Author: raisinglittleshoots

Today’s Reading

Luke 1:46-55 ESV

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

   and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

    and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

    and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Today’s Activity

Let’s make play dough 🙂

Play dough is great for your child to play with whilst you read aloud, allowing them to create the characters you read about, or just to enjoy it’s lovely texture. It may also help to keep them busy while you get on with Christmas preparations for a little while (not guaranteed!)

• 300g salt
• 360g plain flour
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 250ml warm water

Method:

• Mix together all the dry ingredients
• Add the oil.
• Gradually add the water until you reach a good dough texture.
• Knead for a few moments to improve the texture.

For fun you can add different ingredients;

• Cinnamon & ground ginger (1 tsp each) for a gingerbread playdough
• Peppermint essence (a few drops) and red food colour for candy cane play dough
• GLITTER! and food colour of your child’s choice for Christmas magic (You can buy biodegradable glitterhere)

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Luke 1:39-45 ESV

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Today’s Activity

This week is bird week in Exploring Nature With Children. Today, check that your bird feeders are nice and full, and that the birds visiting your garden have a place to drink, then spend some time watching to see how many different birds visit your feeder.

Keep a log in your nature journal, and perhaps sketch and read up on some of the different birds that you see.

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

This week in Exploring Nature With Children is ‘Winter Birds Week’.

Here are some helpful links to get you going:

• Drawing Birds Tutorial by John Muir Laws
• How to Attract Birds to Your Feeder in Winter Video
• Feeding Birds in Winter
• Are Crows the Ultimate Problem Solvers? BBC
• Seeing Like a Bird BBC
• Backyard Bird ID cards  Tanglewood Hollow

Happy exploring!

Today’s Reading

Matthew 1:24-25 ESV

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Today’s Activity

Today, grab lots of pillows and blankets, light some candles, and enjoy an afternoon of drinking hot chocolate and reading Christmas books.

Some of our favourite nature-themed Christmas stories:

• The Christmas Kitten by James Herriott
• Night Tree by Eve Bunting
• This is the Star by Joyce Dunbar
• The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
• The Cobweb Curtain by Jenny Koralek
• The Tale of Three Christmas Trees by Hunt/ Jonke
• A Wish To Be A Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Matthew 1:22-23 ESV

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).

Today’s Activity

Go for an ‘I Spy’ nature walk with your child. Enjoy this peaceful time in nature as the world around you is getting busier as Christmas approaches.

This is also a great nature game to play from a window at home if the weather is very bad.

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Matthew 1:18-21 ESV 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Today’s Activity

Today let’s make Christmas wrapping paper:

• Take a potato, and cut in half.
• Take a cookie cutter in a pleasing shape and push through the cut side of the potato. Remove any excess potato. This will leave you with a nice, crisp edge to print with.
• Pat the potato dry with kitchen paper.
• Put your chosen paint colours out in little dishes onto a newspaper-covered surface.
• Take large sheets of plain paper; I like to use brown wrapping paper, lining paper is another option, and simply dip the potato shape lightly into the paint (too much will blur the design) and print down randomly on the paper.
• Repeat until your child is satisfied with their design.
• Allow to dry.

Enjoy listening to Christmas carols as you get on with wrapping some Christmas gifts together 🙂

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Luke 1: 36-38 ESV

 The angel continued “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Today’s Activity

Make time today to sketch the sunset. Observe the glowing colours in the western sky; sunsets tend to be slightly warmer and more intense than sunrises, which, generally speaking are softer, paler, and less intense. So crack out your paints, crayons, or coloured pencils in warm, bold oranges, pinks, yellows, and purples, and paint what you see, being sure to sketch along with your child!

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Luke 1:32-35 ESV

The angel continued “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Today’s Activity

Today, use the last of your woodland gatherings to make a wreath for your home.

Simply take your garden wire and form a rough circle shape, two or three times, entwining the wire as you go.

Once you have your basic wreath shape, simply tuck in short sprigs of evergreen, such as holly, pine, yew, box and so forth. Attach them well with lengths of twine. Also add in berries, fir cones, seed pods, rose hips, ivy, or whatever else takes your fancy!

This will be a truly special decoration for your home, made with love, and representative of your family’s own special nature spot.

Display with pride!

Have you made a few entries into your mother’s advent journal? This is a treasure in the making.

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Luke 1:29-31 ESV

But Mary was greatly troubled at the Angel’s saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And 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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

Today’s Activity

Today we are going to take some of the lovely nature finds that you brought home from your walk, and give them a little Christmas sparkle. You will also need to save some for tomorrow’s activity.

You will need:

• Old newspapers
• A bowl of glue for each person
• Small paintbrushes (ones that you do not mind using with glue; the glue will spoil them somewhat.)
• Nature treasures
• Bowls of glitter; all one colour is very sophisticated, or you could go wild with lots of different colours! Here is a biodegradable glitter
• Cotton thread

Cover your table with old newspapers to protect the surface, and lay out your treasures. All sorts of items will work with this activity:

• Holly boughs
• Pine branches
• Dried seed heads
• Pinecones

Give everyone their own bowl of PVA glue and a small paintbrush, then add little ‘highlights’ of glue to each nature treasure.

Take each treasure and carefully dunk it into the bowl of glitter (or take pinches of glitter and sprinkle them over the treasure if it is too large for the bowl.)

Place the treasures carefully on the newspaper & allow them to dry.

If you would like to hang your treasures on your Christmas tree, allow your treasures to dry, then take the cotton thread and tie little loops onto your glittery treasures.

Ta da!

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.

Today’s Reading

Luke 1:26-28 ESV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Today’s Activity

This week Exploring Nature With Children is all about Christmas plants, so take some time today for a woodland walk. Look around for traditional Christmas plants to bring into your home to decorate for advent, such as pine and holly branches, lovely long strands of ivy, pinecones, and so forth. Dress up in weather appropriate clothing and take a pair of secateurs or robust scissors. Be sure to take small amounts from each individual plant, never over prune. We will be using your treasures over the next few days to decorate your home.

Once you return home, listen to some Christmas carols whilst enjoying well-deserved mugs of hot-chocolate, and enjoy your treasures.

See you tomorrow for more advent fun.