ATRIUM The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd How do young children, either in the arms of a prayerful parent or absorbing a weekly church ritual with their family, come into the mystery of God’s presence? Some may ask whether these are appropriate ways to hand on the faith and what age is best to begin a child’s religious formation. Some answers to these questions can be found in a process called the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Dr. Maria Montessori’s insights continue to surprise the scientific community with her keen observations of children’s development and her astuteness in developing a method of education designed to parallel the drive in the very young child to build their own person. Gianna Gobbi, who worked with Dr. Montessori, and Sofia Cavalletti, a biblical scholar in Rome, together, in the 1950’s began to develop a catechesis using Montessori methodology to share religious content. Using the same skills of observation and listening and truly “following the child”, they began to formulate a work which hands on the “tenets” of the Christian faith, and allows the children themselves to develop an authentic relationship with God. This meeting of the mystery of God and the mystery of the child, they discovered, is best nurtured in the very young child. They have also managed to match the appropriate works for each of the planes of development, providing what the child hungers for at each age. The framework of their work has been the Roman Catholic faith…but the work itself has become ecumenical (catholic in its best sense) as it continues to “follow the child.” If we were to travel to the Rome atriums (the space designed for this religious encounter to take place,) one could watch a variety of lessons, containing liturgical and scriptural content. A small child in the 3-6 atrium carefully sets the altar with the necessary vessels, learning their names in the process. Another child might be arranging flowers, while a third is pasting a collage, which depicts the liturgical colors used in a church year. Laughing and talking animatedly in Italian, the children don’t appear to differ that much from those who attend weekly sessions in the atrium here in Portland at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School. Next door the Level II Rome atrium for 6-9 age children finds a young child setting out the Synthesis of the Mass, an ordering of the prayers and gestures seen at Eucharist. Another child has chosen a Maxim, a wise saying, and is carefully copying it. A third child has the parable of the Good Samaritan set out on a table with the diorama and figures in place and thoughtfully reads the story from Scripture, before moving the characters appropriately. Two other children in the Rome atrium are in the long hallway working on a timeline, The History of the Kingdom of God, placing the loose pieces on the blue strip, which focuses on important moments in salvation history. The Level III atrium children (ages 9-12) in Rome have split into several small groups and most are working at small wooden work tables arranged about the room. They are busy setting up the card material for the rubrics of the Mass, reading a section of Scripture for typology study, laying out the Memorial work, or designing a large poster which synthesizes a prayer of the church and the other works which reflect this same content. Like a Montessori classroom, these spaces are neither quiet nor loud but real work is underway here and one who knows children could even say, real prayer. Transplanted to other places on the globe, this particular Catechesis reflects the culture of the community and the demographics of the children who attend. Here at the Franciscan Montessori Earth school, the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has served the school community for over twenty years. Although developed as a methodology using the Catholic faith as its base, this work has begun to serve other Christian traditions as it has been welcomed by various faith traditions as a way to serve the children in their communities. Often the children who attend an atrium session at the school come from a variety of churches. We might begin with a scriptural presentation which is centered on the event of the Annunciation(the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary that she has been invited to become the mother of Jesus.) This begins with a solemn reading of the Scripture passage. The children are then shown the materials, a simple diorama for Mary’s house and the figures of an angel and Mary. This is where the child’s work and reflection begins. During the individual work time in a Level I atrium, a sampling of children’s work might include, watering plants, dusting, cleaning wax from candleholders, meditating on the Annunciation or another Infancy Narrative, arranging the story of the Nativity on a rug, setting the altar, laying out the vestments, or enjoying a quiet moment in the prayer corner. There are art supplies and an expression area where children can use clay, paints or crayons. This provides an art medium to respond to the themes they have begun to ponder during times of reflection. A child painting the regions of the land of Israel (biblical geography) might make the connection that the relief map not far from the easel, is also about the land of Israel. Level II children are a noisy busy group working out all the relationships of the lower elementary child. They have arguments when unrolling the timeline ribbon about who will unroll each section. They move tables so that five can work together on a similar project. They choose work partners and like big works to match their own sense of importance in cosmic history. They insist on sharp pencils and erasers for “mess-ups”. A child in a new developmental phase is now coming into the mystery of God’s presence and the atrium space shifts to accommodate these children as they ponder justice and how it works in the world and on the playground. We share our observations on death as we see it in nature and experience it in our own families. We come together to pray communally in the prayer corner with the children choosing the Scripture text, the Psalm response, the songs to be accompanied by a simple stringed instrument, the prayer card which will be placed on the prayer table. Sometimes the atrium takes on a hushed tone as the work leads to silence and the skills honed through so much practical life now serve the child’s hand, whether painting a border with watercolors or copying a Scripture verse with a calligraphy pen. The timeline group out in the corridor have sorted out their tasks and have begun to read Scripture and place the texts along the line of salvation history. Some of them will soon be back in the room copying the texts and illustrating them as a follow-up work once the ribbon has been re-rolled (by the designated parties.)Throughout the 6-12 cycle there is the opportunity for the child to broaden this relationship through a variety of works which focus on the kingdom of God and begin to look at our own place and responsibility in building that kingdom. Upper elementary groups might be in the midst of a typology study of Abraham, or working on the History of Israel timeline. Some are arranging the Story of Bread cards in the order of the meditation. Each year when the date for Easter and the date of Passover align with the school spring holidays, we celebrate a Seder meal in the atrium with the children preparing the special foods, saying the prayers and re-living the event that aids a Jew in living into their identity. “Why is this night different than other nights?” From the sharing of this ritual and the living of Memorial, the Christian students can ask of their own Easter vigil service, which remembers the resurrection of Jesus, “Why is this night different from every other night?” The actions of liturgy(the work of the people) allow this age child to live into the depth of their traditions and to share their reflections as they choose. At FMES each group of children come to the atrium once a week for a session lasting from one to two hours. Parents register their child and families also have the option of non-attendance. While the works in this Catechesis are Christian in their origin and most of the children who attend are Christian, occasionally a Jewish child will come to share the wealth of their tradition. Because of the Judeo-Christian base of this work, there are many works they can enjoy, as well as share with a classmate. For those of you in the Montessori community who would like additional information, Sofia Cavalletti spoke at a Montessori conference (through a link-up with Rome) in Fort Worth in 1999. For further reading I would recommend the NAMTA journal, Spring 1999, Montessori and the Spiritual Development of the Child. For information on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, please contact the national office at (708) 524-1210. To observe an atrium session or to inquire about training as a catechist, contact Linda Kaiel at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School (503) 760-8220 ex. 221. Linda Kaiel serves as a catechist at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School. She holds a primary diploma from the Washington Montessori Institute. She has training in all three levels of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, serves on the board of the association, and has worked on materials in the Rome atriums. She began training catechists in the early nineties, and has worked on formation courses here in the USA, as well as Australia. Other staff members of the school who have Catechesis training are, Liz Smith, Mother Janet Siepker, Sister Anne Clare Keeler and Shannon Pannell. Portions of this article have appeared in the school paper, Earth News. (Reprinted with permission) | home page | site map | e-mail | 14750 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97236 | tel (503) 760-8220 | fax (503) 760-8333 | Websystem design and hosting provided by WolfPk - FMES/SFA alumni. Copyright © 1999-2010 Franciscan Montessori Earth School. Legal Information