Our Cradle Classroom

Door Before          Door After

A door inside the room, before:

After:

Another door inside the room, before:

After:

Our Preschool Hallway. Not sure if it can be heard in the video but we have the sounds of the jungle that comes through a speaker hidden in the ceiling.

The Preschool hallway is made to be interactive in a couple of ways. All along the wall are birds that sing when squeezed.

These are mounted high enough so that adults can reach up and detach them and hand to children. Each bird is attached to the wall using velcro.

Moderator adds:  if you are looking for these singing birds do an online search for "Audubon Plush Birds".

Also at both ends of the hall are small books that have laminated pictures of many things located in the hall- birds, animals, flowers, bugs,  etc.  The children are given these books along with a flashlight to find these items. It becomes quite a contest among them! ( The book and flashlight are circled in blue.)

We also found "forest" film that could be inserted into the fluorescent light panel to give the appearance of looking up through the canopy of a forest. (No, that's not a skylight. But it looks like one!)

Amazing work, Ms. Stroud!

Thank you - but as Paul in the Bible had helpers such as Barnabas and Silas I was merely the helper to a wonderful , talented woman at our church - who after retirement set herself to recreating our Education Hallways.  I excel in following directions!

This wall lead into our preschool if you turned the corner. The song fit perfectly with the overall theme. The scroll is simply a sheet of pink insulation foam for home improvement story. Primed and painted and then a hot iron sculpting tool was used to add edging, details and wording.

The stacked stone at the bottom is also the pink ( or blue) insulation sheeting. It also was cut and sculpted with the hot iron tool . Was primed and painted also and adhered to the was with liquid nails.

Creation 3-D Mural details, Goodwood Church of Christ

I finally had the privilege today of meeting JoHannah Stroud in person and touring the Goodwood Church of Christ Education Hall! Also there for the tour was Terry McClure, the talented volunteer who did much of the painting. You can read their rotation story here: A "Sunday School Makeover" Story" from Goodwood Church of Christ.

Please note that my photos do not do justice for the amazing 3-dimensional wonder that is their Bible timeline. JoHannah included some comments in the posts above about materials that they used, and I will try to add a few more. But if you have any questions, please reach out to @JStroud - she is very willing to share her excitement about their programming as well as their space transformation with other churches.

Their children's wing is in two sections. The one end of the hallway is dedicated to the Workshop Rotation classrooms. But first you enter at the beginning - the nursery and preschool classroom end of the hallway is an immersion in the Genesis creation story experience. JoHannah has posted some pictures above, and also a video that lets you experience the soundtrack as well as get a feel for the space. Here are a few pictures I took showing some of the three-dimensionality of the space:

Close-up tree texture. A carpet roll was the round form and spray foam is the bark texture. The foam was painted and then decorated with moss and silk leaves.

Looking from the young children end of the hallway with the creation mural down to the rotation model hallway with the rest of the Bible timeline - Old Testament stories on the right, starting with Noah. The double doors at the end of the hallway have a sign noting that "God's voice EXITed for 400 years" (pictured below) and the New Testament stories are on the right side of the hallway, starting with the birth of Jesus by the double doors and the ending with the Epistles.

Many of the stuffed animals are velcroed to the wall so parents can let their children touch and hold them (also note that the stuffed animals are all high enough that the children can not pull them down themselves). Throughout the mural, there are textural elements that invite touch!

Adam and Eve detail. Initially, Terry (the volunteer artist) painted all of the figures. As the mural developed, she realized she could save time by making copies of pictures from Bibles as well as flannelboard figures and mod-podging them to the wall. Notice how storage doors are incorporated into the mural and disappear.

Note booklet on a ring hanging from the 3-D tree: this contains pictures that families can look at as a guide to exploring the mural as they search for the pictured item.

Preschool classroom

JoHannah shared photos and video of their lovely nursery (cradle roll room) above. But before we move on to the rotation hallway workshops, I want to share some pictures of the preschool classroom and some of the creative techniques that were used there.

Murals on the walls inside the preschool room continue the scenic view of God's beautiful creation.

Note how the mural seamlessly incorporates the door. JoHannah is pointing to the birds on the tree (detail in picture below).

These beautiful three-dimensional birds are painted pistachio shells glued to the wall!

One wall is painted with empty landscape scenery and is textured so that flannelboard figures can be used on it to tell the Bible story.

One more picture of the inviting nursery and toddler room with such welcoming motifs and animal artworks.

Youth classroom mural with handprints of graduates

I took one picture in the youth room, because this is such a great idea for a program: when students graduate from high school, they add their handprints as "leaves" on the tree mural, along with their name and the date. What a wonderful thing to return to your home church and see! (This is just a small section of the branches; I neglected to take a picture of the full tree.)

Bible timeline mural in rotation workshop hallway

As noted above, the mural starts at the little kid end of the hallway with Creation. Every Bible story that Goodwood Church of Christ covers in their workshops is included in this hallway, and the lessons include finding the corresponding artwork on the wall.  (Their scope/sequence is a six year journey through the Bible, with three years in the Old Testament, two years spent studying the life of Jesus, and one year on Acts and the Epistles.)

Here are some pictures that give you a taste of this massive three-dimensional work of art. (I wish I had thought to take a video to give you a true tour.....)

The mural begins with Noah (you can see a corner of creation across the hall). Note the scroll on the wall at the beginning of the mural, to give the feel that the whole mural is a continuous scroll (there are "fragments" dispersed throughout the mural). This is Noah on the stormy sea - it is very big and makes you feel very small. Note also Bible verses stenciled on the wall for each story!

Small figures are copies of flannelboard figures, modge-podged onto the wall where the scenery was painted. Scripture for each story in the sequence is stenciled onto the wall.

They found stencils/molds for tree texture and used drywall mud to build up the texture and then painted it. Holes were poked in the wall to stick in the palm branches to make the trees even more three-dimensional.

Goliath. My photo does not fully show how he is so tall they had to take the tiles out of the ceiling so he could stand up straight (you can sort of see at the top of the picture how that area has been boxed in and painted)! He is made in very touchable textured layers, and is on a door to storage that rolls on a track. The children like to have their pictures taken with him.

I love how the EXIT sign became part of the inter-Testamental period reminder. (These doors lead to the gym, otherwise known as BOB - the Building Out Back!)

Angels all the way to the ceiling really give you a feel for how big a heavenly host might have been. (These angels are photocopied from a picture Bible.)

Scenes for stories from Jesus' birth narrative. Note how the door is incorporated into the mural (this is an unused door, as a wall was taken down to turn two classrooms into one art workshop).

This section of the mural is dedicated to Jesus' miracles. There is a similar section on the wall with a group of pictures related to the parables (at the right edge of the picture you can partially see an explanation of what a parable is).

The window Eutychus fell out of when he fell asleep during a long sermon. The drama class for this story began at a bloody crime scene below this "window!"  Talk about bringing the Bible to life! Note also proof that the pastor at this church has a good sense of humor: it says on the wall "And you thought our pastor was long-winded!!"   (Acts 20:7-12)

Great three-dimensional mural for Paul is shipwrecked! There is also a map on the wall showing Paul's journeys.

Basket at end of wall is filled with scrolls representing the Epistles. Turn the corner and you find Acts 1:8b reminding the students that the story continues with us: "Jesus said, '...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'" (Pink graphic girl on the wall is restroom door. It is a short hall perpendicular to the timeline mural, so it does not clash.)

Drama Workshop and drama storage area

If you know me, you know this was my favorite part of the tour! I would LOVE to do some creative drama teaching in a space like this! It is SO inspiring!! Terry, the mural artist, is also the drama teacher, so her classroom is also a work of art!

This large space (which was once two classrooms - the Education Hall Makeover included taking down some walls to combine two smaller classrooms for a bigger space), has three separate sections - two areas for acting out stories and a hidden area behind the curtain for storage of props, costumes, backdrops, scripts, and more! Again, my photos do not do this space justice.

One side of the drama room is this cozy interior, currently set with a table for the banquet for retelling the story of when Joseph entertained his brothers in Egypt. Bags of "grain" are stacked in the lower left corner in the picture. Walls are painted on dropcloths that have been sewn together. Note how the wall with the fireplace seems to glow - that is because there is a light turned on in the area behind that painted tarp wall. See behind the curtain below.

Pull back the tarp wall, and look! A whole big behind the scenes (literally) storage space that is just as amazing as the workshop itself!

Years of collecting costumes and supplies for VBS and other programs led to a good collection even before they began Workshop Rotation Model 6+ years ago.

Inside the costume closet doors: pictures to inspire the students about how to wear and accessorize their costumes.

All the backdrops have been photographed and numbered and stored in numbered boxes. (Many backdrops are from VBS, years ago. Proof that you never should throw anything away. Tell my husband, please. )

The numbered boxes storing the rolled-up backdrops.

Props for feasts and banquets. So many things that can be used to retell so many Bible stories.

Old Sunday school maps are still useful for teaching Bible stories.

Handy storage for books with scripts and other drama activities. I see a few of my favorites!

Okay, this picture is almost the same as the first one, but I really love this space! Terry painted the scenery on tarps while they were hanging.

Another corner of the cozy drama space. Change up the props and this stone wall can be a prison or the Temple or a palace or so many other things in addition to a house. But sometimes you need outdoor spaces - turn around --- there is a whole 'nother section of the drama workshop!

Another section of the drama workshop! Note tent in  right corner behind JoHannah that can be moved around room. There are murals on the wall, and pipes for hanging other scenery (remember those backdrops in the storage space).

Note pictures around the classroom. These are scenes from Joseph's life, and the drama moved around the space for different "scenes" in his story. Terry is about to show me what is behind another curtain wall.

This classroom has been Terry's classroom for many many years (before they started Workshop Rotation Model). Her tradition was to decoupage a photo of each student on the wall. She was not allowed to repaint this wall when they did the classroom makeover.  Grown-up former students visit the classroom still to see their pictures on the wall!

There are A LOT of memories on this wall!

There are two camel hats in the classroom, available for students who don't want to say anything in the drama. I should have asked Terry to model it for us; here is a link to a hat that looks similar.

The classroom space is very flexible, with a variety of scenery painted on the walls, plus pipes to hang tarps and sheets with scenery. Note that Terry even painted the ceiling!!

And hidden on the wall behind another curtain: a mural Terry painted in her classroom pre-rotation. With student handprints - another precious memory wall that cannot be painted over.

The tent. Big pieces of fabric over a pvc pipe frame. It can be moved to other parts of the classroom if necessary.

A closer look at pipes for hanging curtains, which are tarps or sheets with big grommets and are hung using shower curtain rings. (Click this picture, and the others, to enlarge for a closer look.)

For the story of Paul in prison, one side of this display board had lines that looked like prison bars. The other side was a reminder to those in prison to act accordingly! The children who were the prisoners were actually sitting outside this doorway in the hall. (Behind JoHannah you see some of the hallway mural with Paul's stories.)

Movie Room

I seem to have neglected to take pictures in this room except for this one of their extensive collection of dvds. They also load videos onto thumb drives and play things they find on the internet that way.

Fortunately, JoHannah has shared pictures here and a video here, and I will repost one of JoHannah ready to usher in students for their first day here:

Art Room

Another workshop that was formed by taking down a wall between two smaller classrooms. This is a bright and cheery workspace (in spite of the skinny 1970s windows).

Note the handles on the storage doors are paintbrushes.

Games Workshop

Another creative and inviting classroom space (two rooms combined into one for lots of space for games!). There are plenty of big game supplies and options in the classroom. And I love the chalkboard scoreboard painted on the back of the door! What a creative use of space!

Classroom Bibles

Have you noticed there are not Bibles in each classroom? That is because there is a cart with a Bible for each child that follows the group from one workshop to the next:

Note how each child's name is written on the spine (and there are several Bibles labeled "guest"). The students mark the passages they read and date them and highlight memory verses.

When the children graduate to the youth group, they take their Bibles with them, filled with their notes from the lessons they studied in the Workshops. But first, all of the teachers write a note to each student in their Bible (below).

@Amy Crane posted:

Youth classroom mural with handprints of graduates

I took one picture in the youth room, because this is such a great idea for a program: when students graduate from high school, they add their handprints as "leaves" on the tree mural, along with their name and the date. What a wonderful thing to return to your home church and see! (This is just a small section of the branches; I neglected to take a picture of the full tree.)

here is a picture of the full tree in the youth room.