October 4th is St Francis of Assisi’s feast day! Not only is St Francis an amazing saint, he happens to be one of my favorite saints. St Francis is unique and fun. One of the best things about being a mom is teaching the faith to our children through these fun feast days. Here are 7 ways to celebrate St Francis’ feast day with your little ones.
1) BUILD A CHURCH OUT OF GRAHAM CRACKERS
It is said that St Francis of Assisi rebuilt a Catholic Church after he felt God was asking him to rebuild His Church. So how fun would it be to actually build a church out of graham crackers and frosting? My children had a blast with this, and while they are busy building the churches, you could share some fun facts about St Francis. Another idea for this time is to play a video about St Francis so they can listen while they work.
2) Have a Scavenger Hunt in the Wilderness
St Francis of Assisi is known for his love for being outside in the wilderness, so what could be more fun than having a scavenger hunt with the kids?! I bought mine from an Etsy shop, but you could always make up your own lists. Just make sure they have different items on each child’s list.
3) Make a Bird Feeder
It is said that birds and animals would flock to St Francis…birds would even land on his shoulder! So how great would it be to make a super easy bird feeder! All you need is an apple, peanut butter, bird seed, and ribbon. First cut your apple in thick slices (about 1/2 inch), then core the middle of the apple (cut out the seeds), put peanut butter on the bottom, and dip the peanut butter side in the seed. Next cut a long piece of ribbon or string (about 2 feet) then loop the ribbon through the apple core and tie it around a tree branch. So easy and the kids will love bird watching!
4) Have a Dance Party!
What makes a celebration so much more fun? Great music! And dancing of course 🙂 St Francis was known for his love of dancing, so what better way then to celebrate this great saint then with a dance party!
5) Go to the Zoo
Since St Francis loved animals and they loved him so much…why not go to a zoo that day!
6) Paint Animal Rocks
A fun project for children is painting, and if you can find little round rocks, you can paint them into cute little animals. You could then place them around your house, in your flower beds, or maybe even make a little rock garden out of them.
7) Pray the St Francis Prayer
I would personally start with this one, even though St Francis of Assisi didn’t actually create this prayer, it still beautiful! Print out a copy or two and have all the kids read it together. It is such a classic, beautiful prayer. If you want a copy, click here.
BONUS MOVIE TIME
There are some great St Francis movies for kids! Click here to check out some great ones! It might be a good time to play this while they are doing a craft so they can listen while building.
There you have it! Just a few ideas, but don’t feel like you have to do them all in one day. The most important thing is to enjoy this time with your kids while sharing the faith. That’s the best part!
I hope that you enjoy your St Francis of Assisi celebration!
One Response
Hello Heather,
I am so happy that you now have a blog. 🙂 I just found your youtube channel days ago, but I am already binge-watching. Your videos inspire me to do more in order to learn more about our Catholic faith and to deepen my faith in God. I am a cradle Catholic but realized that I still have a lot of things to learn about our faith. I ordered 3 books based on your recommendation and I also asked my mom about her devotions. She is following TCJM ( Total Consecration of Jesus Through Mary) in the Philippines and also a Legion of Mary. She’s going to send me a book of TCJM and I’m already excited.
What are devotions that you recommend that all catholic moms should do?