Alice Cantrell’s newest book, Tin Cups & Tinder : A Catholic Boy’s Little Book of Fire, Food & Fun arrived the same day I was pondering ways to liven up my son’s education. While considering if we were called to homeschool my little boy, I had some serious concerns over whether I could provide enough enrichment for him, as my interests tend to be very domestic and feminine.
The Saint Search Game is played in the same fashion as Bingo. After picking a saint token from the pile, instead of covering a number on a square, the player crowns the saint with a golden nimbus (token). The player to cover the first row, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, wins. An alternate version for longer play is to cover the whole card. Another method of play not mentioned is to cover just the four corners. The cards use the same 40 saints and symbols found in the Litany game.
Litany offers two versions to play this game of 80 saint symbol cards (40 pairs). In the easier version, the object of the game is to match like cards as in the card game concentration. After finding two matching cards, the player calls out, “St. . . . , pray for us.” In the version of the game for older children, the game is slightly more complicated.
The 3-D Passion Play Cut ‘n Color Kit creates a spectacular miniature theater when completed. It displays in a circle format and includes four ready-to-color, 3-dimensional scenes (The Last Supper, The Agony in the Garden, The Crucifixion, and the Resurrection). Three are back to back on the bottom and one is perched on top. (You might like to display it on a lazy-susan in order to change between scenes). Easy-to-follow, step-by-step, illustrated instructions are provided to insure success.
The Woven Cross Kit provides materials for three beautiful woven crosses. Each kit comes with thin strips of vellum paper 3 ½” x 3” (The primary kit colors are green, purple, and black with gold accents), gold rhinestuds, red metal hearts, and step-by-step illustrated instructions. The quality and beauty of the materials are impressive. The project also comes in in a Pastel kit.
The Marian Grotto Kit allows your child to create his or her own lovely miniature grotto of the Blessed Mother from "popsicle" sticks, a picture of the Blessed Mother to color (you can choose Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Snows, or Our Lady of Lourdes) a Grotto background to color, polished semi-precious gemstones (Turquesite, Turritella Agate, Moss Agate and Yellow Jasper), a little booklet explaining what a Grotto is and a description of the Marian Apparition chosen, and illustrated step-by-step directions.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut ‘n Color is actually a 3-dimensional story book about Our Lady of Guadalupe. Once completed, this cut, color, and assemble kit creates a lovely storybook attached to an attractive diorama that children can use with the paper dolls to act out the story. A few parts will need some adult supervision. On the bottom of the “book” are pages of the story that you turn while the diorama remains in view. Each kit includes the book, scenery, church, and paper dolls of Juan Diego, the Bishop, and Our Lady of Guadalupe all on card stock with easy to follow instructions.
The Precious Mary Paper Doll Set comes with one 8” paper doll, Our Lady of the Kitchen, six attractive outfits (representing particular titles of Our Lady, like Our Lady of the Smile, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, etc.), a stand to tape on the back and a prayer. Everything is printed on card stock to color and cut. The artwork is lovely.
The Marian Apparition Trading Cards set includes seven different lovely pictures of the Blessed Mother on the front, from Our Lady of Fatima to Our Lady of Knock and information about who, when, and why on the back. For example, for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Who is “Our Lady of Mt. Carmel appeared to Simon Stock.” When: July 16, 1251. Why: St.
The Catholic Bookmark Kit includes 15 ready-to-color 3” by 8” durable card stock bookmarks with 5 different designs, including a Psalm verse, several clever sayings, such as Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE), or a Catholic quote (“The worst prison is a closed heart” by Pope John Paul II), all reminding children of the spiritual values of their faith. The artwork is bold, dramatic, fun, and professional looking. To make them last even longer, you may want to laminate them.