Faith formation class resumed after a three-week hiatus. We heard stories of their Christmases (travel to Ithaca to visit cousins, to the American Girl doll store in Boston, and a Kindle Fire were among the things shared), examined a print of Adoration of the Magi by Hippolyte Flandrin (1857), read from the Action Bible, examined the route on ancient and modern maps of the Middle East (also brought in a globe, which they loved), made this gifts of the Holy Spirit craft (inspired by and adapted from this), and had snack. A new girl joined the class and  declared "this is the best religion class ever!" Admittedly, this is only her third year of catechism, and snack figured prominently in her answer when we asked why, but she also said that usually stories are just read to them and they fill out worksheets. So despite wearing out the words "let's sit down now," "quiet down" (and "stop doing that") it was a pretty good night.