Catholic Vancouver July 27, 2022
Saints to the rescue: activity books for summer doldrums
By The B.C. Catholic
When the summer chorus of “Mom, I’m bored!” started, homeschooling mother of five Bonnie Way was fortunate to have a solution. All she had to do was give her children one of the Canadian Catholic saints workbooks she has been developing over the last few years.
Faced with a lack of information and educational resources, Way took matters into her own hands to research and create two workbooks to help kids learn about Canadian saints.
The idea for the workbooks came to her when she was looking for resources for a Canadian history homeschooling group. As they prepared for an All Saints’ Day party, she looked for activities to help the kids learn about history with Canadian saints. She was unable to find anything substantial.
The All Saints Parish parishioner didn’t have much difficulty finding resources for more recent saints like St. Andre Bessette and St. Kateri Tekakwitha, but there was next to nothing for Canada’s other 14 saints. She decided to solve the problem herself.
At first Way made a few simple activities for her own children – crosswords, puzzles, mazes – but the lack of larger educational resources left her unsatisfied, so she set out to put together her own book.
The first book, published in 2019, was called the North American Martyrs Kids Activity Book and focused on the Canadian Martyrs. The remainder of the Canadian saints were added in her 2020 book, the Canadian Saints Kids Activity Book. Both were designed to make the lives of the saints relatable, with small biographies, puzzles, and other activities to help children learn about each of the historic figures.
For example, Way was introduced to Canadian martyr St. Noel Chabanel, a relatively unknown 17th-century French priest and professor who left his life in France, extremely excited to live his life as a missionary. That is until he got to the New World and realized he hated it. The languages were difficult for him to learn, he couldn’t stand the food, and the life was hard. Way said St. Noel was left asking a question that is relatable to anyone, especially children who might feel awkward, out of place, or like the world is unfair: “what am I doing here?”
St. Noel’s answer – the right answer – was to say, “God, I will do whatever you want.”
Drawing this connection between our own personal experience and the lived experience of the saint is why saints are such effective tools for teaching not just religion but other human subjects like history, said Way. It’s why she made her workbooks.
“When we can show our kids that these were real people, we can really draw them into that,” Way told The B.C. Catholic.
“We aren’t alone,” she said, “we even have things in common with people who lived so many years ago.”
The books have something for every interest, and her kids all had different preferences. “My one daughter went through and did all the coding, puzzles, and things,” she said.
Like any educational resource the workbooks are helpful, but they also supplement a wider religious education, which is why the author makes sure to include the saints in the everyday lives of her family. They help to start conversations and get kids focusing on their relationship to these holy men and women who are still very much with us.
“We talk about them all the time,” she said, especially St. Anthony when things are lost, and Mary and St. Gianna Beretta Molla when people are sick. Way says it’s important to help children know that “there are the saints all around us.”
Way is working researching St. Junipero Serra, the Spanish missionary to what is now Mexico and California, for her next book, which will be about American saints, to be illustrated by her daughter.
Her books are available at St. Andrew’s Church Supply, Holy Family Catholic Gift and Book Store, and on Amazon.
She also blogs about marriage, motherhood, and homeschooling at The Koala Mom.