The Glamorous Life of a Housewife: Advent. For Kids!
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it's important to daily remind your children why we celebrate Christmas. To give them a gentle nudge toward giving, sharing, loving, and the birth of Christ. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the fun, the toys, the decorations, the planning ... but beginning and ending your days with the sweet reminder of Jesus will help keep your children focused in spite of everything else. Even just a few minutes a day will help keep Christ at the forefront of their precious little minds.
When Levi was a baby, we read to him a single verse every night leading up to the birth of Christ.
When he was older, we read the verses and let him open and eat a chocolate.
This year we wanted to do something different. Something deeper. Especially now that he is older and understands exactly what we are doing.
I recently stumbled upon this woman's blog, Home with the Boys, and quickly discovered we have a LOT in common. Both "boy moms" and both wives of medical residents. So, naturally, I was hooked! She shared about doing advent with her children with their Jesus Storybook Bible.
I was super excited when I saw this because we L-O-V-E the Jesus Storybook Bible in our house. I definitely recommend it to anyone with young ones. Hey, I'd even recommend it for adults. It's beautiful.
A friend of mine recommended this to me when we were pregnant with Levi and we snatched one up when he was just a month old. Every Bible story points to Jesus ... "where every story whispers his name". Here's a little description of this great Bible!
So, we began our advent readings on December 1, and each night we read a new story that ultimately points us back to Christ. There are 21 Old Testament readings with a brief paragraph at the end showing how it relates to Jesus' coming. Then the last three days are the birth of Christ, so it all comes full circle for the little ones.
If you want to do this with your children, here are the readings for each day! The stories in the Jesus Storybook Bible are simple and super easy to understand for children. They're short, to the point, and hold their attention perfectly!
I'm super excited about our advent this year. Levi is really soaking it up and learning so much. He's not only learning about the birth of Christ, but the power and importance of Who He is and why He came. And why, exactly, we celebrate that birth.
I saw this on Pinterest--I love it. Such a great Bible. Thank you for sharing it here!
I live in Canada and have never seen an advent calendar like you Fisher Price one I love it! Where did you find it?
I've been thinking about doing an Advent calendar with Zoe this year, just because it seems like a great activity and she's SO into Christmas this year. I didn't grow up doing it, I mean.. I grew up in a Christian house, my parents just didn't know about doing stuff like Advent. Anyways, this Jesus Storybook Bible sounds AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing it, and for helping parents who don't know how to do this stuff do it!
Thank you for sharing how you do Advent in your family! My daughter may not quite "get it" this year but I love the idea of this storybook bible and reading these stories each day of Advent.