It was such a joy to be able to tell the story of "The Ten Best Ways" with our children Sunday morning. This is one of my favorite stories because we get to use the desert box and because of the message it sends to each of us about how much God loves us. I really appreciate how they paraphrase the 10 commandments, putting emphasis that these are not the 10 easiest ways to live, but the 10 best ways. The story also acknowledges that for some of us, following all 10 of them may be impossible, but that we are encouraged to try. Our children were really enthralled in listening to each of the 10 best ways as I set the marker in the sand. Afterwards we wondered about which of them is the most important. A variety of answers were shared. Then we wondered which of them was the most difficult to follow. A majority consensus agreed it was number 10, not wanting what other people have. And, that IS hard! Even for adults! Afterwards our children began their work. On this particular day we had two of our pre school children join us for the story and both of them wanted to paint for their work time. They did such a nice job of choosing colors and reflecting their thoughts onto paper. Some of our older children took the time to draw a picture of the story they heard, complete with smoke from the mountain! It is always my favorite part of the morning when we gather together again in our circle for a time of prayer. I am so proud of how vulnerable and trustworthy our group has become with each other during this time together. I am feeling so thankful for this space and for these children to come and grow in their spirituality with one another...and thankful I get to be part of it too!
Hannah P.S. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Remember we will not have Sunday school next Sunday, but we will present the first of the four Godly Play Advent stories during our regular services at 10:45. Also please join us next Sunday at 4pm for our Annual Advent party. Please contact me (Hannah) with any questions or concerns.
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Today we shared the story of Exodus in our Godly Play room. This is the second of several stories we tell which take place in the desert and evoke the experiences of God's People as they seek his elusive presence. Just as we discovered last week along with Abraham and Sarah that God was not just in this place or in that place, but that all of God was everywhere - today we explored how God was with the People as they "went out" (the literal meaning of exodus) from slavery in Egypt to freedom through the waters of the Red Sea. I adore telling the stories that use the desert box. Even more than that, I love watching the children retell and extend them during creative response time. Each time the desert box is used in a story, the story-teller presents a brief introduction to this important prop. "So many wonderful and important things happened to the People of God in the desert that we need to have a piece of it right here in our classroom." We talk about how the children may have sandboxes at home or sand tables at school, but that the one we have here in our Godly Play room is different. We always call it the desert box and talk about how it really does represent a piece of the desert we talk about in each story. It takes some time and modeling to keep it from becoming a simple sand box in the classroom but is so worth the time it takes we we get to see the kids really exploring and expanding on the desert stories we tell. Today during creative response time, one student and I put our ears really close to the box and listened to the sound the feet of the wooden "People of God" figures made as they sunk in the sand as they walked across the desert. We wondered together what it might have felt like to venture into that dangerous place with shifting winds and few landmarks listening as we hurried across the sand for the sounds of Pharaoh’s Army behind us. As he reached across the desert to fold back the blue felt rectangles to part the Red Sea and walked each person one at a time between the waves he whispered some of the words I had used when I told the story, "this one felt confused....this one was excited...this one was scared." Today we had some students who have been to just about every session this year and couple that were visiting for the first time. It was so nice to see to the children welcome our new friends into our community and help them find their way in our routines. All the children are becoming more and more self-sufficient in determining what they'd like to work on, gathering the necessary materials, and finding a workspace. They take such care with each other as they negotiate materials and workspaces and work together to restore the classroom before our feast. The adult helpers and I, more and more, are able to blend into the background during this time and let the children take the lead. Next week we contine to explore desert stories with the Godly Play version of the 10 Comandments which we call "The Ten Best Ways." We will then take a brief detour from the desert to explore the season of Advent. Please head over to our News and Announcements page for list of upcoming sessions.
--Genya This week we present a tag-team blog entry from Hannah and Genya. Genya was very excited about this week's story, it's one of her very favorites - unfortunately she injured her back on Friday and was under stirct "no sitting on the floor for several days" instructions from her doctor, so Hannah got to tell the story and was assisted by Emily Kenneke and Linda Shenk. Genya sends her heartfelt thanks to all who helped out today. This morning our desert box made a return in our story rotation! Several of our children have eagerly been awaiting the opportunity to work with the desert box and were thrilled to get their hands in that soft and grainy sand! I love the description of this story offered in the parent-page. It reads, "We continue to seek the elusive presence of God. God was present at creation, blessing all that was made. Noah walked with God and was led by God’s presence to build the ark that preserved life. Now Abraham and Sarah discover that God is present everywhere, putting their lives on the line to test the promises of God." It's lovely to present these stories that are all tied together by this thread of God's people searching for God's presence. We will continue this thread for several more stories, and I look forward to seeing children make connections in their wonderings between the people in the stories searching for God and the way we still search and wonder about His presence in our lives. The story of The Great Family is familiar to many of our children. Many of them jumped right into work-each gathering their own supplies and finding a comfortable place to create! I am amazed at how engaged our children are each week in their painting, drawing, and clay sculpting. It is a joy to be able to sit back and watch them respond to these stories in their own unique way. As you can see from the pictures, our ending prayer time is always very special. Our kids are thoughtful in their prayer and of each other Remember next week we will not have a Godly Play story but will begin work on our Christmas production. Please head over to the News and Announcements page for more details. Godly play stories will return the following week with another story that takes place in the desert. Genya hopes she'll get to tell that one.
Thank you for sending your children. They are truly a blessing. -Hannah (and Genya) |
Godly Play TeamHannah Hannover, Minister to Children and Families and Genya Coffey, Christian Education Team Coordinator make up our current team of guides and storytellers. Both have attended workshops in order to receive certification from the Godly Play Foundation. They will take turns authoring the blog posts found here. Interested in joining the team? Be sure to let them know through the contact page. Archives
September 2016
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