the great family

We have been a bit delayed in our Godly Play series on Wednesday evenings for a number of reasons.  It takes time that I don't always have to get the materials ready and in place.  To do the lessons really well, I also need to practice telling the stories with the materials once or twice.  We took Halloween off to distribute candy and hospitality to nearly 300 children in our community.  I told the story of the flood last week with no materials at all - that was an interesting experience.  The children were quite rapt, and clearly using their imaginations as I sketched and gestured out the story with my hands. 

Last night we got into the Desert Box, which is of course a draw.  Anytime sand is involved, young ones tend to be very curious.  Last night was no exception.

This first year we do Godly Play at church, I'm doing everything on the cheap.  I'm making as much as I possibly can from what we already have around, and trying not to buy all the spendy handcrafted materials available online.  Besides, I don't usually have it together enough to know what I need to order online for it to arrive in time! 

The story of the Great Family is that of Sarai and Abram's wanderings in the desert, as God led them from Ur to Haran to Hebron, with stops to build altars at Shechem and Bethel.  The stones are the altars, and the pegs represent the figure in the story.  As God leads them along, they are also being led from polytheism to monotheism.  This moment is from near the end of the story, after Sarah's death when Abraham sends his emissary back to Haran to find a wife (Rebekah) for his son Isaac.  The figure leaving Haran is Rebekah, while Isaac and Abraham stand at Hebron waiting for her. 

The kids loved the story, and when I asked where they saw themselves in it, they said in the baby Isaac or in the wedding. 

Then we pulled out our work (the little paints and the clay continue to be most popular), and finally had our feast of bananas, oatmeal cookies and water.  A splendid evening.