Lent to Easter Clothespin Cross
At Making Music Praying Twice, we take great care to emphasize the Liturgical Seasons. With some help, children can make their own wooden crosses and shroud them for Lent, Easter and Pentecost.
Thanks to Virginia Kearns, one of our book illustrator and Art Teacher of 20 years, for sharing this great project with us!
Materials:
Directions:
1. Use the cross template to trace and cut out a cross from the cardboard. Adults will have to help younger children with this. Your finished cross should be 8"x10".
2. Lay out your clothespins. Apply glue and spread evenly and generously all over the cardboard cross. Adhere clothespins in groups of 3 as shown. Dry overnight.
3. Paint or stain the cross, as desired. Be sure to follow packaging directions. Crosses can be left natural, stained a darker wood, or painted to reflect an Easter or Lenten theme. Once dry, you may want to spray with polyurethane or shellac to add protection and luster.
4. While the paint or stain is drying, prepare the shrouds. Cut the shrouds from old white T shirts, cloth or wide ribbon. Angle the edges for a nicer look. 22" x 5" works well. You can use purple material for Lent or dye your white material purple. We used RIT dye from our local grocery store, and it was easy and inexpensive. Your child can change the shroud from purple for Lent, white for Easter, and red for Pentecost.
You can decorate your Easter Season Table with these lights that are truly “mine” and enjoy singing together.
Materials:
Instructions:
1. Protect your work area with newspaper or other covering.
2. Fill the bucket part-way (from 6-10 inches) with damp (not wet) sand. Pack it down a little. Bang the bucket on the floor to help it settle.
3. Let your child create a hole in the center of the sand with his hand. Help him to get all the way down to the bottom of the bucket. You may have to ensure that a strong base is made at the bottom of the hole so it has a stable, flat bottom.
4. Cut a wick a few inches longer than the hole. Tie one end to the paper clip and place it into the hole so it is centered at the bottom. Wrap the top of the wick around the pencil to suspend over the hole and keep the wick centered.
5. An adult should melt the wax or stumps (wicks removed) in an aluminum can. Put the can in a saucepan of water and heat on the stove until the wax is completely melted. If you want to color the candle, your child can choose a crayon to add to the wax. You can make more than one color using more than one can. If your make-shift double boiler is floating, use aluminum foil to stabilize it.
6. The adult should pour the hot wax into the mold your child made being careful to keep the wick in place. Leave a 1 inch space at the top so the wick has some clearance. You may need to add more wax if the wax settles down too much.
7. Let the candle set up overnight (at least 5-6 hours)
8 Loosen and remove the candles from the sand and brush away the extra sand from your candle. Parents can break or cut away any unwanted parts. A sandy coating will remain on the candle. The hotter the wax you pour, the thicker the sand coating will be.
9. Trim the wicks and place on a plate, dish or saucer. Remember, you'll be cleaning wax off of it later
10. Enjoy your candles through Easter and Pentecost and remember how each of us must let our unique lights shine!
Keep your children mindful of Easter throughout the Easter season with these paper mache maracas shaped like Easter eggs! As far as “homemade” instruments go, paper mache holds up a little better and even preschoolers can have fun making them with some guidance. Take your time. This is not a one-day project.
You Will Need:
Instructions:
1. Cover your work surface with newspaper or other protective covering. You may want to cover your children with smocks, too!
2. Mix the glue with equal parts warm water and stir well in a disposable container. It should be the consistency of heavy cream.
3. Fill the egg with dry beans or rice (rice will be quieter) and tape it across the seam.
4. Tape the dowel securely to the bottom of the egg.
5. Now, have fun coating the egg and tape with paper mache. Make sure each newspaper strip is fully coated and that excess paste is scraped off. Continually smooth your work with your hands. It will be messy! You can coat the dowel if you want to.
6. Tape the dowel securely to the bottom of the egg.
7. Once the paper towel coat is dry, paint the maracas with a base coat color and dry.
8. Then, paint on the decoration! (Hint: It will be more successful to choose lighter colors as the base, and darker ones for the decorations)
9. Dry, and make a joyful noise!
Read Matthew 25:1-13 – The Parable of the Ten Virgins
The virgins in the story needed oil to keep their lamps ready for when the groom came for them.
We want to keep our hearts always ready for Jesus. Jesus will come back to the earth one day to take all His followers to Heaven. We want to always be ready for Him!
Holy oil is a sacramental that can help us stay holy and ready for Jesus.
Materials:
* Clean Baby Food or small jam jar with the label removed (make sure lid works properly)
* Jewel Stickers
* Glitter Glue or glass paint, if desired
* Permanent Markers
*1-2 inch piece of cotton string or small piece of candle wick
* Masking Tape
* A small piece of decorative fabric
* Thin ribbon if desired
* White glue
* Holy Oil from a shrine or olive oil for your priest to bless
Directions:
1. Let your child decorate the jar with the jewel stickers. (Older children can use glitter glue or glass paints from a craft store, if desired).
2. Write the child’s name on the jar with a permanent marker or a label like Holy Oil or Blessed Oil.
3. Tape the “wick” to the top of the jar lid with a very small piece of tape so the wick can stand up in the center.
4. Cut the fabric to fit the jar lid exactly. (Use pinking shears if available to prevent fraying.) Then put a small hole in the center. It helps to fold the circle in half so you can cut a little notch easily.
5. Cover the lid in glue. Thread the “wick” through the hole in the fabric and glue the fabric down onto the jar lid. Allow to dry completely.
6. If your wick needs help standing up, coat it in glue and suspend in on some coffee mugs so the wick can dry up-side-down.
7. A thin ribbon could be glued around the jar lid rim for a finishing look, if desired. Let everything dry thoroughly. Mom may need to fix some final loose pieces with glue-all or a glue gun.
8. Fill with Holy Oil or Olive Oil for your priest to bless.
