I really loved her idea of using an Alpha symbol over the cross for the Old Testament and an Omega over a cross for the New Testament covers.
Although the books are not quite finished (and I think a lot of quiet books fall into this category), I am going to share the pages that are already done for now. Steph knew she would never get around to making a sewn book, so she opted for glue. This has enabled her to use both the front and the back of a piece of felt for activities, which is not only cheaper, but means she doesn't have to sew the pages back-to-back either. The books are bound using ribbon strung through some holes made with a hole punch. So simple!
Page one is for creation. Steph really wanted to highlight to her children the creation of spaces in the first three days, and the filling of those spaces in the following three days:
| Creation Kingdoms | Creature Kings |
|---|---|
| Day 1 - Light (Day/Night) | Day 4 - Luminaries (Greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night) |
| Day 2 - Sky/Water | Day 5 - Birds/Fish |
| Day 3 - Land/Vegetation | Day 6 - Land animals/Man |
| The Creator King | |
| Day 7 - Sabbath | |
This view of Genesis 1 is called the Framework Interpretation, and although many of it's proponents hold to a symbolic meaning to the days of creation, there is no reason that it cannot and does not apply to a literal view just as readily (as Steph and I do).
Page two is one of the creatures God created - a crab. It was bought from AliExpress, so was a very easy make.
Page three is an apple tree (also bought from AliExpress) for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil story in the Garden of Eden.
Page four is a Noah's ark matching game inspired by the Betty Lukens kit I used in my Genesis 8 - In The Ark Quiet Book Page.
Page five is some corn weaving for the story of Joseph (bought from AliExpress). (Sorry Steph but I think the corn is referring to kernels of wheat rather than corn as we call it today)!
Page six is for the 10 Commandments - you can list a Commandment as the frog jumps on each lily pad. Sorry again Steph, but this is my least favourite page in this book because frogs are actually associated with unclean/evil things (think Revelation) so I'm not a fan of using them to illustrate God's Holy Law, despite how cute they might be!
Page seven is a sandal to tie and untie (bought from AliExpress) for the Children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, and we can remember how God made their sandals last the journey (Deuteronomy 29:5).
Page eight represents how God can wash us so we will be whiter than snow (Psalm 51).
On page nine you can dress up Queen Esther in various outfits, with one basic dress for before she became queen, and three more decorative ones for afterwards. Esther means "hidden" and you can hide her Jewish identity (the Star of David) like her Uncle Mordechai asked her to with her dresses. I love all the little details, so well done on this one Steph!
Page ten is David's harp (drawn free-hand - great job Steph)!
Page eleven is a mini felt Bible hidden in a heart pocket - for Psalm 119. We need to treasure God's word and learn it off by heart so we have it with us always.
This is my absolute favourite page, and it deserves it's own post, so I will be reserving photos of inside the Bible for that - sorry, not sorry hahaha.
Page twelve shows three different aspects of David's life - King, Shepheard, and how he was a man after God's own heart. You can trace the shape of the pipe cleaners from David on the left to the symbols on the right.
Page thirteen is a hand and numbers for counting. It was originally intended to be for the 10 Commandments, but two hands didn't fit on the page. Instead it could link to a few things, such as God knowing everything about us, and counting the blessings God has given us.
A bit of trivia for you - there is no Bible verse which talks about counting your blessings. I only know because I looked when trying to match another one of my quiet book ideas to a Bible chapter... Oh well!
The hand was free cut and Steph added Velcro dots bought from office works. Most things in the book were free cut and she didn't draw at all (cause she says she is really lazy).
Page fourteen is a wooden puzzle in the shape of a precious stone. After all, wisdom is better than rubies (Proverbs 8:11). It was bought from a dollar store. Steph has written some words of wisdom on it and made a pocket out of felt in the same shape as the puzzle.
Page fifteen is my second favourite in this book so far. Steph says the idea was "totally stolen" from an idea I had told her about for a future page. Although mine is for a different verse and will look quite different, I might just have to steal this idea right back for the verse Steph is applying it to! This page goes with Ezekiel 11:19, "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." (NIV). The heart is removable.
Page sixteen is a season tree. Whilst there is no activity, it is a rather tactile page. This page is for Ecclesiastes 3 - there is a season for everything.
Psalms 1 also talks about a tree planted by the waters which brings forth fruit in due season.
Page seventeen is Jonah and the whale.
There are an odd number of pages because this project is still growing.
Which page did you enjoy most in the Alpha (Old Testament) Quiet Book? That is a bit of a cheeky question, since I didn't share my favourite page here properly!
