Blog Archives

The Call of the Prophets

12/31/2019

Every year some of the Level III (3rd-6th grade) children read and ponder how particular prophets were called to their vocation as spokesmen for the Lord. This year the interest of the 3rd grade children led to four weeks of pondering these "calls" and brought the 4th graders into the study as well.

Three girls planned a whole project on the prophets. They talked for an extra half hour after the forty-five minute Scripture study about Malachi as the last Old Testament prophet as well as whether or not there were prophets in the New Testament, finally deciding that the Apostles were prophets because they had listened to Jesus and then they had gone out to tell others about Him. Remembering Jesus' instruction to His friends to "Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," they began to talk about their own Baptism and their own call to speak Jesus' message.

The Call of Amos

The Call of Isaiah

The Call of Ezekiel

One boy had his own idea to extend the work. Having written and illustrated a verse from each of the four prophets that were studied together, he began looking in other prophetic books to discover how each prophet was called to his role by God. While he was disappointed that many prophets did not record the way in which they first heard God's call, he did find several additional passages (with a bit of help) that allowed him to add a few more prophets to his collection.

Merry Christmas!

12/25/2019

The Preparation of the Cruets

The Annunciation

The Cenacle

Writing and embellishing a prophecy

Planning Communal Prayer

The Act of Contrition

The Synthesis of the Prophecies

The Liturgical Calendar

Preparing the Gestures Altar

The Liturgical Calendar

The Nativity

The Adoration of the Magi

The Summary of the Law

The Complete Rite of Baptism

The Prayer Table

The Prophecy of the Light

Altar Collage

The Offering

The Land of Israel

Geography of Israel

The Missal: The Rite of Communion

Prayer Cards

12/18/2019

A few weeks ago, a kindergartener in the Level I Atrium was introduced to writing prayer cards. After writing her first card, "Rejoice," she was invited to illustrate it. She did not know what to draw. When asked what brought her joy and helped her rejoice she responded, "My cat, Luna." When she wrote her second card, "Magnificat," she asked what the word meant. After hearing it was a way of saying how great God is, she was asked what she might draw. After first saying, "I don't know," she followed with, "the cross." When five prayer cards were completed, she asked to make them into a booklet. The other cards she chose included "Prince of Peace," with the star comet as the illustration, "Holy, Holy, Holy," accompanied by the Holy Bible, and "Hosanna," with an image of the infant Jesus.

The Gifts Strip

12/11/2019

A 4th grader (Level III), returning to the Level II Gifts Strip, worked for weeks on a follow-up. The drawings are stunning and the child pointed out that each page begins with an illuminated letter which fits the theme of the page. In addition, the four "tan" pages include snakes (his favorite animal), all of which he named as specific types in describing each picture. When asked about his image of Parousia, he said, "The light of the Monstrance is spreading out and filling the Church, the Kingdom." Amen.

The Virtues

12/4/2019

The Virtues are "love in action." They allow us to live life to the full and bear beautiful fruit as we remain on the True Vine. Last year a number of 3rd graders (Level III) spent time memorizing the names and definitions of the four Cardinal Virtues (Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance) and becoming familiar with the Sister Virtues which flow from them (Prudence includes Diligence, Docility, and Foresight). This year some of these same children began analyzing Scripture passages according to the use of or lack of particular Sister Virtues. As one of the only Atrium presentations not directly linked to Scripture or the Liturgy it was interesting to see how the children made connections between this work and the Maxims as well as Confession and the Eucharist. Their work with this material lasted for weeks last year and it seems the same type of longevity is likely this year!