Advent Calendar {Wooden Tree, Questions, Photo Advent Calendar}

November is all about the Advent Calendar.

Well MAKING the Advent Calendar.

Dec 1st will be here before ya know it!

I have a love of advent calendars {as my pinterest account will attest for}

There is just too many I love - so this year I combined 3 ideas I saw into one.

See:  Family Reflections Advent  Wooden Tree Advent and vintage Photo Tree

As our family is growing older I really liked the idea of a interactive non sweet advent calendar {Though I may add some little sweets in bags and peg them on too for a few days} and I really want Christmas to be about slowing down and spending family time. I'm looking forward to sharing and asking  these  questions around the breakfast or dinner table each night.

You'll notice I only do a 12 days of Christmas. We are often busy in December, and with travelling and holidays 12 days suits us and feels more achievable. The 12 days also usually starts around the same time school gets out. Don't worry I have several other paper window and other advents around that go for 24 days too ;)

How to make this tree:

I followed the instructions on This Tutorial to make our tree. My trusty crafty friend helped me and my trusty handy husband cut all the wood for me! Made my job so easy! It's basically just 6 bits of wood screwed {and a little glue} into one longer middle piece. Then PVA glue some pegs on.
Attach a picture hook to the back so you can hang it easily.

I wish I would have white washed painted it. Maybe I still will. Or next year ;)

I printed some vintage and some newer Christmas pictures small. 12 photos per sheet.
Attach to pegs along with Family Reflections Questions.
Attach Bicarb, cornflour dough ornament advent numbers on.
Decorate.
{I'm still fiddling with my decorations. Maybe it needs some crocheted stars/snowflakes}

Enjoy!


Previous Advent Calendars:  Here

Some ideas for advent fillers:
Gum
Kinder Chocolates
Pencils
Hair Ties
Nail Polish
Balloons
Movie Tickets
Glow Sticks
Stickers
Lollies
Sippah Straws
Mini Decorations
Secret Letters to eachother

Bi Carb Cornflour Dough Ornaments {Advent and Place Settings}

Initialed Place Settings:

Advent Calendar Numbers:

^^ More info to come regarding this years advent :)

It has been a while since I'd made some ornaments with this dough - but its good.

BiCarb Conflour Dough:

2 c. baking soda
1 c. cornstarch (cornflour)
1 1/4 c. cold water

(You can easily half the recipe)

Mix soda and cornstarch together, in a saucepan, blending well. Add the cold water and mix well until mixture is smooth. Cook on medium heat for 2-4 mins until it has consistency of moist mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Spoon out on a plate. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool. 
Knead dough and roll out on waxed paper. Cut out designs with a cookie cutter or shape by hand. 
If you want to hang these poke a hole with a tooth pick, straw while soft. 
Let dry until hard, 1 or 2 days.  
After letting ornaments dry for 2 days all I did was use a fine tip felt marker to draw designs on.

Previously I was impatient and cooked the dough which made it have a bit of a yellow hue. This time I made my ornaments well ahead of time and let them dry for 2 days instead and the dough was much whiter and turn out much nicer.

I started out just making tiny ornaments with words on it - these stars are 3-4 cm.

Then I thought ohhh these would make great personalised initialed place settings for Christmas dinner

Then I thought oooohhhh these would make great number markers for an advent calendar 

Next minute a hundred ornaments with the same pattern and here we are!

I wanted to mix up my patterns a bit and try other designs but I was happy with the wreath which is so easy and turned out the best - anything else not so much maybe I'm not as artistic as I think. The wreath is so easy. Everyone can do it. Draw a circle then make little leaf shapes facing down direction from both sides of circle.

Sorry if your eyes get sick of seeing it :)

^^ By my 9 year old.

Enjoy making hundreds of ornaments for your tree, place settings, advent calendars, as gift tags etc.

It's officially November and its officially time to start showing Christmas things! Someone made fun of me back in September saying I can't believe you are making christmas ornaments! Are you crazy! Sometimes I feel like the slowest person on earth. People might think I'm a crazy Christmas Lady but I'm not really. 

I'm just really, really slow.

I don't do late nights. I don't do all nighters. I don't do party stress. 

So that means I need to start... Last year lol.

We have 4 handmade family traditions - placesettings, ornament, advent and a homemade gift. 

I gotta start early or I'd never be done.

FHE Lesson {The Lords Law of Health}

Opening Song:  The Lord Gave me a Temple #153

Opening Prayer:

Lesson:

Object lesson:

Mouse trap. Place a piece of chocolate on a mouse trap and set it. Discuss the dangers of something so nice but potentially dangerous. Now place a picture of something other people may deem nice but not good for us (eg cigarette, alcohol, drugs)  – wouldn’t we immediately reject this? Of course.

What is the Word of Wisdom?

The Word of Wisdom is a law of health revealed by the Lord for the physical and spiritual benefit of His children.

Where can we find information about the word of wisdom?

Doctrine and Covenants 89

What does the Word of Wisdom say about what we should eat?

The Lord revealed which foods are good for us to eat and which substances are not good for the human body.

What are the promises of the word of wisdom?

Health, protection, knowledge, and wisdom to those who obey the Word of Wisdom.

What principle of the gospel is the word of wisdom teaching us?

Obedience and caring for our bodies.

Youth say about the word of wisdom

Video [7.5mins]

LDS Youth Video Physical Health

Activity.

Holding Fruit and candy

Have child hold an  arm out straight palm facing up.
Place a piece of chocolate on the hand. Is this food health or unhealthy?
Tell them to try keeping it up. Then the adult uses 2 fingers to push the arms down on their wrist. The arm will go down. The body rejects the bad. 

Do it again with fruit and the body will resist the pushing.
The arm will stay up. The body accepts the good food.

This activity worked so well for our family. I hope it does for everyone {because I'm not sure of the science behind it?} The kids were impressed that the arm with the chocolate or candy on it was weak and would go down but the arm holding the apple resisted and stayed strong!

Closing Song:

Closing Prayer: Child

Treat: Fruit

“One keeps the Word of Wisdom knowing that obedience will not only bring freedom from addiction, but it will also add blessings of wisdom and treasures of knowledge.” —Russell M. Nelson “Face the Future with Faith,” Ensign, May 2011, 35

FHE Lesson {Gratitude}

With thanksgiving in USA in November, gratitude is on many minds. Others may also like to spend November cultivating gratitude and thankfulness, also to prepare for the real meaning of Christmas. 
This lesson inspired by Seeing our Blessings October 2014 Friend pg 3

Opening Song: A song of Thanks #20

Opening Prayer: Child


Lesson:

We are so blessed in our lives. All around us are so many things we should be thankful for.

What are some of the things around us that we are thankful to have?

List some things - family members, house, books, refrigerator, the sun etc.

Using a camera/s go on a blessings hunt of your house/yard and/or neighbourhood and have children take photos of things they are thankful for.

eg trees, flowers, local playground, neighbours, birds, toys, bathroom, food
you can even point out things such as garbage bins (trash cans and trash removal services :) electricity, water pipes, a house with a roof, airconditioning! etc.

Play a slideshow/look at/talk about of all your blessings when you return home.


It is good to remember to be grateful for the many blessings we have in our lives.
Cultivating gratitude helps us look after our things better, helps overcome sadness, gives us hope, makes us say thankyou- to our parents for all they give us, our country for all it provides and to our Heavenly Father for all the wonderful bounty he gives his children.


Closing Song: Count your Blessings #241

Closing Prayer:

Treat: Something yummy you are grateful for!





Some Previous Gratitude Lessons:

Gratitude Lesson

Gratitude 2 Lesson

Journals Lesson

Jacaranda {Family Photos}

Every year during Jacaranda season (about 6 weeks long) I declare I want a family photo under one.

See pasts year offerings here : 2014 , 2013 , 2011 , 2010 ,  2009

Every year time flies and its a half hearted effort, there's no professional photographer and bam the flowers are gone.

This year was mounting up to be the same.

We have many jacaranda's in our streets but most would require the photographer to stand on a very busy road risking their life and there is alot of visual clutter (buildings, electricity lines and poles, signs, carparks, roads etc) but I wanted those photos!

Amid a bit of groaning I convinced the family to go to a nearby area with a few.

Last Christmas we gifted our second daughter a camera. Along with a tripod she made an excellent photographer and lined us up for these shots. Thanks to whomever invented timer button!
Then she came home edited them aswell. It was a great idea to put her in charge.

Family Photographs have never been so easy!

OH except for the midges, the stinky dead possum, lots of prickles and bindis, a swooping magpie, impromptu toilet trips (with no toilet!), and the sun being on the wrong side for most of the jacaranda's (think silhouette/black effect - not the gorgeous purple we wanted) But we survived!!

 

the funky industrial wall was too good to pass up. I think we ended up with more photos there :)

The second Shift

Sometimes I fantasize about going out between the hours of 2:30-7pm

Umm Really....


I feel so blessed to have been a stay at home mum for many years.

Now I feel blessed to have been able to find part time school hours employment the past few years.

But sometimes I feel I miss that whole other day that's contained within each day.

Like a Whole 5 hours!


Occasionally, very occasionally I get to experience it...


and its WONDERFUL!


Seriously the things one can do! Oh my, am I missing out!


I had a chance a month or so ago to be out alone in the afternoon on my way to setting up a dinner and I got to see a sunset. A gorgeous sunset, watching people out walking, exercising. People are actually out?! and not at home!  A cleansing feeling to the end of day. Gee it was nice.
{why does my house have to be downhill, with no views, facing mainly walls?}

Once on my birthday we started with breakfast at a cafe, sight seeing, walking, city cat, musuems, lunch, walking, shopping, art gallery, dinner, movie. That day felt like it went FOREVER. Didn't have to cut it short by 2pm to start to head home for school pick up.

This holidays I got another glimpse of that feeling when heading to the beach at 2pm. Relaxing, swimming, meeting with family. Then slowly thinking about heading back doing our thing.
Watching the sunset as we drive.


It's surely a blessing to have routine. To have a wonderful home to head home to. To be able to rest from school and work. To have afternoon tea and to start homework. To have baths and to eat dinner and read books and head to bed.


But sometimes that routine feels like it equals a part time job. Which it does.
A job that's been going for 15 years.


Sometimes I dream of doing things and going places between 2 -7pm

One Day I'll get my second shift.

FHE Lesson {Aim for the Best}

I love making lessons from The Friend magazine.  
This lesson inspired from  Aim for The Best Aug 2015 Friend Magazine


Opening Song: Choose the Right Way #160

Opening Prayer : Child

Other Song Suggestions:
Dare to do Right #158
Stand for the Right #159
Kindness begins with Me #145
I'm Trying to be like Jesus #78



Lesson:

Every Day we have decisions to make.

what media we consume,
how we talk to others,
what we do with our time,
how we act,
how we dress.

Some things are good, some things are better and some things are BEST.
Even if something isn't bad for us, it can still be a distraction or not the best choice we could make.

What are some examples of Good Choices and some even BETTER choices?

Eg
playing computer games, watching tv when we should be doing our homework
Smiling and saying hi to someone when perhaps you should stop and help them
Loving our brothers and sisters vs loving them and being kind and serving them
Read a book each night or read a book AND your scriptures


We can ask ourselves:
Will this decision bring me closer to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father?


Use the bullseye in the Friend Magazine:



Make your own larger one out of cardboard and paper.
Use mini rice bags (or other soft objects) to throw at a bullseye (laying flat on the ground)
See how close you can get to the target.

Reiterate the point that landing anywhere on the bullseye is GOOD, but the best (highest points) is when you get the middle. We want to make the BEST decisions in life that will lead to our happiness.


What are the BEST decisions you have made in your life?
{I'm sure you will get lots of funny answers}

Getting baptised
Being kind and helpful
Listening well in school and being obedient
A time you shared well
A time you were part of a service project
Making home a harmonious place
Scripture reading
Keeping a journal
Choosing good media
Helping grandparents or other elderly people

Parents can say:
Going to university/other educational courses
Getting married
Going to the temple
Going on a mission
Times of Service
Keeping the Sabbath day holy



Extra:
I like this idea via pinterest  about making a bullseye and cardboard arrows that have goals on them. Move the arrows closer to the centre as children reach their goal. Could use this for daily prayers, scripture, behaviour etc.



Closing Song: I will be Valiant #162

Closing Prayer: Child

Treat:
Circles? Lollies, Candy, Cookies, Biscuits. Add a ring of icing/food colouring.

Ekka 2015

 

The Ekka. Pure Carney Goodness.

 

 

 

 ^^ The Mr taking one for the team. I don't do rides. esp upside down ones.

One very sad daughter who was too short to ride this with her sister. They had a pact.

 

^^ My adrenaline girls. Third from top. Love their rides.

^^Strawberry Cones. A must. I had to share.

 ^^ Kids cant get enough of this one. It has become a must. The guy looks at me strange why am I photographing so many children... I said four of them are mine.. he looked shocked.

^^  The dog, the dog. #2 was better.

^^ Monster Trucks and flipping motorbikes and fireworks are always a joy

 

 ^^ Thanks Brisbane. You rock.

 

 

Another year's EKKA done and dusted.

Thanks to the grandma's and parents and kids money boxes to fund a day at the show.

(Cause you need a GO FUND ME these days to afford it!)

We braved the Ekka on the public holiday as it was literally the only day we were available to go. When I explained that maybe we couldn't go this year I was met with death stares. What doth you say? Not going to the Ekka is incomprehensible. So now I have had my first experience of Ekka Wednesday and I will tell you - NEVER AGAIN! We missed out on too much stuff (ie the free stuff) because lines were just way too long. The crowd was too much, felt like spent the whole day pushing an ocean of people around. Luckily my kids are all grown now and it wasn't too terrible (ie didn't lose anyone) but also wasn't the most enjoyable. I went the next day for work and not a crowd in sight, easy to look at everything (so note - go the day AFTER the public holiday)

 

Lucky me got TWO Days in a row at the EKKA. I can die a happy woman.

 

A woman with two dagwood dogs

(the second one was way better. I've got a thing about batter to dog ratio...)