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Dawn
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I am looking for ways to make mass more enjoyable and meaningful for my 6 yo son. We do get Magnifikid for my 10 yo, but it seems a little old for my first grader. Has anyone used this?
Any suggestions for helping a younger, but very curious, little boy understand and follow along at church would be much appreciated!
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys 
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cathhomeschool
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I've never used that resource, but it does look really cute.
What about getting a "Mass in pictures" type book that he can follow along with during Mass?
I used to read the Gospel reading to our boys midway through the previous week. I'd explain it and we'd discuss. They're faces really lit up on Sunday when we got to that part of the Mass and they recognized and understood what was being read. I guess I should really take up that practice again!
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Molly Smith
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We try to do what Janette does--reading the gospel earlier in the week--it really is cool to see their little faces light up with the recognize a name or verse. Sometimes, I'll just read the gospel and then on the way to Mass I'll give them a short version and tell them what to listen for. Then they can tell me all about it after Mass.
Here's another resource I learned of from the CCM list years ago, Open Wednesday. It has the readings, explanations, activities.
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Michaela
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We also read & then discuss the upcoming readings during the week.
I print out coloring sheets for all my children from
Catholic Gospel Coloring and Word Activities for Sunday Gospel and Readings.
I started it for my almost 6yo twins. Sometimes I also use the activity sheets there, but they are mainly for my 9yo.
As with Jeanette, I see my children's eyes brighten during certain points during readings. (Not just because of some coloring sheets, but from the discussions we've had all week.)
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Michaela
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Rachel May
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The pre-reading idea is  When I was little, we had a bunch of Archbooks from Concordia which is a Lutheran publisher. My mom would check to see which of those books we had that matched the readings, we would pre-read them, and then we were allowed to take them along to look at in Mass. They are good for beginning readers, but I would recommend going and looking at a local Christian bookstore and reading them before you buy. They aren't expensive, but some of the newer ones aren't very good and aren't worth the $3.
Lately, we've started being early and putting the 6 yo boys in the pew in front of us at Mass. This has made it a bit easier to control the masses, but also, since the big boys are sitting alone, I find they are more attentive. We still point out Jesus at the Elevation for them to refocus them if they need it. Also, maybe learning to sing the parts of the Mass or some of the more commonly sung songs. Those are the things that helped our boys.
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kristina
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Dear Dawn,
Our parish uses the Pflaum. I always try to be the aide in our children's classes since they are mandatory for Sacrament years . I have mixed feelings about the Promise guides. I found the first grade to be very twaddly. The second grade is not so bad and often includes Saint Stories. It just seems so "school handout-like." I hope that makes sense.
I second the recommendation for the Open Wednesday site. I try to remember to use that during the week.
I feel that we cannot make it to daily mass in this season of our lives at 8 am with 5 little ones 8 and under (it is often held in a tiny chapel room). So, we read the daily mass readings every morning. Actually last year our two eldest wanted to try reading them. Stumbling through the readings increased their vocabulary immensely and not to mention their reading skills flourished!
As Janette said as well, we often bring the picture mass book from Fr. Lovasik in our "Mass" bag. Perhaps a children's missal can be a nice St. Valentine's or Easter gift for your child.
Blessings,
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Dawn
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| Posted: Feb 11 2006 at 4:28pm | IP Logged
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Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions. The Open Wednesday and Catholic Moms sites look great AND much more economical! (After a closer look, the Pflaum guides were $29.95 when ordering only 1 copy  ~ yikes!)
cathhomeschool wrote:
| They're faces really lit up on Sunday when we got to that part of the Mass and they recognized and understood what was being read. |
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This is *exactly* what I'm going for  !
kristina wrote:
| Perhaps a children's missal can be a nice St. Valentine's or Easter gift for your child. |
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What a lovely idea! Can you suggest a resource for finding a missal, and/or the Fr. Lovasik book? I couldn't find much on an amazon search. Thanks!
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys
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lapazfarm
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Yes I was wondering that also, and what is the best source for laminated holy cards? I liked that idea from another thread of putting them on a key ring!
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Dawn
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lapazfarm wrote:
| ... what is the best source for laminated holy cards? I liked that idea from another thread of putting them on a key ring! |
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Hi Theresa,
I know CHC has holy cards, but I can't tell if they are laminated. I happened upon this online resource for holy cards today. The selection is wonderful, however, I've never shopped with them myself, so I can't vouch for them business-wise.
I did notice there is a whole selection of royalty-free, downloadable holy card images available here as well ... I'm not really computer-savvy, but I would think you could print these images out on card stock and then have them laminated, or cover them in contact paper yourself. I also like the holy cards on a key-ring idea  !
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lapazfarm
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Well, I ended up ordering a bunch from Catholicstore.com
They had the cheapest price I could find on the laminated cards at 60 cents each, and a good variety.
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Theresa
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Erin
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lapazfarm wrote:
| Yes I was wondering that also, and what is the best source for laminated holy cards? I liked that idea from another thread of putting them on a key ring! |
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Theresa
I have a heap of old holy cards here and I was just thinking the other day, why don't I laminate the, myself. In fact my older children would enjoy doing it! I bought my laminator for only $30 at my local supermarket and the pockets at the supermarket aren't very expensive either.
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kristina
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Quote:
What a lovely idea! Can you suggest a resource for finding a missal, and/or the Fr. Lovasik book? I couldn't find much on an amazon search. Thanks!
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I found those items at the catholic books stores located near the larger parishes in our state. The Fr. Lovasik books are less than $2.00 - closer to $1.00, actually.
Catholic Child has this lovely book and it is not very costly.
If you visit the catholic child website and click on the first communion tab, then the books and bibles list, they have a nice selection of books to prepare the children's hearts for mass. For our younger ones we read a page of Little Acts of Grace (we actually ordered ours from CHC) and it explains why we do certain things like dress nicely for Holy Mass, use Holy Water, etc..
The Weight of a Mass is a lovely book which reminds us how important it is to go to Mass.
I just googled Fr. Lovasik books and stumbled upon Catholic Free Shipping . They have a nice set of 36 St. Joseph books, including "My Picture Missal".
Blessings,
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kristina
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Dawn
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Hi Kristina,
Thanks for the great links! I'm looking forward to perusing them this afternoon while my youngest naps .
kristina wrote:
| For our younger ones we read a page of Little Acts of Grace (we actually ordered ours from CHC) and it explains why we do certain things like dress nicely for Holy Mass, use Holy Water, etc. |
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I just got this and what a nice little book it is! I also got God's House another sweet and helpful book.
We read aloud from our Magnifikid today so that the readings and Gospel are familiar on Sunday. I've also printed out the weekly coloring page from Catholic Mom to use tomorrow.
Thanks again to all for their help !
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: help with mass
