Advent Math, Writing Project Craft

So many of us have found Christmas to be far more about receiving than giving with our children. It's not that kids are so selfish, it's that marketing campaign target kids and bombard them with images of thousands of 'must-have' toys, gadgets and goodies. Who can blame kids for wanting all that cool stuff. To say, 'you're selfish' to a child is to state an obvious, but not necessarily negative fact of childhood. Telling them not to want things is pointless. But we can give them lots of positive, proactive opportunities to practice giving, sharing and caring.

The goal in Advent is to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ child anew. One way we practice this is with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, especially prayer, fasting and generosity or sacrifice. Advent is a perfect chance to practice these skills. We as a society tend to be more aware of the needs of others at Christmas. Here is a Advent craft which incorporates math, writing and sacrifice. It can be extended to include some practice in cultures, social studies and geography also. This can be used in a classroom, home-school, scout troop, day care, Sunday School and within your own family.

This craft is styled after the original lift-the-flap Advent calendar.

Materials: one for each child or student

A sheet of cardboard, recycled cereal box or tag board
A 12 x 18 sheet of white paper ( or 2 81/2 x 11 sheets)
one 12 x 18 sheet of black construction paper
gel, metallic, neon or fluorescent markers, crayons or pencils
straw, hay or brown thread
gold foil star stickers
cotton balls
glue sticks
scissors, Widget or an exacto knife
map or globe
a jar for putting money into

Directions:

Draw a nativity scene on the black paper with the markers, pens, crayons or pencils ( the bright colors will show up nicely on black paper).

Around the picture, lightly draw 22 squares of 2"x 2". You can put them anywhere you like, even over objects in your picture. These will be the Advent windows

Cut around three sides of the square with one blade of your scissors or exacto knife; this will create the flaps to open the windows.

Lay the picture over the white paper; line edges up.

Open each flap and trace the opening on the white paper.

On each square you've drawn on the white paper, write:

The reference for one verse of scripture from the Christmas story in the gospels (Luke 2 is the most familiar version)
A place, situation or people to pray for (this is the social studies part; keep a globe or map nearby to identify the place). See list for ideas.
a sacrifice or giving activity to complete (see list of ideas below)

Glue the white paper to the cardboard to make it more study (this is optional)

Glue the black picture over the white paper so that the flaps cover the writing on the white pages. Do not glue the flaps to the white paper.

Label each flap with a number 1-22 for days of advent until Christmas.

Continue to decorate your nativity with gold stars, white cotton clouds or fuzzy sheep, straw in the stable and any other touches you wish to add.

Open one each day until Christmas beginning on Sunday December 3, the first day of Advent.

Service or sacrifice and country to pray for: Revise this in any way it works for you.

Dec. 3 Count your stuffed animals. Put a nickel in the jar for each one. Multiply that number or count by fives to find out how much to give.(Darfur)
Dec. 4 Count the TVs in your house. Multiply by $ .25 or count by quarters and put that much in the jar. (Iraq)
Dec. 5 Count your video games. Give 10 cents for each one you own. (China - human rights abuses)
Dec. 6 Feast of St. Nicholas. Count the lights in your house. Give a nickel for each one. (abused or neglected children)
Dec. 7 Count every time you take a drink of clean water. Multiply by two and give that much. (Haiti - poorest country in NA)
Dec. 8 Feast of Immaculate Conception. Count your Barbies or other dolls or action figures. Put 3 cents in the jar for each one. (babies, born and unborn)
Dec. 9 Count your vehicles (cars, boats, campers, bikes, ATVs etc). Multiply by 9 and put that much in the jar.
Dec. 10 Count your meals and snacks. Put 4 cents in the jar for each. (Sudan)
Dec. 11 Time how long you watch TV. Spend that much time doing something kind or helping someone else. (troops in Iraq)
Dec. 12 Feast of St. Lucia. Donate a coat, sweater, hat or mittens to a shelter. (older people who might be cold this winter)
Dec. 13 Feast of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. Count your shoes. 7 cents for each pair. (Mexico and central America)
Dec. 14 Time how long you play on the computer. Take that time and make a card for a shut-in (shut-ins)
Dec. 15 Count your coats. 8 cents for each. (homeless people)
Dec. 16 Write a letter to Grandma (your family)
Dec. 17 Do a chore without being asked. (handicapped people)
Dec. 18 Play with a younger child or sibling. (Bangladesh - cyclone)
Dec. 19 Count your CDs or music devices. Give 11 cents for each one. (deaf or blind people)
Dec. 20 Start counting each time you eat candy. Put 6 cents in for each time. ( India)
Dec. 21 Count your pets (pet them too). Put 20 cents in for each one. (Chile - earthquake)
Dec. 22 Use the money in your jar to put a gift in a toy drive box. (children with cancer or terminal illness)
Dec. 23 Make a gift for a loved one. (children without parents)
Dec 24 Sing a special song of Christmas for your family. (people who are alone on Christmas)
Dec. 25 Merry Christmas!

May you and yours be especially blest this advent.