Hi everyone! I’m so excited for today’s post!
Mainly because I’m partnering with one of my favorite ministries, Samaritan’s purse. And also because I have a fun FREEBIE for you today AND a giveaway!
The bloggers of iHomeschool Network have come together to help support the Samaritan’s Purse Literacy Campaign. We’re sharing our favorite books, along with some fun family activities, as well as giveaways!
The Jesse Tree
The past couple years we’ve been putting up a Jesse Tree in our home to help remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.
The Jesse Tree gets it’s name from Isaiah 11:1-2 “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him.”
The main Branch is a Biblical sign of the expected coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ and the faithfulness of God. The other branches of the tree represent a piece of the stories that make up the whole story of God’s relationship with His people. As we read through the stories we see God’s people awaiting the coming of the Messiah. Similar to how we anxiously wait through each day of December in anticipation of celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.
Creating a Jesse Tree for your family is a fun, hands-on way to walk through the story of Jesus. As you read through the daily devotions, you’ll add an ornament to your tree. Each one representing the ancestors of Jesus and the events leading to Jesus’ birth.
I created the Jesse Tree Advent Unit along with ornaments for our family to use with the study. The ornaments come in black and white so your kiddos can color their own ornaments, and full color if you prefer a ready-to-go pack!
–> Download the Jesse Tree Advent Study <–
The download includes the Jesse Tree printable ornaments, as well as a daily reading schedule starting on December 1st and running through December 24th. Each day you will read the associated scripture for that day. Then have your kiddos color and hang the appropriate ornament on your Jesse Tree.
Optional: Have students pick out one key verse from the day’s reading, and copy it onto the backside of that day’s ornament as a nice reminder.
The Tree:
We normally use a small Christmas tree to hang our ornaments on, but you can use anything that works for your family. I’ve seen people create a tree silhouette with black construction paper taped to the wall. Or you can even have your kiddos create a lapbook, and add the ornaments to that for a lasting keepsake! The download includes a cover page for a lapbook, or you can just use it as a fun coloring page!
Giveaway!
To go along with my printables, I’m also offering a giveaway for one of our favorite Christmas books, The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean.
What’s the story?
Mr. Butterfield, the carpenter, has serious work to do – he’s carving a new Jesse tree inside the church. But a curious young boy wants to know what he’s doing, and is very persistent. In order to explain his carving, Mr. Butterfield begins retelling the great stories from the Bible that he knows and loves so much. As he does so, and in spite of his short temper, small miracles begin to happen.
This colorful story goes so well with the Jesse Tree daily devotions in my download, so we read it as we go through the month of December!
Enter to win a free copy of The Jesse Tree! (CLOSED)
A special note from Samaritan’s Purse:
“Literacy is essential for those who yearn to escape poverty. Yet all too often, poverty-stricken children never learn to read and write because they cannot afford to attend school. Your $15 gift can provide supplies or a month’s tuition for a child who is eager to learn and ready for God’s wisdom.” ~ Samaritan’s Purse
Wow, so I know that’s a lot for one day, but I hope you’ll enjoy the Jesse Tree download and giveaway. And I pray that this post helps raise awareness for the Samaritan’s Purse Literacy Campaign!
If you choose to participate in the Jesse Tree Advent activity: Make sure to send me a photo of your tree, I would love to see them! Or leave a comment with a link to pics your blog in the comments below!
I love, love LOVE the smell of pine needles. When you take off a needle and crush it with your fingernail then sniff. It smells like love to me:)
Love apples and cinnamon!
My favorite winter scent is a fresh pine Christmas tree!
I like that cinnamony, spicy flavor of Christmas, like spiced cider.
My favorite winter scent is pumpkin baking in the oven. As a child, Grandma’s house was “home”. Every time we would visit she would bake at least on pumpkin in pie.
I love the smell of fresh baked bread. It reminds me of snow days, the only time when we had time to spend all day making bread.
I love the smell of fresh pine after we decorate our fresh Christmas tree. Then every time I vacuum it smells like Christmas. 🙂
Mmmm… My favorite scents would have to include apples and cinnamon. Those blended together are like a warm hug!
Gardenias!
Bayberry, I love the smell and I really can’t describe it. My grandmother always burned bayberry candles at Christmas time and so did a few other people who were very import to me in my childhood. That smell is home to me and I go out of my way to find a good bayberry candle to burn just for the season.
We have allergies and asthma so me burning a candle of any sort in the house is really rare and my kids have grown to look forward to that one candle and the smell!