From A to Z: Letter L

Even when our kids are young, there are so many new and perhaps hard and sad situations that we need to help them navigate. As a mom, I don't always have the wisest words or the best advice. But I do know the source of the wisest words and the best guidance--God's Word. 

We have such an amazing tool to bring to the table and share with our kids. If they are afraid, we can remind them God is with them. When they struggle with sin, we can teach them about God's forgiveness and grace. When they worry, we can share with them that God cares for us. God's Word gives us hope, light, wisdom, and direction. 

The Letter L is about how God's Word Lights Our Way. 

My favorite part of this lesson is creating a special "lighted" experience with our little ones (there are a number of fun suggestions!). We chose to do a candlelit dinner and it was magical (except for the number of times I had to tell them not to blow out the candles! Ha!).

As you work through the letter L lesson, I hope that you have the chance to share with your children the beauty of the Bible and how much hope and light it brings to our lives. 

Have a good one!

Nicole

Love Your Neighbor: Make a Paper House Town

It's time to share another resource retired from the shop. We've actually done this activity a few times because the boys really enjoy it--I love that they get out some creative energy and I can recycle boxes in a fun way ;) Plus, once their paper houses are finished, they can play cars and people in their little town. If you've got a large cardboard box or large paper laying around, you could also draw some streets, railroad tracks, parks, etc. 

I originally created this activity as a tool to talk with your kids about loving their neighbor. While you are making your paper neighborhood, ask your kids about how they can love their neighbor--next door and beyond. You never know--you may be bringing cookies to that sweet widow down the street later that afternoon ;) 

A few tips:

• Open up cereal/snack boxes and make the inside the outside. I usually just use staples to make it back into a box shape.
• I usually let the kids color first, then I cut everything out. We've used watercolor, markers, and crayons. 

Full disclosure: it does take a little time to cut out the windows, doors, signs, etc, but it's also an excuse to listen to your favorite podcast while you snip away :) 

I hope that you enjoy making colorful paper houses with your kids. As always, I'd love to see if you do! Just use the hashtag #colorandkindness to share :)

Have a good one friends!

Nicole

From A to Z: Letter K

Bring out the Christmas tunes and twinkly lights (even if it is May!) because this lesson is all about how Jesus is our King. I love both the trueness and imagery of Jesus as our King--our great rescuer who brought us into the Kingdom of light. 

This week key verses is one of my favorite verses:

"For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins." Colossians 1:13-14 NLT

This letter K includes making paper crown (keep it simple or make it fancy!), reading the story of Jesus' birth, and acting out the animals in the stable. 

ps. If you need some fun tunes for this lesson, tune into the Color + Kindness Kingdom of Light playlist (it's one of my favorites!). Or, of course, turn on the Christmas music just for fun :) 

Have a good one!

Nicole

Science + Scripture: Freebies

Guess what? 

There are a number of activities, prints, and resources that I've recently retired from the shop. Sometimes you need to dust off the shelves to make room for some new things, right? However, they are not disappearing forever--I promise you'll see most of them again ;)

Today, I'm sharing one of my retired favorites: science + scripture 5x7 prints and some cute (although not scienticically accurate--ha!) play dough or craft mats. 

They were some of my favorite to create and I hope you like them too. Ps. if you use them, be sure to tag #colorandkindness--I can't wait to see how you use them!

Have a good one, friends :) 

Nicole

From A to Z: Letter J

I always feel like explaining the gospel to my kids should be easy, but honestly, I often find myself stumbling through it, over-explaining, and then feeling like simplicity and beauty of gospel (that we are separated from God because of our sin. YET! God loves us so much that He rescued and redeemed us!) gets lost in all my blubbering.

So, this lesson was a good one for me. It helped me walk through the gospel with my oldest in a visual and hands-on way. Of course, as a very literal child, he explained that our hearts are actually still red, not white...so, that brought up the concept of our spirit vs our actual heart. 

Letter J is about how Jesus came to the world for you

The craft in this lesson, although so simple, has been one of my favorites. It was fun to gather materials and make a Gospel color book (plus, it makes a great resource to go back and review what we learned). My hope is that as you read about Jesus' death and resurrection, make your book, and paint your letter J, you'll have many opportunities to share the gospel with your little ones.

If you want to add a good book to read during this lesson, I'd recommend The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross. You can read our review over here.

Have a good one!

Nicole