Reply to "CONSTRUCTION/BUILDING/LEGO Workshop Lessons and Ideas for Joshua / Jericho"

Lego Building Blocks Idea

We used lego building blocks to build the city of Jericho.

March 2006: We just finished our Joshua: INto the Promised Land Rotation -- I'll get it posted at some point, but I do have to mention one very different activity we did. I brought in my son's big tub of lego blocks and let the kids have at it. It was amazing to see what they came up with all on their own. We left it set up for the remainder of the rotation and the kids worked on it before class and while waiting for parents to arrive. I've been wanting to use legos for a workshop for awhile and it was a great success! Jaymie

Here is a brief description of the activity and some pictures of our kids in action and the completed project:

Supplies:

Lego building blocks in variety of sizes
Card table or other small table, (or have children build the city on a board so it can be moved easily)
Pictures of the city – from old teaching pictures, downloaded from the internet, etc.

Directions:

Our kids' Bibles (Adventure Bibles) have great notes and pictures, including a note about the city of Jericho. We read the note and talked about how walled cities provided protection for the city and its inhabitants.
Show pictures of walled cities to them.
Set out the container of Lego building blocks.
Instruct the children to build the city of Jericho using the blocks.
Encourage them to work together. Remember, the walls were very thick – so thick that houses were built between the inner and outer walls.
Children can also include other components of the story -- the Israelites, Rahab and the red cord, the priests.

As children were building, we discussed some of the questions below with them:

Why did the Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years? (because they had disobeyed God and were afraid to enter the Promised Land the first time)
What is the Promised Land? (the land that God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses they would have)
What made Joshua a good leader? (his military experience, his great faith)
What are some of the similarities between Moses and Joshua? (parting of water, holy ground, sending the spies, Passover celebration)
What did the Israelites do after they crossed the River Jordan? (made a memorial from 12 stones)
Why 12 stones? (12 tribes of Israel)
What unusual battle plan did Joshua receive? (march around the city, blow trumpets, shout)
What did the Ark of the Covenant symbolize to the Israelites? (God’s presence)
What do you think the Israelites shouted before the walls fell?
Do you think the walls would have fallen if they had not obeyed God’s instructions?
Joshua was a great military leader. What do you think he thought about God’s battle plan?
Have you ever been asked to do something that seemed silly or pointless but turned out to be a good thing?
Are we as Christians, asked to do some things that don’t make sense to the rest of the world?
Has anyone ever made fun of you for doing what you thought was right? How did you feel? What did you do?
Why did Jericho have walls? (to protect the people who lived inside from outsiders and their enemies)
What kind of walls do people build around themselves?
Words and music (the blowing of the trumpets) made the walls of Jericho fall down. What kinds of words and music can help people take down their walls?
What instructions does God give us to follow today? (10 commandments, love God, love neighbor)
How do we know what God’s instructions are? (read Bible, listen at church)
Have you ever been tempted to make up your own rules? What happened?
What did God tell Joshua to do in order to be successful? (be strong and brave, obey God’s laws, read and study God’s word)
Later on we know that the Israelites did not obey God – they began worshiping idols and turned away from the one, true God who had brought them safely into the Promised Land. What helps us follow God closely? What can tempt us to turn away?