Ooops. With a lack of rhythm due to holidays followed by unpredictable weather followed by Simon's daperture for Malawi, I forgot to post this last week's Hidden Word. Here it is:
O SON OF MAN!
Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not, wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished, why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; Thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory.
~Baha'u'llah
Discussion:
The most interesting aspect of our discussion was getting the children to view this Hidden Word in terms of reality in this physical world. They were very quick to apply the meanings to Life After Death and the spiritual reality, but it was harder for them to think of practical interpretations that might apply to daily life.
Once we were able to think about "abiding in our love for God" and His light that is always burning within us, we were able to think about our current reality a bit differently.
Activity:
Since the discussion was a bit more difficult than usual, I did a simpler activity so that we could continue talking as we worked. Simon's mom taught the children how to make these "twisted snowflakes" over the break, so we went ahead and made some. They don't relate very directly to the Hidden Word, but they kept our hands busy as we hurt our brains, and were quite appropriate for this last week's snow!
To make them you need squares of paper (bear in mind that both sides will show; we liked the effect of double-sided scrapbook paper). We used 6"/15cm squares (scrapbook paper cut into four squares per sheet). You will also need tape and scissors.
Here is a visual of what we did:
Fold each sheet in half to form a triangle.
Fold each triangle in half again to form a smaller triangle.
Cut three lines in the triangle on the side with two folded edges (you cna see the pencil lines in the photo as a guide).
Open up the paper.
Tape two edges together, alternating the paper back and forth.
Eventually it will look like this! Don't worry about being too precise with any of this. Asher did it unaided and slightly wonky, and it was just fine.
To make a snowflake, attach six of these together in the centre (we found using a brad through hole-punched holes easiest) and find someplace to hang them up!
We had a few singles left over, and they looked quite nice on their own, too:
I love the way you're all doing this together .
And the snowflakes are so wonderful , I'm going to try to make one .
Perhaps first I'd better make some tea ?
And scroll through the tutorial again ....
Posted by: Geraldine | 23 January 2012 at 00:32
I have to tell you how wonderful these hidden word posts are. I love them. They are inspiration for me, and your photography is so soothing and beautiful. I imagine these as a great resource for parents trying to incorporate spirit into their home life.
Posted by: angie | 25 January 2012 at 11:09