The Baby Left Behind Part 5

Posted on December 7, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

*Matthew 1:18-25 The Birth of Jesus

*A Jesus Baby Book: Did your mom or dad keep a baby book for you? Ask if you can look at it. It will have pictures of you as a baby. It will tell interesting things about when you were young and how you grew. You can make a baby book for Jesus. Think about the chapters you read in Matthew and Luke. There are many things you learned about Jesus’ birth. Draw pictures of these things on some pieces of paper. Write Bible verses that tell about each picture. Now stack the papers and punch two holes on one end. Thread a long piece of yarn through the holes. Tie the yarn to hold the papers together.

*My oldest took the challenge and drew each picture of her baby book about Jesus. For my other two we printed pages from the website below.

http://www.coloring.ws/nativity.htm

As a mother of three precious girls and one precious boy, I could not imagine having my own agenda on their birthday. Just think if I were to say I don’t have time for cake and presents, we’re too busy shopping for other people, we have to decorate the house for someone else! Their poor little heart would be broken. No, our world stops for our children’s birthdays. We plan parties, yes plural. We usually have a small one on their birthday and then another one on the following Saturday for all their friends to come to. We want to show them how much we love them and how special they are to us, so even more should we stop and celebrate the baby boy who came to save the world.

Thank you heavenly father for giving your only baby boy to die, so that we may live. Thank you Mary for obeying and trusting in the Lord. Thank you Joseph for not caring what the world thinks but holding true to what our heavenly father says. There are many lessons in this story to be learned, great character traits to follow after and verses to hold close to our heart. May we never forget the baby boy who came to give us this beautiful life we love and enjoy.

The Baby Left Behind Part 4

Posted on December 6, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Day 4: Wise Men from the East

*Read Matthew 2:1-12

*Wise Men Craft: Giggles and more giggles were heard throughout the house today with our painted camel craft. First I painted their hand, then they placed it on the paper one at time. Again, we choose to do the craft together, which I like better. It’s cute to see the different sizes of hands. Next I painted their pointer finger, they choose the color, this represented the wise men. Super simple cute craft for all ages!

*Short story: The wise men came from the East. No one is sure where they lived. When they saw a bright new star, they believed it told of the birth of a special child. These men were probably rich and journeyed on camels with servants to care for them. They reached Jerusalem some time after Jesus was born. First they visited King Herod, then the star led them to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. There, they worshipped Jesus and gave him gifts. (From: The First Christmas)

The Baby Left Behind Part 3

Posted on December 5, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Day 3: In Bethlehem

*Read Luke 2:1-20

*Stable: was a place where animals were kept and fed. The stable in Bethlehem were usually caves instead of buildings. The stable where Jesus was born was probably one of these caves.

*Manger: was something like a box that the animals ate from.

*To Moms: “But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.” I could write a book on this verse! I think it’s important to treasure up the good times we have with our children, the memories of holding them right when they were born, their first smile, their first step, etc…! I think it is also important to treasure up the beautiful moments in our everyday life, like a sunny day at the park, the sound of the waves crashing on a white sandy beach, the breeze blowing through our hair as we swing on a front porch with our best friend (hubby). These memories or treasures will and can sustain us in times when things aren’t going so well.

*Activity: Today both of the girls decided to draw a stable with everyone in it and around it. Then we made a very simple Nativity set 🙂

Nativity Set Craft/Ornament Directions:

*5 to 6 Popsicle Sticks (we used craft sticks…I didn’t have Popsicle sticks)

*Crayons, Markers, or Paint (your call)

*A Pipe Cleaner (optional)

*Glue (a hot glue gun works best)

Each child can make their own but we decided to break up the craft and just make one together. Each child picked who they wanted to color, then we glued it all together. You can also add a ribbon to the top of it, to make a cute ornament!

The Baby Left Behind Part 2

Posted on December 4, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Day 2: Our Journey Continues to Elizabeth’s Home

*Read Luke 1:39-45 Mary Visits Elizabeth

This part of the story gets me every time….When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby inside her jumped. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she called out, “God has blessed you more than other women. And blessed is the child you will have!… As soon as I heard the sound of your voice, the baby inside me jumped for joy. You are a woman God has blessed. You have believed that what the Lord has said to you will be done!”

A Little about Zechariah and Elizabeth: Elizabeth came from Mary’s family. Elizabeth was married to a priest. His name was Zechariah. They were both very old. They did not have any children. An angel told them that they would have a baby boy. The angel said to name the baby John. When baby John grew up, he was known as John the Baptist.

*Read Luke 1:46-56 Mary’s Song

*What is Mary’s song? This is the song Mary sang when she saw Elizabeth. Mary praised God for choosing her to be the mother of Jesus. She knew Jesus would be the Savior. Mary was a great young woman. She had great faith in God. (Adventure Bible for Early Readers)

*After reading Mary’s song out loud, take some time to let your little ones create their own song about baby Jesus or Mary and Elizabeth’s story. My oldest one is the artist so she decided to draw a picture of Mary singing to Elizabeth. The picture below is of my worship singer Victoria, she is singing a beautiful song about Mary and baby Jesus.

The Baby Left Behind

Posted on December 3, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Shopping, baking, wrapping, singing, decorating, more shopping, and more wrapping, Christmas is here! But what is Christmas? Yes, if someone asks us we might say it’s about Jesus’ birth and about spending time with family, but do we really mean it? For that we can look at facebook to see what everyone is posting or tweeting. We will quickly learn the baby has been left behind! He has been replaced by a fat man in a red suit, by Christmas lists, sales ads, garland, cookies and Christmas lights galore. I personally have nothing against any of those things, especially the man in the red suit, he comes to our house every year, but let us not forget the BABY.

I have decided to take this first week of December, the 3rd through the 7th, to breakdown The Christmas Story to the kids. We will not be making wreaths or paper candy canes this first week…we are setting the first week of this month to focus on finding this precious baby boy who has been left behind. I hope you will join us on our journey.

Day 1: The Annunciation

*Read Luke 1:26-38 out loud to your children. (“For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:37 Awesome Scripture!)

*You could have them close their eyes and picture what you are reading.

*Now have them draw what they imagined the angel Gabriel looked like when he was speaking to Mary. If your child is too young to draw, google a color sheet about the Annunciation, many will pop up.

*Discussion Time: Mary is a great person to follow as an example. An angel gave her some very surprising news. She was to be the mother of God’s son. What would people think of her? Was Mary willing to be what God wanted her to be? Sometimes we’re afraid to do what we know God wants. People might laugh or be mad at us. Talk to a parent about how you would feel if that happened. Try to choose what God wants. Then you will be following Mary’s example. (Live-It: from the Adventure Bible for Early Readers)

Just a Little Prayer…

Posted on November 24, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

It’s that time of year again, crazy shopping, crazy sales, crazy people! Last week I took part in some of that. I wrote my list and checked it twice. The main mission for the errand run was to find a slim tree for our family room. Like always, I had my four little blessings with me, or on this day my four little elves. As we pulled into the parking lot I told them let’s say a prayer. We asked God to help us find just the right tree, not to small, not to big, one that was slim and was a good price. Some might laugh at the thought of praying for a tree or they might think it is ridiculous and selfish but I believe we should pray about everything.

Picture with me your child running to the kitchen, they have imagined a great master piece in their head that they must draw, so they ask for a white piece of paper. Yes, it’s a simple request for you but a request that means a lot to your child, so of course you would want to give them this paper. In the same way a parent cares about every aspect of their child’s life even more does our Heavenly Father cares even more for us.

When we invite our children to be a part of the simple daily prayers they will have the joy of experiencing God’s realness as He answers them and they will also see the heart of our Heavenly Father and his amazing love for us.

Sibling Help

Posted on November 17, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

This is my first year teaching more than one child at a time and boy have I learned a lot in the past 4 months! One thing that works very well is the older ones helping the younger ones.

Here’s a couple of examples, Alayna, my second grader, will sit with her younger sister, Victoria, she’s in kindergarten, and help her review three-letter words, while I’m with the baby. Then Victoria will go over shapes, colors, letters and numbers with Kayla, while I’m spending one on one time with Alayna.

When the older siblings help the younger siblings it’s a win all around. Yes, the younger sibling is learning, but the older sibling is also learning. How do you know you know something? When you can teach it! By having siblings assist each other, they are building their confidence, they are learning how to be patient, and they are even learning how to be creative.

Tips:

*Teaching, helping and listening does not mean you’re a boss. Make sure the older siblings are not being bossy in the process of assisting.

*It might work best if the siblings assist each other in reviews and not in new concepts (depending on the age).

*Let them be creative in their methods. In the picture above, Alayna and Victoria chose to review on top of their playhouse outside and why wouldn’t they. Everyone knows you learn best on top of a roof, not a desk!

There are many benefits of sibling helping sibling…give it a try if you haven’t already!

Setting the Tone

Posted on November 15, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Tense, peaceful, sad, joyful, whatever mood we display in our home sets the tone for our children and family.

The morning after the election I read about people being angry, upset, worried and just down right distraught. Although the election did not turn out the way we had hoped as a family our hope isn’t in our president, it’s in our Lord Jesus Christ so, Wednesday morning rather than waking up all depressed, I woke up with a song in my heart. I took out our school laptop and started playing a song by Hillsong, “All of my life, In every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship.” After the third time playing it, two of my girls, Alayna and Victoria, started walking around the house singing the words.

If we truly listen to and obey the scripture that states in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We can help set a sweet aroma throughout our house and there is nothing sweeter than hearing the voices of our children singing praises to our Heavenly Father.

Lord help me to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and to be constant in prayer, so that I may set a tone of love, joy, and peace in our home.

M & M Experiment

Posted on November 13, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Here’s a fun colorful experiment and the leftovers are tasty! Go through your stash of Halloween candy and find some plain M&M’s.

Take a screw top lid (we used the top off of our olive jar) add four M&Ms, one each of red, orange, green and blue, then add some water.

Make your prediction. What do you think will happen when the colors meet?

Observe.

When the colors meet, they will form a solid line (at least at first until the water is disturbed, someone eats an M&M or until enough time passes). This is because the sugar is dissolving off all of the M&Ms. Where the food dye meets, the concentration of sugar is the same and the sugar/food dye will stop moving outward.

Now you can chow down on all the M&M’s you didn’t water 🙂 Enjoy!

Children’s Spiritual Object Lesson:

Explain that the M&M’s represents us as Christians, the water represents storms (trials & the pressure of the world’s views). Place the M&M’s in the top, pour the water over the them, notice after two to three minutes the M&M’s fade and all the colors mix. Now ask the question, “Do you think you will have enough of Jesus in your heart to withstand life’s storms or the world’s pressures or will you melt/fade under that pressure and your beliefs be compromised by the world’s views?”

My prayer for our family, is through trials and tribulations, through the rain and wind, we will be full of God’s strength, love and wisdom to stand firm on His word and not fade into this world, as the M&M did when it was immersed in the water. Instead, may we shine bright, like stars in the sky, for all the world to see.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Philippians 2:14-15 “Do everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”