Easter Club Week Two

Just a few pictures from our second week of our Easter Club. I told the Parable of the Good Shepherd, which was the second time for this group. They started to recognise it, which gave me a good opportunity to ask them if they could  go a bit deeper with it, which they did.After I tell the story, I ask a number of 'Wondering Questions' which are completely open-ended, but encourage the children to make their own response and connections to the story. There are no 'right' answers and the observations the children make are sometimes truly amazing.

For the Response Time, I decide to give them a few choices, including the chance to make a prayer pot, a lovely idea that Sheila came up with. Four of them decided to do that and they seemed to enjoy working with the clay. We talked a little about coil pots and thumb pots...took me right back to pottery lessons at school, happy days!

In addition everyone wanted to paint with some watercolours I'd provided. This was very popular, so I will have to get a few more sets for the future. As we all work together around the kitchen table, we do chat quite a bit. Talking about the paint gave me the chance to show the painters what happens when you try dropping paint onto wet paper. I'd love to get some really good quality water colour paper for them to enjoy working with. Despite the lack of space, it was a very peaceful time, and everyone became absorbed into their work

 

I didn't manage to take any photos, but some of the group also worked a while with wool roving, making pictures onto hessian. This also seemed to be very satisfying for them, so I will offer that as an option again in the future.

Each time we meet, I learn something new, what works, what doesn't. I don't get it right every time, but I am so encouraged by this group who give me a safe place to learn, as I hope I give them a safe place to learn and grow too. I'm encouraged by their generosity - the home made cakes that are brought for our feast - and their desire to think about people outside the group too. We can't meet next week, but I'm already looking forward to seeing them again in two weeks. In the meantime I'm looking forward to storytelling at L'Arche and a local church.

Sheila, at Explore and Express, who inspired me to run these clubs, is also running an Easter Club in Berlin. You can read about her group here.

Simple Stitching

As the days inch their way, a little longer, and as I have more and more precious natural light, then I know it is the time to return to my sewing machine. It's always a lovely feeling, a rush of energy and creativity. And with good reason, as several friends and  family members get ready to welcome their new babes.

The only thing I bought in the sales this year was a copy of Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings.  This is a lovely book, full of projects and not just for babies! Her techniques and construction are really good, with attention to detail and some wonderful ideas. I've made a pile of 'Quick Change Trousers' which I would have loved for my boys when they were that tiny. Fully reversible, which is a such a good idea for speedy transformations of mucky little ones.

Boys clothes are often not very exciting, so it was great to be able to go a bit wild with colours, which I think their parents won't mind. Also for another wee one, a simple jumper on the needles, now almost finished.

Small and satisfying, just perfect for brushing away the winter cobwebs.

Easter Club Week One

The wee group of children that came to Advent Club in December asked me if I could run something else for Easter - with pleasure! This sort of rhythm suits me well - rather than plug away at something every week. So, as before, we will meet on a Saturday morning in our home. When the children arrived they were rather surprised - to see this nativity set up 'But it's not Christmas'...well no indeed. However, in Godly Play, a pared down nativity plus a figure of the risen Christ, takes centre stage as a focal point all year round, reminding us that Jesus 'grew up to be man and died on the cross. That is very sad, but it is also wonderful in an Easter kind of way...He is not just back then, in this place or that place. He is everywhere and in every time'.

I told the story of the Holy Family using the nativity. The wondering was very animated. When I asked what we could leave out and mischieviously removed a figure, each and every figure - person and animal was very staunchly defended. If it had been a balloon debate I don't think we could have thrown anyone out!

One of the mothers kindly lent me her olive wood nativity from Bethlehem, but we are slowly making our own...it takes time and a few legs getting cut off by mistake! I am learning which way to have the grain of the wood going and how to be less afraid of the jigsaw blade! My husband made the baby and the sheep for me. They proved irresistible to a visiting child last week, which made me very happy. I am also very happy with the risen Christ figure I cut from an old ikea desk that friend was throwing out. New life indeed!  Together we made a very sweet donkey this afternoon - although it took us a few goes and a few missing limbs to get it right...

Instead of an open response time - something I will offer next week - I suggested the making of Lent 'gardens' as a way of getting ready for Easter. We talked about the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert and the children filled dishes and trays with sand. I had provided some bare twigs and most of them decided to make a cross with them. They enjoyed using a small hammer and nails. Everyone filled a dish with pebbles - it was mild enough to go outdoors to hunt for them. When they go home they can put a pebble in their desert for each day between now and Easter.

I also let them choose a roughly cut out figure to represent themselves.They have some sandpaper to work on it, and we talked about how God's love works in out lives, transforming us and smoothing off our rougher edges. They took these home with some readings for each day.

I also told the Mystery of Easter story. Some of the children chose to work with some paper crosses or to take one home.

We finished with a very un-Lenten feast! But it was wonderful, as one of the families had made us cakes and peppermint creams to share, and was really enjoyed. After sweeping up all the sand, we now have a pair of desert gardens to grace our kitchen table. Watch this space to see how they develop!

Ashes

Today is Ash Wednesday. Not something I grew up with, and even a couple of years ago I was trying to get my head around. Lent, yes, but Ash Wednesday? Being part of a L'Arche community gives me the great growing experience of meeting and knowing Christians of many, many different backgrounds. Where else would I have ever met an Armenian Orthodox or Mennonite in the north of Scotland? And seen them praying together? Such an experience tells me that the fruit of a life ranks much higher than what people say they believe. So...Ash Wednesday has entered my spiritual world as a significant and meaningful day.

We had a simple service at L'Arche, with help from Fr. Mel, an Episcopal priest from the Black Isle. The ashes, he explained, remind us we are human and that one day we will die. The shape of the cross reminds us of the amazing deep love of Jesus, sent by God to save us from sin. And the dust also reminds us we are precious, like gold dust, to the Father.

Today I'm reminded of my humanity and frailty, but also of the depths God's love. Lent calls me to come away and spend time with my Father. Lent in L'Arche reminds me this also a joyful time!

Meandering along

Happy New Year - yes, rather belated I know...is there a cut off date? I like the French habit of sending New Year cards instead of Christmas ones. It seems to be a much gentler way of doing things - no missed last posting dates, or mad dashes to crowded post offices.

I'm a bit late, partly because it always takes a little time to settle into a new year - the shock to the system of going back to school after gloriously slobbing around for the Christmas holidays, and partly because yet again our computer is on the blink. It won't connect to the internet, so I can only blog with a borrowed computer, which doesn't have all my pictures on it - it's all a bit fiddly for my non-techie wee brain

Do you like this lovely card we had from my mother-in-law? She's a truly wonderful artist, and I have had this card on our kitchen table ever since it arrived.  One thing I love about this time of year is the tiny lengthening of the days, and as the light returns, I see our energy and creativity returning too. So a broken computer has also been a great reason to get outdoors or start on the things I have had gently brewing in my mind for a while.  More about them next time...in the meantime, come and have a wee wander around and see where I live, now it's light enough to get outdoors. 

Do you know about our ridiculous-looking chickies? We do love them - not so much the big holes scratched into the garden - but their sweet nature and crazy looking hairdos. They are always a good sign of life! And they are still giving us a few eggs.

 There are lots of lovely places to go for a wander around here, even in winter, it is really beautiful. I feel very blessed to live here. My children have taught me to look up close and not miss the details. I'm not sure I would have seen these amazing ice formations if they hadn't been shown to me.

 Some of the neighbours...they look fierce but they are softies really, the calves look like teddies.

This is our local castle - a tiny little one, as castles go, and not really designed to keep out invaders. I'm sure the heating bill is horrendous,  but I wouldn't mind the views from the top floor. Do you see the stepped gables? I wonder if the crows use them for hopping up and down on?

Just down the road is the local Free Church. I love the simplicity of this building, it fits right into the landscape, every bit as much as the castle, perhaps even more so.

Well, I'm loving the longer days, my little wanderings around and the rising urge to be creative, the sense of new possibilities for the year . And you? What's happening in the beginnings of this year? Hopefully I can be back again in this space again soon to catch up and mark the days before they speed away.

See you soon.

Advent Club with St Nicholas

Today we have been enjoying the story of St. Nicholas. We're a day or two late, according to my Dutch friend, but I thought Nicholas should definitely get a place in our Advent Club, and as my children get older, I am gently shifting their attention to towards him - not that I have anything against Santa -but Nicholas provides a different emphasis for them. There is a Godly Play story about St. Nicholas that I have seen, but I don't have that book. Instead I used this story which is from Barnabus in Churches, who provide some wonderful resources suitable for use at home or church, many of them freely available online. Quite a few are inspired by the Godly Play style of story telling.

Here are the materials I used. The story suggested using a red felt underlay, but to tie up with Advent, I decided to go for purple, which I believe is the colour used for the official Godly Play version. The objects I used to tell the story were a wooden cross, some coins (next time I would maybe use some foreign or old coins to deflect away the excitment at seeing cold hard cash!), a model of a boat - not having one handy I made a simple paper boat, which seemed to satisfy the children greatly.

 To explain Nicholas' work as a bishop, Barnabus suggested a woolen stole, but that would not have meant anything to our group. Bishops don't feature in their understanding of church, but I was able to say that this is a type of church leader, and that leaders are there to look after people like a shepherd. So I thought I would use the figure of the Good Shepherd - the perfect role model for any leader. 

Part of the story talks about Nicholas' work defending and explaining the Christian faith, helping people to understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Nicholas may have been part of the group that wrote the Nicene Creed. Again, this is something unfamiliar to the children, but I read a little of it out, and interestingly, one boy decided this was the most important part of the story - a budding theologian, I wonder?

For me, one of the things I especially love about this style of story telling is the chance to make the objects used. Here are the three money sacks that Nicholas secretly threw in to through a window to proved dowries for three poor girls. Made from felt, with leather thong to tie them (I sewed the thong into one side seam, so they wouldn't get lost), and filled with a few copper coins, they make satisfyingly tactile objects. The children were very keen to touch them!

Finally there is a 'present' which I kept fairly plain, in order that it wouldn't detract too much from the other objects, and St Nicholas himself. The story called for an icon, but I already had made this figure a year ago, from wool felt, pipe cleaners and roving. Seeing his red bishops clothing and pointed hat was a bit of a lightbulb moment for some of the group...

The wondering was interesting, and the questions Barnabus offer are good. One is ' I wonder what Nicholas found hardest about being a  bishop' - one child replied, with great perception, 'leading the church' - something I'm sure most bishops and other leaders would agree with!

Following the story we continued around the kitchen table with a variety of crafts, making decorations to hang on the wonderful sparkly trees we made last week. This Friday I will take them to decorate the tables for the Christmas dinner of our local Seniors club.

Something new for us all was making apple cinnamon dough. This was a bit messy but brilliant fun. These decorations can't be eaten but once dried, should last for several years. There is an excellent tutorial here.
We also strung some dried orange slices on ribbon, and by popular demand, glittered some more pine cones. 

As the children left, they found their shoes had been filled with a satsuma, some chocolate coins and also a little Nicholas card.

Sometimes a little word is all that's needed. The boys have their own advent calendars, but inspired by this I made some paper pockets which I paper-clipped to a string. For each day there is a very short Bible reading for Advent, just a verse or two. I compiled the readings for use at L'Arche, with simple themes such as hope, peace, joy and love. We have been pulling the readings out at breakfast and reading them then, then again at the start of dinner. In these busy days, with my mind in a hundred places, they have been the perfect nourishment, sustaining me and coming back to me often. I try some other Advent books and they are good too, but sometimes a little word is all that's needed.

Hope you're enjoying Advent too!

Just in time for Advent!

The last time I took any photos was back in early September - a glorious day spent on a local beach - the pictures tell of swimming, rock-pooling, kite flying, beach combing and frying up bacon and mushrooms for sandwiches. What the pictures don't say is that there was a very strong wind that day or that sand got into my camera lens. The poor thing was understandably rather unhappy and made ominous crunching sounds. Oh dear....Three months later and one (almost) new lens later and I'm reunited with my precious camera again, feeling wiser and poorer!

So in the record of our family life we go straight from sand to snow, and right into Advent. The autumn has been a strange one anyway, and I have a lot to ponder this season. My husband was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy, which causes him to have a type of 'absence' for a couple of minutes at a time. We had seen the symptoms building up for a while, with no conclusive diagnosis last year, but with time it became obvious. Actually having this diagnosis gives us a lot of peace, because it could be a lot worse, and the medication he is able to take is working brilliantly well. The only downside really is that he is unable to drive this year, which sometimes requires a bit of planning, but we have been so grateful for assistance from friends, who have also been praying deeply with us. Thom has had to make various adjustments to his life, especially to have more rest, but in some ways it feels like a season of growth for him.

For me, Advent is very welcome, reminding me to wait and welcome the ways of God in our lives. I have felt very run down and especially tired this year, and it causes me to wonder about the one life I have to live. How I can live it as well as possible, in step with God's Spirit and the yearnings of my heart?

However, a particular source of joy has been the continuing discovery of Godly Play, and the possibility of doing small things well. I'm always so inspired by the Godly Play community, and especially by Sheila over at Explore and Express . As our church situations are very similar - just small seeds beginning to grow - we don't have weekly services, so often we do Godly Play at home as a family. However, Sheila's Advent Clubs seemed to be something we could offer to a few other children.

So today, and for the next three Saturday mornings of Advent, we are meeting in our home with five or six children. I can't tell you how nice it is to get to know these children better! Today, as it was our first time together, and we come from a totally non-liturgical church, I took the time to explain what Advent is, using the Godly Play story of the Circle of the Church Year and the Advent wreath - they were fascinated!

I also told the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which does feel very appropriate for Advent, all that waiting and growing...

In stead of an open response time, we were working on making some table decorations for the local Seniors Christmas Lunch, and for some house-bound folk in our church. The group responded really well to the idea of giving in this way. Today we took some rounds of a log, which the older ones drilled holes in, then 'planted' some twiggy stems. We all spent a very happy time painting, gluing and (lavishly!) glittering the branches, as well as some pine cones to hang on them. The photos don't do these wonderful looking trees justice! They really echo the icy ones outdoors.  Next week we'll make some more decorations

Another possibility for the children was to make a gift for the birds - which they had loved and wonderfully named in the Parable. We used more pine cones dipped in soft vegetable fat and then rolled in bird seed. You can find a simple tutorial here. We enjoyed a well-earned feast together, but it was just wonderful watching the crowds of different birds coming to enjoy their feast.

Wishing you a very joyful Advent!