When I started teaching this class, I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to just go through a regular book with these girls...I wanted to teach them to think outside of the box. That's when it hit me. Maybe I can think outside of the box by having the girls think about what's inside a box. That's where it all started...
Everyday we touch hundreds, if not thousands of things. That's not even counting all of the people we come in contact with each day. What about a week's worth of time? How about a year? A lifetime? Do any of the things catch our eye?
It's been said we live in a material world, so I decided to use some of these "materials" to teach my girls class at church about Jesus and the Bible. So far, it's been eye opening for me, and a fun challenge for my girls to guess what's in the box each week, and guess how that item shows us Jesus's love and law.
Almost every week there is a new object in the box (some items take two weeks to discuss.) We pass the box around, and the girls shake it trying to guess what is inside...sometimes shaking a little too hard. They have began to ask regularly "Is it breakable?" before they shake violently. Their guesses are always unique. One of my girls started guessing "toe nail clippers" every week, just hoping I would put them in the box. Sometimes they guess correctly, but more often, they are complete wrong. That's what makes it magical. They are trying to guess about something they can't see or touch...just shaking around in a medium sized gift box trying to use their senses to guess what class will be about each night...and that's what makes it so fun. After the item is passes around, and all have had a chance to guess, one person removes the lid of the box and shows what is inside. The girls began coming up with phrases like "Clipping your toes to Heaven" or "Trimming your nails for Christ" once the item is revealed (for the toenail clippers.)
Everything in the box can be turned into a biblical lesson...I just have to figure out how to relate it. Finding what to put in the box is the fun part for me. Sometimes its something that catches my eye, sometimes its something that relates to something I want to teach about. Sometimes its something I find under the seat of my Jeep when I clean out the papers and trash. Each item is different, and each item can show the girls a different way to relate things we see each and every day to the teachings of Jesus.
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