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For this week's lesson on Ypapanti : or the Presentation of Christ to the Temple we reflected on our own 40-Day blessing to record that in our "Orthodox Christian Kids Journals."   You can access the free download h ere : The handout includes a coloring icon of the Presentation Icon, a prayer for the infant, a True or False about the mother bringing the child, and a quote to trace. Again, I hope your students enjoy coloring, cutting and pasting these fun boxes into to journals they are decorating as a keepsake of our Orthodox Christian faith.

Join us to learn more about each individual Saint celebrated during the Three Hierarchs common feastday on January 30th by downloading the handout for free here  or on Scribd located here We are coloring, cutting and gluing this lesson along with the many others in our "Orthodox Christian Kids Journals" that can be found at this link: All files beginning from September have been uploaded for free download! This method of journaling has created truly beautiful keepsakes for Orthodox youth ages 5 to 18 to help them follow the calendar year of the Church.  Each student has used their God-given gifts in a creative, unique way that has planted the seeds of our faith into their memory.

We rarely tackle the topic of Holy Unction (Evxalion) in the Orthodox Church with teenagers and youth, so it is rather taken for granted when Holy Week comes along. However, holy oil can be used daily in your homes if you obtain a small jar of blessed oil from a kandili (vigil lamp) burning in front of relics or from your own personal icon corner. Each day as your family reads the morning prayers, complete the experience by eating a small piece of antidoro (blessed bread distributed at the end of Liturgy) and by receiving the sign of the cross with oil by a parent. It also is a good habit for children to kiss the hand of the parent who blesses them as this conveys a deeper respect for the hand that nourishes you.... ultimately reminding children that to receive the blessing of their parent for the day is crucial ....just as we ask the blessing of our parents for college choices, marriage, etc Download the HOLY UNCTION handout here on Scribd or here thru GoogleDocs Here is the link for...

As you and your families prepare to celebrate the Presentation of Christ on February 2 I share with you the following activities. Page 16 of 39 in this Orthodox coloring book has the icon  to print & color https://www.scribd.com/doc/14024263/Orthodox-Christian-Icon-Coloring-Book Click, Print and Enjoy!

For the feast of Theophany, this free lesson and handout on Scribd or here at GoogleDocs for Orthodox Christians reaches back to the well known story of the holy Prophet Noah and the ark to understand God's plan for our salvation. You may ask your students to cut around the components of the icon to glue and create their own festal icon with the blue Jordan river and barren desert as you read aloud the Gospel text. The discussion for the lesson should lead to God's revelation of the Holy Trinity, 3-in-1 and 1-in-3. In fact, if our students only learn the Troparion or festal hymn for the feast of Theophany they will see that it encompasses the complete theology of the Church in that the Holy Trinity existed before all time! Wishing your families and students a blessed illumination for 2019!

Gather Orthodox Christians of all ages for a fun and interactive game of Orthodox Jeopardy . Created in Microsoft Powerpoint, you'll sing along to the familiar theme songs of the television gameshow while testing your knowledge of the faith. Create teams or play individually. Even set up a laptop and projector screen to host this game at Youth Night or Retreats with popcorn and sleeping bags! The questions range in difficulty and topics include: The Saints, Art & Architecture, Music & Hymnology, The Bible, Faith & Traditions , Miracles...plus more! Click here to download this file from our Orthodox Scribd Group or better yet please e-mail eleniemarie@gmail.com for the most accurate Powerpoint layout since it's distorting quite a bit thru the web. Best results have been had by downloading and opening it in Powerpoint itself. This activity is also very adaptable for local traditions, languages, levels of difficulty, etc. Hope you enjoy it~

God is with us (Matthew 1:23) All the Earth worships Thee (Psalm 66:4)   His name shall endure forever (Psalm 72: 17) He is our God, the God of salvation (Psalm 68:20) There shall come a Star out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17) He will save His people from their sins ( Matthew 1:20-21 ) For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6) He said, “Thou art My Son; on this day have I begotten Thee ” (Psalm 2:7) We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him (Matthew 2:2) You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord ( Luke 2:11) Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel ( Isaiah 7:14) The Angels cried out, Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14)   He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting F...

********REVISED********** Click on the crossword puzzle to the right for a little Christmas trivia! Located for free download here. Hopefully, it will be challenging for parents and kids of all ages. "Make ready, O Bethlehem: let the manger be prepared, let the cave show its welcome. The truth has come, the shadow has passed away..." Sticheron at the Royal Hours by St Sophronius of Jerusalem

In response to those of you who asked for more teen resources, here is a lesson that I believe our teens are capable of grasping. Often, we don't give them enough substance - so get ready to challenge them! Using the text "On the Incarnation" by Saint Athanasios, you can lead your group to a deeper understanding of why God needed to come in what we celebrate as the feast of the Nativity. By drawing out important quotes and asking the right questions, we can essentially tackle the messages of creation, salvation, and theosis with them. If you so choose, make a scavenger hunt of these hidden quotes from the lesson plan alone to lead them through the lesson!  Cut in strips, and hide them around your Church - taking them from places like where we enter our spiritual journey (the door) to where we find refreshing drink (the water fountain) to a reflection in the mirror to better see mankind's position to God. Regroup at the end to compile and discuss the quotes by glui...

For the 'Apostles fast' in the Orthodox Church, and here's an activity to assemble the icon day by day until the feast on June 29/30. On the first day, the children will cut out and glue the icon of Christ in the center of the Tree, learning the memory verse, " I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." from John 15:5. Each day(s) to follow, focus on one Apostle at a time, reading their life, learning their experiences and placing them on the icon. Each has a troparion as well to chant! Click here to download the smaller icons Click here for the tree document.   Once the tree is colored by the children, it can be laminated, along with the icons.  We have placed velcro on the backsides, and the children re-attach the icons each year during the fasting period.   Saints Peter & Paul celebrated on June 29 (fast ends) Synaxis of the Twelve Holy Apostles, celebrated June 30 ...

Christ is Risen! But then what? The story continues of course, with more exciting details and events to engage our young listeners. Christ spends the next 40 days displaying His physical Resurrection. He appears in the upper room to the Apostles twice when the doors are sealed shut, granting them peace. He is seen along the road to Emmaus, but unrecognizable to Luke and Cleopa, until He breaks bread with them and is known essentially in the Eucharist (see the lesson plan here ). Then at the fortieth day on Mt Olivet the disciples with the Mother of God, stand in awe as Christ is taken up before their own very eyes into the sky with the angels at His side on His return to the Father (The Ascension). What could possibly come next for the followers of Christ.....they must wait ten more days! “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” Click this link for the printable lesson: Pentecost Worksheet & Kneeling Prayers The great feast of Holy Pentecost- "peninta...

While enjoying the light of  Pascha for 40 days, don't forget that there are still many great Saints on the calendar to learn about! Coming up Thursday April 23rd is the great martyr Saint George, who bears the title trophy-bearer in English. The Dragon Traveling on a white horse (Saint Demetrios is on the red horse), the soldier Saint George met a young girl, a local princess chosen by lot, who was about to be offered as food for the hungry dragon who threatened a certain town in Libya. He encouraged the maiden to have faith in Christ whom she did not know yet, and dropped to his knees in prayer, asking God to use that opportunity for others to believe in Him as the One True God. Upon meeting the dragon face to face, he made the sign of the cross, and the dragon fell like a meek puppy at the feet of the Saint. He instructed the girl to take her belt off and use it as a leash for the dragon His Suffering The Saint openly confessed himself as a Christian, and for that faced many tor...

Give a try at writing a new language! Ask your students to write "Christ is Risen" with the appropriate responses. Print the letters inside the white spaces of the following foreign languages inside this beautiful illustration: Greek at the top, then Arabic, English and Slavonic. It's also a fantastic design for your Pascha basket covers if you know how to cross stitch or screenprint. Kalo Pascha to your families!

Anyone with kids knows that Holy Week can be a challenging yet extremely rich experience!  Although the night services postpone bed time, we try to remember, it's just for one week, and nothing else quite seems to matter. Yes, the services can be long, so this post is dedicated to the "something special" in each night that makes it all worth it for young and old. Here's our list of things not to miss with your kids and teens ~ Palm Sunday Morning - Find the kids worshiping Christ in this icon and hold your palms proudly like them for the procession. How do we greet a King? Who is our King ?  RECITE: "Hosanna in the Highest. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord" Palm Sunday Evening - ACTION: Kneel for the Procession of the icon of Christ as the Bridegroom when the priest brings Christ out from the Holy altar for the first time. Holy Monday - Light a candle in the dark serenity of  this service. ACTION: Bow down to make 3 full prostrations in ...

Here's a look at the pious custom of red eggs in the Orthodox Church for you and your families to enjoy. Where did the tradition come from anyway? It seems there are a few possible answers to this question...of which I prefer to believe in the miracle that God worked through His handmaiden, Saint Mary Magdalene (whom by the way is often wrongly attributed as the prostitute who anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair - Here is an Orthodox Wiki for a well cited clarification). Other symbolism, not as dogma, but as tradition includes: *The egg as the new life in Christ through His resurrection * Red for the color of our Lord's blood shed on the cross but also for His divinity *The outer shell to be cracked as the doors of Hades are shattered open Since children enjoy decorating the eggs, why not encourage them to display their faith on them, as the picture shows! Be sure not to throw away any icons if you use them, but certainly include symbols like ~ icxc, fis...

If you and your kids enjoyed the "Orthodox Alphabet Game" here is a set of flash cards to build your vocab. Some letters proved a bit challenging so I'll graciously accept other suggestions for "X, Y, and Z!" For older kids, maybe it's best to leave off the word on the front and have them find the correct word on the back. Both PDF files have been added to the Orthodox Education Group on Scrib.com . They were set up for standard 3x5 notecards, or you can print 4 to a letter size page. For younger kids, I've placed these cards within an inexpensive photo album to help them turn the pages like a book.

Practice your Paschal greetings in 59 languages! Pascha Languages Be sure to print and save this one! I share with you also this resource page to reflect on the numerous uses of the word PASCHA in Holy Scripture , which helps to support why as Orthodox Christians we should avoid the use of the word "Easter"  Let us be set apart from the world in this way, and bear witness to the Gospel which is our risen Lord Jesus Christ, the Paschal Lamb!

The powerful story of repentance that we find in the life of Saint Mary of Egypt which was recorded by the monk Zossimos, can be a memorable one for teenagers and college students. For the younger children though that you might be working with, consider this Orthodox craft: 1. Color two images of Saint Mary of Egypt The first, from her former life possibly with brighter clothing, youthful skin, etc and the second after her years in the desert as an ascetic. I chose these two images because one depicts the humility needed to bring about repentance, and the second with hope and stronger faith, prepared to meet God at her death. 2. Cut the images out 3. Glue those images, back to back, with a popsicle stick in between 4. Write the word "METANOIA" (or REPENTANCE) on the sticks with the definition "Turn one's life around" on the reverse side. As I retell the story, I'll ask the children to show me which side of her we're looking at. Then, we will literally, T...