Archive for the ‘Seasonal Activities’ Category

Journey to Bethlehem: Living Nativity

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

living-nativityMy family filmed a local living nativity for Christmastime this year. It was called “Journey to Bethlehem,” and it included a road with scenes along the sides. “We need a place to stay tonight,” said our guide to a Roman soldier who guarded the gate of Bethlehem. The soldier didn’t care and was gruff with us. We were told to move quickly. The town of Bethlehem had an open marketplace where a variety of foods, pottery, cloth, and animals were sold. The sets were beautiful, and the ambient noise was realistic.

Apparently we represented a group of Jews, because the Roman soldiers called us dogs. They told us why the Roman empire was so great, protecting people with their armies and building roads.

living-nativity2Suddenly while we were looking at some smelly sheep, a company of (somewhat cheesy) angels flapped their wings with music, and the angel on the top riser said, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

A shepherd yelled, “Let us go and find this child!” We followed him to a stable where we found Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. When I reached this point in the tour, for some reason I felt choked up, almost as if I was a shepherd on that first Christmas night long ago, finding the King of Kings had been born in a manger.

Here is our family’s tour of the living nativity:

Mime Act for Kids

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Here is a mime act for kids that is super fun for entertaining audiences. My son was only 7 years old when he performed it! He taught himself how to do each act.

Here are the mime act ideas and how to do them:

  1. mime-act-for-kidsTrapped in a Box: Pat the air around you on four sides, as if you were in a box. Stiffen your hand when you hit the side of the imaginary box. You can open the lid and jump out of the box. Then push the imaginary box out of the way for the next act.
  2. The Stairs: Pretend you’re walking down the stairs, squatting down lower and lower as you go. This is a fun one to do behind a sofa so the audience doesn’t see your legs. You can climb back up the stairs if you want.
  3. The Elevator: Turn your back to the audience and push the imaginary button of the elevator. After waiting, get into the elevator and turn around. Press the inside elevator button. Now go down as smoothly as you can, bending your knees and squatting down low. If you want, you can come back up the elevator.
  4. Rowing a Boat: Stand with your body facing to the side. Pretend you are rowing a boat with an oar. When the current pushes your canoe backwards, try desperately to row your boat against the strong current. Or you can row around a lake in an oval shape, rowing back and forth. Don’t forget to lose your balance and fall into the water with an imaginary splash.
  5. The Fish: Make your mouth small, like you’re puckering up for a kiss. With both arms bent at your sides, swish your fingers back and forth like the fins of a fish. Swim around the room.
  6. Old Man: Hunch over and hold onto a cane. Wobble your cane and tremble as you walk, shaking your head as well.
  7. The Rope: An imaginary rope is hanging from side to side in front of you. Grab onto it with both hands, pulling yourself across the rope little by little.
  8. The Car: Open the door of the car and get in. Sit down and shut the door. Let off the break, put your keys in the ignition, and put your hands on the steering wheel. Start driving the car. Wave to the audience as you pass by. When you’re finished with your ride, get out of the car and shut the door.
  9. The Motorcycle: Sit down on the motorcycle and hold onto the handle bars. pull the right handlebar backwards several times to start the engine. Ride your motorcycle around the room. Try to do some tricks on your motorcycle, like taking the front wheel off the ground.
  10. The Bullfighter: Grab an imaginary red cloth and wave it in front of the bull. When the bull runs toward you, lift up the cloth into the air. Then turn your back to the audience and do it again. Try it from different angles.
  11. Building a Sand Castle: Sit on the ground and start filling your bucket with sand, using an imaginary shovel. When the bucket is full, turn the bucket upside-down, and whack it on the ground. Gently lift the bucket up, and admire your beautiful sand castle. Make another one.
  12. The Slide: Climb up the ladder of the slide, reaching up for each rung of the ladder with your hands. Once at the top, slide down the slide. Slide down the spiral slide, holding onto the sides and becoming lower and lower.
  13. The Monkey Bars: Grab onto the bar with one hand, then grab onto the next bar with the other hand, and continue until you have crossed the monkey bars. Turn around and cross the monkey bars from the other direction. Jump off at the end.
  14. Sliding Down a Pole: Grab an imaginary pole. Now turn around and around, making sure to squat down lower and lower as you slide down the pole.
  15. The Carousel: Get on the carousel, and hold onto the pole. Go up and down, making sure to continue holding on to the pole. Go in circles, and wave to the audience as you pass by.

If you enjoyed this video where my son did his cute mime acts, go to YouTube and “Like” it! My son is deliriously happy every time he sees another person enjoyed his act!

Susan’s Wacky Gingerbread House Tips

Friday, December 9th, 2011

gingerbread-house-tips

  • Don’t believe the instructions that say that gingerbread houses are easy to assemble. Any sensible parent knows otherwise.
  • Don’t bother using the toothpaste glue that tries to pass itself off as icing, but is more like quick-hardening cement.
  • Hot glue the gingerbread house pieces together. I came up with this brilliant scheme this morning, and it worked beautifully. Of course, my children shouted in dismay, “But then we can’t eat it!” “We don’t eat it anyway,” I reasoned. “Yes, we do. We ate it last year.” “You did?” “Yes.” “Okay, well, I’ll make cookies, and you can eat cookies till you puke. How about that?” My children just shrugged their shoulders. They know better than to argue with their mother.
  • If you use icing from a can (that you normally would put on a cake), the icing spreads a lot more easily. The only drawback is that it doesn’t harden. But why does it have to harden anyway? Who makes these rules?
  • Make sure there is plenty of candy, so that one of your sons isn’t hogging all the candy on his side of the roof, while your daughter starts crying that all the candy is gone, and only half of her rooftop is decorated.
  • If you run out of candy, you can use chocolate chips in a pinch, but be forewarned that they look like giant black thumbtacks.
  • If you use the real self-hardening cement icing, make sure to clean it up immediately. Otherwise it turns as hard as stone and is impossible to clean up. You’ll have to scrape it off with a paint scraper.

I hope you enjoyed my gingerbread house tips!

 

Fun Winter Activities for Homeschoolers

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

fun-winter-activities

Looking for something to do with the kids when it’s cold outside? Here are dozens of ideas for fun winter activities for homeschoolers:

Arts and Crafts
Snowflake Card
Fill Your Own Ornament
Decorating with Snowflakes
Embossed Christmas Ornaments
Decorated Ornaments
Jesse Tree
Homemade Nativity Scene
25 Gifts for Children to Make

Baking and Food
Snowflake Funnel Cake
Marble Fudge
Snowflake Cookies
Transformer Cookies
What to Eat with Tomato Soup
Susan’s Wacky Gingerbread House Tips
Deluxe Gingerbread Houses

Winter Exercise
How to Build a Snow Cave
Winter Scavenger Hunt (Free PDF)

Field Trips
Horse and Carriage Ride
The Nutcracker
Living Nativity

Games and Toys
Best Open-Ended Toys Ever
#1 Costumes
#2 K’nex
#3 Legos
#4 Doll House
#5 Baby Doll
#6 Magic Trick Set
#7 Blocks
#8 Tinker Toys
#9 Gears
#10 Electronics Kit
Nerf Guns

Christmas
Christmas Tea Party
“Mug Mania” Christmas Party
Fun Stocking Stuffers for Boys
Fun Stocking Stuffers for Girls
Stockings to Fit Individuals
World’s Worst Stocking Stuffers
Santa Doesn’t Exist
Is Christmas Pagan?
Cookie Nativity Scene Fiasco
Shining the Joy of Jesus
Real Christmas Carols
The Star of Bethlehem