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The Tale of Three Trees

Tale of Three Trees Lapbook Templates (24 pages total)

Bible

Easter Story
Read the Easter story from the Bible.   You may want to read from one gospel each day for four days.
Matthew 27:55-28:10
Mark 15:40-16:14
Luke 23:47-24:35
John 19:38-20:21
~Complete Easter Story Layer Book

God's Plans
Discuss with your children what they want to be when they grow up?   Do they know that God has special plans for them?  What were the dreams that the trees dreamed?   What was the master plan for each tree?  Read and discuss Jeremiah 29:11.  You may even want to make it a memory verse for the week. Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

~Jeremiah 29:11 to your verse mini-book, if desired

Hope
The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. Abraham was also given a dream that he almost gave up on.  God promised him a son and even though he tried on his own, God was faithful and did a miracle.  Read and discuss Genesis 17:1-21, Genesis 18:1-14,  and Genesis 21:1-7.

How we keep the dream in our hearts is through faith and hope in God. Abraham is an example of this (see Romans 4:16-21). He had faith in God (God does not lie). He chose to believe God despite what Abraham could see and understand (Sarah was old and she had never had a child before) “in hope against hope he (Abraham) believed. There are two kinds of hope-- godly and worldly. Godly hope trusts God no matter what and trusts God’s word.  Worldly hope looks at things naturally based on one's own reasoning and what one can see and hear.

~Complete What Keeps Hope Alive? mini-book
~Add Hebrews 11:1 to your verse mini-book, if desired

Treasure (1st Tree)
Discuss treasure with your children.  What do they think of as valuable?  What does the Bible say about things of value on the earth?  Read Matthew 6:19-21 together and discuss.  "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth..." What are worldly treasures? What are treasures in heaven? What does it mean "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

~Complete Treasure Matchbook
~Add Matthew 6:19-21 to your verse mini-book, if desired

Jesus Calms the Sea (2nd Tree)
Read Matthew 8:23-27 together and discuss. 
~Complete Jesus Has Authority Shutterfold
~You may use the image on page six to make a mini-book of the Bible story, if desired

God Works ALL Things Together
The first tree wanted to hold treasure, but instead he was made into a manger.  How was his dream fulfilled?  He held the greatest treasure ever- baby Jesus!  The second tree wanted to be a strong sailing ship and carry kings, but he was a smelly fishing boat instead.  How was his dream fulfilled?  One day he carried the King of Kings!  The third tree wanted to grow tall and point to God.  Instead she was cut down and made into lumber (wood used to build with).  The tree felt ugly, harsh, and cruel.  But was this tree beyond the reach of it's Maker?  How was her dream fulfilled?  She was made into a cross that held Jesus and pointed people to God.
~Complete T-books and The Tree Felt Ugly Book

You can use this story to explain Romans 8:28 with your student.  Read it together.  Sometimes God's good isn't what we would want or expect.  Sometimes God's good is very difficult, but it is BEST. 
~Add Romans 8:28  to your verse tab mini-book

God's Love
At the end of the story, the book says that God's love did something for each tree.  Can your student remember what?  Discuss this in light of Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11. 
~Complete large matchbook

God's love can change everything including humans!   Discuss the Easter story and how Jesus didn’t deserve to die, but He did so we can be forgiven of our sin (Romans 3:23).    Jesus was without sin, but He obeyed His Father and gave up His life.  How much of our lives does God want?  Our WHOLE lives!   Read and discuss Matthew 16:34,  "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."  Discuss what it means to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Jesus. 
~Add verses to your verse tab mini-book, as desired
~Complete God's Love Side by Side

Science

The word conifer comes from the Latin words conus (cone) and ferre (to bear). The word literally means cone bearing.   Coniferous trees have needle-like or scale-like leaves.  Unlike deciduous trees they don’t lose their leaves in the fall or winter.  Evergreens also produce pine cones (not fruit or flowers).  Some needles are very soft to the touch others are prickly and pokey. 

Deciduous trees are trees that lose their leaves.  An example would be a maple tree.

By leaf
Are they thin and pokey-needles or are they broad and flat to soak up the sun?

Broad leaves have more of a surface so they can gather more sunlight. A tree with flat, wide leaves also loses a lot of water because of evaporation. There are other trees that have needle-like or scale-like leaves. We often just say that they have needles.  They are long and thin. Trees with needles need less water because this shape slows down the evaporation of water so the tree doesn't lose as much. Trees with needles can grow in areas that other trees can't, but they still need just the right amount of sunlight for the tree to produce food. Conifers grow in a triangle shape so that more of the tree needs can be exposed to the sun.

Social Studies

Occupations~ People and Places

Carpenter
Discuss what a carpenter is-- a skilled worker who makes, finishes, and repairs wooden objects and structures. A carpenter (builder) is a skilled craftsman who performs carpentry - a wide range of woodworking that includes constructing buildings, furniture, and other objects out of wood. The work generally involves significant manual labor and work outdoors.   You may want to mention that Joseph, Jesus’ earthly Father, was a carpenter.

Woodcutter
A woodcutter cuts down trees and chops wood as a job. A lumberjack or logger is a man who harvests lumber. The term lumberjack is somewhat old, having been mostly replaced by logger. When lumberjack is used, it usually refers to a logger from an earlier time before the use of chainsaws, and other modern logging equipment.

Lumber yard
A lumber yard is a place to sell lumber and wood related products used in construction and home improvement projects.

Language Arts

Vocabulary- Manger
The first tree was fashioned into a manger for animals. Did you know that the word "manger" probably comes from the French word "manger" which means to eat?

~Complete manger simple fold

Extras

~Get a woodworking (carpenter) project for the kids to complete or take to a Home Depot or Lowe's Kid Clinic to complete a wood-making project
~Paint a wooden cross to put in the house to remind you of the Easter story
~Printables- http://msssbible.com/newtestament/crucifixion.htm
~Resurrection Lapbook

~Give your child a Resurrection Basket

1. Palm leaf for Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
2. Animal Crackers for the unleavened bread of the Passover Feast.
3. Chocolate coins for the pieces of silver Judas accepted to betray Jesus.  (You could also substitute with 30 silver pieces-- 30 nickels)
4. Lollipop sticks for the nails in His hands and feet. (upside down in basket)
5. Grape juice for the blood he shed. (single serving boxes)
6. Sponge for the vinegar-soaked sponge Jesus drank from.
7. Cross to represent the cross Christ died on.
8. Black cloth for the darkness that covered the Earth at His death.
9. Bath product such as bubble bath and washcloth for the perfumed shroud in which Christ was buried.
10. Hollow chocolate eggs for the empty tomb on Easter morning.
11. Green grass for the new life we have in Jesus.
12. Fluffy marshmallow candy for the cloud into which Jesus ascended.

~ Bake Resurrection Rolls  
Read Matthew 27:57-61
These are fun rolls to make with your child and serve a dual purpose. Not only are you cooking together, but you are also teaching a Bible lesson.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

1. Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
2. Give each child a marshmallow and tell them it represents Jesus who died on the cross for us.
3. Have them dip it in melted butter to represent the oils they anointed Jesus with.
4. Roll it in sugar and cinnamon to represent the spices they used.
5. Then wrap the marshmallow in a crescent roll just like they used the fine linen cloths.}
6. Put the wrapped Jesus in the tomb (oven at 350 degrees) for 3
days (12-15 minutes). When the rolls are cool enough, the children can
look inside and see that Jesus is not there – He is risen! (The marshmallow melts and the roll is puffed up, but empty). Do not undercook, as the rolls will sink and not be hollow.
7. Now read Matthew 28: 5-8 (see the Bible lesson for more scriptures to read)