Crafts: Praying for our Leaders

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Loving, Learning, Living, and Leading are all important things to teach our children in a Biblical Worldview. How can we do these things in our own lives? How can we be purposeful in the way we love as God taught us? How can we focus on learning about God and His world? How do we live our lives according to the Bible? And how can we lead others as God would want us to?  Over the course of four days, The Canadian Schoolhouse's Virtual Family Retreat: A Purposeful Life has touched upon these four areas. The whole family has a place in this virtual retreat. There are special speakers addressing both homeschooling moms and dads, crafts for your children, devotions, giveaways, and more. 

I want to start with several questions... Who are our leaders? Who has come before us in the Bible? Where can we look for leadership? How can we be leaders? 

We may not answer all these questions in this post, but I would encourage you to think about them as you create your craft, as you pray for our leaders, and as you read your Bible. 

Today's craft is inspired by a quote from Hebrews. 

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." Hebrews 13:7

Remember those who serve as your leaders – those who lead your family, your church, your town, your province, and your nation. This verse in the New Testament helps us to remember the leaders of our church. And we can also remember the leaders of today.

Materials 

Today, we are going to make a simple craft that will help us to pray for our specific leaders. So, let's gather our materials! You will need two paper plates – the cheaper ones are perfect for this craft. You will need a pencil and markers (or you can use crayons or colored pencils). 

• Two paper plates
• Paper fastener 
• Pencil 
• Scissors
• Markers
• Notebook paper to list names 

Steps 

1. After you get your materials together, write down the names of the leaders who you want to include. Depending on where you live, you will be writing down the names of different people or even different titles. 

2. After you have your list of leaders, split your paper plate into three equal sections.

3. You will cut away one section for the top paper plate. Make sure when you cut away, you leave enough space around your paper fastener hole so it will not tear. 

4. Then, you will use your marker to make lines for each section. 

5. After the sections are divided, write the names of the leaders in the sections. You can add as much or as little decoration to your prayer plate as you want. Decorations can be complicated or just squiggly lines. 

6. Add on the top plate, "Today we pray for our church leaders and our ____________."

7. As you spin the prayer plate, you see the names you have written of your different leaders. Find a specific time during the day to pray for them.

What are the names of your leaders? Who can you pray for today?

Crafts: Shark Painting

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We love painting in our homeschool. So, I am always looking for new ways to incorporate painting into our homeschool day. For this shark-themed craft, I decided we would do something similar to the Father's Day painting we did a few years ago. We created the shape of the sharks as negative space so they would stand out on our paper when we were finished painting.

Materials 

• Painting paper
• Paint in a variety of colors 
• Sponge brushes or cotton balls 
• Something to hold the paint for dipping the sponges/cotton balls into the paint 
• Paper for cutting our shark shapes
• Tape 

Steps 

1. Gather all your materials. 

2. Cut out two or more basic shark shapes. 

3. Tape the shark shapes onto your painting paper. 

4. Use sponges or dot paints to paint on and around your shark shapes. 

5. After the paint is dry, remove the shark shapes to reveal the outline of your sharks. 

6. Hang up your new artwork. 

How is a Shark Designed? 

While waiting for your shark to dry, talk about the design of a shark with your children. They have special features which enable them to be fierce predators of the sea. There are over 1,000 species of sharks and rays, so you will have plenty to choose from to discuss. 

Sharks are different from other fish as they have boneless skeletons. They have cartilage in its place to help provide support. The fact that they don't have bones but cartilage also enables them to stay afloat easier as they are lighter. 

The lighter body also helps them in swimming. They are also streamlined to help them move through the water. So many sharks have a torpedo-like shape. They are probably one of the most agile creatures in the sea. 

Fins 

With the variety of sharks, there is also a variety of fins on those sharks. They have a large dorsal fin that helps provide balance. Some have a smaller dorsal fin on their back too. Sharks may also have pectoral fins that help with steering. 

Learn More 

Make another shark-themed craft! Choose from a paper bag shark puppet or a paper plate craft. 

Dive into the world of Marine Biology at SchoolhouseTeachers.com with Red Wagon Marine Biology for High School. This high school course is taught with online pre-recorded videos and text instructions to help children learn about the marine world. In addition to studying sharks, students will learn about marine ecosystems, tidal zones, coral reefs, and more. 

And now is the perfect time to become a SchoolhouseTeachers.com member with the BOGO sale! Dive into our Shark & Sea BOGO Sale at SchoolhouseTeachers.com! From July 22 to September 6, buy one annual membership for $269 and get another year free! Did you know that sea turtles can live up to 100 years? Our courses have the longevity and quality you need with hundreds of courses available for all grades. Don’t let this deal swim away!

Sale through September 6, 2024. 

Crafts: Wonder Woman Paper Bag Puppet

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Do you need some adventurous super heroes to save the day? Your children can create their very own Wonder Woman Paper Bag Puppet to help them fight evil and protect innocents.

Materials

• Brown paper lunch bags
• Red Construction Paper 
• Blue Construction Paper 
• White Glue
• Glue Sticks 
• Googly Eyes 
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Markers

Our children love making paper bag puppets! 

Steps

1. Gather all your materials.

2. I pre-cut the shapes but you could create a template and have your children trace and cut out the necessary shapes for your puppet together. You will need to have hair, a crown, belt, star, top, skirt, and bodice piece cut for the Wonder Woman puppet.

3. Attach the hair to the back of the brown paper bag with your glue stick.

4. Attach the next pieces starting with the top and skirt. Then glue on the yellow bodice piece.

5. Attach the belt next onto top of the skirt and top.

6. Next glue on the crown and star.

7. Glue on the googly eyes. We used white glue for the googly eyes.

8. The last step is to draw on the nose and mouth.

9. After the glue has dried, your child can play with their Wonder Woman puppet and save the world!

Another option would be to paint the brown paper bag blue for the skirt and red for the top and then glue on the pieces to create your Wonder Woman puppet.

Looking for more crafts? 

We have made a number of paper bag puppets including goats, dogs, and hippos.

Crafts: Ladybugs

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Our children love creating crafts based upon what they are learning (or have learned), so it was only natural to create several ladybug-themed crafts for them to make this spring.

Materials 

Depending on whether or not you and your children choose to make one or both ladybugs, you may not need all of these materials.

• brown paper lunch bag
• coffee filter
• black construction paper 
• white construction paper 
• red construction paper
• googly eyes 
• black paint
• paint brushes
• glue sticks
• white glue 
• pencil
• scissors 
• markers
• spray bottle 
• tape 

Steps for Coffee Filter Ladybug

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Color the coffee filter with ladybug appropriate colors. They come in a variety of colors – not just red and black.

There are over 5,000 different types of ladybug species around the world. They can be spotted or stripes or even have no markings at all. Depending on the species they may be red, orange, or yellow. 

3. Place the coffee filters on a tray to spray with water.

4. Spray the coffee filters with water.

5. While waiting for them to dry, trace and cut out the different parts required to make the ladybug. You will need to create a head with antennae and dots for the wings.

6. Attach the parts to the dry coffee filter.

 

Steps for Paper Bag Ladybug 

1. Gather all your materials.

2. Paint the paper bag black.

3. While waiting for the paper bag to dry, trace and cut out the different parts needed for the ladybug. You will need to create wings, black dots, white dots, and antennae.

4. Once the paper bag is dry, attach the parts to the paper bag to create the ladybug puppet. We attached the antennae with tape first. Next, we glued on the black circles onto the wings and then attached the wings with glue to the paper bag. Finally, we glued on the white circles and then googly eyes.

Do your children want to make more crafts? 

If they had fun making this coffee filter craft, perhaps they would like to make their own shamrock or pumpkin?

Crafts: Mother's Day "I love you to pieces" Card

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Are you looking for a quick card that your children can make for a mother, grandmother, or aunt in their lives? My daughter and I made this cute card for her two grandmothers for Mother's Day.

Materials 

• Construction paper
• Markers 
• Tissue Paper 
• Glue Stick 

Steps 

1. Gather all your materials. 

2. Cut a piece of construction paper (lengthwise) in half and fold into thirds. 

3. Write out your phrase on the front and inside. We wrote the name of the person we were giving the card to on the front, and "I love you" in the middle, and "to pieces" on the last panel. 

4. I drew a heart on the last panel for my daughter to use as a guide for the pieces of tissue paper. 

5. After tearing some pieces of tissue paper, glue them into the heart. 

6. After your card's glue is dry, present it to the special Mom on Mother's Day. 

References 

You can similar cards on many sites including:

Teach With Me's "I Love You to Pieces!" Craftivity

The Best Ideas for Kids' I Love You to Pieces Craft 

Learning and Exploring Through Play's Love you to Pieces Suncatcher Card 

I linked up with the following blog(s):