Week 6
“Oh! What a Beautiful City!”
This Week’s Good Shepherd’s Garden Party Menu
Pretzel & Cheese Construction Kits
Shirley Temples
Bride Strawberries
Groom Strawberries
Crown Cake
Decorating Ideas
Play the “Hallelujah Chorus” by Handel
Have children decorate “Thrones” for the “Bride and Groom” (Mom & Dad)
*Please feel free to modify and be creative with these plans to suit your family!
Recipes and Suggestions
36. The City Gates
Let the children build their own city gates!
Pretzel & Cheese Construction Kits
Pretzel Sticks & Cheese Cubes
Photo Credit: Shower of Roses
“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21: 9-14
37. The Temple
Shirley Temples
Ingredients:
Lemon-Lime Soda
Grenadine
Maraschino Cherries
Ice Cubes
Directions:
Pour lemon-lime soda into a glass containing ice cubes.
Add a dash of grenadine to it and stir.
Garnish with the maraschino cherry
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it, and its gates shall never be shut by day — and there shall be no night there.” Revelation 21:22-25
38. Hallelujah!
Play the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah
“
“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Revelation 19: 6-9
39. The Thrones
Have the Children decorate “Thrones” at each end of the table for the “Bride” and the “Groom” (aka: Mom and Dad)!
“Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22: 1-5
40. The Bride
Decorated Stawberries make really cute “Brides and Grooms.”
Bride Strawberries
Use the recipe provided for the Groom Strawberries, omitting the dark chocolate and adding additional white sprinkles or decorations.
“And I will make for you a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.” Hosea 2: 18-20
41. The Groom
Groom Strawberries
Ingredients:
24-30 strawberries, fresh
6 ounces of white chocolate
8 ounces of dark chocolate
Directions:
Wash and dry the strawberries, making sure the berries are fully dry as water will cause chocolate to seize up. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Follow the melting directions on the package. Dip the strawberry in the white chocolate, holding onto the stem or the “shoulders” of the strawberry. Give it a quick little twist and shake with your fingers to shake off the excess and then point it at the ceiling for a second or two to ensure that the chocolate adheres. Place on a piece of wax paper to let dry. Melt the dark chocolate according to the instructions on the package. Dip the strawberry in at a 45 degree angle from both sides to make the “jacket”. Let the excess drip off. Place on wax paper to dry. Place some melted dark chocolate into a piping bag with a very small tip, or in a ziplock bag with the little corner snipped off and pipe on buttons and bow tie. Allow to dry and cool. (If drying seems to go too slowly, place them in the freezer for about 3-5 minutes.) Best eaten the day they are made.
Photo Credit: Waltzing Matilda
“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” Revelation 19: 6-9
42. The Crowns
Lots of ideas for Crown Cakes can be found in the archives over at Catholic Cuisine.
Crown Cake
Photo Credit: Shower of Roses
“You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62: 3-
Shopping List
Fresh Produce:
24-30 Strawberries
Dairy:
Cheese Cubes
Snacks:
Pretzel Sticks
Beverages:
Lemon Lime Soda
Grenadine
Condiments:
Maraschino Cherries
Baking Supplies:
6 oz White Chocolate
8 oz Dark Chocolate
Ingredients for Crown Cake
Various Supplies for Decorating your Crown Cake
Other:
Straws
Umbrella Picks
Handel’s Messiah
Throne Decorations
You can download this post in a printable form here.
A Mr. Linky will be posted at Catholic Cuisine on May 18th, for anyone who would like to share the pictures from your own Good Shepherd’s Garden Party!
Thank you so much Jessica for all your hard work!
Your blogspot is so inspiring, thank you.
I am somewhat new to homeschooling – I've been trying to do my best for 2 years now, and feel that I could always do better.
May I ask what the garden parties are for? They are really neat, I was just hoping to understand – how would I use these to connect to the faith? We are Catholic and trying to do more things that would grow our faith, just not always sure how to do this.
(please forgive my lack of understanding – as you can tell, I have so much to learn)
Thank you + God Bless!
Thanks for the comments!
I think we all feel that we could always do better with homeschooling, at least I know that I do!! I just try to do the best that I can and pray that it is enough and that God's grace will help fill in the gaps! 🙂
Our Good Shepherd's Garden Parties are based on Tomie de Paola's Garden of the Good Shepherd Sticker Calendar which is a fun way to count and celebrate the 50 days of the Easter Season. Each day there is a Bible reading and meditation to go along with the sticker/symbol that is added to the Garden Calendar/Poster.
Charlotte and I have come up with fun foods, crafts and activities, to add to the celebration of this joyfilled season, which tie in to the theme for each day and week. Does that make sense?
I've compiled all of my past posts on the Garden of the Good Shepherdhere.
Thank you so much! That really helps me understand how this can be incorporated and how it helps celebrate Easter.
Again, thank you for your guidance to all of us on the web! You are inspiring many of us homeschoolers ~ thanks be to God 🙂 He always seems to provide exactly what we need, when we actually need it!
I love looking at your garden and feast parties! When I found your post about the Jicama Chicken for this particular week, it reminded me of Chicken a la King and what an appropriate fit that would be for this feast (or any "King" feast for that matter)! Just wanted to stop by and share an idea and thank you for all of these amazing ideas.