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L1 Extensions: Liturgical Calendar

9/24/2025

Liturgical Calendar: 4yo
Coloring and (eventually) labeling a Liturgical Calendar is a favorite work of many L1 children!

Practical considerations:

While there is a printable calendar on the CGSUSA website, the calendar's orientation is incorrect. For Dr. Montessori (and for Gianna Gobbi) the Liturgical Calendar begins at the bottom and goes counterclockwise in contrast to a clock which begins at the top and goes clockwise. As noted on the Materials Manual, this is because "God's time is not our time." However, the paper material online orients Advent to the right instead of at the bottom. In addition, the calendar online has the labels printed onto the calendar. It is my preference to sit with a child who has finished coloring a calendar and write the labels with them, enjoying their work and offering them the repetition of hearing the pattern of the seasons as they are written down. Eventually the child himself will begin to write the labels for his calendar on his own, using the wooden labels as an aid to his work.
The paper size needed for the Liturgical Calendar is 11"x17" as this is the largest size we can print. (This Liturgical Calendar template prints on 8.5"x11" paper and must be expanded to fit 11"x17".) This allows the label spaces for the seasons to be as large as possible for children who are just learning to form letters. Once printed, I cut the papers into a square, 11"x11", and then roll them as I do with paper for map making.
The tray for the liturgical calendar includes four rocks/beanbags to hold the corners of the paper as well as the following pencils: purple, green, red, yellow (for the star and cross), and a writing pencils for labeling the seasons and drawing the flame for Pentecost.
As with Map Making, I have almost always had two trays on the shelf for this Liturgical Calendar extension. This has been particularly helpful when working with single-aged Kindergarten groups of children in the Atrium. In order to keep the child connected to the sensorial material when working with the paper calendar, I have found it helpful to have the child build the calendar on the working mat each time he wants to work with the paper extension. Often two children work on building the Calendar together and then set up chowkis on either side of the sensorial material so they can independently work on a paper calendar.
Again, because the orientation of the Liturgical Calendar is important, I have put a black line on the "bottom" of the calendar, where Advent begins, and tell the children "the black goes by your body."

1. Liturgical Calendar material on the shelf (black container of scrolls, black containers, stacked, of pencils/rocks.

2. The Liturgical Calendar tray on a chowki next to the Liturgical Calendar which has been built by the child.

3. The Liturgical Calendar material laid out, oriented with the "start" (dark black line) on the bottom, just like the built wooden calendar. For this work, the tray does not go back on the shelf because it houses the pencils.

4. When first showing this work I often color just the top edge of the four Advent prisms purple. Having indicated where we begin, we look at the calendar and count those four prims together. I then point out that each time there is a longer black line on the paper they should stop coloring and check the wooden material because usually it means the color has changed.

5. I usually stay with the child for the coloring of Advent, the star for Christmas, and the "skipping" of white prisms for the Sundays of Christmas. Having gotten them started with Ordinary Time, I leave them to do the Cycle of Easter on their own.

6. If the child is not yet interested in writing, I will come and write the labels, showing how to move the arcs to the paper, one by one. This is the same way I would show a 5yo to write the labels.

7. The labeling has been completed.

8. Finally, the child is invited to draw the altar/paten/and chalice in the center of their paper calendar.

Calendar colored and labeled by a 5yo,

Calendar colored and labeled by a 5yo with a paten and chalice added to the center.

L1 Extensions: Map Making

9/17/2025

Map Making: 4yo
Tracing and coloring the Regions Map of Israel is a great work for a second or third year child.

Practical considerations:

While there are several printable maps on the CGSUSA website for children to simply color, my Montessori training drilled into me that "every unnecessary help is a hinderance" even when it comes to paperwork. While we certainly go through paper in the Atrium, I use very few photocopies in L1. The more the child can do this work on his own, and he certainly can when following this format, the more pride he takes in his work.
When I worked as an assistant in a Montessori Children's House (3-6yo environment) we made "scrolls" of paper for map making. First of all, this saves space on the shelf. The paper size needed for tracing the Regions Map is 11"x17". When laid flat, that takes up a lot of room on the shelf! Secondly, the rubber band serves as a bit of a carrot for the child. The map, with the rubber band, may be taken home when the map is completed but not before.
The tray for map making includes four rocks/beanbags to hold the corners of the paper as well as the following pencils: a writing pencil plus orange, green, brown, yellow, and blue.
Because I consider this work a sensorial extension (tracing the pieces is a great tool for learning their shape and location) I almost always have two trays for map making on the shelf. This has been particularly helpful when working with single-aged Kindergarten groups of children in the Atrium.
Because the naming of the regions and waterways is essential to this work, it would be ideal to sit with a child who has completed a map and label it with him, naming each as you write the label, even if he is not yet able to write the labels himself. This is a task that either the catechist or the assistant can do and offers repetition of nomenclature in a way that is similar to the naming of the items at the Model Altar before lighting the candles. Either the child names each region and waterway or, if the child does not yet know the names himself, the adult names each one.
Finally, please note that the orientation of maps is very important. To help the children find the correct orientation, I have put a black line on the south side of the map material and tell the children "the black goes by your body." When making a map, the chowki must be turned in order to accommodate the paper's correct orientation.

1. Map making material on the shelf (clear container for scrolls, white containers, stacked, of pencils/rocks).

2. The Map making tray on a chowki next to the Regions Map of Israel.

3. The map making material laid out. For this work, the tray does not go back on the shelf because it houses the pencils.

4. Judea is first placed near the corner of the paper as it is near the corner in the frame. This is pointed out to the child. It is traced with the writing pencil.

5. When finished, Judea is returned to the frame and the next piece, typically Samaria, is traced. (The writing pencil is used first for all so that if changes need to be made it can, unlike colored pencil, be erased.)

6. All pieces have been traced with the writing pencil.

7. The Mediterranean Sea is not removable so we simply add lines at the top and bottom to indicate its path.

8. Finally, the child is invited to color in the regions and waterways.

9. If the child would like to add the labels (typically as a 5yo), we can help them to read and place them on the map before copying them onto their own.

10. There is a control map in the Atrium so that the child can check their work. Moving forward the child will be able to do this entire process independently because of the controls present in the Atrium.

Map making by a 4yo.

Map making by a 5yo.

L1 Extensions: Collages

9/10/2025

Altar Collage: 3yo
Besides Pin Punching, the most fitting 3yo paperwork extensions are collages. As a reminder, these paperwork extensions are typically introduced months or even years after the sensorial material and are intended to help reignite the child's interest in that original catechetical material. I have only ever had two collages in the Atrium (Altar and Baptism) but there are others which can be offered including those for the Liturgical Colors and the Land of Israel. The guiding principle would be that Practical Life and the sensorial catechetical materials should occupy the majority of the 3yos time in the Atrium. I have found that limiting paperwork extensions for the 3yo helps tremendously with this. If you offer four collages, four 3yos can be doing collages at the same time. If you offer only two, and one of them (Baptism) is not introduced until after Easter if at all, there is a control placed within the environment on the number of 3yos working on materials from the paperwork shelf.

Practical considerations:

Please note that the base of this collage is orange as that corresponds with the gestures booklets for the heart of the Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer.
The only Altar collage piece that I photocopy and cut out is the chalice. For the other pieces I cut rectangles (white for candles, brown for the children to put together to make the cross) or trapezoids (white for the altar cloth, brown for the candle base) on the papercutter. I have a circle punch that I use for the paten and a heart punch for the flames. Once the heart has been punched out I cut it in half for two flames.

1. Altar collage material on the shelf.

2. The Altar collage tray as it looks when on the shelf. When the child takes it out, show him how to place one orange base and one altar cloth on the tray.

3. The Altar collage laid out on the chowki with the art mat unrolled first and all other items set out, tray returned to the shelf.

4. I show the child how to place glue on the base and then affix the piece over the glue, starting with the altar cloth.

5. I point to the example and put the glue where the paten should go.

6. I then invite the child to place the paten. Next, I ask the child to put glue where the chalice will go and then place the paten.

7. The child continues to put glue onto the base and place the pieces in their proper order.

8. Once the collage is complete, it is placed in the child's folder (often the first work to be placed there) and the child is then shown how to place a new set of pieces into the tray before restoring it to the shelf.

Baptism Collage: 3yo
After presenting Baptism: Moment 1 the week after celebrating the Liturgy of the Light, you might offer the Baptism collage to a 3yo. While we typically wait for a month or longer before presenting extensions, at this point there are very few weeks left in the year and this extension does help to concretize the gifts of Baptism lifted up in presentation they have received. On the other hand, saving this collage until the fall would offer a concrete way of reigniting interest in the Baptism are, something many catechist find challenging as the children have so little time to work with this material at the end of the year and thus often forget they have been introduced to it. The Baptism collage is one material that I will show to one 3yo (or older child in L1) and then invite that child to show another child. This works because it is presented so late in the year and because it is so similar to the altar collage. The excitement of a child who has been asked to show another child a work is quite lovely!

Practical considerations:

Please note that the base of this collage is blue, which provides the sensorial impression of water, but I have also used a yellow base as that highlights the most essential element for the youngest child, Light.
The only Baptism collage piece that I photocopy and cut out is the white garment. For the other pieces I cut two different sized white rectangles on the papercutter. I then use the Altar collage heart punch for the flames. Once the heart has been punched out I cut it in half for two flames.

1. Baptism collage materials on the shelf.

2. The Baptism collage laid out on the chowki, tray returned to the shelf.

3. The child puts glue onto the base and places the pieces in their proper order.

4. The child is invited to draw the red cross onto the white garment and the cross, pins, letters, and numbers onto the Paschal Candle.

5. An older child could help a younger child with writing.

6. The child places his collage in his folder and then puts a new set of pieces into the tray before restoring it to the shelf.

L1 Extensions: Pin Punching

9/3/2025

During Level 1 CGS formation the primary focus is on receiving and pondering the sensorial materials and presentations. While extensions are mentioned, there is little time to devote to them. In some ways, this is fitting in that the primary focus of the children in L1 should be on the sensorial materials with paperwork extensions taking up a much smaller portion of their time. However, it is also important to have a resource for when and how to present those extensions which have been listed under the “Work of the Child” on your album page. Hopefully the posts over the next few months will be helpful to you and to your children!

Overview:

3yo: Pin Punching, Altar and Baptism collages
4yo: Map Making, Liturgical Calendar, Easter Candle, Prayer Cards
5yo: Prophecies, Psalm 23, Gestures booklets (including Cenacle, Eucharistic Presence of the Good Shepherd), City of Jerusalem, Altar / Baptism Nomenclature Booklet, Scripture Cards, Scripture Booklet, Free Art (Picture Folders, Synthesis of Kingdom Parables)

The photos used in the upcoming posts will come from the materials on my current L1 paperwork shelf, shown to the right.

Previous posts on the L1 Paperwork Shelf, offering another example of how to arrange the art materials:

Previous post outlining the gradual introduction of free art in L1:

Art as the Work of the L1 Child (Scroll to the bottom and move up)

Pin Punching: 3yo
One of the earliest extensions introduced, sometimes housed on the Practical Life self, is pin punching. In this work the child is shown how to punch holes in the paper along the printed line, spaced closely enough that when finished the inner image can be extracted from the outline.

Here is a pin punching template.

1. Pin Punching on the shelf. The images are on 1/4 sheets of paper, ideally construction paper as that "tears" most easily. The child chooses one image (out of four options) and places it on his tray, on top of the felt base. The tray is then carried by the child to a chowki or table.

2. Pin Punching set out on a chowki with the tray returned to the shelf. The adult then tells the child the tool is sharp and must always remain at the chowki or on the tray. She then shows how to punch holes closely together along the top of the chalice, then invites the child to continue around the image.

3. When the child brings the work to an adult to show his progress, turn the paper over to show that when punched closely together you can see the image on the back. This serves as a control for the child to know (with help) where more holes are needed.

4. When the holes are close together the image should easily separate from the outline. Eventually the children can do this independently. The image can go in the child's folder and the outline into the recycling.

Pin Punching Collage: 4/5yo
While punching out one image can be a big work for a 3yo, one way to continue this material into a way fitting to the older L1 child is to invite them to make a Pin Punching Collage which requires that each of the four pin punching options have been completed (4yo) and even to invite the child to add labels (5yo). Please note that this work would come after the 3yo altar collage shown in next week's post.

At the back of the pin punching images are 9x12 sheets of orange cardstock and white altar cloths cut to fit. To the right of the pin punching tray is a small container of labels.

Invite the child to collect his punched out images from his folder. Show how to take a tray, orange and white paper, and a pencils/glue container.

Bring the supplies to a chowki, remove them, and return the tray to the shelf. Glue the pieces onto the base.

If the child is beginning to write, invite him to bring the container of labels to the chowki, help him read and place them on the collage appropriately, then invite him to copy the labels onto his work.

L1 Extensions: Liturgical Calendar

L1 Extensions: Map Making

L1 Extensions: Collages

L1 Extensions: Pin Punching

Carolyn Kohlhaas

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