December 3, 2015 WBB Primary, WBB For Catechists, WBB Advent & Christmas, REL Seasons - Advent/Christmas, REL Asset - Activity, REL Catechetical - K–6
By: Allie Johnston
The Church will soon celebrate the season of Christmas. As you prepare your homes and religious education classrooms for the start of the Catholic Christmas season 2015, download A Christmas Thank-You Activity to complement lessons about the Christmas season and to draw connections between your home or religious education classroom and the larger parish community. The activity is ideal for children in the primary grades.
Students in the primary grades who are using the We Believe Catholic Identity Edition or Creemos will learn that Christmas is a season to give glory to God. One way to give glory to God is to express gratitude to those who help us. The children will learn that parishes celebrate the Christmas season in a special way. Discuss the special preparations for and celebrations during the Christmas season. The sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas all contribute to our celebrations. You might want to talk about the liturgical colors of the season of Christmas, or the types of decorations we might see in our parish churches. The music we hear during the Christmas season is special and the carols are often memorable and known by children. Musicians, celebration planning teams, altar servers, priests and their helpers, and decorating groups spend time getting ready. They prepare and practice. In A Christmas Thank-You Activity, children will decorate and write a note to thank one of these groups within the parish to express gratitude for Christmas preparations.
To plan and implement A Christmas Thank-You Activity, make a copy of the activity sheet for each child. Distribute the activity sheets. Have the children color the picture and write their thank you notes on the lines provided. Assist children with spelling and punctuation. Children may cut out the notes if you choose. When the children are finished writing, collect the notes. Have volunteers help you organize the notes, grouping them according to the people addressed. Give the notes to someone on your parish ministry team. Ask the team member to deliver the notes to the appropriate groups or individuals on behalf of your class.
This multi-intelligence activity will especially appeal to children who are linguistic, interpersonal, and visual-spatial learners. As an extension activity, throughout the Catholic Christmas season 2015, discuss the many people or groups who continue to help us celebrate the season of Christmas in our homes or parish communities. Children can be encouraged to be grateful and express gratitude to those individuals and groups.
The download is available in English or Spanish.