Advent Guide

By Anna Cumbow

Are you looking for ways to teach your child about the Christmas Season? This guide is designed to provide you with creative and fun ideas to help direct your child's mind toward the birth of Jesus and God's love for them, while incorporating traditional holiday celebrations and activities.

This is our second edition, and we would love to hear from you about how you used it to plan your own advent activities and calendar! We just might include your ideas in our next edition!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna Cumbow
• Release date: Nov 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465757937

Anna Cumbow

Anna Cumbow is a freelance professional writer, living in Northern Virginia. Her published works include The Advent Guide: Celebrating Christmas with Small Children and The History of The Red Cross in Watauga County. http://archives.mountaintimes.com/mtweekly/2005/0303/redx.php3

Book preview

Advent Ideas

Celebrating Christmas with Small Children

Guide and Workbook

Anna S. Cumbow

Photography by Amanda Ditzel

Crittenden Press

Winchester, VA

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 by Anna Cumbow.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher.

Note: Permission is granted to copy and reprint workbook pages, calendars, and instructions for personal use by the purchaser of this handbook.

First Printing: November 2011

Table of Contents

Introduction

Week One: Setting the Stage

Week Two: Who is God?

Week Three: Waiting for the Messiah

Week Four: Preparing to Celebrate

Introduction

The Advent season can be one of great excitement and joy for the whole family. It is very easy to spend most of the month of December running between work, parties, and shopping, and to let a great opportunity to teach your children about God slip by you. While these aspects of the Christmas season are valuable and can make wonderful memories for your family by themselves, consider the added benefit of intentionally guiding your children's little hearts toward a deeper understanding of God's love for them! If you have small children who are eager to talk about Christmas and presents, you may have perfect pupils for teaching the traditional Christian meaning of the holiday.

With this Advent Celebration Guide, you will have the chance to lead your child’s heart toward the birth of Jesus with joy and wonder. Each week you will focus on a different aspect of this story, circling closer and closer to the central theme of Christmas: the arrival of the Messiah. We will begin with setting the stage, bringing the cast and crew to the front of the theater for a meet and greet. You will have the opportunity to highlight the different aspects of the Christmas Story, using different activities and methods, and giving your child the playbook to follow along.

During the second week, we will learn about God, and who He tells us that He is, using images provided in Scripture to paint a picture of His Character. Your child will enjoy this hands-on experience, taking this second week of the month to make some special memories together before the holiday season starts to buzz with festivity. The short, simple activities will help your child sort through some of the things they may have heard about God, and better understand some common images of God as portrayed in Scripture. Using this book as a guide, you