Tea Time

I let the girls stay up late and keep me company last night, as I worked on getting ready for our Mother/Daughter Tea Party today in honor of Our Blessed Mother's Birthday!  They were so cute to watch playing together at the counter while I decorated our cake.  I just posted the cake recipe over at Catholic Cuisine.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Little Flowers Girls' Club ~ The Gift of Fear of the Lord

A couple weeks ago we had our 7th Little Flowers Girls' Club meeting for Wreath IV, which completed all four wreaths of the Little Flowers program.  It has been a busy four years and the girls have grown so much, both physically and spiritually!

Anyhow, about this last meeting, which focused on the Gift of Fear of the Lord and St. Maria Goretti... Well, for the first time, I was not prepared!   I put off getting ready until late the night before, when I started putting together my notebook page. I baked cupcakes in the morning, but the baby was so fussy I wasn't able to get much else done.   Thankfully I was able to print coloring pages and the craft printouts while holding him, and the lap book supplies were waiting in a file from the beginning of the year when I printed them all out.

Twenty minutes before the meeting I still needed to put together a sample notebook page, and decorate the cupcakes!  Aahhh!!  It didn't happen.   I figured, after 4 years of making notebook pages, the girls really didn't need a sample page - they know what to do, so I started on the cupcakes... More on that below!

Rose wanted to know where her Sash and Lap Book were... In a few years, Rose, it will be your turn!  

I still can't believe that we have completed all four years!  It has been such a great experience for my girls.   I've really enjoyed leading our group and am really sad to see it come to an end but, honestly, I am looking forward to a break.   It's been a lot of work, but worth every minute!   {and just think how much easier it is going to be, in a few years when it is time for me to start a Little Flowers Girls' Club for Rose! I always wished I had something like my plans to use as inspiration and notebook pages all ready to just print!  lol}

~ Coloring Pages ~

Coloring Page Options:

St. Maria Goretti from Catholic Artworks Faith Keepers CD

St. Maria Goretti Coloring Book

Coloring Page linked in our Saintly Summer Fun :: St. Maria Goretti

~ Wreath IV Lap Book ~

I had the girls all come an hour early to this meeting, so we could spend time finishing their Lap Books.  They all turned out lovely, and will make such nice keepsakes from the year! 

Here is an overview of what was completed:

• Review last month's gift and add Mini Books that were completed at home
• Add Definition and Motto for the Gift of Fear of the Lord
• Add the correct Jewel to the Treasure Box
• Complete the Saint Profile*
• Complete the Convert Profile*
• Assemble and complete the Catholic/Historic Pilgrimages Pull Out Booklet (or black & white cover option)

Additional Resources:

St. Maria Goretti Coloring Book

Maria Goretti DVD

Movie Suggestion from Member's Guide:

Chariots of Fire

~ Notebook Pages ~

For the notebook pages, I used the motto for Fear of the Lord, a traditional prayer to St. Maria Goretti, an image of St. Maria Goretti, a definition on the gift of Fear of the Lord from My Catholic Faith, along with a short prayer for Fear of the Lord, with an invocation to St. Maria Goretti.

You can download my document here.

Here are all the girls' completed notebook pages:

~ Craft ~

Since this meeting focuses on St. Maria Goretti and the gift of Fear of the Lord, we made Spiritual Bouquet Cards.  Each of the girls took these home to complete (offer prayers, etc) over the next month, and will give them to each of their Mothers at our Mother/Daughter Tea on September 8th.   

Supplies:

• Spiritual Bouquet Cards by Alice Cantrell printed on white card stock
• Scissors and Hole Punch
• Ribbon in various colors (yellow, pink, green, lavender)

I ended up reading the article on "What is a Spiritual Bouquet?" to the girls, from our latest edition of St. Mary's Messenger.  What perfect timing!

~ Snack Time ~

Saintly Symbols Cupcakes :: St. Maria Goretti

Chocolate Cupcakes (baked in silver liners), sprinkled with powdered sugar, and topped with mini lilies made with mini marshmallows, mini yellow M&M's, and a slice of a green gumdrop

Originally I had planned to make the Flames of Forgiveness Cupcakes that I had come up with last summer for our Saintly Summer Fun with friends.  However, when I went to get out the white candy melts for the candy and found that I didn't have any - just every other color, which doesn't really work for white lilies representing purity... Oops!   I searched my cupboard to see what else I could decorate cupcakes with for St. Maria Goretti, and came up with a few green gumdrops, a partial bag of mini marshmallows, and a bag of mini M&M's.   I skipped making frosting (not enough time), sprinkled the cupcakes with powdered sugar, and homemade mini lilies.  

To make the lilies I flattened a mini marshmallow with a roller, pinched the two sides of one end together, placing a mini yellow M&M inside and a slice of green gumdrop for the stem/leave.  

St. Maria Goretti and St. Therese must have been helping me out... I thought they surprisingly turned out really pretty, despite my lack of time and organization!  They are very simple, but aren't they cute? 

~ Group Photo ~ 

Grant me the Gift of Fear of the Lord that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation.

St. Maria Goretti, pray for us! 

Little Flowers Girls Club ~ Notebook Pages

I've had quite a few emails lately letting me know that my "Faith" notebook page over at Scribd hasn't been working properly. I've emailed some of you my file directly, but my online time has been limited and I wanted to let the rest of you know that I finally uploaded a revised document, which seems to have fixed the problem.  I also just uploaded the Notebook page for Wreath IV's Gift of Piety - which I somehow missed doing when I shared our meeting.  We had our final Little Flowers meeting a couple weeks ago, and I am hoping to blog about that meeting sometime soon, but in the meantime I also uploaded our Notebook page for Fear of the Lord as well, so that completes my "Notebook Pages"  for all four Wreaths!

These Notebook pages ended up being such a great supplement to the program and I have been more than happy to share them with you all.   I've compiled the Notebook Pages for each Wreath into a "Collection" folder over at Scribd. (You can also find the direct links to each page in this post.)   Here are the links:

Little Flowers Wreath I Notebook Pages

Little Flowers Wreath II Notebook Pages

Little Flowers Wreath III Notebook Pages

Little Flowers Wreath IV Notebook Pages

Little Flowers Wreath IV Lap Book

Note: All of these documents are © Shower of Roses.  Permission is granted for them to be printed and used within your own clubs, or for personal use.   However, I do ask that they are not re-published online, and that if you link to them on your own websites and/or blogs that you link to my original posts, and not directly to Scribd.  Thank you! 

{This Moment} Little Flowers Girls' Club from Start to Finish!

First Little Flowers Meeting of Wreath I :: September 18, 2008

Final Little Flowers Meeting of Wreath IV :: August 3, 2012

Little Flowers Girls' Club ~ The Gift of Piety

This past Thursday afternoon we had our 6th Little Flowers Girls' Club meeting for Wreath IV, which just leaves one more meeting to complete all four wreaths of the Little Flowers program!!  Originally I thought I would go back and start over at Wreath I again next year, having my older girls go through the program again, but at this point I think we will be taking a break and trying another program next year.   I don't want to burn out on Little Flowers by the time Rose is ready for the program!  I purchased and have been looking over the materials for The Little Women's Hospitality Program, which looks perfect.

Anyhow, back to our last meeting...  This meeting focused on the gift of Piety and our dear St. Therésè.  Here are a few highlights :

~ Coloring Pages ~

Coloring Page Options:

St. Therese from Catholic Artworks
St. Therese from Catholic Artworks Faith Keepers CD
St. Therese from Waltzing Matilda
St. Theresa the Little Flower from St. John's
St. Therese Paper Doll from Paper Dali
St. Therese of Lisiuex as a young girl and in habit from Waltzing Matilda

(2 more) St.Therese from Catholic Artworks

St. Therese from Fenestrae Fidei (not pictured)

I had to stop myself from printing more options!  ;) 

~ Wreath IV Lap Book ~

The girls Lap Books are all coming together so beautifully!  

At this meeting we had a short lesson on the gift of Piety and St. Therésè, read and discussed a story on Piety from the Virtue Stories for Wreath I book, and then continued our lesson by reviewing our Lap Book mini-books from our last meeting, and then working on the new additions for the gift of Piety.

Here is an overview of what was completed (*some are taken home to complete):

• Review last month's gift and add Mini Books that were completed at home
• Add Definition and Motto for the Gift of Piety
• Add the correct Jewel to the Treasure Box
• Complete the Saint Profile*
• Complete the Convert Profile*
• Research and Complete the Mini Book "My Favorite Passages of Inspiration" to share at the next meeting*

Additional Resources:

St. Therese Lap Book

St. Therese and Her Family Paper Dolls

Glory Stories Vol. 2: The Story of St. Therese

Many Additional Ideas and Books listed Here 

Movie Suggestion from Member's Guide:

The Chosen

(Additional Options for younger girls: Miracle of St. Therese and My Catholic Family - St. Therese of Lisieux)

~ Notebook Pages ~

For the notebook pages, I used the motto for piety, a few quotes from St. Therésè, an image (in the public domain) of St. Therésè, a definition on the gift of Piety from My Catholic Faith, along with a short prayer for Piety, with an invocation to St. Therésè.

You can download my document here.

Here is a picture of the sample page I created:

And here are a the girls' completed notebook pages:

~ Craft ~

Since this meeting focuses on St. Therésè and the gift of Piety, we made St. Therésè Sacrifice Beads using cord and beads in the color "Amethyst," the jewel for this particular meeting.

You can find the directions for making these here:   St. Therésè Sacrifice Beads

~ Snack Time ~

Saintly Symbols Cupcakes :: St. Therésè, the Little Flower

Cupcakes (baked in Amethyst Cupcake Liners), topped with some homemade frosting, gold sprinkles, a chocolate cross, and mini candy roses

I would have loved to have A St. Therese "Shower of Roses" Tea Party, but instead we had pizza!

~ Group Photo ~ 

Grant me the Gift of Piety, so that I may serve You for the future with increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and observe Your divine precepts with greater fidelity.

St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us! 

Little Flowers Girls' Club ~ The Gift of Fortitude

Last Thursday afternoon we had our 5th Little Flowers Girls' Club meeting for Wreath IV, and first meeting since December!

I hadn't intended on taking such a long baby break - just January and February - but March and April were filled with sickness for half the girls in my group, so our meeting kept getting postponed.

My girls (and their momma!) were so excited to finally have friends over again.   The meeting began at 3:30, but we happily visited with guests until about 9pm, long after the meeting had ended.  It was so nice!

This meeting focused on the gift of Fortitude and St. Joan of Arc.  Despite the months I had to prepare, by Thursday morning I hadn't done a thing to get ready, but thankfully everything fell into place.  Here are a few highlights from our meeting:

~ Coloring Pages ~

St. Joan of Arc from CHC

St. Joan of Arc 2 from CHC

St. Joan of Arc from St. John's

St. Joan of Arc from St. Anne's Helper

My mother-in-law also sent each of the girls in my group a copy of The Way of the Cross Coloring Book which was recently published by Aquinas Kids.   Even though I wasn't able to get them to the girls during Lent they were all very excited and loved looking through the beautiful pages.  

~ Wreath IV Lap Book ~

We had a short lesson on the gift of Fortitude and St. Joan of Arc, and then continued our lesson by reviewing our Lap Book mini-books from our last meeting, and then working on the new additions for the gift of Fortitude.

Here is an overview of what was completed (*some are taken home to complete):

• Review last month's gift and add Mini Books that were completed at home
• Add Definition and Motto for the Gift of Fortitude
• Add the correct Jewel to the Treasure Box
• Complete the Saint Profile*
• Complete the Convert Profile*
• Research and Complete the Mini Book "Church Struggles from History that required Fortitude" to share at the next meeting*

 

Additional Resources:

Joan of Arc Resource and Activity Book (pdf)

Glory Stories Volume 6: The Story of Saint Joan of Arc

The Story of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc: God's Soldier (Encounter the Saints)

Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid

St. Joan of Arc Paper Dolls

The Young People's Book of Saints

Golden Legend of Young Saints

Movie Suggestion from Member's Guide:
The Scarlet and the Black

~ Notebook Pages ~

For the notebook pages, I used the motto for fortitude, a quote from St. Joan of Arc, an image (in the public domain) of St. Joan of Arc, a definition on the gift of Fortitude from My Catholic Faith, along with a short prayer for Fortitude (St. Augustine) with an invocation to St. Joan of Arc.

You can download my document here.

Here is a picture of the sample page I (very quickly) created
(and cropped from the picture above):

Here are a the girls' completed notebook pages:

~ Craft ~

Last summer, I had planned to order the Banner and Woven Cross Kits from Illuminated Ink for St. Joan of Arc and the Gift of Fortitude... Lena also shared an excellent craft for the gift of Fortitude, that I would have loved to try had our meeting taken place during Lent as we had originally planned.   Instead I ended up using a craft that I purchased a few years ago, having the girls paint Stained Glass Cross Suncatchers.  I'm pretty sure that I had purchased these at Walmart, but you can find a similar kit here.

We hung them on the window to see how they'd look:

*my girls' are missing from this picture, and currently hanging on their bedroom window.

We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

~ Snack Time ~

Saintly Symbols Cupcakes :: St. Joan of Arc

One of the symbols for St. Joan of Arc is the Fleur-di-lis. 

White Cupcakes (baked in Yellow Cupcake Liners), topped with some homemade frosting, gold sprinkles, and a chocolate fleur de lis (made with this Candy Mold). 

The feast of St. Joan of Arc is celebrated on May 30th. 

~ Group Photo ~ 

Grant me the Gift of Fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul.

St. Joan of Arc, pray for us!