Autumn place mats

The children will love making their own place mats and perhaps a few extra to give as gifts.

Dry the leaves in a flower press for a few days to make sure they are nice and dry and flat.

Give each child a laminating pocket and show them the one side they need to put their leaves on. They can decorate it any way they like. Just try not to have too many overlapping as it gets too thick and also leave a little space around the edges.

Laminate and see their excitement at using them at the next meal.

Acorn bracelets

It's really simple to make these pretty acorn cup bracelets and your girls will love making them and wearing them.

Have fun collecting autumn items from the garden. Let the children colour in the acorn cups with felts.

Put clear drying glue in each cup and allow to dry overnight. Then use a glue gun to attach the acorn cups to a pipe cleaner. Let the girls select the acorn cups they want to use and allow them to pick their own pipe cleaner (it helps if they each chose a different colour as you then know whose is whose).

If you make a few "pairs" of the same colour then you can use some of the extras for a memory game too.

Easter Egg Hunt with a message

Our Easter Eggs with the Easter Story looking at some of the prophecies that were fulfilled.

I got the idea from here. Scroll down on the page and you will see the links to the pictures and verses. I did not use their number 11 egg but added the extra one with the crosses. And then I added the prophecies. So here are the details of prophecy (these I stuck onto the board), NT verse (recording the event as it happened - I glued the two together so that it was written out on one side and where it is found was on the other) and the picture. I handed the eggs out to the children (pictures only to those who could not read) and then as we read each prophecy the children had to find the appropriate verse and picture.

1) Zechariah 9:9 "Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

Mark 11:8 "Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields"

Palm (you could find a NT verse about the donkey and then rather use a picture of a donkey but I did not have time so I left it with the palm. The children linked it with no problem - it was the one event)

2) Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me." AND Zechariah 11:13 "Then the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price as which I was valued by them.' So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord."

Matthew 26:14 "Then on of the twelve - the one called Judas Iscariot - went to the chief priests."

30 shekels

3) No prophecy - just recording the events.

Mark 14:22 "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying 'Take it; this is my body.'"

Breaking of the bread.

4) No prophecy - just recording the events.

Mark 14:32 "They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, 'Sit here while I pray.'"

Hands praying.

5) Isaiah 53:5 "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed."

Matthew 27:26 "he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified."

Whip

6) Psalm 22:16 "For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet."

John 19:16 "Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified."

Nails

7) Psalm 22:7-8 "All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying 'Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.'"

Matthew 27: 39,43 "And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads... 'He trusts in God; let God rescue him now, if He delights in him; for he said 'I am the Son of God.'"

Mark 15:17 "They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him."

Crown of thorns (The picture goes with the 2nd NT verse and is a symbol for the mocking. The Gentiles mocked him with the crown and the robe but the Jews then mocked him on the cross - the prophecy being fulfilled exactly.)

8) Psalm 22:18 "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."

Mark 15:24 "And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get."

Dice

9)Zechariah 12:10 "So that they will look on Me whom they have pierced."

Exodus 12:46 "It is to be eaten in the single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it." (Instructions about the Passover lamb - Christ is the perfect Lamb of God - not one bone broken).

Psalm 34:20 "He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken."

John 19:34 "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water." (It is "instead" of breaking his legs. They would often break the legs of the person being crucified to make sure they died. But Jesus had already died - they did not need to break his legs. But to make sure he was dead they pierced his side with a spear.)

Spear

10) Isaiah 53:12 "Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors."

Mark 15:27 "They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left."

3 crosses

11) Isaiah 53:9 "His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth."

Matthew 27:59-60 "Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb."

Cloths

12) Matthew 20:18019 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up."

Matthew 28:5-6 "The angle said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.'"

Angle and empty tomb.

Bonnet for 100 years ago

We had an outing to a heritage park and so I made bonnets for us to wear. The girls were so excited about them and they were rather simple to make.
The two pieces of material. I started by measuring a piece of cardboard on the child's head. I used this as my base and made that piece a little bigger.
I edged the peak's round side and the back's bottom with a pink ribbon. I overlocked the other edges.

Then I put a long straight stitch around the top and gathered that in.

Attache the peak to the back section. Remember - right sides together.

Pin it first so that you can ease the gathers and make sure that the peak section ends a little way up and at the same level on both sides. This allows for a section to cover your neck.

Turn right side out and it looks like this. Neaten the sides of the neck flap by tucking in and straight stitching that down.

Now add elastic to the top of the neck flap section and ribbons to the peak (for tying under your neck). From watching my girls wearing their bonnets I would suggest you make sure this ribbon is far enough forward to that it keep the bonnet down nicely. So at least 5 cm from the back section but perhaps more. Try it on and see what would work best.

Then glue your piece of cardboard into the peak section using a glue gun.

And there you have it.

Melting coloured ice

Use some food colouring to make some ice in the 3 primary colours.

We had our three primary colours a little bit back and then the 3 glasses in between where we mixed two primary colours. This helped to show the colours of the rainbow. On the far right we put all three primary colours in to see if we could get brown.

Enjoy watching them melt and mix.
Our final colours. The orange and purple looked better with more light behind them.

We created our own colour wheel. Sorry about the shine of the flash though.

Salt Crystals

We are going to compare the growth of crystals made from Table Salt, Epsom Salt and Rock Salt.
We added a little food colouring to make it interesting. Start with 2 cups of boiling water and slowly add the salt. We only added 1/2 a cup to start with and then we added slowly so that we did not over saturate the solution. You want all the salt to disolve.
This is the amount of salt we were able to add.
Table Salt - 1/2 cup + 3 teaspoons. (RED)
Epson Salt - 1/2 cup + 8 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons. (GREEN)
Rock Salt - 1/2 cup + an extra 2 tablespoons of boiling water to get that to disolve. (BLUE)
In less than a week we already had lovely - perfectly square - crystals growing from the Table Salt.

In less than 2 weeks we saw how crystals were forming up the string and on the pencil.

At this stage we could also see the tiniest little crystals starting to form on the string of the Epsom Salt. But the bottle was bumped and they all broke. They were the finest little hair like crystals growing off the string - but just way too fine. You can see one tiny "hair" like crystal off to the left in the lighter area just above half way up the string.

In less than 3 weeks we had so many stunning Table Salt Crystals. We also had the crystals forming on the string above the water - but a totallydifferent texture and structure.

The Rock Salt contines to grow on the string and pencil with nothing on the string in the water.

Crystals had started to form on the bottom of the bottle - so we changed all the bottles today. We pour the water into a clean bottle, catching all the crystals so that there is clear water to continue. If you leave these cryastals in they will just grow bigger and you won't get any development on the string.

In less than 4 weeks we noticed the Table Salt solution had also saturated the pencil and crystals were starting to form.

The Table Salt crystlas contine to grow and we finally have lovely Rock Salt crystals on the string too. Amazing that the Table Salt produces a misty crystal where the Rock salt's crystals are clear. Beautiful square edges though and really amazing to see.

At 7 weeks the growth on the pencils is massive as well as up the sides of the bottles. I have not changed the bottles for the last 3 weeks so allowed that to grow.

Amazingly the Table Salt crystals on the pencil are very hard while the Rock Salt crystals on the pencil are very soft and just crumble when you try to break a piece off.
The Epsom Salt solution did start to form beautiful thin crystals off the string on the surface of the liquid, but with the slightest touch of the glass they break.

Amazing that the Epsom Salt solution did not even get up to the pencil. I am glad we had added the food colouring. It helped us to see the capillary action of the liquid (or lack of it in the case of the Epsom salt - perhaps because there was so much salt in the solution - far more than the others).

It's really been wonderful to watch. Unfortuantely the liquid level (especially in the Table Salt bottle) is getting lower, so the chunky crystals forming above the liquid are taking over the pretty squrae ones.

Jesse Tree

TREE

Isaiah 11:1 "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit."
Isaiah 53:2 "For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground."

We started our Jesse Tree on the 1st of December. It has been a few years since I last did it with Rachel and was excited about going through the Scriptures again with the girls and showing the story of Christ from Genesis. We only put the star on the top of the tree on Christmas eve - the star above our Saviours Birth Place.
And I know December is not the correct time of year for His birth. But it's a great opportunity for us to preach the Christ of Christmas.

EARTH
John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."

FORBIDDEN FRUIT AND SERPENT

After Adam and Eve sinned God says to Satan "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Gen 3:15
Already in the 3rd chapter of Scripture Christ's suffering and also Christ's conquest of Satan are foretold.

RAINBOW

"By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith". Heb 11:7
"For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.... And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.... Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." Matthew 24:37,39,42

Click here for a recipe and instructions for salt dough.

ABRAHAM'S DESCENDANTS AS THE STARS

"And the Lord said to Abram.... I will make you a great nation... and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" Genesis 12:1-3
"Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So shall your descendants be" Genesis 15:5
"And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying 'All the nations shall be blessed in you.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer." Galatians 3:8

ISAAC CARRYING WOOD

Genesis 22:2 "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
2 Chronicles 3:1 "Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah."
"Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac was to foreshadow all the sacrifices that would later be offered in this place, which in turn were types and shadows of the one great Sacrifice that would be offered one day nearby, when the Father would offer the Son as the Saviour of the world" The Genesis Record by Henry M Morris.
Genesis 22:2 "your only son, whom you love" - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"
Gen 22:14 "And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide". A wonderful prophecy of faith that, in the fullness of time, God would provide the Lamb to die for man's sins, just as He had provided a ram to take Isaac's place on the altar. - John 1:29 "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

And I could probably go on and on. It's one of my favorite passages to just read and read and flip to the New Testament and sit in awe and thanks at all that God has done.

JACOB'S LADDER

Genesis 28:12-13 "And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold; the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it."
John 1:51 "Truly truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
The term "Son of Man" replaced the ladder in Jacob's dream, signifying that Jesus was the means of access between God and man.
Click here for details on how to make a ladder.

JOSEPH'S COAT

There may not be any passages in the new testament that mention Joseph in relation to Christ specifically, but there are still many things can are very similar. Being sent out by his father, being sold for silver pieces and then punished when he was Innocent. Joseph went from being so low to the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt.
Philippians 2:7-10 "(Christ) emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant.... He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow."
And isn't it beautiful how Joseph is given the name "Zaphenath-paneah" Gen 41:45 which could be interpreted as "Abundance of Life," "Saviour of the World," "Revealer of Secrets," "God's Word Speaking Life," "Furnisher of Sustenance," and so on. All of these names could also be taken as description of Christ Himself.
And then look at Judah who is willing to give his own life in place of his brothers. Genesis 44:33 "Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers."
1 John 3:16 "We know love by this, that He (Christ) laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

THE BURNING BUSH

John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.'"
Genesis 3:2 "And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed."
6 "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
14 "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

PASSOVER DOOR

"Your lamb shall be an unblemished male.... take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel.... it is the Lord's Passover" Genesis 12:5,7,11
"Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed" 1 Corinthians 5:7
"Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold... but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." 1 Peter 1:18-19
What a wonderfully clear picture of what Christ has done for us.

10 COMMANDMENTS

John 1:18 "For the Law was given through Moses;
grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ."
Galatians 3:24 "The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith."
Hebrews 9:19-22 "For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats... and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you." Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

SERPENT ON A POLE

John 3:14-16 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Numbers 21:7-8 "So the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.' And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.'"

DAVID'S HARP

Acts 13:22-23 "And after He had removed him (Saul), He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will." From the offspring of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus."
And that promise is mentioned in Jeremiah 23: 5 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, The Lord our righteousness."

JONAH AND THE BIG FISH

"An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:39-40
"And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights." Jonah 1:17

Click here for some fun things to do with this topic.

ZACHARIAS WRITES 'JOHN'

Luke 1:13-14 "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth." vs20 "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their proper time."

The girls enjoyed playing charades on this day, even the 20 month old was able to act out something that I whispered in her ear. I also tried to give the girls a few instructions without using words - like asking them to set the table for dinner. It was good to really think about what it must have been like for Zacharias.

How things are looking so far. Our decorations are too big for our tree and we also really like being able to see them all so nicely. Now it will be the New Testament account of Jesus' birth that we will be looking at till Christmas (and looking at the prophecies that were fulfilled).

JOHN THE FORERUNNER

"Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea... For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 40:3), saying 'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!" Matthew 3:1,3

The girls all had a great time taking turns being the forerunner (like John) who would run in ahead and tell everyone to get ready because the King was coming. Mom and Dad did it first so that they knew what to do.

ANGEL SPEAKS TO MARY

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."
Luke 1:27 "The virgin's name was Mary." vs30-31 "Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus."

CHRIST'S FAMILY TREE

Matthew 1:1 "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" vs16 "and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ" vs 17 "Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ fourteen generations."
Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land."

CHRIST - THE WORD - GOD WITH US

John 1:1,14 "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory."
And the angel tells Joseph "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins... Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel.... God with us." Matthew 1:21,23

GOING TO BETHLEHEM

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child." Luke 2:4-5"But as for you, Bethlehem, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2

THE HUMILITY OF A MANGER

"And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7
Isaiah 53:2 "For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him."Christ "emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness on men." Phil 2:7

ANGELS SAYING "GLORY TO GOD"

"And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger'. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." Luke 2:10-14

HIS STAR

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him." Matthew 2:2
Isaiah 60:3 "And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."
Numbers 24:17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel."

THEY BROUGHT HIM GIFTS

"And they (the wise men) came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:11
The reason we give gifts today is to remember the gifts that were given to Christ at his birth and to remember that Christ is the gift from God the Father which makes salvation possible.
Psalm 72:10-11 "Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. And let all kings bow down before him, and nations serve him."

The girls bought advent calenders are now empty of all their chocolates but their calender of pictures is now full. We have had a lovely time through December focusing on Christ. It has been a wonderful blessing.