The Tabernacle...Hands on Bible

We recently did a project (part of our curriculum) that I just loved!  We are studying the Israelites during the time of Moses and Joshua.  So, the kids were able to create their own "Tabernacle".  We used some old cardboard and some card-stock sheets that came with our curriculum to make the entire Tabernacle... mostly to scale.

 The Ark of the Covenant even had little toothpick poles to move it with and small gray squares inside for the Ten Commandments.

After this project, some of my kids used lego people as Israelites and set up a scene.  I refrained from posting pics as not everyone can appreciate the "Most Holy Place" with all of the naughty and now dead Israelite lego people lying all around The Ark of the Covenant...haha.  Oh the joys of five boys in the house! 

I think that I learned as much as they did, though...yet another one of my favorite things about homeschooling!  They know the parts of the tabernacle and symbolic meanings of the items and will not soon forget...especially since they now have their tabernacles in their rooms to play with.


We did eventually put up the curtain around the courtyard and removable curtain over the Holy Place so they could have access to it for roll playing. 

The whole time we were doing this project I kept singing Petra's "Take Me Into the Holy of Holies".  I am not a fan of most of their music but this one song stands out to me.  Here are the lyrics if you are too young...or too old to have enjoyed it..haha.

Take me past the outer courts
Into the Holy Place
Past the brazen altar
Lord I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
And the Priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
But it's only found in one place

[Chorus:]
Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am