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How long to stick with it?
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We are doing Ann Voskamp’s Jesse Tree. While I like it, I don’t think my kids are loving the devotionals. They seem a bit deep philosophically for them. My children are 8 and 5 1/2. DD8 can listen a little more than DS5, but I think it is really a bit over their heads. One option is to read it ahead of time and explain it more on their level, or another idea is to just drop it and do something else.
I have heard great things about Truth in the Tinsel and had thought about using it next year since DS2 will be 3 and will be able to participate more. DD loves crafty things, but I don’t know if she will have outgrown it by next year, and I think she would enjoy the crafts this year for sure. However, does a crafty/artsy person ever really outgrow any type of craft?
I am just not sure how to move forward. In a way I would like to stick out the Jesse Tree, but I don’t want to lose the kids’ attention b/c they don’t understand it.
We did Jesse Tree Last year. I agree that her style isn’t great for most kids. That being said, I did stick it out for the entire study because I really loved the idea of it. I used her devos as a guide and just tweeked them enough to interest my kids and get the concept across.
Best of luck!
We have been using the Jesse Tree ornaments from Voskamp with the devotionals from
They are short, sweet, and to the point. My three year old is even picking up quite a bit of it.
We are using the ornaments from the Ann Voskamp devotional with ONLY the Scripture reading. We are skipping the devotional, as I didn’t really feel they were appropriate for our kids either. (They are 7, 4.5, and 2.5). We start by using all the previous ornaments to string together the story “In the beginning, God made the whole world perfect and good..then Adam and Eve sinned and everything was ruined. By the time of Noah, things were so bad…you get the idea.) Then, we look at the picture on the new ornament, guessing what it might be about, and then read the Scripture passage from the Bible (I wrote the reference on the back of each one so I didn’t have to print the whole thing). Then after that, they explain what the picture had to do with the story (narrating if you will). I might very briefly explain how this points to Jesus coming (like 1 sentence). But that’s it. It’s working very well for us. Simple too! We like it that way. =)
Jen
Another idea too – for doing a Jesse Tree with young children, which I did last year, is the read the corresponding story for each Jesse Tree symbol from the Jesus Storybook Bible, if you happen to have a copy of it handy. That already has written into the story how each of the OT characters/stories points forward to Jesus.
Jen
I agree. We had a hard time w/ it last year. Enjoyed it, but had to tweak it. We’re not using it this year, have had a late start for various reasons, and are just going to have to do something else. We may do it next year or Jotham’s Journey as it will have been 2 years since we read that.
I would tweak it..if you drop it you may not have time to catch up in any reading from other books (most are pretty long) or just read simpler picture books.
OR, do what potpourri suggested and start where you left off in the other, but then you have to figure out shipping/purchasing that book.
I’m in a mess myself here, too, as we have been sick and are really getting a late start to anything we are going to do.
We do a Jesse Tree every year (the ornaments are our only decorations on our very small Christmas tree) and our kids LOVE it. We don’t follow Ann’s devotional; we just have a scripture reference for each ornament. We all help tell the story and it’s significance, always bringing the meaning back to Jesus. Keep it simple and it may become a meaningful tradition!
Actually, I love the idea of keeping it very simple…it might actually get completed!! I think I’m stealing the ideas from beloved, and the others, to just read the scriptures and be done with it. Not to take away from what was put into the devotionals, but it’s the scriptures I would prefer to have read to my dc, especially when time is tight. The scriptures are of most importance anyway.
Good questions and equally good responses!
You know, it’s kind of funny about devotionals (in general – not just for Advent). I’m kind of particular about them in the first place, and even when I find something I *think* I like, we never end up finishing them – always end up kind of disenchanted after we get into them. The thing we come back to over and over again is just reading the scripture too (or a well-written Bible story book for my little ones). I was kind of worried about just reading the verses and not having a guide or devotional of some sort to go with it for our Advent this year…but it has been turning out so well for us this year. I didn’t *plan* it this way, but every night we’ve started by using the symbols to recount the story up to that point which has been really, really cool. Simple is best…I agree.
Jen
This is why I gave away my women’s devotional Bible. The devotions were distracting me from the real thing.
We’ve done her Jesse Tree devotional for the past two years. We’re not doing it this year. My boys loved the ornaments but not the devotional part. I so appreciate what she does but, honestly, her writing style is not enjoyable for me. I’m glad to see the other options. We may try them next year along with the ornaments.
Thanks for everyone’s input! We already started late b/c I thought it started on Dec. 1 and then discovered there were 27 ornaments, plus we have missed a couple of days due to busy evenings, so we will have to double up some to finish them all by Christmas. Last night I chose to take your advice, particularly from MamaSnow, and discuss the ornament then read the Scripture, followed by a discussion of how the Scripture reading pertained to the coming of Christ. This worked out much more smoothly, and the children were much more involved in discussion.
I am glad to know that we are not the only ones who didn’t love the devotionals. I wanted to, but I do think part of it is her writing style. However, her ornaments are very nice printables and inexpensive to put together.
Thanks so much!
Thank you all for the ideas. We started on time but for the past week I have had a horrible cold and been unable to contine. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed also. I love the idea of just using the ornaments and scriptures. Beloved, that is exactly what I wanted to do. Make it a tradition to do with my granddaughter each year.
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