Jesus' coming was announced to Mary in Nazareth (symbolized by a flame for the Holy Spirit). He was born in Bethlehem (shown by a star comet). Jesus died and rose just outside the walls of Jerusalem (represented by a cross). These three cities form the background for some of the most important events in Jesus life and, thus, in our faith.
While the globe allows us to to see the whole earth at once, it is really too small to allow us to look more closely at the tiny land of Israel. Thus we have another material in the atrium that allows us to feel and explore the hills and valleys, highs and lows of this land in which Jesus lived. Not long after the globe is presented, perhaps even on the same day, we offer to the young child the Raised Surface Map of Israel.
Jesus' coming was announced to Mary in Nazareth (symbolized by a flame for the Holy Spirit). He was born in Bethlehem (shown by a star comet). Jesus died and rose just outside the walls of Jerusalem (represented by a cross). These three cities form the background for some of the most important events in Jesus life and, thus, in our faith. Young children often ask questions about what is real: Do bears wear clothes? Do plants grow? Do cars talk? Does snow fall? Do people live on the moon? Do fish swim in the ocean? As adults we often find their questions endearing...or perhaps overwhelming! Young children are trying to understand the way the world in which we live works. They have only just entered into life and and are growing in their understanding of it each day.
God is the most real of all that exists because He is the creator of all that we encounter around us. However, because we can't exactly see and touch the Trinity it can be hard to know how to show Him as real. (Yes, I know we see and touch Jesus in the Eucharist...but that's also another huge layer of mystery, right?!) While we speak about God and Jesus and listening and speaking with God from the very first day of our entry into the Atrium, it is the geography materials (presented just before Advent) which provide the children with an opportunity to receive the proclamation of the "realness" of Jesus. Jesus really lived on the earth. He lived in a tiny land called "Israel." God could have chosen a great nation, a large country, but He chose a tiny place that we know as Israel. This is where Jesus was born and lived and taught and died and rose. I wonder what that tells us about God. He wanted to be with us and to do so He chose a tiny place, the tiny land of Israel. "But polishing is messy!!!" This is the response I (and others) have received when asked why they have chosen not to have polishing work available for their L1 children. Is polishing important? Why would we have it in the Atrium? And how can we keep it from being messy??? 1. Polishing involves ordering and sequencing. 2. It helps the child to connect to and care for the Atrium environment. 3. Polishing provides an excellent opportunity for growth in focus and concentration through meaningful, repetitive work of the hand. 4. This work also allows for small motor refinement and, as the child grows, attention to detail. In the above photo a child is using the metal polishing work. She has laid out the table mat / oil cloth and has arranged her supplies left to right just as they were on the tray: polish, a dish with the applicator (half of a cotton swab), a dish with the buffing cloth / finger mitt (a flannel square sometimes folded over and sewn into a rectangular shape into which a child can place just two fingers), and a dish with a sponge. Next, she has gone out into the Atrium environment to find something made of metal and brought that to her work. After opening the polish she has used the applicator to put polish onto the metal item and is now using the buffing cloth on the item with circular motions, shining the object and removing tarnish. Soon she will restore the item to the shelf, use the sponge to clean up any spills on her table mat, and then carefully restore the items to their tray and to the shelf. The used buffing cloth will go in the laundry basket and the applicator will go into the garbage. She will then finish restoring her work by placing a new applicator and a new buffing cloth on the tray so it is ready for the next child. Does this activity get messy? Perhaps it does at times...and then that can be a point of interest brought up by the adult to the child. "I noticed that the table mat for your work has polish on it. Before you restore this work could you please make sure you have cleaned up any spills?" (The sponge will only work for the child if has been damped already, something the adult does when entering the Atrium as part of preparing the space for the children.) Does the item that has been polished get messy? Yes, at times. This is because the work of the L1 child is primarily about process and not product. An adult polishes something so that it gets clean and shiny. A young child polishes it in order to polish! Every few months I like to soak my metal items in vinegar and wipe them off in order to remove caked polish...but I don't think the children notice the difference! They are just grateful to have a way of caring for their environment through a work of the hand that allows them to focus and concentrate through repetition. Please consider giving your children this opportunity!! The "Silence Activity" was developed by Maria Montessori after witnessing the response of children, ages three to six, to a baby. Dr. Montessori said, "The silence of the little creature struck me, and I wanted the children to share my feeling. 'See,' I said, 'it isn't making a sound.' And, jokingly, I added, 'Look how still it keeps... None of you could keep as still as that.'" (The Secret of Childhood). Immediately, however, the children took on the challenge and began to sit still, even to controlling their breathing, intensely engaged in "making silence." There are many ways the Silence Activity can be offered in both the Montessori Children's House environment and in the Atrium. A whole group of children might be invited to still their bodies and make silence, listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd. Alternatively, an individual might be introduced to a material that he or she could use any time there is a desire to still one's body and listen. In the material below, available in the Atrium for an individual, there are a few pictures that can be used as a visual to aid their listening as well as a sand timer to give them a sense of how long they are listening. The child may choose any timer and any image but just one of each as he or she listens for God's voice. This stilling of the body and mind, focusing on a beautiful religious image and listening for God's voice, helps the child to engage in prayer while also laying a foundation for future prayer.
|
Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|