Southern Cross Ornament

Materials

• Large “wide mouth” canning jar lids, 1 per child
• Silver tinsel chenille stems, 1 per child
• Constellation Circle Pattern
• Dark blue cardstock, 1 sheet for every 6 children
• Bow Pattern
• Red cardstock, 1 sheet for every 32 children
• Constellation Label Pattern
• Gray cardstock, 1 sheet for every 90 children
• Glue dots, 2 per child
• Thin (24 gauge) silver wire, 3-in. per child

Tools and Basic Supplies

• Craft glue
• Scissors
• Silver metallic markers
• Straight edges (rulers)
• 4d common nails
• Corrugated cardboard
• Wire cutter

Pre-Prep

1. Print the Constellation Circle Pattern onto dark blue cardstock, then quick cut the circles, one per child. The kids will do the finish cutting.
2. Print the Bow Pattern onto red cardstock, then quick cut the bows, one per child. The kids will do the finish cutting.
3. Print the Constellation Label Pattern onto gray cardstock, then quick cut the labels, one per child. The kids will do the finish cutting.
4. Use a wire cutter to cut the silver wire into 3-inch lengths, one per child.
5. Prepare a few 4-inch squares of corrugated cardboard for each table.

Teaching Tie-In

Show the sample craft and say:

Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen a constellation—a group of stars that form a shape? Can you think of any constellations? Big Dipper, Little Dipper, etc. Some of the constellations seen in the southern hemisphere are different or more visible than those seen in the northern hemisphere. The Southern Cross is one such constellation. You can easily see it at any time of the year if you live in Australia. It actually resembles a cross in the sky! Isn’t that cool?

Today, we talked about Jesus dying on a cross and coming back to life, which is called the resurrection. Let’s say our memory verse together. Do so—John 11:25. Jesus calls himself “the life” here. What do you think that means? Take responses. We know he’s given us physical life, but he also gives eternal life with God. You can receive this gift of eternal life if you repent of your sins and trust that Jesus is your Savior from sin. This is the most important thing you can ever do. At any time, please let us know if you have any questions about becoming a follower of Jesus.

Now, let’s enjoy making this Christmas ornament to remind us that Jesus came to earth as a baby, died on a cross, and rose from the dead to offer us eternal life.

Class Time Directions

1. Use scissors to cut out the dark blue circle.
2. Take a silver metallic marker and a straight edge and draw over the black lines so they’re more visible.
3. Place your circle on top of a piece of corrugated cardboard. Then take a nail and punch holes where the 5 dots are.
4. Add a bead of craft glue to the inside rim of the canning jar lid. Then press the dark blue circle into the glue, face down.
5. While you’re waiting for the glue to set a little, cut out the red bow and the gray label.
6. Make a loop in the silver wire by wrapping it closely around a marker or pencil several times. Slide the wire off to make one thick loop.
7. Wrap the silver tinsel stem around the outside of the canning jar lid and twist the ends together twice.
8. Thread the wire loop onto one of the ends of the silver tinsel stem, then twist the ends together a few more times to secure the loop.
9. Adjust the position of the tinsel stem so that the wire loop is directly above the top of the cross.
10. Attach the red bow to the rim of the canning jar lid with a glue dot, directly above the cross.
11. Attach the gray label to the rim of the canning jar lid with a glue dot, directly below the cross.

Tip Corner

• Choose between version 1 and version 2 of this craft, depending on the age of your students.
• When putting this on a Christmas tree, position a light behind it (but not touching it) so it shines through.