The Gift of Godly Play

I've written before about the excellent Sunday School curriculum our little Lutheran church uses.  Godly Play is a very Montessori-like approach to teaching Sunday School.  My children love it, and I love teaching it and watching the way Bible stories reside in our children's hearts after repeated and intentional exposure.  

A dear friend of mine at church is solely responsible for implementing this program, obtaining the resources, and advocating for Godly Play instruction.  It is/was probably the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT Bible training resource in my children's lives.  

Godly Play instruction in our church continues through the third grade.

{ To see a Godly Play story being told, visit Living Montessori Now, where there are lots of pictures and also videos.  It is a beautiful thing to watch.  It is also something that can be used in your homeschool! }

Our story last Sunday was Jesus and The Twelve... such an interesting explanation of the 12 Apostles and the story surrounding each of them.  The painting of The Last Supper forms the backdrop of the story, and each Apostle is described by his shield.  My favorite is John, who was supposed to drink poisoned wine, but a serpent drank it instead and saved his life.  Or, there is Matthew, the tax collector, whose shield has three bags of money on it.  

I never cease to be amazed at the quiet WONDER the children have as you tell the story... each story of the Apostles so intriguing and tragic.... all but one of Jesus' Apostles was killed for their belief and support of him.  In a class of K-3 students this point was not lost, believe me.  

The children then heard The Great Commission, from Matthew 28:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

The children took outlines of different continents and painted, colored, or whatever their little hearts desired.  We also talked about ways we could help spread the Good News.

What have you been using for telling Bible stories in your home or at your church?   

Comments

[CC Jen]

My kids go to a weekly Catechesis of the Good Shepherd class, which is similarly Montessori-ish in nature.

[Ticia]

I didn't know this lesson was in Godly Play, what an awesome lesson!

Were the shields in there too?

[Amanda @ The Pelsers]

Just getting settled from vacation and visiting link up posts. This looks really interesting. I hadn't heard of this before.

[Deb Chitwood]

What a lovely lesson! And thanks so much for linking to my Godly Play posts! Have a wonderful weekend! :) Deb @ LivingMontessoriNow.com