A couple weeks ago I did an 'unofficial' training with our storytellers and doorkeepers for Godly Play this fall. We are hoping to send our group to do the official training, but it is cost prohibitive and there aren't many training sessions in our area... so we're making do for now. I'll also be the door person most of the fall during the Sunday School hour, which will be a really great way to be a resource to our new storytellers as they discover the method and we figure out what will work for our kids. We will be having Godly Play for the kindergarten and 1st graders during the Sunday School hour and the 3 and 4 year old children will have Godly Play during the first fifty minutes of church before joining their families for communion.
We were able to purchase and were gifted some new materials for the room. The Advent set, a good shepherd (Holtiger), the ten best ways, and the Temple and Tabernacle joined our shelves. We are also making the creation tiles, baptism set, the exodus lesson, and the exhile. These stories will make up our curriculum this fall. I'm thrilled to see this coming together. I'm feeling really grateful for the commitment to developmentally appropriate worship for children at St. Matthews.
There are several parents who have been helping make this room become the space we want for our kids and I love to see it evolving. I made a dessert bag before the training. I love working with the sand and am sure it will be a very popular work option!
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| From left to right : Focal shelves with nativity, good shepherd and baptism below. Advent, the Circle of the Church year and the parable are on the next set of shelves. The first set of dark brown shelves holds the materials for Epiphany, The Tabernacle (and the Temple when it arrives), creation, The great family, The people of God, The ten best ways, Exodus (when it is finished - just the tray is there now) and palm sunday (I know it is a bit out of place,but that's all we have for now). The last set of shelves holds our practical life trays, books and blocks. |
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| The door keepers chair, the art shelves, painting smocks and a shelf above that will be used for feast materials/food and our classroom copies of the Godly Play books and resources. Cleaning rags, a spray bottle (just water with a touch of mint essential oil) and dust pan are on the window sill. |
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| This is our dessert bag. I had this fabric on hand, so all I had to buy was the sand ($4), under bed box ($4 at target) and cord for the tie ($12.50 at JoAnn Fabrics when I used a 50% off coupon). There are tutorials for these online, but I designed this one because I wanted it to fit the box with the right amount of overhang. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of it out of the box. Another time perhaps. |
5 comments:
Could you tell me where you've found to be a good source for wooden trays, both for Godly Play and for Montessori type preschool activities at home?
I used Godly Play techniques at our VBS this year! It was a HUGE hit! I almost couldn't believe how attentive and engaged the children were. I brought all of my own materials, so I was limited in that way. But you don't need much to start. Thanks, Emily, for always being an inspiration.
Some of our trays were ordered as a set from amazon (5 for $19). I've also bought some from Hobby Lobby. They are inexpensive 5-10$ depending on the size. In both cases I'm not sure how well sourced/ sustainable they are.
Erica, at the annual Godly Play conference this year they did a session on doing a godly play VBS. I wish I could have attended the session. I have used godly play techniques in VBS too, but I would love to see a whole VBS built on the model!
Just catching up on your blog as the duty of children's ministry has fallen into my lap at our new and tiny church (I'm trying to decide between Young Children and Worship or the new curriculum St John's is putting out soon, all the while wishing that someone like you, who is more vocationally called to this than I am, was doing it!). Anyhow, my mom does godly play training and can be flown out to do it in person, anywhere. She's done it before in various places and loves doing it!
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