In Psalm 58, David asks God to make the wicked like snails that melt away as they go along!
Memory Verse: "May they [the wicked] be like snails that dissolve into slime" Psalm 58:8a
Materials needed to create the Snail quiet book page:
- A4 felt background sheet. I used sky blue.
- felt scraps
- rik rak
- sheer printed organza or other colourful sheer material
- embroidered flower motifs or other hide-able object
- glass stone or marble, button, bead etc
- sewing threads to match
- this snail colouring page from Coloring Pages for Kids (and a printer)
On your background sheet, arrange some green felt in the foreground to make grass and sew down.
Cut out a double layer of the same green felt in the shape of a bush. Sew the two bush pieces back to back. Then sew them down along the right top edge of the grass, ensuring you leave enough room to fit the snail along the rest of the grass.
Fold back the bush and sew/iron on your motif underneath.
Print and cut out your snail colouring page and use as a template. If you need a more detailed explanation, you could read how I used a colouring page as a template in my post on Jacob's Ladder.
Cut out the snail body and sew down, then add the eye pieces on top.
Measure how much rik rak you need by laying it over the snail outline. Cut a little extra to tuck underneath at each end. Melt the ends with a match so they don't fray.
Lay your organza or sheer fabric over the area where the snail shell will be. Pin your rik rak down in a spiral pattern over the top and slip in a glass stone or other item underneath the organza. Make sure there is enough room to move the stone around while it is still pinned. That way you can adjust it before sewing if needed. I started from the outside edge and went in towards the middle, then turned around a stitched all the way back out again. That will help to make it tough and be able to withstand being played with. Then trim the organza back.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate
The tricky part is lining up the rik rak. Also, make sure you cut out the snail shape after sewing it down and not before - I had to re-do it as I missed catching a section and there was a hole that the glass stone kept slipping out of.
This is Tahlia with her three pages of sewing on paper that we did after finishing the snail. She often sits on my lap while I sew and has been dying to test out the fancy stitches on the machine that I never use. So I let her.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
- Psalm 58 - This page tells about how ultimately the wicked will be like the snail - they will melt away and dissolve into slime!
- Imaginative Play - Garden play perhaps, imagine how big everything is when you are as small as a snail
- Button/stone/marble maze - push the stone around the track
- Shapes - learn all about spirals
- Peek-a-boo - lift the flap to reveal the (half) hidden flowers
- Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
- Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Read the Chapter
Psalm 58
Devotional
All too often, those in authority use their power to take advantage of others. Sometimes they are scary and they scare people into obedience. Sometimes they seem too difficult to stand up to. I guess David knew how that felt. The king of Israel was supposed to be looking after God's sheep, but instead he was hunting one of them down to try to kill him. David.
In a way this verse reminds me of the story of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz story. She seems formidable until a simple bucket of water causes her great concern and she cries "I'm melting!" as she dissolves into nothing.
I guess my point is that the bucket of water is like a tiny bit of good or a tiny bit of faith. God and goodness are infinitely stronger than evil. In fact, wickedness is self-destructive. It cannot prevail against goodness.
This point was taken to heart by Desmond Tutu in his opposition to apartheid in South Africa. He knew he was on the winning side, because goodness always prevails in the end. Although living in a very volatile situation, he led his country to a war-less end to systematic racial discrimination and segregation, and advocated reconciliation through forgiveness. The country underwent a transition to democracy, and apartheid rule that had lasted over forty years was broken. It melted away because of goodness.
David had experience with that too. Everyone else could only see a giant problem when they looked at Goliath. But David knew that a little stone in the hands of faith could melt that problem. He trusted God to deal with his problems. Our problems might look insurmountable to us, but when you know how good and powerful God is, suddenly you have a way to dissolve them. Just ask Him.
“Good is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death. Victory is ours, through him who loves us.” Desmond Tutu.
What would you like dissolved? Take it to the LORD in prayer and don't give up until He answers.
