Southland Christian Ministry Training
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By Carolyn
Why buy mass produced Christmas decorations when you can make individually crafted decorations with your children at home? Making cardboard crafts for Christmas is an excellent way to have fun with your kids and then having their craft work decorating your home.
Here are four distinctive, easy to make items, that your children will enjoy making and you will enjoy displaying.
1 STAR.
  This is an usual star, a bit more decorative looking than one just cut out of cardboard. Using thin cardboard, cut out to a triangle shape and then fold as shown in the diagram.
It is one that you will be proud to display around your home this Christmas.
Here is a picture of the star before it is assembled and another when it is finished ready to hang.
Glue star together to hold in place and then decorate with glitter or alternatively, use colored cardboard. Looks quite impressive.
2. ANGEL.
 Very simple for young children to make.
- thin cardboard
- scissors
- glue
- glitter for decoration
An excellent decoration for the Christmas tree or mantle. Children will enjoy making their angel and seeing him decorating their home, for all to admire!
3. CHRISTMAS TREES.
  This is a very simple decoration, that your children will enjoy making.
Fold one piece of paper several times, preferably so it has five fold lines. I fold it in half and then in three, making six Christmas trees. Then draw a Christmas tree or desired picture on the front.
When you draw your picture, make sure you leave some sections of the fold, as this is what holds the trees together.
Cut it out and open up.
 To make your lovely string of Christmas trees just waiting to decorate your home, you will need:
- scissors
- thin cardboard or paper
- glitter can be used for decorating
Children always enjoy seeing their artwork displayed. This string of Christmas trees is one that they will be proud to show off, as it looks so good.
This activity can be used to make any shape you like: snowmen, stars, balls. Just draw your picture, cut it out, perhaps add a bit of decoration, and you’ve got your masterpiece!
4. BON BONS
 This is a fun activity, as well as useful, creating your own bon bons. They can be made from paper, or material serviettes as I have used here. Look for useful toys or puzzles to add, something that people can fiddled with and be challenged by, during the day.
- Cardboard rolls
- Paper or material for wrapping
- Gift to be put inside
- Print an amusing quote or joke to be included inside bonbon.
- Ribbon for tying at each end.
 Making cardboard crafts as Christmas decorations is all about having fun together.
Christmas can be a fun time, enjoy your Christmas preparations with your children as well as your Christmas Day.
By Carolyn
 Having Fun with Grandpa
One of the tragedies of getting older is the fact that we forget how to play. The pressures of work (often both parents) coupled with all those urgent jobs that HAVE to be done around the house, squeeze out the important jobs like playing with your children. This is NOT something that you can delegate to a day care centre or pre-school or school! These institutions have their place in your child learning to play, but for them it is just work. For you as parents and grandparents it should be a passion.
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Why? Making play fun is teaching children to be passionate about learning. This is one of the things that convinces children that they are loved and wanted. Australian social researcher, Hugh McKay, states in his book “What Makes Us Tick”, that the most basic desire of life is to be taken seriously. If you make time to play with them and have fun together doing it, they will learn an invaluable lesson, because you took them and their needs seriously. You noticed them and gave them a high priority in your busy day.
If our children feel that they don’t count and get only the leftovers of our time, then we shouldn’t be surprised to find some alarming statistics. Hugh McKay quotes some research conducted by Professor Bruce Robinson, Professor of Medicine in University of Western Australia, who found that having an “uninvolved fathers double the risk of drug addiction in teenagers” (P7).
All too often fathers are too distant and rarely play cars with their sons or dress ups with their daughters! Set aside some time today to play with your children and show them they ARE important.
By Carolyn
 This Snowman Craft is a great activity for older pre-schoolers up to about 7 or 8 years of age.
- Thin white cardboard, compass
- Scissors, glue, cotton wool balls,
- Red and black paint
- Red ribbon for scarf
- Yellow paper or thin cardboard for hat.
Using your compass, draw 2 circles on white cardboard, one approximately 11cm diameter for the head, and the other approximately 17cm diameter for the body.
Cut them out and overlap them slightly, gluing them together.
Cover the head and body of the snowman in cotton wool. Add the scarf. I actually stapled the scarf in place as I couldn’t get it to stay there on its own.
Paint cotton wool balls with black paint for eyes and buttons.
Use another cotton wool ball and pull into the shape of a mouth and paint red.
Finish him off by adding his hat. His hat is made up of two pieces of card, the top one is rectangle and the brim of the hat has a slit in it to allow the top piece to slide into.
By Carolyn
 Reading and Learning Together This is one of those statements that I have shared with many people who desire to be leaders, yet few of them actually discipline themselves to learn to read and apply it to their lives. It seems to me that the problem is not that they can’t read, (though I read recently that there are 7 million working aged Australians who are functionally illiterate) it is just that they have never learned to enjoy reading! The fact is, as parents we have the power to make reading fun, or to send a subliminal message that says it is just something that we have to do at school or work that is a necessary evil!
My observation is that we start sending that message very early in a child’s life, and long before they can really understand what we are reading to them. By the time they are two years old, we have already set the scene to teach them if this is business or pleasure on our part! If we enjoy reading, put ourselves into sharing that joy with our children, and take them on an exciting journey with us, they will grow to share that joy.
Obviously you will need to choose books that are age appropriate, but we found that as our children grew and younger siblings were added, that it was the fun of the exercise and the intimate sharing that became more important. The trick is to recognise when to revisit old favourites, and when to move on to new material, making sure that at least the majority are enjoying it. Your job as the reader is to make sure that the right balance is found.
So, if you want to be a leader and grow leaders, start by learning to enjoy reading, and then let that passion infect your children.
By Carolyn
 Is long distance traveling with small children in the car fun? Or is it challenging and tiring? Sometimes it is both! But as parents we can be proactive and, by our own example and attitude, can encourage our children to enjoy car journeys.
1. Always make room for toys in the car, which as they grow older can become a space for books. Make sure the choice is their choice and not yours, although you might need to make some helpful suggestions. Having a library bag on a string that hangs over the headrest of the seat in front, is a great way to limit the amount of toys and books they can bring and also a great way to keep the car tidy.
2. Car sound systems have come a long way, and having the ability to play songs which you can all sing along to and stories that you can all listen to can make the time go a lot faster. The availability of portable DVD players also helps here, but good to have a balance with other things to do as well.
3. Have a supply of drinks and munchies. If you don’t then you will be at the mercy of whatever is available at the next service centre – which may not necessarily be good for them or the rest of the family. The key is to plan ahead of time, choose items that are good, nutritious and not just full of sugar and preservatives. Make sure that drinks are adequately spaced so that toilet breaks line up with availability of amenities and fuel!
 Village of Wombat 4. Stop at anything that looks interesting! That includes funny looking sheep or cattle, lookouts and places with strange names – just to say that you have been there and taken a picture! Recently I reviewed one of a place called “Wombat”! Plan for an extended break every two hours, preferably with somewhere for the children to run around and have things to play on.
5. Spend time talking and looking at the map so that he children can see how far they have come (and maybe still have to go). Get some books so you can read about the history of the area and other points of interest.
6. Play games suitable for the car like I spy or Spotto. Make “Spotto” sheets up before you leave home, cover in plastic and you can wipe the marks off ready to use again. Ask “What’s happening?” “What is the name of the town we are in?” “What building can you see?” eg church, shops, police station. Encourage them to look out and notice things around them. Look at cars going past, can you make a word out of their number plate? For younger children, they may be looking for and counting “red” or “yellow” cars.
If you put these hints into practice and keep looking for new ways to be proactive, traveling will be more enjoyable for your children and the flow on is, you will too!
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Can’t find the right activities to do with your kids? Don’t know where to start looking? Then try this fantastic package. 
This fun filled pack is designed for children aged 4 to 13, including puzzles, games, puppets, printable activity sheets, crafts and cooking recipes, Christmas decorations and calendars, Dinosaur activities and games, plus many, many more. With over 750 A4 size activities to choose from, you will have heaps of things to do with your kids to keep them actively involved and learning new skills. A Word Of Caution This website contains some great crafts to do together with your children and toddlers. However, supervision is required as some of the activities include small parts and dangerous instruments eg scissors.
Our children's safety, both physical and emotional is of utmost importance. |
This is an usual star, a bit more decorative looking than one just cut out of cardboard. Using thin cardboard, cut out to a triangle shape and then fold as shown in the diagram.
Very simple for young children to make.
This is a very simple decoration, that your children will enjoy making.
To make your lovely string of Christmas trees just waiting to decorate your home, you will need:
This is a fun activity, as well as useful, creating your own bon bons. They can be made from paper, or material serviettes as I have used here. Look for useful toys or puzzles to add, something that people can fiddled with and be challenged by, during the day.
Making cardboard crafts as Christmas decorations is all about having fun together.
