Dormition Craft with Video

The Dormition of Mary, the Mother of God, is an opportunity for us to remember a woman who said "yes" to God.  Mary obeyed God's will for her despite her fears and doubts, despite how difficult saying "yes" would make her life.  She is an example for us all of how we, mere humans, can lay aside our will and accept the will of God. 

I am a perpetual planner.  I want to know what's going to happen and organize how it will happen.  When things are uncertain, it is very difficult for me to accept them.  It is difficult for me to accept that even though the path ahead looks scary and fraught with danger, God is guiding me and has a plan for me if only I will accept it.  I am not always a good example to my children on how to be obedient to God.  I am grateful that the Virgin Mary committed herself to carrying out God's will, so that even when I fail, I know of a perfect role model for my children.

As we teach our children about the life, death, and assumption of Mary into Heaven, what better way for them to remember and cherish her than with a 4x6 framed icon of the Dormition.

Supplies:
Blue craft foam (2 5.5x8.5 inch pieces)

Craft foam in your color choice

4-6 pieces of blue tissue paper in 4.5x2 inch strips

Twist tie, cut in half

Scissors, paper cutter, and/or Xacto knife

Glue
Embellishments
Paper of your choice

Icon print of the Dormition

Directions:
1. Cut a rectangle large enough for your icon to show through in one piece of blue foam.  Put glue on three edges and press together with the second piece of blue foam.  Insert icon through the open frame edge.  Then, glue that edge, too.

2. Stack the tissue paper and fold accordion style and tie the twist tie around the center.  Gently pull up one sheet at a time to form a flower. Glue the flower to one corner of the frame.

3. Using this template cut a crown out of the last piece of foam. Decorate the crown with sequins, gemstones, glitter glue, or other embellishments.  Glue the crown to the frame.
4. Cut out title caption from template, and glue on the top or bottom edge of the frame.

Instructional Video

Birthday Pinata

I'm not terribly fond of the idea of spending $20 for a pinata, but my kids seem to want one for every birthday party.  Hummingbird's party is coming up this weekend, and she has decided she wants a Candy theme.  She wanted a lollipop pinata, but I couldn't find a reasonable way to do it.  So, she agreed to a Nerds candy box as long as it could be rainbow colors.  So, I found a medium size box, printed out a Nerds logo, and started adding tissue paper this morning.  And voila! In about 2.5 hours I had a cute little pinata filled with candy and ready to be hung and beaten to pieces.  

I'm saving myself the usual effort of making the cake.  Instead, we'll be having Nutella pizza from Piece (a great neighborhood pizza place) with M&Ms spelling out "Happy Birthday" and other designs.  The food will all be junky -- candy and sweet relations, nothing healthy!  Definitely Hummingbird's dream!

For games, we'll be doing a peanut butter cup hunt in Easter egg fashion, and playing "poison candy bar" (hot potato, and winner gets the candy bar).

The Ten Commandment: Exodus 20

I realized the other day that I've never sat down with my children and taught them about the Ten Commandments.   We've talked about the Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  We've made family rules – no hitting, no name calling, etc.  But we've never actually stopped to talk about God's rules.  Having realized this, and seeing some problem behaviors beginning to develop, I came up with this short lesson for teaching kids about the Ten Commandments.

Step 1: Read Exodus 20. (I have to say this because I'm not the best role model for daily scripture reading. I'm working on it, though…)

Step 2: Have your children rephrase each of the commandments in their own words. For example, "Honor thy father and they mother" becomes something like, "Be respectful to your parents and listen to them. Talk about what God tells us to do or not do, discuss the order the commandments are given. What is the significance of that (Commandments about our relationship with God are first…)? Ask for examples of behaviors that might break the commandments (when I say my sister ate the candy that I really ate, I am bearing false witness).  And answer any questions your kids have.

Step 3: Make & play a game (This is the part that most intrigued my kids.). I created a lift-the-flap Ten Commandments activity. For younger children the commandments would already be inserted under the flaps, and they could lift the flaps for you to read the rule. For older children the commandments could be removed and mixed up, so they could then put them in order under the appropriate flap (see the picture below).

Instructions to create your own (the kids can help, too):

1. On poster board (or other heavy paper) draw two large stone tablets.
2. On index cards (or card stock paper) write the numbers 1-10. Make a fold line near the top of each card, and glue them to the poster above the fold line.
3. Print out the attached template of the commandments and cut out each individually (I've made this a Word document so you can change the paraphrases or remove them altogether.). For a sturdier game, put these on index cards or laminate.

Ways to play:

1. Mix up the commandment cards, and time each child to see who can put them in order first.
2. Let each child draw a card and place it in the right spot until all cards are placed. Whoever puts the most in the right spot wins.
3. Insert the cards under the proper numbers. Pick a number, and whoever says the commandment first gets the card. The person with the most cards at the end wins.

Upcycled Jack-O-Lantern CDs

Jack-O-Lantern CDs are now here.