An update

I thought it would be a good time (better late than never) to capture some of the communication we do via email on our blog for history's sake. February 5th and 6th, 2010 we had a wonderful two session seminar with Dick Gibson of Charlotte, NC. He shared with us a model of how Godly Play can be used to faciliate worship with children. It was a great time for us (teachers, helpers and observers alike) to share some of our concerns, joy, and hopes for the program. While there were many topics discussed I have attempted to summarize our notes below. There may be additional posts to elaborate of these at a later time. A video capture was made of his time with us for review of others if desired. We will be attempting to implement some of the immediate items in preparation for the Fall start of our children's programming. Please comment other additions or corrections.

Revised Order of Worship:

1. Get ready (not really practicing this unless they "need" it)
2. Pass offering basket
3. Do greeting/prayer
4. Get story off of shelf and show how to put away after telling
5. Short work time (while I do roll and get friend to help with calendar)
6. Come back to circle
7. Do the liturgical calendar
8. Light the candle while we read the scripture for the day
9. Have prayer time (haven't had a chance to let the children join in this)
10. Leave with a blessing from teacher

Important items for immediate consideration

1. Permanent/rotational greeter (door person) - we all loved the idea of having 8 people besides our storyteller to help us faciliate the program. I will attempt to describe volunteer descriptions in a later post.
2. Use parents as helpers -- bathroom - sitting with latecomers
3. Directed work time with prepared craft or limited coloring sheets encouraging children to reflect on the story that was told or the season of the year.
4. Practice time with 3k in the Fall during Sunday school

Important items for future consideration

1. Make bookmarks to show where the stories are in the Bible
2. Keep track of what lessons each child has seen
3. Have all work day - review a few lessons or lay them out and ask for responses
4. Organized way to choose helpers for the liturgical calendar.
5. Feast implementation

Remember items

1. "Wondering time" does not require an answer - you can tell when they are taking in the questions
2. Don't force a story - if a storyteller isn't ready to tell the story or the children can't get ready don't be afraid to call for a work day. The children will sense if a storyteller isn't ready.