FREE Emergent Readers to Teach the Meaning of Easter

Hello to my faith-filled friends! I have TWO fun freebies to share with you today. Holy Week begins tomorrow and there are so many important events in the life of Jesus that are remembered during this most-important week of the Church calendar. I have created a pair of FREE  emergent readers to teach young children the events of the week and help students learn to spell and read the word "Jesus."

In each book, students cut out, unscramble and glue letters to spell the word "Jesus" and complete the sentences in every page of this emergent reader. The book features repetitive text to support developing literacy. 

Two Emergent Readers to Choose From

For my Catholic students, I created the book "Jesus Had a Holy Week". Once this book was added to my TpT store, a Protestant teacher requested a revised version that was more beneficial to her curriculum needs. So, the book "Jesus is Risen!" was created. Both books teach the word "Jesus" and use the same clip art to describe Holy Week events. The vocabulary in the two texts is the only subtle difference.

Stop by the Kinder-Craze blog and download the version that is best for your classroom needs. 

Wishing you a blessed Holy Week and a Happy Easter! 

Religious Holiday Calendar Card Freebie

Are you busy setting up for a new school year? Add these free Religious Holiday Cards to your classroom calendar as a teaching tool for upcoming Christian celebrations. Each card measures 2.5" and  displays an image that reminds students of what the holiday is about or the symbols we use to celebrate.

Stop by the Kinder-Craze blog to grab this great free resource!

Baptism Response Page

Teach about the sacrament of Baptism and have students share what they have learned with this simple Baptism Response Page for Grades K-1. The page prompts children to list five people or objects you would see at Baptism, draw a picture of Baptism, and complete the sentences to record the words a priest says as a child is baptized. Stop by the Kinder-Craze blog to grab this great FREEBIE and take a peek at my Baptism classroom instruction.

Have a blessed day!

An Emergent Reader for Earth Day

Earth Day is a wonderful time to teach the story of Creation! I was inspired to write my newest Interactive Sight Word Reader to integrate Religion into my ELA block and Earth Day activities. Your students can read about each day of Creation while learning to spell "God."

Stop by the Kinder-Craze blog to grab your free copy of "God Gave Us the Earth."

Have a blessed day and enjoy God's wonderful creation!

Interactive Sight Word Reader for Easter

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. I have created a new Interactive Sight Word Reader, "Signs of New Life from the Lord" to use during the Easter Season. Easter is a celebration of New Life and this emergent reader shows springtime evidence of God bringing new life to the world around us (in chicks hatching, plants sprouting, calves being born, and trees blossoming.) The final page of the book serves as a reminder that the cross is also evidence of God sharing new life with all of us.

This book is free to download. Simply click the image above to get your free copy of "Signs of New Life from the Lord."

Wishing you a Blessed Holy Week, 

Lenten Good Deeds Chart

The Lenten season is a wonderful opportunity to encourage extra kindness in the classroom. Sacrifice is a big concept for my kinders, but they ALL understand the importance of being kind and sharing Jesus' love. We do Good Deeds in my classroom during the Lenten season. I created this Stained Glass Good Deeds chart for my students. Each time a child does a Good Deed, he or she colors a space on their personal chart. By the time Easter arrives, the chart is filled with an array of colors representing many wonderful acts of kindness.

This download is yours for FREE, simply click an image above to download your free copy.

Have a Blessed Day!

Lenten Emergent Reader

The season of Lent is upon us and I have created an Interactive Sight Word Reader to familiarize my students with some Lenten symbols and integrate Religion instruction with Language Arts. This Interactive Sight Word reader is my gift to you for free. Click the image below to download.

Please enjoy and have a blessed Lenten season. I also invite you to stop by the Kinder-Craze blog to find religious and secular ideas, activities, and inspiration.

An Emergent Reader for Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools week is just around the corner (the fun starts at my school on Sunday, January 27!) Celebrate Catholic Schools without missing a moment of valuable instruction time with my newest Interactive Sight Word Reader, "We Learn in a Catholic School". For this book, students cut out, unscramble, and glue letters to spell "in" and complete each predictable sentence (We learn how to ____ in a Catholic School.)

You can grab this Interactive Sight Word Reader for FREE. Click here to download your free copy!

Nativity Color by Number

Work on number recognition and color words while celebrating the true meaning of Christmas! My Nativity Color by Number page is a great way to review basic concepts and keep students engaged during the holiday season.

Have a Blessed Day!

An Emergent Reader for Advent

Integrate Religion instruction into your Language Arts curriculum with this cute Advent is for Waiting Interactive Sight Word Reader. Each page of this simple emergent reader includes a predictable sentence that needs the word "for" to be complete. Students will cut out, unscramble, and glue letters to spell "for" on each page. The images are also a great way to help students identify and recognize the elements of an Advent wreath. Stop by Kinder-Craze to download this great free resource!

Have a blessed day!

St. Nicholas Miter

Tomorrow is St. Nicholas Day! Every celebration deserves a fun hat and what could be better for St. Nicholas day that a cute miter just like the one St. Nicholas wore. Add some cotton balls as "fur" trim to put a modern Santa spin on the hat. Stop by Kinder-Craze to pick up this cute and simple craftivity!

Simple "Stained Glass" Window Decorations for Advent

The season of Advent is upon us and we are awaiting the arrival of the King! My students began our preparations for Advent last week and made these sweet and simple "Stained Glass" windows to prepare our hearts and minds for the spirit of the season.

These decorations are quite simple and require only 3 materials:

• Clear contact paper
• Black construction paper
• Pink and purple tissue paper squares

A full tutorial for the project has been posted at Kinder-Craze. Stop by to find complete instructions!

More Rosary Resources

This is Maria Manore from Kinder-Craze and I am SO thrilled to be a part of this great collaborative blog for sharing faith-based lessons, activities and resources. I noticed that Cindy (KinderKay) recently shared a great resource for praying the Rosary with her little ones.

I saw her post and felt compelled to share a Rosary resource from my classroom as well. This year I am praying a decade of the Rosary every week with my kindergarten students. We created our own child-friendly Rosaries with pipe cleaners and pony beads. You can read more about the craft here. 

Once the Rosaries were complete, I created a prayer guide for myself to use as I lead the class in prayer (I am not a Rosary expert and need some reminders about the prayers and procedures). I know from personal experience that praying the Rosary can seem intimidating at first (lots of worries about what prayer to say when and what the Mysteries of the Rosary are) so I send a copy of the guide and prayer list to families that may be interested in praying the rosary at home as well.


I have gotten a great response from many Catholic teachers and I hope this prayer guide is helpful to you as well.

Have a blessed day!