eguidebook MISSION OF THE MONTH: Love the Church! K4J VIRTUE: Love for the Church! NOVEMBER

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1 Classroom Teachers Grades 2-3 eguidebook NOVEMBER Find your lesson to send home the Love the Church Mission! Find your lesson to teach the virtue of Love for the Church in the classroom! Bulletin Board Ideas, Holy Hero of the month, and more! Find the latest information from K4J! MISSION OF THE MONTH: Love the Church! K4J VIRTUE: Love for the Church! WE LOVE THE CHURCH WHEN WE DO OUR PART! All contents copyright Creative Catholics 2012 Nihil Obstat: Rev. Theodore R. Book, S.L.L. 16 July, 2009 Imprimatur: Most Rev. Wilton D. Gregory, S.L.D., Archbishop of Atlanta, 17 July, 2009 The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

2 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION ObjectIves: Teach the kids about the November virtue, Love for the Church. Teach the kids how to do the November Love the Church Mission of the Month to be lived within the family at home. Motivate the kids to tell their parents about the Love the Church Mission and how they will live it at home. Help the children develop a sense of pride in their parish. Ready You will need: November K4J Send-It-Home pack Copy of Mr. Tabernacle & Lamplighter Religious objects: prayer books, a picture of the Pope, medals, holy water, holy cards, World Youth Day materials... (It would be great if any of these items are from different countries and/or show different languages) CD player and the November K4J Mission song, I Love Jesus Church Say... No matter what country you are from or what language you speak, we celebrate the same Mass and live and teach the same faith in the Catholic Church. Show the kids the picture of Mr. Tabernacle and Lamplighter. Tell them: There is a tabernacle in every Catholic church around the world. Jesus in the Eucharist lives in the tabernacle. It is the same Jesus that walked the earth over 2000 years ago! We also all have the same leader, the pope. His name is Pope Benedict XVI. He is our spiritual father. We are the Church -- we are one family! Give examples of the unity in the Church: we have the same sacraments, sacramentals, liturgy, Mass, Catechism, etc. K4J Virtue: Love for the Church I love the Church when I do my part to help! Go K4J! 1. Take out the Mission Card from the packet. Read the Mission card and the Fun Fact. St. Peter s body was found under the altar in St. Peter s Basilica many years after it was built! Explain how to carry out this month s Love the Church Mission of the Month and show the weekly offertory envelopes kids use to collect money earned by doing an extra chore at home to serve the Church! Each day extra money is earned for the Sunday offertory, they may mark their Mission card with a sticker! Try to make a visit to the church and point out the picture of the Holy Father at the entrance to the church. Lead the kids to the tabernacle. Have them kneel and say a prayer to Jesus in the Eucharist.

3 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION 2. Do My Part Relay: Have the kids line up in teams of six. Place a broom, dust rag, Bible, musical instrument, apron and bowl with spoon to cook and can of food at the front of the room. Put a collection basket in another place in the room. Show the kids each item and ask them how they could do their part to help the Church by using them. Play the November Mission song, I Love Jesus Church. As the music plays, have the first person on the team run, pick up an item and use it to role play doing my part to help the Church (sweeping, dusting, collecting food...) while running to the other side of the room and back. Once the child has done their part, they may grab a K4J Buck (tape them to a wall or stack them on a table) and run and put it in the collection basket. The team with all their bucks in the collection basket WINS! 3. Play I Love Jesus Church again and do the hand motions to the song. I Love Jesus Church! November Mission Song I love Jesus Church, (Look up while pointing to self with thumb, then point to various people) When I do my part. (Pretend you are raking or doing any other chore) I love Jesus Church, (Look up while pointing to self with thumb, then point to various people) With my body, soul, mind and heart! (Point both thumbs toward self, cross arms in front, point to head, then point to heart.) 4. Ask the kids to give the Parents Perspective letter to their parents. At the end of the month ask them: How did they live their mission well? Parents can also sign their kids up for K4J Family and complete the Mission of the Month online! (

4 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION Ready If you have not done so already, name your classroom K4J Team (i.e. Mrs. Smith s Saintly Second Graders) Objectives: TEACH TEAMWORK! Teach Teamwork: When we do our part, we can lead others to do their BEST. Motivate the kids to live the virtue of Love for the Church by doing their part for the others in class. We can visit Jesus in the Eucharist. He will help us LEAD OTHERS TO BE THEIR BEST! Say... We all belong to God s family in the Church. That means we are all brothers and sisters. A good family works together so that everyone can be their BEST! Our class is going to learn to work together as a team this month. (You may want to divide second graders into two teams. They will enjoy the competition. Let the kids name their team and make a poster for their team. You will post the poster on this month s Bulletin Board.) Your job is to make sure you do your part to help, and Be your BEST for all the REST. When you do your best, you help everyone!

5 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION Go K4J! a.m Each morning, say the Morning Prayer and K4J Pledge. Remind the kids: Your job is to make sure you do your part and Be your BEST for all the REST. When you do your best, you help everyone! P.M Each time you need teamwork from the kids (you are about to start a project or go to the lunchroom, etc.), remind the kids of the goals or the behavior you would like to see. Say, Remember that when you do your part, you help everyone to be their best for Jesus. Teacher: Ready? DO YOUR PART! (Point to the kids & they say...) Kids: I ll BE MY BEST! (clap three times) FOR ALL THE REST! (clap three times) GO K-4-J! (clap on each letter of K-4-J) P.M After your closing prayer, thank the kids for working together and doing their part! Teacher: WE ARE THE BEST, for whom? Kids: FOR JESUS... (Shout with one fist in the air) & the CHURCH! GO K-4-J! (clap on each letter of K-4-J)

6 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION Captains Campaign Treasure of the Church Campaign November is a very special month in the Church. We celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Jesus is the King of the Church and we need to Love the Church. Dedicate this month to Love the Church by giving to the poor. Choose a particular recipient of the money raised for the entire school, or each class may choose its own. The Thanksgiving holiday also makes this a natural fit. Each class needs to come up with a way to raise money to give to the poor. They can make something to sell, visit relatives and collect funds by making a presentation about the people/organization you will serve through the funds. The class that raises the most money, wins. (Remember this can also be done as a can or used clothing drive.) Captains need to motivate the school by announcing the totals each week and posting the class s ideas and progress in a prominent place. Near the Feast of Christ the King, the Captains host a simple prayer service in the church and offer the material good raised as gifts brought to Jesus to Love the Church. Bulletin Board Love the Church! Cover half the board with gold paper and half the board with white. (Gold and white are the colors of the Vatican flag.) Post the picture of Pope Benedict XVI in the center. At the top of the board write, Love the Church! Now put a map of the world on the board. Write these statistics on the board. Statistics in the United States: United States Council of Catholic Bishops website: bishops-and-dioceses/index.cfm World Statistics: K4J Surprise! Clear your desks, kids. It is time for a K4J Surprise! Sometime in the middle of the month, the teacher, a parent or K4J Captain gives the kids a boost of motivation with a K4J Surprise. Sistine Style Imitate the experience of Michelangelo s Sistine Chapel. Show the kids a picture of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Tell the students how church leaders of the Renaissance hired artists and assigned them stories from the Bible to paint in their churches. Assign or have the students choose well-known Bible stories to draw. Then tape paper to the undersides of tables, desks, or chairs, and have the children lie on their backs and paint (or draw) their story. Try using colored chalk or oil pastels. Imagine what it would be like to paint that way for days or months! One, Two, Three, Along the Streets of Rome! (played like Red Light, Green Light) 1. One player chosen to be it stands facing a wall. 2. All the other players stand in a line side by side, several paces behind it. 3. It says, along the streets in Rome! -- in Italian, please. (Uno, due, tre, per le vie di Roma!) While it is chanting, the other players move toward him. 4. When it stops chanting, he turns quickly around to try to catch someone moving. 5. If he catches someone moving, this player will go back to the start, or become it.

7 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION Papal Chain Make paper chains with yellow and white construction paper. Gold and white are the colors of the Vatican City flag. Explain to the team that a chain can be a symbol of unity. The Pope is the leader of the Church on earth who helps unite Catholics (and all people) throughout the world. Decorate your classroom with the chains, or have the children take them home and hang them in their rooms to remind them of the November virtue, Love for the Church! Find the story of the life of Pope Benedict XVI as a child at Scripture Scholars Father, those who will believe in me are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me... (John 17:24a) Have the kids draw a picture of themselves and paste it to a gift box with the scripture verse written on it. Take the gift to your chapel and place it near the tabernacle. Have the kids sit down and read them the scripture. Now say: Jesus thanked his Father for you. He said that you are a special gift to him and that he likes to be near you. Jesus lives in the tabernacle. We are near him now. Place the gift below the tabernacle. Have the kids sing a simple Eucharist song that they are familiar with. Remind them of their mission to Love the Church and sing, I Love Jesus Church! Holy Hero St. Lawrence, Guardian of the Treasure of the Church Deacon Lawrence worked with the pope in Rome hundreds of years ago. Deacon Lawrence loved the poor very much. He gave them everything he had. A greedy Roman governor loved money and thought that the Church might be hiding a great treasure, so he ordered Deacon Lawrence to bring it to him. Deacon Lawrence asked for three days to collect it all. Three days later Deacon Lawrence came before the Roman governor with a great crowd of people all the poor, hungry, sick and suffering people he was able to find. Deacon Lawrence said, Here, sir, is the great treasure of the Church! The Roman governor was furious and ordered Deacon Lawrence to be taken away. He had wanted gold and jewels, not poor people! Deacon Lawrence LOVED the Church and he was not afraid. Jesus was very pleased with Deacon Lawrence s bravery and love. Jesus welcomed Deacon Lawrence into heaven where he was now...saint Lawrence! Jesus, help me to love all people as the treasure of the Church!

8 NOVEMBER LOVE THE CHURCH MISSION November Dear K4J Educators, Some years ago I was in Denver for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II. What an experience! Every nationality was represented; every language could be heard. The excitement was like nothing I had ever experienced. We were all cheering and singing together when the Holy Father came in by helicopter. It was during this experience that I felt for the first time that I was part of a universal Church, a Church that encompasses the entire world. Ever since I have tried to live that experience in my daily life. At each Eucharist I try to remember the whole Church, since it is in the Eucharist that we are united. Christ teaches that each of us is an important part of his mystical body. St. Paul says that when one part of this body suffers, we all suffer. When one member of this body rejoices, we all rejoice. We have to be aware of each other s needs and serve this body, the Church, accordingly. We are family. The first way to teach children to love the Church is to help them appreciate and care for their own families at home. They need to learn that what they do for the family really makes a difference. Next, they learn that their good initiatives can have real effects on the whole world. Each time we help members take part in apostolic team projects, they better understand that the family also exists outside their own homes. They reach out to others and bring their brothers and sisters the news that we are all related by imitating the love Jesus has for them. This month members practice one way to do their part to serve the Church through the Love the Church Mission. Kids ask parents for an extra chore they can do for the family, and put money they earn from doing it in the collection basket at Mass each week this month. As K4J Guides, let s help kids realize that home is the best place to first practice what Jesus will ask us to do to serve his Church in the world! In Christ, Kathleen Conklin Owner of K4J

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10 Morning Prayer Good morning, Jesus. Thank you for being my best friend. Help me to stay close to you all day. Let my words, my work and my play remind others about you. Help me be a friend to everyone, obey my parents and forgive those who hurt me. Give me the courage to live all my promises and do all I can to bring others to you. Amen. K4J Pledge I can change the world with my mission in K4J. As a true apostle of Jesus, I pray, love and serve each day. I am loyal, honest and kind. I work and always obey. I use my gifts and talents to serve in Jesus name. I thank God for choosing me. Mary will show me the way. I will accomplish great things for the Church because I am K4J.

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