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Children's Christian Education

Children’s Christian Education
Sundays, 10:00 am—10:45 am

Please note that promotion only occurs once a year in September.  The class that your child is assigned to is determined by age as of September 1, 2011, and this will be the class in which your child will remain until September 2012.

Class Lists for 2011-2012

Little Lambs:  Age 2 by September 1, 2011
Room 204
Our young children learn about God's world through music, play, storytelling, and art activities.  In this class, two year-olds explore basic, age-appropriate themes such as “God Made Me Special” and “All God's Children” providing a strong foundation for future religious learning.  Little Lambs is open during the 8:45 am Service and the Christian Education hour only.

Godly Play:  Age 3 by September 1, 2011
Room 210
Scripture is told through sacred stories (Old Testament), parables, and liturgical action (including Eucharist and Baptism).  Biblical stories are told using a Montessori approach.  Focus is on the child’s relationship to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and the characters and actions within the story.  Each “lesson” is a worship service in itself, modeled after a Eucharist: a time for lesson/story, wondering/response, prayers, feast, and goodbye/blessing. 

If you would like to know more about Godly Play or if you would like to be trained to participate in this beautiful formation model, please contact Betsy Fetner.

Visit the Godly Play Foundation website.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd - Level I
4K and 5K
Atrium of the Good Shepherd-Room 208
Atrium of the Light-Room 209
Discovering and deepening the child’s relationship with Jesus as the Good Shepherd is the primary focus of the level I atrium.  The children will explore how we respond to the call of the Good Shepherd through liturgy and will study the Kingdom of God through scripture selected with the 3 – 5 year old child in mind.  
 
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd – Level II
1st – 3rd grades
Atrium of the True Vine-Room 205
Atrium of the Kingdom-Room 206
The second level of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is designed to help children further their relationship with Christ by figuring out their own part of God’s plan.  Children at this stage of development are very black and white and are developing their sense of right and wrong.  The Atrium at this level offers Christ’s teachings as a way of exploring the children’s moral sense.  They are called to draw on the relationship they have built with Christ and allow it to grow and develop in this new way, leading them to see their responsibilities in the Kingdom of God. 

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd – Level III
4th – 6th grades
Atrium of the Mountaintop
The Mountaintop Atrium is designed for children who are rooted in their relationship with Christ, who have explored their responsibility in this relationship and who want to expand his or her understanding of the call of Christ.  Children will continue to explore their place in the world, will look further to peoples of the world and the History of Salvation, and how we all fit in the Plan of God.   We will examine stories from the Old Testament and think of what they mean to us today.  Children in the level III atrium will also think about the origins of liturgy and how worship as we experience it today developed. 

What is the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd?
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is an approach to religious formation for children ages 3 through 12 years old.  It is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy of the church, and the educational principles of Maria Montessori.  In the CGS, The Word of God is proclaimed in the most objective manner possible by reading sacred scriptures and then reflecting on what the children have heard.  There is often a hands-on material that is then presented to the child for further contemplation of the message.  The children and catechists (adults in the Atrium) also work with materials that help them understand more about the sacraments and liturgy of the church.  All of this is done in a carefully prepared room called the “atrium” (plural: “atria”).  The atrium is primarily a place of prayer and is intentionally designed with that in mind.  The primary aim of the CGS is to involve adults and children in a common religious experience in which the religious values of childhood are predominate.

Visit the national Catechesis website.