I’ve been working on our plans for this coming week, to use with The Garden of the Good Shepherd
Charlotte has already posted some great ideas for Week 2. This week I will be using some of her ideas, as well as adding some of my own. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed by crafts lately, not so much the crafts themselves, just all the stuff… And since I have to cook/bake each day anyways, I am trying to make most of our activities food related. This has been a hit with my children, since they gave up candy and dessert (excluding birthdays and special feasts) for Lent! So, most of our plans have to do with either food or picture books, at least for now. This is a perfect week for that, since the theme for week two is:
8. The Table : Read Genesis 43:26-34
- Teach my children how to properly set the table and make candlestick napkins.
- Read some excerpts from the Chapter 3: “Table Manners,” in Everyday Graces. (I love the poem below, from Everyday Graces, for remembering how to set the table!)
- Since we so enjoyed our Lenten Teas, we will have a Joyous Easter Tea.
Hey Diddle Diddleby Elizabeth SantorumHey Diddle Diddle, the plate’s in the middle,Now on the right goes the spoon,The napkin is left, beside the fork,Keep going you’re going to eat soon.Hey Diddle Diddle, the plate’s in the middle,The knife is left of the spoon,The glass is above it, now you’ve got it right,You’re going to eat lunch by noon.
9. The Chairs: Read Genesis 18:1-8
- The purpose of this symbol is to recall the hospitality and good manners that Abraham and Sara offered the three strangers. We will talk about hospitality and make arrangements to offer our home and food to a friend later this week.
- Read a few excerpts from Everyday Graces
about manners and Manners Can Be Fun
. We will also read God’s Wisdom for Little Girls
and Little Boys
.
- We’ve been planning to purchase a new chair for our front porch and possibly a table and chairs for our patio. We keep putting it off each year, but this year we have budgeted it from our tax refund! I have my eyes on one of these two chairs from Target.
10. The Bread : Read Ruth 2:8-14
- Any bread recipe would work wonderful for today.
- We may try making Monkey Bread or Cinnamon Sugar Bread.
- My children really enjoyed making Resurrection Rolls during Holy Week, and really wanted to make them again. This would be a perfect time, and they will be thrilled!
11. The Wine : Read Isaiah 55:1-2
- Serve sparkling grape juice with dinner in fancy glasses (Wine for the grownups)
- Read the story of Christ’s miracle with the water and the wine
- Read The Grapes of Math: Mind-stretching Math Riddles
- Paint our own bunch of grapes. (These were Charlotte’s ideas, and I just might be able to pull off this craft! It sounds simple enough.)
12. The Milk : Read Deuteronomy 26:8-10
- Make Homemade Ice Cream in our Ice Cream Maker
.
- Make Easter candy milkshakes using this recipe and possibly our homemade Ice Cream!
- Read the following milk themed books: The Milk Makers
by Gail Gibbons, Milk: From Cow to Carton
by Aliki, and It Looked Like Spilt Milk
by Charles Shaw.
- Watch Signing Time
and practice signing milk with our little guy.
- Watch Reading Rainbow: Farm Life
.
13. The Pot of Honey : Read Mark 1:4-6
- Buy some local honey at the Farmer’s Market.
- Make a Sweet Beehive Cake and/or Cookies.
- Read The Honey Makers
by Gail Gibbons, Honey in a Hive
by Anne Rockwell, and The Life and Times of the Honeybee
by Charles Micucci.
- When we traveled to California last month, I picked up some Honey Toasted Sunflower Seeds
at Granzella’s with this day in mind.
- Make Honey Tarts. The following recipe if from the Little Saints Pre-School Program.
Making Honey Tarts1. Have child divide a biscuit in half with a butter knife.
2. Have her pound each half flat, spread one half with butter and pour a dollop of honey on. Lay the other half on top and crimp the edges together.
3. Lay on a baking sheet. Bake as directed on the package wrapper.
4. Have child help set the table especially for Daddy and other family members and enjoy the Honey Tarts together.
14. The Fruit : Read Song of Songs 4:16
- Read some books about fruit:
A Fruit Is a Suitcase for Seeds
, Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z, Fruit
, and From Flower to Fruit
.
- Magically slice a banana. (My boys will LOVE this! Thanks Charlotte!)
- Read How Do Apples Grow?
and have an apple taste test.
- Make Pampered Chef’s Dessert Fruit Pizza. Yummmmm!!
Dessert Fruit Pizza
1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened1/3 cup sugar4 cups assorted fresh fruit such as strawberries, bananas, kiwi, blueberries, etcPreheat oven to 350° F. Place dough on round baking stone and cook 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool. For topping, combine cream cheese and sugar and spread over cookie dough, then start placing on the fruit.
I’ve ordered a few of the books from our library, and made my shopping list. It looks like we are going to have lots of fun next week!
Since a couple of you have mentioned that you are trying to re-create this at home using felt (I had grand plans to do this myself, since my children would love to play with the felt pieces in addition to the sticker calendar, and even started making the symbols. However, I probably won’t finish it until next year…), I’ve taken a couple pictures of the sticker sheet and the opened book for you to see. My plan was to make my felt version larger — more along the size of our Jesus Tree — since it would be so hard to make some of the tiny stickers without increasing the size. Hope the pictures help!
Also, it appears that Amazon
Those are some seriously cute cookies! You should be paid for all these good ideas you post. Incredible. 🙂