Level III--The Plan of God

For all of you who have been waiting patiently, this week's blog post is here to answer your questions about The Plan of God!

This material and the presentations that go with it really bring to the fore the Montessori philospohy of giving children the universal picture and then bringing the focus into the details. What is the Plan of God? Believe it or not, the answer is simple: Communion!

When God created the universe and the world, he did it in preparation for the creation of man--a creature made in his own image and likeness. We see mankind from the very beginning working in communion--building bridges--through man's transformation of creation. The man who made the wheel, for instance: we have no idea what he looked like or who he was, but through using God's gift of stone, this man's work and his gift is still connecting us today.

Think about it, could we ride in an airplane without it? Just looking around All Saints, we see that in single room, the life's work of hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions of people come together to give us the technology to provide heat, light, batteries for a clock, the engine of the truck that brought the concrete, the generations of farmers who perfected the sowing of cotton that provides us with the soft filling for our chairs--or the scientists who developed synthetic materials! We are all working together, building bridges that overcome racial, social, language, and physical barriers.

When God revealed to the Hebrews his plan for covenant--communion--with them, this vertical bridge was not just for them! In the womb of the Hebrew people, God sent us His only begotten Son to reveal that God's plan for communion is for everyone! Jesus now gives us the gift of the Sacraments to continue to build these bridges and build us up for the culmination of his plan at the Parousia!

Giving the children this overview, I am struck by the gift it is for me to see the BIG PICTURE. More importantly, the question that we pose to the children becomes very starkly addressed to me: What am I doing to bring about the Plan of God for communion among all people? Where do I fit in to God's Plan?

~Mandie DeVries
CGS Catechist and Director of Faith Formation at All Saints

Level III--4 weeks in!

Well, as things settle down into manageable chaos, I have a bit of time to tell you how it has gone so far this year with our first Level III atrium.

The beginning of the year in Level III is always focused on what are called "bridge works." These works help to transition the children from Level II to Level III, but they also serve to set the stage for the work that is ahead. Each is created for individual or VERY small group work, and this gives the catechist a good opportunity to see at what level each child is ready to engage. All of these works are "card works" which were handwritten and laminated by our All Saints Level III catechists in preparation for the year.

Here is a little synopsis of our 3 bridge works:

• The History of the Kingdom of God and the Open Bible: This is actually one of my favorite works. There are 20 cards that are made to look like an open book, and most of them have Bible verses on them. The work of the child is to sort the readings into a timeline of the History of God under 3 headings: Creation, Redemption, and Parousia. (That "Parousia" word is one that was introduced in Level II and has captured the imagination of our Level III kids already this year--"What will that time be like?" they wonder "When God will be All in All?" After the children have read and sorted (sometimes there is quite a discussion about the order!) the catechist returns with more headings, "Old Testament" and "New Testament" are fitted over the proper headings, and we see that it is in the Bible that we are told the History of the Kingdom of God. The booklet that goes with the work proclaims to the child: that there is "One God, One History, One Book."
• The Fettuccina: I was quite surprised when a child told me that this work must be called this because it is a like a little ribbon ("You know Latin?"), but he was absolutely correct. This work is based on our Fettuccia work from Level II and helps the children to continue thinking about that HUGE work that is a meditation (again) on the History of the Kingdom of God, from Creation, to Redemption, to the Parousia. This card work has "fill in the blank" boxes and lots of little strips that fit only one spot correctly. This one builds with the "Open Bible" work to prepare the children for our BIG Level III work: The Plan of God.
• The History of the Kingdom of God: The Gifts of God: This work expands on the Level II gift work, and fleshes out how the History of the Kingdom is really a history of God's gifts to his people. God prepared all creation FOR us, and he wasn't content to just give us the world, he wanted to give us His very Self: in Jesus Christ! The Eucharist is the greatest gift, and all of these gifts are preparing us to live forever with God in the Parousia (there's that word again!)

These three bridge works, as well as beginning study of the saints and some art and practical life (like brass polishing) fill the first several weeks of the Level III atrium. The foundational work of Level III is coming soon: The Plan of God! If you've ever looked in our atrium, you've seen this 30' chart on the wall. This presentation has 4 moments. We'll talk about these more next time!

God Bless!

Mandie DeVries, Level III Catechist and Director of Faith Formation at All Saints

Level II Sept. 2010 – The History of the Kingdom of God

Each year in Level II, the first 3-4 weeks are spent reflecting on “The History of the Kingdom of God”. This is done through several different presentations (lessons), but they all carry the same message and have the same direct aim. This is done because the 6-9 year old child no longer loves repetition, however, they still need it. In this way they receive repetition without getting tired of the material because it is presented in a new way each week.

In the first moment (usually the first week) we simply discuss and contemplate with the children on the History of the Kingdom of God. The following week we present “La Fettuccia” or The Ribbon. This LONG ribbon really gives a visual of the great time and care God took in preparing the world for us and in unfolding His plan for our redemption and eternal happiness. Finally the children see the Blue Strip. This is basically a smaller version of the La Fettuccia which makes it easier to work with on a regular basis. It also contains symbols and scripture passages, again giving the children a new point of interest.

The Mute Strip goes along with this and is presented to the older children. The mute strip is a smaller version of the Blue strip and, as is left almost completely blank. The children then use the Blue strip as a guide while they place the symbols and scripture verses on their own.

During these presentations, we focus with the children on the three great moments, Creation, Redemption and Parousia. We begin with creation, the great gift and long work of God. As I said, we talk about the time a care which God took in preparing the world for us. The children love to discuss what kinds of plants and animals God created. God gave us every kind of plant and animal, both to help us and simply for our enjoyment.

Then when the earth was ready God created us! Humans were given the gift of intelligence, thus we could use our hands to work and transform things God had prepared for us. As the presentation continues, we see that much more time passed and then God, although he had already given us everything we needed, wanted to give us something even more, the gift of His Son.

This brings us to the second great moment, Redemption, when Christ came and died for our sins and rose on the third day so that we might have eternal life. From the time of Redemption until today the light of Christ has been spreading. One child was excited to add that "We help spread this light!", and she was exactly right. We have been given these great gifts and now we chose how we are going to respond with our lives. We refer to our time and our place in the History of the Kingdom of God as the "Blank Page" that we are writing on along with God. Each person is writing on the blank page, each person is an important part of this History. We don't know how long this time will last, but at the end of this time we know that Christ will come again.

This is our third and final moment called Parousia. We are waiting with great hope for this time when there will be no more pain, sadness or death and when God will be all in all. Another child commented that they hoped we were very close to this wonderful time. The children I've had in the atrium, respond to these presentations with prayers of thanksgiving. "Thank you for creating the plants and animals!" "Thank you for creating us!"

I have to add that a friend of mine recently as the question "Is good still winning or does evil now have the upper hand?" He intended for it to be somewhat rhetorical, however I had just given the above presentation and felt that it had something for him. In the History of the Kingdom of God, we see God's great plan for mankind and that he has always been active in this plan. This is no different for today, God has not abandoned us, he is ever present to us, particularly in the Eucharist. Good has already won, God has already won. In the struggles and pain of everyday life, and when we look at the events taking place in this world it may not always seem like it, but we know the end result, and we wait with great hope and expectation for the time in which "God will be all in all"!

Liz Stone, CGS Catechist and Assistant Director of Faith Formation

Level I Sept. 2010 – Orientation to the Atrium

Hello and welcome to another year of CGS Faith Formation! We are happy to see so many new and returning children in the atria this year.

The first few weeks in a Level I atrium are generally spent giving the children time to adjust to the flow and feel of the atrium. This is done first by discussing and modeling how we act in the atrium, reminding the children that in this beautifully prepared space, we walk slowly and talk softly, we treat the people and things respectfully etc. These “lessons” fall under the title of Grace and Courtesy Lessons, which set the tone of the atrium and lay the foundation for the year.

The second, but equally important way that the children adjust to the atrium is through the Practical Life Materials. As Mandie mentioned in her Parent Orientation blog post, these materials may, at first glance, seem totally unrelated to religious formation. However, they answer a need in the 3-6 child and prepare them directly and indirectly for future work in the atrium. The practical life materials, water pouring and cloth folding for example, give the children practice doing activities that will later be applied to such things as the gestures of the Mass and the altar work. Other practical life activities, such as bean spooning, paper cutting and bead stringing, while not as directly related to future material, help the child develop concentration, control of movement, a sense of order and independence. These skills will carry over into every area of the atrium.

In my experience, the time spent on these preliminary activities is a valuable and necessary part of the year. Soon, however, we will be moving on to the model altar, the gestures of the Mass and the seasons of the church year, but the foundation laid and the skills developed through the Grace and Courtesy/Practical Life lessons will cause the year(s) to come to bear great fruit.

Liz Stone, CGS Catechist & Assistant Director of Faith Formation