More Thoughts About Advent

Learn about the Basic Idea for the Stone Soup Advent Calendar
Add to the Advent Brainstorm.

Having brainstormed with people here and talking to people around about, here's my current thinking about what I want to create within Stone Soup, for this advent calendar:

The basic calendar will look like 24 different numbered Christmas balls against an evergreen background.  Rebecca and maybe other Kluempens are painting balls (circles) that we will scan into the computer. Each day a new ball will be open.  I think that each opened ball will have 4 different buttons that you can click to do different things.

1) Every day will have a new piece for a creche set that you can arrange in whatever way you like.  I'm going to take pictures of a friend's beautiful and large nativity set for this purpose.  People who want to save their arrangement will probably have to download the nativity set to their computer, but I think I can make it so that they only get the pieces that match the days.

2)  Some sort of story or explanation for them to listen to.  A piece of the Bible story, explanation of the words of a Christmas carol, explanation of a memory verse.  I want to keep this short.  I hope to have pictures to go along.  I will probably start this out as a Powerpoint presentation and then record it in Camtasia.

3)  A fun game/quiz to see if you were listening to the story. If it was talk about a Christmas carol, this piece would be a video of the carol, so that they could learn to sing along.   If it was an explanation of a memory verse, this might be a game to help learn the verse.

4) Something fun and different.  Might be a challenge some days.  Might be something educational like a map with ways to learn about how Christmas is celebrated around the world.  Might be just a picture game.  Decorate the wise men's robes.  Put together a crown for King Jesus.  Drag and drop pictures?

We are still at the brainstorming phase:  Anyone have ideas for specifics for this?

Brainstorming divisions of stories, etc.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept it

The next big project for Stone Soup (right now that's just me, but I'm trusting it will not be just me for long)
is going to be an electronic Advent Calendar.  In case anyone is wondering, that means we have a lot to do before December 1, though not all of the pieces need to be firmly in place when it starts.  Ultimately, I'd like it to be available as an app for various mobile devices, but probably for this year it will be a page on Miss Becky's Bible Blog.  Each day, I want there to be something different to do.  Some days might be just listening to a Christmas Carol or a part of the story (told with pictures).  Some days will be games.  I want the games all to be Christmas themed in some way, and as we think of them, we need to think about ways that they would work with both a touch screen and a computer.  Maybe (probably) this year the calendar will not be on touch screen devices, but by next year, I'd like to have an honest-to-goodness app that people can buy (for a dollar or two?) and put on their mobile devices.  It won't have to be totally different from this year's, but we might freshen things up and use what is best from this year, and try some new things.

So here's the first thing that we need.  I need some help brainstorming to create a long list of things related to Christmas (and winter).  They don't have to be particularly religious, but for this purpose, I want to stay away from things like Santa Claus.  So, snowflakes--yes, elves--no.  I think I'm going to put the brainstorming on a separate page.  Put your responses in the comments, and I'll add them to the list.

Click on the wreath to go to the Advent Brainstorm:

SOME NOTES ON HOW STONE SOUP IS GOING TO WORK:

Eventually, there will be a private page that is just for members of the group and their parents.  (It is important for the purpose of internet safety that parents be permitted to see what their children are doing on the internet.)  We'll still have this public page to invite new members in, but our real work will be secret until we are ready to put it on display.  With no members yet, I'm not quite ready to do that.

I am envisioning something of a point system eventually, where you might earn points by contributing to projects.  I want to keep track a little bit of who is contributing at what level.  For now, it's just so you can feel good about yourself.  Later, it may be for earning real things, like the right to take courses (paid for by Windmill Songs Publications) that would help you do things for Stone Soup.  It may also be for the right to take on certain assignments.  If we know that you have contributed successfully in the past, it will be easier to put you on a team, or put you in charge of a team to create something in the future.

For now, whether you want to be part of Stone Soup or not, feel free to make additions to the Advent brainstorm.  And earn a point for each new suggestion you make (i.e. one that someone else hasn't made yet.)