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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Hope Floats

"In the moment of temptation think of the Love that awaits you in heaven:  Foster the virtue of Hope."
~St. Jose Maria Escriva~

Ever since the Virtues Decided To Study US, things have just "fallen into place" in quite an amazing way.  
Our Virtue Study is now official!  
Starting with the Three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, we are studying one virtue over the course of a week (or two)!  The first virtue that found us was CHARITY.  We will continue talking about this virtue as we approach St. Valentine's Day!


Last week, we turned our focus to the virtue of HOPE.

I am embarrassed to admit that this lovely book has been on our bookshelf for at least 2 years now and never been used.  It has suddenly revealed itself to us!  ~What a gem!~
You can click here for purchase.
It is perfect for my Grades 1, 3 & 6!
If you are interested in studying the virtues and saints at the same time, this is  the book for you.  The Table of Contents list the virtue and approximately 5 saint stories for those that exemplify that particular virtue.  
The book covers the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, as well as the Cardinal Virtues of Temperance, Prudence, Fortitude, and Justice.


The Feast of St. Paul fell during our study and he is listed as one of the stories of HOPE.  We had fun with a few activities to go along with our virtue.
I found a really great coloring book about St. Paul's conversion story here,
from Our Sunday Visitor.  They also had several links from the 2008 Year of St. Paul with some great ideas and prayers.
Superboy(age 6) and Princess (age 8) enjoyed the coloring!
We also had some fun with the word HOPE.
These stencils from the Dollar Tree came in handy...We traced the word and glued colored tissue paper to fill in the letters.
It made a beautiful addition to our prayer shelf in our school room!
More fun with Hope...
Finished!
This sweet reading book was a lovely addition to our HOPE study!
We didn't have time for any snacks to go with our study this time but think of all the things you could do!?


I just bought these cute alphabet letter trays online so we made ice to see if HOPE floats!  Lots of other great ideas lie in store with these fun trays...!
I posted the black and white photo so you can see the ice a little more clearly...
Yep, Hope does float!
"We shall steer safely through every storm, as long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God."
~St. Francis de Sales~


4 comments:

  1. St. Francis de Sales would have shaken a disappointing finger at me yesterday. But, Mother Teresa was there inspiring me with her faith. HOPE eventually found its way into my heart thinking of her and her sometimes "abandoned" feelings. Tiffany, yOu are always such an inspiration. Thank you so much for all of your prayers my friend.

    Do you remember where you got that book? It sounds like something my kids would gobble up!

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  2. My kids enjoy stories from the Book of Heros too. So many Godly examples for our children to identify with. I need to check out the alphabet letter trays! The craft with the tissue paper is beautiful and it's a good word for all of us to ponder and meditate on. Thanks for sharing the things you do with your children.

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  3. you are so creative. I lovelove the floating hope! I have not seen the Book of heros before. I will have to check it out. you all are having a wonderful study of virtues.

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  4. Somehow I missed this post. What great ideas- and we have that book sitting on our shelf too. I am going to pick it up tonight and look through it. It does sound like a treasure. I'll have to bookmark this post for next year. I have a "Paul", so we we usually try and take note of Feast of St. Paul.

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