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Liturgical Season of Christmas Lesson

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Liturgical Season of Christmas Lesson St. Laurence Catholic Parish Elementary Children’s Faith Formation (CCE) Week 12 Lesson Plan (Home Study Version) Liturgical Season of Christmas Lesson Essential Question (“EQ”): Why and how do Catholic Christians celebrate the Season of Christmas? PARENT CATECHIST PREPARATION To prepare for this week’s lesson: Establish a dedicated time and comfortable learning space for your family discovery session. Create a Prayer Table (or check out How to Make a Prayer Table for Kids) in a special corner of your home. Keep your family Bible reverently displayed there to be used for readings in your lessons. When proclaiming The Word to children, it is more impactful to read directly from the Bible and not just from their workbooks. Prepare your adult heart and mind ahead of the lesson by watching CHRISTMAS, A TIME FOR HOPE, CHRISTMAS IS A SEASON!, or WHY DO WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS? Be sure to resist the temptation to pack up all of your decorations and shut down your family’s celebration of Christmas on December 26th! Remember, Christmas is a season (not just a day) celebrated by the Church. The liturgical season of Christmas begins with the vigil Masses on Christmas Eve and concludes on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (celebrated on Sun., January 10th in 2021). Confused about the Twelve Days of Christmas? Fun Fact! This traditional song actually commemorates the 12 days beginning on Christmas day and ending with the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany (remember the Three Kings/Magi?) typically around January 6th. In many cultures, in fact, the Feast of the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, is considered a ‘little’ Christmas and celebrated by exchanging gifts. 1 Reflect upon a favorite Bible passage that you would like to share with your children about God’s promise of a Savior, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and why His Coming is important to you, or consider any one of the following: ISAIAH 7:14 , ISAIAH 9: 1-6, LUKE 2: 1-7, LUKE 2: 8-14, LUKE 2: 15-20, JOHN 1: 14, GALATIANS 4: 4-5, TITUS 3: 3-7 Supplies you may want to have on hand before beginning the Lesson: A Catholic family or children’s Bible (go to USCCB for approved Bible translations); on campus, we use the ST. MARY'S PRESS CHILDREN'S BIBLE, but any Catholic children’s or family Bible will suffice. An electronic device with reliable internet access Sticky notes Art or any unlined paper Crayons, markers and pencils as needed (Optional): Materials necessary for any of the craft ideas selected during the EXTEND segment of the lesson below. ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ ✟ OPENING PRAYER Begin your discovery session today with your child or children in prayer. Gather together in your dedicated prayer space and ask your children to quiet their minds and hearts as you pray together. Begin with the SIGN OF THE CROSS and recite a favorite family prayer, choose one of the COMMON PRAYERS BY GRADE , pray OH HOLY CHILD OF BETHLEHEM or sing O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM together as a family. Conclude by praying the SIGN OF THE CROSS. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ENGAGE (Mental warm-up) Say, “Today, we are going to learn about the season of Christmas celebrated by the Church. I want to begin by sharing with you one of my favorite Scripture passages from the Bible about God’s promise to send a messiah, or savior, to save His people and the entire world from the darkness of sin…“(Read your favorite passage from the Bible and explain WHY it is important to you or your favorite passage) … You know, our friend JESUS who we’ve been getting closer to all semester, is THE Messiah that was foretold by the Prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible. We honor his coming to earth to save humanity from sin by not only celebrating his birth on Christmas Day, but throughout an entire season recognized by the Church.” _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EXPLORE (Pre-assessment of faith concepts) Ask/Discuss, “What do you know about the Season of Christmas celebrated by the Catholic Church?” As your child or children share their ideas, have them jot a few down on a sticky note (with their name) and then place them on the wall in your discovery space. (For younger children, you may act as the ‘scribe’). Retain the sticky notes to have 2 an understanding of what your child or children already know or don’t know. This will be helpful as you move along in your lessons. To facilitate thinking and discussion use some of the following questions: What is Christmas and who/what are we celebrating? When do we celebrate Christmas and why? Have you ever heard the word nativity? What does nativity mean? How long do we celebrate the Christmas season? What do we see in the church during the Season of Christmas that reminds us of what we are celebrating – i.e. name some things we typically see? How are those things important to the Christmas story? Have you ever heard of the word Incarnation? What is it? What are the liturgical colors worn by the clergy and used to decorate the church during Christmas? Any ideas as to why those colors were chosen for this liturgical season? Can you name any of the special Feast Days that the Church celebrates during the Season of Christmas? Can you name any of the ‘characters’ recorded in the Bible who play a role during the Season of Christmas? Who are they and why are they important? Plus any others you can think of… _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EQ “Essential Question” (This question serves as a cognitive bookend for your child or children – i.e. it is the targeted “so what” or “take-away” of the lesson being presented) Share and post a physical representation of the lesson’s EQ in your study space: Why and how do Catholic Christians celebrate the Season of Christmas? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EXPLAIN (Either guided with your assistance or working independently, have your child or children review their relevant grade-level material – listed below - and complete the workbook activities. Empower older children by allowing them to mentor younger siblings): PREK3: Allelu! Lesson 14 (Jesus is Born) Parent Activity Sheet (in the folder you picked up); Allelu! Lesson 14 Home Session Activity Plan PREK4: Allelu! Lesson 23 (Jesus is Born) Parent Activity Sheet (in the folder you picked up); Allelu! Lesson 23 Home Session Activity Plan Kinder: Call to Faith, pages 12-13 (Jesus Comes) Grade 1: Alive in Christ, pages 23-26 (The Light of Christ) Grade 2: Alive in Christ, pages 25-30 (Glory to God) Grade 3: Alive in Christ, pages 23-28 (Glory to God) Grade 4: Alive in Christ, pages 21-24 (God’s Greatest Gift) Grade 5: Alive in Christ, pages 19-24 (Season of Love) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EXTEND (As a family, gather back together and have each child share, in turn, what they learned about Christmas. Together as a family, come up with a list of at least three new things that you learned, were surprised by or think others should know about this special Liturgical Season of 3 the Church. Then, extend the lesson together by completing at least one of the activities provided below). Early Childhood/Lower Elementary Video: WHEN JESUS WAS BORN: A CHRISTMAS STORY or THE CHRISTMAS STORY Craft / Activity: STAINED GLASS NATIVITY or NATIVITY FINGER PUPPETS (print out, decorate and re-enact the story of Jesus’ Nativity using Luke 2: 4-20 for your narrative) Upper Elementary Video: KIDS' BIBLE STORIES: MARY & JOSEPH, THE BIRTH OF JESUS or WHAT WAS THE BIRTH OF JESUS LIKE? Craft/Activity: STAR OF BETHLEHEM SCRIPTURE ORNAMENTS or plan and prepare for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS PARTY with your family and friends on Christmas Day. (♪ Happy birthday to You! Happy birthday to You! Happy birthday, dear Jesus! Happy birthday to You! ♫) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EVALUATE/REFLECT Restate today’s Essential Question (EQ) – Why and how do Catholic Christians celebrate the Season of Christmas? Say, “Think back to the passage that I read from the Bible at the beginning of our lesson today. What do you think it tells us about the Season of Christmas? (Discuss together, affirming and reinforcing appropriate answers/teaching points). Summarize what’s been learned during this lesson, emphasizing those concepts which may have been missed or misunderstood in the EXPLORE step above. Say, “When we speak about Christmas as Catholic Christians, we are referring not only to Christmas Day itself (aka the Feast of the Nativity or celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25th) but also to a liturgical season of the Church. The Season of Christmas begins every year in December with the vigil Masses on Christmas Eve (always on Dec. 24th) and concludes more than two weeks later with the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord every January (in 2021, on January 10th). During this season, the Church recalls the events of Jesus’ birth and childhood through the daily Scripture readings at Mass. During the Season of Christmas, but especially on Christmas Day, we celebrate God physically entering into human history with the birth (or nativity) of Jesus Christ. Through the Incarnation, or God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (i.e. in Latin "in carne" means "enfleshment"), the gift of salvation enters into the world for the benefit of all humankind. This is a uniquely Christian teaching, with God choosing to become one of us for our redemption from sin. Foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ is Emmanuel which means “God is with us.” When we think of the Nativity story, we are reminded about a trusting mother and a faithful father, but more importantly about a tiny and helpless baby.
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