My classroom is filled with statues, icons, and pictures of saints. These holy men and women who lived heroic lives of virtue and great charity constantly inspire me. I hope they inspire my students too. I am always looking for ways to help my students learn about the saints.
Our school celebrates All Saints Day with a kindergarten parade. They dress up as their favorite saint or as a saint who shares their name. (The costumes range from very detailed to very simple.) When the students march from room to room, my classroom blares the song “When the Saints Go Marching In.” I play a YouTube video of Louis Armstrong singing this song, which really adds a special touch for those who enter. The children always enjoy marching from room to room and sharing their saints.
A few years ago, our principal suggested the teachers acknowledge the saints throughout November. She asked us to share our favorite saint with our students. We could have a discussion about our favorite saint, carry a symbol of that saint, or dress like him or her. Not one to miss out on sharing my love of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, I asked a seamstress friend of mine to make a copy of St. Thérèse’s habit for me. I love it and find any reason I can to dress up as one of my favorite saints. I even wore the habit once during my school’s Chasing Sainthood fun run fundraiser!
For a more in-depth saint activity for my third graders, I have a project for them to take home. The students complete a worksheet about a saint of their choice. The worksheet requires them to complete the following information about their chosen saint: name, feast day, a picture, some interesting facts about the saint, why they think the saint is important, and three symbols that identify the saint. In addition to the worksheet, I provide the URLs of several websites to help them research their saints.
I love our saints! How do you share your love of the saints with your students? How do the saints become part of your classroom?
In the Loyola Press Christ Our Life program, a saint’s story is featured in every chapter.