By Dee Fuerst and Susan Yutzey, Sunday Journey’s Co-Superintendents
I love sharing the stories of Godly Play with our North
children. My favorite part of the program is how our
children creatively reflect on the story using the
materials that we provide. One of their favorite choices
is retelling the story, especially if it includes the
sandbox. The sandbox represents a piece of the desert
in the Godly Play stories. This small piece of the desert
is needed because “so many of the stories take place
in the desert.” Our storytelling describes the desert as a
dangerous place with very little food or water. We
show the children how it changes with the wind and
causes people to lose their way. As our children retell
the story, they move the sand around and often bury
the wooden figures and other elements of the story. They will describe how these figures become
lost in the dangerous desert. They have wondered about the colors of the sand and what it would
be like to have pink sand or blue sand. Questions arise about the rivers going through the desert
and how some parts can grow food with the water and some parts remain dry and dangerous. Ask
our North children to tell you about our little piece of the desert by starting with “I wonder…”
I wonder about the desert in your classroom?
I wonder what you think of the piece of the desert?
I wonder what happens in the desert?