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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.

NEW: Introducing a free weekly curriculum to create Orthodox Christian Kids Journals about our  faith! Each week, come back to this website and download the handout to print yourselves. The handouts cover a topic from the Church year including quotes, miracle stories, maps, troparions, icons and Orthodox art. As we discuss the components of the lesson, students are actively listening while they color, cut, and glue a memorable resource to keep for the rest of their lives! Often, students contribute stories they have heard, or if they have that particular Saints' icon at home, or if they have ever venerated a relic, traveled to that country etc. This method proves to be a wonderful tool to create lasting beauty as students develop a greater understanding for the Orthodox Church year in the midst of open dialogue. Join with us and share ! CLICK HERE Here are the files currently available: Journal Curriculum Calendar Journal Intro page handout  Journal Lesson on the Cross...

The time has come for Great Lent  - here are some extra resources to challenge your young ones! We have compiled a printable PDF workbook available for free at this Scribd link. It contains coloring icons, games and craft activities to accompany the Sundays during Lent as well as Lazarus Saturday and Holy Week. Please do not reproduce or sell this for profit in any way - it is simply available for parish and home use only. To purchase other fantastic resources available in many languages visit http://orthodoxchildrensbooks.com . Potamitis Publishing has extremely reasonable prices which include even the cost of shipping! They have informed me that the workbooks have nice explanations on each page in both Greek and English for example. I wish you all a fruitful journey this year, with many blessings and illumination for a glorious Pascha celebration!

Download and print these very simple worksheets to practice special phrases of our Orthodox prayer life! They are intended to assist our children and teens with reading and writing the Greek alphabet. Some handouts have the text in place to practice tracing, and others are blank for a tougher challenge. The "Our Father" prayer would be the most difficult of course.  One need not be of Greek nationality to try these!  This first page includes "Christ is Born, Glorify Him!"  and "Most Holy Theotokos, Intercede to Save us!" The second page has "Holy Saint Nektarios pray for us!" and "Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy on Me." Lastly, the third page lists the full "Our Father" prayer.

Here is a new workbook on "Discovering Virtue" for our Orthodox youth, probably at a pre-teen or teenage level. I offer it with hopes that it will provide a basic framework to discuss the spiritual life and difficult topics like chastity, humility and obedience,along with activities, a craft, and quotes from the desert fathers. The document can be viewed as a PDF by clicking here at our Orthodox Education Scribd Group If you have ideas to develop this lesson further, please share them either through this website of by emailing me at eleniemarie@gmail.com The icon on the cover is one of many beautiful crafts offered at the Monastery of St John Chrysostomos "You have to struggle to increase your zeal for God. It should become for you a daily way of life. Struggle for perfection. If you can't gain a drachma, gain at least a tenth of a drachma. Virtues are not acquired easily. There is need of struggling. And know: if we acquire virtue quickly, we shall lose it q...

This year, our parish has designated separate classes for boys and girls ages 10-16.  I thought I'd share our program with you, as it seems to be well received so far. The idea of splitting the genders has  truly allowed us to concentrate on specific issues related to their challenges while also eliminating much of the chatter and drama! We do not have a text per say, but rather a structure that gives us flexibility yet predictability. Every month our girls follow this schedule: 1st Sunday : Koumboskinia/Prayer Ropes (Craft & Theology) 2nd Sunday : Chanting (Theology & Hymns from the Divine Liturgy or Feast) 3rd Sunday : Diakonima (The girls can bake, assist, serve, & clean-up at the coffee fellowship- the boys tend to the altar and candles) 4th Sunday : Journaling from the Lives of the Female Saints Today, as an example, the girls were asked to walk around the church after the Divine Litrugy, and to write the names of the female Saints that they found on the wall...

Just posted: A 39-page Orthodox icon coloring book full of images of Holy Week, other feast days, and Saints throughout the year for you to download and print to use with your families. Click here for the printable PDF - select a few pages or print them all with minimal ink usage! Once again, please do not distribute this for profit in anyway!