October - The Month of the Rosary

Better late than never!!

Here's a few things we did to mark the dedication of last month:

Caroline colored several rosary pictures.

We also made a mini-muffin rosary and had friends over - three families contributed cupcakes/muffins to form a rosary made of brownie bites, apple flax muffins, and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with cream cheese frosting. Yummy!!!

Mysteries of the Rosary Box

It is completed, finally! This was made in much the same way as the Stations of the Cross Box, with a symbol for each mystery. There is a card for each of the twenty Mysteries and a separate strip that has the name of each Mystery for matching purposes. I decided to put them all in one box rather than separating them by Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious... but they can be pulled out separately if need be for different times of the liturgical year.

These are the Joyful Mysteries, which cover Jesus's conception through childhood: an angel ornament for the Annunciation, a pro-life fetal model for the Visitation, a small newborn baby figurine for the Nativity of Jesus, a candle for the Presentation (because Simeon declared that Jesus was a "light" for the world), and a scroll for the Finding in the Temple.

Here are the Luminous Mysteries, which focus on Jesus's adult life on earth: there is a seashell for the Baptism of Jesus, a wine glass for the Miracle at the Wedding at Cana, a prayer card of the Act of Contrition for the Proclamation of the Kingdom, a white garment for the Transfiguration, and a "host" (a white poker chip with a cross drawn on it) for the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Here are the Sorrowful Mysteries, which detail Christ's Passion: a toothpick (supposed to be Peter's sword) for the Agony in the Garden, a whip (toothpick with string attached) for the Scourging, a thorny rosebush twig for the Crowning with Thorns, a cross made of craft sticks for the Carrying of the Cross, and three nails for the Crucifixion.

Finally, the Glorious Mysteries, occurring after Jesus's death: a stone for the Resurrection, a cotton ball "cloud" for the Ascension, a pinwheel (symbolizing the wind when the Holy Spirit descended) for Pentecost, a sprig of rosemary for the Assumption of Mary, and a crown made of cardstock and stick-on jewels for the Coronation of Mary.

This was fun to make, and hopefully will provide several years of useful, hands-on learning about the Mysteries of the Rosary! My five year old is enjoying it so far, and with all the matching of the titles with the pictures, I can easily see this being something we'll use throughout the elementary years!

All the cards (and the initial idea!) were found here... I covered them in contact paper after printing.

Rosary Boxes - Ideas??

So, some of you may remember back when I made the Stations of the Cross Box for Caroline. In the same place where I got this idea, I saw mentioned the idea of making Rosary Boxes as well, but no detailed suggestions on how to do so. What they would consist of is a box for each of the four sets of Mysteries of the Rosary (or maybe one big box to sort through; I haven't decided yet). There are five cards for each set of Mysteries, which I plan to laminate. I want to pair an object with each card, something meaningful to symbolize each Mystery.

Here is what i have come up with so far:

Joyful Mysteries:

1st Joyful Mystery - The Annunciation (angel figurine)

2nd Joyful Mystery - The Visitation (???)

3rd Joyful Mystery - The Nativity (small manger, toy barn animal, star?)

4th Joyful Mystery - The Presentation (two small bird figurines for the turtledoves)

5th Joyful Mystery - The Finding in the Temple (???)

Luminous Mysteries:

1st Luminous Mystery: Baptism of Jesus (small seashell)

2nd Luminous Mystery: Wedding at Cana (wine glass wedding favor)

3rd Luminous Mystery: Transfiguration (???)

4th Luminous Mystery: Proclamation of the Kingdom (???)

5th Luminous Mystery: Institution of the Eucharist (host made of white cardboard, maybe fake grapes?)

Sorrowful Mysteries:

1st Sorrowful Mystery: Agony in the Garden (fake flowers?)

2nd Sorrowful Mystery: Scourging at the Pillar (small whip-like item?)

3rd Sorrowful Mystery: Crowning with Thorns (thorny branch from a rose bush)

4th Sorrowful Mystery: Carrying of the Cross (cross made of craft sticks)

5th Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus Dies on the Cross (a nail, maybe?)

Glorious Mysteries:

1st Glorious Mystery: Resurrection (a stone - rolled away from the tomb?)

2nd Glorious Mystery: Ascension (cotton balls - for clouds?)

3rd Glorious Mystery: Descent of the Holy Spirit (dove figurine)

4th Glorious Mystery: Assumption of Mary (???)

5th Glorious Mystery: Coronation of Mary (a little crown)

I would love to hear any ideas anyone might have for the symbols to include! Some of them have me stumped! Any suggestions?