Using Card Materials - A Tutorial!

Last Sunday, I asked two sisters to help me demonstrate how to use the three part card materials I've made for children to explore during worship at Christ Church. Summer time is great time to discover them, nestled in a basket in the children's resources area of the Narthex. There are three packets of cards - The Altar, The Church, and People in Worship. We want to be sure to keep the packets separate so only use one pack at a time.

These card packets are similar to others we do in atrium, but I made them using photos of our Church so that they would help the children to be more aware of the space around us and tune in to our worship. Children who can read can use these card packs independently, with a little instruction from a parent. Children who are not yet reading can work with the photos and labels with a minimal amount of help from an adult or an older sibling.

Each pack includes three types of cards - photo cards, label cards, and definition cards. Start by having  the child separate the three types of cards into piles. Next ask the child to lay the photo cards out into a line across the pew.

If the child is a reader, he or she can then pick up the label cards and begin to match them one at a time to the photos. For non readers, hold the pile of labels and hand them one at a time to the child to match. As you give the label to the child quietly whisper the word in his or her ear. Don't worry if the child doesn't make a correct match. Continue through all of the label cards until they are all matched.

If the child is a reader, he or she might like to read each definition card and match it to it's photo as well. After all the matches have been made, encourage the child to turn the cards over and look at the numbers on each card. For a correct set, the photo, label and definition card will all be marked with the same number.

If there are any errors the child can examine the cards again and make corrections. At some point in the process, encourage your child to look around the Church to find the object or leader pictured in the photo card.

Be sure to have your child return all of the cards to the packet and place the packet back in the basket in the Narthex so that they are ready for the next child who would like to use them.

The children can repeat this process as often as they like, and we know that young children often enjoy repetition! Older children might like to copy or draw cards for themselves.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial and will give the three part cards a try when you are next in worship with your child! Thank you so much to the intelligent,lovely girls who helped me introduce this work to you!

Resources for Worship

Activities for children can be found in the
Narthex, to the right just before you enter Church.

So after reading my last post, "Time to Worship," I bet you are looking forward to bringing your children to Church this summer! Here are a few suggestions - originally posted a few years back, but they are still helpful I hope!

• Sit near the front! Parents are always inclined to sit towards the back to make quick exits if needed, but I encourage you to sit where children can actually see the altar and all of the activity of the service. This lets them know that what is happening relates to them and gives them the opportunity to participate. 
• Be easy on yourself and your children. We don't expect silence in worship. The sounds of children giggling and asking questions helps us to know that our entire family is present at God's table! Take time in worship to snuggle a little one or hold a child's hand.
• Developmentally, young children will not be able to follow the entire service, but they can tune in to particular moments and they can participate more and more as they grow. Whisper a question about something you see happening on the altar. Point out something in the bulletin. Have your child join in on an easy hymn or a simple response. Children can follow the service with the yellow "We Go To Church" cards (below) and older children can follow along in the bulletin. Remember, when children are engaged in quiet activity they still absorb so much! 
• The Nursery is open during the summer months from 10:15-11:45 am for infants and toddlers, and the occasional preschooler who needs a break from worship.
• Take advantage of the quiet activities I have put together for children in the Narthex. Here are some of the things you will find:

I've added this beautiful finger labyrinth to our shelves. Children have used
 labyrinths in atrium for meditation and prayer and they enjoy them.

These from-your-seat scavenger hunts include pictures from
around the Sanctuary and can be done more than once!

There are three 3-part card material packets featuring pictures of the people and sites in our Church for the children to identify. Have them lay the pictures out on the pew. Then whisper the word cards one at a time to your non-reading child so he or she can find the match. Older children can also match the definition cards to the pictures. Also, pick up a yellow "We Go To Church" card and have your child follow the service using the clothes pin attached. Non readers can follow along using the pictures! Flip the card over for more advanced readers.

Books, clip boards, and crayons are always available and popular!

Do you have ideas for other activities that we could add to our shelves? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below! You could also put together a special bag of books and activities at home that your child would enjoy, and save it to bring to Church on Sunday mornings.

See you in Church!

Time to Worship!

A child creating a collage of all of the articles
we see at the altar.

Summer is here, and with it comes the opportunity for your children to participate in full worship services at Christ Church. During the school year, children who are preschool-aged through sixth grade join our 10:30 service already in progress. This is helpful because it gives us a full two hours together for Christian formation in the atrium, and it allows parents to listen to the readings and sermon without having to attend to children. This also works well with what we know about children and worship - that young children can participate in Holy Communion and find it meaningful. I believe our school year schedule is a nice one.

A child working with the Last Supper Material.

Our summer schedule is different. Without atrium, children attend the entire service. This can be daunting, but there are several reasons why summer is a great time to bring your children to Church. For one thing our service is usually shorter in summer. For another, children come to Church specifically for worship and haven't already spent two hours in atrium. Thus they have more patience for the parts of the service that are less exciting to them. Finally, summer is a great chance for children to experience parts of the service that they have pondered in atrium but usually miss.

Children exploring the parts of the
Service of Holy Eucharist.

In atrium we are always learning about our worship service with the goal of helping children to grow into full participation in the liturgy. Beginning at age three we explore some of the most important moments of our service in isolation. In the early elementary years we begin to synthesize these moments and understand our worship as one great prayer made up of many prayers. In the older elementary years, children make their own prayer books, and learn in great detail about the service - they often know things that adults never even suspected! Summer services give children the chance to know the service in its entirety and integrate some of the learning they have done this year.

Check back soon to learn about resources we have available to help your children as they participate in worship this summer!

**I hope you enjoy this post from a few years back! We all need a little motivation to get our children out the door on these pretty summer Sunday mornings!

A Day in the Atrium

On Sunday in the True Vine Atrium I presented the "Synthesis of the Holy Eucharist" material to one child who will be moving up next year. It was a pleasure to see how much he knew about the individual moments of our service and to help him put all of the moments and prayers in order. I love this material! Working with it helps us all to understand that our service of Holy Eucharist is many prayers that together make one great prayer. You can see a photo of the completed work above.

I also presented "How to Use the Bible" to the whole group, and everyone had a good time exploring and marking their Bibles. We talked about Bible citations, and practiced using them to find scripture passages that we know well, such as the Good Shepherd and the Empty Tomb.

I took some photos during work time and thought I would post them here. The children weren't working with the materials much but it was a quiet and peaceful morning!

Finger Knitting is very relaxing.

Enjoying a good book about the gifts of the earth.

Painting a cross.

Writing a letter for Mother's Day.

Completing an art project.

Putting together a 3D model of the Temple 

in Jesus' time that I brought back from Israel.

This is an ongoing project that I'll post about another time.

****

The Junior Choir sang beautifully during our 10:30 service!

Thank you Junior Choir!

The Last Supper, Revisited

Last Sunday, children in the Good Shepherd and True Vine Atria saw the Cenacle Presentation. Today I am re-posting a description of the work, that appeared in the blog last Lent. I hope you enjoy it!

Recently children in the Good Shepherd and True Vine Atria saw the Cenacle (or Last Supper) Presentation. The Cenacle is a Latin name for the Upper Room, where the Last Supper took place. This is one of my favorite works in the atrium and one that the children return to again and again. With this work, we read a scriptural account of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples (which is actually a compilation of several accounts), pausing to move the figures accordingly.

The highlight of the reading is this moment when Jesus is gathered around the table celebrating the Passover with his friends. We hear anew the words he said over the bread and wine--words that hadn't been said before. "Take, this is my body." and "This is my blood which is poured out for many."

In the presentation, the catechist narrates the time after Jesus and the disciples go to the Mount of Olives, including Jesus' death and resurrection. She hangs a cross behind the table, and lights the candles to remember those two moments.

And suddenly the children are presented with another tableau - one that is very familiar to them! Several times, I have had the pleasure of hearing children suck in their breath as they recognize the altar. I've also heard children call out "The Church!!" As catechists, we leave this lovely connection for the children to discover. Whenever it comes, I've found that this work enables the children to make a profound connection between the way Jesus loved his disciples and his desire to be with them always, and the way that Jesus loves us and expresses his love in the bread and wine that we are blessed to receive each week.

My daughter working with the Cenacle many years ago!

Every Lent we hold a Last Supper Celebration with the children. This is a wonderful gathering which draws upon the children's experience of the Cenacle material. I'll be sure to post about it when it comes along.


We will be holding our Last Supper Celebration for 2012 this Sunday, March 18th for the children in all three atria! For a description of this special day read the Last Supper Celebration.


Two wonderful blogging friends of mine, Sheila at Explore and Express, and Storyteller at Wonderful in an Easter kind of Way are collecting links with ideas for preparing for Easter. I am listing this post in their Lenten Link-Up Party. Click here to see all of the great posts they have collected!  

Capernaum

One of my favorite sites from our pilgrimage to Israel was Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Capernuam is mentioned frequently in the Gospels as Jesus' home base and the place where he called several of his disciples from their nets, but it never made much of an impression on me until I was there!

In many of the Biblical sites we visited, ancient and modern buildings dominated the space in a way that made me more aware of the history of the site than of its spiritual significance. 

Capernaum is different. In this little village along the Sea of Galilee, first century ruins are surrounded by water, trees, and sky. Wandering through the grounds, it is easy to believe and appreciate the fact that Jesus was here. 

In Capernaum there are ruins of a beautiful fourth century Temple.

Beneath this temple, and visible from the outside, are the remains of a first century temple. The white stone is from the fourth century, and the grey stone at the base is from the first. This first century temple is most likely the temple that Jesus knew and where he taught!

Inside the temple, the floor is open in one spot to reveal first century remains.

This modern Church is built above the remains of the site that is believed to have been St. Peter's house. 

Underneath the modern Church are the remains of several Churches built on the site over the centuries, including this 5th century Church.

For me, one of the holiest moments of our trip was celebrating Communion with our group under this tree beside the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum.

The Last Supper

Last Sunday, children in the Good Shepherd and True Vine Atria saw the Cenacle (or Last Supper) Presentation. The Cenacle is a Latin name for the Upper Room, where the Last Supper took place. This is one of my favorite works in the atrium and one that the children return to again and again. With this work, we read a scriptural account of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples (which is actually a compilation of several accounts), pausing to move the figures accordingly.

The highlight of the reading is this moment when Jesus is gathered around the table celebrating the Passover with his friends. We hear anew the words he said over the bread and wine--words that hadn't been said before. "Take, this is my body." and "This is my blood which is poured out for many."

In the presentation, the catechist narrates the time after Jesus and the disciples go to the Mount of Olives, including Jesus' death and resurrection. She hangs a cross behind the table, and lights the candles to remember those two moments.

And suddenly the children are presented with another tableau - one that is very familiar to them! Several times, I have had the pleasure of hearing children suck in their breath as they recognize the altar. I've also heard children call out "The Church!!" As catechists, we leave this lovely connection for the children to discover. Whenever it comes, I've found that this work enables the children to make a profound connection between the way Jesus loved his disciples and his desire to be with them always, and the way that Jesus loves us and expresses his love in the bread and wine that we are blessed to receive each week.

My daughter working with the Cenacle many years ago...

Later in lent, we will hold a Last Supper Celebration with the children. This is a wonderful gathering we have each year, which draws upon the children's experience of the Cenacle material. I'll be sure to post about it when it comes along!

Would you like to get more out of Lent? Check out my last post on Lent at Home, or explore some online options at Building Faith's blog post- Sites for Daily Meditation.