Blog Archives

Advent Celebration

12/27/2017

Each year we end our preparation for Christmas as a school with an Advent Celebration. This year we had two smaller celebrations, one on each of our two campuses. The Adolescents planned and led the celebration on our North Campus while I had the gift of joining the celebration on our South Campus. As we lit each candle of the Advent wreath we pondered its meaning:

The first candle is for hope. The children, 3 years through 3rd grade, said...
- Jesus came to save us. That gives us hope.
- Because He is the light for everyone.
- Because He brings us love.

The second candle is for peace. We pondered the prophecy of Isaiah 11:6-9...
- Animals are peaceful together.
- A child leads them.
- Knowledge of the Lord covers the earth like water.
- It sounds like Parousia!

The third candle is for joy. The children shared who received joy from Jesus...
- Mary.
- John the Baptist.
- The shepherds.
- The kings.
- Elizabeth.
- All of us!

The fourth candle, which we did not light, is for love. The children shared...
- Jesus loves us.
- Jesus dies for us to save us.
- AND He is risen!
- Jesus is the light and He brings us love.

Advent Work

12/20/2017

Changing the Prayer Table to Advent.

Making a Map of Israel.

Working with the Nativity materials and singing, "The People Who Walked in Darkness."

Copying an Advent Prophecy.

Making Silence in order to listen for Jesus.

Working with the Vestments of the Priest.

Moving the Shepherds.

Coloring the Land of Israel.

Announcing the "Good News" to the shepherd.

Researching and labeling cities in the Land of Israel.

Bringing the sheep to the Church as they follow the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Building the Liturgical Calendar to reflect the new liturgical year!

In the Words of the Children...

12/13/2017

During the Season of Advent we will be pondering the great Mystery of the Incarnation in the Atrium. Here are a few thoughts from the children to help us in our own wonder over this great gift...

Recalling the Prophecy of the Light: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a Great Light." (Isaiah 9:1)
- "God was coming into the world to be the light." (5 year old)

Reflecting on the Prophecy of the Names: "They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:5b)
- "At Mass Jesus is a hero." (3 year old)
- "In Reconciliation he is a hero because he saves us from our sins." (6 year old, responding to 3 year old)
- "He's the Hero because he made heaven to save us." (1st grader)
- "He's the Counselor because he shows us how to get to heaven." (1st grader)

Pondering the Prophecy of the Shoot of Jesse: "But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD." (Isaiah 11:1-3a)
- "Maybe on the Stump of Jesse that shoot was the Vine." (1st grader)
- "The Stump is Jesus' death and the shoot is His resurrection." (3rd grader)

The Liturgical Calendar

12/6/2017

The Liturgical Calendar is composed of 52 prisms, inner and arcs and arrows and two outer arcs. These pieces are built with great care, precisely in order, outside the puzzle frame to recreate the cycles of the liturgical year. At each Level of the Atrium the children are invited to work with this material in a new way, beginning with the emphasis on the pattern of preparation (purple), celebration (white and red), and growing time (green), as well as the two great cycles of Christmas and Easter. The children then learn to make their own calendars, carefully copying the colors and then the words onto paper prepared for them. In Level II (1st-3rd grade or E1) the children are shown that each Sunday has a name and they learn to label the Sundays and make their own corresponding calendar, again, with the added labels/numbers. Somewhere between Level II and III (4th-6th grade or E2) they might also look at the Feasts and Solemnities of the Church that are tied to the dates of the year (ex: December 8th is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception). Finally, the Level III children are exposed to the process for determining Easter, having read Exodus 12 which gives the prescriptions for Passover, and they also begin to make their own calendars which incorporate not just each Sunday but every single day of the year. Whew!!! Please enjoy some photos of one of the children's favorite works in the Atrium. Perhaps they have picked up on the fact that I really love this particular material?!

This 5 year old was presented the Liturgical Calendar on September 28th. The next week, October 5th, he came into the Atrium and immediately returned to the calendar and began to build it, pictured here.

On October 12th, the following week, this child again built the calendar and asked to be shown how to make his "own" calendar on paper. He colored the prisms, counting and following the material. An adult then added the labels for each inner arc and he traced over her letters.

Having worked with the Liturgical Calendar almost every Atrium session, on November 30th this child spontaneously decided to write the labels himself. He spent the entire Atrium session finishing his first calendar done completely on his own. I wonder what's next!!