We had a great turn out, as usual. There were 6 six girls who sat together at Mass but others were in attendance. We welcomed our newest Little Flower, Rose. She was happy to see familiar faces and meet new ones. The girls had a brief time to visit during snack time. Clare passed out her snacks to the girls. Thank you Mary for signing up for this month on such short of a notice.
I introduced the girls to the saint of the month, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. I set the setting, the United States in the 1700’s. The girls were delighted to hear that she was born in New York. Although, they all expressed how far that was from them. I tried to but it into perspective for them by drawing attempting to draw a map of the US and Europe. Despite my lack of artistic ability the girls got the idea.
I gathered my info on St. Elizabeth Ann Seton from the following sites.
Seton Shrine
Catholic.org
Catholic Encyclopedia
EWTN
The letter of the day was ‘E’ for Elizabeth taken from An Alphabet of Catholic SAINTS.
He gave the girls a blessing before his departure.
The gratitude cards were selcted from those listed here.
The gratitude cards are intended to be used from now until the start of Advent – Nov. 29. The girls were asked to work on preparing their hearts to receive the most wonderful gift, Jesus. They were encouraged to randomly select a card from their box daily but to persevere if they were not able to make a daily selection or the task asked was too much for them. The primary objective is to PERSEVERE, do the best they can with the task at hand.
The box was decoupaged with a picture of Our Blessed Mother, Lord Jesus Christ, and/or St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. It can be used as a prayer box to store the intentions of their family and friends. The box can also be used for keepsakes such as Rosary, Miraculous Medal, etc. The girls we’re invited to entertain the thought of giving the box as a gift to another.
Above is a picture of the box I created along with the gratitude cards. There should be 1-2 blank cards in the box to write your own intention/task. The cards are designed to be placed on the twine provided as completed. You can hang the twine in a visible spot in your home so all can reflect on something to be thankful for.
I put our twine and cards over the fireplace. The kids love to see what they have completed and what they are thankful for. Sparkles couldn’t wait to start her cards. She was even more excited when she selected the card, “I’m Thankful For Our Car.” Her task was to clean the car and then go out for ice cream cones. She has never been so happy to clean the car. She rallied her sisters and went to work. I even gave a hand. I couldn’t resist their enthusiasm.
The girls were given their monthly assignment sheet, scripture verse sheet, and a paper doll of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Below are the links to many of the additional activities provided. I will take time out next meeting for housekeeping of the girl’s binders. Please be sure they bring them to the meeting.
Activities:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Fun Facts & Activities
The Tortoise and the Hare
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Paper Doll
Books about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton by Father Lovasik,
Kat Finds a Friend
I loved reading about your Little Flowers group – I would love to start one or have my girls join one in a few years!
Several months ago, you left a comment on my “pay it forward” post on my blog and were promised a handmade gift… so, I am finally asking you to send me your address so I can mail it to you at some point! You can contact me at erinrlewis[at]yahoo[dot]com. And apologies for taking so long to contact you about this!!