Yes, I’m a fan of the Saints of the Catholic church. What a gift our church has given us! Heros to look up to. Heros to walk with us. Heros who pray with us.
I am also a fan of podcasts. The first podcast I subscribed to was The Saintcast by Dr. Paul Camarata. Take a listen to the opening to his show. http://saintcast.org/ Who wouldn’t want to learn about the Saints after listening to the “Big Voice Guy” describe how Catholics “call on extraordinary heros to guide us to perfection. Those who have lived lives of heroic virtues and great charity.”
So now that you know I love the Saints, here are three ways I invite them into my Third grade classroom.
1. Bring the Saints to the forefront in a visual way.
I have an area in my classroom with Saint statues and pictures. It started as a Saint corner with statues given to me by my mom and my friend Karen. I had St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Patrick, St. Francis, St. Anthony, and Michael the Archangel. But once students and their parents found out that I loved the Saints, many more statues were added. Saints that meant something to their family. I received a St. John the Baptist, St. Nicholas, St. Lucy and many more from my students.
I have also introduced my students to using technology by having a Saint statue vote. For our ‘Meet the Teacher’ night, before school began, I gave each student a piece of paper. This paper directed them to the URL of our classroom wiki. On that page was a description of the two Saints we were voting on. It also linked to a site that gave more information on that Saint. Finally, it had a Google Form embedded into the page so the students could vote which Saint statue to add to our Saint Corner. On the first day of class, the answer was revealed.
Another way I add to my Saint corner is through bartering. My Twitter friend, Paul R Wood, is also a deacon. When I gave him a twine Rosary, that I had made for him, he asked if I could make some for him to give away to the family after he had prayed the Rosary at their loved one’s Wake. I never want to accept money for making my twine Rosaries so bartering works great! Here are the St. Paul and St. Kateri statues that he has gifted to my class these past two years.
I don’t just have statues in my room, I also use photos and posters. I love Victor Teh’s artwork. I bought his poster for my classroom and many times I refer to his drawing of the Saint of the Day when I discuss feast days with my students. You can find his work here at HappySaints.com.
I also use photos and call this section “Saints in the Making”. This section is devoted to the Blesseds and Servants of God where we are waiting for that miracle to being canonized as Saints in our Catholic church. I have classroom photos of my students from the last 5 years displayed. I always take their class picture, on the first day, so I can quickly add their photo to this section. I also include family members that are now deceased. This is comforting to me and models to my students that the Saints don’t have to be a distant idea and gets them thinking about what it takes to be a Saint.
2. Make the Saints personal.
Each year, before our Christmas break, we have a Patron Saint picking event. I first heard about this idea many years ago. I understand St. Faustina’s community of sisters had a custom, on New Year’s Day, to pick a holy card of a holy protector and intercessor for the year. You can read more about this tradition at this blog. I like to use the holy cards from the website CatholicPrayerCards.org Their card stock is sturdy and makes a great bookmark for my students. As each student picks their card, I remind them that this Saint is actually picking them! I like that idea that this Saint has a special reason to want to be their friend for the year. I think that helps them connect with their Saint and they ask the question, “What did this Saint want to teach me this year?” After picking their Saint, the student announces the name and we all respond, “Pray for Us”. You can also use the Saint Generator at this website. We used this site to pick a class patron for the year too. I figure you can never have too many holy protectors or intercessors!
A very popular way to make the Saints personal is by celebrating the Saint on their Name Day. As I notice the Saint of the Day, thanking my principal for including it in her daily email to the teachers, I mention it to my same named student. We have a lot of fun with this tradition. I say, you should celebrate with a special dessert after your family dinner. I have heard of some great desserts the next day!
3. Make it fun!
Who wouldn’t want to see your teacher dressed as her favorite Saint? 
Here I am dressed as St. Therese of Lisieux on All Saints Day. We have an All Saints Parade with our Kindergarten and 1st grade students. I just love joining in on the fun!
I hope I have given you some new ideas to invite the Saints into your classroom this year. Please add any other ideas you may have in the comments below. I’m always up for new ideas using my friends, the Saints!
In my school we encourage the kids to bring in a special treat on their birthdays. I think next year I’ll expand that and have them bring in something special for the feast day of their patron Saint. I had a child a couple of years ago who did that and it was a great hit. She taught us a little about her Saint and shared a treat. I think it’s a beautiful tradition.
That’s great! I love how your student taught about her Saint. Thanks for the comment, Jennifer!