During the final work time of the year two second grade girls took time to draw and write. The following are images of their work. "Dear Jesus, I will follow you always and promise to obey you. Hail Mary..." The image of Our Lady which accompanies this prayer reveals the child's understanding of Mary as perfectly living what the child is expressing to God. In the image of Mary we see the child Jesus held in her arms, a huge smile on her face, beautiful roses growing at her feet, and stars surrounding her. "I am the true vine. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes and those bear more fruit but every one that does not falls off." The text on this card is not an exact copy of Scripture but comes from the child's memory of the passage. She has illustrated this parable with an image of a tree producing beautiful fruit of many colors, surrounded by blue sky and healthy green grass.
In the Level 2 Atrium the children have an increased desire and capacity to express the prayer of one's heart in written words. The following two images both come from second grade girls who took time in the Atrium to express a moment of their personal conversations with God. "Two pleasing things to God" 1. Prayer. Prayer is a time where we talk to God and he talks to us. A good place to pray is also by a cross. 2. Confession. Confession is a time we tell the priest our sins but we are actually talking to God." The words of this illustration show the child's internal work of articulating how Confession is one form of prayer. Beginning with the Level 2 children, as an acknowledgement of their reasoning mind, art in the Atrium is to be accompanied by writing. The amount of writing expected depends on the ability of the child. For some, copying a prayer word or phrase is enough to elevate their work while others copy a Scripture verse or write out their thoughts and ponderings. The following booklet was composed by a 1st grade boy who selected several Scripture cards, copied them, and then illustrated them in a manner similar to that done by the Level 1 children who make prayer card booklets. During the Easter Season one of the prayer art extensions introduced to the Level 1 children is that of drawing the Paschal Candle and decorating around it to "show" the great gift of Easter. In this illustration, done by a 5yo who was new to the Atrium this year, you see "The Tomb" with three women approaching as the day is dawning, where they find a man "dressed in white" who tells them to go and tell the disciples that Jesus is risen. To the right of the Paschal Candle are drawn the many who have now come to see the Tomb...and I might note that the sun isn't much higher in the sky so clearly the women hastened to share this amazing news! Another early art material for the Atrium consists of a 1/4 sheet of white paper and three colored pencils. Some children come to the Atrium wanting to draw but not yet knowing how to focus their art as prayer. The limited paper and pencils provides an art opportunity for those who truly need it but it also discourages those who are looking for exciting art materials which would become a distraction to prayer. The following illustrations were done early in the year by a kindergarten child who was in his second year in the Atrium. The child had recently been working at the gestures altar on a regular basis. Below are pictured prayer cards written and illustrated by several different children in the Level 1 Atrium.
The Atrium is a place of prayer, but the prayer of the child often looks different from the prayer of the adult. In addition, the prayer of each individual child is unique as is the prayer of each individual adult. While prayer is often unseen, taking place in the intimacy of the inner room of the soul, in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we recognize that the art responses of the child often offer a glimpse into their inner life of prayer. This summer I would like to highlight some of these responses of the children, lifting up aspects they have explained/articulated or that seem to shine forth in their work. While there is no "exam" to become a catechist, it has been said that interpreting the prayer art of children might well be a fitting exercise in evaluating our own understanding of the work of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. I hope you are blessed by their artwork, as I have been. One of the first "prayer art" opportunities given to the youngest of children comes when they are introduced to writing prayer cards. After copying the text of the prayer card the child is invited to think about how they might "show" this word or phrase of prayer. Below are pictured a booklet of prayer cards written and illustrated by a kindergarten boy.
Last week was our final week of work time in the Atrium for the majority of the children. It was a gift to observe their choices and the way they worked together in the Atrium space.
Reading the Old Testament after having spent years immersed in the New Testament allows the children to see the "echoes" which point toward Christ, the Church, and the Sacraments. After reading the first two chapters of Genesis, the children chose lengthy follow-up activities, copying or narrating large selections of the Scripture passages and then illustrating them. Charts, timelines, booklets, and more went home with these four focused third graders just before Spring Break. They have been doing beautiful work!
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Carolyn Kohlhaas
CGS Catechist and Formation Leader (Levels I, II, and III) Categories
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May 2024
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