Advent Ideas: Jesse Tree and Truth in the Tinsel

Advent begins Sunday, December 3rd this year.  There are many different ways to celebrate Advent and countdown to Christmas, but it is important to also teach our children the reason that we celebrate this season.  My kids have been asking why the stores don't decorate for Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas so I tell them that people focus on Christmas because they buy a lot of gifts.  I don't want the consumerism to be the focus of Christmas for our family though.  I want the traditions that they remember with our family to focus on Jesus.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting some ways to focus on Advent this year with your family.  There are all kinds of calendars, activities, and countdowns available (thanks to Pinterest!), so I have chosen some that range in commitment from minimal to lots of preparation.  I hope that you can find one that fits into your family's traditions.

Several years ago the Grace Kids Team made a Jesse Tree that had magnets to attach with a devotional for each day.  Most of the devotions came from the book, The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Lambert Smith, and some were from other resources.  If you have lost your devotions to go with your Jesse Tree, you can find the devotions at the Reformed Church of America website.  You can also purchase The Advent Jesse Tree book at a discounted price of $6 at the Resource Table at church.

Another creative way to use the Jesse Tree is to make ornaments for each of the days.  Carisa Hinson from 1+1+1=1 has created an eBook and printable ornaments that she hangs on a miniature tree as she reads through the devotions each day with her family.  Blessed Beyond a Doubt compiled a bunch of DIY and other printable ornament ideas that different bloggers have created over the years.

Another great devotional geared towards preschool-aged children is the Truth in the Tinsel.  The ebook costs $9.99, but it includes 24 devotions, crafts and conversations to walk you through Advent with your children.  There are options to do the devotions every day or a plan that only cover 6 days of the Advent season.  

Stay tuned for more advent ideas to come...

New City Catechism

The New City Catechism is a great resource for teaching your children about the core doctrines of the Christian faith.  The New City Catechism website and app offer scripture, commentary and prayers to use for adults and children.  You can set the app to be in the child or adult mode.  In the child mode, the catechism answer is more precise for younger children and there are songs for each of the questions and answers.  Check it out!

Operation Christmas Child

Samaritan's Purse

Operation Christmas Child

We are collecting shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child again this year.  You can pick up the shoeboxes at church on the Resource Table.  There are also brochures that give tips and instructions for packing the shoebox.  The Samaritan's Purse website also gives many helpful tips.

There are some changes this year to keep in mind:

1) The cost to ship each box is $9.  You can pay online here and track your shoebox to find out the country where your shoebox will be delivered.  You can also include cash or a check inside of your shoebox.

2) Due to changing custom regulations, you cannot include candy or toothpaste any longer.  You may not include any food or liquids either.  Please use the packing suggestions for some great ideas.

We will collect shoeboxes at church until Sunday, November 19th.  If you are interested in helping to deliver shoeboxes after Sunday Communities that day, please email Christy Villhauer.

Hope for the Home Parenting Seminar

Hope for the Home Parenting Seminar

Don't forget about the Hope for the Home Parenting Seminar on Saturday evening, November 4th from 5-7pm at New Highland Baptist Church.  Chris Cartwright will lead a session that explains how and why to use the New City Catechism with your family.  We will serve pizza to parents and children from 5-6pm and have the seminar from 6-7pm with childcare provided during the seminar.  It will only cost $10 per family for pizza and childcare.  RSVP here!!

Also if you haven't gotten your copy of the New City Catechism, look for it on the Resource Table at church.

Children's Worship Recap

The children have done a great job of transitioning into their new classes this fall.

We are wrapping up Unit 1 in our Children’s Worship classes this Sunday. Here is a recap of what the children have covered in each of their classes.


Preschool

God Made the World
God Made People
Adam and Eve Disobey

Noah Obeys God
Abraham and Sarah Obey God
God Takes Care of Joseph

You can help your child to remember to thank God for all of creation on a walk outside and for their friends and family as you pray each day. You can also remind them that God always loves us, even when we disobey. Lastly, you can talk with your child about the many ways that God cares for us, like He cared for Noah, Abraham, Sarah and Joseph.


Kindergarten & 1st Grade

God Cares for Joseph
Joseph Trusts God
Hannah Prays to God
Samuel Listens to God
David, A Good Shepherd
David Trusts God

In Unit 1, the class focused on trusting God. They learned that God cared for Joseph and his family. Talk with your child about how God will take care of him/her no matter where he/she is. You can also remind your child that God always hears our prayers just as He heard and answered Hannah’s prayer for a baby. The class learned about how Samuel listened to God and that we can use the Bible to learn about God today. Ask your child what things the Bible tells us about God. They also learned about David as a shepherd and how God saved him from Goliath. You can talk with your child about how God is with us everywhere we go.


2nd & 3rd Grade

Creation: Skies and Seas, Plants and Trees
Creation: Owls and Octopuses, Panthers and People
Creation: Taking Care of God’s World
Sin Spoils God’s World
Cain and Abel
Rain and Rainbows

In Unit 1, the class learned about God’s never-ending love for creation. They focused on the how wonderful God’s creation is and the variety and beauty of all of creation. You can help your child to remember to praise God for their favorite animal or food or flower. You child may also want to think of how to better take care of our earth to show their appreciation for what God made. You can remind your child what the serpent did in the Garden of Eden and how Jesus has saved us from our sin because God loves us. When learning about Cain and Abel, the class was reminded how anger and sin can spoil our relationships, but that God still loves us when we sin and wants us to love others. He shows us His love through His promise to Noah too. Ask your child what promise from God we can remember when we see rainbows.

Update from Abdias

Earlier this summer, we received a letter from Abdias (the child we sponsor through Compassion International).  I will share this letter with the Children's Worship classes over the next few weeks. 

Here is a copy of letter that you can also share with your child if they miss it in class.

Abdias also wrote: (translated to English)

Dear Friends,
I am happy today to be able to talk to you.  My God, Father, I greet you in the name of Jesus the Almighty.  How are you and your family doing? To me, on my side, I am doing fine.  As for now I am on summer vacation and I do not yet take school.  I wish you spend a vacation.  When are you coming to my country?  I feel like to see you face to face.  I am happy to write you and I thank you for your supports and your help.  I ask you to help me pray for being able to spend a good vacation and I pray for you with all your family.  I love you a lot and God bless you!

Please be praying for Abdias and his family as they are probably encountering bad weather from Hurricane Maria after just having experienced Hurricane Irma.  Compassion International wrote and said that we would receive notification if Abdias was affected, but no news is good news.

Hope for the Home Memory Verse Challenge

Hope for the Home Memory Verse Challenge

In continuation of our Hope for the Home (H4H) series, we have begun a church-wide memory verse challenge. Each month a new verse will be chosen to memorize as a family.  You can find the verse in the Grace Kids Newsletter and the Weekly Email.  Children will also decorate an index card with the verse on it during class at the beginning of each month. Each family was given a card case to hold and collect the memory verses as you learn them. I suggest that you go back through your verses often so that you do not forget them as soon as they are put into the card case.

Some of the verses throughout the year will also be reinforced in Grace Kids Worship.  Last week, the kids learned "Shout" from Seeds Family Worship, which is our first verse, Psalm 100:1-3.  This video plays the song and has the lyrics.

I liked this memory verse system that many bloggers have recommended: Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory System. It is hard to implement this system right away, but it would be good to start slowly as we build up our list of verses. 

Child at Heart is also a blog that gives the following tips for memorizing verses.