Tag: advent

Nativity and Christmas Picture and Word Cards

Published on by Mary Cooney2 Comments

Just over a year ago, Junior began learning to read sight words using DSE’s See and Learn Reading program. We have been amazed at how quickly he learned to read, and since then he has completed all three of the See and Learn Phrases kits and the See and Learn Sentences kit (which is huge!). Now there are no more See and Learn Kits for him to use, but I don’t want to slow down his momentum. We have since moved onto phonics. However, the process of matching, selecting, and reading sight words is such a powerful learning tool for him that I want to keep using it in addition to learning phonics.

So I am making my own picture and word cards, See and Learn style. It’s a lot of work, but definitely worth the effort, especially when I see how quickly and eagerly Junior learns new words. Here are two sets I am sharing with you today: A Nativity Set and a Christmas Vocabulary Set.

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Free Advent and Christmas Art Cards for Little Ones

Published on by Mary Cooney4 Comments

Preparing for Advent, I’ve been thinking about how to make this time meaningful for my little guy, Junior. Since he loves pictures, I made him a collection of art cards that depict the Christmas Story. And since he loves nursery rhymes, I added short little poems to go with each picture. The verses are very simple and repetitive, so he can understand and repeat the words. My hope is that by looking at the pictures and saying the verses, Junior will see the beauty of the Christmas story. Sacred art really has the power to draw us into contemplation.

Come take a peek:

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Advent and Christmas Activities for Preschoolers with (and without) Down Syndrome

Published on by Mary Cooney1 Comment

With many schools being closed yet again, I thought I’d share our Advent traditions and what Junior and I are doing for the month of December.

Here goes….

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St. Joseph’s Advent in Art

Published on by Mary Cooney3 Comments

Have you ever noticed that many Christmas cards have beautiful pictures of Mary and the Baby Jesus, but St. Joseph is nowhere to be seen? Why is it that St. Joseph is so often over-looked in the nativity scene? There is so much to learn from St. Joseph that it is a shame to take so little notice of him, especially during Advent. Here are some pictures and thoughts about St. Joseph’s Advent I’ve been sharing with my kids.

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Advent Traditions

Published on by susieclement1Leave a comment

(NOTE:  Mary is taking a break this week from blog writing.  So she has asked me (Sue, the other mom on this blog) to write my first ever post!   This is so exciting!  Mary has posted the lion share of the content on this blog, but I am hoping in the coming months to step it up!  Just a forewarning, my blog posts will never be what Mary’s are.  That lady is AMAZING!   Mine will be more of a cross between Erma Bombeck and C.S. Lewis.  So here it goes!)

As we head into one of my most favorite liturgical seasons, I thought it would be nice to share some of our family’s Advent Traditions. I LOVE to establish different traditions around the Church calendar.  First, the kiddies go crazy about them!   We are talking, absolutely have to do this stuff without a doubt, even when I am too tired and just wanting to read a book and take a bath. Second, we are covertly teaching them about the Faith, and it doesn’t involve anything BORING (as they put it)!  So each year, I try my best to do something exciting but liturgical.

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