This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, I earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How’s Lent going in your house?

Whether you are doing great with making sacrifices or really never started, this dinner time discussion game is a great way to think about and encourage your family to keep this season of the year in mind as well as prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

This list was written by a college friend and she assured and encouraged me to share with all of you! Kristi – the writer of this awesome game – asked that you share more ideas in the comments!

We suggest you cut up these questions and pass them around the dinner table in a bowl.

****Want a downloadable/printable copy? Click here:*****

Would You Rather Lent Edition Printable

New challenge for 2025! 40 Truth or Dare Challenges for Lent!

WOULD YOU RATHER – 2021 Lenten Edition 

Questions inspired by the daily readings from the first ten days and the Sundays of Lent

1. Play a trumpet in front of a crowd or give money away in secret?
2. Wear sackcloth and ashes or eat bread with a stranger?
3. Spend 40 days on the ark in the flood, or spend 40 days in a desert alone?
4. Be a keeper of sheep, or a keeper of keys?
5. Be broken-hearted or fearful?
6. Be eaten by a whale or by lions?
7. Rejoice with one friend or 100 strangers?
8. Meet Abraham or Moses?
9. Sell doves or oxen?
10. Be blind or a beggar?
11. Be raised from the dead or see someone else be raised from the dead?
12. Be in a parade with friends or eat a special meal with friends?

Would you rather FAST FROM…

1. Sweets or the internet?
2. Cars or airplanes?
3. Video calls or texting?
4. Funny movies or action movies?
5. Talking or walking?
6. Hugs or high fives?
7. Reading or music?

Would you rather GIVE…

1. To a person you know or a charity group
2. To a stranger or a friend
3. To a homeless shelter or a school
4. A hundred dollars to ten people or a thousand dollars to one person
5. Money or food?
6. Your time or money?
7. Bread or fish?

Would you rather PRAY…

1. Alone or in a group?
2. With your own words or a recited prayer?
3. An old prayer from memory or read a new one?
4. In English or a different language?
5. The rosary or in silence?
6. In a church or in nature?
7. From the Bible every day, or never open the Bible again?

Does your family like this type of game? Do you have a child between the ages of 9 and 14? If yes, be sure to get him or her a Be Yourself Journal!

More activities for kids in here: Boy’s Bible Study

Girls’ Journal Club now available! Find out more here!

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Read my other blog here! More Lent ideas!

Honoring the Year of Saint Joseph? Check out this post filled with great Saint Joseph gifts! Over 25 Catholic Gifts Inspired by Saint Joseph

The post Would You Rather: Lent Edition appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

This post contains affiliate or associate links with several businesses (which means if you shop through the links, I earn a small commission). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Now that we finally have a Boy’s version of the Be Yourself Journal, it can be a great tool in a Catholic school classroom or in a religious education program!

As a 7th and 8th grade teacher, I used journal prompts in the morning to start the day and our religion classes.

In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, curriculum guidelines for each grade level (from grade 1 to grade 8) included “Journal keeping”. I imagine many other diocese include this same guide or at least recommendation.

The following is an excerpt from the course guidelines:

Journal Keeping
This prayer form (tool) enables a student to reflect on the goals and directions of his/her life, and
to appreciate and deepen a personal relationship with a loving Father. It provides a method to
assess these experiences.

The document then continues with many examples of techniques that could be used:

Some examples include: journaling may be in the form of an informal letter; reflecting on personal talents and gifts; responding to Scripture passages and inspirational quotes, etc.

All of these techniques and more are within both the Boy and Girl Be Yourself Journals!

Here are some ideas on how and when to incorporate the journal into your daily lesson plans.

First act of the day

You can.not.escape.the paperwork.

You have to take roll; collect permission slips, notes, and whatever the main office needs from you.

Journaling is a great activity for the students while you are doing those monotonous tasks.

When I taught, I would write a journal prompt on the board before the students were in the classroom for the day. When they came in and we began our day, I had to take roll and often do other things like collect permission slips, absentee notes and other paperwork that had to be done but did not allow my attention to be on my students but instead paperwork.

This was the perfect time for journaling.

Have the students choose what to do within a certain section or guide them more with directives like:

Today choose a coloring page to color.

Today, do something within the prayer section of the book.

Today, fill out one of the first 5 pages.

At the end of each marking period, I would call each student up and have them stand next to me as I quickly flipped through the book. I wanted to make sure the student had worked on the journal as instructed, but I didn’t read or stare at any page for more than a second, that way each student’s privacy was respected. I wanted them to feel like they could truly use it. It was an easy way to get a good grade and often brought up the student’s average.

Use as an anticipatory set

Is that a flashback from college? I can’t believe I remember that term from “How to write a lesson plan 101”, but, I do.

Some teachers call it a warm up or a “hook”; but to remind you what this is, here is the definition from cultofpedagogy.com:

ANTICIPATORY SET

(noun) A brief portion of a lesson given at the very beginning to get students’ attention, activate prior knowledge, and prepare them for the day’s learning. Also known as advance organizer, hook, or set induction. 

The point of the anticipatory set is to get students curious, wake up their brains, and give them a taste of what they are about to learn.

Talking about God’s creation or gratitude in prayer?

Play “Would You Rather”?

Discussing Jesus’ Miracles? There’s a great page on that in the Boy’s Journal.

This is also a great opportunity to use activities that are only in one journal. Use the girls and the boys to get ideas on how to start discussing Jesus’ miracles; how to be a peacemaker; ways to live the faith when busy, etc.

Take activities out of the book and create life size group projects.

Virtue Graffiti Wall

Got a chalkboard or white board – hand it over to the students.

(see Boy’s Journal)

Create a Billboard

Roll out the butcher paper and take out the poster boards.

(see Boy’s Journal)

Create a prayer corner in the classroom.

(See Girl’s Journal – what’s your prayer style and decorate a prayer room)

Hope News Report.

(See Boy’s Journal)

Writing in the Sand Slide Show.

From the Boy’s Journal: Live near a beach or a playground with a sandbox? Send students out for a homework assignment. Read John 8:3-0. Discuss how it feels when you are “ganged up on”. Ask students to think abnd pray about what Jesus would say to bullies today. Direct them to write this message in the sand and take a picture of what they wrote. Put all the pictures in a slide show and watch together as a class!

Bonus idea: Take the students to Eucharistic Adoration with their journals! It can be very difficult to quiet the mind; these journals guide the reader to turn their thoughts toward God.

Are you located “across the pond” in the United Kingdom? If so, great news! You can purchase the Be Yourself Journal in the U.K. through the Catholic Mothers website!

Got more ideas??? Share them in the comments!

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The post 3 Ways to Use the Be Yourself Journals in the Classroom appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

This post contains affiliate links.  See my About Me page for more details.

Middle school is hard.
Questions about who you are, who you will become are natural thoughts and wonders.

Prayer becomes more personal.

Social life shifts from having playmates to developing authentic friendships.

The temptations to be popular and liked by all become intense.

When I wrote the Be Yourself Journal, I modeled it off an activity that I remember bringing me joy in a time in my life where there were many tears.

I made some pages that could be shared and discussed with others on purpose.

The Middle School girl is a social being.  Her world revolves around friends.  This social tendency can be a great motivator – and is not always a bad thing.

The Be Yourself Journal embraces and celebrates the natural inclination for middle school girls to seek group membership and explore and discover talents and interests outside the family and in a larger community.

I want teen and tween girls to pick up the Be Yourself Journal and use it when they feel lonely, down and worried.  But, I’m not naive.  I know they may need a jump start.  Using the journal in a group setting is the perfect way to help a girl develop ownership and pride of herself and this book.

• YOU CAN VIEW THE ENTIRE JOURNAL HERE: YOUTUBE VIDEO OF BE YOURSELF JOURNAL

The following activities in the Be Yourself Journal are great for the group setting:

The Back Cover:

This is meant to be a fun scrapbook activity.  Girls are encouraged to design the cover that reflects her as an individual.  Photos, quotes they love, a saint that inspires them as well as interests and activities they are involved in can be displayed in a way a mother would describe her child’s life in a scrapbook.  Cute, artsy, fun and social – a way each girl can express her uniqueness in a supportive group setting. (I love that the Be Yourself Journal provides a Christian alternative to a  “smashbook birthday party )

The ideal Be Yourself Journal Kit includes lots of supplies for this activity:

A calligraphy pen set (these buttons inspiring quotes from Annunciation Design  can be written and glued to the back cover!)

Designer Paper Pad – 

Perfect for making the back page look awesome and also can be used on the collage page inside the book!

Inspirational stickers by Pink Salt Riot – great quotes and easy to use

A holy card – A St. Gianna holy card is included in this giveaway

Washi Tape – perfect for borders, frames and added dimensions

Scrapbooking Stickers

A zipper pouch to keep the holy cards, stickers and other supplies safe

You can also purchase a ton of cool “bible journaling supplies from DaySpring“!!!

Pages like “Would You Rather”, “Feeling at Peace”, “Time Out: Let’s Talk Favorites”, and “Let’s Talk Favorites (part 2)

All of these pages ask fun questions girls would enjoy doing in the group setting.  Tools that will make this extra fun are:

Pastel Saint and Bible Verse Pencils from The Little Catholic Box

Gel Pens

A pencil case with an inspiring quote: like this one from Pink Salt Riot

The Design Your Own Prayer Room Two Page Spread

Room design can be fun and sharing ideas with others can really be neat in this activity.  The girls might need some prompting, so try these to help:   

Chalkboard stickers

Assorted scrapbooking stickers that are tables, chairs, plants, furniture, etc.

Scrapbooking stickers that show interests: (dance, cheerleading, soccer, music, etc.)

Washi Tape for wallpaper

Plant and flower stickers

Christian Scrapbook Stickers

Jesus stickers, Faith stickers, and Prayer stickers

Need more inspiration?  Follow Catholics Online’s Prayer Room Board on Pinterest!

The 20 Inspirational Coloring Pages

Middle school girls LOVE inspiring quotes and this book is full of them!  You can even order all the coloring pages as an instant download (or get a few for free if you subscribe to prayer wine chocolate!!!) . Coloring is fun and relaxing and could be used during a youth group meeting or a religious education class!

Having these supplies available will make the girls excited to make a quote jump off the page!

Fine tip markers for outlining

Colored pencils (traditional)

Colored Pencils (water color)


SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ENTER TO WIN!

And of course, we need a bag in which to keep the journal all of these supplies!

The winner of the giveaway will win this bag from Small Things Great Love :

I’m really hoping the young girl in your life grows to love the Lord and prayer journaling through using the Be Yourself Journal.

To help her continue her prayer life through journaling, Monica from Equipping Catholic Families has also decided to contribute to the giveaway with more journal prompts!

How will this journal and kit make middle school “easier” for a young girl?

• It will assure her that her feelings and stresses are normal, and provide ways to think and pray about those feelings and stresses.
• It will assure her that God has created her on purpose for a purpose – even when she doubts that fact.
• It will give her ways to relieve stress.
• It will help her navigate hurt feelings and forgiveness.
• It will provide realistic examples of how to do God’s will and be an instrument of His peace.
• If used in a group setting, it will provide a foundation that her faith can be supported in a community that values Christian principles and prayer.

ARE YOU A TEACHER OR YOUTH GROUP LEADER?  ARE YOU LOOKING FOR MORE IDEAS ON HOW TO USE THIS JOURNAL?  HERE ARE MORE IDEAS: Be Yourself Journal Parties for Girls!

Enter to win a prayer journal kit!!!

The kit you could win includes:

giveaway open to U.S. residents only because of shipping costs

A Be Yourself Journal

An Inspirational Catholic Button Set from Annunciation Designs

Pencils and a zipper pouch from The Little Catholic Box

A pencil case, circle evangelization stickers and a pocket mirror from Pink Salt Riot

A tote bag and Rosary from Small Things. Great Love.

Colored Pencils

Gel Pens

Washi Tape

Scrapbooking Stickers

A beautiful bracelet from MaryWithYou on Etsy

More prayer journal prompts from Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Making Middle School Easier: Be Yourself Journal Kit Essentials and Giveaway appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.