Our Everyday Go-To Faith Books
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Joy in Alabama asked about how we use E is for Eucharist, so I figured today is a good day to share our essential stack of faith books.
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E is for Eucharist is like many of the Sleeping Bear Press alphabet books. There is a picture for each letter of the alphabet which gently introduces a topic. A short rhyming quatrain approaches the topic on the simplest level, perfect for the little ones. Beneath it, there is a narrative paragraph which explores the topic in more depth. My children illustrate each letter's topic as we read and discuss it. Older children can also write or dictate a short narration and even research the topic further.
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An Alphabet of Catholic Saints is a sweet book with a short rhyme about a saint for every letter of the alphabet. Introducing saints alphabetically is a bit awkward. Saints come up in our daily life of worship as they are celebrated in the Mass. I worried aobut this being "all out of order, " but not for long. Now, we use this organizing system and we encounter the same saints on their special days, it's like meeting an old friend. Again, narrations are simple pictures and perhaps a dictated caption to add to their notebooks.
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An Alphabet of Mary beautifully introduces differents names and roles for the Blessed Mother. It's a lovey companion in the same style as the book above.
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That brings me to the Loyola Kids Book of Saints and the Loyola Kids Book of Heroes. These books bless and bless and bless. In the Alphabet Path lesson notes for each letter, we've pulled out the saints who belong. I like to read these aloud to younger children and have slightly older, independent readers read them to themselves. Then, the ones who read it on their own, keyboard a narration all on their own. I'll sit and edit for punctuation and spelling, but I mostly leave the narrations alone. These are gathered and loved into a notebook. True keepers.
Also in the Alphabet Path lesson notes for each letter , there are stand alone picture books selected for faith study. We'll look at some of those one by one through the year, I'm sure. They are linked here down the lefthand sidebar.
