Papal Lap Book Unit One: St. Peter, The First Pope

Thank you all so very much for your enthusiastic support for my Papal Lap Book!   You all are the best, and I am so touched by all of your kind comments and generosity to my family!   Since I spent so much time on the computer over the weekend I've had a little catching up to do around our home, in addition to trying to keep up with our school week, so I am once again extremely behind with answering emails.  If you are still waiting for a response from me, do know that I usually do receive all the emails that have been sent (on occasion some disappear to my spam folder, but I am making an effort to check it frequently) and read and appreciate each and every one.  However, even though I try, it is often impossible for me to respond to them all.  So thank you again, and to those who have asked questions I will either email you soon, or try and make a point of trying to blog about those topics sometime in the future.  :)

Anyways, back to the Lap Book!  That brief study-guide/outline I shared in my last post (to go along with the Lap Book) was created very late Sunday night (or rather early Monday morning)  and was thrown together rather quickly since I wanted to finish up the post to share with you all.   I broke it into 5 "Units" (my original document read days, due to lack of sleep) based on the order in which I thought I would have my children complete the mini-books.



Since last Friday, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, we have been working on our first unit: St. Peter, The First Pope.  The boys were gone most of Friday, but the girls had started working on their St. Peter's Basilica Pop-up Books that day, and we read St. Peter's Story.  We continued this theme over the past few days.

To answer some questions I've been receiving I thought it might be helpful to some of you to share how my children have been completing this Unit Study and the progress we have been making. Plus I would like to document it here anyways.  I am hoping to blog a little about what we accomplish during each of the units.   

(Remember, there is no "right" way to do this... Unit studies can be as simple or elaborate as you choose to make them, and just because something works well for my family, doesn't mean it will for yours!  Sometimes we put together a Lap Book in an afternoon, other times we spend weeks.  My guess is we will spend the next two weeks completing this unit study and Lap Book, adding in additional reading, crafts and activities.)

Unit One :: St. Peter, The First Pope

Read:


Family Read Aloud:

• Lost in Peter's Tomb
• The Man Who Never Died: The Life and Adventures of St. Peter the First Pope

Younger Children:

• St. Peter the Apostle by Father Lovasik
• St. Peter's Story
• Peter Receives the Primacy from The New Catholic Picture Bible

Older Children:

• The First Christians: The Acts of Apostles for Children
• The Primacy of Peter from My Catholic Faith (link to online version)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church 551-553 (my document)

Other Reading:

• St. Peter page A Holy Card Prayer Book
• I think I'm going to send the little kids on a scavenger hunt to see how many of our Saint Books in which they can find Saint Peter! ;) 

Explore:

• "Delivery of the Keys" Fresco by Pietro Perugino in 1482 - Sistine Chapel, Rome, Italy
• Virtual Tour of St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican Website - Loved this!)
• St. Peter's Basilica Interactive Website
• Of course my children had to find it on Google Earth too! :)

Copywork: 

• Copy Matthew 16: 18-19 on to "The Primacy of Peter.  (I added a traceable version for younger children, including my little ones.)

NOTE:  I have created a second collection on Scribd where I will upload any additional documents I create to go along with our Papal Unit Study.   I just added this traceable quote for younger children.

Begin Creating Lap Book Mini-Books:

• Write a Paragraph about St. Peter, for Some Special Popes, based on one of the reading assignments.  (I'm creating a fill-in the blank for Chiquita and a reduced sized coloring picture for the two youngest.  Twinkle Toes wrote a paragraph based on a picture book, Rascal used the reading selection from My Catholic Faith, and I assigned Captain three paragraphs from the CCC (You can download my document here.). 
• Create St. Peter's Basilica Pop-Up Book and add cover picture.
• Write a Paragraph about St. Peter's Basilica.

A Beautiful Day at St. Peter's Basilica by Captain

Lightning Strikes St. Peter's by Rascal   (He cracks me up! I figured one of my boys would try and figure a way to create a pop-out lightning strike...) 

After the Storm by Twinkle Toes

by Chiquita 

by Snuggles

PURPLE! by Rose (I would have guessed pink...)

Additional Activities:

• We made St. Peter's Keys... 

• Enjoyed "The Barque of Peter" Banana Boats with a Fishers of Men Snack for lunch one afternoon... 

• Played St. Peter Fishers of Men and checked to see who could still master the Key Puzzle Brain Teaser our 2012 "O Key" Antiphon gift...

• Colored St. Peter and the Keys during some of our read aloud time... 

• And added St. Peter, The First Pope to the History Through the Ages Record of Time.  (FYI:  Yes, this is a rather expensive timeline, but it is awesome!  Each of our school age children have their own treasured copy that they will continue to add to throughout their education.  It will be such a fun keepsake for them.   I've posted more about these here and here.) 

by Twinkle Toes

By Chiquita and Captain

A few of the children still have a little writing to finish up, but tomorrow, we will begin our second unit on Our Holy Fathers - Past and Present, as we say goodbye to our dear Pope Benedict XVI on his last day...  We will miss you dear Holy Father, so very much!  We will continue to pray for you, and we are so very thankful for that last gift you recently sent our way!

The Primacy of Peter: A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Could you tell from my last post how excited I am about this Lap Book/Unit Study?  As I was printing the pages for my daughters' Lent Lap Books last week I started thinking how nice it would be to create a Papal Lap Book right now, during this special historic time in our Church.   I mentioned it to my husband and quickly dismissed the idea since a quick google search didn't reveal much in the way of Lap Book resources and it would "take way too much work."   However, it seemed that perhaps the Holy Spirit was prompting me to create this, since the very next day - the feast of the Chair of St. Peter - I had an unusual amount of "free time."   I started with the cover and then the mini-books just started falling into place.  I ended up spending most of the weekend finishing my documents and compiling a sample to share with you all.  I am really looking forward to completing this unit study with my children, teaching them even more about our beautiful Catholic faith, the Primacy of Peter, and the Papal office!

.: Lap Book Supplies :.

Here is a list of the supplies I used for creating our Papal Lap Book:

• Yellow File Folder - I usually purchase file folders in assorted colors by the case made by Smead or Staples so I always have them on hand. However, here is another link to a smaller pack - they are two tone, but it does include purple for your Lenten Lap Book! ;) 
• White Card Stock and Paper - 4 pieces per lap book, 2 to attach to the book, 1 on which to print the flag cover, and 1 more on which to print the St. Peter's Basilica Pop-Up. 
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Tape
• Red Ribbon - This is used to tie shut the "Who is the Pope?" mini-book.
• Optional: Red Paper and/or Card Stock (or color of choice) - We used red paper to accent "What Happens When A Pope Dies?", and red card stock for our "Amazing Pope Facts," "Selceting a New Pope," and "Some Special Popes."  

Download All Papal Lap Book Documents!

Note: Thank you to everyone who has generously offered to pay me for the use of my documents and the time spent creating this Lap Book! My husband has been encouraging me to sell the Lap Book printables, but I know that there are many other families, like our own, struggling to keep up each month... I wanted to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to use this with their families if they would like to do so. Let's just say it is a gift of service and form of almsgiving for me this Lent, especially since we are not able to give very much financially at the moment.  However, if some of you still feel inspired to perhaps "buy me a coffee" or send "some alms" our direction I've included a paypal button.  I would be more than grateful and will put the funds towards filling our children's Easter Baskets this year! And everyone else, please just offer a prayer for my family!   Thank you, and may God reward you! 

Here is a summary of the Documents Included with links to each individual document:

*All documents are printed on white paper, except where noted.

"Vatican City Flag Cover Page" (print on card stock)

"Hierarchy of the Catholic Church" Flap Book with Definitions

"Novena for Pope Benedict XVI" Layer Book

"The Primacy of Peter" Copywork

"Where does the Pope live?" Trifold Book

"Who is the Pope?" Accordion Book

"What happens when a pope dies?" Simple Fold Book

"Vocabulary" Flap Book with Definitions

"Amazing Pope Facts" Four Simple Fold Books

"St. Peter's Basilica" Pop-up Book (print on card stock)

"St. Peter Pop-Up Cover Picture"

"Where Does the Conclave take Place?" Shutterflap Book

"What are the chief powers of the Pope?" Trifold Book

"Prayers for our Holy Father" Pocket

"Prayers for our Holy Father" Prayer Cards 

"Selecting A New Pope" Tab Book

"Some Special Popes" Tab Book

Here is also my brief study-guide/outline for completing this Unit Study & Lap Book.

Pictures and Updates from our Unit Study:

Papal Lap Book Unit One: St. Peter, The First Pope
Papal Lap Book Unit Two: The Holy Fathers, Past and Present
Papal Lap Book Unit Three: The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
7 Quick Takes :: Habemus Papam!

Additional Documents to go along with our Unit Study can be found here.  

I will continue adding them as (and if) I create new ones:

"The Primacy of Peter" Copywork - Traceable version for younger children

"Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Conclave" Layer Book

"Some Special Popes" Tab Book with room for coloring pages and traceable quotes

"Some Special Popes" Tab Book with Fill-in-the-Blanks

"Adopt A Cardinal" My younger children will be using this instead of the Novena Layer Book

"What happens when a pope dies?" Simple Fold Book with Fill-in-the-Blanks

"Selecting A New Pope" Tab Book with Fill-in-the-Blanks

"Symbols and Garments" Layer Book

"Important Roles During the Conclave" Flap Book

"Habemus Papam Franciscum" Tab Book

"Who is Pope Francis?" Octagon Accordion Book 

.: Cover :.

For those that are new to creating Lap Books, you can watch a brief tutorial here on how to fold the file folder for a Basic Lap Book.

Since I wanted the cover of my book to look like the flag of Vatican City I then glued a piece of White Card Stock to the outside of the right yellow flap.

I then cut out the Vatican City Flag (shaped like the Country) and glued the yellow side to the left yellow flap as shown in the pictures.

Since the White Card Stock is slightly shorter in length than the file folder I then trimmed the edges, so it lined up nicely.



I also added a second piece of White Card Stock to the Center of the Lap Book to create an Extension Page.   To do so tape both sides of the white card stock to the top center of the yellow file folder.

View of Inside of Folder - Completely Opened

View of Outside of Folder - Completely Opened 

Now that the actual Lap Book is assembled, 

let's move on to all the Mini Books! 

.: First View - Behind Left Cover Flap :. 

Left Flap:

• "Hierarchy of the Catholic Church" Flap Book with Definitions

Left Side of White Cover Flap:

• "Novena for Pope Benedict XVI" Layer Book (This is an optional mini book for those who are praying the novena.) 

When you open the Left flap of the Lap book, the first thing you see is the optional Novena for Pope Benedict Layer Book glued to the White Cover Page (which is hidden behind the left yellow flap when the Lap Book is closed).   This is an optional mini-book for those who have been praying the Novena.

Hierarchy of the Catholic Church and Vocabulary 

On the Left you see the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church Flap Book with Definitions taken from "My Catholic Faith." (Online link to The Hierarchy.)   You can use the definitions I have provided, pasting them in or having the child copy them, or you can have them research and write their own.  

.: Second View - Behind Right Cover Flap :. 

White Center Extension:

• "The Primacy of Peter" Copywork
• "Where does the Pope live?" Trifold Book *Note: I originally intended this to be on the next page/swapped with "What Are the Chief Powers of the Pope" but mixed them up when assembling.  It doesn't really matter, but I do think it goes better with the books on the other page.
• "Who is the Pope?" Accordion Book
• "What happens when a pope dies?" Simple Fold Book

Right Page/Flap: 

• "Vocabulary" Flap Book with Definitions (see above picture)
• "Amazing Pope Facts" Four Simple Fold Books, attached to red card stock 

The Primacy of Peter

Copy Matthew 16:18-19 from the Bible. 

 Where does the Pope live?

Copy or research and write your own text in the middle of this trifold book. 

Who is the Pope?

This accordion book takes a little bit of assembly as shown, gluing each strip together before folding and adding it to the Lap Book.  Wrap the book with a red ribbon before glueing it into place.  This will keep the book closed when it is not in use.   

I've included a spot for the children to record the name of our next Pope and the date he is selected. 

What Happens When A Pope Dies?

To assemble this book I cut out the white basic fold mini-book and glued it to a piece of red copy paper.   I then glued the cover picture (which I went back and changed from red and black to just black and white, as you can see).   The children will need to research this topic and write a paragraph in their own words explaining what happens when a Pope dies.  (Did you know in the past they would strike the Pope on the head with a hammer three times, to make sure he was dead?!)

Amazing Pope Facts

Fill these mini-books with various facts about past Popes of your choice. 

.: Third View - Back of Center Flap :. 

Back of White Center Extension:

• "St. Peter's Basilica" Pop-up Book (printed on cardstock) with "St. Peter Pop-Up Cover Picture"
• "Where Does the Conclave take Place?" Shutterflap Book
• "What are the chief powers of the Pope?" Trifold Book   *Note: I originally intended this to be on the previous page/swapped with "Where does the Pope live" but mixed them up when assembling.  It doesn't really matter, but I do think it goes better with the books on the other page.
• "Prayers for our Holy Father" Pocket
• "Prayers for our Holy Father" Prayer Cards 

St. Peter's Basilica

I love this Pop Up Book and so do the kids!  They had so much fun creating them on Friday!   They are pretty easy to assemble, but I did take a few pictures for you all... 

Where Does the Conclave take Place?

I did include a few pictures of the inside of the Sistine Chapel on this mini book.  The younger children can copy or paste in the text provided, and my older children will be required to write a little about the Sistine Chapel.

What are the chief powers of the Pope?

These answers came from "My Catholic Faith." Feel free to use them, or write in answers from the source of your choice.  

Prayers for our Holy Father Pocket and Prayer Cards

 Assemble and use the pocket provided to store these prayer cards or additional cards of your choice. 

.: Center of File Folder :. 

Center of File Folder, behind white extension flap:

• "Selecting A New Pope" Tab Book
• "Some Special Popes" Tab Book

 Selecting A New Pope

Research these topics and write a paragraph on each to include in this book.  

(I may make a "fill in the blank" for my younger children, and if I do I will upload that document as well. UPDATE:  Links added above for fill-in-the-blank books) 

Some Special Popes

I chose some (of many!) special popes for my children to research and write about for their Lap Books. They will each be asked to write a paragraph about St. Peter the First Pope, a paragraph about Pope Gregory the Great and the invention of Gregorian Chant, a paragraph about Pope Leo the XIII and how he wrote the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel (or they can copy the St. Michael prayer in Latin since they are working on memorizing it this year), a paragraph about Pope Pius X and how he lowered the age for children to receive their First Holy Communion, and either a summary about one of our many books about Pope Benedict (or a favorite quote or memory).

.: Back Cover :. 

I'm still trying to decide what we will attach to the back cover.  At this point I am leaning towards a coloring picture or an illustration, though it might be a perfect spot to put something about our new Papa once he is announced!

In the meantime here are a couple coloring page options and I will continue adding more as I find them:

• Jesus gives Peter the Keys
• Coloring page of Pope Benedict XVI
• Pope Benedict XVI Coloring Page from Waltzing Matilda
• Vatican City Flag Coloring Page
• Vatican Flag Coloring Page

.: Full View of Opened Lap Book :. 

This is just one example of how this Lap Book could be assembled.  You can attach more Extensions, or create a Double Lap Book if you need more space, or for younger children you might just create the Basic Lap Book and include some of your favorite mini books.  It's up to you!

.: Our Books and Other Resources :.

St. Peter, The First Pope

The Man Who Never Died: The Life and Adventures of St. Peter the First Pope
The First Christians: The Acts of Apostles for Children

St. Peter the Apostle

St. Peter's Story

Holy Fathers: Past and Present
Joseph from Germany
Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as told by a Cat
Max and Benedict: A Bird's Eye View of the Pope's Daily Life

Be Saints: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI

Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion
Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI

Lolek: The Boy Who Became John Paul II
Karol from Poland: The Life of John Paul II for Children
Pope John Paul II
St. Pius X: The Farm Boy Who Became Pope
Picture Book of Saints 
Can You Find Saints? : Introducing Your Child to Holy Men and Women

On the Papacy
Who is the Pope? A Very Short Book for Children (e-book)
We Have a Pope!
Chapter on Apostolic Authority: Peter and the Papacy from Beginning Apologetics
Various chapters from My Catholic Faith and The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Note: My husband grew up reading My Catholic Faith and introduced me to this book.  I love it!  If you don't already have it order a copy! You can find My Catholic Faith Online here!  We will be reading the chapters on The Primacy of Peter, The Bishop of Rome, The Hierarchy, Powers of the Pope, and The Papal Elections (scroll to bottom of page).

Updated to add: Our Holy Father the Pope: The Papacy from St. Peter to the Present

Fun Fiction Chapter Books
Lost in Peter's Tomb
Break-In at the Basilica
Curse of the Coins
Secrets of Siena

Websites and Other Links
The Vatican Website
Vatican Insider Interactive
Vatican City State
Saint Peter's Basilica
Smoke Signals (Rite, Ritual, and Tradition)
Pflaum Publishing (Pope Visit)
Pflaum Publishing (Electing a Pope)
How A New Pope is Chosen (USCCB pdf)
How the Church Chooses a Pope (You Tube)
How Do They Choose the Pope (You Tube - Fun for the little ones!)
Resources on the Papacy (excellent lesson plans for K-12)
Papal Conclave Lesson Plans at The Religion Teacher
Matthew 16 and the papal conclave for kids

Additional Craft and Game Ideas
Conclave Smoke Craft
Black and White Smoke Science Experiment
Pope Activities for Catholic Kids
Electing a Pope File Folder Game

Coloring Pages
Jesus gives Peter the Keys
Coloring page of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI Coloring Page from Waltzing Matilda

Pope Benedict XVI Coloring Page from Happy Saints
Vatican City Flag Coloring Page
Vatican Flag Coloring Page

Pope Francis Coloring Page from Paper Dali

Pope Francis (image) from Happy Saints
Pope Francis from Cool Catholic Coloring Pages

Recipes
Papal Flag Idea for the Kids (Pretzel Keys)
Holy Father and Pope Benedict, John Paul II, Gregory the Great and more recipes over at Catholic Cuisine!  I wonder what sort of recipes we will be adding for our next Pope! :)

And don't forget to Adopt a Cardinal!   

All of my children asked to choose their own.  We printed out pictures of each of their adopted cardinals and they plan to pray for them each day, that the Holy Spirit will guide them during the Conclave, and then add them to their Lap Books following the election! 

If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comment box and I will do my best to answer them as I have the time.  If any of you do end up using the Lap Book with your children and post pictures, I'd love to see them!

We most humbly entreat Thee, O Lord, that Thy boundless goodness may grant as bishop to the most holy Roman Church one who shall ever be both pleasing to Thee, by his loving zeal in our regard, and, by his beneficent rule, deeply revered by Thy people to the glory of Thy name.