This learning set is an act-out educational resource made out of soft fleece. It teaches the Great Feasts ofthe Meeting of our Lord and the Annunciation of the Theotokos in a hands-on, Orthodox-focused way, helping the children better understand the relevant stories and theology.

The finished set consists of:
– Ten learning pieces.
– A background mat

Bonus Activities available for download (a jigsaw puzzle, word puzzle, play dough mat, board game.)

Acting out the scenes of the Feasts, the children will have the chance to get familiar with the stories, become exposed to the symbolism of the icons, and internalize the following concepts and facts:

• The Meeting of our Lord proclaims Him as the Savior and points to our continuous communion with Him through the Holy Eucharist.

• On the Feast of the Annunciation, we celebrate the divine initiative of God Who took on flesh from the Theotokos for our salvation. We also celebrate the Theotokos’ consent: she freely accepted the vocation offered to her, as should we in our own lives.

Making your own learning set is a very easy DIY project. The preparation mostly involves cutting the pieces, all the instructions are printed on the fabric, and, depending on your preference, there is very little or no sewing required.

Find instructions and more here: https://orthodoxpebbles.com/meeting-annunciation-set/

UPDATE 2024 - Felt instead of fleece!

Dear friends,
In 2024, we were able to change the material of these sets to better match our original idea, which was to create a teaching resource similar to the felt sets of our youth. The fabric sets are now made out of FELT instead of fleece. This has some advantages, but may also need some modifications in the way the set is prepared and used.

Felt is stiffer, which allows for much sturdier pieces. This is advantageous, as they can be easily moved around without losing their shape. It also helps with cutting - you can cut out the pieces with great precision without the need for fabric scissors, as was the case with fleece - any kind of sharp scissors works well.

On the downside, felt is a little less sticky. You can remedy this by scrubbing the front of the mat and the back of the pieces well, using a scouring pad (stainless steel works best, the one that looks like a bird's nest). This will significantly increase the stickiness. However, felt will still be less sticky than what the fleece used to be. Working with the set horizontally on a flat surface works best. If you want to use it upright, it is best to place it at an angle so the pieces have a smaller chance to fall off.

Finally, you will receive the felt set as a roll of felt fabric. To flatten it, roll it a few times in the opposite direction, then iron it on the reverse side, using the setting for synthetics. Do the same if it loses its shape when stored for a long time.

We hope you will get to enjoy your fabric set for many years!