Autumn Fingerprint Tree Craft
Made by 8yo Princess
2010
Seasons of the Soul
The changing of the seasons remind me of the seasons of the soul and our Christian journey.
I'm sure there are some really great writings about this somewhere!
I was inspired by these vivid paintings that two of my children made so I wrote this little poem...
Brilliantly, leaves change color right before they fall, signaling Christ's blazing love, one last time.
Then they are finished and go back into the dust.
But they will come again...
Until then we are left with bare trees, colder temperatures, and darker days.
It is time to hunker down and examen our own nakedness and sin.
A time to root out all that does not lead us to God.
I'm sure there are some really great writings about this somewhere!
I was inspired by these vivid paintings that two of my children made so I wrote this little poem...
Brilliantly, leaves change color right before they fall, signaling Christ's blazing love, one last time.
Then they are finished and go back into the dust.
But they will come again...
Until then we are left with bare trees, colder temperatures, and darker days.
It is time to hunker down and examen our own nakedness and sin.
A time to root out all that does not lead us to God.
We may suffer through the dimness but we have hope in the light.
Springtime is ahead, like the hope of heaven.
We need only to wait patiently and keep the faith,
For the promise of new life.
The resurrection illuminates the seasons of our soul.
If you haven't seen this CUTE Autumn craft floating around the internet, you can find it at Kaboose. We used it as a nature unit but also thought it would make a great craft for studying Creation and the Garden of Eden (Tree of Life).
Princess and her handprint/fingerprint tree, followed by 6yo Superboy and his tree...
Springtime is ahead, like the hope of heaven.
We need only to wait patiently and keep the faith,
For the promise of new life.
The resurrection illuminates the seasons of our soul.
If you haven't seen this CUTE Autumn craft floating around the internet, you can find it at Kaboose. We used it as a nature unit but also thought it would make a great craft for studying Creation and the Garden of Eden (Tree of Life).
Princess and her handprint/fingerprint tree, followed by 6yo Superboy and his tree...
Another close-up photo of Superboy's prints
1st Grade
And here they are together...
These books were good supplements to our study:
Even though this is an Easter Story, you can't help but love it year-round. I just love that line about how the third tree "knew that God's love had changed everything!"
I just love this author for detailed learning about lots of subjects. We check out her stuff from our local library.
I am always looking for the sacred significance all around us so this Catholic Symbols site has a very interesting list of plants and trees with their Christian symbolism!
St. Joemaria Escriva also inspired my writing today...
"Anything that does not lead you to God is a hindrance. Root it out and throw it far from you."
"You, if you are an apostle, will not have to die. You will move to a new house: that is all."
"So you have failed? You cannot fail. You have not failed: you have gained experience. Forward!"
"Love Our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace for you to help you conquer in your daily struggle. And the enemy will gain nothing by those foul things that continually seem to boil and rise within you, seeking to swallow up in their perfumed corruption the high ideals, the sublime determination that Christ Himself has set in your heart."
"Anything that does not lead you to God is a hindrance. Root it out and throw it far from you."
"You, if you are an apostle, will not have to die. You will move to a new house: that is all."
"So you have failed? You cannot fail. You have not failed: you have gained experience. Forward!"
"Love Our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace for you to help you conquer in your daily struggle. And the enemy will gain nothing by those foul things that continually seem to boil and rise within you, seeking to swallow up in their perfumed corruption the high ideals, the sublime determination that Christ Himself has set in your heart."
God Bless your souls during this change of seasons...
I love this, Tiffany! The trees turned out beautifully! I'll have to fit in this craft with my kiddos. We did something similar last year with apple trees.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
My son, Joe, did a seasons of the tree project in school when he was young. It turned out so great that I still have the four pictures of the tree framed and in my bedroom.
ReplyDeleteI recently read "The Way" and found it to be very hopeful, but how quickly I forget those wise words! "You have not failed, you have gained experience. Forward!" Rooting out hindrances is hopeful too, when we suffer loss, it's only a step closer to God!
Thanks for this post!
I've not heard of that craft before, and it's great. we will definitely try it here. My daughter loves to get her hands (and arms) full of gooey stuff so she will enjoy making that hand (and wrist) print for the tree and then the fingerpainting afterward. I loved your analogy of the growing of our souls' love for God and the changing of the seasons. and I always so love the quotes you find and share with me. I especially love the two about being an apostle means you don't diebut merely move to another house -- the House of Our Lord! and the one about failure, because failure is present in our lives, and it helps to hear that we can still live holy lives although we sometimes have failure. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea:)
ReplyDeletethat is beautiful!! Congratulations to the young artists!!
ReplyDeleteTiffany, re your question, you can just google "Catholic saints images." I also googled a particular saint by name as well if I was looking for a particular one.
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem! I'm kind of a lurker on your blog, I found it one day blog-hopping! I love your ideas and love of the Lord. I just wanted to pop in to tell you how much I enjoy your inspirations!
ReplyDelete