Early this year the L3 children spent some time recalling the great gift of God's Word and then began to experiment with illuminating Scripture. Here are some examples of their beautiful work!
During the past week there were several instances of children presenting to other children in the Atrium. While many of the presentations given in this space come from the catechist, it is not uncommon for a child to be invited to give a presentation to another child. Here are a few examples:
While "La Fettuccia" is the "Great Lesson" for the Level 2 (E1) children, "The Plan of God" provides the springboard for the Level 3 (E2) children. In this meditation we focus in on the Plan God has for mankind, beginning, instead of at creation, at the creation of humanity. In the Plan of God, the horizontal bridges which link us to peoples from long ago, and the gratitude we can have for them, even without knowing their names, becomes clear. They discovered fire and invented the wheel, they figured out how to plant gardens and domesticate animals, developing shelter and transportation in order to meet their needs. We have learned so much from them! Great civilizations in the past like the Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Incas, Chinese, and many more have also passed on to us inventions, discoveries, and ideals that have shaped us today. All of these peoples are part of God's Plan and they have all been part of establishing horizontal bridges which link us to each other throughout time and across the world. But God also desired vertical bridges which would link us more closely to Him. These He established first through Abraham, the father of the People of God. The Hebrew people have given to the world the gift of knowledge of the One true God. It is from the Jewish people that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, is born. Through His death and resurrection He has chosen to remain with us through the Sacraments. The Christian people have received many gifts from the Jewish people including believe in One God, the Old Testament Scriptures, and many worship practices. Thus we are linked with them in this moment and also linked with God, in a most particular way, through Jesus and the Church He established which provides us with the Sacraments which give us all that we need to meet our spiritual needs. But what is the ultimate Plan of God? Parousia, the day when God "will be all in all" and there will be "Cosmic Communion," the union of all of creation with one another and with God. We await this day together, preparing for it through how we live this very day in His Kingdom.
We live in a world that has been perfectly prepared for us. The minerals we mine from the depths of the earth, the vegetation which nourishes and heals us, the animals that provide food, help, and companionship are all here for our use. God, who has set all of this in motion, as well as those many, many people who have come before us to form these gifts into the inventions and necessities we see today, deserve our gratitude. Dr. Montessori believed that with this as our foundation, the journey toward a better society and world were possible. Through the study of the contributors of the past we can begin to look forward to the future, reflecting on how we can use our own individual and communal gifts to provide for those yet to come. This is the foundation of a society which has a future filled with hope and promise.
"Cosmic Education" is the title of Dr. Montessori’s unique method of synthesizing all education into one all-encompassing springboard for an inspired and purposeful study of a vast variety of subjects. Cosmic Education is initiated through the Great Lessons, a series of five stories which tell the beginnings of our universe. They work to lay the foundation for further exploration and engaged study by giving keys and inspiring questions instead of providing all of the answers. The Great Lessons form the basis of the innumerable directions the interest of each individual child might take. They supply the theme to which the children add variation and embellishment. As the imagination is sparked the children branch out into an infinite variety of subjects through their desire to learn more of our marvelous universe and its history. Reading, writing, and mathematics skills become tools in this process of discovery, essential helps in their search through the endless caverns of knowledge at their fingertips. Within the Atrium, Cosmic Education has its springboard in the Great Lesson of the Level 2 (E1) Atrium, "La Fettuccia" (in Italian) or "The Ribbon." La Fettuccia follows the History of Salvation beginning with God who always existed and Who at a particular time chose to create. The moment of Creation continues even today but has been joined by a new moment, that of Redemption, with the Incarnation of Jesus in response to Mary's "Yes." We live in the moment of Redemption today, carrying His Risen Life out into the world as we await the third and final moment, Parousia. When Parousia begins it will never end and God "will be all in all" as He shares fullness of life with His creation. The Holy Bible is the most important book in the whole world. It contains God's Word, the words He wants to share with us so we can come to know Him more. When we read His Word, He is with us, speaking with us. To show our love for God's Word, Children's House (L1) children took time to carry the Holy Bible in a procession this past week, enthroning it on the Prayer Table on a special pillow in a place of honor. The children were invited to come and enjoy God's Word, an invitation to which several individuals responded. The E2 (L3) students also took time this week to recall the gift of God's Word. They worked together to come up with why The Holy Bible is different from any other book. Then they took time to remember how to look up citations in the Holy Bible before finding work in the Atrium which helped them to continue pondering the gift of God's Word.
Each year the 4th graders take some time to look more deeply at the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. These great gifts are actions Christ does with us to help us realize His plan today, the plan which He has revealed through Scripture. To better understand how the Sacraments change us, fill us, heal us, and equip us to help bring about His will, each child chose three Sacraments to research, write about, and report back on to the group. |
Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
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