Gifts from the Hearts of Your Students
by Sheila Kearney
This Advent Season, lead your students toward a deeper appreciation for gift-giving by providing them with opportunities to make simple gifts. Gifts from the Hearts of Your Students series (coming over the next few weeks) offers ideas, how-to, and resources for simple gifts your students can make.
As you help your students prepare their hearts to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, arranging the time, ideas, and materials to make simple gifts can be rewarding for both you and your students.
You can begin a unit on gifts by retelling the story of the
magi who brought gifts to the Christ Child (Matthew 2:1-12). You might
want to emphasize that in giving their gifts, the magi were simple and
humble; they gave “homage” to the Child. Help your students understand
that the giving of any gift involves simple humility as well as love.
Gift Ideas
We will post several ideas you might want to consider having your
students make as gifts over the coming weeks:
Seasonal
Magnets
Advent Wreath
Wooden Star Ornaments
Crayola Air-Dry Ornaments
Christmas Tree Centerpiece
Many craft catalogues (such as Oriental Trading) as well as in-store
workshops (such as the ones Michael's presents) offer a variety of
simple gifts designed to meet the developmental abilities of a wide age
range as well as classroom budgets.
Additional Resources for Craft Supplies and Ideas
Kaboose
Four Seasons General Merchandise
Amazing Moms
Disney Family Fun
Make A Plate®
Guildcraft Arts & Crafts
Stickler™ from Sakura of America
Sheila Kearney has nearly 30 years of experience teaching in Catholic schools. She currently teaches pre-K at St. Raphael’s Catholic School in Crystal, MN.
Source: CATECHIST Magazine, November/December 2009
Copyright 2009, Peter Li, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of Peter Li, Inc.
