In 1943, Lewis began a pivotal change in his teaching career which resulted in the publication of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1950.
In a series of 1943 lectures we now know as The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis argues that children must be taught “just sentiments” or the ability to respond to situations or things in a properly ordered way.
Lewis believed children needed to be trained “to feel pleasure, liking, disgust, and hatred at those things which really are pleasant, likable, disgusting, and hateful.”
While developing this argument, Lewis realized something very specific–that STORIES are the key to instilling “just” or rightly ordered sentiments in children.
While philosophy (and theology) are important, stories have a way of capturing the imagination of children like nothing else.
As I was reflecting on Lewis’ lectures, I realized: This is WHY we do the Jesse Tree.
The Jesse Tree is not just a story that we get through to GET to Jesus.
Rather than TELLING children that Jesus is the fulfillment of the foretold Messiah, we can SHOW them through the stories of the Old Testament.
The story of Salvation History will present your children with the prefigurement of Jesus, the Mass, Our Lady, and so much more. Walking through the Old Testament will open your child’s mind through God’s incredible storytelling to how well He prepared the way for Jesus.
This Advent give your children the blessing of the Jesse Tree as you prepare for Christmas.
Oh, can I offer one more insight from Charlotte Mason?
Another of my educational heroes, Charlotte Mason, wrote:
“We are apt to believe that children cannot be interested in the Bible unless its pages be watered down — turned into the slipshod English we prefer to offer them. . . The Old Testament should be read to the children...it is a mistake to use paraphrases of the text.”
There are many resources for the Jesse Tree, but can I encourage you to read the actual Scripture for each Jesse Tree ornament?
If you are intimidated by reading the Old Testament, our Jesse Tree videos use the real Scripture. You can watch these videos for free when you sign up for Advent Adventure.
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Dear Holy Heroes,
We love the Jesse Tree and have the tradition of this practice each year. As a catechist and Religion teacher, my students have also discovered the Jesse Tree and have enjoyed this activity in the classroom. One year we short of space and we put the ornaments on the wall in the shape of a tree. It was a lovely way to still live the Jesse tree without the classroom space for a tree. Thank you for encouraging this great tradition in the Church!
We love that idea–so a couple years ago we created just the thing: a hang-up poster with places to put the Jesse Tree ornaments. (Link is here!) We also have a DVD of all the Scripture (by kids for kids) and this year are offering it also as a streaming service–available soon!–because school’s asked us for it! (Link to our Jesse Tree resources is here!)