The Last Supper Experience For Children- A Progression from Our Home to Our Church

2010- Last Supper Experience in our home.

to....

2015- Last Supper for Children at our church parish 

2010
5 years ago in the month of March, my second child/daughter was born,  Easter was about 2 and 1/2 weeks away from that time and I knew I was going to unfortunately miss attending the Tridduum weekend.  My church here in San Antonio, St. Francis of Assisi, has extremely beautiful ceremonies that are a wonderful experience. This particular year though, I was not up for taking my 2 week old and my almost 3 yr old out late at night. 

That school year, I had gotten into doing "Tot School" at home with my 2 1/2 year old son who would turn 3 a month after his sister was born. We had our daily routine with a weekly theme for crafts, music, and activities most weeks. The week of Holy Week that year, I decided to do some things that would teach him about holy week and the Tridduum at home and still give him a good experience even though we were missing out on attending with the church community.  

On Holy Thursdsay, my mom and I put out special meal decorations on the dining room table, set up a foot washing station and the plate in the above picture.  We read a kid friendly version of the readings and acted out The Washing of the Feet from the Gospel of John and The Lord's Supper from Luke. It was very sweet watching Zac participate in this hands-on, pre-school friendly way. He had a great experience and remembered it. 

2011
The next year in 2011, we did our special Holy Thursday again.  My daughter had just turned a year and was even able to participate while sitting on the table with us. 

2012
The following year we extended our experience and invited friends to join us.  Our family friends offered to host at their house on the afternoon of Holy Thursday before we headed over for The Mass of the Lord's Supper. There were four families who attended. We had a special meal as Jesus did at his last supper, washed the feet of our own family members (although the kids helped with many of the families), and then broke the bread and grape juice. It was special doing it as a community as the apostles did in Acts of the Apostles "devoting themselves to the communal life." Right after this experience the kids got to apply their experience as a church community at Holy Thursday Mass/The Mass of the Lord's Supper.  

A side note:
This same year I also wanted the kids to experience stations of the cross in a way that would be meaningful to them and on their level. I came up with a way for them to walk from station to station, stop at each one, and collect something that they put in their Easter baskets.  Our first experience can be found here.  Stations of the Cross 

2013
The families that participated in our Last Supper decided that it would be nice to open up our experience to members of our church.  We started mainly with the St. Francis Moms Ministry.  We had about 8 families join us from the ministry and a couple that were not in the ministry, but were parishioners at our church. We were able to reserve our youth room which has a table area and a carpet area where we set up several foot washing stations. 

                                      

                           

                             

2014
The Moms Ministry decided to continue hosting this event each year at St. Francis. We thought the teaching behind it was important to emphasize to the kids.  Our pastoral associate thought it was a great idea too and liked the theology. We had planned to use our youth room again, but it turned out to be taken the night we asked for it.  This was fortunate because we instead got to use the parish hall and it turned out that we needed it!   We had about 20 families join us! 

To prepare and get this great turnout, we had a great team of moms help in many ways for our event including publicity, supplies coordinating, set up and decorating, photographing, and food coordinating!  We also had a few people provide live music with a guitar player and vocalists. My role was to lead the night.  I was extremely nervous about it. I'm not great speaking in front of large crowds, but I do enjoy teaching and working with kids.  I did some preparing to make sure this was going to be on an appropriate level for a variety of ages. Most of the children were about age 2- 9.  

To make things run as smoothly as possible and not take more than 2 hours we had the schedule go as follows.

• Welcome and opening prayer
• Interactive discussion and questions for Children about Last Supper
• Foot washing reading from the Gospel of John
• Washing of the feet opportunity and dinner
• Experience sharing
• Breaking of the Bread reading from the Gospel of Luke
• Closing prayer- Whole group made a large circle and started off singing We Are One Body

The tables had paper across them for the kids to color on. Each table also had bread and grapes for the center. Live music started off the night.  Dinner was really like a feast. I imagine that Jesus's last supper with his apostles was a special feast. Each attending family brought something to share. There were two semi circles on each side of our stage with 3 foot washing stations in each semi circle. The children got to sit in front of the tables in an open area with pillows and carpets spread out. Before each reading I asked questions to the kids to engage them in the facts of the Last Supper.  After hearing a reading, I gave instructions on the hands-on participation they would get to do with the foot washing and dinner.  We had a large chunk of time designated for families wash to wash their feet at the stations and share a meal. After the foot washing and dinner time, I invited the children to share their experience of having their feet washed and also washing someone else's foot.  We then read the reading from Luke and had each table share the bread and grape juice. I thought the closing prayer with the entire group making a circle was beautiful, as it showed that we were really one body, united in Christ. 

I was fortunate to host this event with a wonderful team of ladies.  One person doing all of the work would have been extremely difficult. Each of them did a beautiful job taking charge of their role and putting forward great ideas to make the night special. I thank them for sharing their efforts and ideas and also for making this event a priority. 

2015 
I definitely wanted this tradition to continue at our parish. I felt like it was a great way to help children learn about Holy Thursday and prepare for that Mass of the Lord's Supper that we celebrate that day. At St. Francis the assembly is invited to wash the foot of someone else at the Mass.  It's beautiful to see the service to other members of our church family in such a way that we do not see ordinarily. Our Last Supper for Children can be a great way to encourage kids to do this at the Mass.

I invited moms to sign up to help on the team and had a whole new team of ladies who wanted to participate in a leadership type role.  This year we had

• 2 supplies coordinators
• Food coordinator
• 5 Set up team members on the day of the event
• Laisson for set up (coordinated with the office)
• Photographer
• Choir and music laisson
• Opening prayer and foot washing demonstrator by one of our priests!
• 2 readers (one adult, one child)
• Go to assistant or go-for

We had our same schedule, but I added a few more interactive ways of teaching. For instance, I showed the kids the picture of the Last Supper, and showed them an analogy for what "we are one body" means. I also used a calendar and had kids put icons in the calendar slots for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday so that they would know when each was coming, 

• Welcome and opening prayer
• Interactive discussion and questions for Children about Last Supper
• Sang and did motions for This Little Light of Mine and We Are One Body by Dana Scallon
• Foot washing reading from the Gospel of John
• Washing of the feet opportunity and dinner
• Experience sharing
• Breaking of the Bread reading from the Gospel of Luke
• Closing prayer- Whole group made a large circle and started off singing We Are One Body

This was a great experience for the family as a whole.  Whether families had a baby, toddler, or adolescent, it was something special that families and/or friends got to share together. It also taught the young children to have courage to do something kind for someone, even if it means washing their foot. We hope that it helped to prepare them for Holy Thursday Mass as well.   Looking forward to next year!

Annual Baptism Celebrations

Happy Baptism Day! This day does not quite have the hype of turning a new age and celebrating a birthday, but the kids can have a great time celebrating a new year as a member of our church family and find it exciting too.  We have been evolving our celebration over the past few years that we started making sure that we celebrate their special baptism anniversary.

I really want them to know that this day is a big day.  I started by making sure we mention the date of their baptism often to help them learn it, and we do special things on that day.  Both of my children's baptisms happen to be during the summer which makes it easy for us to do a special breakfast for them. We make it special  by using the nice place mats and put out a few decorations, etc.  We also light their baptism candle during the breakfast and put out there baptismal framed photo and photo album of the day. They enjoy looking through it during breakfast. And of course we say special prayers asking for blessings over them and remind them that the sign of the cross reminds us of our baptism. We finish up with reminding them that one day they will make their confirmation and continue the "yes" that we said for them if they choose to. 

Enjoy your baptism day!

Ideas on Teaching Kids about Prayer

Over the past six years as I have been teaching my kids about "how to pray," I managed to come up with categories of "ways to pray" to help them organize and understand prayer in their mind.  Honestly, it helps me too. I have come across kids books about praying that have categorized prayer into many of the above groups.  I think these 6 are the main ones I focus on with myself and my kids. 

So, knowing that humans love visuals to accompany ideas, I decided it was time to make a visual for our prayer categories. Here is a pie chart I made in a word document.  You can make it into a wheel with a spinner, or pull colors out of a hat, or pick the one that is one your/their heart! A short description of each is below. Hope this is a helpful visual.  It was very easy to make!

Teaching the Mass to Kindergarteners

This year I have had the privilege of teaching Zachary's kindergarten faith formation class this past year.  I had a fantastic partner, Denise.  One of my favorite weeks we taught about last month was the Mass.  I really wanted them to have a greater appreciate for the Mass, however I knew it would be tough because right now with the short attention spans they have, it is hard for them to understand what is going on and appreciate it in the moment.

We did a couple of things to engage them.

Acting

We decided we would act out the Mass and have the children be a different part.  We had a priest, a deacon, 2 readers, gift bearers and the choir.  The picture above shows the altar that we used.  The choir enjoyed using egg shakers and rhythm sticks when it was their turn.  We have 10 kids in the class so this set up worked very well.

Visual Mass Parts

We printed off each detailed step of the Mass. For example, the greeting, Penitential Act, First reading, etc. Each child got 2 of these papers and when we got to that part of the pretend Mass we asked who had that part.  They had to look at their papers and figure it out for themselves.  

Hanging the papers up allowed them to see the entire Mass in front of them which helped them make sense of the order.  The kids also agreed that they would be less confused at Mass if they had something like this to follow along with.  

Here are the steps we did.

• Greeting
• Penitential Act
• Kyrie
• Gloria
• Liturgy of the Word Begins-First Reading-Old Testament
• Psalm- Old
• Second Reading- New Testament
• Gospel/Homily- New
• Creed
• Prayers of the Faithful
• Offertory
• Liturgy of the Eucharist
• Holy Holy Holy
• Calling of the Holy Spirit
• Consecration of Bread
• Consecration of Wine
• Great Amen
• Our Father
• Sign of Peace
• Lamb of God
• Communion
• Final Blessing
• Recessional 

Picture Missals for Purchase

There are some picture missals for sale at Catholic bookstores or online through Pauline Books and Media, St. Josephs, etc.  You have to decide for yourself which one fits your child. Some are not as detailed as others and some of the pictures may reach your child more than others. 

We started with St. Joseph's Coloring Book of the Mass. It worked well for ages 3-4 or even 5.

We also used one called My Picture Missal when Zachary turned 5. It has more words but still has pictures.

Making Your Own

I personally wanted something very detailed so last weekend I made a book out of these papers we used for class.  I wanted to have something for every little step of the Mass and not all of the books get that detailed.  I found some images on google.  A lot of bloggers allow readers to print the pictures for educational use in your family or in church.  One great resources that I got some of the pictures from was http://Thatresourcesite.com.  If you are an artist and can make the pictures yourself, you have one up on the rest of us. I'm sure your children will appreciate having their own parent's art work. 

What's the Point?

I very much agree that the more you use visuals and hands on teaching tools at home or during Mass, the more they will understand and hopefully appreciate it.  You can make your old testament page look like an older book or something creative like that. It's okay to explain things that are happening during the Mass.  I tell my son what we are praying for after the reader reads off each prayer of the faithful so he feels like he is involved.

So how do you teach your children? What have you found that works for you?

Denise, quizzing the kids at the end to review what we learned.

Forever You Book

Open publication - Free publishing - More kids

Get this Book at Pauline Books and Media

This book is a new one published through Pauline Books and Media.  It helps children to understand that they are special on the inside and that they have a soul. 

Hands on Faith Manipulatives

The Mass I attend with my two children on Sundays is anywhere from 1 hour to an hour and 15 minutes.  Parents of any faith or denomination bring their children to church and hope that they will not be disruptive and learn about our faith.  I love to bring my own because not only do I feel like we are participating as a family together but they also taking in information through all of their senses.  They see the colors, artwork, and progression of our Mass.  They hear the sounds of the music and our prayers.  The smell the incense.  We also use our taste when we receive communion.

The hard part of course...is that it lasts for over an hour.  Portraying this special celebration as important and not boring can be difficult and it can take hard work on our part to have our little ones interested even with their level of curiosity.  

The first part of our Mass, the Liturgy of the Word can be the most difficult for us as parents to hear and take in information.  Older reading children can follow along but our version of the readings can be complicated to understand.Little toddlers and pre-schoolers can focus well on a single activity for roughly 10 minutes give or take a little (Early Intervention Support). So this requires bringing six different activities/books/items or getting them interested in the parts of the Mass that they can. We know that children learn best from hands on activities so I have been constantly searching for ideas to incorporate into our Sunday Mass. It takes work to prepare some of the things ahead of time but it has been so worth it in seeing them learn and having my own peace during Sunday worship.

I have learned through this that Noah's Ark is SOOO overdone in the toy industry.  Animals are cute and great to learn about and Noah is a story but our center at church is not Noah, it's Christ. I would love to see more toys that have to do with the Gospel stories. I would love to see a Wedding Feast of Cana set. My aunt also suggested Zaccheus in the tree. So many options!  My mother in law is making us felt characters to go along with some of those stories that will be posted in the future!

Below are things we use during Mass and also some things I look forward to getting. I have a lot of books and pictures currently but I really want to get more manipulative type items.

Order of the Mass 
Order of the Mass coloring book.

This has been wonderful in helping the kids to know what is coming next and get a grasp on the structure of the Mass.

Readings:

To teach the story being heard on a particular Sunday I look for the story on Google images.  I paste them into word and print them for church. Crayons spilling can be a problem but bringing just a few crayons helps with that.

For older kids their is the option of bringing their age appropriate bible and finding the story for them to read if it is in there.

We also bring books associated with the particular season we are currently celebrating such as The Easter Story and The Three Trees during Lent and Easter.

Creed

This book has pictures that go along with the Apostles creed so we use this during our creed to help them follow along.

Prayers of the Faithful

I ask Zachary to pick at least two things he wants to pray for. Also as the prayers are being read I explain them to him.  

Liturgy of the Eucharist
To prepare for this part we play with an olive wood paten and chalice at home.  We sit very close to the front each week and I point out the paten and chalice used during the Mass.  Sitting close makes a HUGE difference.  They love to be able to see also. 



The 12 Apostles!
http://www.bibletoys.com/Figurine-Playsets-s/1.htm


I just saw that these action figures are coming out!
http://www.bibletoys.com/Talking-Toys-s/2.htm

Assumption of Mary Dessert

When August hits every year I hear a few particular associations expressed by people who surround me from day to day.  Most of them have to do with August being miserably hot but there are also quite a few about having so much to do in transition from vacation mode to school year mode.  Smack in the middle of our agitating August on the 15th, our church has an important day of celebration which at first we think, "oh no I forgot that I need to squeeze church into the day too"  but then for me personally as I get in the mindset of this beautiful day I realize that it is nice to take a break from any August frustrations being experienced and enjoy the beauty of our celebration.

On this day of August 15 we celebrate the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.  We believe in our church that God made Mary sinless because she was going to hold his perfect son within her (as the new arc of the covenant) and therefore when she died as sinless she was assumed into heaven, body and soul.  To me she is also a wonderful role model and example of a mother and women.  I look up to her faith, strength through hard times, and overall beauty.  

To give the kids a fun activity for this day I found this dessert on the blog Catholic Icing which is a fantastic blog with a wide variety of hands on activities to help kids learn about faith. It was quite easy and very tasty too!

Heavenly Jello

Follow directions on a box of blue gellatin.  

Allow it to harden halfway in the fridge. 

Scoop cool whip into a glass to make a few clouds.

Add more jello.

Add more clouds.

Repeat

Put back in the fridge.

Eat!

Children's Stations of the Cross

As we continued our Tridduum celebration this year I considered going to our church's live stations of the cross put on by our Lifeteen youth program.    I had gone last year and enjoyed it but I knew that it may still be over Zachary's head and definitely Adelyn's.  I wanted to have them participate somehow but still keep it developmentally appropriate.  


I tried to think Montessori and how kids learn the best. They would be most interested through hands on and play of course. Growing up a lot of us remember not be interested in church because taking in all of that auditory information was over our heads as little pre-schoolers.  So the following is what I came up with.


Catholic Icing.com has a link to printable stations of the cross which the kids could color. I knew I wanted to do something with that but I also knew they would not want to color 14 pages of detailed pictures.  My in laws were in town thankfully and they helped watch the kids while I set up. 


I hung each of the pictures on the wall low to the ground in different areas of the house and put a number next to them. I planned to have them collect items to put in their baskets at each station which represented that particular station.  

1st Station Jesus was Condemned- I started outside in my memorial garden with the first station and put their Easter baskets there.  

2nd Station Jesus Carries the Cross- Two pieces of wood were here.  They had to carry this around the whole time. 

3rd Station Jesus Falls the 1st Time- 2 band aids were here.

4th Station Jesus Meets His Mother- A picture of Mary and a small statue were here.  We talked about Jesus and Mary comforting each other.

5th Station Simon Helps Jesus- A pair of gloves were here to symbolize hands helping.

6th Station Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus- Two towels were here.

7th Station Jesus Falls the 2nd Time- Band aids were here again.

8th Station Jesus Meets the Women- Items that women carry were here including a handkerchief, a necklace and a purse.

9th Station Jesus Falls the 3rd Time- A Large Bandage was here.

10th Station The Soldiers Take His Garments- I had two sweaters here.

11th Station Jesus is Put on the Cross- I put two large screws here because they are more blunt than nails. I did not put the stations picture from the series here. Instead I just printed the outline of a cross. I felt for Zachary he was not yet ready for what I guess I will call, "trauma" of Jesus being nailed to the cross. It was enough for him. He guessed right away what the station was by just seeing that.

12th Station Jesus dies on the cross. Two small crosses here. We discussed Mary and John standing beneath Him.

13th Station Jesus is taken down from the cross. I could not think of anything for this station except a clock for "His hour had come". 

14th Station Jesus is Placed in the Tomb- Two small rocks were here.

Zachary really liked finding the numbers.  It was like a game to him.  He commented that the wood was getting heavy which my in laws helped me to make a teachable moment.  He also did ask for more stations after we finished because he was enjoying himself so much. It worked out perfectly because my father n law said, "The 15th station is on Easter!". 

This worked out very well for my children being able to participate in the stations. I am hoping to continue this and also learn of more ideas from others out there.