Are you looking for good books for your children that are wholesome, fun, and educational? After many years of struggling to find great books for my children I've decided to share the knowledge I have gained with you. I will only recommend books that I would read with my children or allow them to read on their own. If there is anything in a book that I feel would be objectionable to a Christian family I will tell you about it in my review. My goal is to help you find good books for your children, so visit My Book Reviews to see what I have recently reviewed. I will be adding reviews as time allows, so check back often or subscribe to my feed.
Mar. 19, 2008
Resurrection Eggs
Posted in Crafts for Fun
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This is not a new idea at all, but it is such a wonderful way to share the true Easter story with young children. I thought I would share this just in case someone had never heard of it before. Here is how it works. Place 12 plastic eggs in an empty egg carton. Number the eggs 1-12 (in order) with a permanent marker. Inside each egg place the following items and read the corresponding scriptures with your child: Egg 1: Leaf - John 12:12-13 “The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” Egg 2: Perfume (on cotton ball) - John 12:3 “Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” Egg 3: Silver coin - Matthew 26:14-16 “Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.” Egg 4: Cracker - Matthew 26:26-28 “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said “Take, eat: this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Egg 5: Feather - Matthew 26:33-34 “Peter declared to him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” Egg 6: Purple cloth - John 19:1-3 “Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe; they came up to him, saying, ”Hail, King of the Jews!” Egg 7: Cross - John 19:16-18 “Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.” Egg 8: Sponge - John 19:28-30 “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Egg 9: White cloth - John 19:40-42 “They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.” Egg 10: Spices - Mark 16:1-2 “And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen.” Egg 11: Stone - Mark 16:3-4 “And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back - it was very large.” Egg 12: Empty - Mark 16:5-6 “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him.” If you are crafty you can even decoupage or otherwise decorate the outside of the egg carton. We are doing this with our 3-5 year old class tonight at church. The children will have this to keep at home as a reminder of the true story of Easter. I hope you enjoy doing this project with your children and grand-children. Blessings, Missy |
Nov. 12, 2007
Sew, Mama, Sew...Great Ideas for handmade Christmas gifts
Posted in Crafts for Fun
 If you are looking for some great ideas for handmade gifts that you can give this Christmas season check out Sew, Mama, Sew. She will post a new item each day for the month of November, and each item includes a materials list and tutorial. The site was a little confusing to me in the beginning, but now that I have figured it out I cannot wait to get started making gifts. So go check it out at Sew, Mama, Sew! Blessings, Missy |
Oct. 23, 2007
Crafts for Fun - Autumn Leaf Shirt
Posted in Crafts for Fun
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I was reminded today that when my kids were younger (1st grade or so) we did a craft project with our home school group that the kids enjoyed. I thought I would pass this along to you. It's not original, but it might spark your imagination. If you have craft projects you would like to share for Autumn feel free to post your project in the comments or e-mail them to me. I might add them to the blog.
Autumn Leaf Shirts Have the kids gather fallen leaves of different shapes. You'll need leaves that are still flexible. Give them a sponge paint brush and some acrylic paint with some fabric medium added (you get fabric medium in the same area as the acrylic paint usually). We used red, brown, and yellow. Be sure to put something thick inside the t-shirt before painting on it such as cardboard, poster board, aluminum foil or wax paper. This will keep the paint from bleeding through. Have them brush the backs of the leaves with a thin layer of paint and lay the leaf paint side down on the shirt and press. Then gently pull the leaf off. You should have a good print of the leaf shape with the veins showing up darker.
The fun thing is kids love to paint, and they can lay the pattern out any way they want. You could paint in the center letters that spell out their names or "Happy Fall" or "Autumn Harvest" or anything you like. If you use a long sleeve t-shirt or sweatshirt you can even put the leaf prints down the sleeves. If this is a group project you could do a few leaf prints on the back with the name of your home school group in the middle and just put one leaf print on the front (where a pocket would be on a shirt) and put their names above or below it. The options with this type of project are as few or many as you can think of. So, what are some of your favorite Autumn craft projects? Let me know! Blessings, Missy |