Category: Mama Hood

Flat Stanley Project

Who knew that reading a little book from the library would turn into such a family craze! Flat Stanley is a cute little book written by Jeff Brown back in 1964, 2 years after my mom was born. They have updated the book covers through the years but the story is still relevant to children today. They have more books in the series but this one has been my personal favorite.

I know this really has little to do with ministry but it has been such a fun project that it has boosted our family camaraderie in so many ways. I have sent Flat Stanley to over 20 people for our original project for our Homeschool Literature Fair. They were supposed to take pictures of Flat Stanley at a local attraction or go with them and do something that they do every day. We also sent out a little Flat Pat for our daughter who is 3, we are calling her Flat Stanley’s little sister. Together they have reached 17 different states and done some pretty amazing things!

Lubbock, TX

We have looked forward to seeing the photos that people send in the mail, e-mail, and post on Facebook. My grandmother even took her Flat Pat to several states and to her Senior Center and church with her. It was pretty fun seeing my old pastor and college professor holding Flat Pat. It has united me with old friends and brought a new bond between us again. So many people have enjoyed the project so much that they have thanked ME for allowing them to come for a visit. The kids when they receive the photos look at them and ask questions. It has been educational in every way.

Pensacola, FL

My Christian friend from high school even took him to Disneyland. My college roommate took him on a Road Trip from Tennessee to Georgia to Florida to Alabama to Arkansas! Our friends that moved away showed us around cold and snowy Michigan and Minnesota. My 4th grade teacher even allowed him to come to her class and help with their reading class and talked some of the girls from my high school to take him by the Alamo during a trip they took to San Antonio, Texas.

At Alamo

Another family has taken him on deputation with them as they travel to different states. It has given their kids a project and kept our children in touch with them. I would actually suggest doing a fun type of thing like this if you were going on deputation. It might give you a purpose and connection to those following you on your journey and a little purpose for taking all of those pictures on the side of the road.

Oklahoma Sign

Some people I knew back when I served as a church secretary that brought their youth group to our church for a youth conference even took our Flat Stanley to a wildlife park in Australia where they now work as missionaries. God has really been so good to give us small blessings and connections. I even wish we could take an idea similar to this and send it out to our missionaries, by mail or by scanning the character and e-mailing it, and having them send photos in to Sunday School classes. It could create some exciting news and things for children to look forward to when going to Sunday School.

Australian Kangaroo

For our family, we have even chosen to extend the project to see if we can get a Flat Stanley or Flat Pat to all 50 United States and beyond! I highly recommend reading the book, it’s an easy day or two reader for a first grader. There are other projects you can do with the books, there is a lap book study that can be found on the internet, here.

If you are interested in following along on our Flat Stanley project follow us on our Flat Stanley 50 page on Facebook! We still have a multitude of states to add to our list, so if you’re feeling fun and adventurous then please contact us on that page. We also would love to go beyond America for all of you missionaries out there! This can be a great project for you and your children.

We are working on a separate family project going around our town and city and visiting places we have never been before with our Flat Stanley so that we can send them back to the children that have sent us pictures. It is helping us see new places we have never been, since we are still relatively new to the area, having been here 3 1/2 years.

God is so good to let us be in contact with our friends from the past and giving us some anticipation for the future. It’s the little things like a flat piece of paper with a little kid’s drawing on it that can bring a smile to your face! Thank you Lord for the little blessings!

Making Our Resurrection Activities Meaningful

I realize this is a bit late but I still wanted to share some thoughts I wrote out earlier last week but did not have an opportunity to post.

We are not an Easter egg family as far as providing them and doing a hunt in our home, primarily because I do not want our children to be focused on eggs and candy when we have so much to be thankful for in the Risen Saviour. We have been involved in several hunts this year and the kids really had fun running everywhere looking like little chickens. BUT…My desire is to teach them there is no other holiday that should be as exciting, not even Christmas. Our God came to earth, took the punishment for our sins, died, and then arose on the third day, conquering sin and the grave so that we could come to Him and receive forgiveness of sins. There is no greater gift! There is no greater celebration than that of knowing He did that because of His love and He will come again to receive those that believe on Him unto Himself.

We may not take part in the popular activities of certain holidays but that does not mean we are sitting back on our haunches while the rest of the world has a blast either. Christians do not have to miss out on the fun just because they are different or choose a different approach. All of that to say… that our family is not going to hold back our decorations, our activities, our thoughtfulness, our Scripture reading, our celebration! We are going to talk about it, read about, craft about it, and tell others about it. And I am going to do my best to make it exciting and fun…

You have probably been to some type of ceremony or boring class where you think to yourself, “let’s get all of this out of the way so we can have fun!” No, it is not in my nature to let our “traditions” become ho-hum. People naturally get attached to things that are the same, but my goal is to create great activities that help our children learn from God’s Word the wonderful significance of our Saviour. If you get bored with holidays and tired of all the parties and festivities, do not let this be the holiday that you push aside and forget about. Forget about another boring holiday instead (ahem, Earth Day)!

I’ve combed through Pinterest to find some ideas on activities we can do to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and there are some great ideas out there! Then, there are the not so great ones but I like altering ideas to be more Christ-centered. And I have just been asking myself why there are so many websites done by non-Baptists that have wonderful activities that have to do with the Bible, including the Resurrection, but incorporate their doctrine and taint the purity of God’s Word. There are not many Baptists posting what they are doing with their families and encouraging people to put God into every aspect of their lives. I am going to do more to encourage Bible believers not to separate their beliefs from their holiday activities, to incorporate God more, and leave the traditions that leave God out, out!

Some people think I am a party pooper for not letting our kids do certain types of activities throughout the year and that is fine with me. We are fun, we are purposeful, we are integrating our beliefs from God’s Word into the holidays that are meaningful to us. We chose to eat fish one night and tell the kids about how Peter denied Christ and how Jesus came to where he was and stood on the shore and called out to him. Then they had a fish breakfast together and Jesus asked him if he loved Him and told him to feed His lambs. After they listened to the story the light turned on for them that we had planned that meal to tell a story.

One of the greatest gifts I received after going to Bible College was not only being in a Christian environment 24/7 but the gift of understanding, after going to public school my entire school career, that you can integrate the Bible into every school subject. God fits in science because He created the laws of science, He created the mathematical equations so He can show up in our math problems, He speaks about body and our health, and the importance of being wise with money in business. It was one of the wow factors, that I no longer had to separate God from school and only involve Him in home and church life. That is why I believe strongly in Christian education and doing things like taking special time out of our weeks and months and showing them how special God is. The gifts that He gave us can simply be learned through our spending time together as a family decorating the house and coloring a picture. It’s a wonderful thing to take the time to tie the strings to your child’s heart and allow them to ask questions in a safe environment about spiritual matters.

Not only are they growing from it, God is becoming more meaningful to me!

I would encourage you, not to go off the deep end but to choose an activity and find a special thing to merge God into the big picture of your holiday or choose a specific holiday and find new and creative Christ-centered activities to introduce into your traditions. If you do it right and plan it will make your special times together learning about God more meaningful!

Resurrection Activities 2013

We have been at work on some fun projects this week. We are taking time out of our schedule to focus on Christ’s death and resurrection. My husband and I have really been thinking about the focus put on Christmas, Christ’s birth being a month long shin dig and then Christ’s Resurrection is crammed into one day. We are renewing our focus and purposing to do more for Easter than we have in the past from now on because His death and resurrection are the icing on the cake for the Christian life.

Now, on to our projects!

The first project was to make a Palm Leaf out of green construction paper, a straw, and some tape. We waved them around after telling the story of Jesus and the people shouting “Hosanna!”

Palm Branch with Straw and Construction Paper

Palm Branch with Straw and Construction Paper

Play-doh Storytelling

Play-doh Storytelling

The second activity we did was I told the kids that if they wanted to play Play-doh they had to make what I made first before they had free play. I created Jesus riding on the donkey and put clothes underneath them as they walked by. I demonstrated how to make the donkey and the Jesus figure and then the other kids were able to see how to make them for themselves. As we molded then we talked about the story and my oldest son, Uno, mentioned that it was only a few days later that they yelled “Crucify Him!” This idea could easily be used as you teach a Sunday School lesson. I explain this here at my sister site.

Paid In Full Handprints

Paid In Full Handprints

The next project was a project I found on Pinterest that was uploaded by one of the users. We altered it a little bit. We made white handprints on black construction paper and waited a long while for them to dry completely. Then, as we were adding the red dot on the center we talked about how Jesus was nailed to the cross. My second son, Dos, said “Awwww” as he painted, and was sad. I told him that Jesus died for us because He loved us, and then it gave me the idea to make the center nail print into a heart.

Sealed Tomb Lacing Activity

Sealed Tomb Lacing Activity

Finally I created a sort of diorama of the tomb of Jesus that is a teaching illustration for my 2 and 3’s Sunday School class that I am helping in. It illustrates how Jesus was sealed in the tomb and I created a pocket on the inside so that you can switch the body of Jesus with an angel and a folded up napkin. I like to create new ways for children to understand and see with their eyes the Bible stories come to life in an interesting way.

I hope to add more of our activities in the coming days when I find my charger for my camera and can plug it in to take more photos… I think I left it at the church! Go figure! I hope you are able to fill your days with Christ-centered and Bible-filled activities, because without Christ’s victory over death and the grave, we could not have the gift of love and eternal life.