Cart

	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.

Special Friend Symbols

Activity Objective:

To encourage the children to think about the special qualities their friends possess and express these qualities in a symbol

Lesson Outcome:

The children will explain how the rock and keys are symbols of Peter and will appreciate the qualities that make their own friends special.

Materials

Directions:

Tell the children that in this activity, they will talk about Peter's symbols and think of symbols to represent the qualities they admire in their friends.
Read Jesus' message to Peter when he made Peter the leader of the Church and discuss the symbols: Peter said he believed Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus replied, "Peter, you are the rock upon which I will build my church. Even death will not destroy it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." adapted from Matthew 16: 18-19.
Read the following to the children and discuss: The rock and the keys are symbols of Saint peter. What do you think of when you see a rock? What do keys make you think of? Talk about why these things remind us of Peter.
Suggest that this time they will think of a symbol to represent a friend they admire who has a quality that makes him or her special.
Pass out drawing paper and crayons. Brainstorm for a few moments for some examples. (a bird for a free-spirited person, a flower for someone gentle and lovely, a tree for someone who is strong and can be leaned on)
Give the children time to think of and draw their symbols. Then have a sharing time in which the children can explain their pictures and the qualities they represent. They may or may not want to name the person.
Conclude by reminding the children how important it is to recognize the special qualities in our friends as Jesus did.

Learning Styles:

Art/Space Smart,Nature Smart

Approximate Time:

10 minutes

Hints:

Walk around as the children work to make sure they are portraying positive qualities of their friends.