Showing posts with label shapes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shapes. Show all posts

Wednesday 15 August 2018

Genesis 2 - Adam Names the Animals Quiet Book Page

In Genesis chapter 2, God asks Adam to name the animals.



Memory Verse: “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Genesis 2:18

Materials needed to create the Adam Names the Animals quiet book page:

  • A4 felt background sheet - I used light green.
  • Stiffened felt - I used black.
  • Wonderwall (or Veltex and double sided iron-on interfacing) scrap - I used light grey.
  • Velcro sticky dots
  • hot glue and glue gun
  • sewing thread to best match the page
  • Tangram template from webdelmaestro.com - they also have the image below which demonstrates how to make a heap of animal shapes out of the tangram which goes perfectly with this page

Image Source

Sew your Wonderwall to the background page, leaving enough room for a colourful border and to allow you to sew your pages back to back once you are ready to sew the book together.

Cut out the shapes from the template and use the paper pattern to cut the shapes out from the stiffened felt. It is probably better to make your size smaller than mine so you have room rearrange the shapes on your page.

Cut your Velcro dots in half and attach the Velcro dot to the same sides of the stiffened felt shapes so that they will fit together to form a square when you are done. You will need to use a little hot glue to hold them in place as the sticky will wear out rather quickly.

Stick your shapes onto the Wonderwall with the Velcro and re-arrange to make all sorts of animals. They should all fit on the page for storage purposes.

Finished!


Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.


Key Learning Areas and Skills

  • Genesis 2 - God asked Adam to name the animals, what an awesome job!
  • Imaginative Play - animals are so much fun to imagine with
  • Shapes - tangram, square, triangle, parallelogram
  • Puzzle - place the tangram shapes in a way that will form a picture and then back into the shape of a square
  • Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
  • Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination




Read the Chapter

Genesis 2


Devotional

Some people say that you can't appreciate the good without experiencing the bad. I'm not sure if I agree.

I can see that experiencing bad can enhance your appreciation of the good. But does that mean that if Adam and Eve had never fallen and evil had never entered the world that we would not have appreciated the goodness in the world around us? God pronounced everything He had made "good" and when it was finished, it was "very good". If it is not possible to appreciate good without evil then I think it was not possible to make a decision on the matter, and yet they were required to. Therefore it is possible to appreciate good without experiencing evil.


BOB DYLAN - (COVER)
MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS


Nevertheless, it appears that lack of good may increase your appreciation for good. In Genesis 2, God demonstrates to Adam that he is lacking something before He provides that something. Before God creates Eve, He asks Adam to name all the animals - who all have a mate.

The willingness of Jesus to die for our sins on the cross is the most abhorrent thing possible. We deserve such a death and yet the Crown Prince who is and has always remained perfectly innocent endured a torturous death. Evil is so destructive that it reached all the way to the top and resulted in the death of the Creator. Yet goodness demonstrated it's superiority to evil in that even death of the life-giver could not defeat LIFE itself.


A very interesting talk about the Hebrew alphabet and how the letters give pictorial meaning to the words. It talks about Adam naming the animals :)




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Saturday 2 June 2018

Simple Bible Quiet Book Covers

A quiet book cover can be a really simple design.  Don't be intimidated with the amount of work required to make a quiet book. It is your book, so you decide the amount of work. There are many many page ideas which are simple to execute but will keep your children engaged in play.




These cover pages were made with very little effort. The shape of the cross easily identifies the subject matter of the book, and they can quickly be embellished with a little ribbon or some such. 

I just used the normal stitch on the machine to sew this on top of the outer edge of the cross. I did consider putting it underneath, but it seemed like it might be difficult to keep in the right spot, so I opted for on top so I didn't end up with the background page showing through. I started at the short vertical line at the top left hand of the cross and ended in the same place, folding the last section of lace back on the underside to give a nice finish without any raw edges visible. It might have been better to start and end at the bottom edge to avoid being lop-sided. I think it turned out well anyway.




You can see a list of my easy pages by clicking on the Difficulty Level = Easy label in the right column.




Before I added the ribbons these red crosses on white backgrounds looked too much like first aid kits for my liking!

If you wanted the cover to be interactive you could always attach velcro to the back of the cross and attach it to the page. Another idea is to attach the ribbons on top with kam snaps. You could even make a weave-able cross out of several ribbons sewn at the left and top sides only.




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Comment below or email me some photos with your ideas on how to create a simple cover. 
I would really love to hear from you!

Thursday 22 February 2018

Makeup Palette Felt Board Play Set

Hanging Tahlia's felt board on her bedroom wall was a big achievement! After we set it up with a calendar ready for starting school, she decided to use the free space to pretend to do her makeup for school in the morning - just like Mummy does for work.


Which inspired me to make her this...




... her very own makeup palette!


You can make your own with our free template available here.

I used craft glue to attach the felt to the background, and hot glue to attach the plastic pocket. You don't have to attach them at all if you don't want to - aside from the plastic pocket of course. 

Tahlia really enjoyed adding the glitter glue to the top of the oval eye shadows. I won't pretend I didn't enjoy it either. It really makes the item, really topped it off.




This activity provides a great opportunity to learn shapes and colours. And I suppose if you don't attach the items, you could use it to learn spatial awareness too.

I refuse to spell colour the American way... the English way is correct in Australia, and so much more rich and colourful - pun intended!




It does fall off the felt board easily when played with, which is disappointing. It is just too heavy. It will stay up for days when not being played with though. If you have one of those A-frame or slanted felt boards, it would work wonderfully I'm sure. Here is our tutorial on How to Make a Felt Board.

I will probably convert the makeup palette into a quiet book page once it gets neglected like most toys do eventually. Hopefully that will spark another bout of imaginative play, and I'll get twice the value out of my efforts.





See also:

Menorah felt board play set for Hanukkah






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Which colours would you need to include if you made a make-up palette?

Saturday 25 November 2017

Isaiah 9 - Unto us a Son is Born Quiet Book Page

In Isaiah chapter 9, a prediction of the Messiah's birth occurs.

Memory Verse: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Materials needed to create Unto Us a Son is Born quiet book page:

  • A4 felt background sheet. I used mid blue.
  • purple ribbon scrap
  • felt scraps in white, gray, yellow, orange, straw, dark brown, mid brown, tan, and various purples
  • a yellow/gold shank button with a loop back - this is too accommodate the thickness of four layers of felt used on the star
  • sewing thread to best match the page
  • scissors
  • the free template available from A Felt Nativity Story by Stay at Home Educator 
  • my free template - which includes the extra pieces missing from A Felt Nativity Story by Stay at Home Educator as an added bonus! Most of them are untested, but I am confident they will work - I have made a few templates in my time.

From the felt nativity story template, I used Joseph's body for both Joseph and Mary. I used two of the wise men's clothes for them because they are easily able to be adapted to form pockets to enable cuddling of Baby Jesus. First cut out one of all the pieces and arrange them on your page to make sure they fit. You will need to adapt your pieces somewhat to be able to form a pocket with Mary and Joseph's clothes. I will try to explain adequately below.




Baby Jesus: sew down the pieces for baby Jesus in the order of face followed by swaddling onto a doubled layer white background. When you have gone around the saddling, sew around his head on the white felt. Cut around the edge leaving a white border around Baby Jesus' head.

Manger: sew down the pieces for the manger and straw in that order onto a sheet of felt the same colour as the manger. I used chocolate brown. Then cut it out. Pin it to the page and cut a length of purple ribbon for a blanket and melt the ends with a match to prevent fraying. Pin it in position so it will fold over baby Jesus and form a blanket. Unpin the manger and sew down the ribbon at the bottom edge where it won't be seen under the manger. Then re-position the manger and sew it down around the outside edge leaving the top straw side open to form a pocket for baby Jesus to sleep in.




Star of David Sun: first choose the size appropriate for your button and cut out one star and sew it down to the same yellow felt. Cut it out after sewing it down. Then cut out the corresponding sized circle out of orange felt and layer a piece of orange felt topped by the Star of David and the circle of orange felt on top of that.




Sew down the circle. Sew the appropriate sized button hole onto a scrap piece of felt so you can mark with sewing pins on your sun where to start your button hole.





Sew a buttonhole the appropriate size for your button in the middle of your star and open it up with a seam ripper.





Then cut out the star by cutting the bottom orange layer by following the circle shape at the top. Fold back the yellow star points as you cut around so you don't cut them off. Hand sew the shank button to your page. Button on the sun.

Mary: Use a few of your pieces to line up Mary again, and sew down the back of her head covering and then her body on top. The photo is to show the positioning - not which sections to sew down.




Sew down the two purple pieces onto a white sheet of felt. Position the body piece template over the top and use it to cut out the shape of her dress. Then trim the section of white from around the shoulder area and continue down along the purple to the bottom edge. See below.





Pin the dress on top and sew matching your thread to the white and purple sections. Stop at the spot where the purple cuts across Mary's chest to form a pocket opening so Mary can cuddle baby Jesus.




Next sew down Mary's head and hair. Sew her front head covering down onto the same white sheet of felt it was cut from so it is double thickness. Cut it out and then sew it down along the outside edge.

Joseph: When cutting out Joseph's clothes, cut off one shoulder from the Y shaped pattern pieces. When you cut out the pieces out of felt, extend the length of the pieces you cut off from the Y shape so they extend underneath the other and into the pocket.

Position and sew the back of Joseph's head covering, followed by his body. Then sew down the extended shoulder pieces the go underneath Joseph's outer robe into the pocket. Sew down his head and hair.

Similar to Mary, sew down the two purple pieces on top of each other onto a grey sheet of felt. Position the body piece template over the top and use it to cut out the shape of his robe. Then trim the section of grey from around the shoulder area and continue down along the purple to the bottom edge. Pin the robe on top of his body and sew matching your thread to the grey and purple sections. Stop at a spot a little below where the purple cuts across Joseph's chest to form a pocket opening so he can cuddle baby Jesus too. Why is it always Mary that gets all the cuddles? I'm sure Joseph tried to be a good Step-Dad and gave Jesus plenty of cuddles.

Lastly, Sew down the front of his head covering onto another gray sheet of felt to double it up so it is strong. Then cut it out and position it, sewing only along the outer edge.




Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate.

However - A Felt Nativity Story board by Stay at Home Educator is easy! I included the missing pieces in my free template above.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

  • Isaiah 9 - This page tells about how God told Isaiah about the birth of the Messiah around 500 years before the fact - He came from Royal lineage as predicted
  • Imaginative Play - The baby can have cuddles with Mummy and Daddy, wear His crown/halo, and sleep in His royal-blanky bed
  • Tucking - Tuck baby Jesus into his manger-bed and tack the blanket in over the top
  • Buttoning - Button and un-button the sun
  • Shapes - Learn the shape of a Star of David and sun
  • Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
  • Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination



Read the Chapter

Isaiah 9

Devotional

Isaiah prophesied Jesus birth around 600-700 years before the event.

Jesus is the sun of righteousness mentioned in this chapter. I made a Star of David shaped sun that can be buttoned on and off the page - and can be used as an impromptu crown or halo on Jesus' head.

This quiet book page features a lot of purple - because the government will be on His shoulders and that is the Royal colour. I gave Jesus a purple blanket for the same reason. It kinda annoys me when they picture Him in prickly hay. As if his Mama wouldn't put a blanky down first!!

Both Mary and Joseph are descendants of King David (government) - although Joseph was a descendant through the line of Jeconiah and therefore not eligible to be a forebear of the Messiah. I will write about that in another devotional, however.

Which brings me to the next part of this devotional... hidden information regarding the virgin birth.

There are countless fascinating things to discover when you start studying the Bible. You might be frightened that you will learn everything there is to know, but you are quite safe to believe you will never get to that stage. The Holy Spirit has inspired so many secret layers of meaning (that probably the original writers did not even realize they were hiding in the writing) that we will never run out of learning.


Image source

There are two ways of writing the Hebrew letter mem - 'M' in English. they are called an open mem and a closed mem, referring to the gap or no gap formed in the letter when writing it. Correct Hebrew grammar rules that the closed mem is only ever used at the end of a word. Theses rules are followed everywhere in the Bible except in one word in a passage in Isaiah 9.  If you are curious as to why the rule is broken here and how that is significant to the prophecy of Jesus' virgin birth, please read this article from JewishRoots.net and even if you don't read the whole article - make sure you follow the link in the article to a two and a bit page PDF entitled The Mystery of the Closed Mem by Daniel Botkin. It is large writing and an easy read, and WELL worth it!


For unto us A Child is Born - Handel's Messiah

Tahlia had fun pretending to conduct the orchestra and choir for this clip!!





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Do you imagine a blankie in the manger too?

Saturday 16 September 2017

Psalm 127 - Unless the LORD Builds the House Quiet Book Page

In Psalm 127, Solomon notes that a lot of effort is wasted when we try to do things without God's help.


Memory Verse: "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain." Psalm 127:1

Materials needed to create Unless the LORD Builds the House quiet book page:

  • A4 felt background sheet. I used bright green.
  • Wonderwall in a slightly smaller size than the background
  • sewing thread to best match the wonderwall
  • stiffened felt in various colours
  • Velcro dots - hook side only
  • hot glue gun and glue - optional
  • the free template
  • pen and scissors!
Cut out the blocks from the template and draw around each the correct number of times on the colour of stiffened felt chosen. Cut out the blocks from the stiffened felt. Cut your Velcro dots in half and attach the Velcro dot to the side of the stiffened felt block which has the pen mark on it. You may need to use a little hot glue to hold them in place, especially if your Velcro dots are a little old like some of mine were, and the sticky is not so sticky anymore.

It is difficult to see in the photos, but the white circle is actually attached with a Velcro dot to a dark blue square block. It is meant to be a clock.

Sew your Wonderwall to the background page, leaving enough room for a colourful border and to allow you to sew your pages back to back once you are ready to sew the book together.




Stick your building blocks onto the Wonderwall with the Velcro and re-arrange to make all sorts of buildings.  They should all fit on the page for storage purposes.




Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

One of the easiest quiet book pages ever!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

  • Genesis 6 - This page tells about how much God works behind the scenes - we often forget that it is actually Him keeping our cities and country safe, and helping us to build our lives
  • Shapes - Learn the shapes square, circle, semi-circle, arch, rectangle, pillar, and triangle
  • Touch and Feel - The Wonderwall adds a rough texture to the page
  • Imaginative Play - Build endless combinations of houses, city gates, and walls, etc
  • Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
  • Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination


Read the Chapter

Psalm 127

Devotional

Solomon wrote this Psalm. I'm not sure that this is what he was talking about, but I found it a little fitting because he was the one God selected to build His house - the Temple. David had been busy making plans to build a temple, but God told him "No". I guess David knew better than to argue with God, because it seems he accepted that without complaint. He did all he could so it was ready for Solomon though, gathering supplies and drawing up plans.

Like I mentioned in my last devotional for Luke 12 - Where is Your Treasure Quiet Book Page, no-one can be an expert on everything, and if you want your plans to succeed, it is best to ask for help. God's help is the greatest help, and He can find you the right people to provide you with help too. If God has decreed something is not going to succeed, it ain't gonna, so don't waste your efforts.

Once again, we can't rely on own own efforts to build a good life and to keep ourselves safe. That's God's job, and that's great for us, because otherwise how could we go to sleep at night? But He is always there keeping watch and helping if we ask Him to.







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Are you letting the LORD build your house?

Sunday 10 September 2017

Deuteronomy 4 - Seek Me Find Me Quiet Book Page

In Deuteronomy chapter 4, God tells the Israelite's His laws and asks them not to let the memory of all the good things he has done for them fade from their hearts.


Memory Verse: "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29

Materials needed to create the Seek Me Find Me quiet book page:

  • A4 felt background sheet. I used black
  • flat silver cross (I found one at a bead shop) - see the photo at the end of the post to gauge the size - the Australian 10 cent coin pictured is roughly the size of a US quarter.
  • embroidered heart from an embroidered geometric tulle panel
  • ribbon to trim the heart with
  • sewing thread to best match the page
  • scissors!


Cut out the heart from the tulle panel. Pin it to the background felt sheet and slip the cross underneath. Sew it down with zig zag stitch. Measure the length of ribbon needed and melt the ends to prevent fraying. I turned the ribbon under at each end for a nice finish. Sew your ribbon down on top of your stitching to hide the edge of the heart, beginning and ending at the junction at the top. I sewed mine down with a slight zig zag stitch as well because of the type of ribbon I used. It made the ribbon sit better. 


Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

One of the easiest quiet book pages ever!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.


Key Learning Areas and Skills

  • Deuteronomy 4 - This page tells about how God is wanting us to seek Him and is ready to forgive if we do
  • Seek and Find - Find the location of the silver cross underneath the embroidered heart
  • Touch and Feel - The embroidery ribbon and sequins on the heart provides a textural quality to the page, and the cross underneath feels hard to the touch, but is hard to find
  • Shapes - learn the shape of a heart and cross
  • Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
  • Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination


Read the Chapter

Deuteronomy 4

Devotional

What a beautiful promise God makes with this verse. He has just warned the Israelite not to follow Idols and what the consequences of doing that would be, but then takes the time to reassure everyone that He is very willing to forgive and will not snub them if they do but then repent. He is always there ready to be found if we choose to, in fact He is longing for us to. No sin is too great for God to forgive, for the price Jesus paid with His life is great enough to save us all.






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Are you seeking the LORD with all your heart?