By Susan Ciancio
Whether you’re a teacher, a homeschool parent, a religious education instructor, or if you just want to teach the culture of life at home to your children, we have what you need. In addition to awesome CLSP lessons (including free ones!), our list offers fun and exciting ways to spread the culture of life in your family and in your community.
Not only is October Respect Life Month, but it’s Down Syndrome Awareness Month and Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month as well. Here are some great ways to live a pro-life lifestyle with your family and students this October.
Reach out to a family who has a child with Down syndrome. Show your support and appreciation for their example with a basket of goodies and a card that tells them what a beautiful family they have. You just might make their day! Find more activities and resources about Down Syndrome Awareness Month here or check out our ideas to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
If you know someone who has recently lost a baby due to miscarriage, write a note expressing your sorrow and reminding her of the value of her precious little one. See our article on miscarriage for some inspiration. And if you’ve lost a baby through miscarriage, know that you are not alone. Using our pro-life lessons can be a jumping-off point for discussing miscarriage with your kids.
40 Days for Life runs from September 25 – November 3 this year, so you have all of October to participate! 40 Days for Life is a prayerful vigil outside of Planned Parenthood clinics across the country that not only witnesses to mothers and fathers entering the clinic, but also to the abortion clinic workers and passersby on the street. Volunteers have saved over 16,000 babies! Check its website for details.
October 1 is the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux. Talk about St. Therese’s Little Way. How can you help your students to see that they can build a culture of life in little ways? Every act of kindness toward their fellow man, every prayer said for preborn babies, every visit to a nursing home: It all matters. Take time to learn about St. Therese’s parents, who are also saints!
October 2 is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. Explain the importance of guardian angels and how we should pray to them every day. You can even name your guardian angel! Say the prayer with your children. As a handwriting assignment for little ones, have them write out the prayer. If you are using the spiritual adoption program, remind children that their little adopted babies have guardian angels too! Consider saying the guardian angel prayer as a class or family for babies in danger of being aborted.
Encourage your children to write! We will announce the prompts for our annual Pro-Life Essay Contest this month. Look for an e-mail and follow us on social media! This is a great way for students of all ages (grades 3-12) to express their pro-life beliefs. This year, we are doing something NEW for k-2—a coloring contest! Young children will love the opportunity to use their skills and creativity to color a beautiful pro-life image. Look for details coming soon!
October 4 is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Read the story of St. Francis with your children and teach them the peace prayer. You can find it at this site: Prayer of St. Francis. This is a beautiful prayer and one that all Catholics should know. Have your children memorize it and recite it back to you. You can even have younger kids write it on a piece of paper and decorate it. Talk about how becoming an instrument of peace can help to build a culture of life.
October 5 is the Feast of St. Faustina Kowalska. Today is a great day to talk about God’s mercy. Read our blog post about how mercy helps to build a culture of life.
October 6 is Life Chain Sunday! Join parishes across the country as they stand in solidarity for preborn babies on this first Sunday in October. To learn more, visit nationallifechain.org.
October 7 is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which has its roots in the Battle of Lepanto. Combine history and religion by reading this article to your children. Discuss the importance of relying on God, especially during the difficult times in life. Say a decade of the Rosary together for an end to abortion. Teach young students about Mary, the mother of God, with our lesson entitled Honoring the Blessed Mother.
Dr. Jérôme Lejeune is known as the Father of Modern Genetics, but few people know that this brilliant French scientist who discovered the genetic cause of Down syndrome was Catholic and staunchly pro-life. Use this lesson to learn about Dr. Lejeune’s courage in defending children with Down syndrome. Begin conversations with your children about disabilities and caring for the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society.
Get kids thinking about how we are all special by using our All Shapes and Sizes study, which helps kids understand that people with disabilities are just like us. Our differences are what make the world such a beautiful place.
Participate in Pro-Life Cupcake Day on October 9! Bake pro-life themed cupcakes for family, friends, or to take to a pregnancy help center! It’s great fun for the whole family! Plus, you get to eat cupcakes.
October 15 the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila. How can following the example of this great saint help you to build a culture that respects life?
The third Tuesday in October is traditionally a Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity. Give up your voice for a day to represent the 3,000 babies killed by abortion every day. This is a powerful witness to the babies, and it teaches kids self-control. Imagine not talking for a whole day!
October is a great time to start planning for Christmas gifts. CLSP has partnered with Bear Food—a gourmet peanut company that hires special needs employees. Every tin of gourmet peanuts that you buy supports both pro-life education and adults with special needs. Visit bearfood.biz/culture-of-life-studies to learn more and to order! They make great personal and corporate gifts!
October 22 is the Feast of St. John Paul II. Search for some of his most famous quotes. Talk about them with your children. Have older children read excerpts from some of his writings, like Evangelium Vitae or his Letter to Women. Both documents contain incredible wisdom about building a culture of life.
October 26 is Make a Difference Day. This is a day to go out into your community and perform an act of volunteerism or an act of charity for someone. You can do it alone, with a friend, or even with a huge group of people. How can you use this day to build a culture of life? Know a single mom who needs her lawn mowed? Have an elderly neighbor who might delight in some freshly-picked flowers? Make someone feel special today!
October is also National Bullying Prevention Month. Use our lesson Caring for the Least of These to teach your children how to stand up for those who are bullied or who may feel too timid to stand up for themselves.
Use our K-2 lesson entitled Life Is Precious to teach young children about the beauty of preborn babies.
Teach young children about the relationship between our Blessed Mother and the ladybug with our free lesson entitled Ladybug Warriors.
All little kids like bedtime stories. Read aloud the book Wonder—a beautiful story about a young boy with a facial deformity. As you read, use our free discussion guide to hit on its important points with your kids.
Help your children see that having autism doesn’t stop people from doing amazing things. Watch Temple Grandin and then use our free movie discussion guide to talk about it.
Use our lesson Defend Life: The Beauty of the Developing Human Being to help middle schoolers learn about the development of preborn babies.
October 31 is Halloween! Do you love carving pumpkins? How about trying your hand at a pro-life pumpkin this year? It’s a great way to get people to think as they rush to your door in search of candy!
There are countless ways to weave pro-life education into each and every day. We hope you enjoy doing some or all of these activities! Have a fun and safe October!
This article has been reprinted with permission and can be found at cultureoflifestudies.com/clsp-blog-divi/october-pro-life-tool-kit/#.XYJZ9C2ZORs.