Manger, Baby, and Advent Book

I am getting in the Christmas mode, and thought I'd share how we used the Christmas Advent Book Calendar  last year and will definitely be doing this year too, but with both of our children!

The Story of Christmas advent calendar and book set is fabulous. It opens like you would open the doors to a barn (in the center), and inside are 24 miniature (tiny!) four page books that tell the story of how God rescued us through the birth of Jesus.  Each Bible-based book has a number on it, so you you don't need to guess the order of the books if they are not in the book.  Each mini book has a string, so you can hang it on the tree, if you wish.  Last year we weren't able to do that, so the book would appear along with a piece of "hay" and then we placed it in the book.  I totally recommend this Advent Calendar and know that there are similar ones out there that are also great!

The "hay" was really a small piece of brown yarn that M would place in the manger.  It  prepared the manger for Jesus' arrival on Christmas morning.  The craft stick manger is just made with craft sticks and hot glue.  Baby Jesus was pretty simple to make with just some simple stitches, but you could even use glue and a marker if you don't like a needle and thread.  You can read about the making of felt baby Jesus if you like.

This was our big way of learning about Jesus' birth last year, but this year I'd like to complete the incredible Jesse Tree in time!  One (of the many) things I like about the Jesse Tree is that it can be used for children of all ages.  I anticipate using ours for many, many years.  One of my friends even adjusted some of the Scripture used to match the Jesus Storybook Bible.  I thought that was brilliant.  (Unfortunately, she's not a blogging friend, so I don't have a link.)

I am linking up to stART, ABC and 123's show and tell, and Crafy Soiree, Read. Explore. Learn.  These are all great resources for all of us looking to teach our young children or just be crafty!