I think handmade Christmas gifts are the sweetest. We practiced our sewing skills last week while making these beaded felt star ornaments. We also read Christmas Eve by Else Wenz-Vietor.
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"It's Christmas Eve, the moon is bright. Ten little angels fly through the night.
The first angel smiles and flying low, brings food to animals in the snow." Our first week of Advent was filled with stars and angels. It was filled with Christmas wonder and magic. We read The Christmas Angels by Else Wenz-Vietor. In this story, Christmas Angels quietly help with things on earth. So, we made our own angel star wands and put on "halos". We became "Christmas Angels" and helped each other throughout the day. We also took this time, as a family, to think about how we can help others at Christmas. The star wands were so simple and so magical! We cut stars out of white felt. Then we painted those felt stars with watercolors. After they dried, we stitched two stars together with embroidery floss. Finally, we placed a wooden craft stick into the bottom of the star to make our wands. My smallest angel, Ava, was napping when we finally took these pictures. I will have to get one of her and add it soon. December 6th is St. Nicholas Day! We celebrate this day each year. We love this old-fashioned tradition! We bake Spiced Star Speculaas Cookies from Holland and read the story of St. Nicholas from Germany (it is found in the Winter Wynstones Press book).
Nicholas was a Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, who lived around AD 325. He was well-known and loved for his kindness and generosity, especially towards children. He provided food, clothing, and gold to the very poor. Legend has it that he rides his white horse down from the stars in the heavens on the night of his birthday (Dec. 6) to visit children and to prepare their hearts for the coming of Jesus Christ. So, on the night of December 6th, my children leave their shoes, filled with hay for St. Nicholas's horse, by the front door. The next morning, their shoes are filled with a little candy and their first gifts of Christmas time. (In our home, it is always a book wrapped in pretty paper and tied with ribbon.) Happy St. Nicholas Day! During Advent, our focus is on anticipating, preparing, and celebrating the coming of Our Savior. We think of how the whole world is getting ready for the birth of Jesus Christ. This first week, we look to the mineral kingdom.
In the Waldorf tradition, as a way to simplify and bring order to our anticipating and celebrating, we focus on one kingdom each week. The first week is the mineral kingdom. During the second week of Advent, we will focus on the plant kingdom, then the animal kingdom, and then humankind. This week, as we set our focus on the mineral kingdom, we think of the stars in the heavens and how they declare the glory of God, and how they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We read The Three Wise Men by Loek Koopmans. "Long, long ago, a very special star appeared in the night sky. It shone more brightly than all the other stars, and people shouted with excitement when they saw it. They pointed up at the sky, calling their neighbours to come and look at it. It was the most beautiful star that anyone had ever seen." (Three Wise Men, Loek Koopmans) After reading this beautiful and gentle story of the Three Wise Men and the star they followed, we made stars using the wet-on-wet watercolor technique. Their soft and peaceful colors celebrate the coming of our Savior! Our final Jan Brett Christmas book from last week (there are actually more that we read later in the month) was Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve. This is a funny story of a little girl and her family, who are pestered by some terrible trolls every Christmas Eve. But one Christmas Eve a little boy and his snow bear, who were just passing through, stop to help the girl get rid of the trolls for good. Now the family can enjoy their Christmas Eve feast in peace!
After reading this book, we created a magical little space of snow and ice for everyone to play with and create their own little Christmas adventures. All it took was some white felt, sparkling white pom-pom balls, white stones for :"snow" and clear stones for "ice" (just vase-fillers from the craft store). The snowy Christmas fun has begun!!! Here is another Jan Brett Christmas book we read during our Circle Time last week. It is The Twelve Days of Christmas. It is the traditional Christmas song put with the gorgeous illustrations of Jan Brett. I love pretty much all things old-fashioned, and this song and picture book combination is just that!
After reading/singing this book aloud, we began making Christmas gifts for my good friends and Classical Conversations tutors, Miss Amber and Miss Becca. Since this song/book is all about gift giving at Christmas time, it was perfect! "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree." We made wet felted Christmas ball ornaments. Then we needled felted a dove on each one. The Advent Garden is a European tradition that we began in our family many years ago. It is simple and so meaningful. "Legend has it that beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, the natural world--the kingdoms of minerals, plants, and animals--rejoices at the coming of the Christ Child and offers a gift for the Creator's son." (Sarah Ban Breathnach's Mrs. Sharp's Traditions)
So, on the first Sunday of Advent, our children gather stones, crystals, and shells to place near or inside our Advent Wreath to begin our Advent Garden. The second Sunday, they add gifts from the plant kingdom: pinecones, small branches cut from our Christmas tree, holly, and possibly red roses. On the third Sunday, the animal kingdom "joins the celebration" as we add small wooden toy animals to the garden. Finally, on the fourth Sunday, we add Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph figures. Then our Advent Garden is complete. While we add to our Advent Garden and with the Advent Candles lit, we say these verses: The first light of Advent is the light of stones, The light of hope that shines in crystals, seashells, and bones. The second light of Advent is the light of the plants, The light of love that reaches up to sun and in the breezes dance. The third light of Advent is the light of the beasts, The light of peace that we see in the greatest and in the least. The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind, The light of joy that is yours and mine. After we light our Advent Candles and add each kingdom, we read Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This is the most beautiful and moving book to read for Advent. That is why we read it every Sunday of the Advent Season. It is a story that tells of the entire world preparing for and anticipating the birth of Baby Jesus. "The skies shouted it to the seas that thundered it to the waves that roared it to the great white whales that sang it to the starfish in the deep. And tiny sandpipers danced it on shining sands... It's time! It's time!" (Song of the Stars) If you read only one book for the Advent Season, this book should be the one! We are celebrating the first week of Advent! Such an exciting time at our house! This week, we light the first candle on our Advent Wreath each morning. As we light it we say...
"With this candle we remember God’s promise of HOPE, His promise of our Savior Jesus Christ. We wait in HOPE. He brings HOPE to the world. This first candle, we light in HOPE." We will light one more candle each week. This is what we will say... Second Light: "With this candle we remember God’s promise of LOVE, His promise of our Savior Jesus Christ. We wait in LOVE. He brings LOVE to the world. This first candle, we light in LOVE." Third Light: "With this candle we remember God’s promise of PEACE, His promise of our Savior Jesus Christ. We wait in PEACE. He brings PEACE to the world. This first candle, we light in PEACE." Fourth Light: "With this candle we remember God’s promise of JOY, His promise of our Savior Jesus Christ. We wait in JOY. He brings JOY to the world. This first candle, we light in JOY." I love these verses so much because they use words like "remember" and "wait". This is what the Advent Season is all about. Remembering, waiting, anticipating, and celebrating! The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits by Ulf Stark and Eva Eriksson is our new favorite Christmas story for Advent. This Swedish story is told over 25 chapters, one for every day of December. We are reading one chapter each night as our bedtime story this month. We all are enjoying this sweet little story of a grumpy tomte and the animals in the forest preparing for Christmas so very much. We love it so much in fact that we needle felted our very own Yule Tomte!
The Advent Season is all about waiting and preparing for the birth of Jesus. Every night in December we celebrate the coming of Our Savior with the lighting of the Advent Spiral. We light the first candle on the first night of December, then every night after we light one more. So that each night we are lighting one more candle and getting one candle closer the the center of the spiral, Christmas Day.
"Winter is dark, yet each tiny spark, Brightens the way, to Christmas Day. Shine little light, and show us the way, To the bright light of Christmas Day." We say this little poem as we light the candles. We read our Advent Verse from the Advent Card. We say our bedtime prayers together. We blow out the candles. And we go to bed. |
AuthorHi, I'm Allison! Wife, mother to four sweet babies. Archives
March 2019
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