Christmas is a wonderful time of year. We talk about Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. We light candles, and in church we enjoy wonderful worship services. Life is busy during December with events and parties and various celebrations. We spend time in stores shopping for those we love, and for those we are obligated to buy for. And we come home exhausted because of all our activities.
But have you ever looked at the Advent season through the eyes of your child? Hope and Peace are concepts which are often too difficult for young children to grasp. (Joy and Love can also be difficult depending on how they are presented.) The more we are gone for events, the less time we spend with our children. And we drag our children on shopping trips only the hear them whine because they want us to go to the toy department rather than understanding we must select just the right gifts for family members, friends, co-workers and others.
The result of all this can be boredom, fatigue and hearing our children whine.
Christmas must be better. The season can be a foundation of learning and joy if we manage our time well. But during December, that means we must plan our time ahead so it does not get ahead of us. On my regular website called KosherCopy I have included free resources under the Advent 2015 tab to help parents plan. I have developed and shared this plan for thirty years. The plan has been used in my family with my children with great success. If you will work with the plan and use it, it can change your family’s Christmas.
I often tell parents the greatest gift you can give your children at Christmas, the gift of Love is spelled TIME. Your children want undivided time with you more than anything else. And in a season where time is limited, you must plan ahead in order to share this commodity in love. Which is why I have put free resources for planning on my website.
Development of an Advent plan for children begins with your personal calendar and the free resources on my website. Your calendar will show what obligations you have which can not be moved. Under the headings:
ADVENT WEEK ONE - ZECHARIAH THE PRIEST
ADVENT WEEK TWO - JOSEPH AND MARY
ADVENT WEEK THREE - THE SHEPHERDS
ADVENT WEEK FOUR - THE MAGI - select an activity to place on your calendar to do as a gift for your children each day of December. Each day - no exceptions. You will notice that some activities require undivided time and attention to your children. These are to be placed on days which are most open on your calendar … and reserved so nothing else can crowd in. Other activities require only a few resources (which you must make available), and almost no time. These are to be placed on busy days. You will find that planning ahead for December, placing ideas on your calendar and having the resources available before Thanksgiving will buy you time and great Peace in December. (Yes, your children are quiet and better behaved when you keep them busy).
The activities from the calendar should be developed according to your child’s age and interests. Include activities and events in your community (concerts, readings for children at the library, etc….) in your community as part of the plan and your giving of time. Then take and place these on a calendar for your children. (I made paper chains: one link for each day with two scriptures and one promised activity. We took the link off at breakfast each morning so my children could hold me to the promise.) Day after day you will notice your children becoming more involved in the message (not the mess) of Christmas … learning the true meaning Christ wants us to learn in this, His season, which will bring great Hope to your children.
Hope, Peace, Joy and Love can be part of your Advent Journey with the investment of planning ahead and reserving a little time. (the plan links to our book , Advent Journeys which can be read to children grade 3 and above)
No comments:
Post a Comment