Jesse Tree Extended

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I took the idea of using ornaments to make a “Jesse Tree” (Advent tree) further, and made 52 ornaments to use at the rate of 1 per week, to teach the kids lessons from the Bible.

I began by at Genesis, using an world ornament, to talk about creation. I told the kids who or what the next weeks lesson would be about, and had them design their own ornament to go with the lesson. Then each week we would vote on the ornament they liked the best, and that person won a small prize.

I used pegboard and hooks to hang each ornament on, and I put a sticker I had pre-made with the scripture and the name for that lesson. (Ex. Creation, Genesis 1)

I played it like a contest, and every week I would hold up all the ornaments, and the kids would tell me where the story was found, and who it was about. I was amazed that at the end of the year, over 1/2 of the kids could name every story and tell me something about it – and over 1/3 of them could also tell me the reference!

You could adapt this idea to a smaller series, like Bible heros, or the Disciples, etc. My kids loved it!