Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Christmas Tangrams


We pulled out our really big tangram puzzle set, last night, to work through the Christmas story with.

First though, I had to replace a missing piece. Apparently Mr. Nobody ran away with it when the rest of us weren't looking. I'd be really annoyed with that guy, but he was such a good friend of mine when I was I child, I can never stay angry with him for long.

Anyway, I replaced the piece with the only poster board I had on hand, saved from a ladybug birthday party. It's a different color, but still Christmasy, so we decided it worked.

While Googling for Christmas tangram puzzles, I came across the entire Christmas story in tangrams, at logicville.com. We used some of the patterns suggested there, and then headed out to Google images for inspiration for others.

Below is what we came up with.

Our story started with an angel delivering the message...


...to Mary and Joseph, that Mary would give birth to the Son of God.


Late in the pregnancy, they had to travel to the crowded city of Bethlehem, to be counted in a census.


There Mary gave birth the Baby, Jesus, in a stable - the only place left to stay.


Nearby in the fields were shepherds, with their sheep.


An angel appeared to them, and told them the Good News about the Baby.


They hurried to the stable to worship Him...


...and then rushed out to share the news...


...you know, over the hills and everywhere...


...like in the song.


Sometime later, when the Child was a little older, there was a star...


...and wise men who followed it from the east...


...to bring gifts to the new King.


Today, we've added a lot of symbols to our celebrations, some pulled from pagan traditions, and transformed to help us remember the story, like the evergreen tree, to remind us of the eternal life that Baby brought...


...as a free gift from God.



And candles, that remind us that the Baby born in Bethlehem was the fulfillment of ancient promises.

Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.


And, having been given such a great gift in a dark world, we've been told -

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds, and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16


It's great to be a homeschooler.

Linked to Math Monday at Love2Learn2Day.

12 comments:

Christy Killoran said...

C will love this!

Cindy said...

Very cool. Hope you post on Math Monday! ;)
Cindy @ love2learn2day

Phyllis said...

So cute!

Hwee said...

Wow, this is so cleverly done!

Evenspor said...

I love it!

Room 214-Ms. Wenzel's Blog said...

AMAZING as the gift of Christmas and JESUS! WONDERFUL!

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

How neat is that!!! I am so pinning it. Thanks for sharing your tangram story.

Ticia said...

That is SO AWESOME!

I kind of like the single red square.

Desiree said...

I think I say WOW! (really, wow) for everything you post. You really do some neat things. This is so fun, and quite amazing.

MisterJeremy said...

These are great! I was doing tangrams with some students today. They will love to see this tomorrow.

Brittney said...

We're doing The Nativity this week...hopefully we can incorporate a few of these!

Brittney
www.moms-heart.blogspot.com

Cindy said...

That is beyond cool!! :) Thanks for sharing!
I am a new google follower! I found your link up at the love2learn2day "monday" blog hop :) Thanks for posting such great info! Cindy
http://vegetarianmamma.blogspot.com