4Real Forums: Advent ideas for older kids. . .

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Topic: Advent ideas for older kids. . .

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Barb.b
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Posted: Nov 27 2009 at 5:01pm \| IP Logged

I thought a separate thread for advent ideas for kids 12 and up would be useful. What are your plans to make advent meaningful to this age group (I have a 12 and 17 year old) My 6 year old - thats easy; I would like to have ideas for the older ones. . .

Thanks for sharing.

Barb

ekbell
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Posted: Nov 27 2009 at 6:41pm \| IP Logged

Asking your older children what they want to do to prepare for Christmas might be a good start.

Ideas for them to consider

The older my children grow the more they become involved in our parish pre-christmas events. [From personal experience there's nothing quite like intensive practice for something such as singing at Midnight mass for bringing home the sense of preparation and anticipation]

They are becoming old enough to join you in whatever advent activities you do (even if it's mostly cleaning house and doing things with the children). I've been trying to pick a new book of Advent Meditations each year and I could see enjoying reading them with an older child or teen.

Such things as Jesse tree readings are truly multi-age; I even did them by myself as a university student. If your older children are crafty or artistic they could make ornaments for the readings if they wished. [I did a fair amount of handiwork as a teen, including a number of christmas ornaments made during advent].

My mother gave each of us a binder with Advent and Christmas songs and I've added to it during my teenage and adult years; prayers, more songs, Jesse tree readings and symbols...

Other then that I'd be inclined to do practical things with my older children.

Such things as baking for Christmas, cleaning house, collecting items for the food bank, putting together Christmas gift items for the local charities (which reminds me we need to put together our St. Vincent de Paul package). Making up a layette for the local crisis pregnancy centre or doing something for homeless families are particularly meaningful activities during Advent.

One of my brothers built a stable for the nativity set one year.

Erin
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Posted: Nov 27 2009 at 7:56pm \| IP Logged

I have set my two teenagers, dd16, dd14 the task of writing a Christmas play for the family to perform before extended family members this year.

And as ekbell says, they are more involved in co-hosting Advent for the family. I have suggested to my dd16 if she would like to research Advent traditions and choose one to add to our family celbrations she is more than welcome.

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KackyK
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Posted: Nov 27 2009 at 8:36pm \| IP Logged

My tweens (well one is a teen now!) love writing a script for a family play. It's performed on Christmas Eve after dinner before bed. We started this a couple of years ago when it got to be too much to do the Christmas play at church with the practices and changing our Mass times and such. Each year my oldest dd chooses a different play/story to do. Last year she wrote out the Christmas Carol. This year they want to go funny and do the Grinch.

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Bookswithtea
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Posted: Nov 28 2009 at 3:17pm \| IP Logged

My 16 yr old is going to make the family's Christ Candle this year. My almost 13 yr old is going to help me with helping younger ones participate, as well as painting letters for the mantle and helping to decorate an Advent wreath for above the mantle.

I've pulled them both aside to enlist their help by showing enthusiasm for the few changes we've made to follow the liturgical calendar a bit better this year.

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Zeliemum
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Posted: Nov 30 2009 at 4:00pm \| IP Logged

My 14 yo dd has been doing a lot of the design of our crafts. She put together our Advent wreath; she has been designing numbers and stars for our Advent line and laminating them, also she put together the Jesse tree.
Not sure about my 13 ds will get him to do some of the activities from this book,
Saints and Feast Days - a Resource and Activities Book by The Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon Ohio. It has some great ideas for all ages; for example:
To make on the feast of St Andrew a relief map of the Holy land. They have to locate Bethsaida on a map. Do a study of the three geographical areas of Galilee, Samaria and Judea. This is just one of the activities out of five to choose from for the day.
It is an awesome resource I highly recommend it.

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