Homeschooling

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Sunday, 14 November 2010

The Nativity Gifts

Have you ever read the nativity story and had you kids ask "what is myrrh and frankincense"? Well I have. Almost every year. I will be honest I have never seen myrrh or frankincense and could only look them up on the computer and give the technical answer. You know the Wikipedia answer that says basically "myrrh and frankincense is actually the resin found on certain trees in the middle east". At which point my kids give me a blank stare and we move on.

Well, this weekend while cruising a market I found and bought some myrrh and frankincense. I was so excited even if I bought the poorest quality according to the vendor. But I don't care because this year I will be ready to whip out my examples and show the kid what myrrh and frankincense are. The kids will be able to see it, feel it and even smell them. I will be attempting to try to burn them on an incense tray as suggested by the vendor. I was told by the vendor that myrrh smells like burnt rubber, so we see how it goes.




Frankincense







myrrh










side by side so you can see the color difference.






Once home I started to research more on the computer so that I am really prepared to give the kids a good answer when we read the nativity story this year, which we always do at Christmas. Why did the wise men bring Jesus these 3 things? Well the meaning of Gold represents royalty, Frankincense represents divinity, and Myrrh represents his future death. Myrrh was used during the Roman times during funerals as incense. I found out so much more and am excited to share with my children.

I am ready this year and the kids are at an age that they should really get it and I am excited to be making it part of our Christmas.

I am thankful to be able to educate my children at home, with my husband's support and love.
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18 comments:

  1. asliceofsmithlife14 November 2010 at 21:40

    Love it Anna-Marie! Thanks for the Nativity lesson! I'm so glad you were able to find these since these 2 gifts from the Magi are hard to understand and find!
    I'll have to show my kids this post too :)
    Clicked a vote for you today!
    Hope you are having a blessed Sunday!

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  2. asliceofsmithlife15 November 2010 at 10:26

    Hi Anna-Marie!
    I clicked a vote for you! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment and your vote :)

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  3. Anonymous15 November 2010 at 22:27

    Adding a little depth to the Christmas story as your children get older is a wonderful thing to do. Keep up the good work :-)

    ~Ron

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  4. Pam16 November 2010 at 11:05

    Thank you so much for this information! I have been looking for "a little more depth" to add to our Christmas lessons. This will be so good. Last year we did a Jessie Tree, so this will go along with that.
    Thanks, Pam

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  5. asliceofsmithlife16 November 2010 at 11:53

    Hi Anna-Marie!
    Clicked a vote for you today! Have a great Tuesday!

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  6. Lizzie16 November 2010 at 12:52

    How wonderful to have those ready to bring out at the right time. I love when we can pull off stuff like that. Stopped by from Hip Homeschool Hop to say hi.

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  7. The Adventurer16 November 2010 at 14:57

    Thanks Tracy for stopping by and always voting:) I am sending you some in the mail:).

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  8. The Adventurer16 November 2010 at 14:58

    Thanks Ron, I do my best to add a little something every year to keep the kiddos on their toes!

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  9. The Adventurer16 November 2010 at 14:58

    Hi Pam and Lizzie
    thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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  10. Anonymous16 November 2010 at 20:45

    I'm following from Hip Homeschool Hop. It's great that you will actually be able to show myrrh and frankincense to your kids. This is a great idea!

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  11. Cheryl Pitt17 November 2010 at 03:56

    Oh wow, Ive never seen frankincense or myrrh, very cool. I remember reading the symbolism of those three gifts and it blew my mind!

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  12. The Adventurer17 November 2010 at 09:05

    Hi Marissa,
    Thanks for following and commenting. I will be looking at your blog very soon

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  13. The Adventurer17 November 2010 at 09:05

    Hi Cheryl,
    Yes it was so exciting to find these gems, because I had always been curious. They are tucked away in a safe place and I can't wait to pull them out in Dec:).

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  14. Maureensk17 November 2010 at 19:47

    So what type of store sells myrrh and frankincense? I would love to add some to Little Miss' sensory tub for December!

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  15. The Adventurer18 November 2010 at 11:58

    HI Melissa thanks for stopping by hope you will come back and follow:)

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  16. The Adventurer18 November 2010 at 12:00

    Maureen,
    I have no idea where in the states to find this, until this weekend I never seen them before. I found them at an re-enactment fair at the medicine man stall. Maybe check out a new age store? Sorry I can't be more helpful if I find it again I may have to buy some and offer it as a give away as it seems to be generating lots of interest!!!

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  17. Sparklee19 November 2010 at 20:48

    How interesting--I don't think I've ever seen frankincense or myrrh either. Are the little pieces sticky? Do they have a strong scent before you burn them? I hope the myrrh doesn't really smell like burnt rubber!

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  18. The Adventurer20 November 2010 at 16:45

    Hi Sparklee,
    No they are not sticky just hard like little pebbles. Scent is not very strong to me it has a woody smell to them. We are going to try to burn them next month so I will post if it really does smell like burnt rubber.

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