3rd Grade Questions - week of 10/4

This week we received 2 questions from 3rd graders:
Q: How many years ago did Jesus live?
A: Well, the easy answer is that our calendar tells us. Sometime after Jesus lived, the calendar was changed, and the years started counting from Jesus' life. That's what the A.D. stands for: The year of our Lord (Anno Domini). So your answer would be 2,009 years ago. But Jesus lived more than just one year. We think he was about 33 when he was crucified. We know he was alive in Year #1 - but how old was he? Not sure.

Q: How is the Bible made?
A: The only part of Bible making that I've been a part of is making Braille Bibles, and that's different than any other kind of Bible. For Braille Bibles, plates are made that will raise dots on both sides of the paper. We have an assembly line production to put them together. Someone punches holes in the paper that the spiral binding goes through. Someone writes the page numbers on each sheet. Someone loads the paper into the metal plates. Another person sends the plates through the press that makes the dots, and another person takes the pages and puts them into the spiral machine to bind them all. All of these people are volunteers, who work so that we can bring light to people who are blind.
The paper used for Braille Bibles is much bigger and thicker than the paper in your Bibles. When we make a Bible, it is only a portion. Genesis comes in 2 books, and each one is an inch thick, maybe more! The whole Bible in Braille would probably take up an entire bookcase!