Today in Sunday school (which is done during the homily for us) I had the kids work together to decorate a cross (a humble little plain cross we had glued and painted from a kit we bought years ago that has glue glops and is imperfect) with basil and roses while I read them the teaching from the Tending the Garden of our Hearts podcast. It gave them a practical (flower arranging is needed in church for various feast days) and tactile skill (smelling the basil and roses, doing something useful with their hands) while hearing the teaching. We practiced venerating with the coordination of our fingers and proper bows and then Matushka brought the tray of leftover basil they had clipped and the tray with the cross they decorated out into the church right next to the one they had done “for real” and Father blessed them at the end of the service with holy water and everyone did their prostrations and venerations and marveled over their arrangement, “Nice touch!” and “That was such a beautiful thing the kids did today!”
Living Liturgically 