Far in the back of the picture you can see a 1st grade boy beginning "La Fettuccia," the long ribbon which gives the impression of the great care and love with which God created all things. This material introduces the children to the idea of "Salvation History" through the "Three Moments" (Creation, Redemption, and Parousia) which form the framework for the Kingdom of God. As you come forward in the hallway, a 2nd grade girl has laid out "The History of the Gifts" strip, which looks again at Salvation History, focusing on the gifts we have been given in the mineral world (coal, gold, salt, etc.), plant world (for food, medicine, clothing, shelter, etc.), animal world (transportation, food, clothing, joy, etc.), human world (family, healing, entertainment, education, etc.), with special emphasis on the greatest gift of Jesus Christ, still present with us today in the Eucharist, as we await the moment of Parousia. Nearest in the picture are two 1st graders and a 2nd grader who have laid out the "Blue Unity Mute Strip" which gives a more manageable/compact look at Salvation History. Each of these three children is working on making their own personal copy of the Blue Unity Strip as they copy the images and text of the material.
This week's Wednesday morning Level II Atrium (1st and 2nd graders) was filled with children deeply focused and engaged in their work. More than half of the children (just eight this week) were in the hallway where timelines are often rolled out. Through their free choice of work, the "hallway children" were engaged in the three Level II presentations which comprise the subject "The History of the Kingdom of God." Far in the back of the picture you can see a 1st grade boy beginning "La Fettuccia," the long ribbon which gives the impression of the great care and love with which God created all things. This material introduces the children to the idea of "Salvation History" through the "Three Moments" (Creation, Redemption, and Parousia) which form the framework for the Kingdom of God. As you come forward in the hallway, a 2nd grade girl has laid out "The History of the Gifts" strip, which looks again at Salvation History, focusing on the gifts we have been given in the mineral world (coal, gold, salt, etc.), plant world (for food, medicine, clothing, shelter, etc.), animal world (transportation, food, clothing, joy, etc.), human world (family, healing, entertainment, education, etc.), with special emphasis on the greatest gift of Jesus Christ, still present with us today in the Eucharist, as we await the moment of Parousia. Nearest in the picture are two 1st graders and a 2nd grader who have laid out the "Blue Unity Mute Strip" which gives a more manageable/compact look at Salvation History. Each of these three children is working on making their own personal copy of the Blue Unity Strip as they copy the images and text of the material. While five of the eight Level II children worked in the hallway, the remaining three were engaged in their own work in the Atrium. One 1st grade boy took out and worked with several Infancy Narratives, moving the materials as he read the Scripture passages. Two 2nd grade boys chose poster paper as the medium for copying "The Call of Samuel" (1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20). Two weeks previously this was the first reading at our school Mass. That day in the Atrium these two boys had asked for help finding this Scripture in the Bible so we looked up the name "Eli" in the concordance and found the reading. One of the boys asked to read it for prayer that day. This week they again found "The Call of Samuel" in their Bibles and this time they began to write it out. What will they do next? I'm not sure...but I am looking forward to watching how this Bible passage continues to affect them and influence their work!
"The atrium is a place of prayer, in which work and study spontaneously become meditation, contemplation and prayer" (#3 of The Characteristics of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd).
The children have been enjoying the work they began with the Infancy Narratives during the Advent and Christmas seasons! Work with the geography of the Land of Israel has also been a prevalent choice during the past few weeks. And the Good Shepherd work is always a favorite!
During the past week we have celebrated Christmas in the Atrium again and again and again! Each child has participated in different ways, according to their age. The Level I children (3-6 years) led a procession to change the prayer table from Advent to Christmas and then each brought a candle to add to the prayer table so that it was filled with Light! The 1st and 2nd year children celebrated the Feast of Christmas by looking at a Synthesis of the Infancy Narratives. They set out all of the materials for the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Presentation in the Temple, the Adoration of the Magi and the Flight into Egypt. The children took turns reading each of these Scriptures and pondering how the Light was growing, spreading, and changing others throughout these passages. As we read they commented... - "He gives the light away and gets more light to share." - "God would make a path of light for people to come to Him." - "He gives mercy and grace to us and we give praise to him." - "We can share the light by doing nice things and telling others about God." - "When he was visiting us he brought his light so it could shine in us and bring us to his great light." - "After he rose his light was even stronger. Then he was preparing Parousia. He made Parousia as the place where no people with darkness can go. The people who want the light forever, God lets go into his holy place." .The older children also celebrated Christmas with a Synthesis of the Infancy Narratives. Before examining the Scriptures, they worked together to come up with a definition for prayer. Using this definition, we looked at each passage to see who was praying and what kind of prayer could be discovered in each of the Infancy Narratives.
3rd and 4th years split into pairs and then we gathered their thoughts together. "Prayer is... ...a time to worship God in secret." ...talking to God, listening for God, reading the Bible, and going to Mass and being in the Atrium." ...when you sit or kneel in silence and thank God for things He did for you, your family, and friends, and when you pray for people if they are sick or ill." ...a time to think about God, people that died, people that have a hard time, and to try to be like a saint." ...a way of reaching out to God and listening to Him, a way of talking to God, a time of peace and used at Mass, a time to talk to God and talk about your feelings." ...you can pray any time, any place, with a group or by yourself, for certain people or anyone. You can fold your hands to pray. You don't need to worry about time when you pray." 5th and 6th years split into pairs and composed definitions. When they regrouped we discovered that each of their definitions began with "speaking" or "talking" with God. Therefore, they were able compose one definition with that as the starting point. - “Prayer is a time to speak with God and listen to Him. It is a time to shut out distractions. It is a time to praise, worship, and thank Him for our countless blessings, and ask for His gifts to help us with our day to day life. Prayer is saying ‘yes’ to God. It is giving yourself entirely to God.” |
Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
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