I did my bulletin board yesterday. The eighth graders chose this as the verse of the year:
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:5
I thought the verse lended itself to a “traveling through life” theme, which led me to maps, which led me to Middle Earth, which led me to Gandalf’s quote: “Not all who wander are lost”.
When people write about that quote, they say Tolkien was talking about purpose. The difference between a lost wanderer and a non-lost wanderer is purpose – a perfect sentiment for Psalm 25:5.
The end result looks simple, but it took all day:
The fonts are all “Tolkien” fonts I downloaded from the internet. I traced the map using a projector. The gold lettering is less visible than I anticipated, but I like how it looks, and I think the quote is appropriate. I’m particularly proud of where I placed the labels. All but one of them correspond to the place they appear:
Temptation – Isengard, where Sauruman was tempted by power
Comfort – Edoras, the capitol of Rohan
Loneliness – Emyn Muil and the Dead Marshes: difficult and empty terrain
Happiness – no corresponding place – a rural area of Gondor
Prosperity – Minas Tirith, the capitol of Gondor
Trial – Mount Doom, where the One Ring was destroyed
I’m told that one of the eighth graders is a Tolkien superfan. I’m looking forward to him seeing it.
That is super cool!
Well done!
Looks pretty awesome – I think Tolkien would approve.
Your bulletin boards are never a disappointment, Brad. You really put in the time and the results are always awe-inspiring (IMHO).
…and this year’s board will teach any non-Tolkien fans a things or two along the way! Nicely done.