Jerusalem

After years of procrastination, I finally tackled the topographical map of Jerusalem. It isn't meant to be a perfect replica, rather to convey the sense that Jerusalem had an upper and lower city, waterways, and important locations in the life of our Lord. The prior model was a plain wooden board that contained the outlines for the wooden models of the buildings and walls, as seen in the upper photo. It was a magnet, especially for little boys, who treated it as a puzzle. In the atrium, materials are to invite meditation not to elicit a particular skill, so I knew I had work to do. The children were instantly drawn to our new work, and have really displayed a surprising gentleness.

Today, I was fascinated by an almost four year old who very meticulously placed the various pieces from the relief map to the mute map. She talked to herself the entire time, and clearly knew the name of each piece and what it represented. We give many of the presentations to the children individually, and for the past few weeks she's stopped by to observe for a few minutes when I was giving the presentation to others, but never chose to have it presented herself. Clearly she took it all in in her own time. Another reminder that there is only one true Teacher in the atrium :-)

For more information on this work, you can check out the parent resources at the national association.