Alpha (Old Testament) Quiet Book - by Steph

This is the first in a series of two quiet book made by my friend Steph. 

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.

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

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!

Letters to Early Christians quiet book page - Interview with Jessica

Today I would like to introduce you to Jessica and find out how she came up with such a simple Bible quiet book page that keeps kids entertained for ages. When the pages are so easy to make, you might have to start coming up with other reasons for not making a start on a quiet book project!

Carissa D: Hi Jessica and thanks for letting me share your Letters to Early Christians quiet book page. I know you made this page as part of a New Testament quiet book swap because I participated in that swap and received this page (among others) back. 

You can read about what a quiet book swap is in my post about my participation in a Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap.

Carissa D: I must admit that your page was probably Tahlia's favourite from that swap, and she absolutely LOVED this page at around 5 years old. I can't remember if topics for each page were already chosen and we picked from a list or if we made up our own page topics, but this is a unique idea I haven't seen anywhere else. So I am wondering how you came up with the idea?

Jessica: I do believe we had topics for the pages. If I remember right we swapped about 10 pages but I ended up making a bunch more at home to complete an Old Testament Book and a New Testament book. I think the idea was just that the new testament letters are so hard to capture unless you only represent one single powerful verse such as John 3:16. But I wanted to capture all of it. The concept was that the original letters were written on scrolls and to provide the kids an image of a scroll and then they could point off the ABC's or trace over the letters on the page. For very young kids they can use a pretend feather pen that was tucked behind the scroll, and trace the letters. For older siblings they could practice reading the name of the Letters from the Apostles or even memorize the names of the books.

Carissa D: I love pages that can suit multiple age groups and can sort-of grow with the child. What significance do the New Testament letters hold for you? Was there a particular attraction to the topic of this page?

Jessica: I think I chose this page simply because I had an idea I thought I could do. I don't consider myself very artistic and so if I had any idea for a page I went for it!

Carissa D:  What do you think of quiet book swaps and would you recommend people join them?

Jessica: Many many mother's struggle through going to Mass with little ones. I love Quiet books because it is an activity that the kids can do that still keeps them at least in some way thinking about God, while not letting them have a toy that they can bang into the pew and make us Mom's worry about disturbing others. Little ones need to be active and they do belong at church with us. Anything that makes it easier for them is a worthy effort. We have made four quiet books now.

Carissa D: Well done! Could you explain how you made this page please?

Jessica: Supplies- 

Background color of your choice in Felt or Fabric
1 sheet of white felt
1 feather
1 bottle black puffy paint

To recreate this page is easy. Cut out a piece of felt in the shape of a scroll (maybe practice on paper and then transfer to white felt). Sew all sides down except one so that you can tuck in a feather behind it. If you feel conformable with a sewing machine sew your lines across to give the appearance of a scroll like you see in a line drawing or you can sew the edges and use puffy paint for the lines. I used a google image for "scroll line drawing" as an example. Once your sewing is done, write out the names of all the letters in puffy paint (hopefully your handwriting is better than mine), and keep a feather behind the white felt, on the side your didn't sew for kids to practice tracing with.

Carissa D: It does sound easy. I love the embossed felt you used (we don't have such a variety of felt available in Australia). It looks like you painted the tip of your feather as well which really makes it feel authentic when you are pretending to write. Was there anything about this page that you would change if you made it again?

Jessica: I would probably have someone with better handwriting write the names!

Carissa D:  What encouragement can you give to others who might be thinking of starting a quiet book?

Jessica: I think I would have never started quiet books if it wasn't for my crafting group. Getting the unique ideas from so many different people and only having to come up with one or two unique ideas yourself makes the entire project so much more manageable. Find a community online and start from there.

Carissa D: Did/do you use your quiet books to keep your children quiet in church or do you use them elsewhere? Do they live up to their name?

Jessica: I keep at least 1 in my car at all times when I have children under 2 years old, but we use them during car rides or at church most often. Quiet books work for us unless the kids decide to argue over who gets to hold which one. We have a Mass book, Old Testament, New Testament, and a generic baby book (that my 8 year old made for my infant when I was pregnant, it is a great project to teach young ones how to sew).

Carissa D: That sounds amazing, I am really hoping my daughter Tahlia wants to start making quiet books one day too. Thanks so much for sharing your page idea with us. Sometimes getting the ideas is the hardest part!

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

Do you have any simple busy book pages that your kids play with for hours? Comment below!

Matthew 2 - The Wise Men Quiet Book Page

Matthew chapter 2 recounts the story of the Wise Men following the star to find Jesus, King of the Jews.

Memory Verse: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” ” Matthew 2:1-2.

Materials needed to create The Wise Men quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used white
• Betty Lukens Felt book 011 Life of Jesus as a Boy Felt Activity Kit (not an affiliate link)
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors!

Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!

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

• Matthew 2 - Learn the story of the Wise Men who came to worship Jesus
• Imaginative Play - re-enact the Wise Men following  the star
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Sew the Betty Lukens scene onto your page along three sides
to form a pocket for piece storage

Read the Chapter

Matthew 2

Devotional

Magi... it seems strange that priests from a different religion came to worship Jesus, doesn't it? To find out how the Babylonians came to know prophecies about Jesus, read The Connection Between Daniel and the Christmas Story.

Lyric Video - "We Three Kings" by Kirk Franklin

THE STAR

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

What are your biggest questions about the Wise men? Comment below!

Genesis 24 - Rebecca at the Well Quiet Book Page

Rebecca at the Well in Genesis 24 is a beautiful story and every girl's matchmaking dream come true.

Memory Verse: “And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”” Genesis 24:19 NKJV.

Materials needed to create the Rebecca at the Well quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used orange
• this printable from LambSongsNZ
• a method of sublimation printing - see below
• white acrylic/polyester felt
• sewing thread to best match the page
• two mini black split pins
• string or wool
• hot glue and glue gun
• scissors!

Firstly, get the printable transferred onto white felt by the sublimation printing and heat press method - see my post on Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test. Print the Rebecca and bucket section in reverse as well so you can glue her back to back.

Cut out the printable picture and both buckets and Rebecca's.

Attach your wool or string to the background felt underneath where your picture will be sewn using zig zag stitch. Go back and forth a few times to reinforce the hold.

Sew down the picture along three sides to form a pocket at the top.

Use the split pins to join each Rebecca to her bucket. Hot glue the buckets together and enclose the other end of the wool or string inside, leaving space for the split pins to remain free to turn. Hot glue Rebecca together, again leaving space for the bucket to swivel between her arms and the bottom edge open to form a finger puppet.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.

A very easy quiet book page! The hardest part is lining up both side of Rebecca when hot gluing (but that's not that hard)!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 24 - God is a good matchmaker!
• Imaginative Play - draw water from the well to give the camels a drink
• Finger Puppet - Rebecca
• 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 24

Devotional

How great are the rewards for being faithful in little.

All Rebecca was asked for was a simple drink of water - something which would have taken one minute max. But she offered to water the camels too. Surely Abraham sent more than his "oldest servant who ruled over his house" with the caravan to Nahor! They could have easily drawn the water for the camels. And in fact there were more servants, although they are not mentioned until after Rebecca is found and secured.

I was wondering how many camels there were - can you guess? I was guessing at least five, probably more - but I read it again and it says there were ten. There was all the presents for Rebecca and her mother and brother to carry, plus a bride price, food for the camels and servants to last a good portion of the journey, and possibly camels to ride for the servants. It seems to me that this trip was an urgent one. Everything happens in a rush!

Abraham asks and in the next sentence, Eliezer has left and arrived. Before he finishes praying, Rebecca has appeared. He "runs" to her and she "quickly" lets down her pitcher. She "runs" home to make arrangements for him to stay and her brother "runs" out to invite him in. Then he refuses to eat before he tells them his mission, and after being asked to stay ten nights he will only agree to stay one before returning home.

Giving Eliezer a drink would have fulfilled his request, and is more than Rebecca was obligated to do. But to offer to water ten camels must have taken quite a while even though she did it "quickly".
The below podcast by experienced people says that a thirsty camel can drink between 100-150 liters of water in around 15 minutes. So to water 10 camels, Rebecca might have had to draw 1000-1500 liters of water. I imagine that Rebecca could lift no more than 20 liters at once, so she would have to draw water at least 50-75 times in order to draw that much water which must have taken a couple of hours. It was no casual offer that she made.

How Much Water Does a Camel Drink?

by Camel Connection

Rebecca is not the only virtuous person we can learn from in this chapter. Eliezer is pretty impressive too. Although he is not named in this chapter, Abraham thinks in chapter 15 that Eliezer his servant will be his heir. Eliezer must have known this at the time too. Not only does he not become hurt or offended when he is no longer heir, but he is the one trusted to secure a Godly wife for his replacement Issac. What faithfulness! We can learn so much about how to behave when we are disappointed by not receiving what we thought we were going to. Like when we don't get the promotion we thought we deserved. God has a plan, and often it is not our business!

Isaac and Rebekah Rap

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

What do you think? 

Magnificent Butterfly Resurrection Easter Bonnet

Although PanPanic ensured there was no Easter Hat Parade at school this year, they still held an Easter Hat Slideshow.

And we did our own parade at home.

Why we made the Butterfly Resurrection Easter Hat

As always we take the opportunity to both learn about Jesus' sacrifice and develop faith-sharing skills. I think it is important to practice sharing your faith from a young age. There are too many who shy away from proclamations - but I want to make sure Tahlia grows up to be bold and unashamed of the Gospel.

This year our Easter bonnet featured an empty tomb with a myriad of butterflies. Butterflies have long been a symbol of the resurrection because caterpillars seem to die in their cocoons and emerge shortly thereafter possessing a far superior body. We included so many butterflies as Jesus' resurrection gives us the reassurance that He is able to do the same for anyone who places their hope and trust in him.

Inside the tomb we see what Mary saw described in John chapter 20. I have heard that the angels sitting at either end of the stone where Jesus had been laid are supposed to remind you of the Ark of the Covenant which had two angels on top with their wings touching each other. On top of the ark between the angels was called the Mercy Seat and this was where the Shekinah Glory of God's presence shone. We tried to emulate this in a way, but the light was also supposed to give the impression of angels rejoicing and reflecting the angel-party mood I imagine was going on in Heaven despite the disbelief and grief on Earth.

How we made the Butterfly Resurrection Easter Hat

Two of my favourite butterflies

This video gives the basic gist of how we made the base of our butterflies from pipe-cleaners, although we did make a few changes. Next we wrapped the wings in lace and secured it with hot glue. We also added beads to the ends of their feelers. I knew we would need a lot, so we started making these well before Christmas, but even so we did get a bit of help from some friends to make so many. Tahlia hot glued all bar one of the little ones in place and did an excellent job don't you think?

How to Make Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Rings 

by One Little Project

We had one little one left over so she did wear it as a ring.

The large butterfly on top was also made from pipe-cleaners and wrapped in lace.

We started the layers from the outside edges first so that each layer overlapped the next without getting in the way.

This hat is the third in a series where we have re-used the same paper mache hat we made in Kindergarten.  After removing last years beautiful felt flowers we gave it a quick vacuum to remove the dust and debris.

This year we enclosed the arch/doorway from the last two years to form the empty tomb. We marked where we wanted the tomb to go to and used plastic shopping bags to pack the space to be filled. Then we covered that section with three or so more layers of paper mache before removing the shopping bags and covering from the inside as well.

We also marked the edge of the entrance to the tomb on paper and formed a base for the stone out of cardboard cereal box. This got covered with layers of paper mache too.

The tomb and stone were painted inside and out in white by Tahlia, and I touched up the sky and grass after the damage done by removing the felt flowers from last year.

I had been hoping to find a frosted plastic box in a jewelry store but had no luck. Happily, and perhaps Providentially, we attended a wedding a few weeks before the hat had to be finished. The wedding favours came in a perfectly sized white box with a transparent lid. I managed to take a photo for you with one chocolate left in there before they all got demolished. Each box had two chocolates inside originally!

After removing the divider, three LED rings fit exactly inside the box - we bought this 6 pcs LED Rubber Rings from AliExpress (not an afiliate link). I bought extra in case some did not work and I'm glad I did as all the rest broke very quickly. The box is fixed in place with blu-tak so it can be removed to allow the rings to be turned on and off.

The angels were bought from a craft store but I have seen similar in dollar stores too - they were hot glued in place.

See the other Easter Hats in this Trilogy

1. Hosanna! Palm Sunday Easter Bonnet - focuses on Praising Jesus' ability to save
2. Spectacular Spring Lamb Easter Bonnet - focuses on the first Passover and the Cross
3. Magnificent Butterfly Resurrection Easter Bonnet - this one!

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

I would love to see and share your Christian themed Easter Hats!

Psalm 28 - Shepherd Them Quiet Book Page

Psalm 28 was written by David and praises God who rescues him when he puts his trust in the LORD.

Memory Verse: “Save Your people,

And bless Your inheritance;

Shepherd them also,

And bear them up forever.” Psalm 28:9 NKJV. 

Materials needed to create the Shepherd Them quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used tan
• Betty Lukens Felt book 01 Bible Stories available at Koorong
• sewing thread to best match the page
• scissors!

Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.

Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!

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

• Psalm 28 - Praise God that He is willing and able to hear our prayers, save and shepherd us
• Imaginative Play - make the lambs play and eat the grass, play the harp with David
• 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 28

Devotional

We all know that we don't deserve to have the Master of the universe listen to our beck and call. And yet this Psalm is all about praising Him because He hears us.

The sole reason given in this Psalm that God answers our prayers is that we trust Him. He loves to come through for us because of that.

Psalm 28:1-2,6-9 Song

"To You, I Will Cry, O LORD"

(Esther Mui) Christian Praise Worship Lyrics

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

Have you asked God to be your shepherd - will you trust Him to lead you?