Author: Natalie T

Dear friends, 

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true: we are already more than halfway through the first week of Great Lent! This is always a busy season, and we have a lot of teaching resources available for it. We’d like to offer below a quick update with some news that we believe you might find helpful.

Great Lent activity calendar

To help navigate through our abundant (and sometimes confusing) Great Lent material, we created an activity calendar with suggestions for each week and links to the relevant webpages. CLICK HERE to download it.

---

Worldwide Pascha Exchange 2023

The Worldwide Pascha Exchange registration form is now active! Sign up by providing some information about the group of children you are teaching, and we will match you to two other Orthodox catechesis groups, for sharing Pascha greetings and traditions. We will try to connect groups in different parts of the world. This year we added the option of a digital exchange – as there were challenges with snail mail last year. 

DEADLINE: MARCH 11, 2023

Check it out HERE! 

---

New fabric set in the works!

Natalie recently completed a new Palm Sunday fabric set. If all goes well, it should be available for sale in the next few weeks. Please stay tuned!

---

Great Lent retreat

Last weekend, we were so grateful to have been invited to the Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham, Alabama, where we facilitated the parish annual youth Lenten retreat using Orthodox Pebbles resources. Our hosts were so kind as to also ask us to be guest teachers in their catechesis classrooms on Sunday. It was a wonderful experience and we are sincerely thankful for it.

---

New product: Great Lent Activity Books

Prompted by the retreat, Natalie turned an idea she has been contemplating for a long time into a reality: Our first printed activity book on Great Lent is now available!

These books are offered in two grade levels:
– Level 1: Preschool-Grade 1
– Level 2: Grades 2-4

Each 8.5″ x 11″ book has 32-pages and is printed in full color on premium-quality paper. They include resources from the website, and some extra material not available online. The vibrant colors and engaging activities can help guide children through Lent in an interactive way. The books can also be useful for keeping young children meaningfully occupied during those extra Lenten services. We were so happy to see the participants in the retreat eagerly engage with them!

You can flip through a preview of each book by following the links below.

• LEVEL 1
• LEVEL 2

The Great Lent Activity books are available for sale HERE.

---

We extend our warmest wishes and blessings to all. May our fast be fruitful!

Dear friends,

Join us this Saturday, February 11, 1-3 pm EST, at an online workshop about Great Lent, organized by St. Emmelia Ministries, the flagship homeschooling ministry of the Antiochian Archdiocese.

Fr. Noah Bushelli and Mat. Melissa Naasko will be offering spiritual and practical guidance on celebrating Great Lent as a family. We feel honored to have been invited to share some insight with parents and teachers on how to navigate through our abundant Great Lent and Pascha teaching material. 

We have created a printable file with bonus activities for participants, while our friends at the Draw Near Designs Marketplace are offering a discount code on our creations.

We will be happy to see you there!

Dear friends,

A central theme to the period of the Triodion is repentance, so don’t miss our new page on the Mystery of Holy Confession, accompanied by a new page on Holy Communion. Beautifully illustrated, they both include a variety of hands-on activities to help teach these fundamental Mysteries in a fun and memorable way. We hope you will get to use them this season!

A blessed Triodion to all!

Dear friends,

For a long time, we have been wanting to work on a teaching unit on the Holy Mysteries, as they are a fundamental part of an Orthodox Christian’s life. We are now so happy to have finished with the first phase of this endeavor!

It has definitely been one of the most demanding topics we have dealt with, on many fronts: trying to pare down the abundant information to the essentials, as we were researching and writing the text; preparing numerous illustrations that, despite being based on real life and not on icons as usual, would still be consistent with the Orthodox Pebbles look and feel; coming up with interesting hands-on activities to convey abstract concepts and ideas.

We are now excited to be offering the following teaching recources:

• An initial lesson plan, presenting the concept of a “mystery”, and introducing the seven Holy Mysteries.
• Two subsequent lesson plans, one on Holy Baptism and one on Holy Chrismation.

Please click on the button below to access our completed teaching material on the Holy Mysteries.

Our plan for the following couple of months is to offer an individual lesson plan for every Mystery – we have already started working on the remaining ones. Natalie is also designing a new craft kit on the Holy Mysteries, to accompany the free lesson plans – so please stay tuned!

We have done our best to make teaching the Holy Mysteries an engaging and meaningful process, both for the teacher and for the students. Even though this topic is not a seasonal one, we sincerely hope you will choose to teach it, using our new creations. A seasonal way to start with it could be to follow up on a lesson on Holy Theophany.

---

Our resources for the Nativity season

Please find below a list of our existing resources for the Nativity season:

Old Testament Connections

Free lesson plan: Explore nine Old Testament stories and their hidden connections to the New Testament according to the theology of the Orthodox Church. Crafts, worksheets and background information.

---

A different Jesse Tree

Free lesson plan: Background and teaching resources for an Orthodox approach to the popular Jesse Tree tradition of the Nativity season.

---

Craft kit: A different Jesse Tree

This teaching resource complements our two free lesson plans above and it consists of crafting templates and a pack of cards. Create a 3D Jesse tree based on the relevant Orthodox icon, and play games to reinforce the Old Testament stories, concepts and connections explored in our free Jesse Tree lesson plans.

---

Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, the Wonder-worker

Free lesson plan: Creative activities, worksheets and background information for teaching about the Saint.

---

The Nativity of Christ: Our resource collection

Free lesson plans: An extensive collection of creative resources for exploring the Nativity of our Lord.

---

The Nativity of Christ: Fabric Learning Set

A hands-on teaching resource made out of soft fleece fabric to help teach about the Feast.

---

Play Dough Learning Mats: The Nativity of Christ

A tactile, sensory activity to help teach the theology and icon of this Great Feast.

---

Saint Basil the Great

Free lesson plan: Hands-on activities to teach about this greatly beloved Saint.

---

Holy Theophany and the Blessing of the Waters

Free lesson plan: Analog and digital activities for teaching about the Feast. This lesson could also work as a seasonal introduction to the Holy Mysteries teaching unit.

---

Holy Theophany DIY fabric learning set

A hands-on teaching resource made out of soft fleece fabric to help teach about the Feast.

---

We are extending our warmest wishes to all of you, for a fruitful Nativity fast, and a blessed Nativity season!

With love in Christ,
Natalie and Despina

Dear friends,

A blessed month of October to all!

We have been busy preparing for an exciting Church School year, planning a number of new projects that should be available within the next few months. In the meantime, we want to share some of our news and wish everyone a fruitful Religious Education year!

Mini Teaching Units

Lately, we have been receiving inquiries on how a teacher could use our resources as part of a more comprehensive curriculum, with a common theme not necessarily linked to a specific time of the year. Our lessons and online material are already organized according to broader themes and seasons, however, we were intrigued to combine some of them into mini teaching units.

We just uploaded a new webpage, which showcases several such mini units, each one with an overarching theme. Every unit can be taught over the course of a few weeks, with each lesson illustrating the main theme in a different way.

Even if you have used some of these resources in the past, they are worth exploring again. As our online material has been accumulating, even we discover things that we have forgotten we created ourselves!

GOArch Teacher Certification Program

For the past two years, Orthodox Pebbles creator Natalie Tzobanakis has been working on the Teacher Certification Program of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. She is now excited to be getting close to its completion! Admittedly, it has been a long process, but a very rewarding one, and this is why we are sharing this here, hoping to inspire fellow religious educators to follow the same path.

Natalie can confidently say that the program provided her with a deeper knowledge of the theology and practices of our Church, and a more concrete foundation on religious education methods, while also offering an opportunity for personal reflection and introspection. Overall, she feels that she gained the ability to respond to challenges in the classroom more effectively, organize more comprehensive lessons, and better serve our youth in developing their own relationship with Christ.

If you are not familiar with this program, we definitely recommend checking it out!

Retreats by Orthodox Pebbles

We have been receiving inquiries about retreats these past few weeks, and we realize that now is the time that many parishes plan their activities for the year. We would love to come to your own space to organize a creative and interactive educational event for young and old alike! All participants will delve deeper into an Orthodox theme, while the adults will also explore ways to effectively teach a religious education topic, at home or in the Church School classroom.

As an alternative to a live Orthodox Pebbles retreat, we will be more than happy to help you plan your own event, with custom-made material according to your parish needs.

Please feel free to CONTACT US!

Old Testament resources/New Antiochian Archdiocese curriculum

We were very excited to learn that the Department of Christian Education of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America recently launched a new curriculum on the Old Testament. The first part is now available, and they plan to keep working on this theme throughout the year. Their other activities, such as the creative festivals, will also be based on the Old Testament.

For a while, we have been thinking of doing more work on the Old Testament, so this gives us one more reason to do so. Expect to see new Old Testament posts on our website this year – some especially prepared with the Antiochian Archdiocese curriculum in mind. In the meantime, we already have free crafts and teaching printables for you to use if you are exploring the following Old Testament themes:

• The Ladder of Jacob
• Moses and the Burning Bush
• The Ark of the Covenant
• Aaron and the Staff that sprouted
• Gideon and the Fleece
• Isaiah and the Tongs
• Ezekiel and the Sealed Gate
• Daniel and the Mountain Unhewn
• Zachariah and the Seven-light Lampstand

Even if you are not following the curriculum by the Antiochian Archdiocese, working on the Old Testament is most appropriate for the months preceding the Nativity of Christ. You can combine the above material with our free lesson on the prefigurations of the Theotokos. We have also created a craft kit on the same theme, containing gaming cards and crafting templates to help offer a rich learning experience.

Fall teaching material

As always, the resources on our website that are most appropriate for the current season have been grouped together on these pages:

• Fall
• All seasons

We extend our warmest wishes to all our friends and fellow Orthodox religious educators. May we all have a blessed Church School year!

Dear friends,

We have gradually collected a lot of Holy Week content on the Orthodox Pebbles website, and it’s getting a bit hard to navigate. We thought it would be helpful to include everything that you can use for teaching today in the easy-to-access list below.

Printable packet
Includes planner, flashcards, a worksheet and a fact sheet. A new page with printing instructions was just added, in case you have any difficulties printing our PDF files.

Free crafts
Make a flower-framed icon of the Crucifixion.

Free lesson plan: Four icons for Pascha
Use four icons in sequence to teach about the Holy Passion and the Resurrection. Includes a short animation video to help present the themes.

Digital activities
A slideshow, a digital matching game and a Memory game for the whole of Holy Week. Start learning the Paschal troparion today!

Holy Week Craft Kit tutorial of the day
If you own our Holy Week Craft Kit, the crafting instructions for Holy Thursday are on this page.

Pascha fabric set
A soft fleecy teaching aid to help teach about Pascha. If you own it already, don’t forget to print out the bonus activities (the password is on the back of the package cover card).

Background information
Summarized information and curated helpful links for the instructor. Explore the Orthodox service of this evening, and learn about the icon of the Extreme Humility.

A blessed Holy Thursday to all!

Dear friends,

We have gradually collected a lot of Holy Week content on the Orthodox Pebbles website, and it’s getting a bit hard to navigate. We thought it would be helpful to include everything that you can use for teaching today in the easy-to-access list below.

Printable packet
Includes planner, flashcards, a worksheet and a fact sheet. I just added a new page with printing instructions in case you have any difficulties printing our PDF files.

Free crafts
Make the silver coins of Judas and a scene inspired by the Mystical Supper icon.

Holy Week Craft Kit tutorial of the day
If you own our Holy Week Craft Kit, the crafting instructions for Holy Wednesday are on this page.

Digital activities
A slideshow, a digital matching game and a Memory game for the whole of Holy Week.

Background information
Summarized information and curated helpful links for the instructor. Explore the Orthodox service of this evening, and learn about the icon of the Mystical Supper.

A blessed Holy Wednesday to all!

Dear friends,

We have gradually collected a lot of Holy Week content on the Orthodox Pebbles website, and it’s getting a bit hard to navigate. We thought it would be helpful to include everything that you can use for teaching today in the easy-to-access list below.

Printable packet
Includes planner, flashcards, a worksheet and a fact sheet.

Free craft and hands-on activity
Make a paper oil lamp and a working oil lamp out of a citrus fruit.

Holy Week Craft Kit tutorial of the day
If you own our Holy Week Craft Kit, the crafting instructions for Holy Monday are on this page.

Digital activities
A slideshow and a digital matching game for the whole of Holy Week.

Background information
Summarized information and curated helpful links for the instructor. Explore the Orthodox service of this evening, learn about the Bridegroom icon, and about ancient oil lamps.

A blessed Holy Monday to all!

Dear friends,

On the Orthodox Pebbles website, you will find the following material for this week:

• A new lesson plan on St. Mary of Egypt and the Holy Hermits.

It includes resources for teaching not only about the Saint, but also about Orthodox monasticism – including sayings of the Desert Fathers, a cool mini desert diorama, information about the Holy Hermits and an activity on the most secluded area of the Holy Mountain of Athos in Greece.

Additionally…

• Great Lent Craft Kit tutorial Week 5
• Great Lent Lapbook Week 5
• Older post with extra activities for Great Lent Week 6 on repentance and temptation.
• The Raising of Lazarus lesson plan

A blessed Fifth Sunday of Lent to all!

EXPLORE RESOURCES

Dear friends,

We are sharing some unfortunate news: The Orthodox Pebbles Instagram account got hacked yesterday. The account was taken over and we can’t have any access to it. It is posting malicious content and sending messages on our behalf, trying to manipulate Orthodox Pebbles followers. There is absolutely nothing we can do about it! We can’t contact the followers to warn them or get back into our account. 

PLEASE HELP US OUT!

If you have been following us on Instagram, kindly do the following:

• Follow the new account we created for Othodox Pebbles, @orthodox.pebbles (with a dot between the words).
• Help spread the word on social media so people can find us back! We have no way of reaching out to them ourselves.
• REPORT THE HACKED ACCOUNT as follows:
  – Go to the previous account, which is currently named ___.orthodoxpebbles__ii
  – Click on the 3 dots by the bell.
  – Click “Report account”.
  – Choose the option that says “fraudulent or impersonation”.
  – Then use the new name as the one they are impersonating.

If many people report it, it will be blocked by Instagram, and at least the terrible content will stop.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help!

With love in Christ,
Natalie and Despina

GO TO INSTAGRAM