Look at this! A blog for the Trees Class. How fancy!

To start our new year off, we have been constructing a tree garden in the Trees Class block area. The idea started with making a Christmas tree, but it quickly grew into a full-fledged forest of a wide variety of trees protected by a beautiful garden wall with outer and inner gates.

Our Tree Garden after the first day of building. Still a little wobbly!

When we were in the planning stage, one child was certain that it was too hard to make trees out of blocks. He was quickly impressed by everyone’s ideas of how that very thing might be done and then he was eager to contribute. At first things were a bit wobbly, but ideas about how to strengthen structures while keeping them beautiful sprang up as quickly as the garden seemed to.

By the end of Tuesday's work period, the garden was quite an impressive sight. No two trees have the same construction -- straight pieces, curves, even triangles were used to construct the roots, trunks and branches of the trees.  Colored blocks and paper were used to adorn the trees with leaves, as well as a pond and stream “to keep the garden wet and the trees growing big, big BIG”. This is our first venture into multimedia work in the blocks area and we are excited to see where this merging of materials might take us.

Jesus and his protectors in the Garden.

Finally on Thursday, the whole cast of the Nativity moved from the worship basket into the garden and took part in a dramatic story where angels were fighting off bad guys to protect the baby Jesus. Sheep, shepherds and wise men were to be found among the roots and branches, all working with the angels to protect the Holy Family. When I asked the children why Jesus and his family were up in a tree, the reply was, “Because a garden is a good place for Jesus!”

Prophetic story telling is alive and well in the Trees Class blocks area...

See you next week!