Tag Archives: nativity

Little People Nativity Scavenger Hunt

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I bought this darling Little People Nativity on sale last October (as in over a year ago) and completely forgot about it. So of course when I pulled it out this year I knew I had to do something special with it. This is what I came up with:
Little People Nativity Scavenger Hunt

We started our FHE by recalling prior knowledge about why we celebrate Christmas. My daughter’s response was along the lines of “so we don’t get bored”. Yes, we needed a nativity lesson!!! After talking about why we celebrate Christmas, I told her we were going to go on a scavenger hunt to find different things that will tell us more about the story of Jesus’ birth. I had her captivated. Mission accomplished.

Each object had a corresponding scripture, song, or poem on a strip of paper. On the back of the paper I wrote where to go to find the next object.

We used the piano bench as our “base”- each time we found a piece to the Nativity we ran it there so we could act out that part in the story.

The objects were hidden in the order they appear in the story of the birth of Christ or where I thought they would appear. I loved the idea of starting at the beginning and acting out the story with the Little People.

don’t forget to have your kiddos have Mary, Joseph, and the donkey walking to Bethlehem before finding the next clue!

 

the Little People nativity is perfect for this- if you press on the stable it plays Away in a Manger- then you can just sing along!

so our nativity didn’t come with a shepherd, hence the cowboy playing the part. do i get points for creativity?

 

 

it just so happened that we ended our story with an animal my daughter has always wanted. it was perfect!

My daughter is absolutely, without a doubt, is IN LOVE with the Nativity story. Sure, a big part of that is because animals were involved.

She calls Bethlehem her “world” and had to take it to bed with her. I knew it was a victory when she later told me she wanted to play with her nativity instead of going to the dinosaur park ( a place that she loves very much).

I hope this helps you make the story of the nativity come alive for your kids! And of course, if you don’t have a Little People nativity, you could use one that you already have…. or print the pics on this post.
Happy Teaching and Merry Christmas!

Nativity Dice

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Part of my church responsibilities include working with a great group of 8-10 year old girls. I thought it would be fun to teach them about the nativity, and originally was going to make a nativity ornament with them- when I thought it would be more fun (OK, easier and less messy) to make nativity dice with them!

The objective of this activity is to teach about the different characters of the nativity. I wanted to see the girls dive into their scriptures to learn more about who these people were. I also wanted a project that my girls could take home and do with their families. So this activity seemed perfect!

Materials:
6 images of different Nativity characters
foam cube (I saw these at Michaels for five dollars, but they are only a buck at the Dollar Tree!)
cardstock
glue sticks/ hot glue/ scissors

How to make the Nativity Dice:

  1. Trace one side of the foam cube on the cardstock. Cut out square and use this as a pattern to cut out 5 more squares. Hot glue cardstock on foam cube.
  2. Cut out nativity characters and glue one on each side of the foam cube.

That’s it! Unless you want to embellish. I kept mine simple.

How to play the Nativity Dice Game:

  1. Roll the dice.
  2. Name the character and describe the role they play in the nativity.
You may also want to do one of the following:
  • Research this person in the bible.
  • Share any connections you may have with this person.
  • Share any questions you may have for this person.

This is the perfect addition to our family’s nativity kit !

Happy Teaching!

Candy Cane Day

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Another one of our advent calendar days we recently celebrated was Candy Cane day. I showed my daughter the shepard from her nativity block set and we briefly talked about his role. I pointed out the cane he was holding and let her make the connection that it looked like a candy cane! Pretty exciting for a 2 year old, let me tell you!
We then read a couple Nativity books (Boo is obsessed with all babies being “baby Jesus” right now- and wanted to hear more and more about Him! Cute, eh!) We also ate some delicious candy canes- our first ones this year! My daughter can eat a candy cane faster than anyone else I have ever seen! What ever happened to slowly licking it- until the layers melted in your mouth and you could create a sharp point at the end… well, maybe its for the best that she can’t do that yet! 🙂For more Candy Cane activities check out Carisa’s amazing post here– I am truly in awe of this woman!
Happy Teaching!

Do It Yourself Christmas: Nativity Blocks

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About a year ago I came across this post on DIY Nativity blocks and I fell in love! They are great for kids (and cheaper than a toy nativity set) and made from their heart. I set out in my mind that I would be making them as gifts for my nieces and nephew!

I came across a few snags- I couldn’t find the nativity stickers that Hilary used in her post. But I LOVE clipart and was blessed to find 2 really cute Nativity clip art sets. One is from Lori Wenerstrom (her clipart was highly recommended and she was kind enough to send me a copy of her nativity clipart since it’s hard to find- it’s sooo cute! ) and Amy Dott Harmer (cutest stick kids! I have purchased many of her sets!!!)

Set One (Lori’s)


I made this set for my daughter. They were originally created as nativity puppets (but they make the cutest blocks, too!) I love that this set incorporates the Nativity story from the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible- visit her lesson plan here for more info)


blocks: Sun(other side star), Samuel the Lamanite, Nephi, Angel

three wise men, Joseph, Mary, star (other side sun), Shepard

Set Two (Amy’s)

These are the blocks I made as gifts (and of course I made an extra set for me!) This is your more typical Nativity set… with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus in a manger, donkey, stable, angel, star, innkeeper, shepard w/sheep, three wise men and a camel. I bought some 2X4 and 2X6 boards at a home improvement store, had them cut into blocks, sealed them, and then modge-podged the clipart on!

Since this is for little kiddos, I also created some coloring pages to go along with the blocks in their “Nativity Box”. (I also found a little story book to go in their box to complete the Nativity learning time fun!) I can’t wait to give these Nativity Boxes to some of the CUTEST kids I know!!!

Happy Holidays!

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