Search this site powered by FreeFind |
|
|
The liturgical season of Advent begins on Sunday, December 1, 2002. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It is a time to prepare our hearts and our lives for the Christ child. We are getting ready to celebrate!
Click here for our Advent Calendar
December 12 - 23.
If the holidays are too busy, you can use this as a 12 days of Christmas and start on Christmas Day and end January 6th, (Epiphany).
For the first 10 days we cover 2 letters of the ABC's of Advent. The last 2 days we cover 3 letters.
We read stories, do fun activities, read scriptures and sing Christmas songs each night during the devotional. We decorate the house with the objects from the night's ABC list. When I pack up all the Christmas decorations I pack a special box just with the devotional decorations. I place Christmas cards with angels and baby Jesus in an large envelope and write "DAY 1 "A" and "B". This year I let the kids unseal the envelopes each day. On day 1 they opened the envelope at the beginning of the devotional time to discover what A & B stood for in our Christmas Devotion. At the end of the devotional time the kids take the cards and place the cards on the windows or walls to decorate the house. We also place Angels around the house This year we made ornaments from some of the Christmas cards. I will place the homemade ornaments in the envelopes so next year they can hang the decorations on the night we discuss that object of the Christmas story.
The following is our guide for each night. We recommend the following books to go with each night's devotion, but you can substitute your favorite stories.
"The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ. A partridge often feigns injury to draw attention to herself and away from her young to protect them from danger. Because of its self sacrifice the partridge was used to represent Christ."
Place Angel decorations on the table in front of each person.
Start by having everyone do
Day 1 activity page.
SCRIPTURES: Luke 2: 8-20
STORY:
CRAFT: Make Angels. Here is a step by step instructions on Gold Doily Angels
FAMILY DISCUSSION: God created angels to be His heavenly messengers. They tell people on earth God's words. Angels Praise God. God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Mary and Joseph that they would have a baby who would be God's son. The angel told them to name the baby "Jesus".
SONG: Hark the Herold Angels Sing
PRAYER: Go around the table asking each person to say a pray, or read this Christmas Prayer:
CLOSING: Each day at closing we ask everyone to decorate the house with the pictures and decorations we made during today's lesson. Today it is Angels and Baby Jesus.
As a special activity we added learning the meanings of each of the gifts of the song "Twelve Days of Christmas". According to popular tradiiton, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly from 1558 until 1829. During that era this carol was written as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember: ADVENT
**NOTE ~ This is an old page from our first days of making Advent pages online. We now have thousands of pages and resources JUST 4 KIDS MAGAZINE For updated information go to 2011 Christmas Adventures Information
12 DAYS OF ADVENT
We start our family devotions for Christmas 14 days before Christmas. Doing 12 days of advent devotions nightly until the day before Christmas Eve.
On the first day we made a Partridge-in-a-Pear-Tree Cake found in Nov 19, 2002 issue of Woman's World magazine. As we made the cake I explained the meaning of the Partridge in this song. For the recipe click on picture of cakeDAY 1
A is for Angels
B is for Baby Jesus
and Psalm 91: 1
"An Alphabet of ANGELS"
by Nancy Willard
O God, our loving Father,
Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus,
That we may share in the song of the angels,
The gladness of the shepherds,
And the worship of the wise men.
May the Christmas morning make us happy
to be thy children.
And the Christmas evening bring us to
our beds with grateful thoughts,
Forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.
Amen
Robert Louis Stevenson
DAY 2
"Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. Because they have one mate for life the turtle doves represent enduring relationships, such as the unbreakable bond between the Old and New Testaments."
C is for City of BethlehemSCRIPTURE: Matthew 2: 1-12
STORY: 
Just 4 Kids Magazine December story "Up and Away to New Adventures - Traveling Back to Bethlehem
CRAFT: Make Christmas ornaments from pictures on christmas cards. Try to find a picture with Bethlehem and add glitter or yarn around the edges. Cut out a donkey from a christmas card or from felt to make an ornament of a donkey.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem. They rode on a donkey. It was a long way to Bethlehem and there were no cars, trains or airplanes for them to ride. The donkey is a symbol of peace and humbleness.
SONG: O Little Town of Bethlehem
and read the history of this song.
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
E is for Evergreen TreeSCRIPTURE: 1 John 4:9 "God showed how much He loved us by sending His only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him."
STORY: 
Read "The Tale Of Three Trees"
retold by Angela Elwell Hunt
CRAFT: Make ornaments from pictures of special Christmas', or frame your favorite Christmas pictures and display in a special place. Jamie said her favorite Christmas was the year she took pictures of her cats under the Christmas tree and Jonathan said his favorite was the year he got his dog Shadow for Christmas. So we took the cat pictures and a picture of Shadow and made ornaments for the tree.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: God chose Mary and Joseph to be the earthly parents of His son Jesus. If you accept Jesus as your savior you become part of God's family. God is your heavenly Father and you are His special child.
SONG: O' Christmas Tree
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
FAMILY TIME: Do something extra special as a family tonight. If you have not gotten your Christmas Tree this is a great day to go out together as a family and find that perfect tree, or decorate your tree.
If you already have your tree up and decorated, you can enjoy family time br making cookies together.
G is for Gift of GraceSCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 9:14b,15 "...because of the surpassing Grace God has give you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable Gift."
and Romans 5:5 "Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our Hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."
STORY:
The Gift by R. Kent Hughes
& illustrated by Ron DiCianni
CRAFT: Paint Heart ornaments for the tree, or cut out your favorite pictures in the shape of hearts and place on the christmas tree. We place clear contact paper on the front and back of the pictures before we cut them out. This protects the pictures for many years.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: God gave us a wonderful gift, His only son, Jesus Christ. He was born as a baby. He died on a cross for our sins. He did this because He loves us, not because we deserve His love, but because of His grace. Grace is God's free gift to us, His children, because He loves us.
SONG: Away In the Manger
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
I is for InnSCRIPTURE:
STORY: 
"Jacob's Gift" by Max Lucado
CRAFT: Find Christmas card with the word "JOY" written on them. Make ornaments and write Joy on it. We painted wooden ornaments from the craft store that already had JOY printed on them.
Jacob gave his beautful wood work as a gift to the baby Jesus because he needed a place to sleep. You can also share what you have with those less fortunate. We enjoy selecting a special gift for some child who's family cannot afford to buy them a gift. It brings our hearts JOY when we share with those in need.
SONG: JOY TO THE WORLD
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1 and read the below quote.)
"Christmas is a season of joy and good will,
of singing and merriment,
of generosity and brotherhood.
Christmas is a season of sharing and love.
Christmas is a season of concern for the needs of others,
a season of the helping hand.
And that's as it should be.
For there is great satisfaction in
making others happy.
SALVATION ARMY WAR CRY
K is for King of KingsSCRIPTURE: Luke 2 : 15-17, 20
CRAFT: Make lambs for the advent board (* see directions below)
STORY: 
"The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado
SONG: What Child Is This?
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
M is for Multitude of Angels
SCRIPTURES: Luke 2: 13-14
and Luke 1: 31-32
and Matthew 1: 22-23
STORY:
The Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
CRAFT: Place a multitude of angels on the Advent bulletine board (*See directions below). Cut out a string of paper-doll-style angels joined at the wings, for a garland of angels for your tree or the Advent bulletine board.
SONG: The First Noel
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
O is for "O Come All Ye Faithful"
SCRIPTURES: James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father."
John 3:19 "The light from heaven came into the world."
STORY:
"The Legend of the Poinsettia"
by Tommie dePaola
or Read the Just 4 Kids Magazine's "The Legend of the Poinsettia"
CRAFT: Make Presents for the advent bulletine board. We used a rubber stamp of a gift and dipped in paint. We placed the painted stamp on a piece of felt and added some glitter and cut around the print. Let dry before placing on the advent bulletine board.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: Discuss why the shepherds wanted to go see the baby Jesus. Do you think you would have wanted to go too?
SONG: O Come All Ye Faithful
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
Q is for Quiet TimeSCRIPTURE: Psalm 46: 10a "Be still and know that I am God."
STORY: 
"The Candymaker's Gift"
by David & Helen Haidle
or read our Just 4 Kids December Issue's story:
The Candy Cane Legend.
CRAFT: Make ornaments using candy canes. You can make deer ornaments by adding pipe cleaners for antlers and little beaded eyes. and a small red ball for the red nose. Or you can just place candy canes on the tree for decorations.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: Christmas is less than a week away. Today let us stop and take a few minutes to forget about everything and quietly think about the true reason that we celebrate Christmas - The birth of Jesus.
SONG: Silent Night, Holy Night
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
S is for Saint Nicholas
T is for Twinkling StarSCRIPTURE: Matthew 2:9
STORY: "The True Meaning of Christmas" as told by Santa Clause. Click to read story.
CRAFT: Make Stars for the advent bulletine board (*See directions below)
FAMILY DISCUSSION:
SONG: The Little Drummer Boy
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
U is for "Unto Us a Child is Born"SCRIPTURE: Matthew 2: 7-12
STORY:"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry Read this classic online or print it from your computer.
Here is a great site for teaching Kids about Epiphany, which is celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas January 6th and remembers the Visit from the Wisemen. Domestic-Church for Kids
CRAFT: Cut out pictures of wise men from christmas cards.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: The wise men followed that twinkling star to Bethlehem to find the new born King, baby Jesus. They presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were very valuable gifts and helped Mary and Joseph take care of their new son. What gift can you give to Jesus this Christmas.
SONG: We Three Kings
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
X is for Jesus Christ
SCRIPTURE: Luke 2: 18-19
STORY: 4 His Kids - 12 Days of Christmas
or Just 4 Kids Magazine "12 Days of Christmas - The True Meaning of the Song"
CRAFT: Make a Yule Log Cake
Read this history of Yule Logs as you bake the cake.
FAMILY DISCUSSION: The Bible tells us that God is watching over us and never slumbers or sleeps. God always loves us and takes care of us. So sleep well tonight knowing that you have made Jesus happy this Advent season because you remembered the true meaning of Christmas - JESUS!
SONG: Twelve Days of Christmas
PRAYER & CLOSING: (See day 1)
Day 9 - we made twinkling stars and placed on top.
The ABC's of Advent idea was taken from an Advent calendar made by Lorna Anema & Natalie Thomas
| We are the leading the world in providing best 000-281 and 1K0-001 prep solutions. Our incredible offers for 1z0-560 and cissp are accessible at reasonable prices; our gmat practice test is very rare in IT world. |
Holy Spirit Dove graphic from religion art
Angel Lamb from Strawberry Angel