The Gospels -- Parents' Guide Overview and Schedule
THE LIFE OF JESUS – THE GOSPELS
GUIDE FOR PARENTS OF YOUNGER CHILDREN
Each year we send home a parents’ guide to help you continue your children’s Christian education at home and to reinforce what is being taught in Church School. This gives each family with children some ideas for exciting activities for you and your children to enjoy together; it is not meant to be comprehensive or exclusive. Use your creativity! If you know the topic of the week, you can also think up some wonderful ways to “bring it home” from Church. This can start as simply as reviewing the lesson of the week (Can the children tell you the story?) in the car on the way home from Church, at bedtime, and continuing through the week in your daily devotions and prayers. This year we focus on the Life of Jesus and each child, from the smallest to the teens, will have a Bible storybook or Bible itself to read in Church School and at home.
It is very important even for the very young child to have daily prayers (Do you have a family icon corner? What about setting up one in his room?) and Bible (or Bible story) reading, maybe right after dinner or at bedtime. Do you say grace after each meal? Each day they can practice crossing themselves, lighting candles, burning incense, etc. And on Saturday night, in preparation for Liturgy the next day, what about a time of private confession to the Lord? You could even “pray the hours” on days when you are home: 7 AM (First Hour) thanking God for His light, 9 AM (3rd Hour) thanking Him for His Holy Spirit, 12 Noon (6th Hour) thanking Him for His crucifixion, and 3 PM (9th Hour) praying with the wise thief, “Remember me, O Lord, in thy Kingdom.” Very little time spent, but a habit begun. Don’t forget a Jesse Tree and Advent wreath to bring Nativity closer to home. And, just before Lent, each child should bring home a piggy bank (for the Prodigal Son, of course). He should collect or earn small coins and bring them back to the class piggy at the end of Lent for donation to IOCC.
There will be some memory work for the year. Look on your schedule for the dates, beginning with St. Simeon’s Prayer, spoken or sung, then the Troparion of Theophany, the names of the 12 disciples (smallest class need only learn the 4 fishermen), the Beatitudes (the smallest children only need to know the “poor in spirit”), the Lord’s Prayer, and the Paschal greeting in 3 languages other than English. These will be recited when ready during opening exercises and prizes given. This would be great memory work to do in the car on the way to Liturgy!
Now, on to suggestions for particular weeks. This year, crosswords and puzzles for older students are included with the materials, and, of course, the youngest students can color on anything in sight! There should be enough coloring pages to make quite an art gallery of the life of Jesus – framed with construction paper on your child’s wall? Or with magnetic frames each week on the refrigerator, to review regularly? There is also a map of the Holy Land for older children to plot the journeys of Jesus.
Don’t forget our parties and movie nights. These also form part of the learning experience. They are included in the calendar. Movie nights will begin right after vespers on Saturday with dinner for the whole family, followed by a short animated video for the smaller children. The feature film for the older children will happen only once – on “Marathon Movie Night” in March, when we’ll see the entire “Jesus of Nazareth” complete with popcorn, etc. Details on the parties will be in the newsletter.
TABLE OF CONTENTS -- SAMPLE SCHEDULE
Revise it to fit your own dates, trying to match Pascha with Pascha and the lessons for the Sundays preparatory to Lent on the correct week, and the rest arranged around them.
DATE SUBJECT SPECIAL NOTES
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Sept. 12 Nativity of Theotokos
Presentation Theotokos
Sept. 18 Movie Night: Jesus
Sept. 19 Annunciation
Sept. 26 Birth of John the Baptist
Oct. 3 Nativity of Our Lord
Oct. 10 Meeting of Our Lord Memory Work: St. Simeon’s Prayer
Oct. 17 The Three Kings
Oct. 23 Movie Night: Nativity
Oct. 24 Flight to Egypt
Oct. 31 Nazareth & Temple Operation Christmas Child due
Oct. 31 All Saints Party After Church School in Social Hall
Nov. 7 Theophany Memory Work: Troparion for Theophany
Jar Decorating in hall after Church School
Nov. 14 Temptations
Nov. 20 Movie Night: Disciples Jewish Dancing
Nov. 21 Wedding at Cana
Nov. 28 Calling of Fisherman Memory Work: 12 disciples
Dec. 4 St. Nicholas Festival 10 AM- 1 PM Churchwide
Dec. 5 Calling of Matthew
Dec. 12 Woman at Well Rehearsal during opening exercises
Dec. 19 Performance of Christmas Pageant in Social Hall and at Nursing Home
Dec. 26 Sermon on Mount Memory Work: Beatitudes
Jan. 2 Walking on Water/Calming of Storm
Jan. 9 Feeding of 5000/ Bring Canned Goods
Three Kings Party after Coffee Hour and Sunday School
Jan. 15 Movie Night: Miracles
Jan. 16 Transfiguration
Jan. 23 The Good Samaritan Pack health kits after class
Jan. 30 The Parable of the Sower
Feb. 6 Zaccheus
Feb. 13 Publican/Pharisee
Feb. 20 Prodigal Son
Feb. 27 Last Judgment Homeless Bags packed in hall after class
March 5 Movie Night
March 6 Forgiveness/Paralytic Antiochian Art Contest in Social Hall after class
March 13 Miracles/Healings
March 20 Lazarus
March 27 Palm Sunday
April 2 Movie Night : Passion and Pascha
April 3 Last Supper
April 10 Crucifixion
April 17 Pascha Memory Work: Christ is Risen! In 3 languages
April 24 NO CHURCH SCHOOL – PASCHA
April 25 Easter Egg Hunt
April 30 Rehearsal for Passion Play/Musical
May 1 Passion Play/Musical for parish and public
May 8 Doubting Thomas Piggy Banks Due
May 13-15 Camping trip for ages 6-12 at Camp Running Bear in Monkton
May 22 Myrrh-bearing women
May 29 Road to Emmaeus
June 5 Ascension
June 12 Pentecost
June 19 The Lord’s Prayer Memory Work: Lord’s Prayer
Closing Exercises
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