Meaningful Advent Traditions

Tomorrow is December 1st! That means Advent Calendar time! There are no shortage of advent calendar ideas online; just google image "advent calendar" and prepare to be amazed. I'd like to introduce you to one more: The Jesse Tree.

photo source

The Jesse Tree has its roots in medieval art which showed the lineage of Christ represented as a tree (Isaiah 11:1: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.") A tradition developed where ornaments representing key stories in scripture tell the story of God's love from Creation to the Birth of Christ.

The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults
by Dean Meador Lambert

I was so excited when I discovered Jesse Trees (late) last Christmas, that I immediately purchased this book. There are numerous books out there, but I'm really pleased with the selection of stories in this one. Each day gives the symbol, a memory verse, suggested songs, scripture references, and two devotionals: one for children and one for adults. The kids devotionals are well-written and easy to adapt to the needs of your own kids.

This book does not give patterns for making each ornament - you are left to your own devices. If you need inspiration, just head on over to Google images and see what others have done. Some families create an ornament a day, while I've also heard of women doing ornament swaps. Each mom is responsible for one or two ornaments and makes as many as there are women participating. When they are all done, everyone has a complete set.  Of course, you can always purchase kits online. 



Unfortunately, I don't have time this year to create a Jesse tree. So I was thrilled when a woman at our church hosted a seminar on making an Advent Tree.

This is very similar to the Jesse Tree, but instead of moving through the Bible, you focus on different aspects of Christ and the Christmas story.

Each "ornament" attaches to the tree banner with velcro and includes a scripture passage and an accompanying devotional.

Shary adapted her Advent Tree from the book:

Family Celebrations:
Meeting Christ in Your Holidays and Special Occasions 

by Ann Hibbard

So there you have it... what I am doing this year and would like to do next year in way of meaningful advent traditions. Your turn! What is your family doing to mark the days until Christmas?

I'm linking up to:
- Wonder Mom's Bible Alive! Tuesday

Bloggers Rock: The Mail's Here!

This week I'm doing projects from some of my favorite crafty bloggers as well as introducing you to book bloggers you may not know.

I'll admit it. I have a favorite blogger, and her name is Katherine Marie. When it comes to making childhood magical, Katherine is the master. Her themed crafts and activities are fun, adorable, and pure genius. Besides being an incredibly creative mother, Katherine is also a gifted photographer and all-around nice person.

One of her recent themes revolved around mail. My daughter was so enamored with the pictures, she asked if it could be her next birthday party theme. We'll see how she feels next spring, but in the meantime I created a few craft foam envelopes for her to play with. I used the opportunity to talk about how to address a letter, zip codes, and stamps.

We then turned a walmart bag into a postal bag with the help of safety pins and Google image search.

It's still raining today, so I set up the girls' card table play house and let the mail carrying and receiving commence!

We were thrilled to be interrupted in the middle of our play by the real mailman.

I can't say he was as excited.

Janelle @ Brimful Curiosities & Vanessa @ Silly Eagle Books

These are two of my favorite book bloggers and also blogger friends! Janelle and Vanessa each have wonderful blogs focusing on childrens books and corresponding activities.

Janelle's site often features new releases and I'm always amazed at how quickly she gets her hands on the latest and greatest. Her reviews are thorough, thoughtful, and often link to authors bios or videos. Each weekend, Janelle lists books giveaways across the blogosphere. Who doesn't love free books?

Vanessa is my blogging twin sister. When we both created children's book-themed valentines, my husband said I'd found my soul mate. :) Vanessa's blog focuses on vintage books, and she has some great ideas for book related crafts and activities. She's currently expecting her second daughter, and you should see the book-themed nursery decorations she created! Simply amazing.

Both of these women are intelligent, talented, and worth a look. If you like me, I promise you'll like them!

Bloggers Rock: Our Trip to Outer Space!

This week I'm doing projects from some of my favorite crafty bloggers as well as introducing you to book bloggers you may not know.

It's been raining all week, so I dropped by another fabulous mama's blog to get ideas for rainy afternoon fun. Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun is a blogging veteran. While most of us have been doing this for a year or less, Valerie has been online for several years. This means she has hundreds of posts full of great ideas for fun with kids. Her site is well organized and easy to search for anything you may need... like a rainy day activity!

Inspired by this post, I decided to create our own rainy day outer space exploration! We had a blast creating our own starry landscape from black fleece and white felt. When have space explorers ever been so cute?

E tried to take a picture of me and my littlest astronaut in space. She didn't quite succeed, but I love that she captured this moment.

When they were done exploring the vastness of space, the girls created their own constellations.

Not bad for an afternoon stuck indoors! Thanks for the inspiration, Valerie!


Z-Kids @ Bookie-Woogie

It's a dad blogger! Z-Kids are a dad and his three kids. Every Monday "Dad" interviewed Gracie, Lily, and Isaac about their thoughts on their book pick of the week. The blog is actually on hiatus, but I'm mentioning it because of the wealth of book reviews contained in its "pages." It's fascinating to read the children's opinions on each book, and even more amazing to see their own illustrations of the story. Let me tell you, these kids can draw. Search the sidebar for lists of reviewed titles, authors, and even interviews with select authors & illustrators. As he points out, they accumulated:

90 consecutive weeks

100 total posts

75 book reviews

8 author interviews

92 books highlighted

104 authors & illustrators highlighted

285 pieces of fan art created  (wow!)

Wow is right! Check out Bookie Woogie some rainy afternoon and discover new gems in children's literature.

Bloggers Rock: Bath Wizardry & Planet Esme

This week I'm doing projects from some of my favorite crafty bloggers as well as introducing you to book bloggers you may not know.

Isn't this bath mural fun? I found the idea on Filth Wizardry.  For the two or three of you who have never heard of her, Lindsey is a mom of four and five year old girls, and I'm convinced is one of the most creative people on the planet. Of course, amazingly talented people often give birth to amazingly talented children, and it's a joy to see what she and her girls create. Most of her projects are completely accessible to the "rest of us," including this fun and easy bath mural.

Simply cut shapes out of craft foam, toss in the tub, and let the kids create! I found a huge pack of craft foam from Walmart for $5 the other day and have been dying for a chance to use it. While A napped this afternoon, I cut out shapes representing the different seasons. (The autumn tree is my personal favorite.) You could easily adapt this to any theme, or simply cut out shapes or tangrams. You could also create sets to match your child's favorite book! (Just imagine yellow ducks for Make Way for Ducklings or a tree and letters for Chicka Chicka ABC!) It's just like a felt board, only wetter. :)

Esme @ THE PLANETESME PLAN

I discovered Esme through my sister who knew her back in her elementary counseling days. In her own words, Esme is "a professional readiologist™ who thinks children's trade literature and read-aloud is our best hope for equalizing education in America. " In her blog she reviews the best in children's literature, both for the very young as well as school-aged children and teens. Besides having the coolest name ever, Esme is herself an accomplished author, and her reviews reveal her talent. These aren't blog posts you skim through, but rather enjoy slowly reading. Both parents and teachers will benefit from reading Esme's thoughtful book reviews. Check her out!

I'm linking up to:
- SOYS @ Fireflies & Jellybeans

Bloggers Rock: Fairies & Academicians

It's true! Bloggers rock. I am continually amazed at the vast amount of talent displayed daily across the blogosphere, particularly from moms. So this week we'll be doing crafts from some of my favorite bloggers, and instead of featuring books, I'm going to introduce you to some kids lit bloggers you may not be familiar with.

These adorable Flower Fairies were inspired by one of my favorite craft bloggers: Pink and Green Mama. Marylea has so many amazing ideas! She's a former elementary school teacher and a mom of two girls, and her projects are fun, creative, and easy to do. Her site itself is well organized and easy to search. I highly recommend checking her out!

I adapted her tutorial a bit to fit the materials I had on hand, but I love the way they turned out. E insists they are flower princesses, since they don't have wings. (Although this didn't stop her from making them fly.) 

My little ladies did a great job threading the beads and flower petals through the pipe cleaners. I had fun designing their faces, and the girls loved playing with them afterward. It was the perfect after-school craft for a drizzly afternoon!

Trevor Cairney @ Literacy, Families & Learning

Here's a blog you're probably not familiar with. I discovered Trevor Cairney while searching for reviews on the "My Baby Can Read" videos. He is Master of New College and Adjunct Professor of Education at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, as well as a husband, father, and grandfather. According to Cairney, "I've spent most of my adult life as a teacher, academic, researcher and university administrator. My PhD was in Cognitive Psychology (and linguistics) and explored how children comprehend texts; but my research and writing has been much broader than this."

Cairney's blog "aims to provide practical, timely and sound support and advice for parents, teachers and teachers in training." This timely advice has helped me more than once find ways to support my girls in their journey toward literacy. His posts cover a variety of topics in his field and highlight some of the best children's literature he comes across (many of which are by Australian authors). I appreciate Cairney's insight into the inner workings of children's minds, his thoughtful recommendations, and his willingness to answer any questions I might have. I highly recommend adding him to your blog roll!