Lissie has had a special love for Jesus for a while now. So much so that she adores going to Mass. Every Monday and Wednesday when we go to "Mommy's school," Lissie wants to know if we will go to church that day. And if I tell her that we are and, for whatever reason the plan changes and we don't, she gets very sad. As such, we stopped our brief stint of taking her to the nursery during Sunday Mass because she just loves watching everything that is going on at the altar. We still bring a backpack full of quiet activities "just in case," but she is generally happy with a small snack and the missal.
Which is why I have been looking forward to teaching her about Christmas this year. She's starting to understand things in her own innocent way, and I couldn't wait to get started.
We started Advent by making our own wreath. Since Lissie loves art projects, she adored recreating the Advent wreath that she had seen at Mass that day using toilet paper rolls and finger paints. Every week, we would look at the wreath at church and discuss the candles that were lit.
I also used one of my activities that was always a big hit when I taught second grade. The Story of Christmas Advent Calendar was a fun way to read a small snippet of the Christmas story each day and hang an ornament on our meager tree. Both kids loved taking the books and looking at the pictures.
We also spent one Sunday in "Bethlehem". I had never been before but had always wanted to go, and I am so glad we went. Lissie loved visiting the different markets and doing the crafts and sampling the foods. Xavier was mesmerized by the animals and seeing everyone in costume. It was a wonderful way to see what it was like when Jesus was born.
We made our own Nativity out of toilet paper rolls and also made a baby Jesus out of a sock that unfortunately looked more like a cross between the Pillsbury Dough Boy and a snowman than anything else. But they got the point, haha.
We wrapped up our learning by doing a small version of another activity I also use in my classroom: What God Wants for Christmas. I, of course, simplified the activities for her understanding, but she really enjoyed retelling her own story of Christmas using the characters in the boxes.
All in all, she is very, very excited about celebrating Christmas tomorrow because she knows that it is Jesus' birthday. And that there will be cake.
She also knows that Santa somehow plays a part in the holiday, but she doesn't quite understand how. We talked about the Man in Red a little bit, she met the guy several times this season (with no tears, whoo-hoo!), and she understands that he gives presents. But since she wasn't all that interested in him, I decided not to press the issue this year. He'll still come to the Yasay house tonight, and she did write him a letter and set out Christmas cookies for him and his reindeer, though!
We also decorated cookies, enjoyed seeing Christmas at Cheekwood, toured the Governor's Residence to see the Christmas trees, saw the lights at Opryland Hotel, and did other various Christmas-y things to get ourselves ready for the holiday.
Oh come let us adore him: Christ, the Lord.
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