Story Bag - The Lost Sheep

It's taken me awhile, but here are the details of the first story bag I have put together.

The contents of the 'Lost Sheep' story bag.

The contents are:

• A 'Lost Sheep' story book.
• A green bath mat (grass).
• Some little toy sheep.
• A bag of cotton balls (for all the other sheep).
• A toy shepherd.
• A toy fence.
• A couple of plastic trees.
• Happy and sad faces (to show how the shepherd feels at different stages in the story).
• Party blowers (to celebrate when the lost sheep is found).
• A large soft toy sheep (to hold, and later play a game with).
• Heart shaped stickers (to use at the end of the game).

I still need to add a couple of pebbles (because in our story book the shepherd climbs over rocks looking for the lost sheep) and a piece of blue fabric to make a little stream (that the shepherd takes the sheep to drink from). I'm also planning to make and laminate an activity card, and sew a drawstring bag to hold it all.

The game that we play with the soft toy sheep involves one person hiding the sheep somewhere in the house, then everyone else trying to find it. When the sheep is found, we all clap and cheer. After everyone has had a turn, we all receive a heart sticker to remind us that God loves us and is very happy when we come to Him.

We've done the story quite a few times now, and the children love it. Particularly Grace, who likes to act it all out in detail using the props. At the end, she loves to give out the stickers, declaring as she goes, "God loves Mummy", "God loves Charlotte" etc. I couldn't ask for more than that!

Story Bags

I've only recently discovered the concept of the story bag and how to use it for family worship.

A story bag (also known as a story sack) is a large cloth bag which typically contains a children's story book, plus various items that are associated with the story (like soft toys or puppets). These items help the children take part in telling the story, and use visual, tactile, auditory and other stimuli to make the experience memorable and enjoyable.

The standard contents of a story bag include:

• a copy of the story book
• models of characters and objects from the story
• activities or games relating to the story
• a CD or DVD of the story
• an activity card (listing ideas for how to use the bag)

I found a great website (the National Literacy Trust in the UK) which goes a step further by also including related non fiction books. They suggest activity cards include the following ideas:

• Talk about the story and the children's favourite bits
• Ask the children questions about the characters and the plot
• Retell the story using the models
• Find out more about the people and places in the story by looking at the non-fiction books
• Draw one of the characters or model one out of play dough

I don't plan to include non fiction books in my bags, because we can always read the story in the Bible. I think I'll also try to get a good quality Bible encyclopaedia with illustrations that would be suitable for the children.

I made our first story bag last week, and it was quite a hit. I'll share it with you in my next post.

The Three Amigos

After my recent retrospective posts, I thought I'd better show you what the girls actually look like now!

These photos were taken one morning last week, when everyone climbed into Lucinda's cot for a bit of a play together.

Lucinda loves being able to stand up with the big girls.

They're growing up fast!

Take Two

Grace didn't like her library bag.

Apparently she isn't fond of spots. And she had expected it to be pink and yellow.

Fail.

To be fair, we went to a Spotlight sale recently where all the fabric was 40% off. I said everyone could choose one fabric, and we'd get half a metre of each. I chose a floral print, Charlotte chose a monkey print, and Grace chose two solid colours (I relaxed the rules a little) - pink and yellow. So I think she'd expected me to use those fabrics.

Friday afternoon I unpicked the first library bag (I figured I might as well use the fabric in something else, and I wasn't completely happy with how I'd sewn the opening for the drawstring), and on Sunday night I had another go.

Here is take two:

A pink and yellow library bag (on a very busy tablecloth!).

This time I googled how to make a drawstring bag, and found some great simple instructions here. I used double sided interfacing to iron on the yellow stripes, and again hand stitched around them with a simple running stitch.

Unfortunately I didn't have any pink thread, and the white thread highlights the problems I'm still having with my sewing machine:

The sewing machine has tension problems that can't be rectified.

But I don't think Grace notices, with the drawstring pulled it isn't too obvious, and well .... I don't have much choice!

I'm pleased to report that Grace happily took this bag to kindy with her yesterday. So take two is a success!

A Library Bag for Grace

I found out last week that we needed to supply Grace with a library bag for kindy. A drawstring bag was the recommended style.

I had a quick look around the shops, but didn't see anything suitable. I wasn't trying too hard though, as the thought had already occurred to me that this might be a great sewing opportunity. I didn't even look online!

During a break at work today I popped in to Lincraft and purchased half a metre of kid's furnishing fabric and a metre of cord. This is what I turned it into tonight:

The finished library bag.

I didn't follow a pattern, but just cut a length of fabric, folded it in half (right sides together) and sewed side seams, then turned the top over and sewed the pouch for the drawstring cord.

Do you think it is colourful enough?

I attached a large pink spot on one side to make the design a little bit more interesting, then added a running stitch around the edge by hand. Looking at it now, I should have made the spot bigger. I'll have to remember that for next time!

I toyed with the idea of adding Grace's name to really personalise the bag, but I figured it was fairly unique already!

Detail of the decorative spot.

I'm rather pleased with how the bag turned out. And even more pleased by the fact it only cost me about $7.50. Definitely cheaper than anything I would have found online!

Our Weekend in Echuca Moama - Part 2

One of the highlights of our weekend away was a trip on a paddlesteamer. We chose the PS Canberra - primarily because we could get the pram on board! I was interested to see that she actually celebrated 100 years this last weekend.

The PS Canberra coming in ready for us to board.

Here are a few photos taken during our one hour cruise:

PS Emmylou chugging past.

Paddlesteamers tied up at the wharf.

An iconic scene.

The historic Echuca wharf.

Neil and Lucinda relaxing on board.

Each of the girls was given a turn at the wheel, and received a certificate to prove it!

Captain Charlotte (with help from Mum).

The weather was very hot and sunny, so enjoying an icecream was high up on the agenda.

The epitome of happiness!

The other thing we couldn't miss was the traditional evening drive to see the Christmas lights. This giant Santa was just off the road leading to our accommodation, and the girls were fascinated by it.

There was no missing this Santa!

As Christmas approaches again (believe it or not, the supermarket already has fruit mince pies for sale!) it's nice to look back on what we did last year. Perhaps we should make it a family tradition!

Our Weekend in Echuca Moama - Part 1

[This post is about 7 months old, and for some reason missed out on being uploaded. But I thought the pictures make it worth sharing even if it is late!]

Two facts you may not know:

1. My husband is quite clever sometimes.
2. Going away the weekend before Christmas has a lot of advantages.

No, I wasn't quite organised enough to have done all the shopping, so I did spend quite a bit of Christmas Eve buying last minute presents and groceries. But the holiday park we stayed at was quiet, and we could enjoy all the facilities with ease. For us, it was a great time to go away.

On our first evening, we bought some take away pizza and had a picnic by a billabong in Echuca. The girls had a lot of fun running around and expending the energy they had accumulated while sitting in the car.

Our 'perfect pizza picnic'!

Charlotte and Grace having fun chasing each other.

Two beautiful faces.

We stayed in a cabin at the Moama on Murray Resort for three nights, and found the facilities were perfect for a young family.

There was an animal nursery, where we could feed the animals each morning.

Grace feeding the chickens.

Beatrice the pig.

Rambo the sheep.

Squiggles, the indoor play centre on site, proved to be the biggest hit with our family.

Lucinda exploring the ball pit.

Grace.

Charlotte.

Lucinda playing with Daddy in the baby's area.

We also loved the lagoon style swimming pool, with a large shallow area for toddlers to paddle in, and shade sails to keep the fierce sun at bay.

Enjoying the affection of my three little girls.

A great pool for toddlers.

Daddy and Lucinda chilling out.

There are so many photos to share, I'll need to use another post to tell you about all the sights we saw around town.

Our Sixth Wedding Anniversary

Over the next few weeks you're likely to read quite a few posts about events that occurred sometime in the last six months. I've got a lot to catch up on!

On the 27th May, Neil and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. While this day was special, the day before was even more so, as it marked ten years since our first date. We got a babysitter to mind the girls, and went out to dinner at Shakahari vegetarian restaurant in Carlton (the scene of our first dinner together).

Our anniversary fell on a Monday, which meant Neil and I were both at work, and the girls were at their early learning centre. We had told Grace about our anniversary, so during the day she decided to draw a picture for us.

Here it is:

Daddy and Mummy holding hands, with two birds flying in the sky above them.

It is so exciting to have seen her progress from scribbles to drawing recognisable figures. And it was lovely to receive such a personal gift.

We've been through a lot in the last six years. Good and bad. There are things in our relationship that we still need to work on. It's not all perfect. But I look at our family and feel very, very blessed.

As Neil commented the other day, "We're coming up to seven years married, but I'm not feeling itchy."

Neither am I.