1 = I 6 = A 11 = D 16 = G 2 = K 7 = J 12 = F 17 = R 3 = O 8 = M 13 = S 18 = N 4 = T 9 = Y 14 = L 19 = V 5 = W 10 = U 15 = E FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH FIFTH SIXTH SEVENTH

8 The O Antiphons O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other mightily, and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence. Isaiah 11:2-3 Isaiah 28:29 (Faith is: accepting what we don t understand) O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. Isaiah 11:4-5 Isaiah 33:22 (Faith is: the law that frees us) O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. Isaiah 11:1 Isaiah 11:10 (Faith is: humble) O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Isaiah 22:22 Isaiah 9:7 (Faith is: passed from generation to generation) O Morning Star, splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Isaiah 9:2 (Faith is: illuminating) O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay. Isaiah 9:6 Isaiah 2:4 (Faith is: unifying) O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Saviour: Come and save us, O Lord our God. Isaiah 7:14 (Faith is: close by)

9 A Celebration of Mary, the Mother of God Leader: Mary said yes to the plan of God, alleluia! All: Mary carried in her body the light of the world, alleluia! Leader: Through the grace of our loving God, Mary became the mother of Jesus and the mother of all who follow him. Holy Mary, Holy Mother of God, Health of the sick, Shelter for the homeless, Friend for the lonely, Comfort for the troubled, Justice for the victim, Help of Christians, Leader: Pray for us, holy Mother of God. All: That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ. (The Angelus) Leader: The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary and she conceived of the Holy Spirit Hail Mary, full of grace Leader: Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word Hail Mary full of grace Leader: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us Hail Mary full of grace Leader: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Amen Leader: Holy God Through the prayers of Mary, our Mother, Make us faithful disciples of Jesus, your Son. We ask this through Christ our Lord. All: Amen

10 Advent Examples of Religion Notes on Advent and Related Topic The season of Advent begins with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and signals the start of a new Church calendar. Advent is a Latin word meaning the coming. Christians across the world prepare for the celebration of the coming of the Lord into the world through the birth of his son, Jesus Christ. Advent is a time to celebrate light in the midst of darkness, as symbolized best by the Advent wreath. The Advent Wreath The Advent wreath is a widely recognized symbol of Advent. The wreath is made of a circle of evergreen branches laid flat to symbolize the endless nature of God s love for his people. Four candles stand in the circle. Traditionally, three of the candles are purple and the fourth, the Joy candle, is pink. It is lit on the third Sunday of Advent. The candles remind us of the light of God coming into the world. As the light from the candles grows brighter each week, the birth of Christ into our world gets closer. (NOTE: The above notes do not reference the second coming of Christ when we make ourselves ready for His final coming as judge, at our death and at the end of the world. Some Junior and most Intermediate students will be ready for this discussion as part of their Advent preparation.) The O Antiphons Popularized in the 700s, these antiphons are sung in the verses of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. They were inspired by the messianic prophecies of Isaiah. They foretell what qualities Jesus would have. Today, they remind us of what our faith should be. Creating An Interactive Advent Calendar Create the Christmas tree design found on the math problem below to display on the class door or on a wall that your students can easily access. On each triangle, write one of the scripture sayings found below or print the sayings onto labels and stick them on. Every day during December, have a student or two, begin the day by turning over a triangle and reading the Scripture passage to the class. For older students, you may want them to look up the actual scripture reference and write it themselves and then share it. Spend a few moments explaining the relevance of the passage to the season of Advent. Consider having an older reading buddy class create this Advent Calendar for their younger buddies as part of a JOY DAY activity. Advent Scripture Sayings to Uncover Daily 1. I am the first and the last...i was dead, and see, I am alive forever. Rev. 1: They shall name him Immanuel, which means God is with us. Matt. 1:23

11 3. You will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matt. 1:21 4. You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. Matt. 16:16 5. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. Jn. 6:35 6. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit. Jn. 15:5 7. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Jn.1:29 8. You call me Teacher and Lord, and you should because that is who I am. Jn. 13:13 9. Unto you is born a Savior, Christ, the Lord. Lk. 2: I know that my Redeemer lives. Job 19: The Lord your God will send you a prophet. You are to obey everything he tells you. Acts 3: We have a great high priest...and he is Jesus, the Son of God. Heb. 4: Rejoice and shout for joy! Behold, your king is coming to you. Zec. 9:9 14. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jn. 10: Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest! Matt. 21:9 16. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God and they abide in God. 1 Jn. 4: A child is born to us. He is Prince of Peace. Is. 9:6 18. I am the way, truth, and life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jn. 14:6 19. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. Jn 8: You know the message he sent, proclaiming the good new of peace through Jesus Christ. Acts 10: You are my servant, in whom I will be glorified. Is. 49:3 22. And the Word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory. Jn. 1:14

12 23. They drank from the rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself. 1 Cor. 10:4 24. The stone which the builders rejected turned out to be the most important of all. Ps 118:22 How many equilateral triangles would be needed if the Christmas tree was to be extended to ten rows? What is the pattern rule for this design? What strategy did you use to solve this problem?