Celebrating the Season: David {Day 13}

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Welcome back to Celebrating the Season!  If you're new around these parts, be sure to catch up on all the other posts in this series here.  Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of the fun from here on out, sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post, as well as some free printables, delivered right to your inbox.

Songs to Get You into the Spirit of the Season

 

This showed up on my children's music series because it's a favorite album for many of the kids I know.  It always got a lot of play time in my classroom during the month of December and now it's beginning to get a lot of play time here at home (although I've always enjoyed listening to it, by myself!).  Disney's The Twelve Days of Christmas features songs sung by a whole crew of classic Disney characters and arranged in order to follow the title song of the same name.  My favorite song here is Snow Ho Ho Ho.  It's upbeat and catchy and great for dancing!

An Activity to Add to the Jolly Atmosphere

Have a family game night - gather everyone in front of the tree in their PJs and pull out your favorite board games.  Don't care for board games, or looking for new game ideas?  Check out these two books that we love for ideas to please any reluctant gamers you might have in your household.  (And while you've got your games pulled out, you might want to consider a new way of storing them that will take up less space and keep them more accessible for future game nights!)

Some Reading Sure to Garner a Great Response

 

Marley was dead:  to begin with.  Don't let this famous first line scare you away from sharing this classic with your children.  The moral of this story makes it well worth any extra explanations you might need to provide to your kids while reading this tale.  Also, don't be frightened away by the "difficult" language found in the original version.  A Christmas Carol provides a wonderful opportunity to enrich your youngsters' vocabulary (and maybe yours, too!) as well as discuss what life was like in the mid-1800s.

I did an entire study of this novella with my second-graders each year.  Yes, I had seven-year-olds reading it in my classroom.  And they loved it.  My suggestion?  To do what I did with them and read a stave a day, both to give your voice a break and to keep the suspense building all week.

A Movie to Get You in a Merry Mood

   

I'm a big Cary Grant fan, so this is easily one of my favorite Christmas films.  The Bishop's Wife is another holiday tale about an angel sent down to help someone here on Earth, though it's not as well-known as It's a Wonderful Life.  If you like other older Christmas movies, or just need a Cary Grant fix, then add this movie to your annual watch list.

Faith Focus to Put You in a Festive Frame of Mind

If you haven't downloaded them already, make sure to grab your free coordinating printables to go along with this portion of the series.  

Day 13 - David

Read 2 Samuel 5:1-5 to see how David became king and then read Revelation 22:16 for a New Testament connection.

Today's study also includes a prophesy fulfillment.  Read Isaiah 9:7 and Jeremiah 23:5-6, then Matthew 1:6, Luke 1:32, 33 and Luke 3:23-31  to see how Jesus lives out Matthew 5:17 (see verse in graphic below) as heir to the throne of David.

Add your star sticker to the tree to serve as a reminder for today's verses.

What will you be doing to observe this thirteenth day of Advent?  What is your favorite game to play as a family?  Leave a comment or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

Join me throughout the rest of this season for more great ideas to incorporate into your family traditions to help celebrate this special time of year.  Be sure to pin the series landing page so you can find every post, or better yet, sign up for free updates so you don't miss a single suggestion and to get your free printables!