Day 2 of Creation: Sky

February 24, 2011 by   — 4 Comments

This day of creation is intriguing to me.  I had never really thought of the “sky” as what separates the two bodies of water (water in the oceans and water in the clouds) until Big Brother and I read the text together. 

“And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.”  -Genesis 1: 6-8

Go here to download this image.

We just had a thunderstorm last night, so it made it easier to explain the fact that when clouds get too much water in them, then the water comes down in the form of rain. 

Here’s what you’ll need to make the “craft” for this day:  construction paper, scissors, a marker, and cotton balls.

1.  Let your little one start pulling apart the cotton balls and gluing them onto a light-blue piece of construction paper.
2.  In the meantime, cut out waves from a darker piece of construction paper (or let your child do this step if he/she is proficient at using scissors).

3.  Let your child glue on the waves and label (if you want).

And here is the song to go along with Day 2:

“Day 2, Day 2
God made clouds and skies so blue
Day 2, Day 2
God made cloud and skies so blue!”
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Filed Under: 2-3 years, 3-5 years, Days of Creation, Spiritual and Moral Development

Day 1 of Creation: Light

February 23, 2011 by   — 11 Comments

Our next thematic unit will be on the days of creation.  My mom gave me of the ideas in this unit from when she used to teach Sunday school years ago.

Teaching our children to grow in their love and knowledge of God is one of our greatest pursuits as parents.  Showing that God is the Maker and Creator of all things is a great place to start with little ones.  Just yesterday, Big Brother was telling me during some post-nap cuddle time that, “God made the trees…and flowers…and moon…and stars…and bathrooms…and potties!”  :)

I would strongly suggest to open up your {adult} Bible and read each day of creation directly from the Good Book.  So for today, open up to Genesis 1 and read verses 1-5.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
(Go here to download this image)

To go along with the first day of creation, we’ll be making a light box.

Here’s what you’ll need:  a shoebox, black paint, a paintbrush, a knife or scissors, and a flashlight.

1.  Cut two holes in the shoebox using the scissors or knife.  Put one hole on the opposite end of the other, but not directly parallel…you don’t want your child looking directly into the flashlight.  Then give your little child the paintbrush and some black paint.  Let him/her get started painting the entire inside of the shoebox.  (Just make sure you keep a close eye…I stepped away to answer the phone and now have a large lovely black spot on my rug).

2.  Let it dry.

3.  Once it’s dry, ask him/her to look in the hole and tell you what they see (intended response:  black, darkness, “I can’t see anything”).

At first they’ll see this, but once you turn on the flashlight and place it in the other hole…

…They’ll see this!

Big Brother loved holding the flashlight himself and turning it off and on while he looking through the peeping hole!

Talk to your child about how big God must be to make light for the whole world!  Then you can introduce this song…there will be a new verse to add for each day!

 
(Once again, please excuse my terrible singing voice)
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Filed Under: 1-2 Years, 2-3 years, 3-5 years, Days of Creation, Spiritual and Moral Development

Journal of Letters

January 24, 2011 by   — 14 Comments

I didn’t intend to start a journal for each of the boys.  It actually came about on whim (as with many things in my life).  When I found out I was pregnant with Big Brother, I was in shock.  We hadn’t really expected it to happen as fast as it did.  During my plan time the following day at school, I was trying to process it all…how excited, scared, nervous, and joyful I was.  I opened my desk drawer and pulled out an empty journal (the one on the bottom in the photograph below).  I began writing a letter to the unborn life inside of me.  I shared how we found out, how I told Prince Charming, and all of the emotions I was feeling.  I continued to write in the journal for Big Brother about once every month or two from then on. 

Once I found out I was pregnant with Little Brother, I wanted to do the same thing.  As I was perusing the journals at Barnes and Noble, I then had the idea of creating a journal for Prince Charming and me (I was inspired by John and Elizabeth Baxter’s relationship in the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury).  Even though I’m the only one who has written in our journal (uh-hum), I know it will be a treasure for all our life together…a record of the season’s of life that have come and gone and how God’s love has carried us through it all.

I’m not sure when I will give the boy’s their journals.  I write the letters to them, not like they are babies, but like they are adults.  Perhaps when the graduate high school, get married, or have their first child.  Or maybe I’ll share special letters with them at pivotal times in their growing up years to show how much they are loved.  And as morbid as it may sound, as least they will have something of me if anything should happen.
I also keep a personal blog with pictures, milestones, and funny things they say, but their journal is for especially for them.  There are things I tell them in their journal that I wouldn’t necessarily share with the entire internet.  And I think there is power in the hand-written word.  I would LOVE to type everything out because it is so much faster, but handwriting will soon be a lost art.  Plus, it seems more personal.  Right or wrong, a handwritten card in the mail means more than a quick e-mail…even if they say the exact same thing. 
I love looking back and reliving the memories…reading about how I bawled my eyes out as I read Love You Forever to Big Brother when he was a day old, the fear and complete dependence on God when the OB told us they detected an irregularity with Little Brother’s heart, and the scriptures that have touched my heart at different times in our journey together. 
There are lots of options for journals here, or you could even make your own!  And if you’re interested, my friend Julie also has an amazing idea for creating prayer journals for her children each year here. 
What about you?  How do you record your child(ren)’s milestones and memories??
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Filed Under: Helpful Hints for Parents, Spiritual and Moral Development, What Works for Us

The Blessing Jar

December 29, 2010 by   — 13 Comments

The Blessing Jar has been a tradition in my family for several years.  My oldest brother Brian and my mom found ceramic jars that said “Blessings” on them back during Christmas of 1996 while traveling to see my great-grandmother.  My brother insisted that we buy one for all of our extended family and many special friends.  Little did we know, that would be the last Christmas we would be able to spend with my oldest brother…

You may be familiar with the old hymn Count Your Blessings…“Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings see what God hath done!”  That is the exact purpose of The Blessing Jar…to be reminded of the ways that God has worked in our lives over the previous year.

*This really is just one jar, I just had to take two pictures to show the entire word “blessings”.

Here’s how it works:  Whenever you recognize a “blessing” in your life throughout the year, just write it on a piece of paper, fold it up, and stick it in The Blessing Jar.  On New Years Eve, dump out all the blessings from the entire year and go through it together as a family.  It will be a great reminder of God’s faithfulness…in times of joy AND in times of difficulty!

(And if you’re scrambling on New Years Eve to write all the blessings down that you forgot to write during the year like we often do…that’s okay too).

We already have a Blessing Jar, but I thought it would be fun to “remake” one (perhaps for a gift next year).  Here are the instructions for making a Blessing Jar:
1.  Grab a clean jar with a lid (I used an old spaghetti sauce jar).

2.  Download and print the sheet music to Count Your Blessings here (left-hand side…click on “View PDF Sheet Music”).  Tape it on your jar.

3.  Add a label using scrapbook paper and stickers (I would suggest using smaller stickers…mine were quite large and, as you can see, you can’t get view the whole word “blessings” without turning the jar).

4.  Add a ribbon (or you could even make one of these adorable felt roses).

5.  Start adding blessings!

I hope this will be a tradition your family treasures as much as mine does!

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Filed Under: Spiritual and Moral Development

12 Days of Christmas Giving

December 8, 2010 by   — 4 Comments

We’ve been on a quest this year to instill family traditions that reflect the true meaning of Christmas…a celebration of the birth of our Savior and a reminder of our calling to be a light in this world because of Christ’s gift.

So this year we’re starting a tradition that I hope will continue for many, many years…12 Days of Christmas Giving!  Each day (starting December 13), we will strive to do one small act of kindness for someone else (as a family).  The majority of this “giving” won’t be monetary, rather it will be giving of our time, our energy, and ourselves (which is often much harder for me than monetary giving). 

One of our greatest callings in this life is to be a servant to others just as Christ was during his short time on earth.  Yet, I find that serving others is so very difficult for me.  Perhaps it’s because I can be extremely selfish and possessive of our “family time” or perhaps it’s because I am just tired and don’t want to muster the energy to serve someone else.  So…this little tradition is more for me than for anyone else in our family.  I need to be encouraged to serve every time of the year, but I figure this is a good time to start.

I would love it if you would join me in encouraging your family to “give” of ourselves this Christmas.  Here are just a few ideas I came up with:

  • Deliver gift bread to our neighbors
  • Ring bells as a family for the Salvation Army
  • Take a meal to someone
  • Visit a nursing home
  • Deliver Christmas cookies to the local firestation
  • Make an end-of-year contribution to a church or charity (and include the children in the giving)
  • Make a visit to an elderly person in their home
  • Choose a child from the Angel Tree and let the children help pick out a gift
What ideas do you have???? 
Join me each day on our Facebook page (starting Monday) as we share ways we have given to others!  And if you have a blog, I would love it if you would link-up to get the mesage out!
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Filed Under: Christmas, Service Projects, Spiritual and Moral Development
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