Our Bible Table

When I started blogging 2 years ago, my world was suddenly opened up to the wonderful world of Waldorf and Godly play.  As a credential student (before our kids came along), I was always drawn to Montessori.  But Waldorf seemed to take Montessori into the forest, and I was in love!  Though we choose to not use a Waldorf curriculum for school, we use a lot of Waldorf type learning and play in our house.  We choose to use a Christian based curriculum (or our own Christian based path) for school, and that's where "Godly Play" comes in.  Though I've met LOTS of bloggers who embrace Waldorf, I've only met one who embraces Godly Play.  Emily has a wonderful blog and I'll leave it to her to describe Godly Play.  If you want to learn more about it, please check out her blog.  There's a tab at the top titled Godly Play.  But to me, in beginner terms, Godly Play is taking Waldorf type learning techniques and incorporating Biblical principles, lessons, and stories.  I admit I have not read the books Emily suggests.  But I have followed her blog closely for two years and am simply following her example.  I've wanted to make a Bible Table for 2 years........a place where the kids could dive into the Biblical lesson/story we are studying at the time by using simple toys and props to recreate and act out the story.  Finally, here's the beginning of our Bible Table!!!

 It's still a work in progress, but it's very usable!  This is in a little corner of our dinning room, which is where we do school.  I don't love this shelf, but it actually is very practical and fits the bill.  Today we started a study on the tower of Babel.  I read a book to the kids and as I did, I acted the story out with peg people (we call them "Bible men") and props.  The kids were TOTALLY enthralled.  After I was done, they had some time to gather around the table and recreate the story themselves.  And so, they learn God's Word through play.

The only thing on the table other than the props, is the book, so the kids can sit and look over it when they want to.

The books are all kept in the top left drawer.  I'm basing our Bible lessons right now off the Alice in Bibleland series.  We really like these books.  I like how they rhyme, and how they sum up the lesson learned at the end of the book.  The pictures are good too.  I'd eventually like to follow a yearly Biblical calendar like Emily does, but I am not educated in such an organized plan so in the meantime, we are diving in with this series.  In this drawer I also have a sweet devotional we like that revolves around animals, a childrens' Bible, and other random Bible related story books.

 In the top right drawer, is everything the kids will need to recreate these Bible stories.  Noah's ark, some city blocks for building temples (or today, the tower of Babel), some wooden trees, and other homemade props.  The box on the floor is for me only.  Its a file folder box full of craft and lesson ideas sorted by theme or Bible story.  On top of the box sits the kids' basket of "Bible men", ready for play.

 I only have one handmade prop so far....Jonah's whale.  Jonah looks a bit too happy.  :)  On the list to create is a double sided play mat with a desert scene on one side, and a lush valley scene on the other, similar to one Emily made for her boys.  I'll also need to add props such as a cross of course.  Play silks would finish off the prop needs as they could be turned into oceans, rivers, mountains, etc.

 The bottom two drawers hold our crafting supplies.

The craft supplies come in handy for making related art to display on the screen above the table.  Here's Logan's tower of Babel.  I also envision our verse of the week displayed on this screen and maybe Biblical maps, etc.

I hope you don't mind this lengthy tour of our new little nook.  Its been in my head for 2 years so its really fun to see it come to life and see the kids enjoy this little space within our school day.  Again, if you are interested in this interactive, simple play to reinforce Biblical principles, I REALLY encourage you to meet Emily on her blog.  You won't regret it.