The enlightenment of the Buddha

Sylvia has been working very, very hard on her Social Studies diorama project.  She remembers the drama of Annah's project, and the teacher also is still using Annah's diorama as an example when she explains the expectations of the project.  So, I think Sylvia was putting pressure on herself to do a really great job.  

She said when the class was choosing their topics from a list, everyone kept choosing the things she wanted to do.  She decided to choose the enlightenment of the Buddha because she had this idea for how she could make it into a cool-looking diorama. 

She collected twigs from our yard to make the tree, and put it together with hot glue and glue dots.  She cut the leaves out of felt, and poked the twigs at the base of the tree down into styrofoam to keep them in place.  

I really like the dimension she gave the project with the tree coming out of the box!  

She made the little buddha and his clay pots out of clay and painted them with metallic colors to represent the fact that he was a royal prince.

Sylvia also looked up examples of Buddhist art and added some of those elements to the outside of her box.

(I snapped these photos at night, so they are not great examples of how pretty it actually looks.)

Sylvia also had to write a report about the buddha's enlightenment and about her project and what she did to put it together.  She also had to write a 2-4 minute oral presentation which she will present to her class this week.  

Here she is, ready with her project.  I drove her to school today so she wouldn't have to carry it on a bus full of 70 children and have it mangled before she could turn it in.  

At first, Sylvia was upset about not being able to do her project on a Biblical topic.  However, we talked about the differences between false gods (Buddha and others) and Jesus, and why we know that Jesus is the only one true God.  Buddha did not die to pay for her sins.  Only Jesus conquered death and was resurrected to save her from eternity in hell.  Creating a school social studies project does not equal beliefs.  

When I picked Sylvia up from track practice tonight and asked her about her project, she said that the class voted on their favorites and hers was chosen 4th.  Her teacher said she was very impressed with all the work and creativity she put into the project and that it is in her top 5 favorites of the grade.

"But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, (14) for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (15) Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:13-16 NIV