Tropical Tree

Materials

• Ocean Base Pattern
• Brown chenille stems, 4 per child
• Green chenille stems, 4 per child
• 12-mm wood beads, 3 per child
• Air-dry clay, 1.75-oz. per child
• Blue card stock, 1 sheet per 2 children
• Mini seashells, 5–6 per child
• Plastic wrap, amount varies
• Zippered baggies, 1 per child

Tools and Basic Supplies

• Office paper cutter
• Scissors

Pre-Prep

1. Cut green chenille stems in half.
2. Photocopy the Ocean Base Pattern onto blue card stock, then cut out one per child.
3. Divide clay into 1.75-oz. pieces for each child. Then wrap them with cling wrap and place in air-tight zippered baggies.

Teaching Tie-In

Show the sample craft and say:

Today's craft is a tropical tree to remind us of Mystery Island. I like this craft because I like Mystery Island, but my favorite part is the Bible verse. The Bible is my favorite thing on earth. It's so special to me, and it's the place to go to learn about the great and mighty God of the universe.

Let's say our verse together that we'll put on our tree. Do so. It says, "Great is the Lord." What do you think is great about God? Take answers. Here's something I think is great about God. Share your thought.

It also says his greatness is unsearchable. What do you think that means? Take answers. The Bible tells us his ways are so high and above our ways, we can't even know them all. But we can trust God, because he is perfect and can't do anything bad—ever. That's something to praise him for!

Now let's dive into making our tropical tree.

Class Time Directions

1. Lay the eight short green chenille stems perpendicular across the middle of the four brown chenille stems.
2. Bend the four brown stems in half over the 8 short green stems.
3. Slide a wood bead onto three of the brown stems so they are evenly spaced from each other. Then push the beads up to the bend just below the short green stems.
4. Take hold of the brown stems just below the short green stems, then twist and twist all the way down to within about 3/4 inch of the bottom. Spread out the bottom of the brown stems to resemble tree roots.
5. Bend each of the short green stems to resemble tree branches.
6. Form a short (4 inches), thick “snake” out of the clump of clay. Then, position the tree on top of the ocean baseand wrap the clay “snake” around the base of the tree on top of the “roots.” Mold the clay so it covers the base of the tree and forms a small island.
7. Press some mini seashells into the clay.

Tip Corner

Light tan pony beads can be substituted for wood beads.