Material Making in the Summer Months

It's been quiet on the blog this summer, but I've been as busy as ever with the Catechesis! In June, Lynn and I completed our Level 3 training with a wonderful seven day session in Saginaw, Michigan, led by the amazing Donna Turner. It was a fabulous experience, and it feels great to be familiar with all three levels of the Catechesis.

Seeing all the Level 3 works inspired me to return to Level 2 with a new eye. I've been revisiting album pages and thinking about materials. The new online material manual (available to catechists at the National Association website) makes it really easy to work through materials to see which pieces may have changed or may be missing from the atrium. Many of our tracing packets needed to be updated, and as a result I have been spending my evenings tracing and coloring. I'm enjoying it!

A few weekends ago several Christ Church Catechists and I attended a Regional Gathering for people with an interest in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd held at St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in Concord, Ohio. It was great to connect with other catechists and spend time together. A special blessing for me was the chance to hear Betty Hissong speak about some of the influential leaders of the Catechesis. Betty is one of the pioneers of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and an amazing and faith-filled leader herself. It was a fun morning, and I was so glad to participate.

I've also been working on our calendar for fall and connecting with teachers and catechists. September 15th will be here before we know it! I can't wait to begin again!

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!

Summer Plans

Summer is well underway! I am planning to step back a bit from blogging, as I rest with my family and begin preparing for next year. I'll be posting once a week, sharing some pictures of the Good Shepherd Atrium for you to see. I began a tour of the atrium last year with a look at the liturgical works, but never found the time to continue it during the busy school year. Keep reading this summer to see pictures of the different areas of the room, and learn more about what we do in atrium. 

Some of my summer posts will be scheduled to go live while I am away on vacation, so I may be delayed in replying to comments, but I hope you will still share your thoughts and questions! I promise to respond as soon as I return.

Peace and blessings to you this summer!

Resources for Worship

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

So you are ready to bring the children to Church this summer! Here are a few tips!

• 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 just 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 fifth 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!