Week 3: Annunciation & Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Goal: to learn about St. John’s parents and icons depicting him
Notes for the Teacher: This week, we are working on familiarizing our kids with some vocabulary: annunciation, nativity, the Temple, and forerunner. It’s important for our kids to understand these words in order for them to make connections when they hear them later. Do they know that St. John the Baptist and St. John the Forerunner are the same person? Do they know that the Archangel Gabriel is the one who brings good news? Do they know that when we say the Nativity of St. John, the Theotokos, or Christ – we are talking about their birth?
St. John's Childhood
A monastery was built on the spot where St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist hid in a cave. Learn more by clicking on the photo.
Upper Elementary Lesson
For those of you who would like to create a timeline of major events in Luke, we start this activity in this lesson. It is not important which miracle or parable came in which order – we don’t know. We do, however, know that St. John the Baptist was born before Jesus. These are the events we record on the timeline. You can have the children create individual timelines as an ongoing project using index cards that you tape together or one classroom timeline that you hang on the wall. You can get ideas for timelines on Pinterest.
Middle / High School Lesson
For those of you who would like to create a timeline of major events in Luke, we start this activity in this lesson. It is not important which miracle or parable came in which order – we don’t know. We do, however, know that St. John the Baptist was born before Jesus. These are the events we record on the timeline. You can have the children create individual timelines as an ongoing project using index cards that you tape together or one classroom timeline that you hang on the wall. You can get ideas for timelines on Pinterest.