Lesson I: Pascual and the Kitchen Angels
The video of the story being read is here.
This book, by Tomie De Paola is about Pascual, the patron saint of cooks. You may also be able to find the book at your local library to read together.
Activities
1) Become a cook!
Pascual was a cook, and small children can also cook and serve their creations to their family or friends. The linked recipe for yogurt cake is an excellent first baking experience for pre-schoolers. It is based on a single serving container of yoghurt, about ½ cup size. Once you have emptied the yoghurt into the mixing bowl, wash and dry he container, and use it for measuring out the sugar, oil and flour – it’s all a matter of proportion. If you don’t want to use the lemon syrup on top, just dust with some powdered sugar.
2) Make a prayer card for Grace before meals.
Materials: paper or cardboard, dark coloured permanent marker, stickers, coloured pencils, crayons, or markers.
For this activity, use a full or half-sheet of regular paper, construction paper, or cardboard. Neatly write the following Grace in the centre:
Thank You for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything
Amen.
Have your little one decorate the prayer card with stickers or drawings. Learn the prayer together by using it before meals.
3) Make an angel
Materials: Construction paper in four colours, white for the wings, a colour for the face, another colour for the dress, and a fourth piece for the background. Scissors, glue. A marker. You may also want some material like yarn for hair, or something shiny for a halo.
The angel’s head will be a circle, and the body a triangle. You can draw these shapes on the paper, and either cut them out or allow your student to cut them out.
Help your student trace her hands on the white paper, and cut them out. These will be the wings. Glue them to the background paper with the wrist area meeting in the middle and fingers pointing to the sides of the paper.
Glue the body on top of the wings so they seem to be attached behind, Then add the head at the top.
Use the marker to make a face and any other details you would like. If you have some other materials like shiny tape or yarn, you can try making a halo, hair, or other decorations.