April 30, 2020

Boredom Busting Stories for Your Family Part 3

The Twins at Sunshine Cove

Set in an Australian coastal town named Sunshine Cove: population 1000 except in the summer when it swells to 3000.  Twins Jesse and Erin spend school holidays with their Grandma. Grandma manages the local post office and sometimes Jesse and Erin help out.  The seaside town is a place of adventure with the fish market and wharf to visit and caves to explore.  And Grandma tells them amazing Bible stories about the life of Daniel.

The Twins at Sunshine Cove is a series of six frame narratives, and one short story.  A frame narrative uses a story within a story, in this case a Bible story within a story, so children can understand Biblical truths and apply them to their lives.  The Bible stories are taken from the first six chapters in the book of Daniel.  They make wonderful family devotions.  The bonus story, Mystery of the Captain in the Lighthouse, teaches children about being a shining light for Jesus.

You’ll find the six chapters and a bonus short story, with accompanying illustrations by Nic Taylor, here:  https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/the-twins-at-sunshine-cove/

Crafts and Activities:

After reading a story why not try some these craft and activity ideas?

  • Use the black and white illustrations as colouring sheets or make a book
  • Investigate soldier crabs
  • Do you have a shell collection? Can you identify every shell?
  • Crafts with shells: make your own necklace or mobile
  • Make sandwiches to take on a picnic (and maybe some carrot sticks!)
  • Make your own place mats
  • Fish crafts: there’s lots of thing you can use to make fish!
  • Make and play a fishing game with a magnet on the fishing line and paper clips on the fish
  • Make a card and post it to someone
  • Does someone in the family have a stamp collection? Look at the stamps and the countries they’re from
  • Make a treasure map and have a treasure hunt
  • Make your own postcard

This series of stories is one of my favourites because of my love of the east coast of Australia.  And Daniel is such an amazing man of God.  Could I operate a Post Office?  Oh well, I can share the stories with my grand daughters.  I pray this series is a blessing to your family as it is to mine.  God bless you!

Deborah Wassenberg

Cooee Kid’s Ministry