Fall Break - Marketplace

This year, during fall break (for the public schools in our area), we participated in Marketplace 29AD. It has been going on for 3 years now, but this is the first year we participated. Here is a link for anyone interested in recreating this in their community (there is also the possibility of breaking this down to do it in a home setting, but it would lose some of the community type stuff). Marketplace link.

Marketplace was an opportunity to learn about what life might have been like in the time of Jesus. The kids were divided into "tribes" that consisted of children of different ages and backgrounds and included children from public, private, and home schools. These tribes explored the Marketplace together; they ate together, sang, did crafts, and went to synagogue school together. They learned how things were made in that time including bricks, rope, candy, jewelry, food etc. They sampled foods that would have been prevalent in that time period as well. Munchkin tried figs, dates, and pomegranates. She ate bread, grapes, raisins, and apples during snack time. This was an excellent learning experience, and she had a great time! We plan to participate again next year.

View of the Marketplace (an alley behind a church was transformed for this purpose).

Music time.

Learning about brick-making.

Gathering mud to make bricks.

Patting the brick down.

Picture of our whole family at Marketplace. I volunteered a couple of days, and my husband came for about an hour one day to see the marketplace. I took little man with me while volunteering, and wore him all day in a sling made from a bed sheet. All of the costumes were provided for the students and the volunteers. They were made of sheets, lengths of fabric, braided strips of cloth etc.  Everyone dressed up, even visitors..I think it really added to the whole effect. It was like being transported into another world, and another time.

I didn't get to take pictures of everything, but there are pictures on the website, and if someone wanted more information, I feel confident that the folks who organized it would be happy to share. 

Check out my link party page to see where I am linking.