Advent
Objectives: The students will be able to
- identify who God promised to send to be our Savior
- explain that Advent as a time for preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth
- explain why we use an Advent Wreath
- discuss the significance of each part of the Advent Wreath
- explain how we pray using the Advent Wreath
- identify what color each candle is on the Advent Wreath, when it is lighted, and what order
Review:
Prayer, Take Home Sheet, and vocabulary from last week’s lesson and also Objects Used as Mass cards (show picture cards that we have done thus far)
Vocabulary Words: (Write the vocab words on the board and discuss with class)
Advent- the four week period leading up to Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, the season of the church year during which we prepare for Christ’s coming
Wreath- a hollow circular arrangement of flowers or greenery used as a decoration
Christmas- an annual Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25
Jesse Tree- It is a tree branch decorated with symbols representing the stories of people in Jesus' family tree.
Plan:
Introduce Advent to your class.
Advent Adventure- Take the children on an Advent adventure. (Big Book of Ideas for Children’s Faith Formation, by McNamara, McKeever, and Robinson, page 6).
Then show your students an Advent Wreath and discuss Advent with your class. Some questions that you might want to ask:
What does the circle of the Advent wreath represent? A circle has no beginning or an end. The circle of the Advent wreath represents that God is so great that God never had a beginning and will never have an end. The wreath is a circle, causing us to remember the eternity of God's love for us and for all humanity.
What do the evergreens tell us? Evergreens stay green all year. The evergreens tell us that God never changes. It is decked with green boughs, causing us to remember the newness of life we have in Christ Jesus.
How many candles are on the outside of the Advent wreath? 4
What does each candle represent? One week
Three candles are what color? Violet
Which candle is lighted first? Violet
What does the first candle represent? Represents the hope of the people of Israel that someone would come save them and the period of waiting for the birth of Christ. The first candle reminds us of the prophets' hope for God's salvation to come, as Isaiah prophesied.
What candle is lighted second? Violet
What does the second candle represent? Represents the peace that God has given through His son Jesus Christ and the preparation for the Christ Child.
What candle is lighted third? Rose.
What does the third candle represent? Represents the joy of sharing Christ. The third candle reminds us of the joy of the shepherds as they heard the good news of Jesus' arrival.
What candle is lighted fourth? Violet
What does the fourth candle represent? Represents love sent from God through His son, Jesus Christ.
What candle is lighted Christmas Eve or day? The white candle.
What does the white candle represent? The Christ candle reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world, come into our darkness to enlighten us and give us the life of God which we share with others.
What does the first Sunday of Advent begin? The first Sunday of Advent is the start of a new liturgical year in the Catholic Church. (Show students a Liturgical Year Calendar and discuss.)
sadlierreligion.com- Church Year Wheel
Distribute the activity sheets and construction paper. Have a volunteer read the directions. Help the children complete the wheel. Encourage the children to use their wheels at home to mark the passing of each Church year season. Grade 3, Chapter 6 (Pick the grade, type of visitor, and click on Go To. Look under Printable Activities and click on Chapters.)
What color is the primary Sanctuary color of Advent? Violet
Activities:
Introduce activities: What is the time before Christmas called?
sermons4kids.com- Advent~ Christmas object lessons
christiancrafters.com- Christmas Lessons & Advent Season Talks
thatresourcesite.com- Advent . . . The Coming- Faith Detective Lapbook Style Activity
Use this Cut-N-Paste lapbook style activity to help children learn about the Who, When, Where and Why of the nativity. No writing is required. There are four steps to completion using scissors and glue.
thatresourcesite.com- As an additional fun activity, older learners may want to complete one of our newspaper style notebooking sheets to write an "article" about Advent or the Nativity itself. The notebooking sheets are available in different styles with opportunities for drawing or attaching a photograph about the forthcoming important events.
Crafts:
Introduce craft: What is the season of the church year during which we prepare for Christ’s coming?
Advent Calendar- A take home Advent calendar that you make. (Big Book of Ideas for Children’s Faith Formation, by McNamara, McKeever, and Robinson, page 7 & 8).
Printable Nativity Advent Chain by catholicicing.blogspot.com- Easy project to do with little ones. Just print it out and make the chain. Every day, it comes with a reading from the Nativity Story, and then you glue a character to the chain.
hubbardscupboard.org- Advent Chain with Verses & Activities
Make a 25 loop Patterned Chain with verses and activities listed for each day, detaching one chain each day leading up to Christmas day. Read and meditate on the verse throughout the day. Read the Scripture passages or story book mentioned and do the activity!
This activity below is free, however it can only to be used for classroom and personal use. It may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit.
2011 Printable Advent Chain
Print out pattern on colored paper. Have students cut into strips. Build your paper chain stapling the strips with a stapler in the correct order. Each day you tear off a piece of the chain that corresponds to the date and do the activity. Before you know it, it will be Christmas day!
Page 1- Print out on violet paper.
Page 2- Print out on rose paper.
Page 3- Print out on white paper.
christiancrafters.com- A Jesse Tree For Advent
Neat Jesse Tree by Angela
Introduce craft: What is an Advent wreath? It reminds us that we are waiting and preparing for the coming of the Savior, Jesus.
Discuss on the board (show students what color each candle is) and review how an Advent Wreath is lit and in what order. Students make Advent Wreath.
first-school.ws- Advent Wreath Craft
crayola.com- Advent Wreath Placemat
Students can use this placemat as they count down the days.
catholicmom.com- Advent Wreath Craft
No burn, construction paper wreath that is made with your child's handprints. (You can also add a white construction paper candle in the middle of the wreath. Do not cut out a hole in the center of the paper plate so you can glue the white construction paper candle in the middle.)
Games:
Introduce game: What do you know about Advent? Let’s find out.
christiancrafters.com- Bible Win, Loose, or Draw
Use Advent words to play this game. (Example: Angel, shepherds, baby, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Lord, afraid, magi, gifts, star, manger, warned, candle, wreath, etc.).
christiancrafters.com- Bible Tic Tac Toe
(Scroll down to bottom.) Use Advent trivia questions to play this game.
Hangman- (Players try to solve the Advent mystery word). The teacher picks an Advent word that is written on a piece of paper out of a bowl. The teacher then starts the hangman game by writing a blank line for each letter in the word. Teacher then picks someone to guess a letter. (Write on the chalkboard the letters that were guessed that were not in the mystery word). If a letter is guess correctly, it is written in the appropriate blank(s) and that person who guessed correctly gets another turn. They can guess another letter or guess the mystery word. If the person is incorrect, another player gets a turn. Whoever guessed the mystery word gets to pick an Advent word out of the bowl and start the hangman game.
Advent Guessing Game- Familiarized the children with some of the signs and symbols of Advent while having fun. (Big Book of Ideas for Children’s Faith Formation, by McNamara, McKeever, and Robinson,, page 9).
Advent Prayer Cube- Introduce a new prayer each week during the four weeks of Advent with a prayer cube. (Big Book of Ideas for Children’s Faith Formation, by McNamara, McKeever, and Robinson, page 10).
Preparation Station- This game will help your kids understand what it means to prepare their hearts, minds, and lives for Jesus’ coming during Advent season. (The Encyclopedia of Bible Games for Children’s Ministry, page 156).
loyolapress.com- Advent Bingo
Directions and questions
loyolapress.com- Advent Bingo Cards
These game are free, however they can only to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit.
Advent Bingo
Advent True or False Game
Advent Wreath- The object of the game is to color all of the Advent wreath correctly.
To Play: Place 2 small baskets or boxes on the table to put question cards in. Put the question cards in one basket (the other basket will be for discards). Give each player a copy of the “Advent Coloring Sheet”. Place your markers on START. Roll the die and move that many spaces. Follow the directions on the space you land on. If the player lands on a “?”, the person to their right draws a question card and reads it out loud. If the player answers correctly, they can color what is stated on the card on their Advent wreath coloring sheet. If they have already colored that part of their wreath, they do nothing. If a player lands on a space with the leaves, they may color some of the greenery on their wreath. When a player has completely colored their Advent coloring sheet correctly, he/she is the winner. Play continues until all players have colored their sheets.Snacks:
catholicculture.org-
Introduce snack: Stir Up Sunday
Rich Fruit Cake
Dried Fruit Bread
Dutch Treat- This Advent cookie from the Netherlands is full of the rich flavor of Dutch chocolate.
annes-recipes.com- Advent Cookies
Edible Advent Wreath by catholicicing.blogspot.com- Super easy and fast craft/snack that any child can make.
Puzzles, Mazes, Worksheets:
coloringbookfun.com- Advent Calendar
Students can count down the days until Christmas by coloring the calendar.
domestic-church.com- Advent Word Search Puzzle
Here is a simple puzzle for children using the words of Advent.
pflaum.com- Saints of Advent and Christmas
thatresourcesite.com- Advent . . . The Coming- Faith Detective Lapbook Style Activity: Use this Cut-N-Paste lapbook style activity to help children learn about the Who, When, Where and Why of the nativity. No writing is required. There are four steps to completion using scissors and glue. (Scroll down to this.)
These puzzles/activity sheets are free, however they can only to be used for classroom and personal use. They may not be published on any websites or other electronic media, or distributed in newsletters, bulletins, or any other form or sold for profit.
Advent- Mini book for the children to color.
Advent word search
Advent word scramble
Advent (crossword with answers)
Homework: Prayer and Take Home Sheet (It is in MS Word and can be changed any way you like according to your student’s abilities.)
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