I was reminded of the goodness that is the O Antiphons when this Catholic Icing post showed up in my feedly: O Antiphon Ideas for Catholic Families
I knew John Paul would be SO so excited for us to incorporate these into our Advent preparations, but the "simple" crafts on the website are far from simple for those of us who aren't quite so crafty... So we've done several SUPER lame crafts that are really easy and work for really young kids - here's what we have so far (along with my sister's reflections from last year):
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O Wisdom - Easy paper scroll. Took two seconds - super-lame but John Paul was ecstatic!
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O Adonai - John Paul specifically requested a burning bush and the ten commandments tablets. He drew tablets on the back of a cereal box and I cut them out. Then he and Cecilia wrote/colored on them and glued "flames" to a "bush" on a piece of paper. Again, SO simple and lets them reflect a little in their own way.
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O Flower of Jesse's Stem - Three guesses which one is John Paul's and which one is Cecilia's... I cut out the shapes, they made their own flowers and then we used glue to show the "roots" under the "dirt."
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O Key of David - Parts of a key. Glued them to paper. Real tricky, this one...
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O Radiant Dawn - Tomorrow we're going to be a *little* more hardcore and look at pictures of a sunrise and then use watercolors to try to reproduce our own. I'm actually excited about this one because I really like using the kids' watercolors...
O King of All the Nations - We're making paper crowns. Hardcore, I know.
O Emmanuel - Something involving making a baby Jesus... Do you have a good craft you recommend? Otherwise it'll be construction paper and glue :P
I'll be instagramming the results - click the subscribe button on my sidebar!
Are you doing anything for the O Antiphons? Even just singing the corresponding verse of O Come O Come Emmanuel is fun! There are printables here that we're using and loving.
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Is even this too much for you? Is Advent burning you out? Have you had your Christmas decorations up since Thanksgiving? This one from my sister is a good read, too! Advent: You're Doing It Right
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Christina's O Antiphon posts are also really beautiful - if you're not subscribed to The Evangelista, go subscribe now!
Check out more at Jen's!
What's your current over/under odds on when John Paul goes to the seminary?? Because I'm taking the under! That kid, love him!
ReplyDeleteI would be SHOCKED if he didn't at least go for a year - maybe he won't become a priest, but he seems like the kind of kid who would go to seminary just to be sure of his vocation! Then again, he might spend the entire time there trying to correct his professors, so maybe we should find some nice girl to fix him instead ;)
DeleteIs it terrible that I don't do anything liturgical other than go to Mass at the proper times? This church-year-at-home stuff seems like a lot of work!
ReplyDeleteI think it's easier when there are kids to focus things around! When it was just me and Andrew we were still trying to figure it all out and we didn't do much at all.
DeleteThose ARE super-simple. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty much limited to construction paper and glue when it comes to craftiness!
DeleteThat's an awesome idea... I have got so many ideas for Advent... NEXT YEAR!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're in survival mode - ANYTHING you do right now is impressive :P
Deletehttp://www.adventuresofadiymom.com/2013/12/how-to-make-clothespin-nativity.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteSo cute! If I had old-fashioned clothespins we'd totally do that - I think we've got to stick to materials we already have right now... Think we can make a pom pom baby Jesus? Maybe not...
DeleteFor baby Jesus I saw a really easy sock Jesus you can make with kid's sock, stuffing and a rubber band. I'll try to find the link. Basically, you stuff the sock3/4 of the way, tie a knot, fold the top over to make it look like a cap, and then use a rubber band to cinch the sock where the neck should be. Then you draw a face and use blue felt or cloth to make swaddling. I'm not sure if that made sense, but I think it's cute! I'm trying that with our 3 year old this weekend. We will see how that goes. :)
ReplyDelete