Dear Reader,
We had a pretty neat opportunity this week! Our community hosted a live nativity. They found sheep and camels and goats and a donkey, got a sound system, and read from Luke 2. Behind the “Stable” that was in the park shelter, there was a whole little “village,” set up! They had a blacksmith, a basket weaver, a wood shop, a bakery (with pastries and hot chocolate) a ropemaker, and a tent with baby lambs and a bunny to pet.
The blacksmith let everyone make a square nail into a ring (we didn’t do that one because by the time we got there, the line was long. The basket weaver told us about a shepherd’s sling and how it was made. Then we talked about the story of David and Goliath. the ropemaker’s building had a twine making machine and we watched them make rope for a minute or two before moving on to pet the tiny little lambs and hold the bunny. At the woodshop, we made little ornaments for our tree. It’s really just a stamp on a circle of wood, but I absolutely love them.
And then it was time for the live nativity to start! We got into place and watched and heard the story of Jesus’ birth. By then my kids were pretty cold, but they still loved when the camels came in. And we were pretty close to the host of angels, so my kids liked that. I love the spirit that the story of Christ’s birth gives to the season.
If your community has a live nativity this season, I highly recommend taking your kiddos to it. Especially the preschool-aged kiddos because that’s when the story really gets real. Preschoolers thrive off of live-action things that they can see and hear and use their senses for.
