We are quickly approaching the Feast of All Saints on November 1. Making saints a part of your everyday conversation helps kids make friends with men and women (and even girls and boys!) who show us how to follow Jesus with their very lives.

Here are some practical ways you can make the saints your kids' best friends:

Leave picture books of saints around your house and in your car. You can easily find picture books of saints for kids, and now there are also books of saints with great pictures (or photos) for more advanced readers and for adults. Pictures speak more than words sometimes, and they tend to "stick" in our memories more, quietly acting on our hearts and wills.

Follow the liturgical calendar of saints yourself. Read the biography of the saint of the day before you start your day or when you need a break. Here is one place you could find these biographies.

Go to Pinterest for cool, fresh, and easy crafts, activities and recipes to celebrate the saints! Here is a page to get you started.

Don't have time for too many saint activities? Let the kids choose one saint a month to celebrate and find different ways to learn about and celebrate the saint and her/his message.

If you want to bring great saints books to kids at your school you'll want to investigate JClub Catholic Books Fairs for kids and Pauline Books and Media's Encounter the Saints Series. Parents, make sure you investigate the coloring books and story books about the saints for kids of every age here.