Directions for Making a Seven-Synonym Octahedron:

An octahedron is a three-dimensional figure with eight sides, so a synonym for God appears on each side with the word God as the eighth side. You have your choice of three different printouts:

1. Synonyms without colors or numbers so that your Sunday School class can color and number

2. Synonyms with colors

3. Synonyms with colors and numbers, such as Life beginning with a number 1, Love with a number 2, and so on.

 

Supplies:

Ruler or Straightedge
Scissors
Scotch quick-dry adhesive or Elmer’s Glue-All

Non-iodized salt or rice to pour inside the octagon

Thick card stock such as 65-pound or 110-pound. Your home printer may not be able to handle heavier weight paper, such as the 110-pound card stock, so you could have a few sheets printed at your nearest office supply store.

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Procedure:

1. Have some printouts prepared ahead of time for your class. Use scissors to cut along the outer edges. Do not cut the inside lines.
2. Use a straight edge to crease along all the edges of the triangles.
3. The synonyms with colors have tabs color-coded for gluing to the triangles of that color. (For example, the blue-tab on Love is glued to the blue Spirit.)

4. It is recommended to glue Mind and Love first; then Love and Spirit; then Spirit and Principle. Then gluing Soul will be something like closing a box.
5. Before gluing the final flap, add your salt or rice at the weight you desire.

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The teachers could do some of this prep work at home, especially cutting along the outer edges and creasing the sides. For the younger classes, it might also help to prepare a sample octahedron at home, so the students can see what they are making.

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Discussion Topics:

Did your students notice that Life, Truth, and Love are grouped around God, spelled with the infinity symbol? Why do you think Mary Baker Eddy grouped Life, Truth, and Love together in her textbook?

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If you are using the unnumbered octahedron, why do you think that the Principle face is opposite from the God face?

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There are 40,320 possible arrangements of these synonyms on a blank octahedron. What arrangement is matching your prayers today?