Christmas: Through the Keyhole

Liz Ogborne has been working on multi-sensory trails in 9 Bristol primary schools. She shares the work of her Christmas trail here in a way you could copy –

why not?

© RE Today and Liz Ogborne

“For Christmas 2010 my colleagues and I developed a new trail called “Christmas: Through the Keyhole”. It was the spirit of curiosity, questioning and investigation embedded in the daytime TV show of that name which caught our imagination. Often, the unusual events of the first Christmas are accepted without questioning. By letting pupils into the homes of the story’s characters to notice the décor, objects and clues left lying around, could we encourage a new sense of curiosity and enquiry about this familiar story? Could we get pupils thinking about the real lives of the characters and the real challenges they faced? We recruited volunteers from the local church to lead small groups of pupils (550 in all) around the trail over one week in December. These volunteers also helped us set up the seven zones of the trail which were mostly put together using donated items and scrap. At each zone, pupils would be invited firstly to observe carefully - a necessary precursor to questioning. Their reactions were immediate in each zone: “Look! There’s a baby’s cot/a pot of gold coins/a map!” The skill of the leader in creating a sense of anticipation along with seeing some unusual objects in a fresh setting gave the children the sense of being on a treasure hunt! After initial reactions were expressed, the leader would invite pupils to ask questions about the scene (and pose some themselves) before divulging the relevant part of the Christmas story in a way which gave meaning to the objects in the scene and emphasized the everyday life of the character whose home it was. Pupils were then given a clue to put into an envelope (given to them in zone 1). They took the envelopes back to school after the trail so that they could use them to retell the story.”

Zone 1: Christmas Present

• A typical living room the night before Christmas: a decorated tree, gifts, tinsel, cards, a carrot for Rudolph. “What signs of preparation for Christmas can you see?” The leader would notice a dusty old box in the corner from which they pulled a nativity set, one piece at a time. “What a strange scene: a shepherd, a king, a poor young girl, a feeding trough, a baby…what a strange concoction of people! And what are they doing in a stable?! Shall we go on a journey and visit this strange group of characters ….shall we look ‘through the keyhole’, into their homes to hunt for clues about why they ended up in this incredible scene? “

Zone 2: Mary’s House

• We used a gazebo lined with material from a local scrap store which we painted with a stonework pattern. Other objects: earthenware bowls/vases, wicker baskets, rustic mats, half-baked bread in a bowl, feta cheese, strips of pitta (which we offered to the pupils), a baby’s crib and some old blankets. “Who might live in a house like this?” As we told Mary’s story we included a CD recording of the angel’s words. “How would Mary have felt on hearing the angel’s message? What questions would she have asked the angel? Where do you think Mary has gone?” Take-away Clue: a card with the words “You will have a baby” on one side and Mary’s response on the other – “Let it happen as you have said”.

Zone 3: The Shepherds’ Field

• We laid Astroturf on the floor and built a bonfire using fairy lights under a pile of twigs. We turned the heating off in this room and offered pupils an old blanket to wrap up in as they gathered round the bonfire. Sheep were bleating from a hidden MP3 player, bits of cotton wool were strewn around to look like fleece. “Who would have lived here? What would they be doing here? What was it like to be a shepherd?” The pupils noticed a ‘Shepherds’ Rule Book’ lying by the fire in which there was only one rule: “Never Leave Your Sheep!” “Why not? What were the dangers? What then made them run off?!” “What were they hoping to find? Why was this so important?” Take-away clue: a card on which was written “NEVER LEAVE YOUR SHEEP!” and on the reverse – “’Let’s go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has happened’ … so they hurried off!”

Zone 4: The Magi’s Observatory

• We used a dark gazebo, fairy lights, beanbags, luxurious textiles and an old towel box as a treasure chest for this scene. We made ancient-looking maps of the Middle East and stained them with tea bags to go inside the chest. We projected a night sky onto the roof of the gazebo. We had frankincense crystals, gold chocolate coins and myrrh oil in a pot. Take-away clue: gold chocolate coin.

Zone 5: Joseph’s Workshop

• Wood shavings and sawdust on the floor, a wooden workbench bedecked with old wooden tools, a bucket containing donkey feed, an ancient-looking map of Palestine and a copy of Caesar’s decree. Take-away clue: a mini copy of the map - they were asked to mark the route they would have taken from Nazareth to Bethlehem. “What challenges would Mary and Joseph have faced on their journey?”

Zone 6: The Journey to Bethlehem

• Laminated cards at intervals between zones 5 and 6 depicted the challenges of the journey in board game style, e.g. “You must travel through a dangerous valley today. Watch out for robbers!” The cards prompted lots of questions and enabled pupils to empathize with the characters. Once the pupils arrived in ‘Bethlehem’ they were able to make some astute comments: “They must have been starving!” and “Mary must have been so tired.” The group knocked at a door (labeled “Inn”) and was greeted by a grumpy innkeeper who sent them to the stable as there was no room at his inn.

Zone 7: The Stable

• Volunteers acted as living statues of the nativity characters, (painted/modeled versions would work well). As pupils entered the stable scene, they noted the presence of each of the characters whose homes they’d visited. Our ‘living’ shepherd and magi told their part of the story and their wonder at finding Jesus. Pupils were reminded of the nativity set back in zone 1, what a strange mixture of people it had seemed. But having carried out their investigations in each home they’d visited, they could see how each person had become involved in the events of the first Christmas

Worthwhile• The trail took a lot of planning and organizing but we

will use all our resources for the next few years. It provided a new way into the story allowing pupils to engage on an investigative level without compromising the mystery and spirituality of this key Christian story. The event brought the community together and, according to feedback was a high point in the pupils’ term.

• One teacher commented: “Absolutely brilliant…it really captured the essence of Christmas…the children were so excited…the children thoroughly enjoyed picking up clues along their journey…it was magical!"