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	Celebrate a Saint
	May 2: Saint Athanasius - defended all the doctrines of the Church.

	Helping People Pray
	Free on-the-go prayer activity for kids.

	Free Monthly Saints Calendar
	Celebrate feast days with this free downloadable calendar.

	10 Top Family Movies
	Check out our 'favorite' list, voted in by YOU!

	The Basics of the Catholic Faith
	A summary of the teachings and beliefs of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In My Suitcase for Catholics

Activity Objective:

To explore with the children the different ways they can act to follow the first three commandments

Lesson Outcome:

The children will gain a greater understanding of the ways in which they can live as Catholics.

Directions:

Gather the children together in one circle.
Explain to the children that there are many different ways they can follow the first three commandments, using many different qualities or traits.
Explain that it is valuable to explore the many ways to express our and God's love for others.
Explain then that you are going to play a memory-card game called “I was going to church and in my heart I put… (This is based on the memory game “I'm going on a trip and in my suitcase I am bringing…”)
The children fill in the blanks and have to build on the lists beginning from the first child's item. For example, if the first child says faith, the second child will say faith, and then add charity. The third child would begin faith, charity, and then add hope. The fourth child would begin at faith, hope, charity, and then add love, and so on.
Encourage the children to help their classmates remember the list of items that has gone before them. This is especially important for the children at the end of the circle.
At the end have the children help you write the names on the board to visually express all the different qualities you can have as a Catholic.
Explain to children the importance of all of these qualities and of using them to express God's love for us and our neighbors.

Learning Styles:

People Smart,Word Smart

Approximate Time:

10-15 minutes

Hints:

Let other children help with coming up with ideas if a child gets stuck on his or her turn.