Friday, April 13, 2012

Icon Family Tree

We just made our "sample" family icon tree and it was great fun for my 2 year old to help with! First we printed out the tree design and colored it, then we trimmed and added our icons of the Patron Saints for each member of the family. We cut the icons out of old catalogs and calendars we had. An icon of Christ was centered in the trunk of the tree, as we added the words of Christ in Greek - "I am the true vine + Ye are the branches" below. We had a little too much fun with the glue and glitter, then mounted it on construction paper, with two holes and string at the top. It hangs as a sort of a tapestry in our home. If you'd like, you could also write at the top "God bless the _______ Family."
For us, it has been a joy for our children to learn who they are named after. We have the habit of asking our kids, "Who has the name from Agios Vasilios? Who has the name from Panagia? From Saint Helen, and Saint Stefanos"

We hope our tree will continue to grow out and spiritually upward!