Typology studies in the Level III Atrium begin with a reading of the account of Creation in Genesis 1 and the account of Creation in Genesis 2. After reading and pondering these chapters separately and together, taking notes on what they tell us about God and man, what is repeated and what is emphasized, the children often choose to illustrate the seven days of Creation. Here is an example of one child's illustration and one child's notes on a Creation Typology study from this year. |
For the elementary child in the Atrium there must be a balance of providing space for free choice and holding high expectations in terms of follow-up work. When reading the Call of the Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Ezekiel), the children often choose to draw what they envision after reading the Scripture. This illustration must be accompanied by writing in order for it to be "elementary" work! Sometimes, though, a child chooses only to write Scripture and not provide an accompanying illustration. This is, of course, also a beautiful choice.
The Level III children have the opportunity to encounter and work with the Cardinal and Sister Virtues. The first step is to memorize the definitions for the Cardinal Virtues. Second, they begin working on defining the Sister Virtues and categorizing them under the appropriate Cardinal Virtue. Once they have an understanding of and facility with the meaning of these virtues they begin to use them in analyzing Scripture passages. The included pictures all come from 3rd graders. One made a booklet of the Cardinal and Sister virtues in order to continue writing them on her heart. Others began using the virtues to analyze the Parable of the Good Shepherd and the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. Enjoy!! This past year during our 2nd Year Eucharistic Retreat the children looked at the Gifts Strip in a new way. This material helps us to see the great variety of gifts which God used to so beautifully fill the earth long before we arrived...and which He continues to pour out upon us today to assist us in our writing on the blank page of our moment in history as we await Parousia. Having enjoyed this material for many months, the 2nd graders took time on retreat to expand their thinking about the many gifts of God as they pondered how these gifts assist us in our worship of Him through at Mass or, in other words, how we assist all of creation to worship God most fully through the liturgy! As a child read each page, another child chose one material from the Atrium to represent that moment and its connection to the liturgy. We did this twice and so each moment has two items, chosen by the children, as examples of how all of the gifts of God help us in our worship at liturgy.
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Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
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April 2024
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