17 Ways to Use Catherine’s Pascha

When my kids were little, they loved the way their kindergarten teacher connected the books they read to activities in the classroom. If the characters in that week’s book had muffins at snack time, they knew that muffins would show up at their snack time, too.

You can do the same thing! There are so many ways to use Catherine’s Pascha to incorporate Pascha into Church school lessons, homeschool activities, and weekend fun. And not just for little ones! Tweens and teens will enjoy some of these as well.

Culinary arts

Plan a meal using only foods mentioned in Catherine’s Pascha. (Don’t forget to read the “frames!”).
Have hot dogs and cheese curls and chocolate cake for lunch.
Make honey bunnies or paska and kulich.
Make bacon-wrapped dates or cheese and sausage balls.
Use onion skins to dye red eggs.

Art

Make a Pasha basket cover. Teens and tweens can use Peter’s Basket embroidery pattern. Younger children can make a simple basket cover using ribbons, lace, and fabric paint.
Create a glass icon using the traditional Romanian reverse glass techniques.
Make egg ornaments.
Learn about pysanky eggs. Younger children can color a picture of Catherine with a basket of pysanky eggs.

Social studies

Place each church in Catherine’s Pascha on a world map or globe.
Select one of the churches in Catherine’s Pascha and learn as much about it as you can. Write a brief paper explaining what you learned, or talk about it with an adult. Younger kids can read and color pages about Hagia Sophia and the churches in Santorini.
Some of the illustrations in Catherine’s Pascha include animals. Younger children can do an “I Spy” game to find all the animals. Older children can select one of the animals, and research its range, habitat, diet, and behavior, then explain whether it was realistic to include the animal in the illustration.

Church

Who is the patron saint of Catherine’s parish? How do you know?
In Catherine’s Pascha, Pascha is celebrated when the moon is full. When is the next time there will be a full moon on Pascha?

Oral history project

Take your kids through this set of five lessons on unity and diversity in the Church, built around Catherine’s Pascha. The lessons start with an introduction to the idea of unity with diversity, and culminates with an oral history created by interviewing older people in the parish or in the students’ families.

Language arts

Complete this word search puzzle.
Use Catherine’s Pascha to practice the basic techniques of literary analysis.

Parish bookstores and church schools receive a discount on Catherine’s Pascha. Email the publisher for more information.

Easter Picture Books Keep Pascha Present: You might be tempted to put the Easter picture books away during Bright Week. Don’t do it! By keeping them out, you’ll help your little one understand that Easter lasts more than a single day.

Six Exceptional Multicultural Easter Books: If you’re looking for books that show the ways that people celebrate Easter, look here.

17 essential picture books for Orthodox Christian kids: If you’re looking for picture books that include stories about Orthodox Christian people and traditions, you’ll find them on this list.

Books by Charlotte Riggle

This holiday classic shares the joy of Pascha through the eyes of a child. Find it on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This delightful story is filled with friendship, prayer, sibling squabbles, a godparent’s story of St. Nicholas, and snow. Lots and lots of snow. Find it on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

In this collection of essays, women who are, or have been, single mothers share stories of their relationships with saints who were also single mothers. Charlotte’s story of the widow of Zarephath highlights the virtue of philoxenia. Find it on Amazon or Park End Books.