What God Wants For Christmas

Today we read the story, Ordinary Baby, Extraordinary Gift.  This story makes me tear up every time I read it.  Fortunately, we listened to the author's recording of the story so my voice only cracked when I sang the song at the end of the tape.  The book has beautiful illustrations and tells the story of why Jesus came as a baby.

Prior to reading, we opened seven boxes to find out what God really wants for Christmas.  Each box included a figurine such as Mary, Joseph, and Gabriel.  Each figure tells a story about the first Christmas.  The 7th box was a mirror.  What God really wants for Christmas is us!  Before we did this activity, I asked the children what they thought God wanted for Christmas.  Here are their hilarious responses:

"A bubblemaker."  Bennett
"A small thing." Ryan
"A big jacket like him."  Andrew
"Good smiles on our faces when we open presents."  Jackson

We finally were able to go outside today.  Jackson and Andrew found a stream of water in the woods and all of the children enjoyed seeing it.  I did wish that I had raincoats and rainboots for all of them so that they could play in it.  It reminded me of my childhood when we used to go outside after a big rainfall.  Maybe we can do that another time! 

Even though we went outside today, we did a lot of music and movement.  The boys seems to benefit so much from this.  We ended the day with a calm activity, shaving cream.  I think everyone will sleep well tonight.

Enjoy the posted pictures.  See you next week!