Making Connections: The Fettuccia

On Sunday in the True Vine Atrium we went downstairs to unroll the Fettuccia. We gather for this presentation every year, and much of our work in the atrium for the first through third grade child connects to this impressionistic lesson. You can read about this presentation in the blog post The Fettuccia. With this work we offer the child a glimpse into the vastness of the History of the Kingdom of God, and an awareness of its three great moments: creation, redemption, and parousia.

After seeing the presentation this morning, we returned to our atrium and everyone began to work. A little later in the morning, I presented the Liturgical Calendar to one of our first graders. This bubbly boy is a joy to talk with, and we were moving through the calendar together quite companionably. Suddenly, he surprised me by saying "If Jesus died again the light would go out of the world forever." He proceeded to tell me all that he imagined would happen - the sun would go out, and the animals and plants would die. It would be dark and all the people would be cold. He said much more, but I was so surprised by this turn in conversation that I honestly can't recall it!

After he finished telling me about this scenario, I agreed that this would be a very bad thing. Then I asked him if he remembered the three great moments of the History of the Kingdom of God and we talked about them together. He remembered "parousia" and we talked about God's promise that Christ would come again and at that time God would be all in all. There would be no more tears, or pain, or death and the whole earth would be filled with the love and joy of God. This seemed to satisfy him and he began talk again about the Liturgical Calendar material.

At the end of atrium as we were gathered at the prayer table, I prepared the group to make silence together and invited the children's prayers. My young friend from the Liturgical Calendar work indicated that he would like to pray and he waited in silence until it was time. Then he astounded me, praying, "Thank you God for all hope."

As so often happens, I was reminded that in the atrium God and the children themselves offer so much more than I can ever give. Thank you God for all hope.

History of the Kingdom of God

On Sunday in the True Vine Atrium we will be opening this box once again to contemplate the History of the Kingdom of God. You can read more about this presentation in a post from last year called The Fettuccia. We began this work last Sunday when I narrated the history for small groups of children to ponder. This week we will take over the first floor with our very long ribbon and meditate once again on the unity and vastness of the Kingdom.

If you have a child in the True Vine Atrium please do what you can to bring him or her this Sunday, and be on time! We will keep working with the History of the Kingdom of God throughout the atrium year, but this is an impressionistic lesson and there is no substitute for being there when the ribbon is unrolled!

Essential Lessons

After my last post, I wanted to share something about the theology that the children have lifted up for us in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. There is so much that could be said!  But for now, I'll just say this:

It is so easy to underestimate children, expecting them to like the "cute" stories from the Bible, and wanting to make the stories "fun" to catch their interest.  For me, one of the most significant revelations from the children is their desire for the the most essential understandings of our Christian faith. Awe and wonder at God becoming a tiny baby, joy at the gift of the light of Christ given at Baptism, deep love for Jesus the Good Shepherd of the sheep, and gratefulness for the gift of Jesus in the bread and wine -- these are just a few of the central themes of the Christian message that catechists discovered over and over again in their observations of children.

As a result, in the Good Shepherd Atrium (for 3-6 year olds) we present the heart of our Christian theology to the children.  As they grow we have no need to "go deeper."  Instead we continually draw the circle wider to bring in more for the children to ponder.

The Materials

In my last post, I talked about some of the ways that the atrium environment meets the developmental needs of the children, and fosters independence. Here, I want to look a bit more closely at the materials, and how they were chosen for inclusion in the atrium. I think this is one of the best things about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd -- the materials at each level have essentially been chosen by the children themselves.  

Just like Dr. Montessori, we catechists are scientists at heart and we are charged with the job of observation. Each week, we make an effort to sit and watch the children as they interact with the materials and each other. Our desire is to learn about their spiritual lives. We watch to see which materials children are repeatedly drawn to and which materials bring them joy. We listen carefully to their comments and questions and prayers, and we study their drawings for insight.  

This practice has been in use by catechists for over fifty years!  Our founders, Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi, and their colleagues began by making materials - small figures for meditating upon scripture passages, model altars and altar pieces, maps of the land of Israel -- all for 3-6 year olds. Then they carefully observed the children's responses. Pieces that the children were drawn to again and again found a permanent place on the shelves.  Materials that appeared in drawings and brought the children contentment were kept.  But legend tells of many amazing materials - beautifully handcrafted items that catechists LOVED - that were put away because they just didn't speak to the children.  Some of our presentations were actually developed by the children themselves, when they brought together materials and concepts in their meditation and catechists observed their connections!

Over many years, patterns began to emerge. Specific presentations were treasured by the children at specific ages, and the decisions about what materials would be presented, when, and to whom, were made.   This process of observation and refinement has been practiced with all three levels of the Catechesis, and is still at work in atria around the world today.

This is the thing that I love -- the materials really do speak to the developmental needs and spiritual yearnings of the children.  And I am so grateful to the wise and faithful children and catechists, across continents and years, who have made it so.