3rd Grade Religious Ed: St. Nicholas Fun Through Eppiphany

Class 10 fell on St.Nicholas Day, so, of course we celebrated.  I told the story and the kids colored a picture.


Then they played a game (tossing 3 bags of "gold"onto stockings. 

When they got one on, they won a candy cane which could be used as the crosier in their picture.



Simple, fun, and no one is allergic to candy canes!

I know we did more (we definitely talked more about Advent and preparing for Jesus, and it was chapter 10) but I'm missing my notes for that class.

Class 11 was Gaudete Sunday and the last class before Christmas.  We talked about how their families prepare for Chrisstmas, and we talked about how God prepared for the first Christmas.

Many families prepare the entire month of December, but God started preparing from the time Adam and Eve fell!

I had one kid be Abraham (with a bushy beard). God called him to follow, trust, and be the father of many nations.

One kid was Moses (he held the 10 Commandments). God called him to free the people from Egypt, to bring them to the Promised Land, and to give them the Law.

One kid was David (with a crown and a sheep).  God called him to be a shepherd king who would lead the people to God.

One kid was Mary (with a veil) and another was an angel (wings and a halo).  God called Mary to be the mother of Jesus, and she said yes!  I emphasized that Jesus as the Son of God always was, but he became human at the incarnation.

Jesus brought God's light and life into the world, and you can spread or hide that light (BLM29)

Then we did a little Christmas pageant.   Before we started, I had them look at the gold (which was just pyrite), the frankincense (I happened to have a little of the real thing), and myrrh (which I was representing with a pretty stone); and we talked about the meaning of each gift.

I had brought super basic costumes and props, so they acted out the Christmas story.  They were super super cute, but I can't share pictures since I don't have parental permission. :(

We finished up by making a Christmas ornament (it was a nativity sun catcher that they colored with markers).

Class 12 was on the Epipphany.  We talked about it still being Christmas, and I asked if they had opened all of their presents.  We talked about Jesus as the gift that keeps giving.

Jesus gives Himself to you: in the Eucharist, in the Scriptures, and in every day life  Look for the gifts Jesus gives you each day, some are happy, and some are hard, but help us grow.

We went over the gifts of the Magi, and went up to look and pray at the parish Nativity.

Then I had a gift for each of them!  I had wrapped a small religious object for each of them (plus one so the last kid still gets a choice) and put them all into a large gift bag.  They had to put their hand in without looking and pick one out.  This was delightful! 

We talked about what Epiphany means (a sudden revelation), and their own epiphanies in life.  Then we talked about Jesus' epiphanies (sudden revelations of God): the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Wedding at Cana.

Then we talked about New Years Day, the Maternity of Mary and New Years resolutions.  Then we finished with a silly game.

The Resolution Game is an alphabet game.  The first person says, "A, my name is Andrew (or Andrea), and I resolve to Act Amazing."  The next person might say, "B, my name is Bonnie, and I resolve to Buy Bananas."  The kids loved it!