Catholic Sign of the Cross Prayer Buddy craft




Hello Friends,
  I thought that I would share a project that we did in religion. Our lesson this week was on prayer. We discussed why we pray, how we pray, and who hears our prayers. We talked about different ways of praying such as praying a group prayer where everyone says the same words or simply talking to Jesus in our own words.
  Each year when I teach the Sign of the Cross, I have little ones who struggle with what hand to use and what direction to go. There are tons of color sheets around that show the order of the Sign of the Cross, but color sheets just are not enough. I have tried attaching a colored dot to the right hand of my students and that works great for teaching left and right, but some little ones continue to struggle with crossing their body on the holy part of the prayer.
So....... Drumroll, please..... I think I came up with a hands-on project to teach this tricky prayer. My student made a paper person do the Sign of the Cross! I call it "My Prayer Buddy." Now, when we practice the Sign of the Cross, all I have to say is "Remember when we say holy, we go all the way across our body." I also tell my student that when we say holy, it is like we are giving ourselves a "holy hug!"

Here are the directions:
1. Cut a 12" x 18" piece of construction paper lengthwise to create the body. Fold in half. 






2.  Cut paper strips lengthwise from a 12: x 18: piece of construction paper. You will get four strips.
3.  Open up the body and glue the arms under the crease. Glue the top flap to the bottom flap.  

4.  For the hands, I pre-cut skin colored ovals, but you could also have your students trace and cut out their own hands. Attach hands to the ends of the arms.
5.  Use skin colored paper to create a circle head. Attach the head to the folded part of the body. Add facial features and hair.  


6.  Attach the words to the proper places on the paper buddy.
7.  Attach a sticker dot to the right hand of the prayer buddy. This would be the right hand when they are holding their buddy in front of them.  




8.  Children hold their prayer buddy in front of them and do the Sign of the Cross. Yay! It works! The little hands also come together for AMEN.

Click HERE to download the words and template for the head.

Blessings,




8 comments

  1. I teach K at a Catholic school too. I really appreciate you sharing this idea. Sometimes, I think it is hard to come up with new ideas for religion. I will definitely make this with my kiddos! Thanks again for posting!

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  2. I KNOW, Alicia! Coming up with new ideas for religion is so difficult! I plan to share all my religion ideas this year. Thanks for your comment!

    Cindy

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  3. Thank you for posting, we are always having difficulty remembering which hand and where it is supposed to go so this is perfect. I love the idea to do with buddies! Thanks for sharing!!
    Dynelle
    http://firstgradefunmrsdunn.blogspot.ca/

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  4. You are welcome, Dynelle! Hope it works well for your little ones!

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  5. My kindergarteners have the same problem!! This is such a cute way to tackle this problem! Thank you!

    Lauren C
    www.kinder-friends.blogspot.com

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  6. Just a reminder for some of your readers....if there are kinders who continue to have trouble with that crossing the midline aspect, please get in touch with an Occupational Therapist. This can be an underlying problem that influences reading, writing and other academic skills if not identified and addressed. Watching for difficulties with making the sign of the cross could be one of the first indicators to watch a little closer.

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  7. Where do you put the "Amen"? on the back of the left hand?

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    1. Hi there,
      Yes.... I put the Amen on the back of the left hand. I am sorry if that was confusing!
      Take care,
      Cindy

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